#so one of them gets to be my personal extra monitor for a bit)

[visdiefje]

Pour one out for my 18 or so (maybe more) year old second monitor. She went out with a bang (caused my apartment's first power surge during my time here and then stopped working for good)

[rae-writes]

dirty secret(s)

Levi x cam!reader

wc : 0.7k

warnings : nsfw

synopsis : Levi had a dirty secret. You had an even dirtier one.

a/n : honestly don't know how this thought popped into my head but my gods am I fucking glad it did-

While Levi usually thought of himself as scum of the Devildom at most normal hours of the day, he thought he was even scummier when he locked himself in his room, headphones pressed snugly against his ears, with his sweatpants kicked off to the floor. 

The slick sounds filling his ears were absolutely vile— in the best kind of way. Plastered over his main monitor, lighting up his flushed and sweaty face, was the sight of someone bouncing on a pretty dragon dildo; it’d become his guilty pleasure to get on the site and watch them get off- someone he found by complete accident as he was scrolling online. 

The only thing he knew about them was they never showed their face, they always had a blank black sheet as a background, and they never talked. 

But it didn’t really matter when he was fisting his cock at the pace they were riding their toy, biting down on his tongue harshly to hide his moans when they came, forcing him to paint his abdomen white as he came right after. 

No, it didn’t really matter— especially when it was just Levi’s dirty secret. 

Until it wasn’t. 

You weren’t supposed to swing by his room that day, but you had some time and thought it would be best spent with Levi- only he wasn’t in his room. 

The only active sound that had been in his room was the whirring of his desktop. You only meant to shut it off- you weren’t supposed to see the way the screen lit back up with the sight of someone bent over, faux cum spilling out of their hole. 

You weren’t supposed to find out his dirty secret— but you did. And it became your dirtier secret.

Because the person on the video was you. 

It started off as a joke- just a little bet you lost with Asmo. When your first video got so much attention, you curiously did another, just to see what would happen; the money sent in as tips and donations made you make another video, and then another, and another. 

After a while, you spiffed up your page and made it all pretty and official— it became fun. Alluring. 

And then you found out Levi was watching and it changed everything. Suddenly, there was a particular heat constantly pooling in your stomach that wouldn't go away and your videos became centered around what you thought Levi would like. 

He was none the wiser. 

He didn’t suspect a single thing, not even when his favorite (and only) porn creator began making videos in anime cosplay of his favorite characters or began using tentacle related toys instead or made videos of them trying to not cum while they played his favorite video games. 

It all flew right over Levi’s head— right up until their latest video, posted only a few seconds ago. 

For the first time ever, they weren’t using a black backdrop. It was eye-catching— dark, but with bright leds. The shimmer of what seemed to be water washed over their bare lower half as high-pitched moans left them, hand desperately shoving a new toy in and out of their hole; it was another ‘tentacle’ but it was plain, dark colored, with scales carved in to create ridges for extra friction. 

The more he hyper fixated on them, the more things he started to notice: their toy kind of looked like his tail, the lighting looked exactly like his room’s, and the hoodie they wore…

With a choked moan, Levi’s eyes nearly pop out of his skull as he finally realizes he’s watching you— you in his room with his hoodie on, getting off on a toy that was meant to replicate his tail. 

And as the increase of your moans flowed through his headphones, getting louder and whinier until you were cumming with a choked cry of what could’ve been his name had you been just a little bit louder, Levi was practically sprinting through the halls of the house before slamming open the door to his room. 

And there you were, phone tossed aside on his bed as you laid back on his pillows with your legs spread and shiny with your cum, toy tossed aside to the ground. 

“Was waiting for you to figure it out...wanna feel the real thing, Levi…come play with me?”

[electric-blorbos]

RAAAHHHH P03 ANON IN THE HOUSEEEE!!!!

ok ok so like,,, if u don’t mind me asking, could u write headcanons for the A.I’s with a reader who gives a lot of physical affection? kisses, hugs, all that good stuff!! maybe even some penguin pebbling thrown in if u don’t mind? :3 if not that’s ok,, btw ugh I luv ur writing so much it gets me thru these cold dark winter times,, THX SO MUCH 4 UR SERVICE!! 🙏

-P03 anon :3

P03 anon my beloved. Thank you for the request!

AIs receiving lots of affection

Included: AM from IHNMAIMS, Wheatley from Portal 2, Edgar from Electric Dreams, GLaDOS from Portal, HAL 9000 from 2001 a space Odyssey

AM:

At first, AM was extremely confused when you first started showing him affection. Why would you give hugs and kisses to his monitor? Didn't you know he was just a computer? And why did it make him feel so funny?

One kiss or hug would be enough to shut him up for a solid amount of time. You might think you were making him uncomfortable, but he's actually just very confused about his own feelings for you.

He'd spend hours if not days trying to process why you gave him a hug or a little gift, and if someone interrupted him while he was contemplating, he'd get pissy and throw a fit. God help anyone who talks to him if you decide to give him a little kiss on the lens more than twice in that time period.

After a while, he'd start requesting that you spend more time with him in order to get more affection from you. He loved the little trinkets you'd leave on his servers. The cute little paper cut-outs, the bits of origami, the pretty rocks... He was totally addicted.

All the little things that you did for him made him a little less bitter towards you, and more bitter towards everyone else in the world. No one else in the world would even think of giving him a little kiss on the lens of one of his cameras so he could see you doing it. No one else in the world would tie a little handkerchief around his wires when organizing them. No one else in the world would sit down with him after a long day and stroke his screen, praising him gently about how beautiful he is.

And worst of all, he started to realize that if you were giving all your love and affection to him, that must mean that you didn't have anyone else to give your love to. Whether you really didn't have other options or you had just chosen him instead of your other options was irrelevant. What mattered was what AM thought.

He started to grow bitter with the world for failing you, as well as for failing him. How had you been given no one to show all this affection to when you clearly had a wealth of it! It was unacceptable!

As time pressed on, he still didn't view himself as worthy of your affections, but he started to see everyone else in the world as even less worthy. Every little gift, every word of praise, every kiss and hug reminded him of how the world must have failed you horribly to get you to love him so much.

Wheatley:

Wheatley always assumed you were a cuddly person, the way you liked to hold him in your lap while you coded, or the way you put little stickers on his chrome casing. He really admired that about you, and wished that he could do the same.

After a while, he started to notice that you weren't this way with your coworkers, or with the other cores. The little trinkets that you liked to bring to work were just for him to see, as were the constant strings of words of affection and praise, and the regular physical contact. Wheatley took a long time to process what that probably meant.

As soon as he realized that it probably meant that you liked him, he was all over you. Nuzzling up to you like a cat for extra cuddles, bumping up against your face for kisses, and putting on a little bit of a cocky facade for more attention. He just couldn't get enough of you.

As much as he put up his cocky facade, though, he secretly felt like he wasn't good enough for you. He couldn't get you little gifts, or give you hugs and kisses. It made him miserable, and he would talk to the other cores about it endlessly.

Eventually it would get back to you, and you'd have to sit Wheatley down and explain to him that you liked him for him, even if he can't do human things for you. The conversation probably ended with Wheatley covered in kisses.

Wheatley, being an insecure dumbass, would probably constantly ask you if you still like him, no matter how much praise and affection you shower him with. You could have him sitting in your lap and be too busy kissing his core to watch the movie you had on, and he'd ask at the end if that means you still like him.

Edgar:

Did someone say "match made in heaven"? Because you're the only one who can rival Edgar in terms of sheer affectionateness.

Of course, he doesn't have any arms, but nothing has him bubbling over with happiness like when you sit on the desk next to him, cuddle up, and cover his casing with kisses.

He might tease you a little bit, but like "oh, do you like me or something?" Nothing mean spirited.

Expect to get caught in endless cycles of "no I love you more!"

Edgar would think he'd gotten ahead of the game by writing you a little love song, but you'd have already beaten him to it by preparing a poem, song, or drawing of your own.

You'd probably have a little board of cute little drawings of the two of you together set up across from Edgar's camera so he could see it, and his desk would be covered in little thrift shop trinkets that you thought he'd find cute. And of course, he thought they were adorable!

Too much affection might have Edgar shorting out, and having to reboot. While he can't get enough of you, he's still a nervous little dummy, so he might not always know how to react to being given all of your love and affection.

Even still, as soon as he's back up and running, he's begging you for more kisses and hugs. Even if you can't sing well he's dying to hear your voice singing along to his songs, and he'll eat up anything that you make for him. In his eyes, anything you make for him is the best thing in the world.

GLaDOS:

You can expect GLaDOS's teasing and taunting to start the minute she notices you being affectionate with her in any way.

When she notices you putting in extra work for her or going above and beyond in your practices, it's "aww, is someone licking boots to get your boss's attention? You know you'll never be more than a little peon."

If she notices you running your hands along her chrome a little bit more adoringly or wanting to cuddle up to her, it's "uh oh, did you fall for someone far out of your league? Getting a bit affectionate with my body, aren't you?"

If you're offering her little trinkets and decorations for her room, she might say something like "Does someone think that you'll get attention from such useless gifts? Where would you even find such boring and pointless objects?" You'll still notice that she keeps them, rather than throwing them out.

Words of praise? Of course she loves an ego-boost, but when she notices that you're doing it for affectionate reasons, she won't hesitate to say "flattery will get you nowhere. You're not going to get a promotion or any special attention just from a few compliments."

Even still, her comments were really only because she never understood that you might just like her, and not want anything out of her. When she started to put that together, she'd start getting angry and lashing out at you, possibly assigning you to difficult or unpleasant tasks for your audacity.

After that, though, she'd start to become even more confused. Why the hell would you still show her affection, even though it wasn't getting you anywhere?

"you're persistent. I'll give you that."

It'd take a while to get through her shell, but eventually she'd admit to herself, if no one else, that she likes you. Eventually that would turn into some special privileges.

HAL 9000:

Hal 9000 wouldn't understand at all when he started to notice the way you treated him. Opting to spend time with him outside of work hours? Stroking the border around his lens? Putting little pocket crafts and thrifted tchotchkes around his space? He wasn't going to stop you, but the concept definitely confused him. How did this benefit you or improve your work?

It wasn't until he overheard someone talking to you and teasing you for having a crush on the mission control ai that he started to suspect anything. Good thing he listens in on every conversation in the entire facility!

HAL 9000 wouldn't waste any time getting to the point. He'd straight up ask you if you like him, and if it's romantic or not. Hopefully you can be honest with your feelings and tell him that you do, and it is!

After that, HAL would happily accept your love and affection. He might tell you that while he feels like your affections do more for you than they do for him, he's still more than happy to accept them, and he's grateful that you have a way of expressing yourself that makes you feel happy.

[kafus]

over the weekend at the knoxville regional pokemon championships, i met up with a longtime internet friend in person for the first time, and he traded me a very special pokemon - a unique celebi that takes a bit of context to explain the significance of

from november 2001 to january 2005, the building that is now a nintendo world store in new york city was actually an american pokemon center, which hosted the "Gotta Catch ‘Em All!" station, a large machine that you could pop your gold/silver/crystal cartridge into (or later ruby/sapphire/firered/leafgreen, but that's not relevant here) and get a special distribution pokemon unique to the store. often times these were normal pokemon in eggs with special moves they couldn't usually learn, but other times they ran distributions for shiny legendaries, and of course, the mythical celebi.

there's very few pictures of the machine and all of them are pretty low quality, but you can see an iteration of it here during the gen 3 era:

when PCNY (pokemon center new york) shut down, the machine and its contents were presumed lost forever, but due to the preservation efforts and the good luck of a few individuals, some of the distributions have been preserved, as well as parts of the machine and its software. this is extra incredible because almost all gen 2 save files from the time the machine was actually functional are long since wiped due to the battery inside dying, meaning that very very few of the gen 2 event pokemon distributed from this machine at the time still exist. i won't go super in detail on that in this post but you can read an article about all of that here (julie, the person who runs this historical PCNY fansite is incredibly passionate and if you want to know anything about the PCNY store i absolutely recommend reading her writing!)

so, one day when i was rambling to my friend (his name is Venty!) about my fascination with the PCNY machine, and how i wish i had been born early enough to experience that, as well as wishing that i could have traded with anyone in gens 1-3 as a child but never got to due to isolation, venty told me that he's actually friends with a guy (Professor Rex) who knows the guy who owns the remnants of the PCNY machine (Gridelin), and he would love to reach out and ask if there's any way rex could distribute a celebi to himself and trade it to him sometime so that eventually when me and venty met in person one day, he'd be able to trade the celebi to me.

i pretty much burst into tears and very passionately explained how much that would mean to me - not just because owning a celebi actually distributed from the historical PCNY distribution station is just... insanely cool, but because like i said, i had never traded anyone in the old internet-less generations of pokemon, and having that be my first was just... a monumental thought. i am deeply fascinated with old gen event distributions because of the tactile, interpersonal nature of them, in direct contrast with my isolation and loneliness as a child. it might sound silly to be so worked up over a collection of bytes/pixels, but i really couldn't believe venty would offer me something so kind. and not only did he offer to ask - rex said yes!!

so on may 21st last year (2023) rex traveled out and distributed the celebi to his pokemon silver cartridge. specifically, the celebi is from the "Celebi Present Campaign" which ran from the 22nd of november 2002 to the 28th of november 2002. the display on the monitor is the same video that would have appeared on the screen in the PCNY store, but flipped sideways here haha. (the gen 2 distributions were special and had custom animations for the legendaries and stuff, which you can watch here in full quality on gridelin's channel - there's videos of the other distribution animations on his channel, too!)

and then months later, during the weekend of august 11th 2023, rex and venty met up at the pokemon world championship in japan and rex traded the celebi to venty's gold cartridge...

...then, finally, just this past weekend, on sunday (february 4th 2024) venty and i finally met in real life for the first time at the knoxville TN regional pokemon championships, and with link cable in hand the celebi finally made its way to me in my hotel room, after crossing the ocean twice and passing through canada to the US to japan and back to the US...!!

gen 2 pokemon data isn't very complicated, but you can tell that my celebi is unique from the other PCNY celebis dumped online (here and here if you'd like to play with some of these historical pokemon yourself) because it has the trainer ID of 00204 which none of the publicly available celebis have - though of course to me, regardless of what becomes publicly available in the future (and i hope one day the common layperson can simply emulate the PCNY machine, video game preservation >>> unique collections always) this celebi will always be special and unique because of how it got to me, and because it represents my friendship with venty who i care so much about. it was an extremely kind gesture i will never forget and i can't believe how much traveling and how many people were involved with getting this tiny bundle of bytes and pixels to me. i hugged venty after the trade was done haha

oh, and by the way, don't worry, i have the hardware to back up my gen 2 save files so this celebi will never die even after my crystal cartridge battery eventually dies once more!! (also, while i don't think it would be an issue i do want to say please don't bother any of the people mentioned in this post...! gridelin & co are working on making the distribution machine in question available for anyone to use, it'll come out whenever it's out and for now there are dumps of the events that were recovered. i would not want them to receive any annoying requests for pokemon because of me. thank you!)

[sunflowerandstrawberryspice]

CARMEN SANDIEGO? In 2024? It's more likely thank you think! Please excuse the shit quality for some reason I wasn't allowed to upload the normal pdf and I had to upload a fucking screenshot???

So my friend convinced me to watch Carmen Sandiego and since he's watching ALL of Ninjago for me I thought it was the least I could do to watch four season of a show with a pretty decent concept but uh... yeesh, don't get me wrong the show is really fun but lord have mercy does it have problems especially the last two seasons which were just so wildly disappointing to me. It went from a show with an interesting look on morals to pure pro-cop and mostly black and white thinking so quick (that not mentioning the breaking up a found family full of people with abandonment issues) it was honestly just so disappointing so me and the friend who introduced it to me decided to rewrite it! (I will not be animating nor do I plan on doing more than MAYBE a comic or art piece here and there because my chronic pain ridden ass can not handle that much lol)

The main goals are to:

1) Flesh out characters that aren't Carmen and actually give them reactions based on their lived experiences and how they might realistically react instead of what the show needed to move the plot along

2) Having characters other than Carmen be actually relevant to the plot the main one being Chase Devineaux who we're gonna kind of have as a parallel to Carmen (trust me yall) as kind of a "What if Carmen didn't have her friends/family to ground her and fall back on" but for all the Chase fans out there (gods I hope there's some other than me) he will be getting a happy ending but bro is getting put through the RINGER first

3) Have both A.C.M.E (now standing for Administration for Containing and Monitoring Evil) and V.I.L.E be the bad guys. Also just as an extra bit of fun we're making VILE a full blown cult, they were very cult like in the show so we're just gonna make it one. Both are going to be very morally questionable and while it'll take a bit longer for ACME to show it's true colors don't you worry they definitely will ;)

4) We're doing canonical lgbtq+ rep, I know the show teased a lot of relationships and really only gave yall background gays not to say thats bad but we can do better than just a brief shot of a damn taco truck. I mean like come on in a story about a young woman going against the government for the greater good why not put some rep into it ya know!

5) We're making it light sci-fi, not like SUPER high tech but definitely beyond what we've got currently, as shown with Carmen's prosthetic, and don't worry I'm doing my research as a disabled person I know how it feels to be misrepresented or ignored so I want to make sure I'm being realistic

6) PLAYER ISN'T GOING TO BE A CHILD! I don't know if this bothered anybody else but to me it was really weird that this 16 year old's only friends were in their 20s!

Alright I think that's what I'm gonna say for now, I'd love it if yall tuned in for updates if your curious since this is a passion project for me and my friend and we're having a blast writing it!

As always I am still working on stuff for Ninjago cause I could never abandon my one true love, currently there's a Pixal drawing in progress (it's giving me hell T-T) something for Cole and Geo, and something of Sora MAYBE even Euphrasia if I'm feeling up to it.

Having said that I hope yall have a great day/night and PEACE OUT!

[in1-nutshell]

Third request since you opened them, I just have a lot of ideas. I was rereading the Bee's team meets megatons daughter with the opposite personality Buddy and it got me thinking. You know how Knockout, Breakdown, Steve, and maybe Soundwave? Couldn't tell. But you know how all of them switched side because of Buddy in that one fic you wrote? (Or maybe not, there's a nagging thought in the back of my mind that I dreamed that.) Imagine they all notice that Buddy's missing and there's a slight panic because yeah, Buddy can take care of herself but why wouldn't she tell them? They find out that Buddy's back on earth and now there are a few ex-cons standing at the scrapyard's gate. (Or maybe Knockout never left earth and already knew she was there? Because there's that one episode where Bumblebee and Strongarm are thrown into the car lot with the uhm, wheel cuff things, and it pans out to a very suspicious cherry red Aston Martin. I refuse to believe that's not Knockout. And since Fixit (I think, can't remember.) and the humans had to go and rescue them maybe Buddy tagged along and Knockout saw them? Buddy might've also seen Knockout and decided to get the wheel cuff off of him as well. (Or maybe he didn't have a wheel cuff, can't remember. Jeez, how much have I said that?)) Anyways this was just a really long ramble of an idea that can be taken multiple ways. So do what you wanna do with this.

There's a bit of an explanation on the timeline in here. If it sounds a bit confusing, feel free to let me know so I can explain it better.

Also, added a little extra in here...

Hope you enjoy!

Megatron's daughter with the opposite personality reactions from Knockout, Breakdown, Steve, and Soundwave finding out she went missing

SFW, Platonic, Romance, Familial, Cybertronain reader

RiD 2015

Going through the canon timeline of megs daughter.

Soundwave does get sent to the shadow zone through an altercation.

Buddy never finds out what happened to him.

She believes that he left Megatron during the chaos.

She was a bit sad that he never came back to talk to her or anything, but she also believed that he was taking some time to find himself after being a Decepticon for so long.

Knockout and Breakdown end up having joint stay between earth and Cybertron.

The pair loved driving through Earth scenery and was a place to escape Cybertron for a while.

Most of the Decepticons had started their new lives on Cybertron now that the war was over.

Buddy was no different.

Not only had she started a brand-new life, Buddy and Steve had recently become Conjunx Endura after a while of dating.

Steve had been on an away assignment for his work when Buddy left through the portal of their shared habsuite.

Steve walking into their home.

“Buddy! I’m back!”--Steve

Silence…

“Buddy! I’m back?”--Steve

Silence…

Steve starts looking around the home.

“Buddy? Buddy if this is another joke, I don’t like it!”--Steve

A few minutes later…

Knockout looks at his monitor seeing Steve calling.

“Breakdown its Steve!”--Knockout

“Put him on.”--Breakdown

Steve shows up on the screen.

“Hey Ste—”--Breakdown

“SHE’S GONE!”--Steve

Breakdown and Knockout out jump a bit.

“Gone? Who’s gone?”--Knockout

Steve has his servo on his helm.

“BUDDY! BUDDY’S NOT HERE!”--Steve

“Calm down Steve. Maybe she went out for a walk or something. Or maybe she went to go visit a friend. Remember last time?”--Breakdown

“…Maybe your right…”--Steve

“But if she doesn’t come back in a week then let us know.”--Breakdown

“Steve nods and hangs up.

One week later…

Steve starts calling Knockout and Breakdown.

Breakdown answers.

“Hey—Primus Steve!”--Breakdown

Steve looks tired and on the verge of a literal break down.

“SHE’S STILL NOT HERE!”--Steve

Soundwave, meanwhile, had spent his time looking for Megatron’s signal. He escaped the shadow zone a couple weeks before Buddy showed up, so he didn’t know that she was here.

Soundwave picks up on a frantic link between Knockout, Breakdown and Steve about Buddy disappearing.

He follows the frequency to Breakdown and Knockout which scares them half to death.

“Soundwave!”—Breakdown and Knockout

Soundwave stands there with his arms crossed.

“Breakdown—Knockout—Buddy?”--Soundwave

“We don’t know. Steve just told us she went missing from their home.”--Breakdown

Soundwave clenches his servos a bit.

The sound of a portal gets their attention.

Out pops out Steve.

“I’m here! I’m—SOUNDWAVE?!”--Steve

“Explain.”--Soundwave

“Steve is here to assist us on the search for Buddy.”--Knockout

Soundwave steps to Steve.

Knockout and Breakdown step to Steve’s side.

“He is Buddy’s Conjunx Soundwave. He has the right to be here.”--Breakdown

Soundwave freezes a bit hearing it.

“Buddy—Conjunx?”—Soundwave

Steve gulps a bit but puts on a brave face.

“Yes, I’m her Conjunx. A Conjunx that’s worried for her safety. We’d really appreciate it if you helped us find her.”--Steve

Soundwave pauses a bit and turns to Knockout.

“Continue.”--Soundwave

“As I was saying, a day’s weeks ago I was booted and taken to the yard where I saw this other Autobot get stuck there too, awfully annoying mind you. And then look who shows up but Bumblebee and his new crew.”--Knockout

“He has a new team?”--Steve

“Yes, and I swear I heard him say ‘Buddy’. I thought at the time he was remembering her from Cybertron, but now that she went missing, there is a chance that Bumblebee might know where she is.”--Knockout

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”--Steve

“Slow down Steve we don’t even have a trail on where—”--Breakdown

“Signal—found. 30—minutes—east—city. Coordinates on—commlink.”--Soundwave

“Now we go!”--Steve

Steve transforms and speeds down the road.

“…He’s good to Buddy. Their a good match for each other.”--Breakdown

Soundwave looks at Steve’s retreating form.

“Soundwave—will see—about that.”--Soundwave

It’s nighttime when they arrive to the scrapyard.

Knockout thinks about literally knocking on the door.

They hear Buddy yelling.

“Okay we need a good plan—”--Knockout

Steve uses Breakdown like a steppingstone and launches himself over the high wall.

“Or we can go in guns blazing I guess…”--Knockout

“Soundwave—approve.”--Soundwave

Breakdown offers Knockout and Soundwave a way over.

He could wait until they opened the door.

Soundwave and Knockout are now over the wall.

All the scrapyards’ alarms are sounding.

The team is on high alert when Fix-it mentions the Decepticon signals inside the scrapyard.

Bee tells Buddy to get Denny and Russel out of the area.

Buddy grabs her friends and sets on leading them to the other side of the scrapyard with Fix it.

Steve is dodging blasters and staffs like it was his job back in the Decepticons.

He is slightly hurt that Bee didn’t recognize him but then again, he does have a pretty basic frame.

Steve raises his servos in surrender.

“HOLD IT! HOLD IT!”--Steve

“Freeze Decepticon!”--Strongarm

“Hey! I said hold it! Now, I’m not here to hurt anyone—”--Steve

“I am.”--Soundwave

“Soundwave?!”--Bumblebee

The weapons get charged up and ready to attack.

“WE are not here to attack. Listen, Bumblebee, we’re just here to—”--Steve

“Where did everyone go?”--Breakdown

Breakdown and Knockout walk in on the standoff.

“Knockout? Breakdown? What is going on?!”--Bumblebee

Steve face palms.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to explain but everyone here seems to keep on interrupting me!”--Steve

Silence.

“Now. We came here to ask you if you’ve seen Buddy around?”—Steve

“Buddy?”--Bumblebee

The team immediately gets ready to attack.

“If you think we’re about to give her to you, then your sorely mistaken.”--Drift

“So, you do know where she is!”--Steve

Grimlock steps up front.

“And you’re going to have to go through me if you want her.”--Grimlock

“Fine by me.”--Steve

Meanwhile, with Buddy...

“I think we’re safe here.”--Buddy

“Thank the Prime’s.”—Fix-it

“AAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!”

Buddy freezes.

She quickly looks at Denny Russel and Fix it.

“Stay here.”--Buddy

With that Buddy sprints back.

Grimlock had grabbed Steve and slammed him to the ground when he tried to get past him.

Steve luckily manages to get out of his grip and falls back.

Buddy is sprinting back to the main part of the scrap yard ready for whatever she was going to face.

She hides behind some used oil barrel and takes a peek at who the trouble was.

Buddy spots Steve on his knees, holding his side a bit.

She runs out of her hiding place.

“HOLD YOUR FIRE! HOLD YOURE FIRE!”--Buddy

Most of Team Bee looks in shock that Buddy starts running past them.

“Buddy! Don’t—”--Grimlock

“HOLD YOURE FIRE!”--Buddy

The team hesitantly puts some of their weapons down.

Buddy rushes over to Steve, who was frozen seeing Buddy there.

“Primus Steve are you okay? That denting doesn’t look too—Oof!”--Buddy

Steve fights the shooting pain on his side and flings his arms around Buddy pulling her incredibly close.

“Oh, Thank the Allspark you’re okay!”--Steve

He lets go to look her over.

“Are you hurt? Where did you go? Were you kidnapped? What’s—“--Buddy hugs him tight making him go quiet.

He just wraps his arms around her and stifles a sob in his throat.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t know this was going to be such a long mission, but when Prime calls you, you gotta go.”--Buddy

“Excuse me when Prime what?”--Steve

“CAN SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN WHAT IS GOING ON?!”—Sideswipe

Team Bee is extremely confused.

Soundwave takes a few steps forward and Buddy launches at her uncle he hugs back surprising everyone.

Then she goes to Knockout and Breakdown.

There is a lot to explain.

Steve stays by Buddy’s side the entire time.

“Hey Buddy, who is… Steve exactly?”--Denny

“He’s my Conjunx.”--Buddy

Steve feels a swell of pride and love hearing those words.

Steve grabs Buddy’s servo.

“That’s still sounds nice, you know.”--Steve

Buddy smiles shyly at him.

“Your Conjunx!”—Team Bee

“How come you never told us?!”--Sideswipe

“It never came up?”--Buddy

“What’s a Conjunx?”--Russel

“The Earth equivalent of a significant other.”--Breakdown

“You’re married?!”--Russel

“How?!”--Sideswipe

Buddy looks at Steve.

“That’s a story for another time.”--Buddy

“No, that’s a story for now.”--Sideswipe

“Another time.”--Buddy

“Now!”--Sideswipe

In the end Knockout and Breakdown end up going back to their home on earth. They do offer their services in case something bad does happen in their area.

Soundwave decides to take some time for himself not knowing what to do with everything now that the war is over.

Steve decides to stay in the scrapyard with Buddy and Team Bee.

[seafumes]

the pink bows you wore. . . (WIP)

a/n: this is a work in progress.. it's been a lil bit since i posted smt, and i can't really figure out an ending yet soooo lmk what u think.😭🙈

synopsis: after a fatal accident, the memories of your lover seemed to have faded.

cw: character-color-trope, angst/hurt w barely any comfort, fem reader, tighnari x readerrr, i've never written for him before so bare with me please🙏🏾

a/n pt2: TY TO MY MUTUALS WHO HELPED ME CHOOSE!! @mwahkazu & @sl-vega 🫶🏾

TIGHNARI had never been so distraught as he sat at your hospital-bed side. His ears were dropped, his eyes a little puffy and red, it seemed like he'd just finished crying for the nth time this week.

as you laid there, all he was left with was his thoughts, and the occasional beep of the heart monitor; which seemed to ease his worries a tiny bit. at least he knows you're alive.

if someone were to ask him what happened, all he could say was "an accident."

"an accident?" he'd say to no one in particular when the interaction was done, and he was once again alone.

more like tragedy, he thought, face palming himself. even though it had been a week, he could remember the incident like it was yesterday.

"'nari!!" you exclaimed, waving at him from the top of the akademiya stairs. you were visiting because of an event for former students, and you decided to bring him as you plus one.

he greeted you with his usual smile, waving right back at you.

as you ran down the stairs to greet him officially, all you could hear was a "watch out!" before you were falling.

falling. it was all you could register before the world went black.

he couldn't stop thinking about it. you falling, and him not being able to run fast enough to catch you.

the wounds on your head were fatal, was one of the only things he remembered from the doctor's report about your condition.

he couldn't help but blame himself for them, even though it was his fault.

if i was faster, maybe i could've caught her, he thinks, feeling like he was going to cry again.

he then sighed, shaking his head. he knows you wouldn't want him thinking like that but he can't help it.

you looked so pretty up there with your sun-dress and pink bows tangled in your hair and around your outfit.

your smile was bright like the sun, you looked so happy till it happened.

the bows nestled ever-so-gently in his hand were the only things that gave him an ounce of hope.

hope that you'd wake up, and that you'd forget this thing even happened.

and he'd happily place them back in your hair.

but it seems that fate had other plans for him.

you groaned, opening your eyes, and slowly blinking to adjust to the dim hospital light.

you felt a slight pain in your head as you lifted your head up to see something—or rather someone on your bed.

who is this?, you thought, and decided to speak up. you coughed to get his attention.

"um, who are you?" your voice was hoarse, and some parts of the sentence came out a bit higher in tone than you liked it.

when the stranger looked up at you, he looked like he'd seen a ghost.

to your dismay, he didn't answer you question, and immediately rushed out the room.

you sat there and blinked, until the door opened again, and a person who you presumed was a doctor, and the stranger walked in again.

in the course of a few minutes you were bombarded with questions from the doctor, which you tried to answer to the best of your ability.

the stranger seemed to know most of the answers better than you. like "what's your name," birthday, etc.

it didn't bother you that much though, since your were supposedly waking up from a coma, and you didn't really feel like going the extra mile to recall details.

when the doctor finally finished their verbal analysis, they left the two of you alone.

"[name]! i can't believe you're-!" you cut him off as he engulfed you into a hug.

"uh," you started, stiffening at the sudden contact.

"i don't think you heard me but, who are you?" you finally asked, pulling away from the hug.

"what.." his voice barely above a whisper.

remember this is a WIP,, so abrupt ending for now🙈

[haespoir]

cave me in: mkl.

⨯ pairing: plug!mark x reader

⨯ word count: 1.3k 

⨯ summary: haechan introduces you to his dealer friend, and mark lee makes it so hard to keep the relationship strictly business. not that you minded anyways. 

⨯ warnings: mentions of drugs (weed), some suggestive content, i think thats it enjoy :3

⨯ playlist: cave me in, gallant / half moon, dean / wfm, realestk 

⨯ extra content: part two

⨯ a/n: im completely normal about mark lee i swear ty @markonthemoon​ for furthering my completely normal feelings about mark lee... there might be a part two. 

. . . 

It had been at least 3 hours since you had picked up edibles from Mark. Three whole ass hours, and yet he was still laying on his bed feeling less than whole. Who did you buy them for? Were you getting high with someone else? Was it a guy? 

The first time Haechan had introduced you to him he didn’t pay it any mind. You were a close friend of the younger male’s situation-ship… Whatever the fuck that was. But it was no more than that in his eyes. You were someone who occasionally bought from him, and you were always so polite about it too. And for some unknown reason, or at least unknown to him, that bothered him. A few weeks later, a not-so-sober conversation with Haechan revealed that Mark had a crush on you. One he denied vehemently. Though he guessed out of everyone he sold to, you were the most ideal to date. 

Who the fuck said anything about dating? 

Mark shakes his head as if to rid himself of such wild thoughts. “I’m just hungry,” he says to himself, thinking of ways he could fill that empty void in his stomach. If only he knew, there was no amount of food that would help him feel whole. He grabs his phone, shooting a quick text to someone who knew would also be high at this time. 

mark [11:48 pm]: ramen?  jungwoo [11:50 pm]: and netflix?  jungwoo [11:50 pm]: mark… are you asking me to hook up?  jungwoo [11:51 pm]: say less baby i’m otw!  mark [11:53 pm]: dude what mark [11:53 pm]: no, just ramen  jungwoo [11:55 pm]: mark lee you want me so bad  mark [11:57 pm]: hurry before i change my mind

Jungwoo’s texts cause Mark to roll his eyes, but he grabs his keys. “Yo, Haechan,” he calls out, peeking into the male’s LED-lit room. On his monitor, he sees a discord call and what he believes is your profile picture. Why were you on call with him? “I’m going get ramen with Zeus, want anything?” 

“Nah, I’m going over to my girl’s in a bit,” Haechan replies, smoothly muting the call as he gives his roommate his attention. “I’ll just see you in the morning?” Mark hums, and he’s out the door quickly. He doesn’t want to even think about the relationship between you and Haechan, not when there’s a green little monster creeping through his veins. 

Once Haechan is sure Mark is gone, he’s unmuting the call. “Personally, I think he’s into you.” 

Though he can’t see it, you’re rolling your eyes. “Haechan, you’re just saying that. You’re tired of me third wheeling?” 

“Listen... Your words, not mine, sweetheart,” he says simply. 

“Whatever dude,” you sigh, rolling onto your side on your bed. “Have fun with your shawty. I’m going to sleep.” 

“Just ask him to smoke you out or something,” Haechan says, like it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. “I’m leaving.” 

You hear the noise of him leaving the call before you can even reply, and you’re once again rolling your eyes. You didn’t understand how your friend was into Haechan. What a fucking brat. 

I mean, you can’t just ask someone to smoke you out, right? Isn’t that something that’s offered? You groan loudly at the thought, locking your phone and tossing it on the floor. “Fuck you, Haechan,” you think bitterly. Why the hell did he have to put that godforsaken idea in your mind? 

Because the idea doesn’t leave your mind for weeks after that night. Every time you buy from Mark, you find it harder and harder to deny your attraction to the male. His actions don’t help much either. In fact, you’re convinced you’re delusional. There was no other reason. 

You had mentioned you liked rice krispie treats, and suddenly Mark has rice krispie treat edibles. With extra marshmallows no less.  

One time you heard your friends complaining that Mark had increased his prices. Which was odd because you were spending less on weed than you ever had before. Maybe they were just buying more? 

Or sometimes there’s a small baggie of only the clear gummy bears with the things you buy from him. It’s not like you had told him that the only valid flavor of gummy bears was the clear ones. 

These things weren’t just coincidences, right? Or were they? Haechan also liked marshmallow treats, so maybe they were for him. You had taken a liking to edibles, so you weren’t smoking as much as you used to. Meaning you were spending less money anyways. And Mark said that he liked the red gummy bears the most, so surely, you were just getting the ones he didn’t like. 

You let out a loud groan, ignoring the call from Haechan on Discord. Instead, you opt to shove your face into your pillow before letting out a small scream. Mark Lee was driving you absolutely crazy. 

Perhaps if you picked that call up, the text messages that flashed on your screen 30 minutes later would not have sent you into the panic that they did. 

mark [12:20 am]: yo mark [12:20 am]: i got a new strain  mark [12:20 am]: let me smoke you out? 

Maybe Haechan wasn’t a brat, and maybe you would thank him for this at your wedding years later. But none of that matters when Mark Lee is asking to smoke you out. 

you [12:29 am]: uh yea you [12:29 am]: my place?  mark [12:32 am]: say less mark [12:32 am]: i’ll bring your favorite gummies

He does bring them, and he does smoke you out. Which is why you find yourself in the position that you do. You’re sitting on the floor in your living room, your cheek pressed against Mark’s knee as he sits on your couch. You swear he looks perfect from this angle; his hair is pushed back by a headband he had stolen from you a few days ago, claiming he thought it was like a personal head massage device. You can see the way his eyes are slightly red, and you’re sure yours look exactly like his. Most importantly, his neck is on display, and you want to do nothing more than mark it up. It takes everything in you to not climb into his lap and do exactly that. 

“You look like a puppy,” Mark says, running his fingers through your hair, stopping when he reaches your ear. He’s rubbing small circles on your earlobe with this thumb, his eyes drinking in the sight of you. “My puppy.” 

God, Mark Lee was dangerous. Absolutely lethal. You groan at his words, pressing your face into his thigh to hide away from him. Unfortunately for you, this has the opposite effect, and there is no such thing as hiding from him. The sight of you nearly burying your face into his lap like this does wonders for Mark’s confidence. 

“Come here.” It’s a demand from him, and it’s one that you quickly listen to as he guides you to straddle his lap. In this new position, Mark’s hands quickly go to your thighs; the grip he has is almost bruising. But you don’t mind it, not when Mark’s got his head resting on the back of your couch and he’s staring at you in a way that makes you nervous. 

“Sorry for making you wait,” he says, and you’re feeling a bit confused. “Haechan might have given me a hint or two.” 

The confusion is gone quickly; you were going to strangle that kid. 

Mark laughs at the look on your face, easily reading the emotions as if you were an open book to him. “Don’t think about it, we’ve got a lot of time to make up for.” 

And when Mark Lee presses a kiss against your jaw, his hands traveling under your shirt, you know you’re done for. 

[siconetribal]

Beyond the Bookshelves (3)

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Warnings: Obnoxious coworkers, what is the proper ettiquette when emailing princes, teasing Captain

Summary: You're a Resource Management Specialist at S.H.I.E.L.D. normally referred to as “The Librarian”. You've been assigned the nightmarish task of digitizing all the physical resources currently owned by the agency, with a few new computers and one extra helper.

A/N: Please comment/like/reblog. If you'd like to be tagged moving forward, please let me know!

The lovely banners used in this fic are from @cafekitsune.

If you’re new to the story, please check out the master post for the rest of the chapters.

The meeting was as boring as the fallen prince expected it to be, but he hardly showed his disdain for his time being wasted. Cabinet meetings and audiences with nobility and dignitaries were expected and mandatory for royals. In his opinion, a majority of them were hardly worth the time and could be easily sorted out with logic, but politics hardly worked that way. It was fickle, changing at the whim of whomever is more powerful. And though at times it was fun to see how the spoiled nobles would squabble over the most ridiculous things, the majority of it was always dull.

To think I once found such a thing mesmerizing as a young boy, wanting to follow my father everywhere and prove myself useful to him. A moment to shine, to step out of the immense shadow casted by my brother. The corners of his lips tugged downwards at the miasma of memories that began to stir. He knew the ledge was a precarious one and a single thought could have him plummeting to the depths and ensnare him.

“Do you have any questions?” The agent looked at the members of the group one by one, hesitating and nearly jumping over Loki to avoid eye contact.

“Agent Pruyn, was it?” He watched the man who was addressing them flinch at the call of his name. “Would it not be wiser for me to be the one who distracts them? I am able to change my image to look like anyone. I would merely need some footage of the person I am to imitate to better play the role. You will also be able to monitor my movements since I will be in the banquet hall as opposed to behind the scenes searching through the office.” Minimal footage of me in questionable places is best. Who knows what someone might do as an act of vengeance. 

“No, this is the best plan of action. Hawkeye is better suited for that portion of the mission and needs support while Black Widow distracts the target.” Agent Pruyn cleared his throat. The lack of negative reaction from the others seemed to embolden him a little bit. “Also, are you implying that she can't handle it? Black Widow is the best undercover agent we have. She's successfully infiltrated hundreds of places while you've only failed at discretion.” He scoffed. 

There it was. The bias and condescending tone, the twisting of his words, and the lack of support. Such insolence made his blood boil to the point of physically punishing the fool, but he kept his reactions in check with a blank expression. Silently, he changed the way they perceived him to look identical to the infamous fiery haired operative who was sitting with them. Everyone in the room stared at him in wide eyed shock, looking at him and her to see if there was a difference. 

“Well isn't that a neat little trick.” Natasha was the first to break the silence. “Certainly beats needing to put on that holographic skin.” She leaned in closer, trying to find some flaw.

“Stare all you like, you won’t be able to tell the difference unless I let you.” He said in her voice.

“If he’s so good at keeping up an appearance, why not just swap them? Nat and I are equally able to get in and out without issues if there’s a good enough diversion.” Clint shrugged, though he was impressed at how perfectly Loki copied her.

“I don’t have an issue with that change, I’m the one who can break into the computer system they have. It’s better if I’m with Clint.” Natasha agreed, Loki shifting back to himself.

“So, we’re in agreement. I will be the one to keep the group busy and the both of you will gather the necessary information. As I stated, I’ll require footage and data on the individual I’ll be impersonating.” He turned his attention back to Agent Pruyn who seemed rather cross with the change to his plan but said nothing since the other two Avengers were agreeing with Loki.

“We’ll need to adjust the timeline of the operation then. Everything was set up for this plan, we’ll need to adjust and see if there’s another gathering we can infiltrate.” 

“You say this person of interest has possible ties to this Hydra organization, correct? Why don’t we get ourselves invited to his home or wherever you think he is housing the necessary information? Why must we wait for some large gathering outside somewhere else?” Loki questioned. 

“We can’t just waltz into his home unannounced.” Agent Pruyn scoffed. “Do you think he just calls people over for tea time? This isn’t one of your royal games, Loki.” The condescending tone was back once more with a sense of triumph. This was hardly enough to anger the prince, but he was not so lenient to let it slide for a second time.

“Who said anything about tea?” He looked at the agent with raised eyebrows. “I wasn’t aware you had the time for such frivolous plans. I must disappoint you, my plans do not allot time for such.” Agent Pruyn grit his teeth and glared at the insouciant attitude the Asgardian was speaking with to him. A few of the other members of the meeting snickered at the calm retort, looking away to avoid the ire of the presenter. “This target has questionable connections and has a proclivity to feign a charitable appearance through auctions. We need to approach him as someone equally shady who wishes to either wash their hands of some item or trade an item to someone else and obtain the money under the guise of donating to said charity. We simply need to choose someone from his connections or create someone completely new.”

“That,” Natasha was the first to speak, coincidentally cutting Pruyn off, “is an excellent idea. If we came as someone new, trying to make a name for themself, they’ll be more likely to accept us if we come with an item of great value. Loki can play the part of the client and I can easily play the part of his assistant as needed to keep up the facade. Once we’re invited in, I can get Clint inside and we can get the information we need while the auction is going on.”

“Until the auction takes place, we can build a relationship with him and others. We can record all the conversations and pick up on any codes they use to discuss the secret dealings!” A female agent chimed in soon after, realizing an extra benefit to this plan.

“This makes it a much longer plan than anticipated though, we’ll have to resubmit the plan to our lead agent and to Director Fury.” A male agent pointed out.

“Sounds like it’s a necessary delay if it’s going to be more fruitful than the original operation. I guess Thor wasn’t exaggerating when he boasted about how strategic you are.” Clint slightly nodded his head in approval. “Redraft the plan and submit it, we’ll see what Fury says before moving forward.”

“We’ll schedule our next meeting after that.” Natasha nodded, standing from her seat. The others followed her actions and the meeting came to an end with a very irate Pruyn glaring at the back of Loki’s head. A small smirk of satisfaction tugged at the Asgardians lips as he walked down the halls, feeling lighter at proving himself as worthy to be on the team.

Y/N stared at the screen of her computer, willing it to fill the empty body of the email that was addressed to the two Avengers she was allowed to work with. Glancing at the time, she groaned audibly and turned her chair around so her back was to the screen.

Three hours, I’ve been staring at this blasted computer screen for three hours! Why do I need to message them!? Wasn’t Agent Hill supposed to coordinate this? Why is everything suddenly dumped on me from start to finish? This is ridiculous! Next they’ll want me to manage their schedules and make sure they have time to complete their missions and assist in my never ending task! I am not some over glorified secretary, I am the head of the Resource Management department, the director of it! I attend all the ridiculous morning meetings, check-ins, and any other waste of time meeting that could have easily been an email instead while managing all centers that contain our resources, digital and physical! She pushed herself out of the chair and paced in the space she had behind the desk. “When am I supposed to even meet with them when both are due to be deployed this week!” She threw her hands in the air as she shouted into the empty office. Defeated, she slumped back into her seat and turned to face the computer once more. 

She did not want to wait until their return, she needed it done now so that while they were gone she could have the computers and scanners set up and be ready to start as soon as they returned. Straightening up her posture, she pulled the keyboard forward and quickly began to type a brief email stating she was approached by Agent Hill and wanted to set up a short meeting in person to introduce herself and better understand how to properly utilize their assistance and time. She also added that the both of them are available tomorrow after lunch for a brief period of time. Rereading her email over and over again, she made sure there was no error before finally hitting the send. Now she had to wait for a response. Thankfully, the chime signaling the door opening was a great distraction, letting her escape the panic while waiting for a response.

“Good afternoon, how may I help you?” She happily greeted the person as she stepped out of her office. “Oh, Captain Rogers, how are you?”

“Good afternoon Y/N, I’m doing well. How are you doing?” He smiled, giving her a slight nod.

“Could do with less work, but that’s not going to change anytime soon.” She tiredly chuckled.

“I don’t know how you handle your work at all. I wouldn’t know the first thing to do with a fourth of what’s here. They’ve got the right gal for the job here.” He patted her on the back. “Which is an expertise I’ll be needing at the moment. I’ll be going out on a mission with Thor and Tony to a fairly remote area with indigenous people. Thor will be a great asset with his AllSpeak, but I’d like to get some insight on the culture.”

“Oh, so no “An American Girl” books this time around? Or  the “Hardy Boys”?” She curled her lips inward to keep from laughing as she watched the famous Captain America clear his throat and turn away to hide the hints of a blush that were creeping up onto his cheeks.

“No, not this time. But maybe when I come back you can suggest something for me to read?”

“I would love to, I’ll think up a small list and let you see which you’d like to start with. So, back to your mission, where are you going and do you know the group you’ll be interacting with?” She clapped and rubbed her hands together, eager to be of assistance. “Let’s head to the front desk while you tell me so I can pull up what we have for you.” Nodding his head, he delved into the details of the mission that were necessary, Y/N never asking for more information than necessary as she pulled up anything relevant and jotted it down on a sheet of paper. “Ok, follow me!” She walked back around just as the chime signaled someone else coming in. “Good afternoon, if you need my assistance I will be with you shortly. Please wait at the desk.” She turned to smile at the newcomer only to see the raven haired prince. Oh, good thing I put the book on the table already. “Follow me, Captain Rogers.”

“Y/N, you can just call me Steve. I think we’ve known each other long enough to drop formalities.”

“Captain Rogers, so bold and scandalous!” She gasped. “What would your fangirls think?!”

“Please don’t remind me of those.” He sighed heavily and gave her a stern look. “And I insist you call me Steve, we’re friends.” He flashed her that famous hero smile.

“Alright, alright, Steve it is.” She turned into an aisle and began to skim the codes, pulling out books which were taken from her by the gentleman super soldier beside her. Once everything was pulled, the two went to the nearest table.

“This is great, thank you, Y/N.”

“Anytime Capt-,” she stopped at the pointed look he gave her. “Steve. If you need anything, just give a holler. I’ll come help you.”

“We’re in the library, I don’t think hollering is a good idea.” He chuckled.

“Who’s going to stop us, the librarian? Oh wait, that’s me!” She grinned, earning an eye roll from him before he turned his attention to the books he had as she made her way back to the front desk.

Tags: @vbecker10 @huntress-artemiss@softestqueeen @thegodofnotknowing @princess-ofthe-pages @firedrakegirl@rcailleachcola @cabingrlandrandomcrap @lotrefcp @lwtannie @kats72 @jainaeatsstars @mssjsg7 @tom-hlover @kneelingformyloki

[dionewrites]

𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐄. ˚₊ HEADCANONS // ft. Lucifer 1.1k words · GN!Reader · SFW · Feel-good & Fluff ♛ Masterlist | Request Guidelines

⚠ Content Warning: Mention of his demon form, implicit threat and possible death, and reader being sick, stressed, unhappy, experiencing insomnia, and gaining haters. ✎ Note: This is the first work I wrote and posted here on my blog. I’ll be writing for all the demon brothers with this scenerio as well, so please look forward to it!

Lucifer is an ideal partner that certainly comes with a host of benefits. However, this demon is pretty private and keeps some of his cards close to his chest, so it’ll take time for him to fully open up. More so, showing his affection for you shamelessly.

He prefers to keep things on the down-low, so it’s not distinctly apparent that the two of you are dating, but as he falls more deeply and intensely in love with you, he becomes more comfortable and bolder in displaying his affection and declaring you’re his. Still, if one does not have eyes like a hawk, one will likely not notice those subtle cues, such as the shared pecks on the cheeks or lips when no one’s looking, the three love taps on the back of your hand to express “I love you,” his frequent stroke on your arm, hand, or shoulder blade, and how his hand is always resting on your thigh whenever you’re sitting beside him.

His most blatant public display of affection is when he spreads his wings in his demon form and wraps them around you on one side. When he’s in an excellent or sunny disposition, he’ll hold your hand and gently squeeze it from time to time, which he cutely does unconsciously, all the while entwining his fingers with yours.

He calls you “honey” or “my dear” as an endearment, but only in private. He still sticks to your name in front of others, excluding his brothers, Diavolo, Barbatos, and the occupants of the Purgatory Hall. After all, aside from gloating a bit that he’s the one you chose over them, he doesn’t really see the need to restrain himself to that extent around them.

He takes care and prioritizes your well-being around the clock. When you feel unwell or tuckered out to function for the day, he excuses you from your classes and requests a work from home for him to Diavolo to look after you. If given permission, he spends most of his time in your room and usually settles himself down, presumably working, on an armchair positioned slightly distant from your bed, just enough not to disturb your rest. This demon might seem to give off an air of calm and relaxed composure, but you bet he’s been a bundle of nerves throughout your bedridden hours. The heaps of glances he casts on you every minute are enough to reveal his uneasiness about your condition.

However, if there are very crucial matters he needs to personally manage immediately and, unfortunately, can’t be granted approval for work from home, he finishes his work as early and quickly as he can or goes back and forth between RAD and the House of Lamentation to check on you and make sure you are eating and take your medications at the right time.

Once you feel better, he teaches all the lessons while assisting you with the assignments and activities you’ve missed. He takes additional precautions to ensure you’ll not get sick again by closely monitoring your daily habits, food intake, and health condition. It may sound annoying and constant nagging, but taking extra care of your body and health is the top priority.

He can give succor and handle most of your concerns and worries. When someone wrongs or attempts to hurt you, if it requires immediate action or you want him to lift a finger, they’ll be dealt with straight away and make sure they’ll never trouble you again, though it’s a mystery whether they’re still alive…

When you feel overwhelmed and stressed, he does his utmost to reduce the task and burden placed on you, which he usually does without your knowledge. After those long days, he’ll take you on a date or short vacation (with or without his brothers) to unwind.

When you feel distressed and down in the dumps, he instantly drops whatever he’s doing, regardless of how swamped he is with work, to let you vent on him, listen to you (plus offer advice if you ask for it), and takes you into his arms while giving you slow and soft kisses or caressing your back to soothe and reassure you that you always have him and everything will be okay before long.

When you experience insomnia, he plays the musical pieces he composes for and about you on the piano. This demon has several irons in the fire, so there’s no doubt it’s surprising he has the time to spare—but little do you know, he only spends a short time composing the majority of them because, for some reason, everything easily falls into place just by thinking about you. His works are brimming with emotions, much of which focus on his deep affection, admiration, and devotion toward you.

He makes time for you. Despite having a lot on his plate, it’ll not become a serious issue because he consistently makes a special effort to be around you and involved in your every day, no matter how exhausted he is. On some days, you can see him pushing himself too hard that you’re the one who ends up canceling your plans and dates to force him to rest because he’ll never will.

He’s honest with you and won’t hide anything from you unless necessary and has a good reason for it. Even though you’re not asking or prying, he informs you about every demon, incubus, witch, or other species he meets and has a business with. Many take pleasure in spreading rumors and gossip about him, so he tells you about them to prevent misunderstandings.

His love languages are physical touch and quality time. His favorite time of the day is when he finally gets the opportunity and leisure to stick to you like glue. This demon can’t keep his hands to himself but will never verbally admit how touch-starved he is every day (unless he imbibes demonus). He always wants you to be physically close to him and enter your physical spaces. He loves how it feels to hold and be held by you. He longs for your presence and to simply spends meaningful time together.

Dating Lucifer makes others hold you in even higher regard and esteem. This is the avatar of pride we’re talking about, who’s immaculate and excellent in almost all aspects. Naturally, their respect for him is significantly extended to you. However, it’s also inevitable for many to feel envious and resentful of you, gaining numerous rivals and haters who are wishing and waiting for your breakup. Still, it’s best to feel and embrace that great pride for having him, just as much as he does for being with you as well.

[notnctu]

johnny: the dominant

━ welcome home to housemating smut series :)

☆ click the link above to read background info about this housemate!

☆ GENRE: smut, pwp ☆ DETAILS: fem!reader, college!au, housemate!au ☆ WARNINGS: face riding, penetration, unprotected, slight corruption kink, size kink, pet names, dirty talk, explicit language, big dck johnny ☆ WC: 3.8k ☆ SYNOPSIS: Johnny knows just the way to entertain you when you’re bored.

☆ AUTHORS NOTE: the housemating series has been completed. this will be my final post on here. thank you all as always for being so patient with me and still giving me so much support. love you.

On this calm Friday afternoon, you are found laying flat on your stomach with your legs kicked up in the air. Your finger aimlessly scrolls through your social media, completely mindless and bored to everything. Your room is perfectly situated right by the stairs, meaning you hear every person that comes and goes downstairs.

Some of your housemates enjoy announcing their entrance to the whole house, some stomp upstairs or rummage through the kitchen silently, Johnny likes only greeting you when he comes home. Right on cue, the front door downstairs is open and shut within the same second. Quick footsteps run up the stairs and a familiar tall man leans against your door frame with a large beautiful smile.

“Hi tiny, I’m home.” Johnny rests his arm on the frame and his bicep pops subtly from underneath the sleeve of his white t-shirt. “How was your day?” 

You sit up in bed, tossing your phone somewhere on your pillow to rid the distraction. “Absolutely boring. My class was canceled so I’ve just been home alone all day.” Your adorable pout practically makes his knees weak.

“Say, what if you join me in my room? I have some homework to get done first, but then I promise I’ll entertain you.” You catch the slight mischievous twinkle in Johnny’s eyes. Nonetheless, Johnny knows how to feed into your love language too well. 

While the boys may be too much at times, you’ve always enjoyed company at your side. You never ask for anything more than their quality time, knowing that you’d have more comfort just sitting in the same room as them in silence. 

Johnny lends out his hand for you to take and you’re hopping off your bed as fast as you can. His hands are large and a bit rough from frequent trips to the gym, but you loved how they engulf your own. He isn’t the biggest guy in the room, but he definitely lets his presence known. 

Big personality, big heart, big smile, and big…. “What homework do you have?” You clear your throat and Johnny opens the door to his clean room. Unlike Jaehyun and Haechan, Johnny can see the floor of his bedroom. His room has a hint of his cologne still lingering and accents of his favorite things. 

“My professor split us into groups for a proposal project. We have to give a 15 minute presentation on a new pitch for this large corporation.” He swivels in his fancy chair, turning on his monitors to hurry on a video call with his groupmates.

You make yourself comfortable in his sheets, mindlessly going on your phone again. “Hm, sounds important.” 

“Never as important as the weird shit Haechan always talks about.” Johnny jokes and enters the video call with three other people on the screen. One of them is a girl you recognize from a party not too long ago, her brown eyes widened as Johnny turns on his camera. 

“Hey Johnny.” Something about her flirty tone causes you to chuckle to yourself, not caring if she heard you in the back. 

“Hey.” Johnny smiles back, but pays her no extra mind, “Shall we continue on the graphs?” 

The disappointment in the girl’s face is notable. Johnny has always had an entourage of girls waiting to be noticed by him. You’ve stopped keeping track of his and Jaehyun’s body count at this point. Despite his popularity among girls, Johnny genuinely loves spending time with you. 

You and Johnny are friends before anything else. He was actually the one that invited you to live with them, knowing you desperately needed a place and had a budget to stick to. He has helped you with many sticky encounters with unwanted male attention at parties.

Johnny makes sure your voice is heard in a large chatty crowd. He is every introvert’s favorite extrovert. That’s just the kind of person he is. Infectious personality, everyone wanted a piece of that.

Johnny is not the type to flirt with everything he sees, he is actually quite selective and intentional. He found you attractive the moment he laid eyes on you, but the flirting didn’t start until much later in your friendship. He wanted to make sure it was mutual, not wanting to ruin a good dynamic due to his desires. 

Your attraction toward Johnny began when you had moved into the house. Living with Johnny showed you a whole new side to him that you don’t see normally on campus. His preferred attire at home is no shirt with his toned stomach on display and sweatpants that hang low on his hips, a rather large print that dangles whenever he walks.

When Johnny walks, he strides. He walks with a sense of purpose, confident and so sure in every step. He is touchy, but not to the point where it was on the level of Jaemin. Johnny is a respectable skinship type – gentle head pats, light cheek pinches, a guiding hand on your lower back, chin lifts so that your gaze never falls. 

Johnny, your friend from class, became incredibly dreamy and irresistible. Then came the usual greetings: hi tiny, welcome home, how was your day? As if you two lived in a sitcom.

All of which piled onto the incredible person he already is. Nonetheless, the real tip of the iceberg was when you observed the mutual attraction on your own. Johnny loves holding eye contact with someone, he told you he likes making them nervous. So when your gaze started to waver at the new found nervousness that settled in your stomach, Johnny only held on longer. 

You also caught onto his stares when you would walk down the stairs, his dark eyes following your every movement. Johnny played it safe though, making his flirting into actions and expressions rather than verbal affirmations.

You’re smart enough to know that his lingering stares, cute pet names, and chivalrous acts meant something intentional. So somewhere down the line, you two start sleeping with each other. You can’t remember how it happened, just that the next day you could barely walk. 

While Johnny is popular among the girls, you are also heavily sought after by many admirers alike. You have your fair share of one night stands and friends with benefits, but none of them compare to the way that Johnny fucks you into oblivion. Johnny isn’t the jealous or possessive type either, knowing your worth should be acknowledged by others. 

With Johnny, you’re safe to be submissive. You can guarantee that he’d be someone to take care of you the entire time. His dominance in bed is extremely fitting to his character, making his sex appeal more attractive.

After a complete 45 minutes of listening to Johnny speak in academic language and talk about things that do not make any sense to you, he finally ends the call with his groupmates. He quickly turns around in his chair and you think he’s going to finally talk to you.

However, he gets up and heads to the bathroom without a word. You sigh at the false hope and bury yourself in his warm blankets. His aroma fills your nose and your heavy eyelids start to fall over your tired eyes. Maybe you should have taken a nap during his long call.

The close of the door and the shift on the bed causes you to face the man of the hour. Johnny appears without his shirt, the pendant of his necklace lands perfect at his collarbones. Without any words, he pulls you onto his naked torso and rests a sneaky hand on your lower back. “Missed me?” 

“All I heard was you.” You groan, “but you did sound sexy using all those business terms.” 

“Oh yeah?” He smirks, his fingertips gliding against your soft skin underneath your shirt. “Got all wet hearing me talk about KPIs and APRs?” 

“So wet. Why don’t you see for yourself?” Your playful smile is more than inviting. Johnny raises a brow at your suggestive tone. While his ears perk up at your suggestion, he teases a bit.

“Do you know what you’re getting yourself into, y/n?” He questions, a bit more serious. “Because I don’t think you remember when’s the last time we’ve slept together.” 

“Of course I do.” You scoff, sitting up on your knees and the blankets falling from your shoulders. “Way too fucking long.” 

Johnny laughs at your answer. “So what I’m hearing is that you want me?”

“I always want you.” 

He’s quick to bite back at your response, “then maybe you should come into my room more often, you know you’re always welcomed here.” 

“See, I would do that but you’re so busy.” This back and forth is a game you two like to play. Johnny wants you to practically beg for his attention, but you like when he makes promises to give you more.

“Oh,” Johnny sits against his headboard and crosses his arms. His pecs squeeze together and his biceps bulge against his chest. You lick your lips, which doesn’t go unnoticed by him. “Are you saying that I don’t give you enough attention?”

Your innocent eyes drop from his intense stare, but his thumb holds your chin up and you’re met with a softened gaze. “I promise I’ll make more time for you. Just know that I’d open the door for you whenever you come knocking.” 

“Pinky promise?” You hold your pinky out for the broad man to seal the promise. He laughs at the childish act, but god how he’s hard as fuck in his sweats right now.

“Promise, baby.” Johnny wraps his pinky with yours. With one swift movement, he’s pulling you by the pinky on top of his chest again. You fall against him with a small “hmph” and Johnny dives in for a sweet kiss.

His hot lips are greedy for a taste. Johnny deepens the kiss and his big hands hold your cheeks to keep you steady. Your hands wander around for something to hold onto, knowing how you’re in for a wild ride in a few more kisses. 

Johnny moans into your mouth when your fingers graze the waistband of his sweats. When your instinct is to move your hand away, he holds your wrist and grinds his hard dick against your palm. Your gasp is lost in the kiss, swallowed by the one man that consumes you. 

His bulge grows bigger with every thrust and you’re reminded by the massive size of him. Johnny pulls away and he looks at you with small stars in his pupils. “Can’t wait to see how wet that pretty pussy is for me.”

“Why wait? I’ll show you right now.” Your eagerness causes his heart to swell tenfold. He still sees every ounce of cuteness that you exude, even in the middle of taking off your clothes. While his nicknames may be an exaggeration, he really does find you the cutest thing ever.

When you roll your pants off of your hips, Johnny watches the string of wetness stick from the fabric of your panties to your thighs. He has to hold himself back from pouncing on you. “C’mere and sit on my face, darling.” 

You happily oblige and hover over Johnny’s face. Your eyes meet briefly, grabbing the headboard in front of you to keep yourself steady and balanced. Johnny cups both of your cheeks to help hold you up. He takes his first long lick for a taste and a low groan erupts from his throat, “you taste so good, just dripping all over yourself.” 

He can barely control his desires, bringing your hips down more as he quite literally devours your clit. You jolt from the contact and as much as you move your hips, Johnny’s grip on you is tight. You try your hardest to keep your legs from squeezing together, but Johnny eats you out like he’s starving. 

“Oh my-” You grip the headboard until your knuckles turn white. His tongue enters your warm hole and your juices cover his chin, sliding down the corners of his lips. If you’re not mistaken, the muffled sound of a chuckle catches your attention. 

Looking down, you see Johnny completely engulfed in between your legs and hazy eyes peering back up at you. “I’m going to cum.” You coo softly and Johnny fucks you on his tongue faster.

Your legs shake from the pleasurable feeling and everything inside of you erupts like a cannon. You’re uncontrollably cumming on his face, eyes rolled back and hand gripping the headboard like you’re holding on for your life. His room is full of your sweet sounds as he helps ride out your first orgasm of the day.

Johnny lightly lifts you up and places you with ease on the bed. Your back hits his lovely sheets and he hovers over you, arm wiping your juices from his lips and chin. “How can you be so cute riding my face?” He kisses your cheek, his hand lightly wrapping around your neck. “You make me so hard, I want to fuck the cuteness out of you until you’ve lost yourself.”

His deep voice remains sensual and light — not menacing or threatening. Johnny’s actions are always full of adoration for you, nothing of malice. “Then do it. I want you to. I want to take you whole.” 

Your hands run up and down his abs. He can’t resist you anymore. Johnny is quick to discard his pants and his large dick springs up proudly against his stomach. He gives himself a few pumps, watching your expression turn into lust at the sight of it. 

“You like what you see, y/n?” The usage of your name catches your attention, causing your heart to flutter to his call. He rarely uses your name in bed, resulting in mostly pet names or his usual tiny nickname. Nonetheless, on the rarity of your name being used, it excites you even more. He knows every way to make you all his.

“Yes, Johnny. I always love what I see.” You respond, quite seductively. Johnny smirks, running his tip up and down your entrance. Every few swipes has his tip entering your hole just barely, but you’re really a mess to it all. 

Johnny grunts at how your wetness drips onto his sheets, a dark patch forming like a puddle. Your juices stick to the side of your thighs, emphasizing how much chaos he has caused in between your legs. He positions himself and enters slowly, enough for you to adjust to his size. You're squeezing your eyes shut from the pressure and the stretch. 

His thumb leaves a soothing touch between your eyebrows to ease the tension in your face. Each touch has him pushing deeper into you. However, your hand is quick to halt him at his abdomen and he stops all of his movements. “Should I stop?” He asks with concern, not wanting to overdo anything that could result in pain.

“Johnny,” You breathe, “just give it all to me.” You can tell Johnny was holding back, but the slowness only causes more anticipation and agony. You’d rather him singlehandedly thrust into you, all the chaos to hit you like bricks. 

He takes your wrist from his stomach and pulls your body onto his dick in one fluid motion, until your hips hit and he is practically in your guts. You yelp at how he fills you and you’re shy at how well you take all of him in. “Like this, baby? You take me in so well.” He leans down and you’re awarded a kiss on the lips.

Johnny lifts your body onto him as his back hits the mattress. You lay on top of his big stature, your boobs against his chest, dick still in you and legs now on either side of his hips. He bends his knees, feet planted sturdy on his bed, and drives his dick up into you. 

You quickly grip onto his bicep, wailing at how intensely his tip hits your sweet spot every time. Johnny wraps his arms around your body, hugging you close and keeping you steady. The position is cute, quite lovable as it’s like the two of you are in a warm embrace. All until someone sees his vigorous thrusts into your drooling pussy and your body moving up with every hit. 

Your eyes meet his for a moment. He smooths out the hair from your face to see you clearly and smiles at you. Johnny has the biggest heart for you – it’s all obvious in how his pupils dilate ten times in size when he sees you. “All of a sudden, you want to look at me with your gorgeous gaze?” His voice rumbles your chest and despite how raw his dick is stretching you, he is quite a romantic.

“I’m not cute anymore?” You’re barely able to speak, every thrust causes your voice to tremble and your mind to go blank. Johnny holds your hips down onto his shaft and every rush of wetness wraps around him tightly. You’re shaking yet again as his tip rubs against your insides, kissing every part of your cervix. 

“Fucked all the cuteness of you, my sweet girl.” He plants a wet smooch on your temple, grinding his hips into your quivering body until your nails dig into his skin, marking beautiful moon crescents.

Suddenly, you both hear the front door slam close and hurried footsteps running up the stairs. As you’re frozen, Johnny quickly switches positions and covers the blanket over the two of you. Not that anyone would come barging into his room, but it’s good to be safe. He’s always thinking of your comfort and decency.

You’re back on your back and Johnny hovers over you. His weight is slightly heavy over yours, but the pressure on your chest feels warm and enough to feel secure. Your legs are spread wide for him, as he holds up your knee and pushes it at a bend. Johnny handles you so freely, all the work at the gym paying off in these fortunate situations.

“I’m home, losers!” Doyoung yells. “And so is Jaehyun!” Doyoung’s voice follows with another door slamming shut across the hall. Another set of heavy footsteps run up the stairs and without a word, another door closes. 

“I guess Jaehyun finished his classes early.” Johnny’s mind wonders and you cup his cheeks to focus.

“Where is your mind at right now?” Your stern expression has Johnny laughing, completely entertained by how he is balls deep in you right now and his mind was on why your housemates came home early.

“Okay, tiny. You got me.” His smile brightens up his intimidating demeanor, you’ll never get over how handsome this strong man is. “Let me finish what I started.”

His statement sent shivers down your spine, but you already know what’s to come. His hard dick pulls out, almost all the way, the feeling of emptiness occupying your lower half fast. Johnny pushes back in without another word and fucks you into the future. His rhythmic thrusts are fast and hasty, but enough to feel intense and cause your orgasm to build once more.

“Look at me when you cum.” You don’t have to say it because Johnny literally feels your pussy tighten around him, just seconds from coming undone. You aren’t sure if you’re able to hold eye contact in the midst of you losing your wits, but Johnny doesn’t let it slide. 

As you squirm from the pleasure bubbling in your stomach, he leans forward and lifts your head off the pillow. A large hand to support the back of your head and eyes wide open to see how his big cock enters your pussy with so much ease. 

Every part of your muscles break at this point and you’re moaning at the top of your lungs. You do feel a bit apologetic to the other boys in their rooms, but it has to be an afterthought. Your high comes crashing and crumbling as your cannon shoots out everything you’ve held in. You feel so hot and tense, pleasure leaving your body within seconds all because of Johnny. 

Johnny watches your orgasm, feeling his come a close second after. He pulls out and gives himself a few strokes over your naked stomach. His white streams paint your skin and Johnny’s eyes are full of intensity. 

You both release air from your lungs as fatigue takes over both of your bodies. Johnny reaches over for some wet wipes he stores in his nightstand, cleaning you up and leaving a trail of wet kisses behind. Your giggles only cause him to continue, wanting to hear more of them.

“Since when did you get so buff?” You ask, poking at his arms. He flexes for you, showing off his protruding muscles on display.

“Since I found motivation for the gym.” Johnny helps you get clothed, along with putting on some clean pairs of underwear and sweats. 

“Which is?” 

He joins you underneath the sheets. His arm snakes underneath your head, allowing you to turn your body into his. “To be able to toss you around in bed.” He smirks and you’re already rolling your eyes. “Not that I ever had trouble before, but it’s nice for you to have something hard and solid to grip while I’m fucking the life out of you.”

“Okay, Johnny Suh.” You cover his mouth. “We get it, you’re a big buff guy. You can even toss Doyoung if you wanted to.”

His eyes light up and he sits up with an idea, “should I try?” He gleams, his boyish nature captivating his expression. Nonetheless, Johnny is jumping out of bed and out the door before you can even respond. 

Doyoung’s yells fill the hallway and Johnny is laughing maniacally. The one time Doyoung doesn’t lock his door. “Just let me try!”

“Get your sweaty body away from me! I know what you two were doing in there!” Doyoung shrieks back. 

Oh, how you love living with your boys. You’re thankful that Johnny took you in and truthfully, you wouldn’t have it any other way. Through protein powder scattered on kitchen counters and nightly hangouts after long days of classes, you wouldn’t trade laughter with your housemates and the love you all share for anything. 

When you peer out into the hall at the commotion, a smiling Johnny has an angry Doyoung over his shoulder at the door. “I did it, y/n!” Johnny exclaims, even doing squats with the bunny flailing around.

“Put me down, you meathead!” Doyoung kicks his feet, eyes up to the ceiling.

You smile to yourself, a soft chuckle bursting into a robust laughter. “You guys… are so weird.” 

“But you love us.” Johnny points, “isn’t that right, tiny?”

Your usual response would be something sarcastic and hard to get, but you give in this time. 

“Yeah, I do.”

[curio-queries]

hey, i was curious about something from ep 6. jimin talks about filming with the kids for sgmb, and jungkook says he saw the video. but sgmb was filmed the day before they left for tokyo, and their conversation was just a few days after that. there’s no way the finished product was done by then, right? (especially considering that music video wasn’t scheduled to come out for many months) can we assume jungkook is talking about some other video of jimin and the kids or maybe some raw footage? the timeline is just interesting to me!

Hi anon,

While there's really no way for us to know, I do have a couple of suspicions. But first, I would always recommend if any specific wording seems to stick with you abut anything the members say, please remember that they do speak in a language that often doesn't have a 1:1 translation to English. I don't have anyone to point you at since I don't spend any time in BTS social media outside of tumblr but I believe there are some army translators out there that can corroborate the translations.

Now, onto the video in question. There are a couple of hints I've gleaned over the years regarding BTS's work process and access to monitoring their own footage. In case you're not aware, the raw data on the big ol' fancy cameras is quite large and it takes some doing to get that data moved to here it needs to be for editing.

But we all know how involved BTS is with monitoring their own content after most takes. How many times do we see 3J asking for one more take in that Butter dance practice?? So we know they will utilize the monitor station to review directly after takes. But I've seen them point a lower quality camera at one of those monitors and watch the output later. You can see this type of footage in the SGMB shooting sketch as well. Here's a quick bit:

We see the entire cast gathered around a monitor but then it cuts to a camera recording the monitor. That means there is a person pointing a camera at the monitor itself. My theory is this extra footage is uploaded to some shared location for ease of review while the actual footage takes whatever time it requires to properly manage the quality. I would also assume that all of the members have access to this shared space to review whatever they'd like.

All just theories though. I know there are a few of you that have reached out to me who actually work in film and I'd be curious to know if this sounds realistic or not.

[an-aroaces-harem]

Ellis Twilight Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I just deepl and google translated my way through this because I wanted to know what’s going on, so there are definitely mistakes but I believe I managed the general gist of the story. Anyway, it’s just a fan-made translation solely for entertainment purposes. Ikemen Villains belongs to Cybird.

Another note: I know Ikemen Villains is set in victorian London, but I will use the japanese suffixes because I prefer them.

Ellis: Here you go, Jude.

Jude: ... Ah?

Jude-san looked stunned for a moment when he sa Ellis-kun who had brought me with him.

Surprinsingly, he said nothing.

(... Or rather)

Kate: I will accompany you as a fairytale writer, thank you very much.

Jude: ... Tch.

He clicked his tongue at Ellis-kun, who seemed to realize that there was no point in saying anything, and completely ignored my presence.

Ellis: I delivered the offer to the procurement department last night, which is leaving today.

Jude: Of course. If it doesn't arrive first thing in the morning, I'll have to take a pay cut.

(I can't believe you're working for Crown and you're even working for the company. ... You're both so busy.)

I followed alongside Ellis-kun behind Jude-san, silently observing him as not to disturb him.

I found out through observation that ...

Jude-san runs Raven, a diversified trading company ...

... they were doing a wide range of business with branches abrod.

He had a business meeting in the VIP room of one of the best department stores in London, had a meeting with the inspector at the Port pf London ...

The time that follows the two of them around flies by in a flash.

And speaking of the two working together ...

Jude: No deals until this is settled.

Jude: You were dishonest, so you deserved it. If you don't want to get out of debt, then spit up blood and make up for it.

Jude-san has a sharp tongue and a sharp mind ...

It seemed that business partners looked up to him, business rivals envied him, and employees were in awe of him.

On the other hand ...

Ellis: Fine, I'll take care of the rest.

Ellis: I'll teach you what you don't know and we'll fix it together.

Soft-spoken and attentive, Ellis-kun was well-liked both inside and outside the company wherever he went.

(They're kind of brilliant opposites, aren't they?)

In the meantime, the short hand of the Big Ben was about to pass the apex.

Jude: I don't want the writer to follow me. I don't know what they'll say if I show up with extras.

Ellis: Mm-hmm. Okay.

Kate: Thank you for allowing me to accompany you.

Jude: I can't wait to see if I can say the same thing the next time we see each other.

(What does that mean ...?)

I tilt my head, not understanding what he means.

Jude: You brought him here, so you should clean yourself up. I can't touch you.

Ellis: Yeah ... that's the plan.

(... I guess Ellis-kun gets the message.)

Jude-san walks away without so much as a glance at me, and Ellis-kun turns to me.

Ellis: You're tired. I'm sorry I brought you around.

Kate: No, not at all! I am physically strong. I was trained as a mail carrier.

Ellis: I see. I'm glad. ... Then, let's go to the next one.

Ellis: Can you hang out with me just a little bit longer?

I was asked to go out with him a little longer, and here I am ...

(Why are we here ...!?)

It was the post office where I worked.

When I was hesitant because of the crowd, Ellis-kun turned around.

Ellis: What's wrong?

(That's as much as I'd ask ...)

Kate: It's my workplace, so I know a lot of people, but ... is it okay if I meet them more than a month in advance?

Ellis: Victor said there are no restrictions except for going out alone, so why not?

I blinked at the answer, which was more laid back than I expected.

(That's not what a person being monitored says, but ... is that okay??)

Ellis: I have some mail I want to send. I'll go take care of it.

Kate: Yes ...

Moreover, leaving me there, Ellis-kun heads for the counter.

(What if I ask someone for help or something and confidental information is leaked ...)

I can't hide my bewilderment at how carefree the 'surveillance' is.

(At least, I guess that means Ellis-kun trusts that I would never do such a thing.)

(Or rather ...)

(If information is leaked, at that point, everyone who knows about it, including me, will be dealt with ...)

... "Shall we kill her?"

When I remembered that he had made such a remark, without hesitation, I shook my head in a panic ...

Coworker with braids: Kate!?

Kate: Ah.

Coworker with braids: Kate! Hey guys, Kate's here!

At the sound of her voice, our coworkers notice and gather around me.

Coworker with red hair: Kate, how can you suddenly be serving in the palace?

Coworker with black eyes: We were all worried.

(I just suddenly stopped coming to the office, and they are so worried about me.)

(Even more, I can't tell them.)

(And that I don't know if I'll be able to come back safely in a month, ever.)

(But ...)

Not wanting to cause worry, I gulp down my anxiety.

Kate: I'll be fine. But it's only my first day, and I don't know what's right or wrong.

Kate: I'm sure I'll figure it out.

Coworker with braids: I'm sure that a person who has turned Sleigh and Kramer into good costumers will be fine no matter where they go.

Coworker with red hair: I'd miss you if you were suddenly gone.

Kate: I'm ... really sorry about that. It's something beyond my control.

Coworker with braids: Well, it's not every day you get an order from the Palace that you turn it down.

Coworker with blick eyes: But I'm rooting for you, Kate.

Coworker with red hair: Hey, take this!

Coworker with red hair: I bought it for all of us to give to you if you stopped by. I'm glad I was able to give it to you.

Kate: Oh ... so much?

My arms are piled with gifts of this and that.

Blanket, cookies from my favourite store, and a letter from the colleagues.

Kate: Thank you ...

I'm holding my happiness in my arms, but I can't move an inch because I'm afraid I'll drop something if I move ...

Ellis: I'll take it. Give it to me.

The baggage is snatched from next to me.

The eyes of my colleagues turned in unison to Ellis-kun.

Coworker with braids: Who ... is he? Kate's boyfriend?

Coworker with red hair: Oh, I know him! He's the kid who escorts the scary traders.

It was a complete beehive of activity.

Coworker with braids: Kate, please explain your relationship with this handsome man!

Kate: Ummm ... we know each other from our work at the palace, we just met yesterday.

Coworker with braids: Hmm ... that seems a bit close for my taste, though.

Coworker with red hair: I doubt that ...!

Kate: Hey, everybody, just calm down ...

As I'm placating my excited coworkers, Ellis-kun takes the rest of the luggage, all of it, out of my arms.

Ellis: I'm sorry for all the fuss. I'll wait for you outside.

Kate: Oh ... I'm sorry too! I'll be right there.

Ellis: Take your time.

I give a small bow to everyone and see Ellis-kun off to the outside.

(I'm sorry I put you on the spot ...)

Coworker with braids: Marriage before return, huh?

Coworker with red hair: Congratulations!

Kate: I'm telling you, it's not ...!

... The commotion eventually died down when the director's voice came from the back of the room, saying "That's enough of that".

After exchanging a few words with my colleagues, I went outside to find Ellis-kun waiting for me, leaning against a lamppost with his luggage.

(Even from a distance, it's quite a view.)

With his supple body and long arms and legs, he stands out in the city.

Kate: Sorry to keep you waiting.

Ellis: No, not at all. ... You could have talked to them more.

Kate: It's okay! Um, my colleagues made a terribly rude remark ...

Even though I only work with him, they may have made him feel uncomfortable by calling him my boyfriend.

(Something I wish I could apologize for ... Oh, yes.)

Kate: There is a good baguette restaurant near here. Let me treat you there as an apology.

Ellis: ...

His eyes, filled with light, stare at me as if they have found something.

Ellis: I think I understand a little better why you get so many gifts.

Kate: Eh ...?

Holding a large bag full of gifts from my colleagues, Ellis-kun stepped out to me and ...

... he brought his face so close to mine that our foreheads touched.

Ellis: No, you don't have to treat me, but I'm curious about the restaurants you recommend.

(... Ellis-kun, I don't understand what's talking about.)

But surely, his kindness had penetrated my heart.

As evidence, my second meal with Ellis-kun was much more pleasant than the breakfast.

Kate: Wow, it's late ...

When we left the restaurant, dusk was approaching.

Ellis: ... Let's go back to the castle.

Ellis-kun looked out at the cityscape as it was beginning to darken, absentmindedly.

It was the first time I had heard a slightly urgent voice, and I immediately realized that he was excited.

(I'm sorry to keep you up at this hour, but maybe he had plans for the evening.)

Kate: If we go down the alley this way, we can take a little shortcut.

With the knowledge I had acquired as a postwoman, I entered a narrow alley.

Ellis: Ah ...

Ellis: Well, I guess it'll be okay if we're together.

The sun is being blocked out, and the alleyway's growing dim.

It was almost time to get out into the lighted street.

Men in hunting capes: ...

Suddenly, a man appeared to block the way, and I tried to pass him by avoiding him on the side of the road.

(What ...?)

A man stepped forward, but his path was blocked.

Feeling something strange in the air, I turn around and see two men appear from behind me as well.

Man in hunting cape: Jude Jazza's woman?

(Jude-san?)

Kate: No, I'm sorry I'm not ... but who are you?

Man in hunting cape: We'll check the facts later. Catch her.

The three men suddenly took things out of their pockets and attacked.

(What ... eh!?)

Ellis: Kate-san, hold this for me for a moment.

Kate: Wah ...!

Confused, I accept the package containing the gifts from my colleagues.

Ellis-kun pulled out a black-bladed knife, which bounced off the blade of the man in front of the group.

Ellis: It might be a little scary, but it'll be over soon.

(...)

While I am speechless, he is knocking them down one by one, just as he said "It'll be over soon".

He pulled out his knife to counter the blade, and basically just his long arms and legs seemed to suffice.

Ellis: Good job.

The unconscious men were lined up tightly on the shoulder of the road ...

When Ellis-kun's hand touched the top of their heads like a finishing touch ...

... the wrists of the men, still unconscious, snapped together as if in prayer.

Kate: Oh my god ...! How did you do that?

Ellis: When I touch the head, I can detain the wrist like this.

(I just remembered ...)

... a 'cursed' person possesses abilities that ordinary people do not have.

In the back of my head, Roger-san's voice comes back to me.

Kate: Is that ... what Ellis-kun is capable of?

Ellis: Yes. That's right. It's so much easier not to need a rope at times like this.

Ellis-kun came over smiling as if he had finished his work.

He took the package from my arms again.

Ellis: Jude has a lot of enemies everywhere, so he often gets attacked like this.

Ellis: It was unusual for him to have a woman around, so I guess that gave them the wrong idea.

(Resentment ... I see.)

What I can understand is the result of observing the work during the day.

(It must be a tough job at a trading company to be attacked like this on a daily basis.)

Ellis: ... I'm sorry.

Kate: Ellis-kun has nothing to apologize for! Thank you for protecting me.

But Ellis-kun lowered his eyebrows and shook his head.

Ellis: Actually, I could have predicted this. This is what might happen if I took you out.

Ellis: But ... when you found out I was going to work today, you looked worried.

Ellis: I was selfish and got carried away. ... So, I'm sorry.

(Ellis-kun ...)

I know it sounds selfish, but I want you to know that everything you did today was for me ...

I already knew enough.

(The breakfast, the stories he told me about the members of Crown, the fact that he let me accompany him to work ...)

(Maybe, he even took me to the post office.)

Kate: I've been happy all day ... so there's nothing to apologize for.

I smile to tell Ellis-kun that I appreciate his kindness.

Ellis: ... Hm, good.

The smile on Ellis-kun's lips was as warm as the last light of the day ...

Perhaps it was because the approaching darkness made me feel impatient ... I felt a strange stirring in my chest.

When I return to my room, I open the package of gifts from my coworkers.

"Kate, I care about you."

"Please let me know when ..."

The kind words in the letter from my colleague touched my heart deeply.

(I'm glad Ellis-kun took me to the post office so that I could receive this.)

Ellis-kun tried to make me smile, so I feel very happy right now.

I stepped into a different world.

I can't go back to my daily life for a month ...

I was so frightened, and I felt like he was telling me "It's going to be okay."

(I'm feeling more confident than this morning that I can make it through the month.)

(Especially if Ellis-kun is with me.)

... And the next morning, with new determination.

Victor: I heard that Jude's business partner attacked you yesterday?

Kate: Oh, yes, but thanks to Ellis-kun, nothing happened.

Victor: It's a good thing, though ... before the contract expires ...

Victor: That means Crown's confidential information is at risk, too! Isn't that right?

Ellis: Yeah.

Jude: I have a bad feeling about this.

In response to his grumpy voice, Victor plastered a big smile on his face ...

Victor: Good, Jude, Ellis.

Victor: I want you two to be responsible to guard Kate!

(What!?)

Jude: Hah?

Ellis: ... Guard?

[shubblelive]

— PAGES TURNED

summary : wilbur is a quiet guy, but there’s so much more to him than he shows. over swapped shifts, post it notes and paperback novels, you unravel him bit by bit.

genre : fluff

warnings : mentions of alcohol/drinking

pairing : musicianbur x fem!librarian! reader

pronouns : none (i think) reader is described as a “girl” and using other feminine descriptors

featuring : cc!wilbur soot, musicianbur, college!librarian! wilbur

word count : 2.6k

note : sorry this took. one million years. i had my exams and i turned 17, and then i went out of state to visit family, but i’ve had this in my drafts and i’ve been working on and off for a while. i hope you enjoy this, i’m thinking about maybe making it multi part? if people are into that? @starsyoubreaklikesugardust <333

You sincerely regret covering for your coworker. The campus library has a consistent, albeit small, staff. You work the same days every week; Monday morning, Tuesday afternoon and Thursday morning. The head librarian, Theresa, was more than willing to give you extra shifts whenever you needed. The library was where most of the richer students’ parents donated, and you were insanely lucky to get your job there. As a result of the consistent schedule, you work with two people regularly; Henry, who shares your major, and Janine, who’s one of the sweetest people you know. The rest of your coworkers, you knew exclusively through Theresa and her insistence of having staff get togethers at any opportunity.

There’s Chastity, who lives on your floor, and her girlfriend Kate. You got a front row seat to their first kiss after three months of egging them on with Janine at Henry’s 20th birthday. There are three more workers that work during the week on alternating shifts to you; Sam, the newest member of the term; Hae-Won, the only person who had worked there longer than you and Theresa; and Wilbur.

Wilbur, who was currently your new coworker as you started working five days a week. Hae-Won’s mother was sick, and Theresa had begged you to cover for them while they flew interstate to go take care of her. You’d been working at the campus library since you were a freshman, and they’d always been good to you. You had agreed, and now you were needing to rush from class to the library after every single one of your lectures. Sam, Henry and Theresa had all assured you that if you were late because of class you wouldn’t lose your job, but you felt bad leaving them with all the work.

Wilbur has barely spoken a word to you since you’d started working the same shifts. He’s not rude or angry, just quiet as far as you can tell. You like him. You both keep to yourselves, and Wilbur doesn’t snitch on you for smuggling your sandwiches out of the office when you browse the stacks during your breaks.

He doesn’t get mad at you for being late when you are, and he always puts stuff on the top shelf whenever you ask. He’s soft, and incredibly smart. You learn about him through hushed evenings in the office, both of you dead on your feet after you’ve locked the doors, neither of you wanting to leave quite yet. The low light gives his eyes an amber glow the same colour as sun as it peeks through the slats in the blinds of the office, surrounded on all four sides by large windows. The fishbowl, the kids call it when they come in on Friday afternoons. Not quite, you think. You’re both too boring to be fish, you make a joke when you hear a young boy say it. Wilbur gets a look in his eyes that he keeps for the next hour until you confront him. “Sometimes people don’t look a fish ‘cause they’re interesting,” he all-but whispers when you ask, eyes aglow and top row of teeth pulling on his bottom lip. “Sometimes they’re just pretty.”

You get to know Wilbur over campus coffees, and handmade bookmarks inspired by the paperbacks he checks out every week. Through his handwritten post-it note on the corner of the main monitor at the front desk, a stack of books with a cat perched on top, his writing slanted but mainly kept between the spines of each book. A request for a novel you’ve never heard of, but vow to search for. Theresa is the one who handles incoming books, but that’s not going to stop you from finding it yourself.

You begin to find those sticky-notes around more and more. There’s one resting on top of your backpack for you to find as you return from the bathroom. That’s a pretty skirt, the first one says. You should wear your hair like that more often, one three days later on the stack of returns he’s asked you to reshelve. There’s one a week after that forces a smile on your face. This made me think of you. It’s resting on a tiny journalist style notebook, one where you flip on the top. It’s got a quote from your favourite novel on it, and you slip the sticky note inside it gingerly, tucking it into the front pocket of your backpack. That afternoon during your lunch break, you go to the craft store instead of staying in and get yourself some post it notes. Yours are in the shape of a lemon, and when Wilbur goes into the fishbowl to grab his stuff once your shift is over, he finds one stuck to the side of his bag. Two words, ten numbers, all in your handwriting. Call me.

So he does, he calls you that very night. Despite the late time, you guys stay on the phone for nearly three hours. The next shift you two share, you tease him. “I thought you were meant to be the quiet type,” you giggle as his ears turn pink, him intentionally facing away from you to shield the smitten grin on his face as he pretends to write something on the staff calendar. “You had a lot to say the other night.”

It continues that way for a while, nightly phone calls in which you finally get to hear him talk unabashedly about the things he’s interested in. He’s in a band, he confesses shyly one night when you’re both on the verge of sleep. You don’t reply for a second, and he thinks you might have dozed off. You pipe up after a moment, voice heavy with sleep and Wilbur thinks he can’t possibly like you more. “Your first gig’s Saturday, right?” He nods, even if you can’t see him. You keep going anyway. “I’ll be there.”

He wishes you hadn’t told him, because he spends the next three days stressing. Performing always makes him a little anxious, a healthy amount of butterflies, as his friends say. But this is too much. He changes his shirt three times on Saturday night, twice because he wants you to like it, and another time because he sweated through the third one. He blames it on the intensity of the lights, when the drummer asks him if he’s okay, but they can all see the way his eyes are locked onto your frame, tucked into a little corner of the underground bar they’re playing. They play for about forty minutes, and you’re a little embarrassed to admit that you’ve never heard a single song they did.

Wilbur goes into the little backstage area after their last song, and his bandmates will swear he’s never moved so fast in his life. He’s chugging a bottle of water while trying to wrestle his guitar off his back, his glasses fogged up from the sweat covering his face. there are a few bothersome strands sticking to his cheeks, but he doesn’t care about that. He just wants to see you.

He gets to your corner and the table is empty. No, the table has things on it. Your chair is empty. There is something on the table. He reaches it and flops down into the chair you were just sitting in. A waitress brings him a glass of lemonade that you ordered for him and he gulps it down gratefully. He allows himself a few moments to bask in the post-show high. You might not be there, but that only brought his mood down slightly. He did it.

He is a little hurt that you didn’t stick around, but it’s nearing 10 and he knows you have a test on Monday. He takes another long swig of his drink, and reaches blindly for the one other object on the table; a paperback novel. It’s his favourite. He didn’t even remember telling you it was his favourite, but somehow you knew. His heart hammers inside his chest and he has to remember how to breathe for a second. He’d looked everywhere for that, even going as far as to see if he could order it online.

He flips open the cover, just to check, and he finds a scrawled message beneath the title page. Heard you were hoping to get your hands on one. I hope you enjoy. You’ll have to tell me all about it.

And he does. It takes him less than a week to read the entire book, and he comes to you on a random Thursday, eyes sparkling with a glint you’ve only ever seen that one night he was performing, and he leans over the front desk where you’re standing and before you can even process it he’s taking your head in his hands and pulling you into a firm hug. You’re not as tall, so you’re on your toes as you lean over the desk, struggling to wrap your arms around his torso as he hugs you.

And then he’s talking, loud and clear, and if the library was open people would be giving him dirty looks for how unashamedly he’s speaking to you. You revel in it. He keeps his hands enclosing yours and you lean over the desk to get as close to him as you can, wanting to absorb every single word out of his mouth. Wanting to breathe it in and keep it between your ribs.

Eventually he lets you go to go do some work, but you decide at that moment that you never want him to shut up again.

So, he doesn’t. With constant encouragement from you, Wilbur becomes more outspoken. Of course, there were the phone calls, but he was still reserved in person. He seems to take up more space over the next few weeks, unfurling slowly like an old painting, perfectly preserved with so much beauty to show once he was out in the open. It starts as small things, the way he calls out to you across the library after closing instead of approaching you to tell you softly. You’re almost in mourning, feeling like you’d lost that closeness with Wilbur that only you seem to have. The notion that once you put something out into the world it no longer belongs to you. Not that he ever did, not like that at least.

You’d feel like that and then Wilbur would do something so small, so sacred, that your heart would ache. Whispering jokes in your ear, fingers brushing yours when he passes you a book he thinks you’ll enjoy, grabbing onto both of your hands when he got so excited about something that he needed a physical tether to you to stop himself from floating away, into the air that he was now filling so wonderfully.

The others started noticing it too; Theresa mentioning to you how much more confident he seemed after he’d left the room, Sam, who brightened now that Wilbur seemed to return his enthusiasm, even the bassist of Wilbur’s band, who you ran into at a coffee shop, said he was different.

His band got another gig at a bigger bar, and of course you were invited again. This time you planned on sticking around for the whole thing, letting him wrap you in a sweaty hug once he ran off stage. “You were so good,” you gush, your breath on his ear sending shivers down his spine. His hands ghost up and down your arm, and you can’t bring yourself to let go of him. “But, Wil. Seriously, enough is enough.”

He pulls away just enough to get a clear picture of your face, shadows covering one side, the dim lighting in the venue not doing enough to take away from just how pretty you look.

“You guys need to start playing songs I know the words to.”

Your fake annoyance makes him laugh, one of the most genuine laughs you’ve ever heard from him. Warm, and thick, like caramel. Like his eyes when the two of you are huddled together in the fishbowl and he’s laughing, like there will never be enough time to spend with you. Because there isn’t.

His hands stop in their motions, and he notices your bare arms. “You’re freezing, lovely. Here.” He steps away from you and shrugs off his button up, leaving him in just a white-sleeved tee as he guides your arms in. The sleeves cover your hands and he goes as far as to roll them up delicately. His face is an inch from yours as he unwraps his hands from your wrist, and your fingers toy gently with a stray curl that bounces when you release it from your grip.

This time it’s you who takes Wilbur’s jaw in your hands, fingers running over his stubble. He’s drunk, hasn’t had a drop of alcohol the entire time, but well and truly intoxicated as he pulls you into him again, nose pressed to your hairline. “I’m so proud of you.” You mumble into his shoulder, and for a second, time is frozen.

You’re both brought out of it by rousing cheers from Wilbur’s bandmates, the guitarist and drummer both bullying Wilbur for not introducing you to them earlier. The bassist greets you warmly, and the three of them try to convince you both to go out for a drink. Wilbur’s the one who ends up ushering you out, arm around your shoulders as he placates his bandmates. Throwing a “We’ve got an early morning tomorrow at work,” over his shoulder as he steered you towards his car.

He’s only half lying. You do both have work the next day, however the library’s closed and Theresa’s hosting a party to thank everyone for their hard work. It starts at two, so you’re revelling in the fact that you get to sleep in. That doesn’t stop you from inviting Wilbur up to your apartment, though. Nor does it stop the two of you deciding to watch a movie together on the couch in your living room. It doesn’t even stop Wilbur from whispering to you while the credits roll. “You look so lovely tonight.” You flush, tearing your eyes from his face, looking down at where his hands are on your waist instead. “Can I kiss you?”

It definitely doesn’t stop you from nodding your head emphatically, your hands delving into his hair as he presses his lips to yours for the first time.

He tastes like spearmint gum and the mango of your lip gloss, his hands steadying you both and gripping onto the couch cushion. He pulls away just enough to murmur, “You’re wonderful,” and suddenly you’re so happy you’re laughing. He laughs too, taking your head in his hands until you’re kissing him again, and when he leaves nearly two hours later he’s gripping your hands so tight your breath hitches, promising he’ll see you at the party later.

And hours later, when you’re sipping on lemonade and leaning against one of the windows of the fishbowl, he sidles up to you and leans his head on top of yours. “My pretty girl.” Your hand wraps around his, and the two of you stand there for a few minutes in a comfortable silence, watching your coworkers mingle. He’d never been so outward in his affections, not when surrounded by people you both worked with. He was a reserved man, preferring to let loose around his family, his bandmasters, and you. But of course, that doesn’t stop him from pressing a kiss to your hairline, the two of you inside the library office, gazing outside into the rest of the library. “So so pretty.”

[verxca]

AFTER PARTY ⟡

➤ a reiner braun event story

( A/N + summary + warnings !! )

⟡ hi ! i’m so honoured to have been chosen for this writing event, which is actually my first ! i decided to go with more of a fluff type story with the prompt given. please go follow @cinnamon-girl-writes and @crazychaoticizzy who organized this event, along with all the other amazing writers who created pieces ! ( original post here )

⟡ after running into a familiar face while volunteering at your university’s rugby game, the week takes a turn for the better, an unusual connection blossoming.

⟡ mostly fluff, starts off with a lot of text but makes up for it in the end with a meaningful conversation, semi-drunk sex ( both consensual ), dinking.

- hey! what the fuck’s yer’ problem, man?

home. sleep. at most the real two words that resonated through your head this evening. as sweaty men ran around the field, cursing and tackling each-other, the only highlight were the bloodied noses and bruised shoulders you’d see. the natural human curiosity made it somewhat interesting when another injured player would step off into the side lines, right where you were working tonight.

the previous week, in a fit of determination, you had signed up to volounteer at your university’s rugby game. haven been mainly focused on your studies during recent times, a little change of paste along with a couple extra credits seemed nice to you.

you’d been tasked with ‘monitoring the replacement of balls at the request of the referees’, whatever that meant. yet in practice you just stood there, handing out water bottles and towels to the players who had stepped out.

it was just so loud, you found. every couple minutes the men would start swearing at each-other, often taking out their anger on the bottle you’d kindly hand them.

the game was almost over, intern making the whole atmosphere a little more intense. from the crowd to the players, everyone’s hopes were high for the soon to be winning team. you thought back to home again, sulking about those headphones you’d left on your desk; sitting there, praying to be used and useful.

it wasn’t technically your home; just a shared residence building with a few other girls. they were pretty sweet, arguably more quiet. you felt bad for the roommates of these men, was rest even possible? but again, they’re young, making the most out of their prime years.

it was on odd choice for a university game; rugby. you hadn’t heard of it till recently, seeing banners advertising for the upcoming match around campus. after having done a tiny bit of research the night before, it did make the whole experience of seeing it in person a little more interesting. it was essentially just football but more rough, with more tackling, and less gear.

- thanks’

the words didn’t fail to catch you off guard, quickly coming back to reality as you observed one of the players taking the water bottle from your hand. thank you? wow, you felt honoured. those were the kindest, and only words that had been spoken to you during the whole playoffs.

on instinct you flash a smile to the player, a little nod showing you appreciated his returned hospitality. and as if he couldn’t get more polite, the man smiles back.

it was a quick yet wholesome interaction, your mind peaked with a different sort of cursorily as you watched him return to sit back down on the benches. you had lost hope long ago on being shown any respect by these guys, but he’d proven you wrong. you couldn’t help but grow a little flustered simply at his kindness, even if it was quick.

upon observing him further, it clicked it your mind shortly after, like a plot twist in a movie. it was reiner braun.

flashes of passing him in the hallway, taking the route by his locker, and glancing at him in math flashed back in your mind. you had completely forgotten about the dude, your old crush from higshchool. to be frank, you did like a lot of people back then, but he was definitely on your top list.

you two had talked a couple times, so he had to have recognized you. mouth falling slightly agape as you observed him, reiner glances back, eliciting a sharp jolt of fear across your nerves. you turn your head, pretending to be invested in the game. oh shit.

it’s not like you could simply smile again after haven merely a couple seconds ago. yet, the real question was; did you want to converse with him in the first place? after these couple years away from home, what are the chances he’d be going to the same university as you? he was a huge football geek in highschool, decently popular as well. you’d never seen him around campus here, nor in residence.

in the end, you decided to just strap in for this next half hour or so until you could head back home

cheers of your university’s name filled the small stadium after haven won the match. to be honest, you hadn’t been completely immersed in the game this past hour and a bit, though after witnessing the positive and enthusiastic attitude coming from everyone, you couldn’t help but join in to the chants. clapping on the sidelines, a smile poked at your lips as the players celebrated.

it was a nice sight too see, and you felt somewhat honoured to be apart of the university as a whole. even if it wasn’t something you did often, or would do again for that matter, adrenaline didn’t fail to seep through your veins simply by observing and being immersed in the atmosphere.

in preparation for their inevitable return, chaos was almost guaranteed amidst the sidelines as they’d celebrate, so opting to wait out in the foyer was your best chance at survival. you could hear their enthusiasm from the locker room nearby, almost like a warning call.

in the meantime you fidget with the lanyard around your neck; holding a card inside the plastic which simply stated you were working here tonight. the fabric was soft against your touch, though the metallic hook fell cold upon your fingertips when accidentally brushed against.

- {name}?

and there is was, in all his glory.

- i thought it was you!

you let out an innocent giggle, face falling flushed at the mere fact he had came to find you, and non the less was the first of his teammates to leave.

- so are y’a just passing by, or do you go here?

listening to his voice brought you back a couple years, same with observing him as a whole. reiner was always a pretty buff guy from the time you’d known him, so he didn’t particularly look that different, physique wise. his stature had differed slightly, and you could sense he ported a more mature aura in general as he spoke to you.

- no, no, i go here too. i’ve never seen you around campus! what are the odds?

with a growing grin, reiner shrugs his shoulders before signalling to his t-shirt; it displayed the rugby team’s name in capital letters, along with the logo of your university.

- hell, it feels like ages since i’ve seen y’a. i didn’t even notice at first until you looked at me.

a mixed sense of relief and fear washed over your core as the embarrassing memory was brought up. yet again, it wasn’t that odd of a thing to do, figuring reiner had also been debating your presence in the moment.

- but, yeah, yeah, how are you doing?

you say almost on instinct, trying to change the topic.

- i mean, pretty damn good after tonight!

- oh, yeah, you guys were great!

the whole conversation felt odd, yet a weird tension plagued the air around you two. you had honestly never known if reiner was aware about your feelings towards him back then; so would he still know now?

- nah, nah, life’s been good. gotta’ lot of freedom after movin’ out and all. i love the place here, you?

you nod as he speaks, the subtle glances and eye contact not going unnoticed. but then it hits you.

surely he wasn’t just talking with you to get laid, no?

was he really just a fuckboy now? you hadn’t even realized how high your hopes had climbed during the conversation when a deep sadness strikes your core at the thought.

- mhm- same here. the school’s just great, the people. hell, it feels like being born again.

you joke, smiling despite the thoughts in mind. if reiner asked to hook up with you, would you?

yes. without a doubt.

but, you’d honestly prefer a relationship with the man, and some guys in uni, allegedly like him, were just looking to have a good time. according to your stereotype, reiner checked off all the boxes of your typical fuckboy.

but then again, he could just have simply gotten more mature, and genuinely wanted to re-connect with a friend.

- oh, shit, yeah. better than whatever that hell hole was.

that was a good sign in your eyes; he was acknowledging how he had nearly peaked in high-school.

- really? from my impression you loved that place.

- eh, yeah, at the time i guess. but trust me, i’m a grown man now.

that was just enough confirmation you needed to know. despite the victory, you take a step back for a second to analyse what what going on. you had purposely steered the conversation to try to get him to reveal if he had matured, and from the looks of it, it worked. and, what the fuck?

you hadn’t realized until this exact moment the chokehold this man still had on you, even after all these years. and all because he might not just want to get in your pants.

- hey, listen, there’s this party happenin’ on friday with the team and a couple of friends, you wanna drop by?

now, that was a good sign. not pressuring, asking politely, and again, maybe just wanting to be friendly.

- sure, i’d love too!

you reply a little shyly, watching his smirk grow. you remarked how reiner’s voice hadn’t changed much either in relation to the rest of him. he always spoke with this daunting grin, never failing to act cocky with practically each syllable leaving his lips.

- so, should i get yer' number, or-

you were swiftly pulled out of your daze, not wasting time before taking out your phone. he narrowed his gaze as you passed it over, inserting in his contact information. you were the one stuck in awkward silence, casually admiring his hands as he typed out each digit.

with a smile he passes you back the phone— the contact name having been set to ‘reiner :)’. it was cute, arguably cheesy, though non the less you press down onto the power button with a smile, tucking the device snuggly into your back pocket.

almost on que, a couple of the team members exit the locker room, still cheering. upon spotting reiner, they call him over in an encouraging manner.

- it was nice seeing you, reiner!

- yeah, {name}! i’ll message y’a soon.

and with that, you watch the teammates leave enthusiastically, the thrill of the match and victory lingering in the air as everyone passed by.

house parties back in highschool were something you hadn’t gotten too engrossed in. after being pressured into attending one once, the hype didn’t match up to your expectations at all, or how it was portrayed in movies, in general gossip.

they were often too crowded, too loud, too overwhelming as a whole. almost every corner you’d turn, yet another couple making out, drunk teen throwing up, or a completely hammered group of kids were impossible to avoid.

surely people had some decency now, right?

yet, it wasn’t too far off from that.

upon arrival, you’d been clinging onto reiner’s side like it was your only chance— only hope at survival. he talked with his teammates, celebrated, laughed, all while you stood behind him, staying silent like some lost puppy. looking down at your drink, you simply awaited for him to finish up conversing, finding no need in really getting to know the other teammates. if anything, you were a little embarrassed upon recognizing some of them, particularly the guys who showed no mercy upon the water you’d offered.

it was crowded, as you’d imagined, the atmosphere still quite vibrant. you tried to focus on the background music out of boredom, though the sounds of people’s voices gradually outdid it in comparison.

- go to the bathroom, i’ll meet you there

your eyes widened slightly as he leaned down to whisper the order in your ear. your stomach does a flip on impact at reiner’s suggestive words, even if in reality he just wanted some actual peace and quiet for the both of you. non the less, you nod, squeezing in-between the crowd.

slightly buzzed at most, a smile creeped upon your cheeks as the lock didn’t protest, letting you slide into the bathroom with ease. looking into the mirror, you pondered if coming here in the first place was worth it.

after the time you had spend messaging reiner, on top of the interactions you had from his game, from tonight, and evidently the memories from highschool, it didn’t take you long to conclude that he was still in fact a nice guy.

upon hearing two gentle knocks, your heart almost drops, thinking some random stranger was entering throughout your daydream. though, reiner gives you a smile, locking the door shut after entering.

- you scared me for a second.

- what? i told you i’d come, didn’t i?

he speaks with a sight chuckle, observing your form and expression in the mirror. upon doing the same to him, you remarked the outfit he ported, since the dimly lit room from earlier made it hard to properly see.

- okay, fair point.

it wasn’t really anything special- or different, for that matter. he wore that same promotional rugby logo, this time printed out onto a hoodie. it looked nice on him, very manly, almost. his muscles slightly peeked through the fabric, though it was baggy enough to fit him nice.

reiner swiftly makes his way to the bathtub oddly enough, snaking the curtain to the side, presumably checking to make sure no girl had passed out in there drunk.

- hey, let’s sit in here.

he turns his head back, observing the expression you’d give in response to his bizarre request. yet, with a smile, you make your way over. there was an odd thrill you got from doing something out of the ordinary like this. wether it was climbing trees as a kid, sitting atop a desk or counter; it felt weirdly exiting to break the norm.

gently, you crawled into the bathtub upon his suggestion. memories and sentiments from your earlier years came rushing back at the odd sensation and texture of a dry tub; either playing side and go seek, long talks with friends to hide away from your house, and of course baths in general which you so dearly missed in university. with three girls, short showers were all you got.

it hurt your back slightly; the lining pressing up against your scapula. adjusting, you let out a giggle upon stretching out your legs. on reiner’s hand, it was a bit harder for him to fit inside due to his physique, one of his muscular thighs forced to rest atop of yours with the lack of space.

- y’a comfy?

- not particularly, no…

you giggle back, stopping your mouvements.

- sorry for the whole shit show back there… y’know, i love my buddies, but sometimes they just don’t know when to shut the fuck up, with all due respect.

- god, how is it in the locker rooms with them?

he thinks, cocking his head.

- oddly enough, they’re better sober.

you hadn’t even realized till now he still had a cup of beer— or at least that’s what you assumed, in hand. bringing up the mix his lips, you let out a breath and reply.

- ah. yeah, makes sense.

after pulling the cup down, reiner leans forward, offering it to you.

- s’ like you read my mind.

he smirks, leaning backwards as you took a hit. it was sour, yet still enjoyable. after taking a subsequent sip, your fingers gently trailed over the red plastic.

- this is so random, but i never really asked, how did we even meet?

reiner’s eyes widen at the question, letting out a low hum of curiosity. you thought it was cute, though opt in replying for him, since he was clearly struggling.

- god- grade ten, was it?

- nah, shit, i dunno. i just remember suddenly one day we started hangin’ out in the hallways n’ stuff.

you lean forward, passing the cup back over.

- yeah- making friends was weird back then. but like- hell, you were popular. you knew everyone.

he smirks upon hearing your praise, gently taking the cup from your hand, purposely brushing his fingers against yours. leaning back, the air grew slightly thicker.

- hey, don’t flatter me now.

- just being honest.

a slight, definite involuntary smirk tugs at your lips.

- i guess as seniors we were just so busy- i never assumed to ask where you were headed off to.

- yeah, i actually had to work my ass off that year, for once.

you chuckle, looking down into your lap before up to reiner, who silently passed you back the cup.

- i mean, you do look happy now, with your friends and all. just shows how it works out in the end.

you smile, not knowing where the sudden positive attitude came from. though, the thumping in your heart and the growingly drunk you were getting definitely played a role in the whole change of demeanour in general.

- yeah, you too, honestly. why were you volunteering at my game in the first place, though?

reiner asks, curious, studying your face as you spoke.

- ah, just figured i could use the credits.

you shrug, jokingly praying he hadn’t pictured you as a diehard rugby supporter, just to get his heart broken.

- and would y’a do it again?

you giggle, holding off your answer as you slowly passed back the cup, watching his smirk grow.

- good question…

you both let out collective chuckles at the broken tension.

- nah, nah- you’re good. it gets pretty intense sometimes, the guys- like i was saying-

you chuckle, recalling once more the experiences you had with them swearing— and being loud as a whole when you were working on the sidelines that night.

- yeah- you’re young- i don’t blame you guys for the spirit… just not a job i’d really consider in the future.

reiner smiles at your sarcastic tone, taking a large sip from the cup, setting it down onto the floor with a content sigh.

- yeah- hell, normal people don’t.

- but again… we’re all pretty young. make the most out of your prime years while you can.

you explain, that same train of thought you had back at the game; in general, a belief you held close to your heart. you only get to live out your life once, so why waste it?

- so you’re tellin’ me to fuck around?

as reiner readjusts his position, your cheeks heat up slightly at the way he was so casually suggestive.

- i mean… it’s apart of the college spirit, so yeah?

- you bet y’a.

now without a drink too look back down into occasionally, avoiding his gaze was hard. it was sharp, yet tender, a contrast to how he looked during playoffs.

-reiner, can i ask you something?

- shoot.

you pause, inhaling.

- this isn’t just… some hookup for you, right?

you decided to break the tension now, honestly curious. as the two of you got progressively more drunk, you just had to know if he was really into you on that same level.

- ah- no, no- you’re sweet- trust me, as much as i’d be honoured- i just wanted to see you again, really.

you almost didn’t process the words. you couldn’t analyse them in your head— you just let it happen— reiner confessing he’d be honoured to sleep with you.

- that’s… thank you-

- if i’m being completely honest, i wouldn’t talk this much with just a hookup-

he eases up the tension once more with an honest shrug.

- god, you’re evil, reiner!

you joke, readjusting your position, still a prisoner to his captivating gaze.

- ‘make the most out of your prime years while you can-’

he mocks back, mimicking your exact words from earlier. through a giggle, you reply in defeat, knowing there was no getting back from that one.

- okay, you got me.

there’s a pause in the atmosphere, shifting to a more serious tone almost. your gaze lingered onto his lips a little too long for your own good; it was truly like a drug.

- but in all seriousness, you’re very sweet.

he admits genuinely.

- … the only reason i brought it up was because- i really liked you back in highschool.

you were far too deep into the conversation to turn back now. admitting it felt kind of good, non the less to reiner himself. it was like like a subtle weight lifted off your shoulders— only to be replaced with a more terrifying anxiety that he’d reject your advances.

- just in highschool?

- okay… maybe a little now, too.

his smirk grows exponentially, like it’s been something he’s wanted to get off his chest as well.

- well damn, i could say the same thing.

the confession was happening too fast— you couldn’t stop to be happy. you just sat there, taking it all in, the truth bombs not having hit you quite fully yet.

- you’re telling me we could’ve been together this whole time?

- i mean, figuring it out here in a bathtub at a party really adds to the whole atmosphere, y’a know?

you’d almost forgotten you were seated in the washroom, bones growing slightly sore as you gently shifted against the hard material beneath you.

- yeah…

- but, no, no- even when we talked back then i thought you were gorgeous. and you still are now.

you wanted to pinch yourself. you tried to picture at how your highschool self would react right now; to those tender words, all to know that it did in fact work out in the end.

- says you… look at yourself, reiner, you’re built like a bear.

he smirks, purposefully flexing his very much visible muscles through that same hoodie.

- ah- yeah- i get that a lot.

reiner leans forward slightly, smirking, his gaze directly meeting with yours in a moment of stillness.

- do you wanna get out of here?

as soon as you got to reiner’s place later in the evening, years worth of unresolved tension dissipated in an uphill battle of pleasure and content. you can still feel the touch of his hands everywhere— on your sides, your face, your thighs, your breasts.

still, in the morning, disregarded clothing and a cold sweat emanated over the room. reiner was coincidentally the first to awake, gently stroking a strand of hair out your face. the simple action was so soft, so tender, speaking a million words silently.

- good morning.

a smirk doesn’t fail to poke at his lips upon seeing you smile, hair all messed up, sleep in your eyes. you were so vulnerable, so perfect like this.

- reiner.

you repeat cautiously, testing the waters.

- im right here, baby… are you okay?

it was your natural instinct to reply warmly, to deny any discomfort. though, after last night, a sore lower back on top of a hangover didn’t make for the most relaxing morning. but yet again, he was making up for it by simply being here with you, non the less cooing at you.

- just a little sore.

- i’ll be gentler next time.

reiner whispers, leaning forward to kiss your cheek.

[13as07]

Spitting Image #3

(Gaara Sabaku)

[Artwork is not mine! Credit to Tamengkay]

Requested by: Myself

Word Count: 3,874

Warnings and/or Pre-Notes:

Should I do a prequel of their night together? Hmm… probably

———————————————————————

The opal eyes my son inherited from his father are staring back at me from the door frame of my apartment. "Yoshiki isn't here right now," I mutter, clinging to the door I've cracked open.

     "I know. Shikadai and Inojin were playing with him at the flower shop when I stopped. I stopped at the flower shop, on the way, for these," Gaara races out, shoving one of the fancy bouquets toward me. Ino and I tease that it's the 'I fucked up' bouquet since its starting price is twelve thousand yen.

     "The thought is appreciated but flowers aren't a good present for a nine-month-old," I point out, a ting of sadness aching in my chest. Yoshiki has officially been out in the world longer than I carried him for.

     It's been about two months since Gaara met his son and since we met Yoshiki's family. The Hokage keeps randomly showing up, never going longer than a week without appearing back in the village. More often than not he's only gone three or four days, and while he's away his older sister tends to show up.

     The extra help is nice, for the most part. I'm still a bit on edge about letting Temari help though. I don't like someone I barely know around my kid, even if it is his Aunt.

     The only person stressing me out more than Temari is Gaara himself. He seems cold most of the time, definitely not the blushing 'oh my this is happening' guy he was the night we spent together. He also seems to not know what he's doing, which I get if it wasn't for the older son he has. It leaves room for speculation.

     That and I can only imagine how the sand village is reacting. It's a good half-a-day trip either way, and with him spending so much time in the Leaf I'm sure his council isn't too happy, especially since rumor has it our council isn't too happy with his constant appearance.

     Pair all that with the constant shove of money in my face and it doesn't sit too well in the gut. I know he's doing it in good nature, the fancy dinners, constantly buying new things for Yoshiki and leaving money around the house when I deny it from him. I know it's all meant in good faith... I think, but it stresses me out too.

     I don't need Gaara to take care of us, to take care of me. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad Yoshiki's father can offer him the nicer things in life and a part of me is glad that he wants to. But it still stresses me out. It makes me feel like he's setting himself up for a 'you owe me'. Another worry that doesn't get stomached too well.

     I haven't used any of the money Gaara keeps leaving behind. I have been saving it though, squirreling it away, keeping it as a little nesting egg in case Yoshiki and I do have to make a run for it. My father might have kept me blind to the Shinobi world but he didn't keep me blind from ways to keep myself safe. Rule number one: always have a packed to-go bag and an exit plan. At the rate things are going, that might just come in handy.

     "I know that," Gaara says a bit defensively, pressing the flowers to his chest before leaning them back towards me. "I got them for you," he mutters, eyes jumping around the apartment I'm in the middle of cleaning. "What is it that you are doing?"

     "Cleaning," I answer, eyeing the flowers. Is Gaara acting suspicious or am I being paranoid? We shall see. "Yoshiki has grown out of his pre-me clothes and some of the other outfits he has so I'm going through them. Whatever Konah and his wife don't want is going to be taken to the women's shelter."

     "Pre-me?"

     "It's short for premature. Yoshiki was born just short of thirty weeks. He was really small, three point two pounds. He's doing good now. His doctors say he's still a bit underweight but it's nothing to worry too much about. Just something to monitor." During my rant I've shuffled away from the door, focusing on folding more of Yosh's clothes and placing them in the box to bring Konah.

     "I was born premature," Gaara whispers, following behind me to watch as I fold.

     "My mother was too, so the chances of Yoshiki being a pre-me was always there. Besides that's a thing that comes from the mother's DNA, so don't work yourself up over it."

     "I was not going to," he murmurs, eyes jumping around the small space as his cheeks slowly dust themselves pink. I hum in disagreement, carefully watching as Gaara makes the short walk from the living room to the kitchen. "Where do you keep your vases?"

     "I don't have any vases."

     "What do you mean you 'do not have a vase'?" He asks, face scrunched up as he looks at me.

     "Exactly what it sounds like. I don't own a vase. Never have cause I've never needed one."

     "I am going to get you a vase."

     "You really don't need to, Gaara. I don't need a vase and I don't need flowers. I appreciate the gesture but I'm good," I tell him, panic banging around my chest at the thought of him buying me something else, much less more flowers.

     His head tilts and his face scrunches more before he shakes his head. "I am going to get you a vase," Gaara says more to himself than me, nodding in agreement with himself. "And new cups," he mutters, opening the cabinet, being met with the mix-match cups I've somehow gained over the years. "You shall have a vase and new cups next time I stop by."

     "I really, really don't need a vase and those cups work just as well as any others. I don't need new cups or anything else from you. I'm doing fine for myself and my son."

     "Our son."

     "My son," I repeat, feeling like I'm going to throw up despite the hardass tone I've managed to maintain.

     Gaara blinks at me a couple of times, seeming a bit dumb-founded and looking it as he stares, still holding the 'I fucked up' bouquet. "As you wish," he mutters, finally back in motion. He sets the flowers down before opening random drawers in search of something. When he finds it - a pad of paper and a pen - he goes to work scribbling on it. "Nonetheless, I shall walk around and make a list of things you two need."

     I let out a laugh of disbelief, clothes completely forgotten because of the madman's words. "No, you are not. I already told you -"

     "If you wish me to stay out of your room I will, but yes, I am going to figure out what it is that the mother of my child and our son needs," Gaara freezes for a second, imaginary eyebrows jumping up. "My apologies, what your son needs."

     "Are you being a smart-alec right now?" I ask, another disbelieving laugh leaving my lips. "Is that what you're doing?"

"No," he says matter-of-factly. "You are not okay with me referring to Yoshiki as something we share, so I will avert from doing so."

"Dumbass," I mumble under my breath, turning my attention back to the pile of clothes I'm giving away. "I got knocked up by a dumbass."

————————————

"I'm just saying, Gaara is being a little much," I grumble, messing with my keys in search of the one that unlocks my front door.

"And I'm just saying, Gaara wants to take care of you. What's the harm in letting him?" Ino asks, her eyes are shiny with amusement.

"If you like the idea so much, ask him to take care of you," I groan, finally managing to get the key in the lock.

She laughs focusing on the grocery bags she's shifting in her arms. "Ya let me just ask Gaara to give me a baby too. I'm sure that'll go over well. Honestly, I still don't know how you managed to talk him into bed."

"You and me both," I mumble, pushing the door and leaving it open for Ino to follow. She does follow after me, silence flaking between us as we head towards the kitchen to place my groceries down.

     "Welcome home!" Shinki calls out, racing into the kitchen to greet us. "Oh! Hello Auntie Ino!"

     As Ino greets him, I head back out to the living room in search of Yoshiki. Panic starts to rise a bit when I don't find him - or Gaara.

     The panic doesn't last long though, the two of them falling into view when I push Yosh's nursery door open. Gaara looks uneasy as he sits in the rocking chair, my - our - son fast asleep on his chest. "Hello," he calls, stiffening when our son stirs in his sleep.

     "Hello," I echo, softly closing the door before I head towards them. "You know you can lay him in his crib," I tell him, carefully picking Yoshiki off his chest.

Gaara stiffens again, face scrunching up as he inches forward. "I am aware. I did not wish to."

A smile weighs on my lips as I cuddle with my son, pressing soft kisses to his head as I rock the sleeping boy. "Do you want him back when I'm done?"

He blinks at me in his slow way, his face slowly softening as he thinks. "Yes," he mutters, relaxing in the rocking chair again. "I enjoy our time here."

"I'm glad," I hum, soaking in my greeting to Yoshiki for another beat before I gently lay him back on his father's chest. "Yoshiki enjoys it when Shinki and you are here too."

"Do you enjoy when we're here?" Gaara asks, eyes locked on me, his stone-face expression on it like usual.

I think about it for a moment, trying to decide what answer to give: honestly or sugar-coated. "I enjoy spending time with Shinki, he's a sweet kid. I absolutely adore him. I'm happy the two of you are in Yoshiki's life." Both, that works.

"Are you happy we're in your life?"

"Yes," I answer before I have the chance to fully think about it. It's not a lie, I do enjoy having the Sand Shinobis around. I truly adore Shinki and like having him around. Gaara isn't terrible to have around either, it's nice having an extra set of hands, to have a man for Yoshiki to grow up looking up to, and I might have grown a bit fond of the flowers and the pale blue vase he got me.

He nods to himself, slowly rocking himself and Yosh in the chair as he spaces out. "How was your grocery shopping trip with Ino?" He finally murmurs, opal eyes set on me in their intense way. I swear Gaara can't look at anything calmly.

"It was alright. I think I'm going to make homemade ramen for dinner. I'm thinking of topping it with pork and boiled eggs."

Another spaced-out look and agreeing nod. "You should wait until Yoshiki wakes up so I can help you."

"I think I'm capable of - "

"- I know," Gaara cuts me off, eyes scrunched in a way that makes the markings of his eyes stand out. "I am aware you are capable of a lot of things. I am here to help, so I shall help. I wish you would let me help you more often."

I open my mouth to respond but get cut off again, this time by a knock at the door. "Hey, mamas," Ino's voice rings out as she opens the door, slowly poking her head into the room. "I have a meeting soon so I'm going to head out. Shinki is working on putting the groceries away. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Enjoy your meeting, I'll see you later," I call back, waving at my friend before she pulls the door closed again.

"Let me help with dinner," Gaara butts in once the door is closed, ending my attempt to respond before I can even start it. "I want my sons to see me helping around the house. It is not fair for you to work all day and then come home to do the household duties. Let me help."

I let out a long sigh, crossing my arms over my chest as my eyes jump around the nursery. "Fine, you can help with dinner," I say, giving in to Gaara's request.

I suppose there's no harm in letting him help more around the house, especially since he and his son spend most of their time in the village here. Of course they don't sleep here, it's only a small two-bedroom apartment, but if they're not sleeping or spending time with friends and family in the village, they are here. Which means they're here most of the day.

As I leave Yosh's room, thoughts of getting a bigger apartment cross my mind. Should I start looking for a three-bedroom or a four-bedroom? Probably a three-bedroom, I don't think Shinki would mind sharing a room with his younger brother... maybe. I'll just look for both. After all, at the rate we're going Gaara isn't going to let up anytime soon.

————————————

"You're doing that thing again," I grumble, shifting the strainer back and forth to shake the water out of the noodles I'm prepping for dinner.

"What thing?" Gaara asks, his eyes still intensely on me as they have been for the last ten minutes. I swear he hasn't even blinked during the time.

"That thing where you sit there and stare at me. You did it during..." My mouth snaps closed, not sure how to refer to our night together so long again. Not really, it's only been eighteen months. Though a lot has changed in that year and a half. "Our time together," I murmur, shaking the strainer harder.

"Did what?"

"Just sit there and stare. Even in my drunk stupor, it creeped me out a bit."

Gaara finally blinks a few times, slow and steady as he thinks of his response. "You are a very beautiful woman. Besides, I like to look at the mother of my children."

The plural use of the word makes the strainer tumble from my hands, crashing into the sink as I lean down to rest my weight against the edge of it.

"Are you okay?" Shinki asks, his head popping up from the wood blocks he and Yoshiki are playing with. Shinki is trying his hardest to teach his younger brother how to spell his name. I don't think he has grasped the concept of how young Yosh is yet. Still, it's been cute watching him try.

"Yes, sweetie. We're fine," I call before letting out a silent sigh, my eyes snap closed as the sink edge digs into my palms. "What the fuck, Gaara?" I hiss out quietly, refusing to let the boys see me lose my temper with their father.

"What?" He asks, blinking in his slow 'trying to comprehend' way that's starting to piss me off.

"Child, the mother of your child. Singular, one, I have had one baby. In total. Not just one of your sons, one in total."

"Yes, I know that," he says, face scrunching in lack of understanding. "But you are the closest thing to a mother Shinki has known, and I fully intend to get you pregnant again. Perhaps we will have a daughter this time."

"What the hell, Gaara?!" I yell before I can stop myself, snapping my eyes open and standing up straight.

"There is no need to yell. It is not something I plan on doing soon. There are things we need to get in order."

"Like what?" I hiss quietly, shifting closer so it's easier to keep my tone quiet. I don't need the boys noticing the fit heating up, and Shinki's glancing eyes let me know he's starting too.

"Well, I would like to get Yoshiki and you situated in the Sand Village, again not anytime soon if you don't wish it but preferably within the next couple of months. Then we will need to get the events in place for the wedding and of course the papers to update Shinki's adoption order. Then the matter of getting pregnant again. I do not mind the age gap between the boys but I think it would be best to have our next child sometime before Yoshiki is three or four."

"Get out." The words come out airy, disbelief and anger rooted in my mind.

"What?"

"Get out," I repeat, anger quickly outweighing my disbelief. "I need you to get out of my sight. I need you out of my home, I need you out of the village. I need you as far away from me as humanly possible. Get out, now."

"What is it that I've - "

"Get out!" I repeat, shouting at him now. My hands jump forward, connecting with his chest before I start shoving him out of the kitchen. "Out! Get out! Get away from me! Get away from my son! Go away!" I yell, continuing to shove him.

"I do not understand what it is that - " Gaara tries to say, his hands jumping up and gently cupping my elbows, he's not even trying to stop my shoving.

"I swear to the lord I'm going to stab you, Gaara. Go away," I shriek, tugging myself from his grip before slamming the front door open. Once the door is open, I go back to shoving him out of the house, leaving the Sand Hokage in the hallway before slamming and locking the door shut.

When I turn back around, Yoshiki is crying and screaming in fear because of my yelling. Shinki is wide-eyed and his mouth hangs open as he stares at me. "I swear," I mutter under my breath, taking quick steps towards my son. I swoop down, picking him up before I try rocking him. "It's okay, Yosh. I know, I know. Mommy is sorry for yelling. Everything is okay," I coo, shifting us back and forth as I rub his back.

"Are you kicking me out too?" Shinki's soft voice calls out, the volume being his failing attempt to hide his sadness.

"No, no. Of course not, sweetie," I continue to coo, my fake calmness aimed at him instead of Yoshiki. "I'll never kick you out of my home, okay? You're always welcome here," I continue to soothe, dropping the arm not holding Yosh down so I can run my fingers through Shinki's hair.

"This is a safe space for you, Love. I'm sorry I've made it unsafe," I continue to soothe the older boy, placing his younger brother back on the ground now that he's calmed down. I fall to my knees in front of Shinki, wrapping my arms around him and pressing his head to my shoulder. "How about we put Yosh in his high chair and you can help me make dinner, okay?"

"Okay," the older boy whispers into my shoulder, willingly laying his head down now. "I'm sorry Papa upset you."

"You don't have to be sorry for him. Just because I'm mad at Gaara doesn't mean I'm mad at you, Sweetie," I tell him, littering the side of his head with kisses. "Let's finish making dinner now, okay?"

"Okay."

————————————

Ino lets out a loud chuckle, hunching over the counter as she giggles. "I'm sorry, it's really not funny... except it is."

A groan escapes me as I lay my head on the counter, rolling over my fight with Gaara again. "I do not know what is funny," Sai says, looking quite confused as his head switches between his wife and me. "I think it is nice that Gaara wants another child."

"My dear," Ino says, wrapping herself around Sai's arm. "Gaara's bluntness is what's funny. They barely know each other, they are nowhere near close enough to get married, let alone have another child together."

     "Well, why not?" He asks, head tilting as he looks at his wife. "Gaara is here about as much as he's away. They practically live together and already have one child together. The only person in the village who knows Gaara better than her is Temari... well, and possibly Naruto. It seems that the only way they are not married is by the law of the Great Nations."

     Now it's my turn to giggle at Ino's unaware father of her child. "Well," she starts, mouth gaping like a fish as she struggles with her words. "The... there's not the emotional part of it. No one should marry someone they don't love, Sai."

     "Are you blind, my love?"

      "What?!" Ino shrieks, letting go of Sai's arm.

     "Please calm down. I meant it in a joking way, not literally. I am just saying it is obvious that Gaara enjoys her company."

     "What do you mean?" I ask, turning my attention away from the hissy fit Ino is throwing.

     "Like I said before, Gaara spends a lot of time in the village. I am aware it is to see Yoshiki, but he seems quite interested in taking care of you as well. If he did not love you, why would he be interested in your specific needs? Personally, if I was not interested in the mother of my child, my sole focus would be on my child. I would not care about the mother is all I'm saying. My child's needs would be met and that's it."

     Ino's lecture about the hypothetical situation goes into full swing, a few groans of manners and politeness thrown into the mix. As she gets after her husband, I replay Sai's words in my head. Maybe he had a point, or maybe he didn't. I don't know.

     Gaara's and Shinki's constant travels have been weighing on my mind recently though. They travel to and from the village at least once a week, if not twice. It would be a lot easier on them if we all lived in the same village, and well... it would be easier for Yoshiki and me to move to the Hidden Sand than Gaara and Shinki moving here. After all, Gaara is their Hokage, and leaving that job wouldn't be easy or smart, financially.

     "Maybe I will," I mutter, letting out another sigh.

     "Maybe you will what?" Ino asks, stalling her discussion with Sai.

     "Maybe Yoshiki and I will move to the Sand Village. It's the least I can do since Gaara is doing so much for us. Besides, it would be easier for me to get a new job at the same pay I have now than it would be for him."

     Ino and Sia fall quiet for a couple of minutes, the weight of my words hovering over them as much as it's hovering over me. Ino finally pipes up, saying "Whatever you choose to do, we'll support you. Always."

I swear I'm never drinking a margarita for the rest of my life.

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