#sneaky snippets: This Time Around

[charmsandtealeaves]

So when I put it to a vote what the title for the Spitting Image sequel should be, this is what we ended up with!

To celebrate actually getting some writing done there's a sneaky snippet from chapter 1 below the cut...

Opening Facebook was a mistake because it came with the nasty habit she’d developed lately of impulsively checking Gregory’s page. What greeted her was nothing short of a sucker punch to the gut on what was all things considered an emotional rollercoaster of a day already. Gregory Evans had updated his cover photo to a picture of himself beaming at his girlfriend - who appeared to be at least a decade younger than himself - in front of an archway of white balloons.

[gf2bellamy]

lipgloss — spencer reid

pairing: spencer reid x fem!reader ( no use of y/n ) summary: you leave a lipgloss mark on spencer's cheek content warnings: nothing a/n: i malfunction when i see glasses spencer

You let out an exaggerated sigh, slumping forward as you rested your chin on your hand. Across from you, Spencer sat at his desk, completely engrossed in his work. His brows furrowed in concentration as he made notes in the margins of his case files. 

“Spencer,” you whined, drawing out his name. “Do you think Hotch would say anything if I just went home?” 

Spencer glanced up at you, his honey-brown eyes softening the way they always did whenever he looked at you. “I think he might,” he admitted, tilting his head slightly. “But you could always say you weren’t feeling well. Technically, boredom is a form of mental fatigue.” 

You let out another sigh, this one even more dramatic. “I’m just so bored,” you groaned, dragging out the last word. 

Spencer’s lips twitched in amusement before he returned to his notes. You stared at him for a moment, then perked up as an idea struck you. 

“I’m gonna make myself a coffee,” you announced, standing up and stretching. “Do you want one?” 

Spencer shook his head with a small smile. “No, that’s okay. But thanks.” 

He picked up his pen, going right back to his work. You lingered for a second before stepping closer to his desk, your lips curling into a small, mischievous smile. With no one else in the bullpen, you leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. Spencer froze. His pencil slipped from his fingers, rolling across the desk. His head snapped up, his face already turning an unmistakable shade of pink. 

Your smile widened. “What?” you teased, tilting your head. 

“You—” He blinked rapidly, his blush deepening. “We’re at work.” 

“And?” You arched a brow, feigning innocence. 

Spencer opened his mouth, then shut it, clearly searching for a response. Finally, he huffed out a quiet laugh, shaking his head before picking up his pencil again. 

“You’re impossible,” he muttered, but the small, fond smile on his lips gave him away. 

You grinned. Mission accomplished. You made your way to the break room, yawning as you prepared yourself a much-needed cup of coffee. Just as you reached for a mug, you heard loud voices echoing from down the hall. 

Garcia and Derek. As you poured your coffee, you caught snippets of their conversation, mostly Derek chuckling about something Garcia had said, followed by her dramatic gasp. They had obviously just come back from their little break. By “little break,” they meant sneaking off to grab food somewhere without telling anyone. Classic. 

Once your cup was full, you wrapped your hands around the warm ceramic, only to immediately flinch and mutter a curse under your breath. Too hot. You blew on it a few times before deciding to just endure the heat, making your way back to the bullpen. The second you stepped inside, you were met with two pairs of wide, mischievous eyes locked onto you. 

“Oh my god, it is hers,” Garcia said, practically vibrating with excitement. 

You froze mid-step, raising an eyebrow. “Uh… what?” 

Your gaze flickered between them and Spencer, who was now sitting at his desk, very clearly avoiding eye contact. His ears were turning a suspicious shade of pink. Slowly, you walked over to your desk, setting your coffee down as you eyed them warily. Garcia and Derek were standing on either side of Spencer’s desk, arms crossed, looking like they had just cracked some kind of case. 

“Okay,” you said cautiously, dragging the word out. “Why are you all looking at me like that?” 

Silence. 

Spencer, still blushing, pretended to be very, very interested in his paperwork. Garcia and Derek, on the other hand, exchanged a knowing glance before Derek let out a low chuckle. 

“You sneaky little thing,” he teased, shaking his head. 

“What are you talking about?” You sat down slowly, still staring at them like they’d lost their minds. 

Garcia gasped dramatically. “Don’t play innocent! We know what you did.” 

Your heart skipped a beat. “What—?” 

Derek smirked, arms crossed over his chest like he’d just won the lottery. “Your lip gloss.” 

You blinked. “What about my lip gloss?” 

As if on cue, your lips instinctively pressed together, feeling the slight tackiness of the gloss you’d applied earlier. Garcia let out an exaggerated sigh, shaking her head. 

“You left a mark,” she said dramatically. “A very clear mark, right on Dr. Reid’s cheek.” 

Panic surged through you. 

Your eyes darted to Spencer, then to Garcia and Derek, then back to Spencer again. He was already looking at you, and now it all made sense, the blushing, the way he had been avoiding your gaze, and the way Garcia and Derek were practically bouncing with glee. 

Oh. Oh god. You leaned in slightly, taking a closer look. And there it was. A faint but unmistakable pink smudge on his cheek. 

Spencer huffed, finally speaking up. “She’s not letting me wipe it off,” he accused, nodding toward Garcia. 

Garcia gasped, placing a hand over her heart in mock offense. “Excuse you, Doctor! It’s called preserving evidence.” 

Derek chuckled. “Yeah, man. We gotta document this. It’s not every day you get physical proof that you two are—” 

“Shh!” you hissed, eyes widening as you quickly glanced around the bullpen. Your relationship with Spencer was still a secret, and the last thing you needed was someone overhearing this conversation. You shot both Garcia and Derek a glare, but they were absolutely thriving off of your reaction. 

“Relax, sweetheart,” Derek teased. “It’s just us.” 

You turned back to Spencer, who was looking at you expectantly, silently pleading for help. With a sigh, you grabbed a napkin from your desk, stepping closer to him. His eyes flickered to yours as you hesitated for just a second before reaching out, gently swiping at the mark on his cheek. His skin was warm beneath your touch. You tried to focus, but you could feel Garcia and Derek’s eyes burning into you. 

“There,” you murmured, inspecting his face. The lip gloss was gone, but his blush? Very much still there. 

Garcia clapped her hands together. “Awww, that was adorable.” 

Derek grinned. “Man, if y’all think you’re still fooling anyone—” 

Spencer groaned, pushing his glasses up his nose. “Can we please move on?” 

Garcia waved him off. “Fine, fine. But just know—this isn’t over.” She and Derek finally turned away, giggling to themselves as they walked off, no doubt already plotting their next round of teasing. You sighed, rubbing your temples before glancing at Spencer. He still looked flustered, but there was a small, barely-there smile on his lips. 

“You okay, genius?” you asked softly. 

He nodded, exhaling as he glanced at you. “You know they’re never gonna let this go, right?” 

You sighed dramatically, shaking your head. “Yeah. We’re doomed.” Spencer chuckled, and despite everything, you couldn’t help but smile too. 

Even if Garcia and Derek were onto you, at least work wasn’t boring anymore. 

[shadowkoo]

Oh, Baby!

→ Summary: Your brother has finally come around to the fact that you’re in a “serious” relationship with his best friend. However, that doesn’t stop Jungkook from testing his limits…

↠ jungkook x f.reader | 4.1k words | 18+ ↠ genre: smut, brother’s best friend, post-college au, vegas wedding au

→ Warnings: explicit & unprotected sex, fucking in a tiny airplane bathroom, fucking in a pool, getting fingered in an elevator, getting caught by your brother a lotttt, teasing, dirty talk, needy!jungkook, drunk sex, alcohol consumption, hangover symptoms, multiple orgasms, multiple sex scenes, exhibitionism

→ Networks: @ksmutsociety @k-vanity @keopihaus @studiosev7n @lapydiaries @bangtanwritershq @cosyhomenet

→ Author Note: the long-awaited second part to Oh, Brother! I hope you all love it as much as I do! Check out all of the installments of The Oh! Chronicles series here! If you want a teaser/spoiler for part three, you should join my personal discord server (I’ll be sharing a snippet soon!) As always, all likes, reblogs, and comments are much appreciated!

The bathroom door opens suddenly, and a pissed-off-looking Jaemin is standing there. His eyes drift to you sitting on the bathroom sink with your dress hiked up, then to Jungkook, standing in between your open, exposed legs, with his jeans loosened around his waist.

Jaemin’s face flushes crimson, the fury unmistakable as his eyes lock onto the scene unfolding before him. His fists clench at his sides, every muscle in his body tensing with barely contained rage.

Across from him, Jungkook lets out a nervous laugh, the tension crackling in the air around them.

“Oh, brother….”

𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝒚��𝒂𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓…

Jungkook taps incessantly on your shoulder, not stopping until you switch your attention from the view from the small window to him and take out your airpods.

“God, this flight feels like it’s never going to end. How much longer?” Jungkook whines, shifting in the seat next to you.

“We only have an hour left. Suck it up,” you reply, popping your airpods back in and restarting your music.

He gives you that classic puppy-dog face he always uses when he’s not getting enough of your attention.

You sigh, taking them out again. “What?” you ask, raising an eyebrow when he still says nothing. Before he can answer you, the overhead speaker crackles to life as the flight attendant makes an announcement.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we will begin our descent into Las Vegas shortly. Please make any final trips to the lavatories before returning to your seats, fasten your seatbelts, raise your tray tables, and ensure your seat backs are in the upright and locked positions.”

You're headed to Vegas for a post–college graduation celebration for Jaemin, Jungkook, and Jaehyun. It was originally supposed to be a guys’ trip until they found out you were coming. Then, suddenly, everyone invited their girlfriends. You didn’t mind, though. Honestly, you only wanted to come because you didn’t trust Jaemin and Jungkook not to get into another fight.

Jungkook had been unbelievably sweet the first time, he took everything from Jaemin without throwing a single punch back. He knew it was against the bro code to date you, sleep with you, or even think about you. You were so off-limits, yet he couldn’t resist you.

Once Jaemin finally cooled off, he and Jungkook talked things out after a month of silence. Since then, things have been smooth for the most part. Just a couple of minor arguments over dumb stuff, like best friends tend to have.

Still, you can’t shake the feeling that this trip has disaster written all over it. That’s why you were so dead-set on coming along. Jungkook caved first; he’s never been good at saying no to you. Jaemin agreed the next day, realizing that if Jungkook was bringing a girl, then he had an excuse to invite Kira, the girl he’s secretly in love with. And not wanting to be the odd one out, Jaehyun decided to invite his not-so-sneaky link along too.

“Will you come to the bathroom with me?” Jungkook asks, already rising from his seat, clearly expecting you to follow without question.

You blink at him. “What for?”

He doesn’t bother answering, and instead throws a look over his shoulder that makes your stomach flip.

With a sigh, you unbuckle and trail after him toward the back of the plane. He stops outside the lavatory and taps the door, eyes then noticing the small green indicator light that reads Vacant.

Glancing around to make sure no one’s watching, he quickly opens the door and ushers you inside. He slips in after you, locking the door behind him.

You’re immediately squished together, your back nearly hitting the tiny sink.

“What are you doing?” you whisper, annoyed and slightly breathless. “Both of us can’t fit in here.”

“I need you,” he murmurs, eyes dark and intense.

“Now?” you hiss. “You couldn’t wait until we’re in the luxurious king-sized bed that’s waiting for us?”

He leans in, brushing his lips along your neck. “I always need you,” he breathes. “I always want you. I always crave you.”

He presses hot, desperate kisses into your skin, moaning like he’s been touch-starved for days as your fingers tangle in his hair. His breath stutters against your neck when you tug just a little, pulling him closer.

“C’mon,” he murmurs, lips brushing your ear. “Don’t you want to join the Mile High Club? Now’s the perfect chance…”

His hands drift lower, fingers teasing the waistband of your sweatpants with maddening slowness.

You roll your eyes, breath hitching. “And what if we get caught? Then we’re joining the No-Fly List instead.”

But before you can talk yourself out of it, his fingers dip between your thighs, and your argument dies in your throat.

Your back hits the mirror as he kisses you hungrily, all lips and tongue. The cramped space is forgotten the second he slips two fingers inside you, teasing you with shallow thrusts and curling them to hit your sweet spot.

“Jungkook,” you mewl, clutching his shirt to pull him closer, needing more.

“Tell me what you want, baby,” he murmurs against your lips, his fingers now circling your clit, taunting you for what’s to come.

“Please fuck me,” you breathe, eyes glazed. You're already too far gone to care about consequences.

That’s all it takes. In one swift movement, he yanks your pants down, followed by his own. Wasting no time, he buries his thick cock deep inside you.

You bite your lip to keep from crying out as he starts to move, fast and rough, rocking into you over and over. Thank god you’re in the air, where the engines are loud and the small bumps of turbulence cover up any noises coming from the small space you two occupy.

“Oh my god,” you gasp, as he adjusts his hips to a new angle that has you on the verge of coming undone.

Jungkook is mid-thrust when someone starts aggressively knocking on the door.

Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.

You freeze. He doesn’t.

“Ignore them, baby,” he growls into your ear, voice thick with lust. “I can’t stop now. Not until I come in this sweet little cunt of yours.”

His pace doesn’t falter as he speaks, hips slamming into yours.

“Fuck, I’m so hard for you. You’re dripping for me, so tight and so perfect. You hear that?” he grunts as he bottoms out again. “That wet little pussy’s begging for it. You’re such a cock-hungry slut, look at you.”

You moan, vision blurring, every filthy word driving you closer to the edge.

“I can feel you gripping me,” he pants. “You gonna come, baby? You want me to make you come all over my cock?”

You nod frantically, unable to form words. Everything in you is coiled tight, seconds from unraveling.

Your body arches against him as waves of pleasure crash through you, every nerve lit up, every muscle trembling. You clamp around him, moaning his name as your orgasm rips through you.

Jungkook doesn’t stop. He groans against your neck, fucking you through the aftershocks, his pace stuttering as he loses control.

“Fuck–” he chokes out, hips jerking as he buries himself deep one last time. His release shoots into you in hot, pulsing streaks, his whole body tensing as he moans your name one last time.

When it’s finally over, you gather yourself with a flushed face and shaky hands. Jungkook presses one last kiss to your temple before using some toilet paper to wipe his come that’s leaking out of you. You both try to straighten your clothes in the tiny mirror before unlocking the door to escape.

After opening the door, you’re met by the impatient glare of a teenage girl.

“I’m so sorry,” you mumble, sliding past her quickly. And then your heart drops.

Standing directly behind her, arms crossed and jaw tight, is your brother.

Jaemin stares at you both for a beat, his expression unreadable. Then he mutters, “God, you two act like newlyweds—fucking everywhere all the time.”

You can practically feel Jungkook smirk beside you. Cheeks burning, you drag him back to your aisle before he says something that would escalate the ordeal.

Turning your head back around once seated, you make eye contact with your brother who’s face looks just as pissed off. Like he’s silently calculating whether joining the mile-high version of Fight Club would be worth the federal charges.

The first few nights in Vegas were a blur of flashing lights and endless drinks. You danced until your feet ached and woke up with memories that felt like a dream. Last night was a well-needed break. The group opted for a low-key evening, which involved a quick dinner, a few drinks by the resort pool, and an early night to recharge.

Today, you’re still taking it easy. Lounging in the private pool that wraps around your suite, a hidden oasis high above the Vegas strip. The sun is warm on your skin, the water cool against your lower half as you lean on the edge and take in the view.

You close your eyes, breathing in the stillness, until the balcony door slides open.

“Where is everyone? All the rooms are empty.” Jungkook asks as he steps out, towel slung around his neck, sweat still clinging to his post-gym glow.

You tilt your head toward him without opening your eyes, resting your head on your arms. “Jaemin and Kira went to brunch earlier. And Jaehyun’s taking Sophia shopping as a way to make up for flirting with the hostess last night.”

He chuckles, stripping out of his gym clothes and easing into the water beside you.

“I told everyone we’d meet in the lobby at 10. DJ Johnny doesn’t go on until 11, so we’ve got plenty of time to get to the club.”

He hums in agreement, arms sliding around your waist as he pulls you close. For a moment, the two of you just float there in silence, the city stretching below and the desert sun catching the water in shimmering flecks.

“You look happy,” he says softly, his eyes scanning your face.

“I am happy,” you reply, smiling up at him.

He kisses you lightly at first. It’s sweet and unhurried, like he’s savoring this moment with you. But then it shifts. His lips grow firmer, more insistent. The hand on your waist slides lower, fingers pressing into your hip as his tongue parts your lips. The kiss deepens, turning molten. Your body responds instantly, pressing into him as heat begins to build beneath the surface of your skin.

His mouth trails down your neck as he pushes you gently against the pool’s edge. The water laps around you as his hands roam, exploring you, teasing you beneath the surface. You gasp when his fingers find their way between your thighs, and he smirks against your skin.

“Think you can handle me? I’m fully recharged and overflowing with energy,” you tease with a grin.

“You know the gym doesn’t drain me. If anything, it just pumps me up,” he murmurs, voice low and full of promise as he presses his hard length against you. “Think you can handle me?”

You chuckle, wrapping your legs around his waist and pulling him in for another kiss. He pulls the material of your bathing suit bottoms to the side before thrusting into you, the water adding a slow, gliding rhythm to every thrust. The city sparkles behind him, but you can’t take your eyes off his face.

“I love you,” you moan, breathless, pulling his face back to yours for another scorching kiss. Your lips crash together, tongues tangling, bodies clinging beneath the water like you’re trying to melt into each other.

“Let me show you how much I love you,” Jungkook growls against your mouth.

He grips your waist, lifting you just enough to slip out of you, only to slam back in, hard and deep. The water ripples violently around you as your hips meet with perfect timing repeatedly. You toss your head back with a gasp, eyes fluttering shut.

A low groan escapes him as he watches you come undone. One hand braces behind your back, the other reaches up to tug at the strings tied behind your neck. With a practiced flick, your bikini top slips loose and floats off beside you, forgotten.

His eyes darken as he stares at your bare chest, his mouth instantly descending to taste you. Jungkook leaves hot, wet kisses trailing over sensitive skin as he sucks a nipple between his lips.

You're lost in it, lost in him, until a familiar voice breaks your spell.

“Oh, shit,” Jaemin curses, immediately turning away, hand thrown up to shield his eyes. “What the fuck, you guys? Seriously?!”

You shriek, instinctively trying to cover yourself, but Jungkook barely flinches, holding you firmly against him, knowing that his broad shoulders hide you from your brother’s view.

From inside the suite, Kira peeks out, drawn by Jaemin’s raised voice. Her eyes widen the second she takes in the scene of you straddling Jungkook in the pool, easily able to figure out what you guys are up to.

Moving quickly to Jaemin’s arm with both hands. “Let’s go,” she says brightly, dragging him back toward the suite. “Give them some privacy.”

Jaemin mutters under his breath, still scowling. “Fucking hell. I take it back, you’re worse than newlyweds. At this point, you’re like like fucking horny teenagers.”

He throws a glare over his shoulder. “Jungkook! Don’t make me fuck you up again, bro. I will! Geez!”

“Oh, come on, Jaemin,” Kira laughs, tugging him away before his temper flares. “Don’t be such a cockblock. See you two later!” She shoots you a wink just before disappearing inside, her voice echoing faintly, still teasing Jaemin for his unlucky streak of catching you two.

You make a mental note to buy her a thank-you drink tonight.

But that thought vanishes the second Jungkook thrusts up into you again, dragging you back into the moment. The water splashes around you with every movement, slapping softly against the tiled edges of the pool.

Your head falls back, mouth parted in a silent moan as your body clenches around him again. And this time, there’s no holding back.

You’re not exactly sure how you ended up here.

When you and Jungkook slipped out of the club earlier tonight, ditching your friends in a whirlwind of whispered giggles and stolen touches, you figured it would end in another wild quickie somewhere. And to be fair, it started that way. He had his hands all over you in the back of the taxi, his mouth on your neck as the Strip blurred by.

But then, the car dropped you both off at the far end of Las Vegas Boulevard, where you ran straight into a group of strangers who swore they’d partied with you on your first night in town. Whether they were right or not didn’t really matter; they bought you shots like old friends and kept them coming, one after the other, until the world tilted sideways.

And somehow...you agreed to Jungkook’s crazy idea.

Now you’re standing inside a chapel bathed in neon pink light, next to a man in a bedazzled Elvis costume who smells faintly of old cologne and too much hairspray. Jungkook is holding both of your hands in his, his fingers warm and solid around yours. His grin is so wide it practically splits his face in half, his eyes crinkling with drunken joy as he watches the impersonator read the vows.

“Do you, Jeon Jungkook, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?” Elvis says in a dramatic drawl.

“I do,” Jungkook replies without hesitation, his voice thick with emotion, and maybe tequila. “With my whole heart.”

He slips a thin silver ring onto your finger. One he bought just minutes ago from a display stand outside. It’s slightly too big and also a little tacky, but somehow perfect.

Now it’s your turn. You blink up at him, your heart thudding wildly in your chest.

“I do,” you say softly, biting back a giddy laugh. “With my whole heart.”

“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the Elvis impersonator declares with flair, throwing out his arms. “You may kiss!”

Jungkook’s hands envelop your face as he kisses you, sealing your fate.

The handful of drunk couples that are waiting for their turn cheer loudly as Jungkook lifts you straight off your feet. You wrap your arms around his neck, squealing as he carries you bridal-style down the narrow aisle and out of the chapel, laughing the whole way.

“I can’t believe we just did that,” you say breathlessly, still laughing as you cup his jaw and guide him into another messy kiss.

“I can’t either,” he says against your lips, eyes shining. “But god, I’m so ridiculously happy right now.”

He sets you down and pulls you close, forehead pressed to yours.

“Mrs. Jeon Jungkook, you make me so fucking happy. I love you, baby. So much.”

You can’t stop smiling and neither can he.

The next morning, your head feels like it’s still spinning. The light bleeding through the hotel curtains is too bright, stabbing straight into your skull. You groan and crack an eye open, trying to piece together where you are, and more importantly, what the hell happened last night.

Bits and pieces flash into your memory.

The pounding bass of the DJ set. Clinking shot glasses. Jungkook’s laughter against your ear, both of you cracking up about something that felt hilarious at the time. Though now you can’t recall a single detail.

You shift beneath the sheets, rubbing your eyes, when something cool and metallic catches your attention.

You pause, blinking.

There’s a ring on your finger.

A ring.

You yank your hand back and jump upright, heart now thudding in your chest like it’s trying to break free. In your sudden panic, your elbow smacks straight into Jungkook’s face.

“Ow! What the–” he groans, rolling onto his side. “Babe, what was that for?”

“Oh my god,” you whisper, scrambling out of bed.

Still half-drunk, half-hungover, and fully spiraling, you make a beeline for the bathroom and immediately hurl the remnants of last night into the toilet.

Your knees hit the cold tile as you clutch the porcelain bowl, your mind spinning even faster than your stomach.

Jungkook is at your side a moment later. Sleepy, shirtless, and concerned, he crouches beside you without saying a word, gently pulling your hair back and rubbing slow, soothing circles across your spine.

“Breathe,” he murmurs. “It’s okay. Just breathe.”

Once you’re fairly certain your insides are empty, you lean back on your heels, wiping your mouth with a towel and groaning.

“I feel like death,” you mumble.

“You look beautiful,” Jungkook says with a lazy smile, though his eyes are scanning your face carefully. Searching. Bracing.

He stands, reaching into the shower to turn on the water. Steam starts to fill the bathroom as he undresses and steps inside, then turns to hold out his hand for you.

You hesitate.

Your eyes drop to the ring on your finger again, then flick back to his face.

He doesn’t say anything, but he doesn’t need to. You can tell he’s watching you closely, reading every micro-expression, seeing if you have any doubt. There’s no trace of regret in his eyes, but there’s a quiet question behind them.

What are you feeling? And are we okay?

You reach for his hand and step in beside him.

You wash up quickly, letting the hot water rinse away the hangover haze clinging to your skin. Feeling clean doesn’t solve everything, but it helps ground you.

After drying off and throwing on fresh clothes, you sit on the edge of the bed and breathe for a moment. Jungkook's quiet, giving you space, but you can still feel his eyes on you.

Then, finally, he breaks the silence.

“C’mon,” he says gently. “Let’s get some breakfast and cure your hangover before you spiral again. I got a text from Jaemin, they’re waiting for us in the lobby if we want to join everyone for brunch.”

You nod, grabbing your phone and purse before the two of you leave the suite and step into the elevator. Oh god…how are you going to tell everyone…

Jungkook speaks again once the elevator doors close. “Well, last night happened.”

You exhale, almost laughing. “Yeah. I guess it did.”

You start picking at your fingernails, nerves creeping in again as the elevator begins its descent. Jungkook notices instantly.

“Hey,” he says, catching your hands in his. “Don’t do that. Don’t second-guess this. I’m happy. Let’s be happy.”

You look up at him. He gives you that soft smile, the one that always manages to settle your heart.

He pulls you into a hug, wrapping you up like he’s trying to shield you from the chaos of the outside world.

“It’s not how I imagined it, not even close,” he says, resting his chin on your shoulder. “But you know what? I love that I get to call you my wife now. I like that I’m your husband.”

He leans back just enough to nuzzle into your cheek, his lips brushing against your skin in a quiet, reassuring gesture.

And for a moment, your worries melt away. Because if nothing else, you’ve got him. And maybe that’s more than enough.

His hand squeezes your waist as the elevator descends, and you feel his fingers trailing lower, skimming the hem of your skirt with intent.

“Jungkook…” you murmur, glancing toward the mirrored walls, but he’s already moving, slipping his hand beneath the fabric like he owns you, because, well, after last night…he kind of does. And you kind of like that.

His fingers find your heat instantly, and your breath catches in your throat.

“So wet already,” he hums against your ear, voice low and dangerous. “You want to get caught, don’t you?”

You press your back against the elevator wall, heart hammering as his thumb begins to circle your clit.

It feels so good that you can barely stand. The pressure is building fast, your thighs trembling as he slides two fingers inside you.

“Fuck,” you whisper, eyes fluttering shut as he curls them just right.

“Don’t close your eyes,” he says, nipping your earlobe. “Look at yourself. Watch how fucking wrecked you look when I touch you.”

Your gaze finds the mirrored wall. You see your parted lips, the way your chest rises and falls, the dark hunger in Jungkook’s eyes as he watches you unravel.

He moves faster, fucking you with his fingers, thumb pressed tight to your clit.

“Scream my name, baby. Who makes you feel this good? Who makes you come uncontrollably?”

“Jungkook!” you cry out before you can think.

He sinks his teeth into your neck, not hard enough to hurt but enough to make you gasp.

“Wrong,” he growls. “Try again.”

“M–my husband,” you stammer, on the verge of falling apart. “My husband makes me come uncontrollably.”

“That’s right,” he whispers, voice thick with pride and lust. “That’s fucking right, wife. Now come all over these fingers. You’ve earned it.”

And you do, trembling, legs barely holding you up, biting down a scream as wave after wave crashes over you.

As the elevator nears the lobby, he slowly pulls his hand from between your thighs, sucking one of his fingers into his mouth like he’s tasting the best thing he's ever had before returning it for more.

“Wow,” you pant, trying to catch your breath. “Being married already has its perks.”

He smirks, using his other hand to brush a strand of hair from your face. “Baby, we haven’t even started collecting the benefits.”

The elevator dings softly as it reaches the lobby, and the doors slide open with an almost theatrical slowness, just in time to reveal a very pissed-off-looking Jaemin standing directly in front of you.

Judging by the way his jaw is clenched and the murderous glare aimed at the two of you, he definitely heard the tail end of that little scene. Probably more.

“You’re married?!” Jaemin’s voice echoes through the lobby, loud enough to turn heads. A few bystanders pause mid-step, curious and mildly entertained by the drama unfolding in front of the elevators.

Thankfully, he hasn’t seemed to notice Jungkook’s hand still slick from where it was between your thighs before he reluctantly slips it away.

Jungkook glances over his shoulder, letting out a sheepish laugh. “Well, the honeymoon’s off to a strong start. Guess your newlyweds joke actually fits now…”

Jaemin takes a slow, threatening step forward and Jungkook tenses beside you, instinctively bracing for whatever’s coming next, whether it’s a punch, a lecture, or both. But when his eyes flick back to yours, and he sees the worry written all over your face, his shoulders square a little more.

Whatever’s coming, he knows it’s all worth it.

“Oh, baby…”

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[awstrck]

I felt forced with a gun to my head by the replies on my Cable!Son post so here is a snippet, lmk if you like it :)

BOOM.

The cave ruptured.

Chunks of ceiling crashed down on her workspace and the spit. Her fire snuffed out in a huff of dust and ash.

OH FUCK! Not my food—

Sand poured in like a flood, swallowing her cot, her gear, her half-finished portal device—everything. The only mercy was the backup meat still hanging across the cave.

Figures began landing one by one in the chaos, boots crunching against the stone.

“Well this is a shithole, but at least it’s got shade.”

“We did just plow through with dust and rubble—”

A piercing screech sliced through the cavern like a blade. The variants screamed, dropping like swatted flies, clutching their ears as they stumbled and collapsed. Static sang through their skulls.

And then she dropped down.

Like a ghost. Like a curse.

She landed in a crouch among them, eyes blazing with fury, electricity snapping at her fingertips.

“First, you attack my world,” she hissed. “Left hundreds—millions—dead.” Her voice rose with each word, venom sharp enough to cut steel. “And now you have the AUDACITY to wreck my cave—and RUIN. MY. FOOD?!”

She exploded forward, electricity bursting from her in a wild arc, the scent of ozone crackling through the air.

The wasp-looking one suddenly erupts into a twisted blend of pain and laughter.

“Fuuuuck, that’s gonna cost you one, babe.”

He wheezes the words out, still clutching his ears, but somehow he’s already rising—shaking off the shockwaves like they’re an inconvenience, not a warning.

And then—ZOOM.

A sonic blur.

Before she can blink, her vision jerks sideways, the air ripped clean from her lungs as a vice clamps around her throat. Her feet leave the ground. The cave blurs behind him. His face is right there—wild eyes lit with mania, teeth bared in a smile that’s way too wide.

“Not my first time with that sneaky little trick,” he snarls, “You’re gonna have to try harder than that if you wanna knock us down—”

He tilts his head toward the others, still squirming and howling in the dust.

Pathetic.

A quiet click of his tongue.

“…Well. Me, I guess.”

His grin widens, nostrils flaring with delight at her attempt to free herself from his grip, and he tightens it while wandering his free hand up and down her form, "I honestly thought you had somehow escaped being caught in the portal." He murmurs, tilting his head with mock disappointment.

"Made me a little sad, though. I was just getting acquainted with your spinal cord." His lips curled into a pout.

His hand then slides down to her hipbone, "So then imagine my surprise when I see an insect zipping around, looking for scraps before scurrying back to her hole."

Then he grips.

Hard.

White-hot pain shoots through her side as his thumb digs into the joint like he’s threatening to pop it out of place. She cries out despite herself, knees buckling mid-air.

He moans, low and taunting, like her suffering is a song he’s been dying to hear.

"Now I know why he's obsessed with you."

A loud hiss erupts, taking his attention away from her as an unstable tear opens midair, the cave pulsing with unstable energy as an interdimensional rift claws itself into existence. The shockwave discs short out instantly, the variants on the floor groaning as the pain around them abruptly cuts off.

A hand shoots out first. Then a body follows, tumbling into the cave with unsteady footing before straightening up, widely looking around in confusion at the variants on the floor, and then his eyes lock onto Wasp, and the woman choking in his grip.

CRACK.

“Get the fuck away from my mom.”

Dust explodes around them. Sinister gasps—eyes wide, shocked, pinned.

(Y/N) drops to her knees, coughing, the sudden void of pressure in her throat a whiplash shock she can barely process.

"(S/N)!?"

[court-jobi]

The Bet (Hawks' Version)

((Banner by me!! I don't own Horikoshi's works/characters))

Pairing: Hawks x reader (fem!reader)

Words: 7k //good grief//

Rating: M | 18+ (put down the spicy chicken bucket, baby birds)

Warnings: NSFW, foreplay confessions, DTR, first time, piv smut, porn w feelings, flirting, kissing galore, biting & marking, vocal Hawks is vocal, wrap it up this is fantasy

Summary:

You turn the tables on Hawks' games -the ones he insists are crafted with you alone in mind. You've benefited from his tokens and gestures for long enough, and plan one of your own. You'd think he'd be happier to see you strut around in it once you're home and 'Keigo' can enjoy it all to himself… but once your heels come off in the doorway of your apartment, he makes one thing clear: he'd rather take it off. He’d damn near tear it off you with the promise to buy you a dozen dresses just like it, if you didn’t make such a sweet appeal to 'get comfortable' together~

A/N: as promised, part 2 has arrived!! Missed Part 1? Not required, but makes it a bit sweeter, IMO, so catch up if you'd like~

For my My Hero Academia Masterlist, check it out here!

Read on Ao3

Three months since your shopping excursion, you turned the tables on Hawks and placed a one-sided bet yourself. It was a harmless game, just as his had been from the start. 

You’d watched him pace on the edge of a building by happenstance, noting how he walked the teetery edge like a tightrope against the harsh wind. He's incredibly athletic -that point, you never doubted- but surely he couldn't make it clear across the edge without tripping off to the side… 

His wings would pitch in at any sign of a fall, but you made the sneaky bet that even their offset couldn’t keep him upright the whole way.

…but he did~ graceful and with a little personal stroke of pride as he batted his feathers back onto the roof of the building when he reached the rain gutter at the end. So cute, he even marked himself ‘safe’ like in baseball as he accomplished his goal while waiting for his intern to arrive. 

From the ground below, you couldn't believe how such a man had caught your eye- one as  flashy as he was. Normally you'd have veered far away from big personalities like that… but look at this kid, here. 

He's taking names of bad guys across the country and raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars in promotional money alone (much of it funneling secretly to charities, you came to learn), but here he is entertaining himself: like the child he is at heart. 

… That little show earned Keigo a text. 

From your cell, you sent a far off video snippet of your dashing Pro-Hero traipsing around, with the overlaid caption: 

You win, pretty bird ♥️ Made it across, and didn't tip over once! Still want that dinner?

Just your luck, Hawks pulled out his phone in real time after you sent the message. 

He's swiping, he's shielding it against the glare of the sun to read, and– yup, now he's jumping. And hollering for the whole wide world to hear, if they were only paying attention to the punk on the roof across the street. 

You giggled to yourself, shaking your head. What were you gonna do with him?

That question was easy to answer; you know exactly what you'd be doing and wearing. 

Hawks will be granted his wish after losing that first bet after all, with you completing the perfect night out in that stunning red dress. 

Sake-soaked words, a lovely meal, and a thousand endearing stares later, you two are seated on the way back to your place courtesy one of Hawks’ longtime drivers employed from his agency- where he could unabashedly makeout with you in the backseat. He's come through with enough personal favors with the hero to take him on harmless outings without snitching: movies, the rare sportsball game… dates, you ask him, but Hawks assures you this is the first time fairer company has joined him for a ride.

Mindful as you are, you’re careful not to make too much noise, though Hawks says his valet hates him just as much as yours does. 

‘Some people just don’t see the appeal, and can't handle me~’ he’ll goad, but you still make a pitiful attempt to make him behave in mixed company. 

Hard to do, when you're backed up against the seat of the car with an adoring angel of a man testing the limits of his seatbelt to a ridiculous degree-all for the simple plea to hold you closer: 

How he can't wait another minute. How good you look. How really good you look. 

It doesn’t help the Hero’s impatience when you’ve draped your legs across his lap, exposing the thigh where your dress cuts open. Hawks has a handful of it the entire way home, content to massage and fondle any inch of you he can get. 

After several months of teasing that this thing has been in the back of your closet, you'd think he'd be happier to see you strut around in it… but once your heels come off in the doorway of your apartment, Hawks makes it clear: he'd rather take it off. He’d damn near tear it off you with the promise to buy you a dozen dresses just like it, if you didn’t make such a sweet appeal to dress down and get comfortable together~ 

Obviously, Hawks sees no need for wearing night clothes to bed with what you tease in his ear. Though you laugh nervously about that very fact the whole way to your bedroom, to your walk-in closet where he unzips you fully: and to now as you’re slung over his shoulder wrapped up like a cigar in the towels you’d grabbed for your inevitable shower together... 

You wonder what he'd done that for when you just planned to toss them into your ensuite bathroom– only to realize he wanted to unwrap you himself. He’s in full playtime mode, and that makes you hysterical as he whistles along to your bedroom despite your squirming. 

"Keigo!!" you mind your volume a second too late, muting your giggles, "Keigo, what in the hell do you think you're up to?"

"Getting you to bed-- what's it look like I'm doing?" your Pro-Hero rumbles as he drops you gracelessly on the mattress. Off-hours Keigo was fun- and a welcome sight after his long-awaited return from Tokyo. 

No longer the apartment he simply drops you off after nights like this spent out on the town: he spends a few nights a week here. The home where he can snuggle in and shut out the roar of nightlife more than his solo apartment. 

Though till now, you’ve not traipsed this close to the edge of the intimate boundary.

You scramble for the sheet’s edge, still minding your tucked towels as much as you can before Hawks’ impatience gets the best of him.

"It's freezing though; get in if you wanna mess around!" 

Rolling a little eye, Hawks rests back on his heels where he’s perched on the mattress, and  makes a small, swift flare of one wing with a few feathers shooting out, and the flames on your small portable fireplace rekindle themselves with a feather’s arrow-straight press. Your head shoots to the noise and light suddenly casts the warm, flickering glow on his skin and yours.

Bright eyes look up at him, impressed by his little trick,

"Woah! Is that new??" 

"New to you. I try not to show off everything my feathers can do to the fans right away. Gotta leave ‘em wanting more."

You collect your hair above the pillow and flop back alluringly, having forgotten for a moment altogether his glory is on display just a foot away from you laid hidden by a quickly slipping towel around his waist, too.

"Uh-huh, smart move,” you admire Hawks in both the professional and personal sense, “So I've earned that distinct honor, have I?"

"Oh, you? You're gonna get more from me than basic Pro-Hero tricks, lovedove." Hawks kneed off the bed to come around to your open swath of blankets, “You have somethin’ of mine that no one else on this earth has...”

You open the covers dressed only in a waiting smile, having shucked the towel off in your settling in, allowing Hawks to take his time joining you into your makeshift nest. Soon he’s ditched his towel as well, favoring the covers. 

You’ve laid like this before, with him propping an arm above you, and your joint expressions glazed over while soaking in the sight of each other… 

…but like a warning memory flashed before his eyes unseen, Hawks paused; he’s brushing your cheek with utter fondness, yet his smile drops from his face. Like he did before he left town on that mission over a long week ago.

Naturally, you picked up on it. You always did.

"Uh-oh." you coo lightly, "Where'd you go, ‘Number Two’?"

He couldn't say right away, but his brow furrows at being caught. His hand pets firmly along your jaw to ground himself. Careful, reverent, his roughened fingers brush along your face’s comforting fullness, studying you - in no other words- adoringly.

"Nowhere pleasant. Not like here."

"Then come back here." you whisper and lean up to catch a kiss. 

You kiss a few times in quick succession, Hawks sighing into each one heavily; for the first time, feeling at home in who knows how long. 

“I just love it here,” Hawks whispers to you in such close proximity, “Wish I could be here more often. Was hoping this ‘villain boom’ woulda died down by now… work myself out of a job, be able to spend more nights like this…”

Cupping his face and guiding his forehead to yours, you offer a word up to him softly: to will away the furrowed lines hardening his face.

He’s far more serene in private than he is out in the public eye. ‘Hawks’ can act devil-may-care as a comforting, assuring tool in interviews as it boosts his ratings- but you hope for real peace for ‘Keigo’ when he can go home at night.

"Y'know you don't need to be 'big bad Pro-Hero' here. I know I joke all the time, but.. You are Keigo to me, now-- not the famed ‘Hawks’, not the Winged Hero, or some fanciful title the people carry on about in the streets."

Hawks gave pause, sinking into your touch.

"Those names, it’s part of you, yeah- but you know holding your own with a blade in each hand isn't what deems you perfect in my eyes. If I’m honest, your realness does. Your openness does. The care you give me? Everytime I ask, and you answer me? The aches you’ve told me about that no one else hears, because they aren’t the prettiest…” 

Hawks’ gold chain around his catches your attention. Well, his now- but it was originally yours. 

It’s a small token you’d given him after your first accidental late night sleepover together, because he loved how thin and subtle it was, shining on your jewelry tree. Loves shiny things: just like the pretty bird you are, you’d teased him- but it was a darling reaction from him. So you gifted it away, without a second thought.

It’s those moments that you catalog as reasons to fall for this boy again and again- even months after you know you know he’s got you locked in.

“The imperfectness: it’s untouched– and it’s the most beautiful thing I think I’ve ever seen, when you let me in. When you be yourself.”

His pretty eyes soften, hedging back ever so much in surprise. Crimson feathers plum behind him in interest. 

“It’s heavy, isn’t it,” you look up to the top of his wings unfurling above you, reaching high from the space between his shoulder blades where they stem from; where you hold him tenderly. “I can see that.”

By the look of emotion growing in his eyes, you know you're the only one who sees how heavily life can weigh on him.

“And I know- I know someday,” light tints your voice, trying to offer the same treatment he gives you, “you’ll believe me when I say I will never once slight you for things you choose to share to me- even if they’re out of my depth. Even if you think it's too much for me. You can be anything you want to be with me, tell me anything. This... is what I'll be here for. No sugar-coating. No pity. I’m just here, Keigo."

And if his smitten heart wasn't mush before, it is now. 

Hawks's voice sinks like gravel, "How the hell do you hit the nail on the head, dove…"

"I try- though I do try to save my best lines for you~" you added a hint of playfulness.

He kisses your smug look away, right on the nose.

Hawks’ wings cast a shadow over you as they flare up more when he leans.

"That’s why they pay you the big bucks, isn’t it… You're incredible, lovedove."

"So are you."

With a released hum, Hawks grumbles a little, sinking his head into the pillow beside you, sliding down in the covers to drape a heavy arm over your waist. Some heat has died down from his body -but you feel the tone has shifted past a hot pre-shower makeout to something way more intimate.

Watching him lie here, content on his stomach with his wings at their fullest all the way outstretched, you respect this as a gorgeous, vulnerable state. 

"I don't– wanna sound crass about this..." Hawks mumbles half into his arm.

You look over at the fire over his shoulder. Reining in a snide remark about the definition of the word, 

"Mm, well I am naked in bed with you, having stripped the second you offered to in my closet- into which I fell almost flat on my ass getting in, by the way–the opposite of grace and charm befitting a lady fair as humanly possible. So if you're worried about decorum? You really don't have to hold your tongue with me, Kei."

Hawks laughs with that bright, shallow sound again that shows his full smile.

"Well! Truth it is, then." 

Hawks freed his chest with some honesty. 

"..I've.. I’ve been dreaming about waking up next to you like this since before I made that stupid race bet. It's– kinda what gets me up in the morning."

You balk at the confession. The calendar in your head backtracks that first shopping trip: more than three months ago. He’s spent dozens of nights in your bed since then, and never once made a move like this.

Three months of waiting out a fantasy to become reality- and now he finally has it fulfilled: nestled beneath him in ivory sheets, stripped of the dress that brought you into his arms in the first place, and still hesitates. You couldn’t believe it.

"Are you serious??"

"Yes?”  Hawks answers, almost pained.

"Oh my God!!" you cry out at the ceiling before tucking yourself in your blankets and turning to him fully, "You have the restraint of a eunuch, Kei!"

He swipes a palm down his face.

"Don't get religious on me. Nothing pure about having a hard-on everytime you so much as fix your hair up with a fuckin’ pen. Forget it when you use one of my feathers."

You giggle wildly again. This does little to spare his sheepish embarassent and hides his face with a retracted wing.

"It's not funny, birdie..." the wing speaks.

"No- no, I guess it's not," you try audibly straightening up, running the backs of a few fingers to pet the feathers offered to you. "So– you were saying, about being horny and obsessed with me when you come around? ...Why pump the breaks now, hun?"

"Because-” Hawks’ wings drops ever so much to reveal at least part of his face. “-it's not just 'urges'. I've felt... strongly about you for a while. I know I told you as much back in that dressing room, but that was, like, barely scratching the surface. I've not missed someone like I've missed you." 

His heartstrings shine in his eyes, like Hawks is hoping you'll notice his effort. 

"I've lived long enough and, yeah, maybe flown around the block enough, too.. But it’s made me know what I really want. And for me... It's not just a want. I meant everything I said earlier.”

His shyness leaving him, Hawks finally returns his arm and outstretched wing over you again:

“I wanted to be the one for you. I loved you then,” Hawks tenderly confesses. “I just didn't know how to put it. Had to keep up all those damn appearances and walls up. Lie that I was joking to cover my ass, n’ regretted it ever since."

You soften because you know that fact must be hard for him to admit. 

"And by the time came to come back into town, it’d been so long since I'd seen you, since we last even could talk freely. You’d accomplished so much here and in Mustafu. I… honestly feel kinda shitty that I didn't tell you after so long away… before you were pulled in twenty different directions too, I bet– back when I should have slowed down a damn second to tell you so. I should have, you deserved to know."

"Oh, Keigo..." you loop your arms around his neck loose, brushing his hair back over his ear within reach.

"Sooo, you're not mad?”

"No, I'm not mad."

"Long time I wasn't exactly honest with you,” he presses with apologetic eyes, “I know how you get around all the PDA and stuff.”

You value how much Hawks is trying to be as open with you as he can. You know his limitations and pressures full well that keep him from speaking his mind in the moment as he might like to, and know his affections holding true despite the formalities he’s forced to keep up must have been torture itself.

It shows adorably, on his pouting face, even now. 

"That kind of 'dishonesty' is the only one I can live with, hon’. It was worth it in the end anyway, wasn't it?"

Hawks smiles -finally- and pushes up to kiss you chaste on the mouth before melting into your forehead again, 

"Every time our paths crossed, baby. even for a second- I ached to get my hands on you any way I could.. but after this last mission, the only thing I wanted was to see you safe and sound, here at home. Nothing more. Just safe. So now- even this-  has a bigger weight than ever."

"What do you mean?"

"Being with you, like this..." 

Hawks’ hand sweeps down, rubbing long strokes up and down your side. You turn further into him, encouraging the touch. 

"I want this,” Hawks utters with soft reverence, “I want you.. but sweetheart, it's not just about a bed anymore. Not for me. It's a connection -an important one- and it goes two ways. I don't want you nervous in any way around me. I want you to be sure. All of this is completely up to you- and I can wait. I will wait, if that's what it takes for you to feel ready."

You cringe at how firm yet desperate he sounds. 

See, you’d finally opened up about your hesitations too, about dating heroes in general. It was a funny topic in quirkless circles, as you’d shared with him: widespread assumptions about unfair power dynamics, acclimating to fame by proxy, privacy retention, the like. It made you doubly cautious in your line of work, as you surround yourself with Pro-Heroes on the daily– only to find out one held your heart in a perfectly private place that you were nervous about letting slip and smack you in the face should it go wrong. All irrational fears, truly.

"Dammit, I wish I'd never worded it like that.." you moaned at your past slip. "Keigo, I feel nothing but safe with you. It's--" you flit your gaze around bashfully, "This-- may be something to explore and fumble around a bit with. But it's not because I'm scared, it's because I-- I dunno, I don't want to-..."

He raised a patient brow to you, kind and reassuring.

"... Dissappoint you, I guess?" 

With a funny pout, Hawks waits for you to explain.

"I can dole out all the pretty words on a page I like, but things are different when you're right in front of me. Looking at me like this… like I’ve wanted all this time, too,” 

You cup his cheek, which he totally sinks into the moment your skin makes contact- 

“I get nervous because you're so damn incredible and I want you so fucking bad too… I can't help it either."

Hawks chuckles, relieved in his shoulders as your hungry tone shimmers over your words.

Looking up at him just as tenderly as you touched, you trail a hand along his shoulder, down to his arm. There’s tiny, light freckles there, if you look hard enough.

"Self-conscious is a better way to put it,” you decide, “You've never given me a reason to think you'd hurt me, never... But it's just a fact; you've lived and operated in a different world than I have, Kei. I hope to not be all flustered and blushing through the newness, but I might, still. I know your heart has the best intentions, but I couldn't help imagining you making– comparisons.”

“Comparisons?-”

You swallow your nerves and insecurity rarely voiced to others.

“Just… want to be enough for you. For what you need me to be- if you even wanted that with me."

In favor of fixing his necklace’s clasp, you settled. Inside you knew this wasn't a fair stereotype for heroes, given all he'd shared so intimately about what the life was really like, and he confirmed this suspicion with his displeased reaction.

"You think because I’m out front and center that I should be with someone else.”

You toss the thought away, but answer him in the way you might have months ago, “Maybe?”

“And you think you're lesser because you don't have ‘experience’- because if you're unprepared, you're not of value? That I wouldn’t still want you that way?”

Heat creeps up from your neck, “I- I mean…” 

Hawks further stops your preening of him, and holds your hand instead-

“--And because no one's fucked you right in the past means youre unworthy to have it now?”

You dropped your head back immediately in regret and looked off. "Ok crass, but sure."

"Baby, look at me."

At his word, you level out and meet his gaze again. He cups your face again more gently.

"We're going to make another promise to each other, here and now, okay? Gotta make one thing crystal clear, if nothing else."

You nod to agree.

"One, no more bullshit mind reading. I've had enough of that."

A snort leaves you and he smirks to match.

"I mean it! It won't do either of us any good. If you -or I- need to talk, we talk. You said you were here to support me, and you always have been."

Hawks smooths out his hand to grace your collarbone- meant to soothe. 

"But that means you need to let me be the same for you. I would never, ever judge you either. You are important to me- as an equal. In so many ways. You have my word on that. Deal?"

"Deal." you agree.

"And for two," the kind tone flips to annoyed, "I’ll rid that 'blushing bride' streak out of your head about this amazing body of yours myself... And I'm willing to use any means necessary. I am a Pro-Hero with training and coercion strategies under my belt. With a problem staring me in the face, I’ll fight it until it’s done- and I'm patient."

You quirked your lip while trying to maintain the sensitive conversation.

"Uh-oh. That sounds serious." 

"It will be if you make my job difficult, sweet thing." His eyes jump down to your increasing blush. “Which is why -by the way– it's laughable that you think I'd ever have had time for any chasing tail. Have ya met me? I'd never hear the end of it from my agent!”

That’s funny, but– fair. Another unfair assumption on your part, but Hawks’ easygoing attitude has you bursting into a fit at how easy it is for him to make you laugh.

You really do adore him, and if you can trust him to protect you against a world full of villains, you could give him grace in the love department too.

"Now I'm going to ask you something…”  

Hawks turns to an amorous side of him: where you expected him to land once your head hit the pillow…

“and you're going to answer me honestly…"

"Yes, sir?"

Hawks' top rung of feathers ebb, enough to buffer his telltale control. Seems he’s just as susceptible to a sultry title as you are... 

"See, that shit?” Hawks pipes up, “That's what’s made the last three months a living hell!"

"What, being polite?" you tease your leg to nudge against his from where you’re pinned beneath him. "I thought you liked that I was a nice girl..." 

Lowly, Hawks growls an appreciative moan. He rubs the pads of his fingers along your shoulder all too sensually with just enough pressure to prove his point.

"I do, lovedove. But now, you're my nice girl. Can’t keep you from being yourself… but it's going to be twice as hard not to show everyone who so much as looks at you just how much you're mine."

Behind a demure smile, your heart pounds at this possessive Hawks. Quick instincts targeting prey cross over into the pleasure realm it seems, too.

"My question is..." Hawks leans in shifting lower to nose your hair aside– punctuating his options with a kiss at each stop along your cheek:

"How would you like me to warm you up tonight, lovely? Do you want my hands... my mouth... or something else?"

STARS ABOVE, SOMETHING ELSE YES.

Rather than make the impossible decision, you shudder out a funny quip,

"--Dealer's choice?"

Hawks chuffs against your neck, "That's not an answer, beautiful..."

But how can you answer when he’s so close and siphoning all thoughts from you? All you can do is keen at the sensations on your neck and curl up into him with leisurely hands around his back scratching enticing circles. Kissing gentle suckles at your neck- plus a bite here and there- Hawks sweeps back your waves before he whispers low again,

"Tell me how far you wanna go with this. Can you do that for me?"

"Mhm.." you hum wordlessly. Hawks’ hand presses to the space above your breast.

"Heart's racing again. Does this feel ok?"

You hum back, drawn out and comfortable.

"How ‘bout this?" He dips and now cups a breast in a hand and massages carefully while peppering your neck and chest with the same hot kisses.

A longer moan still.

"There you go. Keep talking to me. Tell me what feels good; you can do it."

There’s nothing you want more than him– nothing in the world.

"You have me. You have all of me," Hawks’ hips curl into the bed in a grind below you getting high off the accidental confessions you let loose.

"I want..." you swallow for control, "... To-- kiss- hah."

His eyes flicker to your face from his perch atop you, seeing you blissed out, lolled to the side: smirking at his success already.

"Yeah?" Hawks drifted a little lower, cooing up at you between wet open-mouthed presses. "Where do you want me to kiss you?"

"No, I-" your voice pitched up higher and he stops, smoothing out his strokes and eyes you as you rouse enough to face him.

From his hand's touch, he surely feels your pulse throb and hangs on your words just as he did before, but you want to take the pressure off of him. 

Just for a little while. He deserves it. He won the bet, after all.

"I wanna kiss you."

Hawks bridges over you to meet your eager arms to pull you in for a hungry kiss. Together, you get an addictive taste of each other over and over, meeting each one with equal passion and excited fervor.

In between heavy breaths, you push your racing heart forward towards his next dousing of affection. 

" I wanna.."

"Wanna what?" Hawks slurs like he’s drunk. Enamored, but rutting into the bed again impatiently.

"Wanna kiss you-- fuckin' everywhere." you sigh, zeroed in on his throat’s bobbing- adorned with your gift of gold there.

Pleased at your growing excitement, he chimes back, "Be my guest~" 

Hawks scoops you up and flips you so you are positioned laying on top. Pleased at the shift, you smile charming as ever and sit up to adjust, putting yourself on full display for him. It’s proof that it was never the dress specifically that made you appealing to him: but the model underneath.

His hands rove over your thighs and hips, getting a good look at you in the firelight, but settle on your angelic face in the end, as usual.

"I kinda like you up there~!"

"Kinda like it, too,” you wriggle yourself with a refreshing rake to your hair's part. 

With Hawks's hands on you, you felt truly as powerful and enticing as he made you out to be-- if his gaze wasn't indicative enough.

"Wish you could see yourself right now… You're damn gorgeous."

"And all yours-" you lean down in perfect confidence, settling on his chest and brushing his hair out of your way as well. "May I?"

"Please." He tease a brow for a 'go ahead'.

Oh was he in for it. 

The moment you latch on, you suck and mark at his neck like a pro, pulling a groan from his sweet spot already. How the hell did you find it so fast? You're just that good.

You caress his chest with the hand not crucial for balance, fingers beginning to memorize every soft-lipped jump in the skin where a faint scar splits it. It’s the tender attention he deserves that you know from his offhand comments that he does not and has not received in the years spent under the Commissions’ eye. 

Taking your time and attention, you lavish on worshipful kisses across the column of Hawks’ throat and have to flip your hair again when you switch sides. Hawks seems to enjoy its drape like a curtain across his field of vision in the few moments where his eyes flutter open. It's a reverse of what his wings do for you; he's enamored by the sight. 

"Ohhhh, that's perfect. Oh, you're so perfect- fuck, you're good at thi--S-MMMMM."

Hawks cut off his trill when you sucked another equally tender spot and hum along with him. Lost in the moment yourself, you roll your hips to meet him; how he trembles under you and against the cock twitching to life- hot against your bare skin. 

You’re just about to move away from a high point of his neck, when his hand comes up to fist in your hair and hold you in place–

"Harder."

"Hm-what?"

"Bite me--Harder, baby, please."

At the hoarse request, your eyes flash wide open… but who the hell are you to refuse?

So you give him a little nonsensical melody, sung just soft like so along your kisses’ trail, then tease his throat with your teeth before nipping him gentle enough in play. But it’s enough of a shock to make him groan–

"FFFFuck, YES."

You chuckle low, followed by a little hushing finger on his lips.

"Keigo, baby… You don't want my neighbors and half the joint to give my shit about the Winged Hero’s volume, do you?"

"I don't fucking care." Hawks rasps, "Let em hear what you're doin’ to me- let ‘em hear what they can't fuckin’ have."

His lovesickness makes you proud in the most selfish way, and reward him by blowing on the hot skin rising and falling with breath as you kiss along each pec next, lightly singing bits and pieces of no song in particular. For as much as this boy has made your heart sing just by looking your way, you try to give him a piece of that back. Just wordlessly praising him along every scar and response to the sounds he’d make; in want, plead, hunger for more.

Slow torture.

Shockingly- and much sooner than you expected from his control so far- Hawks had enough.

His eyes flash open in molten gold.  He’s capturing you with strength you’ve so far only witnessed on tv and is pulling you into his lap in full force. Sitting with legs astride him, you gasp at the heat of him again- even more at how desperately your source of need literally weeps for him. 

Blindly Hawks reaches for himself and prods you with some gently-paced rocks up and down, kissing you back and with renewed vigor as your breaths got faster.

"Ready for this?"

You nod and cast every ounce of trust to him with a grounding breath, taken with his eyes for about the millionth time tonight– strong jaw and blonde whisps crafting his face.

"Y’gonna hold on, pretty girl?" Hawks scoops under your shoulder blades, a more mischievous smile gracing his kissed-bruised countenance.

"I got you," you echo. "Your turn to tell me just what you want, huh?"

"Got all I want right here."

And you believe that softness from him: private and earnest and shared as gently as a secret.

It brings a barely audible word of love from the pit of you. Hawks breathes it back into your waiting lips before sealing his mouth to yours. 

Then, gloriously slow, he pushes up and moans sinfully into your mouth, low and slow. You made the sweetest sounds in complete rapture once he settles in -full in the best way- slick and deliciously joined.

Hawks curses against your chest, breathing heavily. 

"Mmmmm tell me when–I can move... Y’you say when-”

"Ohmygod yes,move…" 

No more teasing needed. 

Hawks hoists you up and forward suddenly, now bent on his heels. One arm is wound tight around your waist, and the other clutches you to his chest by your warm nape. You release the breath and pull tight onto his shoulders, moaning loud for you. Then, Hawks just went to town: fucking up into you, deep, steady, and hard.

"Oh ssshit, babe, you're so good~~" you praise light and high in your voice, rocking your hips in time, in awe without even the slightest shock of his strength. 

Pressing down against him nudges your own sweet spot every time– a point not lost on your dear Keigo.

You rock with him eagerly, but quickly reach the point of lightheadedness he had when you’d kissed all along his chest… the same shocking sensations flutter through you when he starts to make love to each breast lavishly. All those sensations of hard nips and soft  tracing were quickly building up and up and up.

“Fuck,Keigo– I, ah… AAH!--”

“That’s it, lovedove– say my name. Say my name- I’m gonna have you cummin’ for me, love.”

Kissing praises into his neck, you become entranced by the sounds of your pats of joining, the grunts of Hawks fighting against his moans in between, the reactive bats of those fierce wings and his strong hand petting through your hair. By its steady grip, you can tell he’s possessively keeping you close while he ruts into you. In no time, it was his turn to babble nonsense while deeply buried in you.

"Sweet baby... Fuck, that feels so good-- ughhhh do thatagain, squeezin’ me... Fuck, you could kiss me anywhere n’ I wouldn’t care... Ahhh just wanna feelyou..."

Your insides swell and sigh at his happy cries... and you can’t bear to refuse him. 

So you choose something small~ to test how much your touch truly affects him. You opt for a small, breathy peck at the corner of his eye, where his lashline is fanned out in a darling beauty mark on him by nature’s design. It works: whether it’s a teasing kiss on the neck or a peck on the tenderest skin on his face, you’re making him drive extra punches in his thrusts.

His name is your steady prayer in this treasured, rare time with him,

“You waited a'long time for this haven't you, pretty bird... Missing me so much, loving me from afar, and I didn't even know it yet…"

Hawks chuckles a savory growl, "Missed me too, didya. You missed me? This what you wanted? Feels good, huh?"

"Hell, I couldn't even have imagined it would feel this good, -near- this good-- gods, you're so strong.. and safe- fuck, I'm so safe, and all yours. All yours."

Hawks' pants pick up, almost feral again-- 

"Say that again."

“I’m– yours?”

“Again.”

Pushing back on his shoulders, you find balance framing his face and pushing his hair back to study his glazed over eyes-- the ones staring right through you with his love’s fire consuming him from the inside out.

Purely on instinct, you tug Hawks’ hair back to whisper against the sensitive skin under his ear,

"I'm yours, Keigo Takami."

Sealing your declaration with a hot mix of tongues, Hawks brokenly cries out, squeezing you tight and pushing you down so hard you felt the stars shoot through you in a blazing hot wake. The burning heat makes you gasp at the fullness now warming you through. Too quick to even ask where you’d have preferred he cum in you, you wouldn’t have honestly had it any other way,

…telling him you were his is what did him in, and you take a special stroke of pride knowing your claim on his heart.

After his strangled grunts give way to deeper breaths, Hawks collapses to the side, sending you in a barrel roll along with him extending his legs under you- still submerged in you. His fingers trail along your back leisurely while he catches his breath, which made for such a comforting cool down. 

Breathing normally and opening your eyes again, you notice the fire was still alive in your fireplace unit, but barely- as if the heat you were generating was snuffing out the actual flames.  In reality, the timer was just going out.

"Oh wow~" you sigh, "Look at that."

"Yeah- wow~" Hawks sighs.

Your lashes tickle from your pillow -his chest- and remind him, "I was looking at the hearth, sweet boy." 

Beyond the heartbeat making music under your ear, you hear only a small rustle above you, then watch a singular feather make another bullseye, and the light roars back to fullness.

"oOo…” It’s shameless how ditzy you feel, watching him not miss a beat, even in his afterglow.

Hawks chuckles, back to stroking you.

"So.. ‘terms fulfilled’, love?"

"Mhmmm. To the letter-" you tease and slowly manage to rise up enough to cross your arms across his chest as a pillow for yourself so you could look at him. Naturally, a smile settles onto your face at the sight, "How bout you; winnings ‘sufficiently provided’?"

Hawks pillows an arm under his head and caresses your face with the other.

"This winner didn't last near as long as he intended to… with all your ‘fulfillment’, little minx." 

"I think it was worth it. I got you really worked up- which I imagine, is a hard feat given your occupation,” you fall into his touch. “I'm pretty proud."

Hawks praises you with a sexy little smile, "You should be~"

With his sparkling eyes drooping shut for a moment, you press a little kiss above Hawks' prominent winged eye once again. Upon opening, you found him lazily watching you with a content smile.

"What's that look for?" you ask.

"Just kicking myself,” Hawks holds no sweet-talking twang in his voice now, “Why didn't I cut my rascal act sooner?"

You dismiss his fear in a little roll of your eyes. 

"Don't do that. It was meant to be like this. Like you said- no need to rush." Another small kiss is granted on his cheek.

"C'mere," Hawks coaxes you up and gifts you a soothing kiss on the lips. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Your brain still needed catching up, because your muscles seem very slow to move. Shifting off of him,  you felt your 'activities' leak its mess down your legs and you shut them immediately, flopping back embarrassed. Hawks chuckles warmly, grabbing one of those abandoned towels and taps your knee to open.  The prodding renders you more openly shy now, but Hawks only gave a sweet, consoling brow back.

"C'mon, why so shy? Open up." He prompts your knees to open, and wipes you down with a caring touch. 

Even with his task set on purely cleaning your skin, you lay back and stretch your arms just watching him work. Slowing his movements, Hawks meets you eyes again when he makes an unintended jolt along your clit, giving you an appreciative once over, shaking his head with gentle eyes.

“And don’t you think I forgot about you, baby~” he whispers like the rascal he claims to have put behind him: “We’ve got quite the night ahead of us. Can’t be overwhelming you too much too soon.”

You giggle, pulling him down to hide in his shoulder again. Pleased enough at his sense of peace as he breathes, you melt more at the reminder:

"You're gorgeous, you know. Fancy dress or not."

A closed-lipped smile is all you can manage in your exertion. 

"Wish I could see it through your eyes. All I see hangin’ over there is a sure fire way to get me laid."

Hawks’ laugh is near delirious- carefree. 

"I’ll make you see. Just give me a little time. I'm patient." 

Hawks offers you a hand and helps you to your feet- only to catch your unsteady legs, leaving you chuckling into his chest, nuzzling playfully when his wings come around to keep you warm in the meantime.

"Sorry ‘bout that…" you gain better footing.

"What, that I fucked you too good?"

"Keigo."

"Crass, sorry,” Hawks pouts.

"You are not that sorry."

And he agrees, full cheek returned, "Nah." 

When he passes your still partially open closet where you’d tossed the dress back to hang up for dry cleaning, Hawks stops your walk altogether in favor of holding you from behind– just like he did in the dressing room.

“And you know that’s not the only thing to get me to take you to bed, lovedove,” he makes the promise by your mess of hair, “Try on anything else in there for me– and all you need to do is ask.”

[angrybathbomb]

“Are you two a couple?”

  MODERN AU

Touchstarved LI x gn! Reader

  SUMMARY: On a coffee date with each ts LIs, both of you are stopped by what one can assume a street interviewer/youtuber who seems to be quite eager on talking to couples. What do our lovely LIs have to say?

WARNINGS:  None, Vere being Vere tbh, makes one suggestive joke or more like advice

NOTE:   This is my first time writing a fanfic, please go easy on me if I made some mistakes as I am still learning. Constructive criticism and tips to improve are very much appreciated. Thank you for reading!

INSPO: I saw a YouTube channel (@meetcutenyc) and felt like writing this for our lovely ts LIs!

WORD COUNT: <2.1K

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-PROLOGUE-

Strolling leisurely down the bustling streets for a cozy, romantic coffee date, fingers entwined, greedily savoring each other’s warmth. Each step the two of you took, resonated with a rhythm on the footpath that stretched ahead in the bustling cityscape. Amidst the bustling chaos of the city, snippets of conversations floating around and the distant hum of traffic, a comfortable silence stretched between the two of you with occasional exchange of shy yet mischievous glances and tender smiles.

However, the romantic stroll came to an abrupt halt when a young guy holding a camera, most likely recording, blocked the path ahead of you two.

“Sorry to interrupt, but are you two a couple?”, he inquired with a friendly smile. His eyes, subtly reflecting guilt, silently apologized for the sudden intrusion.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AIS

LEANDER

VERE

MHIN

KURAS

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        VERE

In the blink of an eye, Vere’s guard shot up, his relaxed easy-going demeanor vanishing instantly.

Before he could do something that might land you both behind bars, you stepped in with a firm grip on his arm.

  “No, we are siblings,” you said flatly, shooting a sarcastic smile at the stranger.

The stranger mistook that for an invitation to laugh loudly, but one withering look from Vere made him choke on it.

  “My bad, I interview couples about their first meetings. Care to share your story with the world?” he waved his camera with a grin that could only be described as overly optimistic.

  You seemed intrigued as you studied the stranger for a moment before turning to Vere who looked equally amused but masked it with an indifferent expression.

  “What do you think? Want to reveal your not so sneaky tactics?” you teased.

  “I never claimed to be subtle,” Vere replied smugly.

  You rolled your eyes which only encouraged Vere to go on.

  “I gave their key back,” he said, feigning innocence.

“You stole my key!” you shot back, scoffing.

  “Me? A common thief?”, Vere gasped dramatically, his hand over his heart. “Oh, the horror!”

His overly pleased smile only irritated you further.

  “Don’t play coy,” you said, narrowing your eyes. ”I was strolling around that fancy hotel, not expecting a heist in broad daylight.”

  “Darling, do you think someone of my stature,” he gestured towards his extravagant robe,” Would stoop to stealing? And your room of all the places? Please give me some credit.” He retorted, unable to contain his amusement.

  The stranger hesitated, caught between your assertive demeanor and Vere’s smooth charm.

“So, you stole their —” the stranger began cautiously.

“Returned,” Vere corrected him smoothly, cutting him off.

  “Uhm...” the stranger stammered, shooting a nervous glance at you.

Vere seized the opportunity before you could interject.

  “Oh, my silly thing,” he said with a chuckle, his gaze flickered towards you. 

“They are not the most vigilant when it comes to their belongings. No surprise they didn’t notice their key missing from their pocket.”

You could see the cunning glint behind Vere’s sweet smile.

“And like the kind and benevolent being that I am,” he continued, finding his own words rather entertaining. “I returned it to them dutifully.”

  You sighed, caught between exposing his lie or playing along.

“Kind and benevolent being, my foot” you muttered under your breath, unable to hold back your bite.

  The stranger attempted to decipher what you muttered, while Vere chuckled, his keen ears catching every word you said.

  “Um… I see,” the stranger chuckled nervously, deciding it was the safest response.

“That's quite the unconventional first encounter,” he remarked, sensing Vere wasn’t quite telling the whole truth.

  You and Vere exchanged a glance that resembled the intense stare-down opponents share in a fighting ring.

  “Forgive my curiosity, I just can’t resist,” he chuckled, as if finding the couple’s dynamic wildly entertaining. 

“But it’s rare for me to encounter partners,” he paused, searching for the right words.” As unique as you guys.” He didn’t want to accidentally step on any toes with a poorly chosen phrase.

  “Don't hold back, use your words,” Vere challenged the stranger with a smug look.

“Never seen two stunning individuals together?” 

His gaze drifted towards you with a sense of pride,” I can't blame you though, we do have a knack for turning heads and capturing wandering eyes.” 

  You weren't about to take his words at face value, for all you knew he could be pulling a sick joke on you right now. 

  “They are just effortlessly radiant,” he purred suggestively, hands gripping your waist with a vice-like grip. 

  “I am not possessive really,” he added nonchalantly,” After all they are quite pleasant to look at — but others better stick to just looking.” He laughed disguising the subtle threat as a joke.

  You give a comically blank stare at the camera.

  The stranger whispered teasingly,” Blink twice if you need help.”

  Matching his playful energy with a mischievous grin, you shot back,” My Hero!” 

  Vere scoffs in disapproval and pulls you closer, as if there were any space left between you to begin with.

“Tell me more about your first meeting,” the stranger said eagerly.

  “Like we were saying, he sto–” One icy look from Vere made you pause. You rolled your eyes and exaggeratedly said,” He returned my key.”

  “And as you can imagine, we exchanged heartfelt thank yous and warm welcomes,” you added with mock sincerity, clearly failing to sound convincing.

  Vere snickered, enjoying your struggle.

  The stranger gave a quizzical look, clearly not buying your story.

  You shot a glare at Vere. If he was going to find amusement in twisting the facts of what really happened, then you might as well give him something to squirm about. Two could play this game, right?

  “You know,” you began, smiling devilishly, “Our first meeting wasn't just about a key. Vere here actually serenaded me in the hotel lobby. He even got down on one knee and sang a beautiful song, confessing his undying love for me.” 

You kept a poker face throughout your ridiculous story, delivering it with such conviction as if it were the most normal thing in the world when it came to your lover.

  "Wha–when? Absolutely not!” Vere scoffed, shooting you a sharp look. “Your sense of humor could use some work.”

  You smirked, undeterred. “He’s just a little shy about it,” you continued smoothly. “It was a surprisingly sweet gesture—but, true to his style, he still collected a few tips from the onlookers.”

  Vere groaned, rubbing his temples. “For the record, that never happened.”

  And the interviewer barely had a chance to react before Vere cut in, his voice edged with impatience. “Any other questions? We don’t have all the time in the world.”

  The interviewer paused, eyebrows raised, then gave a slight chuckle. “Straight to business, I see,” with a wry smile he continued “Alright then, let’s skip to the more pressing matters.” 

  “How long have you two been together?” 

“Uh… it’s been a while,” you admit.

The interviewer raised an eyebrow. “A while?”

You nodded, “Maybe a year? Why?” curious at the look of slight disbelief the stranger was giving you two.

Vere arched a brow, looking amused. “What’s wrong? Don’t think we look the part?”

  “A year is a long time, uh... I mean,” the stranger stammered, flustered by Vere’s offended expression. “Don’t get me wrong! It’s just that, with how lively you two are, I expected it to be only a few months.” 

He chuckled nervously, "You know, like, fresh and new, full of energy?”

  “Fresh and new, full of energy?” Vere repeats his words with disappointment,” tsk..I was hoping for a bit more flattery. I like to think we are rather passionate, quite intense when it comes to our romance.”

“That you two sure are without a doubt!” The stranger replied with a cheeky smile,” The two of you could easily outshine any silver screen romance.”

Vere smirked in approval, “Now you are speaking my language.” 

  “Thank you but honestly, I wouldn’t go that far,” you responded, opting to show a bit of modesty.

Vere couldn’t help but snicker,” Aren’t you such a saint?” he whispered teasingly, leaning in close to you.

  You shot him a warning look. Vere leaned back, casually running his tongue over his sharp canine with a hint of sass and flair.

  The stranger pondered whether to ask for relationship advice. It wasn’t like he had anything against you really, it was Vere.

From the exchange, it was painfully clear that Vere was the last person anyone would seek out for advice—especially on relationships, consulting him on anything involving emotional finesse would be futile if not a mild form of punishment.

But this was his signature question—the final one he asked every couple on his YouTube channel. And this interview would be no exception no matter how awkward the conversation got.

  “Any advice for the audience on how to keep a long-term commitment while keeping the passion alive?”

You paused, taking a moment to gather your thoughts. “Hmm...” 

Vere threw an expectant look your way with a cheeky smile playing at his lips.

  “Give each other space when needed,” you emphasize, speaking from experience, "Distance makes the heart grow fonder, that’s the saying right?” You smile.

You could feel Vere’s eyes on you, his usual smirk softening a bit.

“It’s the best strategy after a heated argument or if things feel a bit… stale,” you continue thoughtfully.

“Take a step back to reflect and recharge on your own. Artists take breaks to create their best work—and love is art.” You finish with a casual shrug, as if it were the simplest truth.

  “Wow,” the interviewer breathed, clearly caught off guard by your answer. “Never thought of it like that—really unique perspective.”

He glanced between you and Vere, visibly impressed. “I think a lot of people could use that kind of advice.”

“Not going to ask me?” Vere interjected, feigning offence as he shot the interviewer a dramatic look. 

You rolled your eyes, knowing full well he was just trying to make him squirm. 

“O-of course!” the interviewer stammered, casting a nervous glance at Vere. “Is there… anything you’d like to add?”

  Vere leaned back, a slow, satisfied smile spreading across his face as he held the interviewer’s gaze. “My sweetheart took the words right out of my mouth,” he replied smoothly, giving you an impressed look.

  “Left you speechless?” you teased, a smirk tugging at your lips. “Really? That sharp tongue of yours has nothing to add?” 

Vere raised a brow, clearly amused. “Careful,” he replied smugly. “I might surprise you yet.”

“Try me,” you challenged, crossing your arms with a playful grin. 

Vere leaned in slightly, his eyes gleaming with mischief. “Alright then,” he said, a smirk creeping onto his face. “Just remember, you asked for it.”

  “Like they said just now, love is art, right?” Vere echoed your words, a glint of passion in his eyes. “Show it with the dedication an artist has for their masterpiece. Pay attention to each other—whether it’s through words of affirmation, thoughtful gifts, playful teasing, or even creating something just for them. It’s not about how you express it, but the thought behind it. Let them know you see them.”

Then, with a playful smirk and a wink, he leaned in, “And of course... don’t shy away from a little heat. Hell, celebrate your love with all the passion and sensuality it deserves.”

  You and the stranger exchanged a glance, momentarily speechless. It was rare to see Vere reveal something so genuine, let alone speak with such depth.

  After a beat, he scoffed, breaking the silence. “This is exactly why I keep the deep stuff to myself,” he muttered, half to himself.

  The stranger chuckled, breaking the tension.

  “Well, that was some solid advice,” he beamed at the couple. “I must say, I’m pleasantly surprised.”

  “Yeah, whatever,” Vere replied, shooting a glare at his watch. “Are we done now?”

“Looks like our interview wraps up here,” the stranger chuckled,” It was really fun talking to you two.”

  “Not so fast,” Vere pulls out his phone,” name?”

  “Wh-What?” the stranger sweats nervously.

  “Of the YouTube account where you will be posting this video,” Vere clarified with a dramatic eye roll.

“O-oh, r-right!” The stranger sighed in relief.

  After sharing the details, Vere let out a low whistle and then smirked. “You better have caught my good side while recording, or I might just come find you.”

“Guess he’s safe then; you always look good,” you teased, playing along with his antics. His arrogance, though a bit off-putting, was softened by his undeniable charm and good looks. For you, it was all wildly entertaining.

Vere chuckled, very pleased at the praise, “True. What’s it like to look bad? I wouldn’t know.”

  The stranger watched, still debating whether to take Vere’s word seriously, and the look on his face amused you both.

It sent both you and Vere into a fit of laughter, much to the stranger’s relief as he relaxed into the moment.

  “I suppose we can wrap this up here, hm?” The stranger raised his hand in a final parting wave.

You smiled politely, while Vere turned to leave.

 Just as you two were walking away, Vere glanced over his shoulder with an impish grin. “We should do this again sometime. Maybe next time we could come back for part two.”

The stranger chuckled, relieved by the light-hearted end to their encounter. 

” I will hold you to that! Take care, you two.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------A/N note: the procrastination was high with one lol.

Vere is a bit difficult to write, I tried to capture his personality as best as I could... with multiple drafts, changes and edits lol. And shoutout to that person who gave me the idea for Vere's first meeting under Ais' post, I think, with the reader in the modern au setting, I am sorry I forgot your id, but thanks.

and sorry for any spelling errors I was tired..

Kuras will be coming soon. thanks for reading :)

[radioisntdead]

Hello hello for the third time!!

Once again, your fics absolutely BLOW my mind away!! And I'm here to request just a silly fic with Angel Dust (platonic) and a feral!child reader, who always gets into trouble with his workplace and the hotel?

(I mostly just wanna read Valentino be shit on lmao)

Yours Truly,

- XIN 💠

(P.S, I RLLY WANNA BECOKE UR FRIEND OMG)

Good evening my dear! You requested this at the perfect time because I had to stop the feral child I am related to from running over the elderly with a grocery cart so that's definitely going to play into this not the hitting the elderly with a cart but the general vibe, ALSO THATS SO SWEET OF YOU TO SAY, I'M OPEN TO FRIENDSHIP JUST MESSAGE ME ON HERE BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW IF I MESSAGE YOU FIRST IT'LL BE FROM THIS BLOG OR MY MAIN ONE (I've been on Tumblr for like 5-6 years now and I still don't know how it works) YOU WILL GET ME YAPPIN' ABOUT HAZBIN, SENDING RANDOM SNIPPETS OF MY WRITING WITHOUT ANY CONTEXT AND MILDLY ODD EDITS OF SOUP

@fuck-this-shit-xin

Favorite babysitter

(Or alternatively Valentino gets beat by a child)

Angel dust & child reader, platonic!!!

Warnings:

I got carried away, Valentino loses a wing and both Antennas, nothing graphic surprisingly no unholy jokes mainly because the reader is a child, this is a shorter one, mild OOC

Angel dust didn't mind children, he preferred not to be around them because well, he wasn't the most child-friendly person to be around

However it was just his luck that the hazbin hotel's resident feral child had decided he was their favorite babysitter.

You had shown up one day at the doorstep of the hotel with a note taped onto you just saying 'Good luck '

It was suspected you were some type of bomb at first but that quickly was pushed aside when it was found you were just feral, you weren't a bad kid you just didn't listen, climbed onto the walls, tabletops, bit into things you weren't supposed too but you could be a very sweet kid, playing with the Egg Bois, helping Charlie by drawing, helping Husk dry the glasses or hunting down roaches with Niffty,

That last activity had been banned since you almost stabbed one of the Egg Bois.

You were a very sneaky and little clingy thing that was evident with you latching onto his legs at random times, sometimes he wouldn't even notice you until it was pointed out or he looked down and bam! There you were wrapped around him like a baby possum sippin' on a juice box.

He made it a point to make sure someone was distracting you as he escaped the hotel to go to work, unfortunately for him Sir Pentious who was meant to be watching you was distracted by his egg minions almost smashing themselves while trying to recreate action movies and you ran after him following him through the city and into the Vee's tower, shockingly due to plot convenience you weren't noticed until Valentino was yelling at Angel dust for who knows what before any work could be done, he pulled out Angel's contract for whatever reason, maybe to make a point? You didn't really know but you didn't like that what looked like a giant dressed up purple grape was yelling at your favorite babysitter so with your little legs you stomped up to Valentino tugging on his wings that acted as a robe, he looked down in fury that quick turned into angry confusion

"Who the fuck brought their child to set?!"

Valentino shouted looking around as his employees looked around shaking their heads, a rush of pure panic rushed through Angel dust, when did you get here? He didn't even notice you? Wasn't Sir Pentious watching you?!

Before he could even get a word out you stomped your leg and pointed at him, eyes full of pure fury.

"Say sorry!"

"¿Qué? What did you just say?"

"Say sorry!"

Valentino leaned uncomfortably in, opening his mouth to say something but Angel had grabbed you in his many arms fully intending to take whatever hit Valentino could throw at you, however you had a different plan, with a large frown on your face you wiggled your way out of Angels arms and pounced onto Valentino, your little clawed hands tearing into his wings, leaving small puncture wounds behind as you climbed up him, the contract that bounded Angel dust's soul to Valentino floated down to the ground.

Valentino yelled out words you couldn't quite understand as his wings flared out, you took the opportunity to steal his hat and bite into it tearing it apart before throwing the remaining fabric onto the ground.

The unholy studio's employees could only watch stunned as you grabbed onto his antennas completely ripping them off, if he couldn't fly because of his damaged one before, he definitely had no hope of it now.

Valentino dropped to the ground screeching, arms reaching up to throw you off only for you to start crawling around his back like a little bug leaving more scratches and wounds

Angel dust once he recovered from the shock of you absolutely tearing apart Valentino tried to grab you fully intending on taking you and booking it to the hotel where you'd be safe,

Unfortunately you were freakishly strong and in angel's attempts of trying to pull you off ended up pulling one of Valentino's wings out.

"Are you going to say sorry now?"

Valentino let out a groan of disoriented pain,

That didn't sound like an 'I'm sorry' to you, so you climbed up his remaining wing and ripped a large chunk of his fluff from it, Niffty would be proud!

"¡Lo siento! ¡Lo siento, solo vete!" the still disoriented Valentino shouted from the ground,

You smiled as you stood up from the overlord and skipped towards Angel dust, your eyes caught the contract that had floated to the ground, now you didn't know what it contained because you couldn't read but you assumed it probably meant something to the purple guy and so you decided that you should rip it.

"[Name] get over here' I gotta get you outta here before-" Angel dust started as you swiped the contact off the floor and ripped it to shreds, the smoke-like chain briefly appeared around Angel dust's neck before breaking apart and whooshing away.

Angel was stunned for a moment before a large grin broke out on his face, before anyone could say anything he picked you up, raised a certain finger up and shouted that he was quitting, after all Valentino didn't have his soul anymore, and frankly the work environment would be awkward now to say the least since a child had just inflicted permeant damage to his now former boss, he could find another job.

Unfortunately someone who didn't have good morals called the security team and now Angel dust was running down the Vee's tower holding you, he would pull out the guns that he kept in I assume his ribcage or something but you were right there and the gunshots would hurt your little eardrums, eventually the two of you outran them and returned into the safety of the hotel.

Angel dust sat you down on the ground as he breathed in, catching his breath while Sir Pentious rushed to you lifting you up while asking where you were before looking at Angel in confusion.

"Aren't you ssssssupposed to be at work?"

"I quit! Lil' chronic juice-o-holic over there ripped up my contract and fucked up Valentino! hAh!" Angel said still trying to catch his breath as you slipped out of Sir Pentious's hold and ran to go bug Husk for a juice box.

The news of you ripping Valentino's antennas and a wing out made hotel news, you were lightly scolded by Charlie about taking the violent route but she gave you ice cream and bought you a toy as a reward, Alastor saw great potential in you, Husk patted your head saying that you did good, Vaggie would eventually decide to teach you how to fight, you got being feral down but it couldn't help to teach you to be more calculated, Niffty was happy when you gave her the big clump of fluff for her collection, she already had some from her earlier interaction with the now antenna-less moth but more couldn't hurt!

And Angel dust, well he owed ya big time although he did scold you for following him into a dangerous place [thank goodness you didn't see anythin' unholy or Vaggie would've had his head!]

He spent a little more time with you the following week before he decided to do some job huntin', he would sneak you some candy or a extra juicebox when he could, and the two of you would watch kid friendly Disney or dreamworks movies on the hotel's TV.

Valentino laid down in his hospital room, full of fury that he got injured by a child of all things, a small child that had some type of connection with Angel dust who's soul he no longer owned, he swore that he would get payback against the child, unfortunately for him the mere presence of that child would strike enough fear into him that he wouldn't be able to make a move, and even if he could he wouldn't be able to do anything to the feral child.

He got off easy this time, he wouldn't be as lucky the next he messed with your favorite babysitter again.

Good evening folks! Hope you enjoyed! I'm working on getting the older requests in my inbox done and getting them out next week along with the 100 followers fic with Angel dust! So tune on in for that! Goodnight folks!

[uniquethingtastemaker]

Here's another Riddle's Dreaming of You snippet to continue to tide you over until the real piece comes out. At this point, I'm desperate for it to be done. I just looked through all the "riddle x reader" tags on my page, and there are a lot of snippets. However, I want the full thing lol. It's coming soon:

“As soon as Riddle gets here, I’m booking it,” Cater says. 

“At this point, it’s a race to get out first,” Trey replies. 

“I bet on Deuce,” you declare. 

Ace looks at you, dramatically hurt. “Do you have no faith in me?”

“No,” you deadpan. “Deuce could beat you to a pulp.” 

The redhead protests, “That doesn’t mean he’s faster.”

“He was in track and field. Keep dreaming,” you retort, grinning. 

You notice Grim’s Cheshire Cat smile. 

You cross your arms. “What are you planning?”

“Wait, let me guess,” Trey interjects. “He wants to hitch a ride on Deuce and then, at the end, launch himself forward to be first.”

Your cat pouts. 

“How did you know that?” he asks.

“You get to know someone when you’re feeding them constantly. You overhear things at the dinner table,” the glasses wearer replies. 

Ace sees something, turns, and books it. You glance around, and Cater is already gone. You catch a flash of orange hair turning the corner. 

Deuce is standing there still taken aback. “What—? OH! We need to get out of here!”

The blue-nette snatches Grim and dashes off. Trey is left behind with you. You see Chen’ya’s car pull up near the road. 

The baker puts a hand on your shoulder.

“Good luck. You’ll do fine. Thank you for taking care of him.”

You grin. 

“You’ve told me that so many times since Riddle and I began dating. I’ll reply once again. Of course and thank you for being there too,” you answer before urging. “Now go before you want to gouge your eyes out with a serrated spoon.”

“Indeed.” The ex-vice leader takes your suggestion and jogs away.

(I think it's hilarious and fitting that Cater gets away first. The man is sneaky, quiet, and high alert for danger. Of course, he gets away first. I think people don't give him enough credit

("Gouge your eyes out with a serrated spoon" is very specific and rad. I like it lol

(Another quotable snippet. What do you think? When do you think this takes place??)

[miggleverse]

More Fae!Eoin Au, part 2

a continuation of the last snippet I posted, which can be found here. anyways, enjoy!

‘will you give me your name then?’ Now it was Paddy’s turn to laugh, ‘I ain’t that stupid, I am

 not in the habit of binding myself to creatures like you just like that.’ The creature broke into a mischievous grin

‘And what would it take?’ bargaining. ‘Surely others have tried to tie you down before?’ an unruly grin split across Paddy’s face - trust the fae to think only in terms of possession. He heard the tales of humans who got mixed up with them, who were pampered and adored within a golden cage of their fae’s making. Robert Blair Mayne was not the type to be tied down, unless it was with a post of his own making, and he felt confident he would not fall for a fae, no matter how sunny his smile or pretty his curls.

Instead of answering the question he replied, ‘you can know me as Paddy, and we’ll call it that yeah,’ hoping his legal studies would be able to help him out of unwitting verbal contracts.

A deep laugh, with sparkling eyes Eoin said ‘yeah fuck it, why not. So, Paddy, you usually go about muttering to yourself like that?’

It was the start of a strange relationship. Paddy would now often leave a piece of his catch at the base of Eoin’s stone, a friendly gesture rather than one of cautious respect. Sometimes the fae would be there, sometimes not, when he was though Paddy found the hours passed by quickly.

He learnt that Eoin had domain over the lake and the everything in the forest, that he cherished and took good care of all things in his charge. Once Paddy brought an offering of nice whiskey instead of fish and found Eoin preferred Bushmills to Comber. It was after that the floodgates opened, and Paddy started going to Eoin even if he wasn’t fishing, trotting over to his glade whenever he could spare time from his studies or his rugby simply because he liked spending time with him.

Sometimes Eoin would join him on the lake, a calm presence, or walk him back to the edge of his forest – but never any further. And even if he could (Paddy had a sneaky feeling he couldn’t) he had no idea of how to go about asking a one of the high fae if he’d like to grab a pint anyway. He’d imagine taking Eoin down into town, showing him all the places Paddy loved like Eoin did in his glade, maybe take him to a rugby match – would Eoin even like that? He did not come across as a violent being, not in the same way Paddy often did.

He also found that Eoin liked watching him, studying him, always. An unreadable glint to his eyes that would make Paddy throw the first punch if it was anyone else, but it was his friend, so he let it be. And maybe the fae look at all humans like they were a particularly interesting toy.

He told himself he didn’t like the feeling.

He also told himself he didn’t like the casual touches Eoin often bestowed on him, an arm slung round shoulders, a lingering brush to the elbow, a large hand spread across his back.

There was one afternoon Eoin showed paddy all the edible herbs and flowers he cultivated in his forest and ended up cupping paddy’s jaw while feeding him a particularly plump berry. Paddy was too busy watching him speak to register the movement, until a burst of sweetness hit his tongue. The vague warning bells about fae and food faded away under Eoin’s warm gaze, hand still on paddy as the man swallowed. Dark eyes tracked the movement of his throat as a long thumb absentmindedly smeared the rest of the juice across Paddy’s mouth. This close he could pick up the scent of grass and oak that followed Eoin around, could practically taste it along with whatever it was that the fae had fed him.

Paddy muttered, ‘tis sweet that – almost ripe for taking,’ dislodging the thumb in the process. He tried not to feel too disappointed about the fact, and couldn’t when Eoin brought his hand, now stained with juice, up to his own mouth.

“Yeah, it is,” a pause, then a slow, private smile, “but not quite ready yet I think,” said in an amused lilt. Paddy didn’t really register the change in his tone, or the look that would have made him realise the curly-haired man wasn’t talking about the berry at all. Instead, his brain was replaying the way Eoin’s perfect mouth had curled around his thumb, the way a small hint of tongue had peaked out to lick at it. Paddy wondered if Eoin would taste as sweet as the fruit he grew, or if he asked nice enough, if he could sit at the fae’s feet like a collared pet and be fed all the food from his fair hand. He knew Eoin would take good care of him, as he did all things in his charge, keep the leash long enough for Paddy to roam and howl at the wind all he wanted, but short enough to stay within his vast orbit. He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and came back to himself to see Eoin watching him, eyes alight with something warm, face open and light in the dapple of the forest.

Then the war reached Ireland.

Paddys got his papers in hand when he steps the now familiar path, always leading back to that too sunny glade. Eoin, at the other end, as usual was looking like a dream lounging in the sun, milky white limbs stretched out like flower. Paddy had to squint at the grass as the fae shifted - focus for fucks sake – and remember why he was here in the first place.

Deep breath, ‘am going away for a while, wanted you to know. Might not come back.’ There, said. Done.

‘Where, why?’ Eoin’s voice was closer than paddy anticipated, and when he looked up it was to see him standing inches away, having moved too quickly than was human. A small frown marred his face, brows pinched together in a way Paddy wished to reach out and smooth. Never had he heard him sound so demanding, so much like the fae kings from his childhood that wielded power as easily as breathing.

‘There’s a war on; I have to go fight. First to Arran tomorrow and then to whichever corner of the world fate sees fit to inflict me upon, I didn’t want you to just think I left.’

A softening came over Eoin’s face then, a hand came up to squeeze his right shoulder. ‘I know, just make sure you don’t go to place even I can’t reach yeah.’ With that he slid his arm around his shoulders, bringing Paddy’s head to rest against his chest.

‘can’t you just do some magic shit and bring me back’ he mumbled, enjoying the weight of another holding him firm, bringing his own arms up to clasp Eoin’s waist and secretly relishing in the feel of skin and back muscle covered by some white top.

A small huff from above, ‘doesn’t work like that fraid to say, humans are too fragile to withstand the magic unless bound to one of us.’ It was the first time Eoin had mentioned this since their initial meeting and Paddy didn’t rise to the bait, just sighed into the warmth of the fae and hoped this peace would still be with him as he bloodied his hands and soul in the name of some country he hates.

‘well then, I’ll make sure to come back and tell you all about it.’ He wouldn’t know where to address any letters to anyway. Disentangling himself from the taller being he rightened himself, Eoin’s lips were pursed in a way that told Paddy he was considering his next words carefully, then an exhale and a chuckle

‘yeah you better have some good stories for me, no good you going away with nothing to show.’ And so Paddy did, to Arran, then Egypt. And the further he got from Eoin did Paddy begin to realise how much he was changed by him.

Part 3

[maesterchill]

Tell us more about the Sweary Dad Harry fic :)

Hi anon! Thanks for the ask! This is one of the fics that I was writing together with a friend, it was supposed to be a gift fic for a friend's birthday, but life got in the way and we never finished it. We did have a whole lot of fun with it though, and wrote over 6k, but I fear it may never be completed 😭.

The premise is that Harry swears a lot (hence the title of the doc). He and Draco recently moved in together with their respective children, so its a blended family. He uses muffling charms when he rants but they don't always work the best (and the kids are sneaky listeners). The main thrust of the story centres around the children trying to come up with a spell or charm to clean up Harry's language in time for an important family event, and they manage to do that... with quite interesting results. It's mostly from teenager James Potter's POV so it's a bit of a kid!fic, but a few sections are in Harry or Draco POV. Here's a snippet from Draco POV: (C.R.A.P. stands for Crime Reporting and Procedures) ~

Draco placed a hand on Harry’s hot cheek and thumbed across his cheekbone. “What was it about this time?”

“Bastard called me in to give me feedback on an arsing report that he asked me to write—at the last fucking minute, by the way—as a favour for that knobhead McMillan who’s off work with the shits supposedly. Why he can’t just take an Agrimony potion like the rest of us is beyond me, but what the fuck would I know, and anyway the less said about him the better. And then Robards had the bloody nerve to say I’d bollocksed it up, that I’d included too much irrelevant information,” and here Harry did air quotes and pulled a sarky face, “and didn't include enough detail about the actual case.” Air quotes again. “He took great fucking pleasure, the bastard, in telling me that the C.R.A.P. guidelines do not include any requirements for a description of the victim’s dog or what type of biscuits they served me."

Mercifully, Harry took a breath. "‘Well, I’m so fucking sorry’ I said, ‘if my attempts to foster some sort of rapport with the elderly before I pump them for fucking information regarding a terrifying and traumatic event are not noteworthy, but it’s my useless prick of a partner who usually writes this stuff up, while I do all the actual buggering work!”—Harry threw his hands up in obvious exasperation—“And yeah anyway, it was at that point he told me I'd be getting a written warning, the absolute cock, and that I was off the New Forest coven case. Giving it to Snodbury and Patil. Can you believe that wanker?”

“Oh, Harry,” Draco soothed, reeling at the Bombarda of information he’d just been hit with, not to mention the sheer amount of swear words Harry was capable of cramming into a single sentence. “And you were so close to solving that case. Weren’t you supposed to be travelling up there tomorrow?”

“Yeah, supposed to be. Fuck’s sake. And screw him to hell and back if he thinks I’m going into the office tomorrow to do shitty admin. I’ll be taking a duvet day, and he can f—”

“I can’t understand why you don’t quit, Harry. You’re so miserable in that department. Honestly, we don’t need the money. And I keep telling you, you could do anything you wanted to, anything at all. You’re Harry Potter, for Merlin’s sake, you’d—”

“Of fuck off with the Harry Potter Chosen One bollocks. I like helping people, serving the community.” He crossed his arms, scowling, but Draco could tell he was simmering down. “I just don’t like the bureaucracy and pettiness.”

“Alright, I understand that. I really do. But you don’t need to swear at me too. And much as I hate to harp on at you about your strong language, I’m starting to get quite a bit concerned about Sunday when you’ll need to impress your godson’s girlfriend and her parents. Molly had a word with me too, and—”

“What?” Harry said, pushing off from the kitchen counter, “You’ve been speaking to Molly about me?”

“She was just worried. We all need to be on our best behaviour, Teddy is so anxious for this to go well. You know he’s working up to asking her to move in with him, and her parents won’t allow it if they don’t approve of him and the way he’s been brought up.”

Harry scowled. “What’s wrong with the way he’s been brought up?”

“Nothing, Harry, you know I don’t mean it like that. You’ve done an amazing job, and Teddy is a fantastic person. It’s just the optics of it, how it will reflect on Teddy. Teddy explained it all to us—how prudish and prim they are.”

“I did my best for him. Merlin, I was barely even an adult myself when Andromeda fell ill.”

“I know that. We all know that. And I know too that you don’t mean to be coarse, but you get so passionate about things. I love you for it, love how deeply you feel emotions, but I don’t think Mr and Mrs Cockington-Titsmarsh will feel the same way. Merlin, when you say 'fuck' every third word, even I struggle to make out what you’re trying to tell me, so think how they’ll fare.”

“I’ve tried, Draco, damn it. I really have. I just can’t think of better ways to phrase things when I’m riled up. And it feels good to let it out with some bad words. Really good. It helps... I think.”

“I know. And you’re absolutely right, it’s a proven stress-release, at least according to The Quibbler. It can be good for you, in fact. It’s just… well, you know as well as I do it’s been spilling over at inappropriate times, and being mopped up by innocent ears.”

“You don’t need to remind me,” Harry grumbled, face flushing.

“And I’ve told you I can help come up with some cutting put-downs and insults that are squeaky clean in polite company. It’s my job to wrangle words and make them suitable for little ears.”

“Yeah I know.” Harry looked sheepish. “By the way, I used that one you told me the other day in the canteen at lunch: ‘Robards has the personality of Voldemort but without any of the charm’. It made Susan giggle for a good minute.”

“You see. You can do it. And yes, just like Voldemort was, Robards is one of those people whose personality would be enormously improved by death.”

Harry gasped in feigned shock. “Stealing that one, too.”

~

[psithurista]

approach shift - epilogue

pairing: Peter Parker x f!reader (TASM/Andrew Garfield version) length: 2.3k rating: explicit 18+ warnings: PIV (protected), sneaky little non-descriptive pegging reference, disGUSting fluff

Peter Parker is a weirdo. A hot, distracting, irritating weirdo. And you can’t afford distractions right now. So there’s only one thing to do.

a/n: I'll keep it quick: I'm so sorry this took so long, but I just wasn't quite ready to finish it off haha. It's been two years almost to the day since I started writing this (and they've been fucking crazy years) so it feels very strange saying goodbye to these adorable losers. I once again can't even start to express how happy it's made me seeing your reactions to this fic, and I'm endlessly grateful to everyone who took the time to leave a comment or reach out to say hi. I hope you like this last sweet little snippet! x

series masterlist

SIX MONTHS LATER

“We need to get up,” you say, making no move to do so.

He turns his face from where it’s smushed into the pillow to speak, his eyes still closed. “You first.”

You groan. 

You have no idea what time it is, and your phone is out of reach, but the light through the curtains is blinding like near-noon and Bear’s supposed to be here at 10 to pick you up, so you’re almost definitely cutting it fine.

“Peter.” Your legs are tangled with his, his thigh between yours. He huffs morning breath sleepily into your face in response, reaching a hand out to pat your cheek. 

“Shh.” He shifts, pressing his thigh harder between your legs, skin sticky on skin. You know he’s doing it on purpose; he knows exactly where he’s pressing you. You make a quiet, satisfied noise, then pull away regretfully. 

“Bear’s gonna be here soon and you need to be dressed. She’ll freak if she has to see your ass again.” 

“Mmm. Yeah. I’m up.”

You sit up, and the slow weight of his arm slides off your waist. The bedroom door is open to the living room where you can see the debris left over from your at-home date the night before: the bowl still on the couch with a handful of unpopped kernels still rattling in the bottom, the fairy lights web-stuck across the ceiling still glowing gently and the blown-out candles stuck in pastel wax puddles to the coffee table you’d rescued from the curb a few weeks after moving in together. It’d been unbearably funny watching Peter’s elaborate performance of pretending to struggle under the weight of it on the way back home.

He drags himself out of bed, and you hear the coffee machine gurgling while you start pulling out clothes.

It’s hot and stuffy; the air’s stopped working again sometime in the night, so you screech the window open and prop the broom handle under the frame to keep it there. It’s a precarious solution—more than once, the window’s fallen shut while you’ve been at work, forcing Peter to awkwardly perform a frantic outfit change behind the dumpster in the alley so he doesn’t run the risk of running into one of your neighbours in the elevator. But the rent’s affordable for a pair of research scientists with a dash of supplementary freelance photography cash on the side, and the occasional bags of free food from a grateful shop owner after a thwarted hold-up.

“Should we call about the air?” you wonder out loud through the open door.

 “Don’t worry about it, it’ll be quicker if I just get up on the roof and fix it again myself,” Peter says, his voice stretching out into a yawn halfway through. He appears in the bathroom doorway, still naked, two mugs in his hands. 

You gasp in appreciation as he passes one to you. “God, I love you,” you murmur, taking a sip.

He grins dazedly at you in the mirror, his cheeks flushed. “Is that all it takes, huh? A crappy cup of coffee?”

You turn and slide the mug onto the counter so you can wrap your arms around his waist. “No. You’re cute, too. That helps.”

He kisses you, his thumb and index finger framing your chin. “M’not cute,” he says against your lips, leaning his too-warm body along yours. “M’intimidating as hell. Ask anybody.”

You’d only gotten as far as underwear before he’d interrupted you dressing, and it already feels like there’s far too much in the way between you. “You’re gonna make me late,” you say, reaching down to dig your fingers into the taut swell of his ass. “Gotta get ready.”

“Okay, so keep getting ready,” he says, mouthing at your neck. “You’re the one groping me.”

He’s right; now you’ve started, you can’t seem to stop. You press your hands to the small of his back, drawing him closer. You can feel his cock beginning to harden where his body is pressed against yours, and his tongue comes out to touch at your pulse. He makes a tiny noise in his throat as you slip one hand down between your bodies to wrap loosely around his rapidly-growing erection.

You stroke him once, gently, and he huffs. “I don’t see how this is helping,” he says. 

You hum your response, your resolve melting away as he strokes the back of his knuckles down your spine, making you shiver. “Maybe…” you say.

He ducks his head to kiss first one breast, then the other, your nipples standing hard and sensitive. “Maybe?” he prompts. His fingers brush your hip, coming around to rest just below your navel.

“Maybe, if we’re quick…” you say, biting your lip, pushing your hips upward to try to encourage his hand lower.


“Babe, I can be so quick,” he says, half-groan, half-laughter. He thumbs your labia, spreading you open just a little, so he can touch your clit. “Too quick, even, if you want. Some would say it’s a talent.”

You grin at him, letting go of his cock. “Bed. Now.”

He swings you up into his arms so fast your head spins, practically flinging you onto the bed. 

You sprawl out in front of him, your arms thrown back as he peels your underwear off. “Holy shit,” he says, running his hands down your sides, staring at the expanse of your body. His jaw is slack with longing, and the sight of his adoration never fails to make fresh heat flood your face, even after seeing him staring at you like this so many times.

He kneels down over you, sucking two fingers into his mouth as he does. You hitch your knees up to give him a better angle, and he gently presses a firm thigh between your legs. “How do you wanna…?”

“Condom,” you tell him, running your fingers through his hair, making his eyes roll closed with pleasure. “No mess.”

He holds your lower lip gently between his teeth, and slowly pushes his two slick fingers inside you. You shift your hips up, and he withdraws them both again, using the slip of your arousal to work against your clit. He kneels up a little, so he can palm your breast with his other hand as he bends down to lick the inside of your thighs.

“Oh,” you breathe. His fingers stop circling to push back inside you, just as his tongue works a hot, messy kiss over your clit. You grab handfuls of his hair to try to keep up with the pace he’s setting, but the feeling of your fingers against his scalp only makes him work faster, a weak groan vibrating down through his tongue.

He bends his head lower, so he can lick around where your wetness has started to gather on his knuckles as he keeps pumping leisurely, in and out. It’s so wet you can both hear it, and he works faster, angling his fingers higher, until you’re writhing.

“Peter…come on, please,” you beg, yanking hard at his hair. 

It works to break his concentration, and he scrambles up, leaning down sideways so he can dig around in the bottom drawer of the nightstand. It’s filled with an assorted mix of toys and, stashed further back, Peter’s wrist canisters. The logic had been that anybody who broke into your apartment would be too freaked out by the toys to keep looking in the drawer, but it also meant Peter had to dig through a dizzying array of plugs and lube every time he went out.

You turn your head to the side and see the wistful way he glances at your strap-on, and you click your tongue. “We’re in a hurry, remember? Later.”

“Mmm. I’ll hold you to that,” he says, kissing you again as he rolls the condom smoothly over his cock.

He leans back, propping a pillow under your hips to give himself more leverage. As he sinks inside you, you hold your breath, letting it out slowly.

He groans above you, easing just a millimeter out and then back in, like he can’t help himself. It feels devastatingly good; he’s thick and beautifully hard right against where you need him, and thanks to his mouth, you’re wet enough that you’re ready for him to start moving immediately.  

You hook your ankles together behind his back to pull him in deeper, and he sinks home, fully seated balls-deep inside. You clench your muscles, just to feel as much of him as you can, and he grinds his hips against yours. 

You can feel the tension in his limbs as he draws back and starts to move. You’ll never, ever get sick of how he feels inside you, you think, your mouth open. He’s fucking you so good; his strokes long and firm and perfect.

He cups your ass with his hand to lift your hips even further, shifting the angle once again, and your breath stutters sharply in your throat as the head of his cock catches your g-spot.

“That’s it, right?” he murmurs, his voice wrecked. “Right there? That’s it, babe, c’mon, show me, I wanna see…”

You can’t even respond, your fingers gripping his biceps like his body is your only lifeline. It’s so good, and you’re getting so close, you just need…

“Fuck,” you gasp, high-pitched and panicked as you come, hard and blinding. 

He doesn’t slow down. If anything, he fucks you harder, chasing down his own release as you clench and melt around him. It only takes a few more moments before his cock jerks inside you and he curses, collapsing the hot weight of his body on yours.

You pant together, sweaty and spent. His cheek is crushed to yours, and he turns his face just enough to kiss any part of you he can reach—the top of your shoulder, your forehead, the tip of your ear.

When you manage to drag your eyes open, you find his huge doe-brown eyes already looking at you. “Good?” he whispers, kissing your shoulder again.

You smile at him, feeling drunk and dizzy. “So good,” you tell him.

You’re still wrapped up in each other like idiots when he jolts hard as though startled. You’re confused for about half a second, before the buzzer from downstairs goes off. 

“Oh, shit,” you hiss, scrambling out of bed.

“You get ready,” Peter says, somehow already dragging on a pair of sweatpants. The speed and dexterity with which he’s able to dress never ceases to amaze you. “I’ll stall.”

You’re stepping out of the fastest shower of your life when you hear the squeaky door to your apartment opening.

“Hey, Bear,” Peter’s voice says.

“Hey, Parker. Your shirt’s inside-out,” she says. 

You lean the naked top half of your body around the bathroom door to wave at her. “Hey, sorry, I just got out of the shower. I need like, three minutes to get dressed.”

She clicks her tongue, but doesn’t look overly annoyed as she flops onto the couch. “It’s hot as shit in here,” she says cheerfully, swinging her feet up onto your coffee table. 

You can hear her and Peter chatting as you hurriedly get ready; he asks her about Krista, she asks him about his aunt. Unsurprisingly, Bear and May had hit it off in a huge way at your birthday after May had excitedly demanded to know everything about the play Bear was auditioning for.

You give yourself a quick once-over to make sure you look presentable before you duck out into the living room. Peter and Bear have moved onto once again arguing about music; Peter’s on Blur’s side, Bear’s on Oasis’. 

You give them both a sideways look. “I’m not getting involved in this,” you say, checking to make sure your keys are in your bag. “But I’m just saying, in a real fight, Liam Gallagher would kick Damon Albarn’s ass any day of the week.” Peter grins at you from behind the counter, where he’s attempting to clean the disaster left in the kitchen from dinner last night.

“Oh, my God,” Bear says, looking you up and down. “Why do you look so worked up? Were you guys just fucking? Like right now?”

 Peter can’t turn away fast enough to conceal his snort, and you make a face at her. “It’s called caffeine. Come on, we’ll be late.”

Peter waves at her. “Say hi to Krista.”

“You should come with us, next time you get a night off work,” Bear says, helping herself to a stick of gum from the packet on the bench.

“Bye,” you say, leaning in to wrap your arms around Peter’s waist. “Be careful,” you add quietly, leaning up to kiss him.

He grins. “Always am.” He kisses you back, slow and gentle, before letting you go.

Bear shakes her head. “You guys are so gross. Later, Parker.”

Peter trails you to the door so he can close it behind you. Bear’s a few feet ahead of you, and you don’t mean to linger, but you can’t help but look back one last time as you go.

Peter’s leaning in the door, a dish rag over his shoulder. His hair’s chaotic from where you’d run your fingers through it, and his cheeks are still a little pink with warmth. 

As you watch, his eyes crease at the corners. “Love you,” he mouths, too quiet for Bear to hear. He still has the cutlery in his hands he’d been drying before you walked out; two knives, two forks. 

You can feel your face splitting into a smile you’re sure must be even goofier than his. You hold his gaze, and as Bear drags you away, you’re missing him already.

[ameliasmiscmonsters]

Dragon King x Reader Snippet

Your bottom lip was red from your front teeth digging into it. Eyes focused on the courtiers who are taking a walk in the Palace gardens, they tossed sneaky glances over their shoulders at you, before turning to each other and giggling behind their fans.

Like there was something funny about you, the Dragon King’s wife. As their fans covered their glossy lips, they whispered to each other, eyes still trained on you. 

Still, you hold your head high. And with as much grace as you can muster, stalked past them, head high, chin jutted out and nose in the air. 

The movement only caused them to restrain laughter. As you passed them, you could’ve sworn you’d heard one of them mutter, “it’s no wonder she stalks around like that. I’d have that air about me too if I was fooling His Frightfulness.”

You almost stopped dead in your tracks. ‘Fooling His Frightfulness’? What was that supposed to mean?

The first time you step outside of the Palace in months, and this is what you’re greeted with?

One of your Ladies in waiting shot a glower at them, before linking your arms together. “Come, let’s get back to your chambers, your Majesty.”

When you reached your bedroom, you demanded of your Ladies, “what were they talking about?”

This post was actually voted on by my Patrons! It was also uploaded in full to my patreon today! Sign up to get early access to all my Tumblr content as well as exclusive posts!

If you're not sure about signing up, there is a 7 day free trial enabled on my £5 tier, there you can vote on what you want to see more of, have access to exclusive posts and Orc lore!

[themeraldee]

It's very hard to choose between different nuggets of pure gold buuuut I am gonna ask for sneaky peak of At Your Service because I know what it is and I love the idea so much 😤❤️ ~ @anotherhomelanderblog

Hiiiiii thank you for the ask ❤️💗✨❤️💗✨

This is the one and only (well I'm sure that's not true) Android AU fic that I've been talking about. It's @witchyclipse's and my second child. (first is roman empire but I do not have enough to talk about that - neither did u request that)

So. I don't want to spoil too much though I have very little written for the actual story. So I'll give you 2 sneak peeks. 1 is from the actual fic and the other is a little snippet I wrote for myself bcs I was too impatient to write allll the way to the right scene 😂 Plus it probs wouldn't be in the fic anyway. Just a little self-indulgence in between the bigger more delayed self-indulgence.

Have this silly bit from the snippet:

“I was worried you were going to sleep till noon again. I’ve been trying to wake you up for a while.” He pulls back with enough give in his hold to allow you to turn around and face him. His one arm is still under your neck and the other moves and settles on your waist. “How dare I get a good night's rest, huh? Shouldn’t you care about my wellbeing?” You stare into his unnaturally bright blues and you can almost see him computing what he spits out next. “I do. You’ve slept for 8 hours and 23 minutes. You’ve spent a healthy 25%, about 125 minutes of it in the deepest sleep. That’s the ideal ratio for a healthy adult in accordance with health organisations and sleep studies.” Like your personal walking and talking health tracker, Homelander automatically keeps track of any and all health readings you give him access to. Knowingly or not. “If anything, it would be unwise of me to let you oversleep.” “And?” You roll your eyes playfully, already familiar with all of his new quirks. “And I was lonely.” “There we go, that’s more like it.” He gives you the cutest boyish smile you could imagine an adult man to pull off. He doesn’t really get that it’s meant to come across as a sarcastic jab rather than the praise for being truthful he reads it as. 

Aaaaaand lil bit from the actual plotline:

You sign a few more boxes, only half paying attention to what you’re signing, more interested in the package two other men were dropping off in your front room. One of the boxes you signed has you agreeing that the package arrived in pristine condition. How could it not. The hard-shell of the box looks downright bulletproof. The only weak spot being the Vought logo debossed into the front of the shell. “Thank you.” You nod with a smile, giving back the small device. Without much fanfare they make their way back to their truck, leaving you there with an instruction card in your hand and a new shiny toy to unbox. You shut your front door, stepping back further into your house to finally approach the monstrosity. It stands out like a sore thumb in your warm home and you’re starting to regret ever caving in with this purchase.

Weeeeeeee there you go! I love this fic so much and yet I've barely put any time into writing it!!!

Someday... I hope 😂

[albatris]

Snippet Snunday

it's time 2 snip

here's alex having a bad time

On its drive to Foxtrail Lane, Alex veered around a spilled recycling bin. It was yellow bin night in Cypress Heights, and it wasn’t particularly windy; chances were, someone had swung into it with their car during a moment of distraction, sending its contents across the street. Papers fluttered meekly in the night’s breath, here and there, like tiny ghosts. 

Alex ignored them and continued driving. It wasn’t long before its anxieties kicked in.

What kind of a person let something like that be? It would be no skin off Alex’s nose to stop and help clean up. Why had it just kept going? Laziness, at best. At best. Alex talked a big game about trying to be a good person—pro bono cases, donations to charity, only hunting a specific type of victim, but what did any of that really matter if it wasn’t a good person in the day-to-day, when no one was watching? It was easy to be a good person when you had an audience. When you were impressing clients or setting a good example for others. Deep down, Alex was rotten. Alex was selfish.

It wasn’t like it didn’t have time. What would it lose by stopping to clear it up? It would arrive to the Ethels’ place, snoop around outside for a bit, eavesdrop if it could—and be back home long before sunrise. There was time. There was time. Should it just go back and help now? Alex kneaded this thought in its head for a while, its teeth starting to ache.

No, then again—if Alex happened to get caught at the Ethels’ house, it could be dragged inside. What should have been a forty-minute expedition could easily turn into a few hours. The last thing Alex wanted was to get trapped in that house by the sunrise.

And it’d had such a long day, anyway. Helping Quinn, helping Nat… it was exhausted, and now it had to go to its least favourite place in the entire world. Alex had to cut itself some slack. Alex deserved to cut itself some slack, didn’t it?

No, of course not. That was the devil talking. That was the start of a slippery slope. Alex couldn’t let up, even for an instant. It slammed its fist into the door, thudded it a few times, not nearly with enough strength to do any damage. It thought about turning around. It didn’t turn around.

It sipped at blood as it drove, and tried to put its mind to the task at hand. The Ethels would be on high-alert for intruders, as they always were. Alex would have to be quiet, sneaky, flawless. The only good news was the Ethels, being a cluster of vampires all sensing each other’s presence, were unlikely to sense a newcomer as long as Alex stayed hidden. But how many times had it already failed at staying hidden? How many times had it been lured into that place? How many times had it—

Selfish, selfish, selfish.

[angrybathbomb]

TOUCHSTARVED FANFIC

“Are you two a couple?”

MODERN AU

Touchstarved LI x gn! Reader

SUMMARY: On a coffee date with each ts LIs, both of you are stopped by what one can assume a street interviewer/youtuber who seems to be quite eager on talking to couples. What do our lovely LIs have to say?

WARNINGS:  NONE, Leander being a hopeless romantic and in love, he sings a song for you (⁠｡⁠♡⁠‿⁠♡⁠｡⁠) Hehe, mentions of break up in the past ...don’t worry you both are still together just had a difficult start... otherwise fluff and romantic.

NOTE:   This is my first-time writing fanfics, please go easy on me if I made some mistakes as I am still learning. Constructive criticism and tips to improve are very much appreciated. Thank you for reading!

INSPO: I saw a YouTube channel (@meetcutenyc) and felt like writing this for our lovely ts LIs!

WORD COUNT: <2.4K

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-PROLOGUE-

Strolling leisurely down the bustling streets for a cozy, romantic coffee date, fingers entwined, greedily savouring each other’s warmth. Each step the two of you took, resonated with a rhythm on the footpath that stretched ahead in the bustling cityscape. Amidst the bustling chaos of the city, snippets of conversations floating around and the distant hum of traffic, a comfortable silence stretched between the two of you with occasional exchange of shy yet mischievous glances and tender smiles.

However, the romantic stroll came to an abrupt halt when a young guy holding a camera, most likely recording, blocked the path ahead of you two.

“Sorry to interrupt, but are you two a couple?”, he inquired with a friendly smile. His eyes, subtly reflecting guilt, silently apologized for the sudden intrusion.

--------------------------------------

AIS

LEANDER

VERE

MHIN

KURAS

--------------------------------------

      LEANDER

The unexpected camera thrust into your face startled you. Leander's handsome smile vanished, replaced by an uncharacteristic blank expression. Accustomed to his sunny and cheerful demeanor, you felt a jolt of surprise for the second time. The stranger, equally taken aback, paused in response. Leander stepped forward, skillfully shielding you from the camera's view.

The stranger gulped nervously. “I interview couples about their first meeting,” he explained, his gaze flickering between you and Leander. “You two looked like one.”

Understanding dawned on Leander's eyes, and his blank expression transformed into a charming smile.

“You’ve come to the right place,” Leander said with a playful wink. ”You must have a keen eye for spotting lovers. Did their parents pay you or something?” He joked, glancing at you.

You crossed your arms and arched a brow in mock offence.

Leander laughed, a low, pleasant rumble that could make anyone's knees weak.

With a sly smirk, he leaned in and stole a kiss from you, leaving you flustered.

“God, stop it, we are in public!” You scolded him.

Leander gave a nonchalant shrug. “Has that ever stopped me before, sweetheart?”

You rolled your eyes and looked away, fighting the smile tugging at your lips.

Leander's jade eyes softened, and his smile turned geniune, a stark contrast to the charming facade he usually wore.

He wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you closer as he turned to the stranger.

“So, you wanted to know how we first met, hm?”

The stranger nodded.” Yes, precisely, along with your first impression of each other.”

Leander laughed softly, a pink hue dusting his cheeks as he glanced to the side thoughtfully.” It was at a bar, the Wet Wick,” he recalled. ”I was performing a live show, singing part-time.”

You watched him from the corner of your eye. Leander caught your gaze and grinned.

“No need to be sneaky. I know I look good,” he said with a flirtatious wink.“We are way past the talking stage,” he teased, squeezing your wrist gently.

“He was a bit of a player,” you said, giving him a side-eye. Leander furrowed his brow in mock defence.

“Hey, that’s not fair!”

You smirked mischievously, turning your gaze to the stranger. “He was quite charming, I will admit, I was not immune to it either. And a singer at that, so it wasn’t exactly a surprise.”

Leander’s curiosity was piqued. ”How does my singing have anything to do with me being flirtatious?”

You looked him from top to bottom and shrugged.

”Creative people are a bunch of romantics,” you explained. ”They chase or crave intense experiences – pain and pleasure, to fuel their creativity. It’s a way to birth an idea, create art — music, writing, poetry.” 

Leander arched a brow, impressed by your answer. ”This is why I love you,” he said with a cheeky grin, planting a kiss on your cheek.

You pretended to be disgusted, wiping your cheek dramatically. ”Ugh, gross!” you teased while Leander pouted playfully.

The rosy blush spreading across your cheeks didn’t escape his sharp eyes, and a knowing smile appeared on his lips.

The stranger looked intrigued, a playful glint in his eyes. “What song did you sing that managed to sweep them off their feet?”

“Hometown Smile,” Leander said proudly.

He gazed at you, his eyes brimming with intense love.

“You got that hometown smile,” he began, his voice heavenly and rich,” You got that look in your eyes, that says oh, everything will one day be alright …” he crooned softly.

It was impossible to not be captivated by his sensual vocals, each word dripping with romance.

As Leander sang, you felt yourself being drawn in by the tenderness of his voice. You leaned closer and Leander met you halfway, lips crashing together in a passionate kiss.

You broke the kiss reluctantly as if waking up from a dream and composed yourself, flashing a bashful smile at the stranger, who returned it with a reassuring grin.

“Looks like he’s quite the heart-stealer,” the stranger remarks.

Leander shrugged with mock arrogance.” What can I say? I was born with rizz.”

“Cringe” you uttered under your breath with a blank face.

“I heard that,” Leander shot back.

“Good,” you retorted with a smirk.

Leander made puppy eyes, jutting his bottom lip out into a playful pout but you ignored his antics.

“He can be dramatic sometimes,” you said. “Though I do enjoy the grand gestures of romance from now and then.” A soft smile tugged at your lips.

“I don’t frequent bars much. My friends dragged me out one fateful day, because ‘Why not ?!’,” you exaggerated.

“Good friends,” Leander smirked.

You rolled your eyes, then broke into a fit of laughter. 

Clearing your throat, you continued, “I was about to order a drink when all of a sudden, the entire rowdy bar went quiet,” you paused dramatically. 

“This man,” you gestured towards Leander,” This devilishly handsome man appeared on stage, standing tall and proud with his guitar and the entire bar went wild, pushing everything and everyone out of the way, I barely survived before everyone started chanting, ‘SHOW!! SHOW!! SHOW!!’,” you joked, mimicking the voices animatedly. “Honestly, it was like a cult!”

“This gentleman,” you pointed towards Leander,” announces on mic that he needs a lucky someone from the audience to help him with a song and he flashed a charming smile.”

You laughed, recalling the incident,”I swear I saw everyone swoon, trying to whistle and grab his attention but somehow his eyes found mine.”

“Wow you are not making this up, are you?” the stranger teased playfully.

Leander laughed and you almost looked offended. “I assure you, I am not!” You replied, giddy with the memory. “He called me on stage and that day I thanked the gods for my music lessons,” you said, intertwining your fingers, with a smile.

Leander’s eyes roamed over your sun-kissed features, and he had to hold back the urge to pull you into a kiss.

“And then I bought a drink for them,” he winked. “They sang so well, they deserved a proper thanks.”

“Why did you pick me of all people?” You turned to him, feigning suspicion. “Were you trying to get lucky that night?”

Leander gasped dramatically. “I am a gentleman through and through!”

“Oh really?! And I am the Queen of England.” You shot back sarcastically.

Leander furrowed his brows in mock indignation.

“No, seriously. Why me?!” You urged again.

Leander considered you for a moment before answering,”Most of the people there were regulars so it was quite hard to miss a face as lovely as yours.”

He winked with an impish smile. Butterflies bloomed and fluttered in your stomach, heart likely beating out of your chest.

“God you are a shameless flirt,” you said, crossing your arms and looking away.

“Only for you,” he cooed.

“Stop the lies,” you shot back.

“Seriously,” he insisted, gently holding your chin to turn you towards him. “I might have been,” he paused” a bit of a player,” he mimicked your tone," but all of that changed when you walked into my life and changed it for the better. Only you own my heart, now and forever.”

He smiled, a sincere and earnest look in his breathtaking emerald eyes.

The stranger looked intrigued. “It seems like it took some convincing for you to be with him?”

You raised an eyebrow, a playful smile on your lips. “Well, when I first met him, he was all charm and smooth talk but there were plenty of rumors about his reputation.” 

Leander flashed a guilty grin. “Not all of them were true. Just rumours, remember?”

“Rumors have some truth to them,” you countered.

Leander sighed,”Maybe, but that was then. Things are different now.”

”It took us a while to get here. We almost broke up once.” You glanced at the stranger. “He was pretty secretive.” You paused before speaking, “And by ‘pretty’ secretive,” you said, looking pointedly at Leander. “I mean ‘a lot’.”

Leander listened quietly, his usual teasing demeanor subdued.

“I started to feel uneasy,” you continued. “It was like he didn’t quite bring himself to trust me, even after countless reassurance. So, I decided to end it. Not going to sugarcoat, I was really upset and hurt that he didn't put a fight about it or resist.”

You turned to Leander with a bittersweet laugh. “I really thought it was the end for us.”

Leander forced a smile, his eyes reflecting the pain of the memory. “I was shocked and desperate. I should have chased after them,” he chuckled,” but I didn’t. I tried calling and texting, but they didn’t respond. I will admit, I deserved it.” He confessed, sharing a guilty glance with you.

You flashed a nonchalant smile, but Leander could see through your facade.

“It was tough,” he admitted, voice strained, hardly veiling any heavy emotions,” but I forced myself to get used to my old, lonely life again.” 

You caressed his back soothingly, encouraging him to continue.

“But fate had other plans and we ran into each other again.” He visibly brightened, recalling the day, that beautiful moment.

“It was just a week after our ‘break up’,” he made air quotes with his fingers.

”We saw each other, and it was clear we still had feelings. Our eyes met, and we just… kissed.” He grinned widely, as if he had just found a long - lost treasure.

You laughed and added,’’ I took him back after I was sure he got his act together.”

Leander nodded along,” I’d do anything for you,” he claimed, pressing a tender kiss on your cheek.

The stranger watched the couple with a pleased smile.” So, what changed after that kiss?”

You leaned into Leander, your fingers intertwined with his.

“After that, we had a long and honest talk. We laid everything out – our fears, our hopes, our past mistakes.”

Leander had a serious look on his face as he added,” I realized I needed to be more open. I couldn’t let my past define how I treated them. They deserved better.”

 You smiled lovingly at him,” And I needed to trust him, to give him a chance.”

The stranger nodded thoughtfully, “It seems like it was a turning point for both of you.”

“It was,” you agreed,” We started fresh. It wasn’t easy but it was worth it.”

Leander squeezed your hand,” They are worth it.”

The stranger looked impressed,” Your story sounds like it was pulled out straight from the pages of a romance novel.”

Leander laughed,” Well, real life can be just as dramatic as fiction.”

You chuckled. ”Maybe even more so.”

The stranger’s eyes twinkled with curiosity,” Since you had a rocky start, what advice would you give to young couples to avoid making the same mistakes?”

Leander thought for a moment. “Communication is key. Be honest about your feelings, even when it’s hard.”

You nodded, agreeing with his word before adding in,” And trust. Trust each other enough to be vulnerable. It’s scary, but it’s necessary.”

Leander glanced at you affectionately before facing the stranger,” Also, don’t let pride get in the way. Apologize when you are wrong and forgive when you are hurt.”

The stranger smiled, appreciating their insight. “That’s some solid advice, thank you.”

“So, what’s next for the two of you?” he asked.

Leander glanced at you, eyes filled with love.” Whatever comes, we’ll take it together.”

You nodded, heart swelling with emotion. “Together,” you echoed, leaning in for a tender kiss.

The stranger smiled warmly at the couple, privileged to witness such a genuine moment of love and connection.

“Thank you for sharing your story,” he said. “It’s truly amazing.”

Leander and you both smiled, grateful for the encounter and reflecting the past shared with each other. “Thank you for listening,” Leander said. “It’s been quite a ride, but we wouldn’t have it any other way."

As the two of you walked away, hand in hand, you whispered to Leander,” You know, maybe we should write our own romance novel.”

Leander laughed, amused by your idea. Pulling you closer, he teased,” With a happy ending, of course.”

You smile, leaning your head on his shoulder. “Of course.”

—-----------------------------------

--------------------------------------

a/n: I am sorry for posting for other LIs so late. I must have told you that I was a bit busy with college entrance exams, after being called for a counselling process I finally got a seat in a college and major of my choice through merit :) yayy... So I was involved in the official stuff regarding it but anyways enjoy this fanfic. I was postponing the date to post this cause his birthday would be a great day to read this... Enjoy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEANDER

💐 🎂🎉🎈

He is my favourite character, I hate him so much :D

[dootznbootz]

Dootz what kinda clothes do you think penelope likes to wear? :) One of my fave parts abt writing is getting to describe clothes, i love everyones opinions on this

HOOOOOO I got a lot for this >:3

So like, "warning" I guess, but I fucking love the Mycenaean/Minoan look (both the women and the men look hot. All the gold and the pearls and the skirts and long AF hair) and so I never really imagine her with chitons and such. so that means that boobs are out but like, I'm not really gonna talk about it sexually ofc but just a warning :3

Getting the smaller "accessories" out of the way, I can see her loving jewelry and I plan to write her even loving to make her own with the other nymphs from shells and such. Loves earrings, hates bracelets (she breaks them from fidgeting too much), necklaces often but not all the time. And welp, the painted suns on her cheeks would probably smear and stuff with water too sooooo xD

Getting to her clothes, personally, I think Penelope's fashion sense means a LOT to her. Like Weaving is very integral to her, her character, and it's just something she genuinely enjoys so I love the idea of her being VERY particular of what she wears and can honestly be a bit "mean" and "snooty" about it. (Hubris is a flaw of her's as well. I have this snippet from a different wip of her being a bit snooty)

She's incredibly detailed, loves adding lil things to her skirts and outfits to paint a scene and pattern. It's one of the things that gets Athena's attention towards her when she's a young girl, after Athena takes her in at around 12-13, it becomes better and better and she's kind of a prodigy. Most of the time, despite loving detailed and fancy, she loves skirts that she can easily move in, so I can see her wearing minimum layers sometimes. Despite the Mycenaean/Minoan look, I can't see my Penelope enjoying Veils too much?? Or at the very least, not very often. Being naiadborn, and just needing to swim often, I think she'd get very annoyed by the extra "drag", (I also kind of love the idea of her being so happy to finally feel safe enough to BE unveiled after the suitors are dead. I love the idea of her being giddy to finally wear what she wants, HOW she wants afterward)

And funny enough, like, I mention the "Mycenaean/Minoan Boobs out" tops for the styles but I just can't see My Penny doing that? Not as a "modesty" and/or a "That's explicit! No!" thing as I have other women wear their dresses like that, I just think it's something that she just doesn't like. Not only is she flatchested but she likes being able to scuttle and run whenever she wants. I think it's like, something that when she got older and her outfits changed as she matured, that she tried it and was just like "...No.🙂". She still wears the split tops, just has it where it's only her sternum being shown. She wears thicker sashes around her waist to keep it in place and also to accentuate and compliment her figure, I guess kind of "nsfw-ish" but I write her having fairly large hips (she, too, has fine thighs 😤 I kind of love the idea of her being sneaky in every way, her thighs and hips being hidden under skirts = sneaky) so the sash has two purposes in a way. She kind of "engineers" her own outfits and such to fit her needs. :3 (her not wearing her breasts out is something the suitors are frustrated by and overhearing that pisses off the "Beggar")

That's mostly for her fancy clothes though. While it's convenient that she's of naiad descent and can take out stains somewhat easily, she can't wear fancy and intricate every day.

I have my Water Wife athletic so she does have her outfits she can just muck about in and scrap in. THAT'S where I have some later period short dresses/feminine tunics, as it's kind of hard to sprint and swim with such long and layered skirts. Mostly barefoot if she can help it (despite sandals, idk, she's definitely the gal who loves playing in the mud. she'll still wear them but you know)

Loves braids and such. I'm sadly not an artist (could become one, I know, I just honestly kind of don't like the feeling of drawing.) But I just know Penelope is particular about her fashion, probably even a bit of Odysseus' and Telemachus' fashion too. Not like dictating what they wear but helping them color coordinated lol