#so tomorrow I get FIVE hours of sleep instead of THREE hours of sleep

[fractallogic]

Okay so like I think this is what I need to do tomorrow in a relatively fine-grained denomination and also in order for what needs to happen when

The real question is whether I can keep myself on task enough to actually be able to accomplish it all (including the bed by 10 PM part)

Guys I am STRESSED and OVERWHELMED and it is my OWN DUMBASS FUCKING FAULT (also partly my dad’s because I was genuinely no longer expecting to go out of town this weekend because he was taking so long with the arrangements, so I had started to assume that oh, I’ll just have a normal week this week, and NOW I think I’ll even have to try to do some work this weekend???? Which is bullshit, but also depends on WHETHER I CAN KEEP MYSELF ON FUCKING TASK TOMORROW because I would REALLY LIKE TO LEAVE MY COMPUTER AT HOME (but actually probably can’t if I’m supposed to get comments to the team back by Thursday and tomorrow is full. So. Fuck))

[dragons-and-yellow-roses]

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[wileys-russo]

off limits (7) II a.putellas x león!reader

part one part two part three part four part five part six

off limits (7) II a.putellas x león!reader

you blinked tiredly as suddenly you were whisked away from the blissful world of your dreams and slammed back into reality, the shrill blare of your alarm causing you to let out a tired groan.

hand smacking around trying to tap snooze you swore loudly and jolted even further awake as you caught your knuckles on the corner of the nightstand.

sitting up with an annoyed huff you grabbed your phone and pressed stop on the glaringly obnoxious alarm, dropping it in your lap and rubbing your face tiredly.

noticing the time and knowing when your plane was you knew if you wanted to shower and not be rushed you should get up now.

however with barcelona being unusually grey and overcast you found sleep was calling you for just a little longer, so you set an alarm for in a half hour and dropped your head back to your pillow with a thud.

you awoke with a startle what only felt like minutes later to a noise you assumed was your alarm, reaching out and smacking your phone screen tiredly, pulling yourself up to rest on your elbows when the insistent ringing continued.

with a roll of your eyes realising it was a phone call you settled back into bed and brought the device to your ear.

"hola?" you yawned, wincing as alba excitedly yelled back that they were downstairs. "now?" you realised after a beat of silence, ripping the covers off and checking the time, realizing your alarm hadn't gone off and you'd oh so stupidly set it for PM instead of AM.

"noo tomorrow chica!" the girls voice dripped with sarcasm, though hearing you unable to stifle a yawn another beat of silence passed.

"you are ready, si?" alba's tone suddenly became much more serious and you could only imagine the way her eyebrows would furror in annoyance just like alexia's would

"...ten minutes?" you questioned sheepishly, wincing as a string of angry spanish hit you like a wall. "mierda! we will cancel this uber and come up and order another one once you're ready then. apresúrate idiot!" the younger putellas huffed as you agreed and apologized.

"wait, alba who is we?" you clocked her choice of words, not given an answer as the line beeped signalling she'd hung up on you. with a shrug assuming you must have misheard you leapt out of bed and rushed around pulling on clothes, grateful you'd at least finished packing last night.

not even two minutes later and your intercom buzzed as you hopped over to it, punching in the code and letting alba up as you fought to tug on a pair of shorts without falling to the floor, startled by harsh knocks at your door.

"i'm coming i'm coming joder!" you groaned as the knocks continued impatiently, clumsily buttoning up the jean shorts and stumbling to the door, throwing it open and ducking your head to pull your hair up into a messy bun, failing to notice two pairs of shoes standing in wait for you.

"i told you what time we would be here!" alba huffed, shoving past you as you lost your footing and almost went tumbling down, an all too familiar set of hands steadying you.

you glanced up with wide eyes to meet those you knew all too well, her chocolate brown orbs clouded with something you couldn't quite put your finger on as she quietly murmured good morning and let go of you, hovering by the door.

"the uber is waiting downstairs! five minutes or alexia will carry you down there herself." alba warned as she hauled your suitcase with her, missing the way both you and your ex girlfriend cringed a little at her words.

"i thought you were ordering a new-" you started but the slam of your front door abruptly cut you off, leaving you and alexia alone as you avoided her eyes, scrambling off into your room and leaving her behind to her own devices.

alexia's eyebrows curled into a frown as she shoved her hands into her pockets, gaze roaming the apartment which had once seemed so familiar and warm, now feeling foreign and cold as she mentally took note of all the changes.

the guilt settled once more in her stomach as the reality of the last time she'd been here sank in, her heart aching a little to see almost every remainer of your time together was merely wiped away.

the polaroids of the two of you which littered your fridge, gone. though she knew you only put them out when she was coming over, your relationship a secret to anyone outside your little bubble of love.

the snow globes she'd brought you back from the world cup which normally sat proudly on the mantle, gone. you'd also rearranged your furniture which she had a sneaky suspicion would have been ingrids idea, the girl forever going on about the energy of rooms.

but what alexia wasn't to know was all the knick knacks, souvienners, photos, anything that reminded you of her was stored safely in a box under your bed. you'd gotten that box out far more often than you cared to admit, pawning through its contents with the upmost care.

you some days wanted nothing more than to destroy its contents, one final fuck you to the relationship alexia had seemingly thrown away without a care.

head ablaze with thoughts you often flicked a lighter on and off in your hand, conveniently one alexia had gotten from you during an away game in madrid where you'd tweaked your ankle and weren't able to play or travel with the team.

but you could never ever actually bring yourself to do any sort of harm to the box and its contents, so you'd shed a few tears and wordlessly slip it back under your bed, like clockwork.

out of sight but never out of mind.

you expected her to just wait silently by the front door where alba had left her, so your body locked up in surprise as strong tanned arms wound round your torso, her footsteps so quiet you'd not even heard her approach.

"i did wonder where that hoodie went." she murmured quietly as you glanced down to realise the hoodie you'd thrown on in your haste was indeed hers, an old favourite you'd been meaning to give back but again you just couldn't seem to muster up the courage despite how much some days your heart burned with hatred for her.

"alexia." you warned with a sigh, your hands on top of hers trying to gently pull them away as she only clung on tighter. "we can't." you empasized, squeezing your eyes shut.

"but-"

"no. ale the other night was a mistake, por favor i was not thinking right and i should not have agreed to go home with you." you mumbled, her arms disappearing now as you span around to look up at her with soft apologetic eyes.

"i asked you if you wanted to many times, and you still said yes. then we slept together and i thought you stayed the night but i woke up to an empty bed and i had to wonder if it was all some sort of dream, maybe even a nightmare." the older girls eyes flashed with hurt as you winced slightly.

"i know. but i was upset, you were upset, i'd just told you i was going to retire and i was in a really weird state of mind and-" "did it not mean anything to you, nothing at all?"

your stomach dropped at the way her voice was so stripped back, cut raw and barely above a whisper as she picked at a loose thread on her pants, pretending like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"alexia please, can we not do this now? we're about to be stuck together for days and i don't want our drama to cause any problems with the group." you pleaded, swallowing the words on the tip of your tongue.

"our drama?" her voice echoed after you as you wandered into your closet, stripping yourself of her hoodie and tugging on a sweatshirt of your own. "you know what i mean." you sighed, pushing her hoodie into her hands and grabbing your carry on, making a beeline for the door.

"can we just pretend it never happened? please. i'm sorry but it was a mistake alexia." "fine, like it never happened."

the ride down in the elevator together was painfully quiet, alexia looking like she wanted to say something but using all her will not to.

thankfully in the car you had alba who didn't shut up the entire ride to the airport, alexia sat up front lost in her thoughts as the younger putellas talked your ear off.

"i didn't know jenni was coming." you mumbled to alba with a frown spotting the taller girl laughing with the group of your national team mates.

but if alba heard you she made no move to acknowledge it, slinging an arm over your shoulders and marching you toward the girls as alexia trailed behind.

you felt a strange feeling settle over you as jenni embraced alexia and kissed both her cheeks, but you knew jenni had always been like that and that she had a girlfriend of her own anyway, and you had no right over whatever alexia decided to do now.

you'd never actually seen jenni as a threat before now and you weren't sure what changed, the two of you had always gotten along well.

so trying to swallow the strange feelings and push them as far down as you could, you moved forward. it was made easier by the fact the tall spaniard was so easy to get along with, spinning you around in a tight hug not having seen you since she'd left barcelona and you stepped down from the national team.

unknown to you it was now alexia who was fighting the bitter jealousy bubbling up in her throat watching the little reuinion, clenching her jaw and turning away.

the plane you thought might be a reprise from the awkward tension of being around your ex girlfriend and her ex girlfriend who was seeming quite touchy with both of you, though of course neither of you were going to communicate the issues you were feeling even if they were the exact same.

jealousy.

but the plane was no reprise at all as of course alba all but shoved you into a seat which was right next to alexia, sandwiching you in between the two of them as you silently screamed, sending the taller girl a tight lipped smile which she returned.

you felt relief when laia, misa and jenni sat the row in front, engaging the three of you in conversation for most of the flight meaning you weren't subjected to any small talk with alexia who you assumed would still likely be feeling the sting of your rejection from this morning.

however nothing seemed to deter alba who very clearly had an agenda that didn't align with your own as exactly alike the flight you found yourself shoved into a seat next to alexia in the small van that picked all of you up from the airport to take you to the house you'd all booked.

"switch with me!" you mouthed and glared at the girl who slid into the seat next to ona in the row across from you who pretended she couldn't lip read, shrugging in fake confusion and turning to make conversation.

you snuck a glance to the older girl beside you whose attention was fixated out the window and away from you, both of you clearly trying not to touch one another as you leant your shoulders away as if you'd burn each other at a simple nudge or bump.

still a little tired from your sudden wake up call this morning you allowed the hum of chatter from your friends around you and the bouncing around of the van lull you into a much needed nap, slipping your sunglasses down over your eyes to hide the fact.

you blinked a few times as you felt your body shake side to side gently. "hey." you lifted your head and pushed your sunglasses up and off your nose, rubbing your eyes.

"bon dia, we're here." you glanced to meet alexia's amused smile, though as soon as your eyes met hers it slipped away and was replaced with a much more stoic look as she nodded for you to stand.

filing off the van you stumbled as a body crashed into yours almost taking you to the ground with them. "misa!" you huffed shoving her away with a roll of your eyes as she grinned and grabbed your bag for you.

"that was for that stupid goal!" she was now the one to roll her eyes as your lips curled into a grin and you allowed her arm to slip over your shoulders and pull you toward the house with her.

"that goal was earned, completely fair and legal." you laughed in response to the recent el classico where you'd chipped a goal over her head as she'd rushed out to collect it.

"maybe, but still very embarrassing." the keeper sighed before shoving you away from her as you continued to laugh, the two of you falling easily into conversation as you walked side by side, the taller girl still carrying your bag for you.

"that would be cute." alexia glanced up as jenni appeared next to her, suggestive grin plastered to her face as the catalan only shrugged, trying to swallow the jealousy which clawed at her throat at the sight of you laughing and messing about with misa a few metes in front.

the way you used to be with her, before she had to go and mess everything up.

"whats wrong chica? your face is so long it is hitting the ground." jenni nudged her again, raising an eyebrow as alexia brushed it off and mumbled she was fine, jenni dropping it for now with a hum of disbelief.

thankfully when it came to room arrangements it was pairs and you grabbed alba before she could utter a word, dragging her to the first room you could find and shoving her inside, kicking the door shut.

"what are you up to?" you asked her straight away with an accusatory finger pointed in her direction. "amiga, nothing!" the younger putellas shrugged with her hands raised, claiming one of the beds and sitting on the edge.

"alba." you warned, crossing your arms and scowling, knowing too well she clearly had some sort of agenda. "you and misa used to date, no?" the brunette asked, catching you off guard as you gave her a look.

"no? we hooked up once after the euros, we were just happy from the win and very drunk, it meant nothing and we never felt the need to speak about it again. we’re just friends, always have been.” you answered her after she repeated the question. "you know, sort of like you and my sister!" you reminded, speaking a little too loudly as the girl moved to crash tackle you.

"mierda shut up! nobody knows about that and its going to stay that way!" alba grunted as the two of you rolled around smacking and pinching one another like children.

the door opened and a few of the girls spilled in, a horde of spanish chatter filling the room and you groaned as they joined in piling on top of you, a flurry of limbs and hair and laughter.

"chicas! happy hour, vamos!" jenni sauntered in next with a bottle of tequila in hand and you could finally breathe as the pile of bodies on top of you began to depart.

"off!" you wheezed, pushing aitana and alba off last as the two collapsed into giggles either side of you. "that was nearly worse than the euros." you struggled to catch your breath, having scored the winning goal and having half your team jump on top of you had dampened the moment.

"probably less sweaty." "much less sweaty!"

~

the first couple of days passed by without too many issues, you steered clear of alexia as much as you could and she did the same, despite alba's best efforts to force the two of you into unconventional situations which she seemed to have roped aitana and ona into helping much.

though once half the group left to spend a little time with family before club training resumed, it became a little harder to avoid one another.

laid down on a boat in the middle of the ocean you knew you should be at your most relaxed. the drinks were flowing, the sun was shining, the water was crystal clear blue and the weight had been partially lifted from your shoulders as you knew for now what the immediate future held.

or so you thought.

starting to feel the heat prickle at your skin you shifted, beads of sweat dotting your brow as you pushed your sunglasses up and rested on your elbows, surveying the small group laid about on the deck.

"ey, swim?" you nudged aitana beside you who groaned and swatted you away, alba beside her giving you a thumbs down making you chuckle. accepting your solo fate you dropped your sunglasses onto your towel and stood properly and wandered toward the swim deck, diving off into the water, leaving your friends behind you.

surfacing you exhaled and trod water for a minute, watching the blurry figures of people jumping off the cliffs a few hundred metres away.

your skin prickling with goosebumps you dove back under one more time and swam your way over to the small swim deck just beneath the boat, pulling yourself up to sit with your feet still dangling in the water.

leaning back on your hands you closed your eyes and inhaled deeply. "hola." you jumped at the unexpected voice, not having heard anyone else join you as your eyes snapped open and alexia pulled herself up to sit a healthy distance away from you.

"hola." you murmured back, looking back toward the cliffs as a silence settled between you both, the only sound the distance chatter of your friends above you.

"will we always be like this?" you turned your head at that, frowning a little. "like what?" you dared to question, admittedly a little worried for what the answer might be. "pretending the other does not exist." there was a tiny smile behind her words, both of you clearly picking up on one anothers intention.

"or like you hate me." the smile dissapeared for that sentence and you sighed, kicking your legs back and forth. "i don't. i could never hate you alexia, i told you that already." you sighed, looking right at her as now she avoided your eyes, kicking her own legs in the water with a hum.

"can we try to be friends? we used to be, before...everything." the blonde questioned still refusing to meet your eye. "yeah, i'd like that." you answered, not really giving yourself another moment to overthink it and what that might mean.

~

turns out, it was a little easier than you thought.

you stopped avoiding alexia like she had some sort of disease and she did the same, you'd talk sometimes, normally in a group setting to ease the awkwardness of this new adjustment.

alba, ona and aitana somehow only took this as more of a green light to continue with their agenda of forcing you and alexia into increasingly awkward situations.

the most recent of which was alba 'accidentally' passing out in alexia's bed so she had to stay in alba's which was of course two metres across the room from you, that was quite the rude shock for you to wake up to that next morning.

and now you found yourself packed into a club, having had three or five too many shots forced down you and the room a little hazy as you sat back down with another drink thrust into your hand.

"hola amiga." misa chuckled as you sagged into her, sipping from your glass with a hum. "you two look cosy." jenni grinned over the top of her own drink, wiggling her eyebrows as the two of you gave her a strange look and ignored her comments.

you failed to miss a stone cold sober alexia staring at you from the other end of the table, an unreadable look on her face but clear disdain in her eyes at the way you seemed far too comfortable with the goalkeeper beside you.

luckily she didn't have to simmer for long as you were whisked away by your friends onto the dance floor, jenni grabbing a very reluctant alexia next ignoring her protests with an iron clad hold on your wrist, laia in tow pushing her from behind narrowing her chance of escape.

though you were clearly anything but sober it didn't take you long to catch onto yet another one of alba's schemes as she pulled you in for a dance, her hands a little more touchy than usual.

"are you trying to use yourself to make your sister jealous?" you asked her quietly as she ground into you, shoving her away slightly with a raised eyebrow. "no! i can't dance with you now?" alba laughed but you didn't miss the way her eyes flickered over your shoulder to clearly check if alexia was watching.

she was, of course.

the girl in question was trying desperately to contain the burning in her chest and the longing that she wanted to dance with you again. not with her other friends who spun her around and teased her that she wouldn't die if she smiled and pretended like she was having a good time.

grabbing alba you dragged her off to the side ignoring her tipsy whines as you found a semi quiet corner of the club. "stop alba!" you warned as the girl leant into the wall and gave you a confused look.

"stop what amiga?" she smiled innocently as you rolled your eyes. "you know what, we broke up alba and its staying that way. we are trying to be friends and you are making it impossible with all these awkward attempts to force us back together, so stop!" you warned again, tone much more serious as alba now rolled her eyes.

"you and alexia cannot just be friends." alba laughed, the tequila speaking more than she really was as you scoffed. "why not? lots of exes are friends." you argued, a slight slur to your own words as your drinks started to kick in.

"no they are not. you and alexia will not stay friends, i see the way she looks at you and the way you look at her. you still love her hermosa, so go and get her!" alba grabbed your face in her hands, squishing your cheeks in her fingers.

"of course i still love her but its not that simple-" "what do you love about her hm?" "albs thats not what i-" "go on! why do you still love her?" "well you don't just fall out of love with someone when you feel like you have no choice in the break up. but she left me alba, and that hurts!" you sighed, downing the rest of your drink.

"you still love me?" your head whipped around at that and your eyes widened, alba mumbling something and darting away before you could strangle her.

"can we talk outside? please?" alexia asked, eyes pleading as you hesitated but gave in with a nod, following her outside and away from the club, pausing to get stamps on your hand from the bouncer so you could get back in later.

"you wanted to talk?" you chuckled as an awkward silence fell between you two once you'd wandered a little further away, sitting down together on a table from a cafe which was long closed.

"why are we broken up?" alexia asked, neither one of you facing each other. "you know why alexia, we had the whole conversation last week. cried and hugged and then slept together, remember!" you replied rather bluntly, the buzz from the alcohol still present.

"si and then you left, without a word." alexia added on. "si because like you just said, we are broken up." "but why are we broken up?" "alexia we just-"

"no. i mean why are we broken up? i love you cariño, and you love me. i know i made a huge mistake but i don't know how else to apologize for it without a second chance to prove it." you could feel her eyes burning holes in the side of your head as you sighed again.

"alexia we just agreed we would try to be friends again, literally a few days ago!" you massaged your temple already feeling a headache coming on.

"i know but i do not want to be your friend. i want more and i know you do too and you are scared, and that is understandable but nothing worth doing is ever easy." the blonde pushed, grabbing your hands, a little surprised when you allowed her to and actually met her gaze.

"i am still retiring and i am still leaving to work for the UN in that program ale, nothing will change my mind." you stated firmly, heartbeat accelerating.

"i am not trying to change your mind amor. i want you to go, i know what it means to you and i know that you need to do this, for you." she promised, squeezing your hands gently.

"i know you will be gone for six months but planes exist, i will have breaks between games, i will make time for you. you wanted time to find peace with us, to work out how to fix things and how to go back to how we were, this could be that time and that space. but i promise you mi amor am not going anywhere while you take that time and do what you need to. i will be here when you leave and i will be here when you come back, and i will still love you every single moment in between that."

you struggled to come up with a reason to fight her on this, a reason not to crumble and fall right back into things with her like you never stopped.

her eyes bore into yours and you felt yourself slip closer and closer to the edge, your feet slipping and sliding as your legs took their own course and the ground seemed to shift only pushing you nearer and nearer to the inevitable, and then you fell.

the way her lips pressed against yours was different than the rushed messy kisses after you'd poured your hearts out to one another on the physio bench, where it seemed those were trying to scramble and rush to make up for time lost, as if deep down you both knew this was a mistake and that it could be the last time you ever really had with one another.

but this kiss was different.

your hand moved to gently clasp her cheek as her own fell to your shoulder and your hip, pulling your body flush into hers as you melted into one another.

she kissed you like time stood still at her command, lips soft and warm and welcoming, her touch tender and yet still cautious as if you could crack and smash if she pushed just a fraction too hard.

you could never deny the way she made you feel just so entirely wrapped up in love with just a simple kiss, how your head spun like a wheel and your heart swelled in your chest like someone was pumping air into it.

despite the alcohol in your bloodstream the way your head felt light and tingly was a different sort of drunk, and the way you chased after her lips again as she started to pull away just hit the nail further into the coffin that you were truly addicted to the way they tasted and felt against yours.

eventually you both allowed one another a moment to collect your thoughts, foreheads pressed together and chests heaving to catch your breath, pulled out of your lovesick haze by a rogue wolf whistle from a drunken party goer across the street.

"i love you too."

~

nine months later

"and you fly in tomorrow?" "si." "and you will text me as you are leaving and when you land?" "si." "and mami and i will come and get you from the airport?" "si." "and you are all packed?" "si." "you are feeling okay hermanita, about coming home again?" "si." you rolled your eyes at your sisters never ending prompting. "are you saying yes to everything she is asking to shut her up?" "ingrid!" "what? she is not a performing monkey maría she is probably exhausted and sad and a little stressed about coming home, and you have already asked her these things one hundred times!" "whose side are you on here? you are worried too!"

"maría do you remember how you once asked me why i spent more time with you once you started seeing ingrid? and if it was because i felt uh what was it? oh yes! jealous that someone else was 'stealing your time away from me'." you smiled, shuffling your phone to your other ear as your sister scoffed. "...i do not recall that." she mumbled. "well to answer your question i started spending more time with you once you started seeing ingrid because i wanted to spend more time with ingrid, not you!" at that you heard a roar of laughter from the norweigein and your sister and her girlfriend start bickering as the grin on your face grew, quickly muting your phone as a flight was called.

"okay love birds i will see you tomorrow. te amo mucho hermana, adios!" with that you clicked end call, cutting off your sister mid sentence and sighing in relief as your bag finally appeared on the luggage carousel.

your phone vibrating in your hand you chuckled seeing it was a message from ingrid informing she would wait until tomorrow morning to inform your sister you were in fact already home, having conferred with the older girl from the very moment you'd created this plan.

finally making your way through customs you exhaled deeply as you dragged your suitcase out into the arrivals lounge, already knowing where you needed to head as you pulled away from the hustle and bustle of reunions, tears, hugs and prying eyes.

double checking you were going the right way you pushed your sunglasses down over your eyes and grinned feeling the warm barcelona sunshine bathe your face.

you swore to yourself as your suitcase wheel broke, huffing and dragging it the rest of the way along the crossing and into the carpark.

"dios mio! so much luggage, someone might think you have been away for a long time."

the suitcase fell to the ground as you turned around, meeting her twinkling eyes and amused smile as she spun her keys around on her pointer finger, head mostly covered by her hood as she pushed her sunglasses onto her forehead.

"mm i have been on a grand adventure. i am actually waiting for my girlfriend to pick me up, she has been so miserable while i was away, praying each and every day for my safe return." you met her smile with one of your own as the blonde hummed, stopping right in front of you still spinning her keys around.

"you must be a special girl to have someone so hung up on you. funny because i am actually here to pick up my girlfriend who has been away for many months, who i have not visited, kissed, seen or touched in nearly..." she held up a finger and glanced to the watch on her wrist.

"...60 days. so 1460 hours which means 876000 minutes." the taller girl grinned, catching her keys in her palm and within milliseconds her hands landed on your hips and pulled you into a bone crushing hug as you deeply inhaled the forever familiar scent of her favourite perfume.

"make that zero days, zero hours, zero minutes and zero seconds." you whispered in her ear, her forehead pressing against yours as the two of you held one anothers embrace. "still far too long princessa, still far too long." she mumbled, having come and seen you as often as she could while you'd been away.

though the distance was hard it did allow you the time you needed to work through your thoughts, and on her third time visiting you'd made things official once again.

but the bigger picture was that it had allowed your heart and your happiness time to find purpose in something else, and so now you'd returned to barcelona with a new outlook on life and a weight lifted from your shoulders so immense you could have sworn you'd grown an inch or two without its stress.

you realised as much as you loved learning, you had quite the passion for teaching and helping and spreading that joy of learning, and so halfway through your program you'd enrolled to start university back in spain to become a teacher.

some of the coaching staff from barca had reached out to see if you'd be interested in some part time work with the junior academy, cautious in their approach not to push you back into anything to do with football too soon, but also with alexia breathing down their neck for an answer.

you'd agreed, explaining that you still loved football if you weren't in love with football, and that if they would have you then you would be lucky for the opportunity.

alexia had done her best to try and act surprised, even though your sister and her own had kept you well informed of her dealings with the coaching staff who had hardly taken much persuading to offer you the role anyway, more so surprised that you were so interested still.

"welcome home mi amor, for good."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

i am well aware this has taken awhile! but i have written and deleted this chapter more times than i care to admit, in some endings they broke up, in some (like this one) they got together. i realised no matter what the ending would be there would always be a handful who wished for something different, so i just wrote what i wanted and not what i thought others would, as i have with every chapter of this little series. thank you all very much for reading along <3

[emswritings]

Pandora's friend

Synopsis: Barty and Evan are introduced to Pandora's new friend.

Tags: hufflepuff fem!reader, rosekiller x reader, fluff

Word count: 0.6k

Authors note: I might do more of this if y’all like it

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“I promise, you’ll love them,” Pandora promises you for what feels like the hundredth time. You were on the way to the slytherin common room with her, because she left her homework with her brother, Evan, and decided that it would probably be easiest to study there, instead of going all the way back to the library. You plug your ears as she says the password, and walk into the common room. Looking around at the dark room, you spot two boys who look extremely cozy, to put it nicely. Pandora either doesn’t care, or doesn’t notice, because she walks straight up to one with blonde hair that looks remarkably  like her, and asks him for her homework back. 

You stand behind her, not so subtly admiring the couple. One has blonde hair and tan skin with green eyes and the other has dark hair and pale skin with brown eyes. You must’ve caught the dark haired boy's attention, because he perks up, and says to Pandora, “Now who’s this treasure? Have you been hiding her from us, dora?”

Pandora rolls her eyes at him, then looks back at you, "Y/N, this is Barty," she gestures to the dark haired boy, "and this is Evan, my twin," she points to the blonder one. You smile at them both, waving slightly. Following her over to some of the desks in the corner of the room, you get your books out of your bag to start studying. Not even five minutes later, you hear a thump, and someone, Evan, coming over to you and Pandora. 

“So, what brought someone like you down here?” Evan asks, taking a seat on the desk you're working at and looking at your hufflepuff robes. You flush slightly at the attention, but reply, “well, me and dora were going to study in the library, but she left her homework here and decided that it would be easiest to work down here.”

“Can we help? We’re super smart,” Barty says, skipping over to the group. He stands behind you and looks over your shoulder to see what you're working on, potions, and starts twirling your hair. You look to Pandora, trying to see if it’s a good idea, but her eyes stay focused on her paper. You turn to the two boys who are looking at you expectantly, and shrug, “sure.”

That leads to you spending the next two hours with them, and you only finish one of the assignments that you had planned to do. It’s no big deal though, since you still have a week to get them done, and you got to talk to two cute guys. You only realize how late it is when Pandora comes back into the common room -you didn’t even know she left- with a plate of food for the three of you.

After the three of you eat, you let out a yawn, and start to pack your things. “Where are you going, doll?” Evan drawls, watching you lazily. 

“I need to head back to my dorm,” you smile, “it’s almost curfew.” That causes a very dramatic eye roll from Barty, who waves his hand towards who you now know is his boyfriend, Evan, “No need to worry about that treasure. Blondie here is a prefect, he can walk you to your dorm.” You smile at him, but decline, saying, “I would hate for you to have to go through all that trouble, besides, I have a test tomorrow, might as well get some beauty sleep.” 

The boys watch as you leave, and then Evan turns to Pandora and says, “You should study here more often.”

[peppermintquartz]

The second time Tommy meets Philip and Margaret is not under the best of circumstances.

Maddie is wrecked with worry, Jee is confused about why her daddy can't sleep at home and why her Uncle Buck isn't here, and Tommy himself is approximately three broken Kit-Kat bars from completely snapping.

So when the Buckley parents show up at the hospital, Tommy is not in the best of moods.

"Why are you here?" Margaret says when she sees him, instead of asking "How's my son?"

"Because I'm waiting for the outcome of the surgery," Tommy says, pretty curtly, but after fourteen hours following a full shift he is about to keel over. He's seated right now, having no further energy to pace, with his elbows on his knees, his head aching from the fluorescent lights and endless activity all around him, and his heart steeled against the worst possible outcome. "I mean, it's certainly not for the ambience."

"Maddie called and told us that Howard and Evan were in the building when it collapsed," Philip says before Margaret can react to the sarcasm. "We wanted to be here for Maddie."

"For Maddie, of course it's for her," Tommy says, and he is so beyond sick with worry that he can't force aside the irritation nor hide it with civility. "She's gone home with Jee-yun. I promised to keep her updated. If you're looking for her, I suggest doing so tomorrow morning when she's had hopefully at least an hour of sleep."

Margaret glances at the light above the operating theater doors and wrings her hands. "How long has it been? I can't bear this."

Tommy doesn't even look at his watch anymore. "Fourteen hours, thereabouts. Howie's just come out two hours ago."

A whole building. A three-storey building. Howie was on the top floor, so he was freed from the rubble first. Evan was on the ground floor. The 217 and the 124 had been on the scene, Tommy flying five casualties from the wreck directly to hospital, one of whom was his friend. All the while he had to internally battle the screaming need to claw apart the debris, with his bare hands if necessary, to get his Evan out of there.

Philip hugs Margaret. "He'll survive. He's always done so, since he was a kid. You know how it is with him. Scrapes and cuts and falls. He'll come out of this without trouble."

"I can't bear waiting here," Margaret whispers again. "You know I don't like..." She shuts her eyes and shakes her head.

"I know, I know it feels like it's Daniel inside, but it isn't."

And Tommy loses it.

Logically, he knows that Philip is merely trying to reassure his wife. Logically, he knows that they are trying; the mere fact that they are in hospital to check on Evan and Howie is a statement that they are trying.

Every other part of Tommy, however, explodes with incandescent rage.

"Daniel? Daniel?! Evan's in there, fighting for his life, and you can't even focus on that?" he spits out. "The only reason why I am even talking to you is because you made Evan. You brought him to this world. And you don't deserve him. Every day I see how much he loves, how openly and how bravely he loves, and to know that you both treated him the way you did... And now you come here, to the hospital, and you talk about being here for Maddie and, and thinking about Daniel, instead of your son who could've died today!"

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Tommy realizes that he's on his feet, his fists clenched, towering over two older persons who are shrinking away from his six foot two frame. Suddenly drained, Tommy licks his dry lips.

"Go see Howie," he says in a low voice. "You probably can't go in yet, but find out what you can to tell Maddie."

Philip clears his throat. "You'll let us know when Evan is out?"

"I'll call Maddie." Tommy sits again and stares at the wall opposite. Green. Dull, lifeless, bland hospital green. He hears the Buckleys walk away. "Philip, wait."

"Yes?"

"Sorry about the outburst. Also, you're supposed to call him Buck. Remember that."

Philip sighs again. "Of course. We'll see you later, when Ev- Buck is out of surgery."

[python333]

duckling — python333

— — — —

synopsis you have trouble sleeping most nights, luckily gaz is there to help you sleep and does so with cuddles and the least amount of banter ive ever written before with him!! :3

relationships platonic!gaz & gn!reader.

characters gaz.

word count 1.05k

warnings 2nd person pov [you/yours/yourself], no usage of c/n [you are exclusively referred to with pet names].

note i have no motivation to write anything but short drabbles like these rn :( thank you to everyone who's sent me any reqs, i'll get to them as soon as i get the motivation to!! which will probably be by tomorrow or the day after that, but i still kind of feel bad :< i hope you guys enjoy it anyway tho, it's all fluff and sibling dynamics with gaz!!

You really had no choice but to go to his room. 

You’d been tossing and turning in bed, the sheets ruined by all the rustling, and with a final groan of frustration you’d thrown them off of your body and gotten out of bed.

You paused for a moment before grabbing the blankets and wrapping them around yourself, then grabbing your pillow, holding it tightly whilst you walked towards and out of the doors of your sleeping quarters.

Right now, you’re trudging along the hall that leads to his sleeping quarters, yawning into the palm of your hand as you do. Your blinking is slow as is your breathing, and you feel—and probably look—like a zombie.

You’re well aware of the dark bags hanging under your eyes, and of your messy hair, but you can’t bring yourself to care at the moment, more focused on getting to his room so you can finally sleep.

Gaz, months ago, after hearing about your tendency to just get up and walk laps around the base until you were too exhausted to go on just to sleep, had told you that if you ever felt the need to do that again you should just go to his room and he’d help you sleep.

Of course, not even two days after that conversation had taken place, you found yourself still awake at three in the morning, so you decided to listen to Gaz for once and headed to his room. 

By helping you sleep, he apparently meant moving over on his bed and letting you sleep beside him. Which made you skeptical at first, because you weren’t five, you didn’t need to be cuddled to go to sleep, but you still gave him a chance and crawled into bed next to him.

And you were proven wrong the moment Gaz put an arm over your midriff and gently rubbed his thumb up and down your side, the small action lulling you to sleep almost immediately. He woke you up just three hours later, at six in the morning, so that you had time to get back to your own sleeping quarters so that nobody suspected anything. 

You can almost feel yourself getting more tired just from the memory of it—not tired enough to sleep, of course, because nothing could be that easy, but still tired. 

So then, after that initial night, you came to him more and more often. He became more and more concerned each time you knocked on the door of his sleeping quarters, but never directly told you that, instead simply opening the door and letting you get into bed with him.

Slowly, you became more comfortable doing it, and it soon became your instinct to go to Gaz’s sleeping quarters whenever you couldn’t sleep. 

So now, as you walk up to the door of his sleeping quarters and knock twice, it’s no surprise how quickly he answers. He opens the door almost immediately and steps to the side so that you can walk in.

You do just that, walking into his sleeping quarters and heading straight for his bed, pushing his pillow to the side so that you can put yours right beside his, on the side closest to the wall, and you crawl into bed. 

You hear him close the door and pad over to the bed, waiting for you to climb under the covers and put your head on your pillow before crawling in behind you. Once he’s fully under the covers, he wraps a gentle arm around your waist, pulling you closer to him so that he can properly spoon you. 

“You don’t have to bring your own blanket, you know,” He mumbles as he puts his head on your chin, “There’s always gonna be one here.” 

“I know,” You simply hum, grabbing Gaz’s hand from where it lays casually on your stomach and holding it with your own, “But it’s colder in here at night. I like having both blankets.” 

Gaz stays silent, instead responding by simply squeezing your hand and rubbing his thumb over the back of it. 

“I’m sorry, is having a whole ‘nother person here not warm enough for you?” Gaz finally responds, voice full of snark. 

“Not at all,” You murmur, squeezing Gaz’s hand back, “Body heat and a single blanket isn’t enough. I need another blanket or else I’ll get hypothermia.” 

“Whatever you say, duckling,” Gaz sighs.

“I still don’t get why you call me that.” 

“Don’t act like you don’t follow me everywhere around base like a little duckling.” 

“It’s not acting,” You grumble, making Gaz huff out a laugh, “I just don’t.” 

“Oh, but you do,” Gaz coos, before pressing a soft kiss to the top of your head, “You don’t have to be embarrassed. It’s not like it’s a secret.” 

“I’m not embarrassed,” You deny, lying straight through your teeth, “I just don’t follow you around. At all.” 

“You’re only convincing yourself, duckling,” Gaz mumbles, putting his chin on top of your head again, right over the spot he’d kissed, “Now go to sleep. You need it.” 

You don’t respond verbally, instead simply relaxing your shoulders that you hadn’t even realized were tense, and letting out a tired sigh. Gaz was wrong, you weren’t even convincing yourself.

You knew that you followed him around everywhere, like a pestering younger sibling that was desperate to copy their older sibling, but he didn’t need to know that you knew that. 

And he definitely didn’t need to know you had no real problem with it. 

Soon, like you had never had sleeping problems to begin with, you were fast asleep. Gaz, however, continued his ministrations of rubbing his thumb over the back of your hand, as well as loosely holding your hand in his. 

Eventually, his thumb slows and he drifts asleep as well, and when he falls into a deeper slumber his thumb eventually stops its movements. But throughout the night, his hand continues to be held in yours, and his arm remains where it is, keeping you close to him the entire night. 

The next morning, when he wakes up and sees you still peacefully asleep, he can’t find it in himself to disrupt your sleep, so he simply closes his eyes and acts as thought he had never woken up.

[impuls1veworm]

LATE NIGHTS.

Mikey X Reader

Draken X Reader

A/N: I'm getting too old to be on this app. You'd think after using it for 10 years, I'd know how to work it. Nope. I literally just figured out ten seconds ago how to make the text small.

— Mikey x Reader

“Do you think we’d still be a couple in another life?” Mikey asked. He had a race tomorrow, so it was supposed to be an early night, but he didn’t seem to be the slightest bit tired. He was always like this the night before a race; the anticipation causing his brain to be firing on all cylinders. When you didn’t respond, Mikey gave your back two quick pokes to get your attention. “Go to bed,” you grumbled. Your husband may not have been tired, but you were. It was a long day of press conferences and preparations for tomorrow, and all you wanted to do was rest.

Mikey wasn’t phased by your response or attitude, instead choosing to further agitate you, “what if we already got married and had five kids?”. The question may have been said to tease you, but Mikey couldn’t help but fantasize about that universe. He could see it so clearly. Visions of him standing in a tux, watching as you walk down the aisle in a beautiful silk wedding gown. The ‘I do’ and gentle kiss the both of you shared as you finish tying the knot. The two of you stare in disbelief at the positive pregnancy test 2 years later. Arguing over nurse colors and baby names.

“Go to bed,” you stressed, trying to get him to get some rest finally. With a fond smile still on his face, he relented. Turning off his back and into his side, wrapping an arm around you, pulling you close.

If only the two of you knew this was the best timeline. The other timeline leaves Mikey an empty shell of a man who leads a life of murder and fraud. No one by his side, but a loyal dog. And you, a corpse, dead by the hands of your first (and last) love.

—Draken x Reader

You had been tossing and turning for what felt like hours. It was now three in the morning, and you felt completely awake. Lying there staring at your phone, you racked your brain to who could possibly still be up at this time. No one came to mind— well, scratch that, actually, one person did. But, it was someone you had no plans to see again; your ex-boyfriend, Draken, who had dumped you a month prior. You were about to set your phone down, roll over, and force yourself to go to bed when a message appeared on your screen.

From: Kenny

‘I can’t sleep.’

Logically, you should erase the message and forget you ever received it. Go on with your life and leave Draken as a fond memory, but your mind raced with ‘what if’s’. What if this was him extending an olive branch. What if he wanted to get back together? What if the two of you did get back together? Would it last this time, or would you be left heartbroken again? You had to know. You knew you’d be filled with regret for the rest of your life if you didn’t see what this would lead to.

To Kenny:

‘Me either…’

And that’s how you ended up in your current predicament. Sitting on your couch with junk food lined in front of the two of you and some corny new horror movie you’d been wanting to see playing on the TV. Draken sat in the middle of the couch, legs spread and his left arm draped over the back, and you with your back against the arm rest and your legs laid across his lap as his right hand's thumb rubbed small circles on your ankle. It was silent, save for the movie playing, but you had no plans to break the silence. You were content and didn’t want to potentially ruin the peaceful atmosphere. Thankfully, you didn’t have to be the one to speak up.

“Sitting here with you like this is nice,” Draken admits. You agreed, wanting to keep your answer short. You didn’t want to open the flood gates and admit that you haven't been happy since he left. How everyday it takes everything in you not to call him and tell him about your day. How when you went to the convenience store, you had to refrain from buying him something as he wouldn’t be waiting for you when you got home.

“I’ve missed,” draken said, running his hand further up your leg, “everything about you.” He stopped at the edge of your night shorts. His fingertips slowly work their way up underneath them before stopping completely just before touching your panties. Pulling Drakens' hands out of your shorts, you intertwined your fingers and gently pulled him towards you. The tips of your nose brushes together, your lips ghosting over his as you said, “am I reading this wrong? If I am…push me away.”

You were almost expecting him to pull away when instead he pulled you closer, claiming your lips. As he pulled you into his lap, refusing to break the kiss, you hoped this time it would last.

[toomuchracket]

thinking about getting babied by office nerd … this has been done to death a little bit but i’m just thinking about girlie refusing to accept any help so he has to get a teensy little bit commanding and she’s like Oh… okay……👀

- heather

proper fic about you and the nerd realising it's kinda sexy when he's in charge coming during promptober btw... but yes, thinking maybe you're a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to work and you've been editing (not even writing! it's literally finished!) an article for HOURS, which matty gets you need to do and initially is very like "yeah, babe, you just keep working, it's alright". when it gets to after midnight (omg chappell reference), though, and you're kubrick-staring at your laptop instead of getting ready for bed, that's when he puts his foot down; he starts sweet, kissing your cheek and neck like "baby, please let's just go to bed, you need some sleep. i'll proof it tomorrow for you, promise", but still you persist in shaking your head like "no it's ok i'll only be five minutes", blanking him when he says "you said that three hours ago, darling". he tries again, you don't respond, and that's the point he just snaps - the laptop is pulled away from you, and as you protest matty holds your face and firmly says "listen to me, baby - we're gonna go to bed now, and get some sleep, and you're not gonna touch that laptop until after breakfast tomorrow, alright? i'm sorry i have to be like this, but... yeah". and he's just so HOT like this that you can't help biting your lip and being like "i'm not sorry", and when he looks puzzled you smile and say "you're really sexy when you're forceful like that. i think going to bed sounds like a really, REALLY good idea"; matty blinks a few times, processing, before he rapidly ctrl-s's your word doc, and the next thing you know he's scooping you up and carrying you to the bedroom and dropping you onto the bed and kissing you and... yeah. he's still a little sweet, because it's him, but he plays into the dominant role reeeeeeeeeeally well. he did learn from the best tho! <3

[jungkookslipring]

2 am

summary: you and your best friend had a rough day at work, but the group chat remains alive and well

pairings: reader x bff x Wonwoo x Jeonghan x Minghao

genre: slight angst but w/ a happy ending

relationship: platonic

You ever have those days where it starts off shitty but ends on a good note. That wasn’t your situation unfortunately. Today your day started off pretty great. One of your favorite bands dropped a new song, and you FaceTimed your bestie to jam out together at the crack of dawn. But as your day went on, it started taking a turn for the worst. Work kicked both of your asses, more than usual, and everything seemed to get worse before it got better. You two were exhausted by the time you got home from your 9-5. You both talked about it over dinner, knowing that getting whatever was bugging you off your chest would help. It did in a way, but that didn’t change what happened. You both bid each other a good night and went to your separate rooms. Hours passed and you haven’t slept a wink. You tossed and turned for a while, even ignored screen time so you could sleep properly. Nothing. You pulled out your phone and not only saw it was 2 in the morning, you noticed your friend was online. You threw on a shirt so you wouldn’t accidentally flash them, and knocked on their door.

“Yo” they say in a groggy voice. You creaked it open and saw them with one AirPod out of their ear, you could hear the new song playing.

“They filled this shit with crack I swear” they said as you give them a tired chuckle.

“You can’t sleep either?” they ask, briefly pausing the song. You shook your head.

“Nope,” you say yawning into your hand.

“What should we do?” They ask, pulling out their other AirPod. You shrug.

“I don’t know we could watch something?” You ask. They nod as you jumped into their bed and grabbed the remote, scrolling through Netflix to see if any of your shows came out with new episodes. While you were rewatching your favorite supernatural episodes, your phone lit up. It was your giant group chat that had wayyyy too many people in it.

Minghao: Who’s up

Jeonghan: Go to sleep

Minghao: but maaaaa

Jeonghan: Istg

Y/BFF/N: We’re up

Wonwoo: Who’s we

Y/n: Who do you think

Minghao: Kiss

Y/BFF/N: why are you the way you are

Jeonghan: please pardon my dear son

Minghao: pardon?!?!

Wonwoo: I’m going to sleep

Y/N: Who wants free food

Minghao: Bet

Wonwoo: Bet

Jeonghan: Bet

You two shut off the TV and quickly throw on a sweatshirt and sweats. You two hop in your friends car and speed off to the guys’ apartment. You pull up almost ready to honk the horn but remember it’s 2 am and you didn’t wanna get yelled at tonight, again. Your friend texted the guys that you two were parked across the street, and not too long later, three crackheads zoomed down the steps after quietly shutting the door.

“Get in losers we’re going shopping!” your friend yelled out the window, nearly blowing out your eardrum. You gave them a look before slapping their arm playfully.

“What’s the move?” You ask as the three pile into the back of your truck.

“Ice cup and tteokbokki” Wonwoo says almost immediately.

“7/11?” Jeonghan asks giving you puppy dog eyes.

“Step on it!” Minghao and your bestie yell at the same time. You two could already feel your moods lifting. Before you knew it you five were walking around 7/11, grabbing ramen, snacks, and ice drinks. After you paid for everyone’s food, you nodded towards the door, instead of sitting down like you normally would.

“Where are we going?” Jeonghan asks.

“You’ll see,” you say with a smirk, your friend’s face already lighting up.

“Are we getting kidnapped?” Minghao asks.

“Beats going to work tomorrow,” Wonwoo says sipping his drink. You all pile back in the rowdy boys are already fighting over the middle seat.

“Don’t spill in my truck,” y/bff/n scolded jokingly.

“They’ll kick you out on the freeway,” you say with the most serious face possible before you two broke out into cackles. You drove a good 10 minutes until you reached a hilltop that overlooked the skyscrapers. You guys have been up there countless times, but the fresh air after a day like today did your body and mind wonders. You dropped your tailgate and everyone piled in, laying out multiple blankets and dispersing all the snacks. Everyone laughed and ate to their hearts content, groaning at how full they were just from the ramen and drinks an hour later. You all laid in a cuddle pile staring at the stars in comfortable silence until Minghao spoke up.

“God this was so needed” he whispered. You lifted your head to look at him.

“Bad day?” You ask. He nodded slowly. The guys all hummed in agreement. Everyone had stressful jobs, and it was only the beginning of the week.

“Thanks for reaching out Minghao,” Y/BFF/N said as she rested her head back on Wonwoo’s chest. Everyone once again hummed in agreement as you all cuddled closer. Your day may have sucked the life out of you two, but you could count on the ones you love to make your heart beat again.

taglist: @felixmainacc@felixburneracc@myforevermelody143@dunno-wut-to-do@itzsana-kiddingmenow

[honk4shelbi]

🙂❤️ Charpim Fic Inspired by my followers !

I call this one.... Burger hot chocolate hands .. .

" Alright, here we are. You sure you don't want me to drop you off closer to your apartment ? " Mr. Boss parks his Ford F150 outside the local Salty's; its concerning this place is still opened after the murder case. Almost as concerning as knowing the Boss has a Ford F150.

Thank god he does though-- or Charlie wouldn't of been able to make it to work today, not during this weather.

" Uh, yea its fine. I'm like, five minutes from here." Charlie steps down from the truck, showing care to grab the assisting handle tightly. The roads, the side walks, the EVERYTHING was covered in a thin sheet of ice. One wrong step and he could eat shit on the pavement. " I haven't been able to get groceries; I'm starving. "

" Alrighty then. Sleep in tomorrow; I think the roads are suppose to be even WORSE so I'm closing up shop. Even I don't want to drive my baby on that. Isn't that right baby girl ? " The Boss proceeds to coddle the dashboard of his truck. Weird.

" Uh-- okaaaay.... Cya man. " " Bye Bye Charlie, Be safe ! "

Charlie couldn't wait to feast on one of his burgers. As he walked home, he scarfed one down entirely. What ? The weather does this to him-- its like.. hibernation or something like that. That's why he bought THREE of them.

After a long, precarious tread to his apartment, Charlie wasted no time curling up on his couch, wrapping himself in his Mr. Frog in Space throw blanket.

Siigghhh.... " Finally I can be warm again; I can't do this cold shit-- "

Suddenly, it goes dark.

" No. Fucking. Way. " The power was out. Of coarse this shitty ass apartment complex couldn't handle one winter storm. " God damnit. " Charlie, given no choice, gives up on watching T.V and instead crawls onto his mattress. There's nothing else to do without power-- he might as well sleep it off and finish the rest of his cold burgers.

The power will surely come on eventually...

Come several hours of shivering in bed, Charlie gives up. " Fuck-- will Pim even be awake at 1 am ? " He reaches over at his phone, which was dangerously only at 12 percent of battery. Have to make this count.

Come on Pim.. I'm counting on you.. He dials Pim's number.

~~~~

" Charlie you should of called me way sooner ! You're freezing ! I can't believe you thought you could sleep with no heat ALL night-- " Pim had to drive slow. VERY slow. His car was nice, but it wasn't meant for this ice. Thankfully, no one else is on the road so he can really pace himself.

" Yea yea yea. " Charlie breathes a fog of warm air into his hands, before holding them up to the heat vents. ".. Thanks Pim. "

Pim nods, " Of coarse. But I don't feel comfortable doing this again tomorrow-- you'll just have to just stay with me until the roads thaw. But I don't mind ! It'll be fun ! We can watch movies, and drink hot chocolate ! "

Charlie's cheeks start to warm up-- both a blessing and a curse in this situation. He just realized how utterly fucked he'd be without Pim right now... it's kind of embarrassing. Almost as embarrassing as how much he was looking forward to spending time with Pim. Damn him and his stupid crush-- " Pim, If you make me hot chocolate I'll be one happy critter . "

" Anything to see you smile." " What ? " " NOTHING. " Pim's cheeks glow red and he remains far more silent the rest of the ride. Looks like Charlie wasn't the only one looking forward to this..

~~~~

Not so surprisingly, Pim's place still had power. Charlie always felt self conscious when he visited Pim's apartment-- Pim is just... so much more put together. His apartment actually WASN'T a piece of shit. But Charlie didn't get to think about that long before Pim started speaking;

" Let me start the hot chocolate-- just make yourself warm. "

Charlie sunk into the couch; just happy to be warm. Then he used a nearby outlet to start charging his phone. As he waited, his mind began to wonder. Was he sleeping on the couch? Of coarse he would.. why wouldn't he ? It would be weird if they slept in Pim's bed together. . . . . .

" Here Charlie ! " " AHH ! "

The smaller critter gasps. " Oh god-- sorry I didn't mean to scare you ! " Pim ditches the mug of cocoa on the table and hops onto the couch; He scoots even closer, so he can pat Charlie's back. He's aware of Charlie's heart problems, so he was genuinely concerned. " I just got excited." He grabs Charlies hand tightly.

Catching his breath, Charlie squeezes the hand, enjoying the warmth of the other. A bit TOO much. " It's fine-- i was just distracted. "

" About what, Charlie, are you alright ? " " Yea I said it's f-- "

Eye contact. They both just realized how close they were sitting to each other. That time they kissed at Salty's replays in both their heads. It's almost as if they both were considering kissing each other in that moment but--

The lights go out.

" Oh no.... "

~~~~

Both tired and defeated, they get ready for bed. " Sorry about this Charlie-- Last year this didn't happen.. guess it really is bad out there. " He says as he turns the living room lamp off so Charlie can sleep more soundly on the couch.

" It's not your fault Pim, don't apologise. I just fucking hate it-- I ain't built for the cold like this. " In fact, his breath was already creating a small fog. He shivers. " Still better inculcated then my place though. "

Pim walks over towards his room, but lingers a moment, not quick to leave. He twirls the point to his sleeping cap. " Well.. Goodnight Charlie.... "

" Night bud. "

... ... ...

" Pim ? " " Yea Charlie ? " " Do you want me to sleep in bed w- "

" YES ! " Thank GOD he asked-- he wanted it SO badly he couldn't stand it. Pim fantasized about sleeping with Charlie ever since he got the call-- hell.. ever since they kissed he's thought about it.

Charlie bites his lip and hesitates; Just enough to build up the nerve to get up and hurry over to Pim. He lifts the smaller critter into his arms and carries him to bed.

They both giggle and immediately lock their bodies together for warmth under the blankets.

" Thanks for answering the phone, dude. " Pim grins and leans in closely. " Call me more often. " He coos before kissing his friend passionately.

They both had wanted this for so long.

~~~

THE END, Thanks for contributing @gaspipegeoff , @cosmo-shell , @onceagwen

If you got this far and like it, then consider supporting my Kofi . I'm planning on continuing this w/ maybe smut involved as a next chapter and posting it on my Kofi for my supporters . Don't worry ill post it here eventually too, but youll get it way earlier there.

[leviathansshadycorner]

Rope Him In ( Cato x District 10! Reader x slight! Marvel) Pt. 7

Summary: Interview

A/n: Sorry for any inconsistencies and spelling errors, enjoyyyyyy!

Pt.6Pt.5 Pt.4 Pt.3 Pt.2 Pt.1

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Chapter 7: Interview

The games were Tomorrow. Today was your last day of peace and possibly life. Most of the time today was supposed to be spent preparing for the interview, however, Dolly and Rasmey gave you two or three hours of bliss before having to prepare. 

You were positive Buckley was out in the rose garden with Dolly. It was only natural for him to want to be outside instead of cooped in like you. Ramsey had come in to check on you twice but eventually stopped when he assumed you were sleeping. In reality, you were crying. Crying the whole two hours mourning the fact that you’d never get to see the faces of your family again. 

You remembered Amaranto and how the two of you would’ve been having breakfast together at this time. Or how you would have packed your Pa a lunch to take to work. You thought about those Sunday afternoons spent sitting on the dry grass with a blanket, just the three of you talking about life and reminiscing about your mother, occasionally eating something special when they’d work overtime. 

You thought about the times you spent with Clarabell in the angry rivers, scared out of your mind that a peacekeeper would come and hurt you both, but having so much fun in the water that you forgot that they even existed in the first place. 

Your mind went to Buckley. It was crazy how you went from greeting each other in the morning at school to being with each other every day. He looked out of place in the Capitol, and so did you. It was odd seeing someone from home on the screen, but you guessed that’s how he felt about you too. The two of you had grown closer than you would have ever at home. That’s when you started realizing that you should’ve appreciated everything you had at home instead of slowly isolating yourself as you grew up. 

Wiping the snot from your nose you decided to get up and wash your face. The clock read 12, and that meant it was time for your mentors to get you interview-ready. The actual interview itself was to start at 6 pm. However, you still had to practice your speech and what you were going to say to several different questions. The whole point was to make you appealing to not only the sponsors but the Capitol as a whole. After all, the sooner the tributes get used to the Capitol’s mannerisms, the better the victor will adapt. 

“Alright, let's try this again.” It had been thirteen minutes and Pradain was still struggling to get you to sit up straight. 

“Come on, we started an hour ago, I’m sure they can learn how to sit up straight later. What’s important is that we get them to speak clearly and with charm.” Dolly protested as Pradain pressed a hand to your back to get you upright. 

Pradain’s outfit consisted of satin gloves, and a matching dress that towered to his ankles, his feet adorned with five-inch  platforms. It was beyond you how he had learned to walk in those. 

“Don’t be ridiculous Dolly, this is a must when it comes to Capitol mannerisms. Now up!” Groaning you forcefully sat up, your shoulders still drooping.

“Ah! See- I thought you were shaped weird, but you’re just not lifting your shoulders.” He clasped his hands onto them, bringing them up and fixing your head’s posture. “See? That wasn’t too bad. Now let’s do it again.” He instructed, 

You looked over at Buckley- who had a scarf tied around him and the chair, propping him up straight. “I think I got it.” The poor boy pleaded to be untied. 

“You stay. And you,” He pointed at you, “Up!” 

Ramsey rolled his eyes. “Alright well, I’m just gonna go ahead and start reading these questions. Ramsey was already dressed in his suit claiming that he didn’t want to put it on later, so he decided to put it on now. 

He shuffled through some cards with common interview questions. “Alright, Buck-o this one’s for you. How would you describe home?” 

Buckley perked up, “Easy- Home is-” 

“AH! This isn’t a test, it's an interview. Tell them why you like home, what makes it special. Start with, ‘Well, home to me is-’” Pradain scolded Buckley. 

“Right, ok.” He nodded and looked at Ramsey to reread the card. 

“How would you describe home?” You looked over at Dolly, your face bored and uninterested. She noticed it and ushered you to pay attention to Buckley, sitting up straight which reminded you to sit up as well. Your back was on fire, you always thought you had an okay posture, but only now knew that it was too forward leaning. 

“Home to me is..” He stopped to think, his nose twitching as he was lost in thought, “Home to me is the yellow sunset, the dirt on my boots after a long day of work, the voices of my siblings arguing over a small toy, the pretty girls fluttering their eyelashes at me, the way their hair falls on their shoulders, and how round their-” 

“Okay, no stop- you’re getting distracted.” You laughed at Buckley’s response, starting nicely but going off-topic. 

“Alright then, at least you’ll make them laugh. You’ve got a good voice too Buckley, nice start.” Dolly tried making the best of things. 

“Same Question for you (Y/n). How would you describe home?” Ramsey put the cards down, his tired eyes looking at you as he waited for your response. 

“Any time now.” Spoke up Pradain. 

“Home to me is…Home to me is.” There was about a three-second pause, “My Brother. My Pa. Our little house by the wheat fields, and the river that runs through 10.” It wasn’t much, but it’s all that could come to mind. 

“That’s a start.” Dolly smiled. 

“We need you to say more, and don’t be afraid to get emotional, the Capitol loves that. They eat it up.” Ramsey crossed his legs. “We’re gonna have a long day.” He sighed. 

4 pm came quicker than anticipated. In the period you’d been practicing you were able to learn to project your voice, and Buckley learned how to be quieter. The two of you learned some fancy words, though you doubted you’d use them in a genuine sentence. 

Sashay and the rest of the stylists waited for you down at the stylist quarters where you were ready to get replucked like a chicken. It didn’t hurt as much as the first time, but the stinging feeling was still there. After you got bathed, they began working on your hair. Its (H/c) color being amplified and made brighter as they put some chemicals on it. It smelled foul, far worse than the cow poop at home. 

Your nails were painted black and white, You mentally groaned knowing where this was going. When your hair was finally dried they worked to braid it, putting some turquoise accessories on you before handing you to Sashay. 

She smiled brightly at you and kissed your cheek, “My my don’t you look beautiful.” She complimented taking your hand and leading you to the hanger where a long sleek cow print dress hung. It looked to have fur on it, and you assumed it’d come from home. 

“You’re going to look amazing.” She said excitedly as she instructed you to take your robe off. Sashay herself was dressed in all black, contrasting with what Dolly was wearing- white. You assumed the whole theme surrounding 10 would be cow print, and you were right. She helped you put the dress on, making some adjustments while it was on you so it would hug your figure better. It draped down longer on one end, the other end having a slit and exposing much of your leg. Below you wore some high-heeled boots that you thought looked ridiculous, but Sashay seemed enamored by them. She adjusted a belt on your hips- also containing hints of turquoise, and finally a necklace on you, tying the look together. 

“Oh!” She sighed clasping her hands together, “(Y/n), when you go home I guarantee you every man will want your hand in marriage.” She cooed as she circled you. “Perfect, now all we need is makeup.” The lady sat you down for another hour and a half of makeup application. You liked Sashay, she was more level-headed than Pradain and had such eloquence to her, however, the mix of having to speak in front of millions, and the games being tomorrow was not settling in right. Ramsey had to ask Pradain for a pill that would calm down your stomach. 

Sashay was escorting you out to the backstage area where Dolly and Ramsey were waiting. Ramsey was wearing black, Pradain opting to wear white, both of them sticking to the theme Pradain and Sashay had planned. You looked around for Buckley but he was nowhere in sight. 

“Wow.” Ramsey let out a long whistle, “You do not look like yourself at all.” He said admiring Sashay’s work. 

“(Y/n), you look stunning.” Dolly’s mouth was agape as she went to hold your arm and observe you. Your hair had been taken out of the braids, leaving behind curls in its place. 

“I can’t walk in these.” You whispered to her frantically. You didn’t want to fall on stage, but that seemed like something that would happen in your near future. 

She laughed, her smokey eyes closing making it look like she had hollowed eyes, “It’ll be fine, just try not to think about it.” She assured you. 

The stage was light as people began to flood the venue. There were stagehands all over the place, getting things set and ready. More tributes flowed in, you shrank back when you realized how extra Sashay had been with your interview gown since the others looked to be more playful and simple. People kept staring at you as they walked in, and that was a bad thing in your book. Eventually, Buckley came in. His stylist next to him as they chatted about god knows what. When he spotted you he froze slightly, keeping his gaze on you as they made their way to the group.

His hair was slicked back, his face looking more square but in a good way. He had some makeup on, but it was only to even out his tone, his freckles had been redrawn over his real ones since the base of his makeup had covered them. He wore a black suit, with hints of cow print on the inner side and flaps that poked out towards the neck of the suit. His boots matched yours, and he had a belt as big as one of the screens on. The two of you looked like you ran some sort of Texan Casino. 

“(Y/n), You look beautiful.” He complimented, his hands taking yours as he made you spin. “I almost didn’t recognize you.”  He said light-heartedly. 

Buckley’s attention made you flustered and you felt the room get warmer, “I could say the same,” You smiled, “Have you seen your hair?” You asked carefully, poking his gel-held hair. 

“Alright well, we’ll be out in the front row. Look for us alright?” Sashay excused herself and Pradain, leaving the two of you with Dolly and Rasmey. 

“They’re gonna line you up again, two lines- boys and girls.” Ramsey explained, “There’s a screen back here so y’all can watch but don’t miss your cue alright?” He ordered. The two of you nodded. 

“(Y/n), remember what we went over alright?” Dolly caught your gaze. 

Previously you’d spent time with Dolly going over some things you could do to emphasize your image as the Capitol’s cowgirl. Dolly had instructed you to speak with more southern twang than usual, keep a smile and hospitable personality, and speak on the livestock and ‘ranch life’ back at home. All things that would make a District 10 resident roll their eyes, but a Capitol citizen clap and shout. Unfortunately for you, you knew that this whole act would blow up in your face. You wouldn’t get taken seriously by the tributes, and if the small chance of you winning existed, you’d have to keep up the stereotype. 

Your mentors left you to take their seats. There was about an hour until show time, and some makeup artists stuck back to touch up some of the tributes. You and Buckley paced around the backstage, practicing lines with each other, and working on pronunciation. You hadn’t even noticed that the careers had flowed in. Glimmer was wearing a pink poofy dress, far too short for her. The only thing that distracted from her body was her giant blonde hair that cascaded perfectly, but even then she wore body glitter that made her shine. Clove on the other hand wore an orange dress and a hairdo that puffed the top part of her hair up. The two looked at you and laughed, making it obvious that they were laughing at your gown. You couldn’t blame them though. You would’ve laughed at yourself too. Buckley defensively went to stand in front of you to block their view, but it didn’t do much since they’d have to walk past you anyway. 

Behind them came Marvel and Cato. Both their faces were serious as always as they discussed something about weapon quality. You paid no mind to them, knowing that if you did they’d find a way to cause a scene. You weren’t sure why you were their favorite tribute to a bug, but you blamed it all on your stunt on your first day here. As they walked closer Marvel patted Cato on his chest, and the taller male turned to look at where you were standing. 

“Damn, never knew the girls from District 10 could look like that,” Cato said as they walked past the two of you, pretending to be nonchalant although you knew he had purposely said it. 

“Nice dress 10,” Marvel said, eyeing you as he trailed behind Cato. The two of them shook their heads and laughed as they approached the front of the line. 

“If I were a career I think I’d go after those two first.” You told Buckley who gave you an amused smile. 

“If you were a career you’d be with them.” He corrected. It wasn’t far from the truth. In almost every game, the careers were quick to form alliances with each other, alienating the weak from the strong. 

“You ready for the spotlight?” Talking was something you’ve come to realize that you did when you were nervous. Your hand practically shook, and you wore a nervous smile on your face. It was involuntarily there, however as much as you tried you couldn’t get rid of it. 

“No.” His simple reply. “Not too thrilled about it.” He exhaled. He had been holding a straight posture, his shoulders up, turtling his neck. 

“They’ll love you.” You reassured, but it only made him smile, his nerves still present.

 “Just don’t want to be laughed at.” He mentioned. 

The lights were beginning to flicker, meaning that it would soon be time for the show to start. 

You thought about what he had said. “Trust me. No one’s going to laugh at you.” Dolly and you had trained for your interview. Everything you were instructed to say made you look like a country bumpkin. If anything Buckley would be District 10’s saving grace- and you its fool. 

“Wow. You look beautiful.” Came the voice of District 12’s Katniss. It sounded rehearsed, void of any emotion. The same went for the smile she threw at you. 

You returned it and bowed your head. “Please, you’re the one who deserves such praise.” You guessed she was only saying that because her mentors wanted her to make allies in the arena since her high score presented a problem. 

That was the entirety of the exchange. The stage managers lined everyone up in order of appearance, hushing them as the presentation started. Once again you found the insides of your palms to be sweaty. You tried everything to ease your beating heart, deep breaths, pinching yourself, thinking of other things. However, none of them got rid of the sensation in your stomach. You felt like throwing up. 

Up on the screen Caesar Flickerman’s silhouette appeared, his signature ponytail obnoxiously hanging from his head as he leaned back on the chair. His theme song played, the bass so loud you could feel the floor rumbling. Cheers from the crowd erupted. Buckley stood attentive, watching the screen with his hands on his belt, his stance wide to keep himself in balance. From where you stood you could see Marvel and Cato hyping each other up, Glimmer joining in to fix Cato’s neat suit. 

“Let’s bring her out!” It had been a good couple of minutes, though it seemed like seconds as Caesar called out for Glimmer. She was the first one to go. Leaving about 19 people ahead of you. You watched as her clear, shimmery dress bounced as she stepped onto the stage with a huge smile, waving to the crowd. Her hair effortlessly dropped into place, making her look all the more attractive. The crowds were loud. Your eardrums could only handle so much before you reached out to cover them. 

Eventually, it was Marvel’s turn. He seemed so confident in everything he said, you learned just how charismatic he could be. Clove went next, her interview only made you more cautious of her. Soon after it was Cato’s turn. Unlike Marvel, he gave off boisterous energy. Almost as if he was too good to be there. However, the crowd was eating it up. He ended his interview with a hollar and returned backstage. It was almost the two-hour mark, some interviews taking longer since he wanted to give the tributes who didn’t stand out some limelight. Eventually, it was your turn. 

The stage manager came back to look for you, their hand on your shoulder as they walked you up the stairs. You glanced back to catch the reassuring gaze of Buckley, but instead found Marvel’s. He gave you a wink as a token of good luck, and off you were. 

“Now I’m sure we all remember our next tribute from the tribute parade. I mean how could we forget after the thrilling act she performed!” Flickerman emphasized his words, stretching them at the appropriate time. 

A couple of ‘woos’ and whistles came from the crowd as the anticipation built up. “From district 10- (Y/n) Cuernos!” He announced your cue to cross the stage. The lights were extremely bright, you had to look down as you stepped onto the stage. The crowd cheered at your out-of-place attire, it being one of the most unique (and ridiculous) outfits of the night. Shyly you put on your best smile before catching a glimpse of Dolly in the crowd, making gestures for you to smile bigger. 

You cringed when you thought of your family back at home watching this. Saying a silent apology, it was as if a switch turned on in your brain. Suddenly, your teeth shone as you stretched your lips into a smile, fluttering the huge eyelashes your makeup team glued onto you. With a hand on your hip, the other one waving, you swayed like you saw glimmer doing, your dress’ fabric swishing in the gap your legs left as you strode. 

“(Y/n)! My, my, how you clean up!” Flickerman commented, standing to greet you. 

“Thank you, Caesar.” Your eye nearly twitched at the forced southern twang in your voice. It was a whole lot more than Buckley, who had a natural southern accent, you had close to nothing of an accent. Even when it did slip, it sounded nothing like this. “My stylist purtied me up didn’t they?” 

He looked to the crowd, “Indeed they did.” He motioned for you to sit. 

It helped that the stage lights practically blinded you. You could see that people were sitting in the stands, but you weren’t able to make out distinct features- save for the front row where the mentors sat. 

Remembering what Dolly had told you, you sat up straight, teeth-baring into a cheesy smile. 

“Did that print you’re wearing come from a cow you raised?” The presenter’s teeth glinted in the light as the crowd erupted in laughter, “Oh! ‘course not- just inspired by them.” You giggled back, hating yourself even more. Your heart was beating hoping the president would accept your performance. 

Flickerman adjusted himself in his seat, “Now, I was going to leave this question for last- but I just know the audience has been anticipating the answer, am I right?” He turned to the audience who were cheering blindly. 

Like a doll in a box you smiled stationary, waiting for him to ask the question, but of course, he needed to prolong it for suspense. “What was going through your mind when you rode that steed?” There were some woo’s from the crowd, and you watched yourself on the screen as they replayed the moment. That clip gave you an ego boost each time you saw it. Giggling a bit too nervously you shook your head. “Nothing.” That earned a laugh from the audience. “I just remember wanting to ride it- couldn’t help myself I guess.” You gave a small shrug. 

“What a wildflower this one is.” Caesar made some amused faces. 

The interview lasted for another couple of questions, he seemed to have a lot for you. He asked you about home life, your loved ones, Buckley, and about skills. You didn’t have as many questions as the careers, but it was more than District 8’s tributes who had the least. 

“And do you have a strategy to win the games?” His tone was more serious now. 

Here it was. Your closing line. The one that took you and Dolly two seconds to come up with, but would echo in the minds of the audience. 

“I’m from District 10. I’m a born and bred cowgirl. I have to win. ” 

Cato couldn't help but smirk at your response, crossing his arms and leaning on the wall, he watched with attentive eyes as your interview continued.

His open mouth smile followed by “woah woah woah!” made the stadium rumble. You smiled and waved out to the crowd, Dolly giving you a thumbs up. 

“That’s an ambitious statement! I love it!” He did a little kick, “Well, you go out there and rope them in (Y/n) Cuernos! District 10’s very own cowgirl!” 

If only you could see Cato’s pissed-off face next to Marvel’s smug one. 

As you walked backstage again you were greeted with a bone-crushing hug from your fellow tribute. “Hey, that was good! Though you were a little strong on the accent.” Buckley patted your back. 

“Yeah, I had no idea you had one.” Glimmer teased as she and the other careers leaned against the wall. “Stop trying to win them over, I’m already the Capitol’s sweetheart.” The tall girl crossed her arms, the jewels in her dress reflecting. 

Marvel came around you, making space between you and Buckley who knew better than to cause a scene. “Did they make you skin that cow yourself?” His fingers scraped the waist of your dress, he let out an “O” when he realized it was just fabric. 

Cato gave him a look, causing him to back off. “You have to win huh? How do you think you’re going to do that?” 

“Don’t worry about it.” You refused to look at him. 

“Oh, I’m not worried. You see if anyone should be worried about you.” He sneered, his gaze getting darker. “Save yourself the disappointment, enjoy your time in the Capitol, and accept your fate. I’m winning this one.” 

“As if.” Clove rolled her eyes. 

Buckley and you both stared down Cato. 

He snickered, “And don’t go around thinking your friend here is going to help you. If you’ve been doing your research you know that there’s no such thing as friends in the arena.” 

That irked Buckley, “So who’s to say your little posse won’t turn on you and gang up on you in the arena?” 

“Pft, then let’s hope they can outrun me.” His response made the careers shift uncomfortably.

“We knew what we were doing when we signed up.” Marvel spoke up,” It’s our job to ween off the weak ones, so the strongest can prevail.” He said looking at you. 

“So is that what Cato’s going to do to you?” You didn’t mean for it to be a comeback. It just came out that way. The careers looked pissed now, but a stage manager came just in time to lead them back to their mentors. 

“Watch it 10.” Cato’s wild grin didn’t deter you, you continued to stare him down.  

Just like that, your time at the Capitol was coming to an end.

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Tags: @randomgurl2326

[doiefics]

i'm gonna become a stripper instead

pairing: sunghoon x gn!reader

prologue: detentions are monotonous, but not when you have sunghoon with you. things almost got spiced up.

genre: fluff + crack + highschool!au

wordcount: 964

warnings: none

An afternoon that could have been spent lying recklessly on the couch, tossing away your backpack, scrolling through your Instagram feed and catching up on some cliche stuff on Netflix was being wasted right at the moment.

Wasted in detention. 

"I just got detention because of you." You tuned back to face Sunghoon, who seemed to be lost, staring into space, resting his interlocked hands on his desk.

He was probably contemplating this morning. 

It would have been better if he hadn't become wholly consumed by the anguish of getting a D on his math test, closing his senses to everything around him and ultimately tossing a pen, which caused it to smash through the glass. Oh what a dumb way to get detention!

At times like these, you found yourself always present in his radius. Call it fate or whatever, you were stuck with him.

Back to the present, Sunghoon was still positioned like some statue, not even blinking his eyes.

You sighed in an attempt to get his attention, but it was unsuccessful. You switched to your laptop with some hope, thinking that finishing your assignment was a better option.

"I've only been getting five hours of sleep for the past three weeks!" With these words, your smashed your head onto your books and you were sure the bang was loud enough to wake someone out of a trance. 

You turned around once more, your eyebrows furrowed as you cast a doubtful glance at the boy.

He continued to stare into nothing, not even blinking.

"Did you know aliens can hear your every thought?" You joked out of the blue, poking fun at him, but no.

"Yo! Sunghoon Park!" In an instant, you sprang up and snapped your fingers in front of his huge, dark eyes.

The attempt almost seemed successful, he looked at you finally, after a good hour or so, only for his gaze to lower itself in a blink of a second.

Sunghoon opened his mouth to say something but then shook his head as if he yanked the thought away.

"Spit it out!" You growled at him.

"This is pointless." He took a long breath.

"Education is pointless. I'm gonna become a stripper instead." He expressed tiredly, full of the rebel teen emotion. 

Silence persisted for a minute or so until you decided to break it. Tracing your finger up his arms, shoulders, and then his jawline, lifting his face.

"I bet you have high scopes in that area. I mean, look at you!" You teased and earned a vexed face from him.

"We can practice, I'll help you." You stated, seating yourself. 

"What on earth-" He sighed, but you cut him off.

"We've got Anatomy tomorrow, and I need to study." You said as you flipped over the pages of your textbook.

"And I don't mind giving you a little help in the middle, do away with one piece for one wrong answer." You blurted out your idea.

"Just because I'm bored and there's nothing else I'd rather do." He nodded in agreement.

The two of you were good to go.

"Do without further ado, what do you call the opening of the stomach into the small intestine?" The question was accompanied by a smirk.

"That's the worst possible way to start." Sunghoon whined. 

"Terrible, okay, what's the longest bone in the body?" You tossed another question.

"Femur." He was so proud of his answer.

"Now answer the first one."  

The angles of his face changed, and his fingers swayed rapidly. He ended up removing his necktie. Another question and his blazer was gone, followed by his knit vest.

Sunghoon was horrible at this game, or anatomy.

And he got another one wrong. You jolted out of your seat quickly to the windows, just to ensure that there was no person in sight, after all this could not be seen, his shirt was the next item.

"This is getting real!" You calmed your nerves down as you impatiently waited for the moment.

"Sung-sunghoon." Your jaw dropped, your eyes were wide open, and you were staring at him unsure of how to respond.

"What?" He defended himself, one sock in his hand, placed next to the stripped articles.

His shirt was still buttoned up and he had no intention of getting rid of it.

"Doesn't this count?" His face was innocent, the same that the five years old made when their mothers found them sneaking into the kitchen at midnight. 

"Forget it!" You slammed down the book, just like your hopes, onto the desk.

"Why am I even friends with you?!" You cupped his face, the two of you were staring into each other's souls. 

"I'm not your friend." He said.

"I'm your boyfriend. Get it right!" He smiled.

The little pout on his face was enhanced even more by the cupping of your hands. You admired the moles on his face, then his eyes, then his lips.

You bet your face was the shade of a tomato, just like Sunghoon's was.

"Go away!" You mockingly yelled. You were shy, even after having kissed your boyfriend a fair number of times in the past.

"You're literally holding me!" Sunghoon beamed, throwing his head back and clapping his hands in the laughter.

Moments like these made you want to punch him right in the face.

"You little piece of!" Less than a second later, you pulled him by the collar, lips centimetres apart, eyes closed, and you could feel his breath on your cheek. 

There went the bell.

Although the detention was over, you still had some unfinished business.

The worst that could happen was getting caught, but you did not care. If you had anything to focus on other than your due anatomy quiz, it was Sunghoon's lips.

masterlist please refrain from plagiarising, translating or posting outside of this platform

have a request? prompt fic game is OPEN!

[throneofsapphics]

Hiii how are you??

Could you please write a manon x reader where the reader has been working for weeks and is so stressed about everything, and then she decides to have some ice cream but then the damn ice cream falls and that’s her final straw. She breaks down. Because GOD she just wanted to enjoy the damn ice cream, and her five minutes of rest. And then Manon comforts her (if you’re wondering why this is very detailed, this happened to me today except no one comforted me. I’m genuinely losing my shit. Anyways I love you so much, keep slaying.)

just one afternoon

Manon x Reader

Summary: Manon figures out how to comfort reader

Warnings: none

A/N: I’ll figure out how to send Manon to comfort you, I hope you’re having a better day today and I love you!

Things have been … hectic, recently and you pulled ten hour days, working non stop to try and resolve all of the small issues that seemed to pop up. One after the other, no relief or time to think. Manon had been just as busy, and at night the two of you would fall into bed, barely exchanging a few words before you slipped into a deep sleep. 

Finally, you managed to get yourself a free afternoon. It was the middle of the summer in the Witch Kingdom, and the harsh sun seemed dug into your skin, leaving a comforting warmth in its wake. Maybe you’d wake up with a burn tomorrow. Right now you wouldn’t worry about that - instead you found yourself walking the path to your favorite section of the city. The food vendors. An ice-cream stand stood, a small umbrella shading the area. You ordered your favorite, and the small cone pressed into your hand filled you with a different kind of glee, and you headed back to the castle with a smile on your face. 

You’d taken three steps into your room, intending to sit and enjoy the treat before your foot snagged on a corner of the carpet. You managed to catch yourself, but watched as the cone slipped from your hand. 

Tears began to fill your eyes, and you cursed loudly, staring down at the floor. Your chest started heaving, and your bottom lip quivered. One thing, that’s all you wanted - just this one thing. You heard the door shut and open behind you, and saw her from the corner of your eyes. 

“Just … relax.” Manon said hesitantly, her tone gentle. You know she’s trying to be comforting but she said the exact wrong thing. 

“Don’t tell me to relax,” you snapped. She frowned at you, watching your chest heave, your sobs barely held back. Ice cream pooled at your feet, dripping down your wrist. She stepped around the small puddle, gently tugging you away from it. Her arms wrapped around you, nails running gentle scratches up and down your spine. 

“You need to take a break.” Her hands ran through your hair, catching slightly on the tangles. 

“Pot. Kettle.” You mumbled against her chest. 

“What is that supposed to mean?” She pulled away slightly to look at you, the golden eyes narrowed slightly in confusion. 

You fought the urge to smile, “don’t worry about it.” She left it for now, but you got the sense she’d been questioning you about it later. 

“Let’s go fly.” She responded instead, twining her hand between yours and leading the way towards the aerie. A genuine smile crossed your face.

[bella-rose29]

Chapter 5 - The Coronation

Switching things up for this one and we're going from Zoya's perspective!

Warnings: mentions of past trauma (I think I've put this on every chapter now oh dear)

Word count: 2.3k

Series master list

Tag list: @kentucky-criedfricken, @polli05927, @kateswone, @historianthesecond, @ell0ra-br3kk3r

Zoya just wanted thirty free minutes to have a nice hot bath. She'd been running about like a headless chicken on fire since the king and queen had left for their honeymoon, having to run the country with Genya and David and make the decisions that Nikolai would normally make. She had no idea how he did it on his own, all day, every day.

She had wanted to kill someone within the first five minutes.

Genya had talked her out of it, saying it wouldn't look good if a Kerch merchant visiting Ravka on a diplomatic mission turned up dead in the Grand Palace, but he'd been so slimy and degrading towards Zoya and the rest of the Grisha she'd wanted to punch him in the face. Repeatedly.

Nikolai and Y/N had returned the day before yesterday, and tomorrow was her coronation, making her title as Queen of Ravka official. They seemed... better, with the two of them actually talking and not just exchanging brief sentences. That was good, both because they needed to look like the marriage was going smoothly and because Zoya was fed up of Nikolai looking like he was a kicked puppy. Unfortunately when Y/N wasn't looking at him, he now had the face of a lost puppy instead, which was somehow worse. She was under no illusions that he had actually confessed to his wife about what haunted him at night, but he must have said something to get her talking to him again. The pair of them were infuriating, but she wouldn't divulge the secrets of one to the other to get them properly together because it wasn't her place to share that information.

Zoya had been the one to comfort Y/N after the incident, and while she hadn't enjoyed staying up all night with the girl crying into her robe, she understood that a horrible thing had happened and she needed to be there for her.

She had also been the one helping Nikolai the past few months, going to sleep late after chaining him up and waking early to untie him, and rushing out in the middle of the night to detain the demon when it got free.

Zoya just didn't understand why Nikolai wouldn't tell his wife that he had a twisted form of the nichevo'ya inside him, because surely she would understand and want to help? Having trained next to Y/N for years, Zoya knew that the girl's heart was far too large for this world, and she always cared about others before herself (which Zoya had often berated her for), and it was one of the reasons she knew that Y/N would be a good Queen. She loved people, and would always do whatever she could to help them, so if only Nikolai could see that then maybe their whole issue could be resolved.

She was interrupted from her thoughts by Genya slamming her office door open, piles upon piles of paper in hand, and by the frazzled look on the Tailor's face, Zoya knew she was in for a long conversation. Y/N followed behind, shooting an apologetic grimace towards Zoya before sitting in one of the chairs dotted around the room.

"I'm assuming this is about the coronation?" she asked, receiving confirmation immediately after. She sighed. This was definitely going to last until dinner. Resigning herself to her fate, Zoya got stuck in, finalising plans for tomorrow, and the three women spent the next few hours sorting everything out, from reviewing the seating plans to whether the flowers they had chosen were the right colour.

Everything had to be perfect.

This coronation was monumental, the first time Ravka would see a Grisha on the throne, and Zoya knew that getting this right would make everybody see that Grisha weren't a people to hunt into extinction, they were here to help Ravka. The discrimination that her people faced needed to stop, and Zoya had every faith that Y/N would be able to convince everyone of that. Yes, this coronation had to be perfect, to stop the whispers that all Grisha should be prosecuted, that they were evil, that they were enemies.

By the time the three of them were finished, it was dark outside, so they headed to the kitchens to find leftovers from the dinner that everybody else had eaten earlier. As they sat in front of the kitchen fire, Genya probing Y/N for details about the honeymoon, Zoya felt... happy. She had always seen Y/N as a sister, having had no siblings of her own, but before being assigned part of the Triumvirate, Zoya never would have willingly spent this much time with Genya. The Tailor had grown on her, and while in the beginning Zoya had felt herself superior to her fellow Triumvirate members, she now felt a sense of similarity between the three of them. Maybe less so with David, but certainly the women gathered in the kitchen knew what it was to be favoured by the Darkling, and they had all suffered through the war, so she felt happy knowing she had people who could relate to what she had been through.

When she went to chain Nikolai up that night, she was mostly quiet, basking in the happiness of her evening.

"What did you say to her? I noticed she's talking to you properly again," she asked.

"Not everything. I told her I couldn't do that, but we've come to an understanding. She's got her secrets too, so at the moment we're just trying to get comfortable enough around each other before we start sharing those parts of ourselves." She nodded, satisfied with that, then moved around the bed to chain his other wrist up.

"How did Tolya cope with the incident?"

"I think he was alright. I didn't hurt him, so I'm taking that as a win. It only happened the once as well."

"Did she find out?"

"No."

Zoya left it at that. Her frustration came back, and she had half a mind to yell at him for being so damn stubborn, but she really just wanted to go to sleep, especially since tomorrow would be draining.

Yelling would have to wait.

"Do you know anything? About what happened to her? She told me that... that she'd been left alone at night before, but that was it. I didn't want to pressure her, especially since I still haven't told her about the demon, but you two were close, right?"

His question startled her, and her hands paused on the chains. She hesitated, wondering how to phrase it.

"I do, but... Nikolai, it's not my place to say what happened. You're better off telling her why you left her by the lake, getting her to understand that you didn't do it deliberately. She was... she was really damaged by what happened, and I really think you just need to talk to her. She'll understand, I'm sure."

She departed not long after, leaving Nikolai to contemplate what she'd said before the sedative kicked in. Back in her own rooms, she slipped into dreamless sleep, thankful for the lack of nightmares for the night.

The next morning Zoya was up before the sun, heading over to the King's chambers to unlock said king (who luckily had stayed in bed all night), then immediately got thrown in to coronation work. Most of the decorations were already in place, and chairs were set up. All that was really left was getting Y/N dressed and getting everyone inside without anybody being killed.

She headed to Y/N's rooms, startled to find the girl already awake and struggling to put on her dress.

"Need some help?" Y/N turned around, pleading look on her face.

"Yes. Please. I know I should have had people in to help but it's still too weird for me, and this skirt is so heavy and the buttons won't go in an-"

"Take a breath! You'll destroy your voice before the ceremony if you carry on like that!"

Zoya helped her sort out her dress, then called for Genya to style her hair (if Zoya tried it would look like Y/N had been dragged through a bush backwards).

Before any of them knew it, Y/N had to leave to take her place outside the doors to the hall she had been married in, and Zoya and Genya went and sat in their front row seats. The air was filled with voices, the atmosphere buzzing. Nikolai was already stood up on the platform, off to the side. He looked nervous, although Zoya couldn't figure out why.

Her question was answered when the doors opened and the crowd hushed as Y/N stepped through, and instead of turning to look at her, Zoya kept her eyes on his face, which now had an expression of awe.

Ah.

She already knew that Y/N looked stunning today, having dressed her to perfection, but Nikolai hadn't seen her yet. Now that he had, it was obvious to Zoya that the man was hopeless, already falling in love with his wife. She highly doubted he knew it, given how oblivious he could be to his own feelings, and Y/N was too caught up in all the chaos that came with being introduced to court to have noticed it either. Genya hadn't managed to get much out of her last night, but something had happened on their honeymoon to get Y/N blushing the way she did. Zoya just hoped they wouldn't spend too long pining after each other, or she'd lock them in a cell together until they confessed.

All through the ceremony, Nikolai looked lovesick (which made Zoya feel regularly sick), never once taking his eyes off of his wife. She couldn't really blame him, since her Tidemaker blue dress in the style of a kefta (they had made a lot of clothes for Y/N in this colour, to the point that it looked like the sea was in her wardrobe when you opened the doors) made her look almost other-worldly, her hair done to resemble waves, small blue gems of all shades resting in the strands.

It was going well so far, no mishaps, no mistakes. But maybe she'd thought that too soon, as she heard whispers behind her coming from the row of Ravkan nobles.

"They shouldn't have put one of them on the throne. It's an insult to Ravka! They aren't people, not really, and you can't expect them to know anything about how to rule, it'll be useless!" A few snickers followed, and Zoya had to resist the urge to turn around and slap them, or sent them flying into the walls with a gust of air. She pictured it in her mind instead, hoping that would be enough to stop her.

When Y/N had said her vows, swearing to protect Ravka and her people for as long as she was Queen, the crown was placed on her head. She trembled a little under the weight of it, but kept her head held high as she stood, sceptre and orb held in each hand as she faced the crowd. When everybody stood and clapped, Zoya did so until her palms were read and her cheeks hurt from smiling.

Things will get better. They will.

She knew it would take a long time, but with a Grisha on the throne, one who had only ever helped the people of Ravka and hadn't sided with the Darkling in the war, things would get better.

When she walked into the room where Y/N was stood, waiting for the Triumvirate to turn up, she felt as though she was intruding on something. Nikolai was already there, gently removing the crown from Y/N's head, trying to avoid pulling on her hair. Zoya went to turn around, but too late, as Y/N had seen her over his shoulder and called out to her just as Nikolai pulled the crown free.

"Did I do okay? I felt like I was going to either throw up on someone or forget what I was meant to do!"

"You were perfect. And please tell me that you would have thrown up on your husband, because that would've made my day," she replied, laughing at Nikolai's offended expression.

"And risk Genya's wrath? No thank you! Although... maybe I could have gotten a little bit on his shoes," she fake-pondered the last part, tapping a finger against her chin in mock consideration, laughing at the horrified face Nikolai pulled.

"Not the shoes, please, anything but the shoes!"

All three of them laughed, just in time for Genya, David and the twins to turn up, questions evidently at the ready at the sight of the stoic General cracking up.

"Do we want to know?" That was Tamar, eyebrow raised. "Or are we going to get you ready for the tour?"

The tour. Nikolai had done a similar thing with Alina, travelling around Ravka as a show of strength, stopping in towns and villages to present the Sun Saint. They would be sending Nikolai on another one, this time with Y/N as a way of introducing Queen to country. Most preparations had been made, and they were leaving in two weeks' time, giving them time to recover from the travelling and chaos of the last month or so. There were still some things to sort out, one of which would be discussed when Y/N wasn't present. Zoya had been puzzling over the rooming arrangements, since they couldn't exactly endanger the Queen by letting her sleep in a bed with a demonic King when he hadn't even told her that was what he was. She also wasn't entirely sure they had actually slept in the same bed yet, and she didn't think Y/N would want that first experience to be accompanied by chains and the threat of being eaten alive.

When everybody headed off to bed Zoya was glad for the sleep, since she felt as though she'd done nothing but plan things the past few weeks.

Tomorrow would be better, she was sure of it. Tomorrow would be better.

Chapter 6

[slafkovskys]

after an away game jay definitely calls you to see where you are and just cuddles you and y’all basically sleep all day

when your phone starts to vibrate beside your head the first time, you ignore it. instead choosing to roll over with a groan and burrow further underneath your warm, comfortable blankets. it goes quiet after a minute and you relax, ready to drift back into unconsciousness just before it starts to ring again.

you huff and roll back over to look at who was calling at such a late hour. with a sigh, you press the green button before putting the phone on speaker and letting it fall onto your stomach, “jay?”

“where are you?” is the first thing that he says, “i’m at your house and your car isn’t here.”

“because i’m not there,” you say, suddenly wide awake at his words. “i thought you all weren’t going to fly back until tomorrow morning, so i came home for the weekend.”

“home as in your parent’s house?” he questions and you hum, “okay. i’ll be there in a little bit.”

“jay, it’s almost an hour-long drive and you just got off of a flight. why can’t you just wait until the morning?”

“technically it is morning,” you can hear the sly grin in his tone as he speaks, along with the sound of him pulling away from the curb. “besides it was barely a two-hour flight and all i want to do is see you. it’s worth the hour, baby.”

“there’s nothing that i can do to change your mind, is there?”

“not a thing. see you soon.”

“please be careful,” you say with an exasperated breath. with a chuckle and a promise to do so, he disconnects the call. you lie in bed for a while before deciding to get up and wait for him in the living room when you catch yourself dozing off again. you knew that your parents wouldn’t care when they found him here in the morning, but they would mind if he woke them up at almost three o’clock in the morning by ringing their doorbell. you cozy up on the couch and only have to wait twenty minutes until headlights shine in the window. you cross the floor and open the front door, sending the boy a glare, “you promised you would be careful.”

“i only did like five over,” he mumbles, leaning down to press a kiss to your lips, “was too excited to see you.”

“you’re in trouble. go to bed,” you retort, closing the door quietly behind him and twisting the lock. you follow him to your bedroom, collapsing onto your bed, while he starts to dig through his backpack, “you really couldn’t wait, like six hours?”

he sends you a grin as he pulls off his warmup jacket, “no, love you too much.”

“why did you fly back early?”

“why are you asking me so many questions?” he raises an eyebrow as he slides into bed beside you. you scoot closer and he throws an arm over your waist, “there’s supposed to be a storm or something when we were supposed to leave so they just made the call to send us home tonight. don’t mind. get to be with you more.”

“you’re so obsessed with me,” you poke at his chest and he doesn’t make any move to argue, “my dad’s supposed to be making a big breakfast in the morning because i’m home, so you’re lucky.”

“would they be mad if we slept through it?” he traces a shape on your hip while you do the same on his bicep as you snuggle into his chest, “i’m very tired and now that i have you within touching distance, i have no real reason to be up for breakfast.”

“you made me wake up at three am to cuddle. you’re waking up for breakfast with my parents.”

he sighs, closing his eyes, “aye, aye captain.”

[badbatchenthusiast]

a little realisation i came to today, about living with and coming to terms with having a hidden disability, especially neurodiversity, trauma and/or mental illness:

for the last six months, i have struggled quite a lot. it’s a high-stress time in my life where everything i do counts towards major life decisions, and the main message i’m hearing from the people around me is that i need to give it my all, work as hard as possible, or i’ll regret the opportunities i’ve missed.

needless to say, i haven’t been sleeping particularly well. i’ll go to lessons and then work a 4 hour shift on two, maybe three hours sleep. i’ve been so anxious that knowing i believe i’ll be exhausted the next morning no matter how much i sleep, and the 9hrs i’m set to get by sleeping early won’t be enough still (because life is inherently overwhelming and overstimulating as an autistic person). this makes me stressed about how i’m not sleeping until it’s five in the morning and i can finally relax enough to doze. everything is being impacted; my attendance has been slipping, my tutor is involved. it’s felt like i’ve been getting worse and not better, like life is going to continue going downhill until things i used to find easy — falling asleep, organising my own schedule, keeping my studies balanced with work and a social life — are things i’m finding almost impossible and are taking great effort to maintain at a reasonable standard.

but here’s the thing.

i’m not getting worse.

it feels like i am, because new problems are arising that weren’t there before, but someone i owe a lot to pointed out today that a year or two ago, i would not have been able to express myself. they wouldn’t register as problem areas, i’d just push myself into collapse. i would’ve worked myself into a meltdown instead of walking to the support office and informing them i needed to go home, would’ve been in verbal shutdown or unresponsive or having a panic attack instead of being able to stim and breathe through the overwhelm. today i made a calculated decision, of leaving early instead of sticking out for the rest of the day and probably exhausting myself enough to not be in tomorrow or the day after. and that’s huge.

my autism isn’t ‘improving’ despite me having less of the massive meltdowns or shutdowns that got me diagnosed in the first place. i’m probably more visibly autistic than i’ve ever been. my anxiety hasn’t lessened despite no longer having regular panic attacks.

but i’m catching it earlier. i can identify what’s going on with me before it becomes a crisis, and i’m starting to have the skills to run interventions.

when people say progress isn’t linear, i think this is part of it. i’m not getting worse, i can just see the problem now and put a name to it. the analogy that came to mind was a building, which before i could only tell was fragile when it caved in, is now having the work put it to rebuild properly. but before you can have a nice foundation and solid walls there’ll be a lot of looking around, and realising the concrete is cracked to shit and nothing is reinforced and those spots you never paid attention to are in fact black mould which are eating at your walls. and these are realisations i was not having before because i didn’t know, i didn’t have the tools or the understanding to make sense of it.

my floors are no longer collapsing on me at random. it’s instead a constant series of little things, because i can tell when a pipes burst and deal with it before it floods everything and rots the floors. but this awareness brings with it the feeling that something is wrong all the time. that there are constant little fires to snuff — that things are getting worse, not better. that yes i know how to stop a broken pipe from leaking now but it doesn’t change the situation, which is that the entire system needs swapping out for less rusting parts. it’s easy to get lost in all of this and forget that actually, before, this would’ve been a build up to a crisis and now it’s something i can deal with before it snowballs.

learning to cope and accommodate myself after being told my entire life that i am going to be impressive, that i’m capable of being high achieving in anything i put my mind to, has been rough. i was never going to succeed at the life other people talked about for me; i’m simply not able to work that hard without hurting myself, and honestly i think few people are even without a disability. i don’t want to live life for other people, i want to build something im proud of, for me, designed to make me feel good and comfortable and succeed in a way that makes sense for my ambitions and needs. and both are important; success isn’t out of the picture, i just need to rethink it so it includes being happy and coping with what i find difficult. i won’t lie, it has been a process of mourning someone who never existed, who i never could’ve been. i still resent sometimes the fact that i can’t go back to masking so much no one notices my symptoms.

but i’m improving. steadily and tangibly. it takes work, and at some point it’ll definitely feel like leaving the unstable building in place was preferable to the deconstruction because recreating it all with a healthy and sturdy foundation seems impossible, but it just takes time. you replace one brick at a time.

it gets better, i promise, even if it’s hard to believe. any step forward is progress, no matter how small, until you look back and realise you’ve come an unimaginably long way forward.