#still accepting a few slots before i close it in a week!

[sorchathered]

Sacred New Beginnings- Chapter 10

A/N- Holy cow yall we are finally here! Our last chapter of this series, but not the end for Jake and Stormy! I will be checking in here and there, I have some one shots planned for them in the future and I’m excited for you guys to see how things have been going for them. Again thank you all so much for the love, I will always have a special place for this series since it’s my first baby. I want to give a massive shout out to @mamachasesmayhem for being my cheerleader from the very beginning of this series, proofreading for me and helping me brainstorm when I couldn’t push through the writer’s block. You have been amazing and I love you!! 😘

Pairing- Jake “Hangman” Seresin x reader (oc Stormy)

Warnings- language, PTSD, smut

It had been a little over a week since you showed up at Jake's doorstep, he still couldn’t believe that he’d finally gotten what he wished for. Waking up next to you every morning, getting to commute to work together, sneaking off to hook up during lunch, it was all so much more than he could’ve hoped for. You were so damn happy, you and Viper had integrated seamlessly into your new squad, some people like Harvard and Omaha you already knew but there were new players as well and everyone had been so welcoming. You had kind of dreaded running into Bradley and Erin but even that seemed to go well, they had welcomed their son Nicky a few months after your accident and he was now a full blown toddler, the spitting image of his father. Both of them had been friendly, Bradley welcoming you back and Erin saying she was so happy you’d recovered, you knew they truly meant it and graciously accepted their words.

Jake maintained that you were a saint but really it was just that you hadn’t truly loved Bradley, at least not in a way that would’ve lasted. Neither of you had been compatible, and it was so easy to see now that you’d been with Jake for nearly two years; when it was truly meant to be it was unlike anything else mattered but the one you loved, and you couldn’t imagine life without Jake beside you. The ring in the top of his closet seemed to mock him every day, he wanted it to be absolutely perfect but nothing seemed good enough for his girl, so he let it sit untouched for yet another week as he took you out to the arcade on Friday for what had quickly become a weekly date night.

You had put a bunch of ideas in a jar the week before, told him to shake it up and pick one and off you both went on whatever adventure was scribbled on the tiny note, tonight was burgers and laser tag and while he’d joked that he was too old for that he had been the one hunting you down to shoot you as he cackled, maybe he just needed to be reminded that things didn’t always have to be so stressful because he couldn’t remember when he’d had this much fun.

After a lazy Sunday beach day and dinner on the grill he’d curled up with you on the couch with a movie, you’d meant for things to be innocent but he smelled so good and you found yourself turning in his arms to sling your leg over his hip, making out with him like you were a pair of teenagers. He fucked you slow and steady into the leather couch while the movie droned on in the background, his mouth slotted against yours as his hands roamed your body, you loved to joke how insatiable he had become since you moved in but you knew you were just as gone for him, too many nights had been spent apart and now having him in close proximity all you wanted was to make him feel good. You both came undone together as you whispered I love you into his neck, and all Jake could think of was how perfect his life had become.

Monday morning before he’d even had his coffee he’d gotten a text from Maverick to head to Cyclone’s office as soon as he got in, he immediately felt his stomach drop just thinking of what that meant. Deployment, for who knows how long and who knows where, and ultimately having to say goodbye to you again after he just got you back. He couldn’t bear to say anything to you until he knew for sure, so he went through the motions business as usual as you both ate breakfast and headed to work, kissing you a little longer than normal before you parted but you didn’t seem to notice anything off, promising to meet him for lunch with a wink and kisses blown in his direction. His feet felt like lead standing outside of Admiral Simpson’s office, he knew nothing good was coming from this meeting and when he entered he could tell by the look on his face that it was exactly what he thought. “How long?” He said as Mav handed him his papers, he could feel the lump forming in his throat and wanted out of this room as soon as possible. “Nine weeks son, I’m sorry Jake I know Y/N just got here, but you’re the best for the task and if I could I’d let you stay. She’ll be alright, I’ll keep an eye on her, you just do the job and come home safe.” Jake nodded and shook his hand, bailing from the room as soon as he could, he swiped his phone open and dialed you as fast as he could, but he couldn’t seem to catch his breath and when you answered he was full blown panicking, choking out to meet him by the truck and hanging up as he collapsed into the seat of his f-150. He wasn’t ready to go, you’d only been back in the air for a few months and now he finally had you here where he could take care of you, why couldn’t someone else have been picked?

You’d run across the lot to find him with his head in his hands in the front seat, wrenching the door open to wrap your arms around him, anything to help him regulate his emotions. He finally seemed to settle his breathing, relaxing into your arms while you stroked his sandy hair and kissed his cheeks. “What’s going on baby? You’ve got me scared now, did something happen with your family? Is your mom ok?” He squeezed your hand and passed the papers off to you, you knew exactly what it meant and you felt cold all over. This was the job, and while you both loved it you hated this part more than anything. He would miss all the major holidays together in your new home, your heart broke a little at having to celebrate Christmas without him and he let you curl into his arms and cry.

He only had a week from getting his papers to shipping out and it felt like the time was speeding away from him and he couldn’t catch it. He’d been adamant that the two of you update your wills on Tuesday and you had vehemently opposed it, he was stressing a little too much for your liking and it left you unmoored. Deployments were a part of this life, and yes you’d had a serious scare this last time but that didn’t mean he needed to become doom and gloom over it, you were worried about his mindset going into this, he needed a clear head if he had any hope of getting through this unscathed.

Wednesday night he was meticulously going through his packing list, gear spread all over the living room when you stepped into the house with take out, the vein in his forehead that only came out when he was angry seemed to be a permanent presence as of late, he was all furrowed brows and tense shoulders and you couldn’t take it for one more minute. “Jacob Thomas Seresin!” You called from the kitchen and he snapped his head to attention, he hadn’t even noticed you had gotten home until you shouted, looking across the room to find you with a pizza box in one hand and you completely stripped to nothing as you leaned against the doorframe. You sauntered over to where he sat cross legged on the floor, dropping the pizza box on the coffee table as you lowered yourself onto his lap, he was already getting hard for you when you pressed your bare pussy to the front of his gym shorts, his face going completely blank, no sign of that pesky forehead vein in sight.

“Fuck Stormy what are you doing baby? I gotta get this-“ he stopped short with a gasp as you ground yourself into him as you yanked a little roughly on his hair, pulling his face to yours and sloppily licking into his open mouth, he seemed to short circuit for a moment but recovered quickly as he wrapped his arms around your bare torso and kissed you back with fervor. Yanking his head back again to look up at you he blinked glazed emerald orbs at you, you were frustrated with him, he could see that now but he couldn’t focus enough to ask with you on top of him like this, he thought about asking but thought better of it when you reached down and took his length from his shorts, thoughts scattering all over again when you got up on your knees and sunk down on him, you still hadn’t said anything but he couldn’t be bothered anymore, whining out your name as you took him to the hilt with your warm center clenching around him. You nibbled on his lip and rubbed your nose along his as you wrapped your arms around his neck and you could feel the tension leaving him as you held him close, you knew he’d needed it as much as you, just the closeness of your bodies pressed together was enough to soothe whatever had been ailing both your minds.

“I’m going to sit here with you just like this until you calm the fuck down and tell me what’s got you so amped up, you’ve been like an exposed nerve ever since you got your papers and I can’t let you leave like this. You’re scaring me Jake, you can’t leave for a mission distracted you know better than that. You’re the best pilot I’ve ever seen and they picked you to head this op. You have to tell me what’s going on, you just have to!” You cried out as tears began to pour from your eyes, your throat felt raw with the emotion bubbling out of you and you began to shake in his embrace, the combination of being so full of him and revealing your worry almost too much. He seemed to jolt out of whatever trance he’d been in at your tears, swiping at them as they ran down your cheeks and kissing you hard, he knew he’d been distant and stressed couldn’t begin to describe how he’d been feeling, but he hadn’t even thought about himself and how it could affect the mission; all his worries had been solely focused on you.

“Oh baby I’m so sorry, shh hey I’m here ok? I’ll tell you all of it, just don’t cry sugar. I can't stand knowing I hurt you.” He was kissing every bit of your face he could get to, smoothing his hands all over you as you began to come down and regulate your breathing. You couldn’t be closer if you tried and yet he still felt so far away, you needed more so you latched on to his mouth and tightened your arms around his neck, he let you ground yourself and calm down, just breathing you in until the tears finally stopped. “Baby, baby I love you so much, I’m sorry” he murmured against your lips, you nodded and sniffled a little but didn’t loosen your grip, rocking into him slowly knowing he’d know what you wanted. He groaned low in his throat and flipped the two of you over as he pressed you gently into the carpet, letting the hot languid kisses burn the two of you up, all heat and bodies grinding into each other, letting all the stress go and just being hopelessly in love.

Hours later after you were both fully sated and relaxed you laid naked in his arms and ate the cold pizza while he let out all the words he’d kept bottled up. “It hadn’t ever occurred to me that we could lose this, I mean our job is dangerous sure but some naive part of me just thought we were untouchable.”

“Until I got hurt” you said quietly.

“Until you got hurt. It felt like someone had pulled the rug out from under me, every dream I’d ever had of us and our future could’ve been gone in an instant and I am terrified that something could happen to me and I’d leave you here alone.” He tightened his grip on your waist and you pressed a kiss to his chest, you knew exactly how he felt because you’d felt it all as you fell out of the sky during your ejection. But he couldn’t live in fear, it made him a liability to his fellow pilots and he was too damn good at what he did to let this destroy his confidence.

“You have to have faith baby, faith that you’ll make it through, that I’ll make it through and that we will get that long happy life that we want. I’m not going anywhere Jake, and I need you to be my cocky asshole pilot who thinks he’s God’s gift to the navy. Go be a badass and come home to me.”

You both laughed at that, he’d grown so much from that dickish holier than thou douchebag he had been when you first met, he was so much more level headed and mature. He promised he’d fight like hell and you knew he would.

The missions were grueling, the weather had been miserable lately and it made drills almost impossible, intel was scarce and worst of all he hadn’t been able to hear your voice in weeks. He had missed Halloween and thanksgiving, both squads had joined up for a potluck and you’d sent him a bunch of pictures, he was just grateful you weren’t doing this alone. He had gotten an email from his mother earlier in the week hoping he could talk to you about staying for the Christmas holidays and he couldn’t think of a better place for you to be. You loved Christmas, it used to annoy him because it wasn’t his cup of tea but somehow you’d softened him to it. He wrote to her quickly to tell her it was a great idea and to give you a call, when he’d had a knock on his door. Fritz leaned in with a look he knew all too well, it was time to fly out. He emailed you as well, telling you he loved you and then grabbed his gear and headed for the tarmac, he could only hope he’d be able to execute this and get home safely.

You stepped off the plane in Austin on December 18th to the entire Seresin clan in the lobby, Jake’s sisters and mom rushing forward to wrap you up in hugs and you couldn’t remember the last time you’d felt this kind of love, probably not since your grandmother had passed nearly a decade before. She would have adored Jake and his family, they spent the holiday season showing you all over town, hitting up all of Jake’s old haunts and embarrassing family pictures. Movie nights and Christmas cookie bake offs, family dinners and shopping trips with the girls; it had been so much fun and the Seresin’s had welcomed you with open arms, it felt like somehow you belonged here, the only thing missing was your 6 foot sandy blonde dreamboat boyfriend.

Correspondence had been spotty with Jake for a while, you’d gotten a FaceTime call after a mission and he had seemed grim, they’d lost a teammate to enemy fire and the weather had been abysmal, almost everyone had come down with the flu and he was miserable. He said he hoped he’d make it home by mid January and your heart broke all over again at not getting to spend Christmas together in your home, but he was adamant that the best place for you was with his family, and that next year would be a big blowout, he even agreed to let you buy any and every inflatable you wanted to cover the yard in Christmas cheer.

What you didn’t realize was that he was already on his way back to Coronado, he had coordinated with Phoenix to help him turn the house into a Christmas wonderland and would be back just in time for you to get home. He couldn’t let the ring sit any longer, he needed it on your finger now. After too many hours covering his house from top to bottom in snowflakes and Christmas lights, it was finally time for your plane to land. He was so nervous, he knew he didn’t have any reason to be, Javy had kept him up to date on when your plane landed and when he picked you up. Jake could barely sit still, so full of nervous energy knowing what was to come. Finally, he heard Javy’s truck pull into the drive and watched through the blinds as he helped you gather your luggage, even in leggings and his old UT Austin sweatshirt you looked like you’d stepped off a runway in his eyes, every bit his dream come true. This was it, when you came through the door he’d finally get to make you his forever, it had all been worth the wait.

Epilogue (Lover)

Jake Seresin masterlist

🏷️ Tagging- @mamamaystbr @mamachasesmayhem @bobgasm @attapullman @kmc1989 @pinkdaisies9285 @seitmai @seitmai-too @mrsevans90 @djs8891 @mygyn @jessicab1991 @jostan456 @86laura11 @dempy @shanimallina87 @floydsglasses @dizzybee03 @its-the-pilot @nouis-bum @roosterforme @the-aspiring-fanfic-writer

[youvebeenlivingfictional]

if you are accepting suggestion for The Other Half, could you write something about them staying in bed in the morning? since it's been said that Bruce tries to cuddle the shop girl when she needs to get up 🤭 i love this fic sm

Previous Part | Masterlist | Next Part

Warnings: Fluff; explicit sexual content - grinding, oral sex, fingering, spit as lube, vaginal sex, unsafe sex

Minors interacting with 18+ content will be blocked

"Don't. Move."

"I have to," You mumble sleepily, squirming in his arms. "It's—" You yawn widely, "'m gonna be late for work."

"Work?" Bruce's chuckle is warm and rough. "It's Sunday, baby."

You frown, blinking against he sleep trying to drag you back under. Is it? You'd attended a work event on Thursday, a party at Liz's on Friday, and yesterday had been a full day of errands. It's just been so busy that you've completely lost track.

"...Oh," You mumble, sinking back against Bruce's chest. He hums contentedly, tightening his grip on your waist as he nuzzles into your neck. You smile a bit, resting your hand atop his.

"Still," You offer, "Should probably get up, 've gotta get my outfits for the week together—"

"Later."

"And do my meal prep."

"Alfred will do it."

"I don't mind doing it."

"Neither does he."

"You know what I mean."

"Baby."

You're almost teasing him for fun now. You used to think that Bruce was so difficult to shake up or irritate, and now you know exactly where his pressure points are.

"Maybe I'll just grab some coffee," You add, feigning getting up. Bruce groans loudly, and you shriek as he yanks you closer. Before you can even reach for the blackout blinds controls, Bruce pushes you onto your back, clambering on top of you. You giggle softly as he curls his arms under your shoulders, pressing a kiss to your shoulder.

"Go back to sleep," Bruce urges. You let your eyes slide closed, smoothing your fingers through his hair and honing in on the warmth and weight of Bruce's body, and the steadiness of his breathing.

--

You don't know how long you drifted off for. You can feel lips brushing against your neck, and hands smoothing tenderly over your bare thighs. You hum softly, shifting your thighs up to bracket his body between your hips. Bruce mimics your hum, hips shifting against you. It's a moment before you can hone in on the sensation, but you can feel—him.

Your lips part in sleepy surprise as Bruce's hips roll against you, his hardening cock brushing your thigh. You suck in a soft breath as Bruce's kisses drift lower.

"...Time is it?" You mumble.

"Who cares."

His hands shift up under your sleep shirt, hiking the fabric up. You raise your heavy, sluggish arms just enough to help him draw the shirt off and toss it away. Bruce's lips brush along the curve of your breast, his tongue flickering out and swiping across the hardening nipple. You shiver, hand curling more tightly in his hair as you tip your hips down against his. You grind against one another lazily as Bruce laps and teases your breasts. You can feel yourself growing slick as Bruce's cock slots against your cunt, the head catching against your clit every few thrusts.

You whine as Bruce's cock grazes your opening. You raise your hand, lapping broadly over it before you worm your hand down between the two of you, grasping his cock. Bruce's groan rattles through you as you take him in hand, stroking over his hardened length. You smooth your thumb over the head, smearing the swelling bead of precum, and grinning as Bruce's hips stutter against your grip. You pout when Bruce draws away, the covers dropping from your bodies as he scooches even further down, slipping from your hand.

Before you can even think to ask or complain, Bruce presses your thighs wide, lapping broadly across your pussy. Your mouth falls open, your moan stalling in your throat for a moment. It breaks loose the tip of his tongue teasing and circling your clit as he sinks his fore and middle fingers into you. You let your thighs splay, your body sinking back into the mattress as Bruce turns his head from side to side, smearing his lips and chin with your juices as his fingers scissor and curl.

For all of your sleepiness, you can't help your body from grasping desperately at him.

"Bruce," You mumble. He hums against you, making the growing sensation in the pit of your belly tighten.

"Please," You breathe. Bruce tips his chin up, lapping quickly across your clit as he plunges his fingers into you. Your orgasm swells sharply, and you cry out as you tighten around his fingers. Bruce's pace doesn't slow until you use your grip on his hair to yank him up. His jaw drops in turn, groaning loudly at the sharp sensation. Intrigue sparks in your belly as Bruce's fingers slow and ease back, smearing your juices over one of your nipples and dipping in to give it a lusty suck.

You reach down, swiping your hand over your slick skin before grasping Bruce's cock. He groans, tongue sweeping over your breast with the same lap speed as you stroke him. You guide his cock against your cunt again, shivering as you brush the head against your tender clit. You don't need to plead again, though it's ready on your lips. Bruce presses his hips forward, and your hand falls back as he eases into you. Bruce tips his head down, his forehead resting against your shoulder as your cunt throbs around him.

"Fuck." He breathes it so quietly that you nearly miss it. You whimper, curling your arms around Bruce's shoulders and planting your heels against the mattress.

For the almost frantic way that he lapped as you, Bruce's hips roll with a controlled leisure. You know that he's holding back, but he seems determined to take his time, to draw out your pleasure. When you try to push back, to pick up the pace, Bruce pins your hips to the bed, murmuring, "Just—nnggh—Take it."

You whine at the order, at the feeling of Bruce's hands pressing against you so tightly, and his chest brushing against yours. You so rarely get to witness Bruce's strength, let alone experience it. You turn your head, searching blindly for Bruce's lips before catching them with your own. You trade slow, searching kisses as Bruce's hips roll tightly against yours. He winds you nearer and nearer to your orgasm, and you can't help but press up into his grip, against his cock. Bruce doesn't gripe, just nips and tugs your lower lip between his teeth as your nails bite into his shoulders.

"Bruce," You mumble once he's broken the kiss.

"I know," He murmurs, "I know, baby—Fuck, give it to me."

You moan, pressing your head back into the pillow and arching up into Bruce as your orgasm crests, as you feel Bruce bearing down and filling you. You sigh through the little tremors and aftershocks, as Bruce's hips finally still, and as he settles over you again. He grunts as your grip on him loosens, as he rests his hands on either side of you. You reach down, drawing the covers up around your bodies again.

"...We should get cleaned up," You murmur after a moment, grinning as Bruce groans.

"If I hear you trying to make plans one more time."

Next Part

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

The Perfect Jacket

Eddie's leather jacket had gotten ruined in the upside down. Did Eddie pout about it? Yes? Did Steve hate seeing him pout about it? Absolutely. Eddie and Steve were hanging out at Steve's house when Steve suddenly rushed upstairs. He came back with his letterman jacket.

"You know what would really piss people off? If you showed up to school wearing this. You can put your pins and patches on it, too. You could totally pull this off," Steve said eagerly.

God, Eddie wanted to kiss him so badly. He just grinned and took the jacket from him.

"Are you sure about this?" Eddie asked.

"Yes! Keep it!" Steve exclaimed.

"Thanks, man," Eddie said and slipped on the jacket. "How do I look?"

"I told you that you could pull it off, and you do," Steve replied cheerily.

A few days later, Eddie stumbled into Family Video wearing the jacket, and Steve cursed under his breath. Eddie waved at them as he wondered away to pick out a movie.

"Fuck, he's cute," Steve said.

"What?" Robin asked, her head snapping to look at him.

"I said, "Fuck, he's cute," Robin," Steve replied.

"Yeah, I heard you," Robin said. "But, you do know that Eddie is a guy, right?"

"No, Robin, I completely fucking missed that obvious clue," Steve bitched at her.

It was his favorite thing about his friendship with Robin. They could be as bitchy with each other as much as they wanted to and it wouldn't bother them, not one bit. Apparently, that was also Eddie's favorite thing about Steve’s friendship with Robin. They were entertaining. The Bitchamigos, Eddie called them.

"You like guys? Since when?" Robin asked.

"Since Eddie. I'm bisexual, Robin," Steve said.

"And you just accepted that?"

"Yep."

"No panic, whatsoever?"

"Nope."

"You were just like,"Oh, hey, I like Eddie. I must be bisexual. Cool." ?"

"Yep."

"That's not fair! I totally panicked when I realized I liked girls!"

"We're not the same person, Rob," Steve replied.

"What are you two gossiping about, ladies?" Eddie asked as he leaned against the counter.

"I was just letting Stevie here know that his hair looks totally awful today," Robin said, glaring at Steve.

"No, it doesn't!" Steve and Eddie exclaimed. Robin smirked at the both of them.

"Cute jacket, Eddie."

A couple of weeks later, Steve invited Eddie for a sleepover, allowing him to show Steve the Star Wars movies that Eddie had been begging him to watch. Steve couldn't say no to him. Eddie was sitting on the couch in a pair of shorts and a t shirt, hugging the letterman jacket close to his chest. Eddie was sucking on a ring less knuckle as he moved his body with the ships on the screen, making the noises as he did so. God, he couldn't believe how fucking gone he was on this huge nerd. He hadn't planned on telling him, but he couldn't help it.

"You're so fucking cute," Steve said and Eddie whipped his head to look at him, his chocolate brown eyes wide.

His hair was up in a bun, and ringlets of curls framed his face. His hair was still slightly damp from the shower he had earlier, so his hair was curlier than ever.

"Come again?" Eddie asked as he paused the movie.

"You're so fucking cute," Steve repeated.

"You think I'm cute?" Eddie asked and hid his face inside the jacket.

Steve cupped his face and tilted it so that Eddie was looking at him. He began to kiss his cheeks, his nose, and his forehead. He planted a kiss wherever there was a spot available, saving his lips for last. Eddie giggled. Finally, Steve leaned in and placed a gentle kiss to Eddie's lips.

"So fucking cute," he said, gazing at him with a look of complete adoration.

Eddie grinned, launching himself at Steve and doing the same thing to him: kissing his face before finally landing on his lips. The kiss was sweet and gentle, their lips slotting together as if they were two lost puzzle pieces finally reuniting. They laid down on the couch to finish the movies while wrapped up in each other's arms. Eddie's head was tucked under Steve’s chin as he placed a hand over his heart, their legs entertwined. Steve’s arm was wrapped around Eddie's jacket clad back.. His hand slipped underneath the jacket and his shirt to run circles in the small of Eddie's back. Eddie let out a sigh of contentment. Perfect.

[kawaii-angelanne]

shot to the heart | xavier thorpe x reader

CW/TW: none i can think of!

KEY TAGS: spoiler-free (can be interpreted as pre-canon), gender neutral reader, second/third pov (told in xavier's perspective), strangers to ???, flustered xavier <3

WORD COUNT: 1189

CROSS POST: ao3

OPENING NOTE: thanks for clicking on this! please do not repost, copy, modify, or overall plagiarize this work anywhere else please. plagiarism is never acceptable, both in mla 8 format and in fanfiction! for translations, message me, and we can talk about it! reblogs, comments, and likes are super appreciated :>

SUMMARY: "The moment the words leave your lips, he lets go along with a breath he wasn’t even aware he was holding in. In the blink of an eye, the arrow shoots no more than an inch above the target’s red center. That was the closest he’s ever been to bullseye, and his heart pounds from both the achievement and how your body is still pressing against his."

Or where you teach Xavier how to properly shoot a bow and arrow, landing an arrow straight into the target and into his heart.

“So, are you the only member of the Archery Club?” 

Xavier Thorpe, caught-off guard by your unexpected entry, prematurely lets go of the recurve bow’s string. The arrow sails weakly in the air before sinking sadly into the leaf-covered grass and not into the target. 

“Uh, yeah,” he awkwardly lowers his bow and turns to look at you, confusion coloring his features, “Are you…interested in joining?” 

“Maybe,” you shoot him a playful, close-lipped smile before launching yourself off of the small pyramid of hay you were sitting on, “How long have you been doing archery for? A few weeks?” 

“More or less,” he returns to shooting arrows while paying you no mind, “What about you? Ever shot a bow and arrow before?” 

“I have,” you answer just as ambiguously, whistling as his last arrow lands on the blue outer ring, “For the two arrows that are on there, you don’t have terrible grouping. At least they’re all in the same ring! What’s the distance? Fifteen to twenty yards?” 

“...Fifteen,” his tongue pokes the inside of his cheek, slightly irritated that you’re acting like you’re the member of the Archery Club, not him. 

“Can I see your stance again, please?” you move closer to him with your hands behind your back.

His brows furrow with an unwelcome sense of inferiority, “Why?” 

Your lips curve into another impish grin, eyes gleaming with unknown intent, “You’ll see.”

With a grievous sigh, he follows your request, placing his feet apart and standing perpendicular to you. He adjusts his posture, squaring his shoulders.

“Okay, so far so good.… Now, pull back on the bow, please.” 

What are you, an archery instructor or something? 

Still, he does as you ask. After slotting an arrow below the nocking point and above the arrow rest, his three fingers grip the bowstring. He pulls back on the string. With minimal struggle, he tries to remain as still as possible, refusing the bow to lean one way or the other. His expression pulls into itself, brows furrowed even more for better concentration. 

“I see, I see…” you merely mutter to yourself, leaning in closer to further observe his archery ability, “Now, release.” 

At your command, he wastes no time shooting the arrow, relieved after having to pull back for so long. Due to the prolonged drawback, Xavier’s accuracy severely declined, the arrow plunging its tip into the upper-left corner of the target. 

“Your problem,” you point a finger up, as if you solved the mystery, “is that you seem to have a little difficulty maintaining a stable posture when pulling back on your bow and when releasing the arrow. Not enough to be concerning, but enough to affect your performance. Do you know how much your drawback is?” 

“Uh,” he searches the bow for an answer but to no avail, finding only plain wood, “This is just the bow the school has. I have no idea.” 

“You’d think the school would offer better recurve bows then, with the money we pay them,” you crack a joke, lightly jabbing him in the ribs, and then extend a hand out, “May I?” 

Xavier just stares blankly at you and then your outstretched hand, confused as to what exactly you’re asking for. With an urgent wave of your fingers towards the bow, he finally understands and quickly hands it over, slightly embarrassed that he didn’t understand you at first. 

You get into position and pull back on the bowstring with ease, soon letting it go and returning the bow to him, “Yeah, this bow’s drawback is a few pounds outside of your range. You should be handling a bow with a drawback of forty to fifty-five pounds. For today, you can use that bow, but let’s see if we can ask Weems for another bow.” 

“…Okay…” he replies, uncertain as to how to respond to such a level of authority from someone he’s never even met before.

Really, he’s grateful for all your help, but, as a member of the severely underpopulated Archery Club, he feels as if he should be the one telling you this. However, he will admit, even though he has no idea as to what your skill level actually is, you do sound like you know what you’re talking about. So, he supposes he can play along for now. 

“I have to go to the Weathervane soon to meet up with some friends, but let’s improve your shot first,” you now move behind his back, “Reload your arrow, please.” 

With a resounding click against the taut string, he sets the arrow in place and pulls back. He adjusts his posture and is ready to release before a set of palms suddenly rests on his shoulders, your chest brushing against his back. He flinches greatly at the surprise contact but not enough where he would have to reset his posture entirely. His eyes saccade rapidly between you and the target, unsure as to where he should be focusing on. 

With a hard swallow, he tries his best to form a coherent thought before speaking, “What…what’re you—?”

“Relax your shoulders,” you’re practically whispering in his ears due to your close proximity, which sends his heart beating so fast, he’s afraid you can hear it, “Lower your aim a little to the right…. Now down…. Perfect. Steady your breathing, remain calm…”

How is he supposed to “remain calm” with you so close to him!?

You remove your hands from his shoulders but still stay right behind him, your voice prickling his skin, “Now…let it fly.”

The moment the words leave your lips, he lets go along with a breath he wasn’t even aware he was holding in. In the blink of an eye, the arrow shoots no more than an inch above the target’s red center. That was the closest he’s ever been to bullseye, and his heart pounds from both the achievement and how your body is still pressing against his. 

“Great job!” you cheer and step away, picking up your bag that was slumped against the haystack you were sitting on before, “Well, I got to go now, but I’ll see you next time! Toodles!” 

Too overwhelmed from what just happened, he watches your retreating form become smaller and smaller. Unlike him, you weren’t fazed at all, even bobbing your head to whatever music you were listening to with your headphones. 

Just who are you? He never even got your name! Are you in the same year as him? How come he’s never seen you? 

Questions flood his mind, and, before he ends up drowning in them, he decides to end the day and packs away the bow and arrows. He feels his cheeks heat up remembering how your body felt against his and how your instructive tone, distinctly different from your lighthearted one, sent shivers down his spine. 

Run. He needs a run before his memory of you, albeit brief, consumes him entirely. 

Zipping his bag, he slings it over his shoulder and heads straight to his dorm to change into more comfortable wear, hasteful to try to forget about you until the next Archery Club meeting. 

ENDING POST: xavier thorpe is my everything. i eat, breathe, and sleep xavier thorpe.

no, seriously, this is the product when you multiply my hyperfixation of xavier thorpe, my toxic trait of "i can shoot a bow and arrow better than xavier thorpe can even though i have not touched a bow in years," and my procrastination of homework.

and i have just been so inspired by the fanfiction everyone is making for this man! seriously, i have not found a greater treasure trove of fanfiction for a character in so long (the jealousy and friends to lovers trope <33) ; amazing kudos to the talented authors of this fanbase! i hope i contributed to such an incredible collection of stories for xavier thorpe just as much as everyone else has <3

[st0rmyskies]

Emergency Commissions - Closed!!

Thank you everyone for the help! Commissions slots are all filled, tips are still always welcome. I will advise if any additional slots open up in the next few weeks.

So if you’ve been playing along at home, you may know that I returned from vacation this week to find that my central air conditioning unit died. Our house sustained some damage from the system overheating. Repairs/replacement are going to run in the five-figure range and they can’t wait, since July in my area of the world means brutal heat. 

So in the spirit of “well fuck me I guess,” I’ll be opening a limited number of emergency writing commissions slots, not to exceed eight depending on the scope of each work and the amount of interest I receive. 

Be advised that this is a one-time thing. I don’t intend to reopen commissions after this financial burden passes.

The Basics

I write for the LoZ and LU fandoms and will accept commissions for either in-universe writing or one of my own AUs (Townhouse AU, Count Darkula, the omegaverse series, etc.).

I will write crack, fluff, angst, spice, horror, murder, whatever. Choose your own adventure! 

If you’re interested in something sweet or spicy, I’ll write Linkshipping, Zelink, MidZel, GanLink, lesser-known characters, you name it I don’t care. I’m a multishipper at heart.

Characters can be cis, trans, unspecified, doesn’t matter to me.

I’m always happy to try on new spicy themes, even if it’s not something I’ve written before. This is a judgement-free zone, even if I end up saying “no thanks.” Seriously, just run it by me. I also have a handful of existing WIP options in the list below if you need any inspiration.

You get to choose whether this is a work to be published or if you’d rather keep it for your own private enjoyment. No price difference between the two options, I don’t care.

Not sure what you’d request? If you want, you can sponsor an active WIP. This is literally more bang for your buck, since I’m not going to charge you for the words I’ve already written. Once you snag a commission slot and leave your deposit, I can send you a sample of one or two works if you’re having a hard time choosing between options. Think of it like trying different flavors at an ice cream bar. An extensive list of my active WIPs appears in my pinned post. If sponsoring an active WIP for an ongoing series like HSH or LMTCOY, that work will be published.

Do you have an unfinished WIP of your own that you’d like to see finished but don’t have the time, energy, etc.? Throw it my way and we’ll see what we can do together! Once again, you are only charged for the words I put into the work in these cases, not the total word count. I will only be taking on up to two of these types of commissions.

The Nitty-Gritty

Pricing is 2 cents per word. I'm flexible with regards to word counts but I suggest the following tiers:

500 words - $10

1000 words - $20

2000 words - $40

2500 words - $50

A deposit will be required to lock in your commission slot on a first-come first-served basis. Deposits will vary based on the tier you select with any remaining balance due at delivery, if applicable. If I end up going over a bit and wrote 525 words for a 500-word slot, oh well, bank error in your favor.

Deadlines are TBD between myself and the commissioner depending on the scope of the work and the number of responses I get. Could be anywhere from a few weeks to a couple months. I don’t see myself letting commissions drag on past 3 months. 

Feel ready to take the plunge with me? You can send me a DM preferably via discord (st0rmyskies) but also through tumblr and we’ll get to work!

The Fine Print

You must be over the age of 18 to commission me.

Commissions are not to exceed 2500 words unless we negotiate otherwise. WIPs listed at larger word counts excluded from this rule.

If sponsoring an active WIP or work in an ongoing series, I may already have a plot and end goal for the story, so specific requests (e.g. “I want Twark to break up.”) may not be honored. I can do a one-shot of such scenarios, though, even if they’re outside canon plans.

I will not write for someone else’s series (e.g. “Can you continue this story from [author] that’s been abandoned?”).

No original characters.

I reserve the right to decline any request for any reason.

Can’t commission, but want to help?

You can leave me a tip via Venmo or PayPal, or signal boost on tumblr, discord, wherever. We need all the help we can get! 

Thanks so much for reading this far, friend. Any help with spreading the word is appreciated. 

- St0rmy

[griffther]

girlfriend, boyfriend

Closing her eyes, Steve let herself just bask in it for a moment. The feeling of her boyfriend’s hand in hers, his skin-warmed rings pressing into the slots between her fingers, his music playing quietly through the tape deck in the corner. Steve was going to miss this, but she was glad she had it while she did.

(ao3 link or keep reading under the cut)

Steve was going to vomit. Right there in the middle of the Munson driveway, she was going to have a panic attack and throw up.  

It shouldn’t be that scary, is the thing. Steve knew without a shadow of a doubt that Eddie would be accepting. He was probably the single person in Steve’s entire life – barring maybe Robin – that she knew for sure would not react badly. He’d probably smile and hold her hand and say that he’s proud of her. It would be so sweet that she’d have to try not to cry. 

She knew this – unequivocally – because Eddie was the only reason she ever even figured it out in the first place. Sitting on Eddie’s cluttered bedroom floor looking through his frankly ridiculous queer zine collection he kept in a box under his bed, she’d found it. Mixed in with all the others, there was one that stood out.  

It had described what it meant to be trans.  

It had used all kinds of words and described so many things she’d never known about: hormones and names and surgeries. It was a little bit terrifying, honestly. Mostly though, it just felt relieving. It just clicked in her head, a gentle oh, this is what I’ve been feeling. Everything just suddenly made so much more sense. 

She’d even talked to Eddie about it. Not the part about her connecting to it, but she’d asked him questions and talked with him about what was in the zine. He’d clarified things she didn’t understand and expanded on topics too short to be fully encapsulated in a small pamphlet zine he’d bought in Indy.  

That’s why she knew so firmly that Eddie would not think any less of her for what she was about to tell him. She heard him talking about it explicitly just a few weeks ago, she knew he was supportive. 

No, there was a completely different reason that Steve was on the verge of a panic attack in Eddie Munson’s driveway.  

Eddie wasn’t going to break up with her because she was a trans woman, he was going to break up with her because Eddie doesn’t date women at all. Everyone knew about it, Eddie loved men. It was one of his defining personality traits. Eddie Munson, certified Boy-Lover.  

So yeah, maybe Steve was a little bit anxious. After years of pining, they’d only finally started dating less than a year ago. She loved him and now she was going to lose him all because she had to go and realize she was a girl. Fucking typical. 

— 

Fifteen minutes later, Steve was sitting on Eddie’s bed trying not to vibrate out of her own skin. It took all of her willpower not to blurt it out the second he had opened the front door, word vomiting like she had become possessed by Robin’s spirit. “I’m trans and you’re gay and I love you but I don’t think you’ll love me anymore and I need to get to your bathroom right now before I throw up on the front stairs.”  

She hadn’t though, she’d been able to hold it in – both the words and the vomit . She had smiled – knows it must have looked more like the grimace it truly was by the look Eddie had given her – and deflected concerned questions as they made their way to Eddie’s bedroom. 

It’ll be fine. It’s okay that Eddie won’t love you anymore, you’ll still be friends and he’ll still support you.   

Her knee bounced.  

She tried not to think about if she’d be able to survive having to go back to just being friends again. If she’d be able to pretend that she didn’t still love him. 

It’ll be fine.  

Eddie was still standing by the door, hand pressed into the wood from where he’d closed it behind her only a minute ago. Things didn’t tend to get awkward between them frequently, the product of three years of friendship and pushing a year of dating making them almost impervious to awkward silences. But in that moment, Steve felt awkward.  

“So,” Eddie cut in, “are you going to explain why you look like you’re about to crawl out of your own skin or am I just supposed to start guessing?” 

“Uh-” 

“Because I will. I’m very good at endlessly thinking up increasingly ridiculous situations, you know. It’s why I’m such a good DM.” 

It was actually hard to stop the smile she felt pulling at the corners of her mouth. Despite everything, Eddie never failed to make her feel better, even if that probably wasn’t his intention. Even if they were both feeling awkward and uncomfortable, she could always count on him to still be himself. To fill the void with his nervous ramblings that always made her chest feel warm with affection.  

“No, Eddie, it’s fine. I’ll tell you. I just- I’m just nervous, that’s all.” 

He looked at her from across the bedroom then, making eye contact for the first time since her knees had practically given out as she’d collapsed to sit on his bed. Steve wasn’t the best at reading emotions most of the time, but she knew Eddie Munson like the back of her hand. And in that moment, she could tell he was almost as nervous as she was.  

She actually felt pretty guilty about that. She didn’t mean to make him anxious as well, she just couldn’t stop her own anxiety from leaking out.  

With a sigh, she patted the bed next to her. “Come here, big boy. At least come hold my hand while I spill my guts.” 

Steve’s words had the intended effect, the tension in the air immediately began to dissipate as Eddie visibly relaxed. He folded himself into the bed next to her, limbs bent into odd angles as he rested his chin on his knee, one hand clutched at his own ankle while the other reached out to gently take Steve’s hand. She felt his calloused fingertips begin pressing soft rhythms into her knuckles and she had to hold back a sob at the thought that she might never get to feel that again after tonight.  

Closing her eyes, Steve let herself just bask in it for a moment. The feeling of her boyfriend’s hand in hers, his skin-warmed rings pressing into the slots between her fingers, his music playing quietly through the tape deck in the corner. Steve was going to miss this, but she was glad she had it while she did.  

“Okay, you remember a few weeks ago when you were showing me all of your zines?” She let her eyes open slightly as she turned her head to see him nodding gently at her. “Well, I-” Her breath caught in her throat. For all she had thought about this moment for over two weeks now, she still had no clue how to say this part.  

Steve felt Eddie squeeze her hand and offer her a small reassuring smile. “It’s okay, I promise. No matter what it is, it’ll be okay.” 

The sincerity in his voice almost made her words catch again, but they came pouring out of her too quickly to stop this time. 

“The zine about being trans made me realize that I’m a woman.”  

It felt like time stood still for a moment afterwards. Steve felt the knot that had been sitting in her esophagus for weeks begin to loosen slightly. It was terrifying of course, but it also felt so incredibly freeing to say those words out loud. I’m a woman. It made her flush slightly, with pride instead of the embarrassment that she’d expected.  

Slowly, she raised her eyes up to meet Eddie. He was flushed too, color high on his cheeks as he absolutely beamed at her.  

“That’s amazing, sweetheart. I’m so happy for you.” 

God, Steve was going to cry. She had known that she didn’t need to be worried about this part, had told herself over and over that he wouldn’t be upset. That didn’t mean it didn’t feel nice to hear those words though, and it didn’t mean she wasn’t still terrified for what would come next. 

Eddie looked so soft in that moment. Hair pulled up into a ponytail high on his head, strands falling out to frame his face. He was wearing one of Steve’s old t-shirts from the swim team and worn black sweatpants. He looked so soft and Steve loved him so much. She loved him and he wasn’t going to love her anymore. Eddie loved men, something he now knew that Steve was not.  

“I’m sorry.” 

It came out as just a whisper, a confession released into the space between them. Steve watched multiple emotions flicker across Eddie’s face before landing on confusion. 

“Sorry? Baby, you have nothing to be sorry for, you know that.”  

Steve was shaking her head before he had even finished. 

“No, I do though. I tried so hard to ignore it because I know you’ll have to break up with me now that I’m not a man, but I felt like I was lying by not telling you and we had always promised not to lie to each other and I just -” 

Her voice cut off abruptly as the ball formed in her throat again, even tighter than before. Steve’s eyes had cut away to the wall at some point and she couldn’t get herself to look back at Eddie again. This was going to be a lot easier to get out without looking at him, even if she felt a little bad about it. She took a shaky breath and pushed on before Eddie had the chance to say anything. 

“I know you only like boys. You talk about it all the time, Eddie, how much you’re attracted to men. How much you’re attracted to me as a man. If you only love men and I’m not a man, then you won’t be able to love me. It’s that simple. And I’m just so fucking sorry that I ruined this. That it’s my fault.” 

The room was quiet around them for a few long moments, the only sounds being Steve’s labored breathing and the music still playing in the background. Steve was staring at the laces on her shoes, desperately trying to hold herself together in front of the man next to her.  

Suddenly, there were fingers at her chin. Eddie gently lifted her head, forcing their eyes to meet. Steve wasn’t sure what she was expecting to see there – anger, sadness, regret – but it certainly wasn’t a smile and something akin to relief.  

“You’re right, Harrington, I do love men. But you’ve got one bit wrong there, sweetheart. I don’t just love men.  I'll be the first to tell you that I certainly tend to find myself attracted to dudes more often than chicks, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy myself with the right woman every once in a while. And you, my love, are absolutely the right woman. I’m sorry I ever made you think otherwise.” 

Steve was frozen for longer than she cared to admit after hearing those words. She could feel where Eddie had slipped his hand from her chin to cradle her cheek instead, rough fingers rubbing soothing motions into her skin. He didn’t try to keep talking, just let the words hang in the air for Steve to process. She’d spent weeks now convinced that this moment would be the end of their relationship. That Steve would come out and Eddie would have to break her heart. She had absolutely no clue what to do with herself now that she knew that might not happen.  

“So,” her voice broke and she tried to clear her throat before going on. “So you aren’t going to break up with me?” 

Steve hated how pathetic she sounded in that moment. Eddie had just called her “the right woman” and yet there she was still questioning him. Still needing reassurance. 

Eddie lifted his other hand so that he was holding both of Steve’s cheeks, cradling her face in his palms. He made sure she was looking directly at him before he spoke.  

“No, St-“ He cut himself off abruptly and cleared his throat. “No, baby. I’m not going to break up with you. I’ve told you before and I meant it, you’re not getting rid of me. I love you, I love you so much it’s fucking ridiculous. Even if I had never even thought about another woman before in my life, I’d still love you. Nothing’s going to change that, I promise.” 

Steve was crying. It was impossible to stop them at that point, she just had to let the large tears pour down her cheeks and onto Eddie’s hands. She could feel him try to brush them away with the pads of his thumbs, but they were coming too quickly to stop.  

Eddie leaned forward to press their foreheads together, whispering gentle words of love and praise into the spaces between Steve’s choked sobs. I love you, you’re so gorgeous, my sweet girl, I love you so much.  

It felt like every cell in Steve’s entire body was singing. She couldn’t breathe through the overwhelming feelings of relief and adoration coursing through her. God, she loved Eddie so much. She loved him so much it was painful.  

Steve let the anxiety of the last few weeks seep out of her body as she moved slightly to bury her face into Eddie’s shoulder. He let his hands fall from her face to wrap around her instead, one hand going up to card through her hair while the other ran patterns up and down her spine. Steve’s hands were clenched uselessly into the front of Eddie’s shirt, clinging on like her life depended on it. It felt like if she let go, even for a moment, she’d drift away. Would lose this moment like sand between her fingers.  

Steve wasn’t sure how long they sat like that, her face pressed into Eddie’s shoulder as she slowly regained her composure. Eddie had started pressing gentle kisses on the crown of her head as he continued to murmur praise and reassurances into her hair.  

By the time she had the strength to lift her head again, she knew she must have looked like a wreck. Hair in disarray from Eddie’s hands and lips, eyes bloodshot, cheeks red and tear-stained. But from the look Eddie gave her when they made eye contact again, you’d think she must have been the best thing he’d ever seen in his life. It was almost enough to make her start crying again, but she was able to hold it back this time. 

“Sorry, I probably got snot all over your shirt.” Steve’s voice was rough from crying, but she spoke softly enough that it didn’t sound too jarring in the now-quiet room. She didn’t know when the music had cut off, the tape must have ended at some point during her little episode. It was nice though, in a way. Usually, they both hated too much silence, needed to fill the space with something at all times. Now though, now the silence felt safe. It felt like they were sitting in a bubble, just the two of them separated from the outside world. 

Eddie laughed softly, shaking his head at her words. “I don’t care, it’s your shirt anyways.” 

That was true enough, but it didn’t mean that she  didn’t still feel bad for potentially ruining what she knew was one of Eddie’s favorite shirts.  

His eyes were so soft as he looked at her, Steve felt like she could combust. Eddie gently brushed her hair off of her forehead before leaning forward to press a kiss into her skin there.  

“How are you feeling? Better now that you’ve gotten it all out?” 

Steve smiled softly, let the corners of her mouth just barely pull up as she gave him a nod. It was true, she really was feeling better. It was slow, but she was starting to process that this was real . She didn’t have to be scared about this anymore, she could just let herself feel happy and loved by her boyfriend who was not planning on leaving her. 

“Yeah, I- I think I’m feeling okay now. I just got really overwhelmed, but it wasn’t even really in a bad way? I just- I’d spent weeks trying to prepare myself for the worst possible outcome, I hadn’t even let myself consider anything else.” 

They’d turned fully to face one another on the bed at some point, Eddie’s legs folded in front of him while Steve’s knees were pulled up to her chest. She let her chin fall to rest on top of her knees as Eddie’s left hand carded gently through her hair. His other hand dropped to pick up one of her own, letting Steve fall into her practiced routine of fiddling with Eddie’s rings when she got nervous. 

“Do you feel comfortable telling me a little more? We don’t have to talk about it right now if you’re too tired or overwhelmed, but I just had some questions about what you’re comfortable with.” 

Jesus Christ, Eddie must have been on a personal mission to kill Steve before the day way over. Her heart felt too big for her chest, she was sure she would simply combust. She bit her bottom lip in a fruitless attempt to hold back the frankly embarrassingly love-struck smile spreading across her face. 

“Yeah, you can ask me anything, babe. I trust you, I know you’re not trying to be invasive or anything.” 

Eddie sat up a little straighter as he flashed her a smile. He had the same look in his eye as he got when he was planning out a new campaign, like there were so many options that he didn’t even know where to start.  

“Right okay well, uh, first I guess I just want to make sure I’m on the same page as you. Like, you called yourself a woman so I’m guessing you want to go by more feminine terms, but I don’t want to just assume, you know?” 

Steve nodded absently as she responded, “No, you’re right! I think I’d like all the feminine stuff. Like, pronouns and descriptors and everything, I’d like to try having them all be feminine. I mean, I don’t know for sure I’ll like all of them because I haven’t tried it yet, but the thought of it makes me feel good at least.” 

Eddie smiled warmly as he brought her hand up to his mouth and pressed his lips to her knuckles. There was a gleam in his eye as he looked back up at her. 

“So I get to call you my girlfriend then?” 

Steve felt the blood rush to her cheeks and her breath catch in her throat. My girlfriend. God, she was so fucked.  

“Yeah, yes, please. I’d like that very much.”  

He smirked at her and pressed another kiss into the back of her hand before sitting back up straight again. His face shifted as he took on a more serious tone.  

“Okay, I can definitely do that for you, sweetheart. But that leads to my follow up question: do you want me to call you those things in public? I don’t want to out you or rush you into coming out or anything, so I need to know what you’re comfortable with. Should I only use the correct pronouns in private? Are there certain people that it’s okay in front of and not others?” 

Steve took a deep breathe and let it out slowly, trying to force her shoulders to relax as she did so. She’d thought about this, of course she had. That doesn’t mean she had an easy answer for it though.  

“I mean… I don’t really know yet, I guess? I know that’s a cop-out, but I just don’t know what to expect yet honestly. I want to tell the party, I know that for sure. And as much as I want to believe they’ll all be okay with it eventually, I know that I can’t expect all of them to understand immediately. I’ll probably never be able to be publicly out here in Hawkins either, that’s just not feasible. Maybe if we moved somewhere outside of Indiana, but that’s just- I don’t know. It’s a lot to think about all at once, I guess.” 

Eddie had been gently rubbing his thumb along the lines of her fingers as she spoke. It helped keep her from spiraling too bad, getting consumed by all of the endless possibilities, both positive and negative.  

“Well, first of all, I’ll support you no matter what, St- sweetheart. You know that. I think it’s a good idea to tell the party, and I don’t think anyone will react badly. They all love you. A few of them might be a little confused, sure, but I’ll be there with you to help. You won’t have to do anything on your own.” He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze as he flashed her a tight-lipped smile. “As for Hawkins, I’m unfortunately inclined to agree with you. The assholes here probably wouldn’t take too well to it. But we were planning on moving out of this shit hole after the kids graduated anyways. The world is our oyster, babygirl. I’ll take you anywhere you want, I promise.” 

Steve felt her eyes start to mist over again as she pulled him in for kiss. It wasn’t perfect, both of them were smiling too much for it to be much more than their teeth knocking together.  

“ Babygirl, Jesus Christ. I can’t fucking believe you,” Steve muttered against Eddie’s lips.  

He snorted quietly as he pulled away. 

“What, you don’t like it? I think it’s got a certain ring to it. I can switch to big girl if you like that better.”  

He winked at her as she felt her cheeks heat up again. She just rolled her eyes playfully and smiled back.  

“We both know you’re going to come up with a lot more pet names than just those, Munson. Might as well let you get it out of your system.” 

He hummed as he gave her hand a gentle tug.  

“Speaking of names… How are you feeling about yours?” 

At that, she gave a loud groan and flung herself back on the bed dramatically.  

“God, I wish I knew. I mean, I know that I don’t want to keep going by Steve, at least in private and with the party once I tell them. But I don’t even know where to start with trying to pick a new one out and it’s going to be so confusing for everyone to try and switch between names in public versus in private.” She let out another groan, more frustrated this time. “It’s just so complicated.” 

While she had been speaking, Eddie had moved up the bed to settle next to her. His head propped up on one hand while the other wrapped around her waist to draw patterns into the skin where her shirt had ridden up.  

“Well,” he drew the word out as he seemed to think it over. “We can always try out different names here, just the two of us. I can call you whatever you like and you can see how it fits. You know me, I’ll be coming up with a thousand different nicknames for you anyways. I was able to get a good few out of just Steve, imagine what I could do when I have something better to work with.” 

Steve’s eyes lit up at his words. She turned over onto her side and grabbed his face between her hands as she beamed at him. 

“You just gave me an idea! Until I figure out a new permanent name, why don’t we use Stevie? You call me that all the time anyways, it's your favorite nickname for me. And you could even use it in public!” 

A smile spread across Eddie’s face as he leaned forward to press another kiss to her forehead, holding her close as he took a deep breath. Steve knew here was no way he could smell anything more than her hairspray, maybe the sweat that always gathered at her hairline, but he breathed it in like it was the best smell in the world. Her heart ached in her chest as she tried to pull him in even closer.  

“Sounds perfect, Stevie.” 

[solomons-poison]

Hi Tarren :D! I would like to request Geto Suguru + 7. 'sharing a kiss after not seeing them for an extended period of time' from the soft kissing prompts because I feel like it has been a long time since I've seen him voiced and animated :') But we'll be seeing more of him next month so this would also be a nice build-up to it >w< Please and thank you in advance <3

Oooh you're giving me a hard one haha. I'm not very good at writing Geto, I don't have as much of a handle on his personality compared to the others but I hope this is good! This also got really angsty, and not very soft, I'm so sorry... 😅

(Requests now closed upon posting this, but feel free to check out the prompt list linked below!)

Geto Suguru x GN!reader

♡ sharing a kiss after not seeing them for an extended period of time

Geto liked to disappear often. Where to, you didn't know, and you knew better than to ask, given your line of work and his history. He did it even before you started dating, and honestly, it probably should have been enough of a red flag for you to reject him when he tried to court you. But his levels of charisma were just too powerful, it was always impossible to say no to him. So what could you do but accept?

It shouldn't have surprised you, but even after you two started dating, the disappearances continued. It was usually just for a few days at a time, but when it happened, he was completely unreachable, practically gone off the face of the earth. He never volunteered information when he returned, and you didn't ask, just settling into a kind of routine. It made it a bit easier to pretend everything was okay, that he wasn't doing something questionable or perhaps even dangerous. And when he came back to your arms, the way he poured his passion into you made you forget to be worried, at least for a little while.

This time, however, was the longest your boyfriend had been gone yet. You weren't sure if you should go to the police, or risk going to your colleagues, or what they could even do about it. As days passed and he didn't show, didn't send you any kind of message, a feeling of dread formed a ball in your stomach, hard and heavy. You weren't even sure, at one point, when you'd last seen him, if it'd been weeks, maybe even months. All you could do was keep moving, keep your mind occupied on anything but your missing lover, before you got overwhelmed with a thousand what-ifs.

You got used to the silence, occasionally putting on the TV or music to fill up the space, make it feel a little less lonely. That's why, when you heard the lock to your apartment begin to turn, something heavy and metal fumbling against the door, your head instantly snapped up at the unexpected sound. Your body moved before you were even aware, creeping towards your front door in anticipation of who would show on the other side. It shouldn't have surprised you, seeing the tall figure on the other side, long dark hair pulled back into his signature bun. But your mind was still reeling as Geto looked back, the same surprise missing on his face, like he knew you'd be waiting for him.

No words could form, your mouth failing to voice all the questions that popped up in your mind, but it didn't matter. Not when Geto was letting the door fall shut as he wrapped you in his embrace, his lips cold from what you hoped was just the outside, slotting against yours urgently. He was holding you tight, almost painful, like you were his last tether to this world, and you had a feeling it was true. You couldn't be sure how long this would last, the next time that he'd disappear, or if he'd even come back. So you just held on tighter, giving in to his kisses, pouring your warmth and your love into him in the hopes that something would take root, anchor him here with you.

—

Send me a type of kiss and a character!

[lukin08]

Up In The Air- Chapter 1

Kristanna Modern AU

Rated: T

WC: 1234

Summary: Tired of her nomad lifestyle, traveling nurse Anna Arendelle on a whim picks Pensacola Florida as her new town to try find a sense of home. Meanwhile, Navy Pilot Kristoff Bjorgman has accepted a dream position at the Naval station in the same town. After a chance encounter goes south, the two of them find their lives entwined, with neither of them all that happy about it!

Also available on AO3 here

Happy Birthday @kristoffxannafanatic! This is as much her story as it is mine and please consider her the co-author. I just managed to write down all our ideas! Hope you enjoy

10:50

There really was no point in checking the time, he already knew before he looked.  Kristoff sat his phone down and leaned forward on the bench at the foot of the bed, elbows on his thighs as he scrubbed at his eyes with his thumb and forefinger of one hand.  He hated this.  Only ten minutes to go and it felt like an eternity.  Five months of hustling, mostly on his own dime in the hopes that he would even get noticed had all boiled down to the longest ten minutes of his life.

He sat up and looked around.  It was oddest feeling whenever he was back home, sitting in his old room with almost all the remnants of his childhood stripped away.  It was a neutral color now, with a new bed and bland as any guest bedroom you would imagine.  But there still were the nicks on the closet from where Kristoff used to lean his hockey sticks against and a couple trophies his mother didn’t have the heart to throw out were on the dresser.  A few remaining snippets of a simpler time.

A week had gone by since he first graced his parent’s doorstep.  It was the longest stint he’d been home since the summer before his senior year of college.  That was well over ten years ago and he’d been a nomad the whole time since.  He had to admit it was comforting to be back home.  It had been an anchor for him during the chaos of the week and the thought of wanting to stay had started to creep up on him.  Now he was stuck between the desire to escape from the reminder this wasn’t his room or even his home anymore and the intense pull that was calling for a sense of some permanence.  In ten- no, eight- minutes he’d know if he’d be able to answer that pull.

This was better than the other candidates had for sure.  While the others went back to their temporary barracks, Kristoff came home to a comfortable bed and most importantly, his parents.  One of the many benefits of being local, a piece of information Kristoff had kept close to his chest the entire process.  His days and nights had been long, but he always took the time to sit with his mom and dad for a bit before heading upstairs and collapsing into bed.  He felt bad he hadn’t been able to spend more time with them.  Regardless of the outcome of the call at 1100 hours, Kristoff was going to take the next week off to decompress and spend some real time with them before heading back to Norfolk.

He thought about going downstairs since no one was home.  His mother promised she’d be out of the house until after lunch, but he knew her too well.  It would be all too convenient for her to have “forgotten” something and come home and he really didn’t want an audience for what most likely was going to be a polite rejection.  There were only eight pilots after all that flew for the Navy’s Blue Angels, and four were returning from the previous season.  Four open slots for the 90 candidates that started officially with him in April.  Now they were down to 20 vying for those 4 positions.  He knew the odds, had rehearsed what to say to sound professional when the rejection came.  But still…there was something that also told him to plan for what to say just in case it was a yes.  He would want to sound excited, but not like some idiot screaming and jumping up and down.  Kristoff shook the thought from his head, accepting the impending rejection.

10:55

Kristoff sat and reflected on the events that led him here.  He had officially put his formal application for the Blue Angels in February through his Naval chain of command.  By March his application had been accepted and he was on his way to his first airshow.  Spring was a blur, with his everyday duties during the week, followed by a rush to an airshow whenever he could to shadow the team by sitting on team briefs, post show activities and social events all to haul it back to base Sunday night to start the week again.     

The application process was described to him like rushing a fraternity.  Something Kristoff knew nothing of except that he probably wouldn’t be good at it.  But he did understand the game.  The process objectives were clear: meet the candidates and find out if they were the type of people you want to be part of your organization.  The team needed to get to know the individual and Kristoff’s personality wouldn’t get him there attending one or two shows.  So, he showed them his tenacity attending as many events as he could, talking to each team member on an individual basis, meeting the fans, showing them what he could do.

10:57

Whatever he did worked because by June he received an invitation to Pensacola for finalist week in July.  Now he was at the end of the time that had consisted of a dizzying number of activities – dinner with the team only, dinner with team and families, social beach party with team and families, strength tests, the briefs/shows/debriefs, and the dreaded interview.

All 16 Blue Angels officers from the different departments were at the interview and they each asked him one question.  He had taken the time to prepare for it, just by thinking about some things that were important to him.  It didn’t matter how many flight hours he had or the combat missions he flew.  Everyone sitting on the interviews had the same qualifications as him.  Kristoff told himself to be honest at all costs.  It was the only way it would work.  He had once made a promise to see this through and he was going to keep it.

10:59

He came out of the interview feeling good about it.  At the very least, if he didn’t get the job, he knew he had given them everything he could.  His dad casually mentioned that evening the officer who was renting his place had been transferred and the family were leaving by September and maybe they should hold off putting a listing up.  

It was all too convenient and too hopeful. He wasn’t sure if he was ready to have that conversation yet.

Kristoff’s alarm went off.  He grabbed the phone and took a deep breath. The moment of truth was here.  He had a five-minute window to call the Boss.  His commanding officer at his base in Norfolk had let him in on a little secret.  If the Boss put you on speaker, you were in, otherwise you were out.  Kristoff placed the call trying to keep his hands from shaking too much.  

“Lieutenant Commander Bjorgman,” he identified himself and was asked to hold.  

A minute later Boss Kesselring answered then said “hold on a sec.”  Kristoff heard the unmistakable change in background sound of being put on speaker.  His heart raced as he only had an instant of prep for what the Boss was going to tell him.

“You there Bjorgman?”

“Yes, sir.”

There was a moment of silent before a group of voices yelled in unison, “Welcome to the team asshole!”

[cor-lapis-candy]

Look I reblogged a post about incel Scaramouche, and the stinky man has lived in my head since then so shout out to @albedosarmpit for going through with posting it.

It was disgusting and I love it!

So let's get some more going...

Scaramouche who had a falling out with his mother right before he left for college, yes it was her name that got him his scholarship and yes it was her... Girlfriend, he refuses to think of that woman as his step mother, that wrangled him a slot in some of the more prestigious rolls of the University he chose, and sure he may have had a few too many meltdowns in the library to be allowed back in but that's just cause the librarian was to much of a bitch to handle the truth he had to offer!

Sure his roommate is crusty and complains about how loud he yells as he games, and sure he's suuuch a Chad with his rotation of sluts that he brings home but he could stand to shut the fuck up about it, or at least not bring back such low effort partners. Childe was nothing if not a nerd in disguise, that computer if his is full of games and hentai just like his was, but just cause he kept his background something clean didn't mean he was better than him.

And fine, he could groom himself better, shower twice a day rather than twice a week! But whatever person he finally deems satisfactory to his standards will be more enticed by how he smells naturally rather than all that perfume and shit that Childe wears, it's all fake lust after all, he smells like a bitch and his little groupies must love that.

Most of the other people on this campus must have rotated through his fucking roomates bed by now, and yes okay, the one time he had someone come into his room with that kinda interest they ended up bolting while he took his hoodie off, sure he could have moved the cum towel or hidden the light novels and hentai but if a bitch couldn't handle his needs the good riddance.

Yet there was one he knew hadn't even been within breathing distance of his god awful roommates domain, you, sweet perfect you, you shared two of his classes and god you were almost his foil for scores, always chasing just after him in test results, bonus credit and he'll you took second in the same scholarship as him. You were perfect down to a tee, the cherry on top being you hadn't slept with anyone he knew and if luck was truely with him no one at all.

Sure he could overlook used goods if it came to you, he would wipe clean any remaining thoughts if whoever had taken your first and leave nothing but him in their wake, there would be a little bit of a skill gap too but that's fine in his mind you would still tremble and beg for him , even if his fingers were a little off or he was a little quick to cum, you were perfect after all and that ment you would accept it all.

Maybe tonight he could use something he stole from the last bitch Childe had over, some bra or whatever those whores left to make that mess of a ginger think of him, the last one had looked pretty close to you after all, similar height and weight, so perhaps it could hold space till he had you, use it to fuel those ideas of how he could use you.

Press the replacement cloth to his armpit and stain the material with a mix of his smell and whatever lingers of the original slut owner, make a bastardised version of what you could smell like as he looked over you, dripping his sweat and spit onto your skin, burying his teeth into the soft material as if it was your skin...

Yeah that was a good idea, a nice new light hentai and a little place holder till he could have you sounded just perfect right now.

[literaryfandomangel]

The Promise - Chapter Fourteen

After a week had passed, the worst of the pain was gone. It had faded, leaving a slight discomfort or stiffness in the joint when moving in specific ways. The bruise was fading, the edges a sickening yellow/green color. After several days of icing the injury, the swelling had gone down, which was a relief. It took about six days to be able to walk up and down the stairs without excruciating pain. 

"I'm leaving," Mom yelled, walking out the front door. I sat on the porch, realizing it was nearly five in the afternoon. I felt stir-crazy after being cooped up for so long; therefore, I sat upright.

"Can I come with you?" I asked Mom, eyes wide and pleading. She hesitated for a moment, but she couldn't deny my request. Mom was working the late shift at the video store, which closed at midnight. She didn't want me to regress in my recovery. Since being in Santa Carla, I had elected to speak more, and my weight was progressing slowly. 

"Alright," Mom conceded. "Will your friends bring you home?"

I shrugged, walking into the house to grab my bag. I put in a few books, primarily classics, but I had finished Anna Karenina. Depending on what the mood was tonight, I might start North and South. I decided that I could lose myself in the bookstore. 

"Hurry up!" Mom yelled into the house. I hesitated momentarily, sprayed perfume on my wrists, and left my bedroom. When I walked outside, Mom was already in the driver's seat. 

"If I don't find them, I'll meet you after your shift," I promised Mom during the drive. She hummed, accepting that answer. 

"Make sure that if you meet up with your friends, they have you back by 2 AM!" Mom shouted before going in the opposite direction on the Boardwalk. 

I gaped at the figure of my Mom, quickly losing her in the teeming crowd. She set my curfew at 2 AM? She never agreed that I could stay out that late - usually never. I wondered what made her change her mind, but I wouldn't argue with Mom. I tucked the $10.00 bill Mom handed me in the car into my back pocket and started to peruse the Boardwalk. 

The sun's rays were still hot. Therefore, I ducked into the bookstore. I felt relief at the air-conditioned space. Even though I'm always cold, the sun in Santa Carla felt like it would burn through your clothing. 

I started looking around the bookstore, realizing this was an adventure, not a bookstore. Apparently, the owner just shelved the books in any open slot. Therefore, the store was not organized. One might find a bodice-ripper beside a textbook. It was exciting and definitely a way to keep bookworms occupied. 

I grinned as I started to make my way through the shelves, picking out a book with an exciting title. I read the back and would make my determination. I was so lost in the world of books that I didn't realize how late it was or that the sun had long since been hidden behind the horizon. 

"Hey!" I whined when suddenly a hand took the book I was interested in right from my hands. I was upset until I looked at the culprit - Paul. He had a wide grin as he dangled the book before me. 

"Hey, baby," Marko whispered, voice smooth and deeper than usual. His breath was right on the tip of my ear. I could feel the ghost of his lips and the faint touch of his teeth on my earlobe. I gasped, jumping backward into a solid body. Gloved hands came to rest on my elbows. 

"We've missed you, princess," Dwayne said, leaning down to pick up the large stack of used books by my feet. It was a mess of about ten or so books that I was planning on purchasing. He looked down, reading the spines, giving hums of interest every so often. 

"You've been away, girl," Paul smirked, his usual bundle of energy. I wondered if Paul ever was still. Probably not, even when he was sleeping. I imagined Paul to kick and roll over. "And then you ditch us to come here? I'm hurt!"

"Paul," I sighed, rolling my eyes at his dramatics. I tried to grab the book back from his hands. I took a few steps forward, away from David's body heat. My movement exposed the slight limp from my previous injuries. To the human eye, it would be imperceivable, but they were vampires and could see it. Paul's fist clenched in fury as he remembered the fear they all felt coming upon that scene. 

None of the Lost Boys ever thought they would find their mate. A mate to have, to hold, to protect, to cherish. In the vampire world, mates were the most precious thing to find. Not everyone found their mates - some wandered for centuries looking for the scent that linked their nest to their mate. Therefore, seeing their mate in any type of danger was difficult. Worse still, when the worst threat came from their mate's volition. 

Paul's eyes softened enough to cease his teasing behavior. He slowly lowered his hands, the book just out of reach of my fingers. Paul had a smirk on his face while I was getting frustrated. Every time my fingers reached out and touched the book's paper, Paul would pull it out of reach. Finally, I just stood, a pout on my lips. 

Paul stood no chance, looking at my widened, sad eyes and pouty lips. He stood awestruck for a moment before lowering his hand. I clutched the book, holding it to my chest. I hesitated for a moment before I rose onto my toes. I kissed his cheek, feeling the slight roughness of his stubble, before sinking back onto the balls of my feet. Silence surrounded the five of us. 

It was like my spur-of-the-moment action had caused a ripple in the otherwise still lake. Initiating the contact would solidify the tentative situation between the four of us. I was also nervous because I had just kissed one of the four guys, showing an apparent interest in me. I hoped this wasn't going to cause a fight or any type of rift between the four guys. 

Chapter Fifteen

[claypigeonpottery]

CLAY PIGEON COMMISSION DETAILS

Commission Slot List

Please see my price list for approximate prices, as well as examples of the shapes/sizes of pieces I can make

Commissions are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis

I reserve the right to refuse any commission

Please send me a private message to arrange a commission—not an Ask (you can also email me at theclaypigeonpottery@gmail.com but I am more responsive here)

and I’m still accepting dibs on my unfired original pieces

I will make copies of my existing pieces, or work with you to create something new

I can make a close copy of my own work, or I can change the colour and carving choices

If it’s a new work, I will send you pictures of the sketch for your approval

Large scale revisions can only be made during the sketching phase. Literally. Once it’s carved, there’s very little I can do to change it.

Small additions or adjustments can be done right after the piece is carved, when I send you pictures, that is the time to mention anything you want changed.

Please be detailed in your description and send reference pictures if possible 

I don’t charge extra for original pieces, despite sketching time

WAITLIST

If you ask for a commission when the slot is closed, I have one waitlist slot for each type of commission. If the waitlist slot is open, I can put you on it after getting some details about your commission to confirm that it’s one I would be willing to take. 

If you ask for a commission when the waitlist is closed, I'll ask you to message me again once the slot is open again.

I will do my best to give you an accurate timeline for when I will start your commission and when it will be completed.

PAYMENT, ETC

I take 20% of the cost of the piece before starting

You are responsible for shipping cost, on top of the cost of the piece (I can estimate shipping cost for you, but it won’t be exact until the piece is ready to ship)

I do all my transactions through Paypal invoices

All my prices are in CAD

Prices vary depending on size of the piece, the style of decorating, and the amount of detail 

Commissions can take as long as six months, depending on piece size and kiln schedules

I will do my best to keep you updated about your piece’s status and approximate timeline, but if you have questions feel free to message me

If there’s a problem with the piece (warping, a flaw in the glaze, no longer food-safe, etc), I will either lower the price or remake it, if you choose

I reserve the right to refuse to remake a broken or flawed piece, but I will refund your deposit

Once the piece is finished, you have two weeks to arrange payment and shipping. If you communicate with me about needing longer and give me a specific date, I will hold it for you until that date. After that (and a couple reminders) I will make it available for other people to buy. I can’t hold pottery for people indefinitely

If you want a piece by a specific date, I will charge an extra $20 if I successfully get it to you on time, since it’ll mean juggling kiln time with other potters and coordinating with the studio’s kiln tech. I cannot guarantee that it will be done by a specific date, I work with a shared kiln and don’t always have access. The farther out you order it, the better.

I WILL

make portraits of people or animals

make prose or poetry into pottery 

make memes into pottery

depict nudity or sex

depict blood, death, or gore

I MIGHT

depict original characters

depict fan art

I WON’T

copy another artist’s work without the permission of that artist

ONCE I'VE ACCEPTED

I will keep you updated with an approximate timeline and do my absolute best to get it to you in a reasonable timeframe, but…

Please remember that pottery is a slow process. 

Once I build the piece, it has to dry for a few days up to a couple weeks before it’s ready to carve. And once it’s been carved, it can take a couple months to be fully dry, especially if it’s a large piece or a mug.

Drying pottery slowly prevents warping and cracking, so it can’t be rushed, and if a piece goes into the kiln before it’s fully dry, it will explode. Any moisture in the clay will rapidly expand as it turns to steam and literally blow the piece apart. 

And, unfortunately, with a shared kiln, sometimes the schedule just doesn’t allow me to fire for a couple weeks. 

Thanks for reading, I appreciate it!

[on-a-lucky-tide]

It's coming to the end of term and I'm dabbling again in some of my big projects. I want to do a lot of writing over the summer, even if it's typing on my phone while lying on a SUP in Fowey harbour. I typed up an omegaverse... thing, and my writing friends proposed that it would slot quite nicely into Ad Meliora with a little tweaking. Still very much a WIP...

He snuck away once everyone was drunk. It was easy enough. Voltehre had spread the message to the others and they were sitting next to their chosen partners tentatively, only flinching a little from their amorous touches; a stroke of the cheek, a nip on the shoulder. The amber-eyed guests testing the ground to make sure this wasn't another weird trick.

Lambert slipped out the lavatory chute towards the back of the castle, and shimmied around the castle walls until he could drop into the forest to the south. Freedom tasted like spring pollen and rain. There had been a mudslide earlier in the week, and he made a note to avoid the eastern descent.

He didn't stop for sleep, and by the time the sun was rising he'd made good headway. It would take them a few hours yet to work out he was missing, and then they would have to muster a tracker, which would probably take 'em til lunch 'cause they were lazy bastards.

It would have been quicker if he'd stolen a horse, but they left a clear trail. He needed to make it as difficult as possible for the first few miles. As the sun created the trees, he clambered into one to survey the path ahead. Few more hours and he'd be halfway down to Kaedwen. Free.

As Lambert squinted into the distance, he caught sight of a lone traveller on the path. His cloak was worn and tattered, the horse looked like it had one hoof in the grave already, but it was transport. Lambert couldn't work out how big the traveller was, not under all that wool, but it was worth a try. He could always aard and run.

Perhaps if he was less tired, he might be more patient. Might not have risked it. But he needed to be as far away from Kaer Morhen as possible , so he crouched against the trunk of the tree and drew the hunting dagger from his belt. The old horse inched up the path, and the traveller looked a whole lot bigger this close. An elf, maybe. There were bags loaded on the back and sides, a bed roll.

Lambert waited until the horse and passenger were directly beneath him before he dropped from the branches. The horse reared and whinnied, Lambert wrapped his arms around the traveller and jammed his knife into the cloak. "Listen carefully," Lambert growled in his lowest voice.

The traveller tensed, and Lambert could hear him sniffing the air. Fuck. Maybe it was an elf under that hood, then? Would explain the height. "I'm listening," replied a deep voice.

"You're gonna give me this horse and I'll let you live."

"Ok."

"What?"

"I said ok. I like living. You can have the horse."

[...]

"Oh, Fen... She, uh, she doesn't move for anyone but me."

"Then tell her to move!"

"She won't unless I lead her. She's... Well, she's got a massive attitude problem, to be honest. Always has. But it's kept us alive."

Lambert felt the panic begin to build. This was wasting time, but his boots were already fucked because he hadn't managed to get into the clothes stores. Resources like that were heavily guarded. "Fuck, fine, uh..." he swallowed, "lead her down the path, and I'll... I'll suck your dick."

"You'll suck my dick? A minute ago you were gonna pry my ribs open like a clam."

"Are you gonna accept or not?" Lambert bit out.

"Yeah, alright. One dick sucking for one ferry service. Um, but, if I can offer some constructive feedback, I should ride in front so we can move faster."

"Not a chance."

"You can keep the knife on me. Make sure I don't get any ideas."

"Don't mock me."

"Look, you're the one who tried to commandeer a useless horse, I'm just...'

"Fine, fuck, hurry up. Just..."

I wrote a heartbreaking section to explain how Lambert gets into the predicament. Why he's sneaking away, what he "told the others", but it comes with its own warnings. The writing crew seemed to enjoy this, so I'm going to poke at it a bit more.

I also really loved this Aiden? He was punchy, funny, but with an undercurrent of sadness, and a heart so big. Different to Forged Aiden, but with notable parallels.

[shadowglens]

fire + spring for sage & danger + on for alma please!! 💖

OC ASKS

fire: what’s one thing they’d destroy if they could, and why? would that destruction bring them any satisfaction or catharsis?

sage would destroy her ex husband if she could, would break him down until he was a begging sobbing mess at her feet before ending him for good. apart from that, i don’t think sage actively seeks to destroy anyone or anything all that often. she only has room for a few grudges or vendetta’s at a time, and both her slots are filled.

spring: what does your oc miss most? will they ever be reunited? how would they feel about that?

sage misses her dad and mourns the fact that he never got to see his granddaughter grown. there are other small things she misses about the world before too, like quiet autumn walks through the woods behind her childhood home or the few hours at the museum before the doors opened to the public, but she tries not to linger.

danger: what’s one thing that makes your oc angry? what’s their temper like? how do they respond to people who make them mad?

anger is an old friend of alma’s, and she has nursed a terrible temper since she was a young girl. she gets angry at the world, at her situation, at the cruelty of men, at the harshness of the law, at the bite of micah’s words and the passive cruelty of dutch’s. she gets angry that her found family was torn apart from the inside out and that she had to bury many of her friends. as she gets older she learns to temper her anger more, both as she gets wiser and also with the counsel of people like charles, but she was never meant to be a particularly calm-mannered person. she will always jump at injustice or cruelty like a viper rather than let it trample her like a lamb.

on: what’s the greatest challenge your oc has overcome? how do they feel about it?

learning to trust other people and accept dutch’s offer to join the gang was a big hurdle for alma, and one that took her a solid few weeks to overcome. even once she did join, she was still closed off and mistrustful for months, almost a year, before finding herself amongst them. she had been burned so many times before, and she spent a long time waiting for the ball to drop. 

apart from that, leaving the gang behind after rdr2 was very rough for alma as well. being on the road, alone, retracing her steps out west was difficult. it took a lot for her to turn around, and she still sometimes wonders what would’ve happened if she’d let herself walk away forever. nothing good, she’s sure.

[the-firebird69]

There are few things happening we only have a little over 3 weeks a couple days over 3 weeks to complete our project on Saturn and we really need to start pushing and we need to hire people like madness to try and rotate them in before the project is over and we need to start doing it now I know that we have teams organizing and we have team leaders and it's really going to be great but I'd like to urge people to try and make sure it's getting done and I thank you for your attention

Hera

We have just a few things to say we are doing the job we are getting people aligned and we are getting people on board of ours and big groups of us and it's starting to work pretty good we have huge projects we have giant numbers of personnel and today was a little bit better we need to do better here and we need personnel here I looked at the Manning chart and it was invisible we need people to sign on full-time and you need to have someone take your place if you go to some other duty we're going to make it mandatory have a heart is not working we need to strap in and get it done and request people who can do the job but if you need to transfer out we're requesting that you have your Co song for your slot that's all and what he's saying is the co is responsible to do that but it's going to be a team effort and we're going to send orders to that effect that someone has to find someone to do it this duty here is very difficult y you will not believe your eyes and ears when you see what they're doing it's insanity and they're crazy in their nasty and we need to fumigate really and we need to do it now it's a trick too they had him digging way out there and bja and it's to get the gas out and we don't think it was a pseudo empire either. They're going to meet these scheduled times and dates and this method is going on all over the world and they know that we would accept it just also something else happening someone's wondering if it's the empire how the engine's going on at the right time they did check on that and they're different engines I trained his on and it's a different times and troops are going after him and really this guy is a moron there's more news

-today some of Harrah's money moved and she says deliver a name they misspell it and he fixes it every time but she wants people to help her

Thor Freya

It was taken out of the Federal reserve building after the bank robbery through the roof by helicopter by clones and they went ahead and they moved it to another bank and that bank is not in Los Angeles or Mexico the bank is in Florida surprisingly enough and that's a lot of money so I checked it and it's $20,000 and she's going around blowing up money and there's too much cash in the system and the money came to the Federal reserve in Miami and they're sick and tired of this idiot lady but the clothes put it there no they were stopped. My husband is looking at Becca saying that her face is coming through I think and people think that she might be still in her body and he took a close look and said wow how long you been in there and she said I don't know I feel preserved or something and people know about that it's not the greatest and he just saw the serpent and arresting Dan again and the money is down there so they're in the show trying to get the money out of the Federal reserve in Miami and they're going to get their asses handed to them. So there's that going on and the money is sitting down there but there's a lot of people down there fighting

Hera Zues

Also there seems to be a lot of rude things are doing to each other and they're trying to threaten my husband with it and we're taking off their heads for it and we're getting rid of their people for it and it's working. We have a lot of stuff to announce but they're right on schedule and it's dropping now see all over the place slowly mostly gas comes out the holes and the wind is moving to the Southwest and it's hard to see but that's what it's doing Tommy f is trying to move me but he can't so he's going to be in trouble pretty soon I need demands diamonds and they say no a lot of them are taking out so not really sure what he's doing doesn't seem like much and I guess he's going to fight over the once in the Gulf which doesn't seem right but the pseudo empire takes an arms up already right away so you know it's still me and he was saying something but I'm back and there's more news and we're going to make an announcement now

-there isn't a fleet heating up again they cooled off a little now they're 1.5 billion heating up and it's this a****** next door who thinks he has something and he is giving up his sweet fleet and he thinks he's taking over they're full of him but he's losing and then going out there and they're going to lose he thinks he's infiltrating and is a loser which is fine we hate him he's a soft target now he's a soft and mushy a****** we need people to get him out now so I'm sending the order. I do hear our fleets already in and several more on the way and I thank you for that

Hera

Olympus we are heading out there with a significant Force this time we do understand what the delay was and we're going to make sure they're stopped and we're going to hit hard and fierce

[dutchvanwinkle]

The Curse of Valentine - Dutch x Reader

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day, here's some filth

ao3 link, if you prefer

Word Count: 5,182

Content Warnings: Smut, ghost hunting (?)

Summary: After a stressful few weeks, you spend Valentine's Day with Dutch - even if you hadn't initially planned to.

The past few weeks had been some of the most draining and exhausting of your life. It was a sentiment shared by most members of the gang, as they slowly got used to being back in a real camp once again. You were just thankful to be off that godforsaken mountain, and not have to wear triple layers and a big coat just so you could be warm enough to sleep. It didn’t help that you knew Dutch van der Linde was only a cabin away, with more than an abundance of warmth he could’ve shared with you...

It was sooner than you expected that your wish came true, and now home was a place called Horseshoe Overlook; one of your favourite camp spots in recent memory, but you’d never expect less when Hosea was the one to suggest the location. It was certainly colder than Blackwater, but warm enough that you could sit out in the fresh air and enjoy the gorgeous expanse of the view from camp as you read a book on one of the rocks littering the ridge.

Coming onto him at a time like that was a ridiculous idea, he was exhausted and stressed and the two of you had only just begun acting on your urges back in Blackwater before all that mess happened. It was all still fresh, lingering in that awkward stage where two people subtly try to figure out what the other wants and if it’s compatible with their own preferences. So, begrudgingly, you would instead wrap your furs around your shivering form and squeeze your eyes shut, desperately hoping to be residing in a warmer climate sooner rather than later.

Unfortunately, the ends of your fingertips were beginning to turn numb despite your gloves, and you accepted defeat as you trudged back to your shared tent with the girls to warm up once again. Taking a glance into Dutch’s tent as you passed, because how could you resist, you saw he was engrossed in whatever he was writing in that journal of his. Still too soon to bother him.

You were more than happy to wait for a better time, in fact, you were content with the idea that he’d make an advance on you once his troubles had reduced some. However, ignoring the spirit of love was proving more difficult that day, as the Valentine’s holiday had come around and caused all sorts of scenarios to flitter over your mind about how you’d celebrate such an occasion... all of them involving a certain outlaw between your thighs.

With a sigh not quite loud enough to reach anyone else’s ears, your perched yourself down beside Mary-Beth who was currently reading a book of her own.

“You’ll get nothing out of her,” Karen informed you between a drag of her cigarette, “got her head in the clouds more than usual today.”

Mary-Beth glanced up and narrowed her brow at the woman, closing her book but keeping a finger slotted between the pages she was on. “I do not.”

“How come?” you smirked, enjoying the tint of rouge dusting her cheeks.

She went to respond but was quickly interrupted by Karen. “Why d’you think? It’s Valentine’s Day, and the woman’s got her head in a twist over some curse.”

“But that’s just it, it’s Valentine’s Day and here we are... in Valentine! Even you can’t deny the romantics of it all, Karen,” she retorted, a dreamy lilt accompanying her tone.

You chuckled at the pair before turning your attention to Karen. “You said there’s a curse?”

“Yeah,” Karen nodded thoughtfully, “something to do with a massacre and the last surviving Indian cursing the county. But, I heard it from some woman who was a bit of an idiot so I’m not sure how credible it all is.”

The curse itself rang a bell, something you were sure you’d read about before. “Hold on,” you announced, pushing yourself up from the ground and meandering over to the nearby table where a discarded newspaper lay. You brought it back to the girls, flicking for what you were looking for. “Ah, here it is,” you cleared your throat and lay on your front over your bedroll, before reading the article aloud.

“The Curse of Valentine: A Haunting Spectacle

The town of Valentine has reported many strange sights and sounds in recent years, and residents speak of a curse that has fallen on the area. Spectral canoes have been seen on the water, and the cries of mourning Indian mothers have been heard at night. At other times, usually on windy, starlit evenings, piercing cries are heard from the distance.

Residents claim this is due to the Indian family murdered years ago with a treasure they had found. The reports are uncanny yet come from several sources, and the prevalence of Indian artifacts around town has only increased the locals' excitability."

“See Karen! I told you it was real,” Mary-Beth gloated, her eyes held wide from her overwhelming interest in it all.

“Just because it’s in the paper,” Karen drawled, “don’t mean it’s real. You believe in it?”

You shrugged as she looked to you. “It’s interesting, but... I suppose I’d like some sort of proof before I go believing fully.”

“Oh, the two of you are nearly as bad as Arthur,” Mary-Beth scoffed. “No imagination at all.”

“It’s not that, I’d just like to experience it for myself first. Maybe I’ll take a ride out later on and see if I can find anything,” you mused, not holding any belief you’d come across any evidence but desiring a ride out all the same. It’d been far too long a time with far too little excitement for your liking, having to lie low and keep your noses clean mostly in the comfort of camp.

“What are you ladies talking about?”

You weren’t sure how long Dutch had been listening in, but you startled slightly at him creeping up on you and turned your head to see him stood a couple of paces away, smoking on a cigar as his other hand rested on his gun belt.

“The curse of Valentine,” Karen mocked in a dramatic tone, waving her hand before flicking her cigarette ash into the ground and earning an agitated tut from Mary-Beth.

He tilted his head slightly, a confused expression forming behind the veil of smoke rising from his cigar.

“Apparently it's some sort of payback for a massacre,” you added, handing him the paper and watching as his eyes skimmed over the article before he released an amused huff.

“A curse? Sounds silly,” he remarked, passing the paper back to you.

You shrugged with a smirk as Mary-Beth scoffed. “No imagination, any of you,” she grumbled.

♡

The day passed like all the others preceding it had done, and once your chores were finished and you’d helped yourself to some stew you made your way over to the horses. You hadn’t completely decided whether or not you were going to look into the curse, if there was any motivation for doing so it was borne from the utter boredom you were feeling, but it was a nice evening and you didn’t want to waste it. The air had become slightly warmer and with the dashes of pink that bled into the orange of the slowly darkening sky above, it wasn’t lost on you how romantic the world looked.

After your horse was saddled up and ready save for the minor adjustments you were making on the stirrups, a small cough came from behind you and you turned to see Dutch announcing his presence.

“I’m not sure ghost hunting will pay too well,” he commented, clapping a hand to your horse’s neck and you felt relieved to hear the playful lilt in his voice that had been dampened for some time.

“Well, I’ll find out if it does and be sure to give camp its share,” you teased, placing your foot in the saddle and swinging your other leg round. Dutch eyed you for a moment, before dropping his hand and moving over to The Count, already saddled and allowing him to mount up straight away. You quirked your brow at him.

“If you’re going to investigate a curse, I don’t think you should be going alone.”

You snorted. “I thought you didn’t believe in curses.”

“Perhaps not, but I also don’t believe a young lady should be going out alone to investigate so late in the day. Besides, I’ve been cooped up here for far too long and could use a distraction.”

You shrugged, readying your reins and knowing full well that you had no room to question Dutch either way; he certainly needed a leisurely ride out more than you did. Plus, his company was something you could never say no to. “If you say so. I don’t think ghosts or spirits are affected by bullets though.”

“Then let us hope we don’t find any,” he said before guiding his horse away from the hitching post.

The ride was more enjoyable than you expected, the two of you taking in the scenery and chatting about various goings-on within camp or books you’d read recently. Even when the conversation fell flat, there was no tension or expectation to fill the silence and you could enjoy the scenery with ease. As the sky darkened faster than you expected, you watched him relax more into his saddle and thought fondly of how good it felt to see him at ease, more so when it was in your presence alone. The journey brought you to a nearby lake and you couldn’t resist scanning the waters for any spectral activity.

“I’m starting to believe you want there to be a curse,” Dutch remarked.

“Well... it’s interesting, is all.”

“Life as an outlaw not interesting enough for you?”

“Sure it is, but we’ve been laying low for a while and my feet are getting itchy.”

“Well, no canoes tonight unfortunately.”

“I didn’t expect you to take this so seriously,” you chuckled, bringing your horse to a stop and leaning forward to take in the view.

“I always like to investigate leads fully, curses and train robberies alike,” he quipped, stopping beside you and mirroring your posture.

“You never know, I suppose,” you smiled, watching the moon and stars dance on the water and wondering if there was any way they could've be mistaken for a canoe.

“Yes, you never know.” Dutch’s low, suggestive voice brought you from your reverie and you turned to look at him as he gazed at you, and noticed a familiar fondness in his eyes. The corners of his lips upturned and you felt the heat rise on your cheeks despite the growing wind in the air, and it didn’t take long for you to have to break the eye contact that accompanied his intimidating presence.

You brushed a hand through your horse’s mane just to give yourself something to do, as you could still feel his attention on you, when you heard a faint cry in the distance. You straightened up and Dutch did the same, the two of you sharing a concerned glance before wordlessly deciding to check out the source of the noise.

Hesitantly trotting along the lake, you craned your neck around for any signs of a person in distress but slumped your shoulders a little when the noise didn’t sound again and you weren’t sure which direction to continue in. You were about to voice this to Dutch when the cry rang out again, louder than before but this time coming from where you’d just been.

“What the hell?” Dutch murmured, looking behind at the empty land and absentmindedly resting his free hand over his revolver.

You turned your horse and began moving towards the cry, hoping there wasn’t a poor person in danger nearby. Dutch let out a noise of apprehension before following your lead and your pace was slower this time as you moved closer to the sound. In half the time it had taken between the first and second cry, a third one sounded once again from the same direction as the first, slightly louder than its predecessor.

“Perhaps we should get off this trail,” Dutch said, his voice cracking slightly at the end.

“Getting scared, Dutch?” you teased and his face hardened for a moment as he threw you a glare. “Fine,” you agreed, not wanting the evening to turn into a stressful one, “let’s go.”

Turning ninety degrees, you rode back up the embankment until you reached the road and began travelling towards the direction of camp. Dutch relaxed beside you after a few minutes of riding, but tensed once again and sped up at the sound of yet another cry, this one thankfully quieter than all the others and originating from the spot you just vacated.

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” you remarked and as Dutch arrived at a fork, he took the opposite road to the one that led back to camp. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t fancy being out here for longer than I have to be,” he asserted and you kicked your horse gently to keep pace with him.

“Where are we going?”

Your question was answered eventually when you reached a small cabin, one that truthfully didn’t look much more inviting than the dark lake you’d previously visited but you copied Dutch in hitching your house outside and following him in.

Once inside, he released a sigh from his chest and rubbed at the back of his neck and you leaned up on a nearby table while he began searching the room. “Dutch?”

He ignored you, finally finding what he was looking for and lighting a lantern he found to illuminate the room and give it an inviting glow. The place was abandoned, but clean and tidy considering the fact and had a quaint sort of charm about it. “That’s better,” he sighed, relief filtering into his voice.

“Are you okay?” you asked with genuine concern, stepping forward to place your hand on his upper arm.

He nodded and met your gaze finally, relaxing further and rolling his shoulders. “I don’t like that sort of thing, gives me the creeps.”

You couldn’t help but chuckle lightly, the man was fearless in almost every situation you’d seen him in but an old wife's tale had managed to spook him to the point of needing to seek some sort of comfort in the light of a lantern and shelter of a house.

“Find that funny, do you?” he turned to face you head-on, raising his eyebrows as the usual strong demeanour he carried everywhere filtered back into his aura.

You bit your bottom lip to keep your laughter at bay and shook your head minimally.

He smirked slightly, pleased with your reaction as his eyes glanced down to your lips. You hadn’t realised his hand was moving towards you until his fingertip made contact with the base of your neck and slowly traced up your windpipe. He paused at the underside of your chin, applying pressure and you tilted your head up obediently so that the only thing you could look at was the darkness of his eyes.

Now it was your turn to feel nervous.

The pad of his thumb grazed your bottom lip, pulling it from between your teeth until your lips parted slightly and you tried not to show signs of the tenseness that had accumulated in your body. You knew it was lost on Dutch to try and hide such an emotion, he was usually quick to notice and often relished in finding it, always taking pride in knowing how easily he can bring you to a point of weakness.

Thankfully, he decided to be kind and not taunt you this time if he did notice it, which you suspect he did. Instead, his thumb dropped off your lip and landed on your chin, providing him with a grip on your face that he used to pull you towards him and attach your lips to his.

His touch was cold yet soft, and you sighed into the contact until he pulled away. His hold on your chin transmuted into a hand on your cheek and you leaned into it while he brushed his thumb over your cheekbone. You slipped your hands inside his coat until they found his waist and you urged him closer, to which he obliged and a strand of his hair fell from the cluster of pomaded curls that were pushed back on his head. He looked gorgeous like this, content and right on the brink of his undoing.

The hand on your face roamed to the back of your head, pulling you in again with more force than last time into a kiss that also harboured more force, hinting at his growing arousal and impatience to touch and taste and feel you. The second hint at his growing arousal was in the form of his hardening length pressing against you now that your frames were touching, and you couldn’t resist bringing one of your hands down to brush over it and palm him over his trousers.

He sucked in a breath at the contact and pulled his head back, and for a moment you wondered if you’d been too hasty. “Hold on,” he murmured, releasing you completely and turning to the toom. “I wonder if...” he trailed off as he peered into the cupboards, a satisfied smile gracing his lips when he reached up into one and pulled out a few candles. Your worries diffused as you watched him place them around the room and light them. He always enjoyed having some lit, claiming they provide a calming atmosphere and you couldn’t help but agree.

Once finished, he seated himself down on the bed and motioned to you with a curl of his finger. “Come.”

You didn’t hesitate in ambling towards him, aiming to look nonchalant but suspecting you’d failed at that too. He parted his thighs for you to step between and brought his hands to your hips, holding them as a pleased hum came from him and his eyes raked down your form. “I ever tell you how perfect you are?”

For a man with standards so high, perfect wasn’t a word he said often. So to hear him use it, about none other than yourself, was a shock to your system and you could only shake your head. He nodded thoughtfully at your reaction, placing a kiss in the centre of your upper abdomen. “I’ll be sure to mention it more often.”

His hands brushed up your flank as his lips trailed down your stomach, the cold hair hitting your skin now that your shirt had risen and caused an involuntary shiver to pass through you. “I’ll soon get you warmed up,” he murmured against your skin.

One of his hands left your side and journeyed down to rest beneath your thighs, giving your ass a gentle squeeze on its way. It began moving towards your centre, led by his thumb, but Dutch paused as a thought occurred to him and he looked up at you. “You’re quiet today, my dear.”

You blushed at the endearment, loving how smoothly it rolled off his tongue and graced your ears. Just hearing Dutch speak was enough to get you going sometimes, that commanding tone of his felt almost too special to be used here, just for you.

“I -” you sighed, and were comforted by the gentle back and forth of his hand rubbing your back. “I know things have been tough on you recently. I just wanted...” you cleared your throat of the embarrassment creeping up it, “... to be good.”

He arched a brow, and you could almost see the scenarios passing through his head. “Good?” he sampled the word on his tongue, contemplating it before dropping his gaze back between your legs. “Good, for me?”

“Mhm,” you nodded almost shyly.

He chuckled warmly, and thankfully you knew he wasn’t laughing at you. “Aren’t you a sweet thing.”

With that, his thumb grazed over your slit and you gasped softly, prompting him to reach his hand under your skirt to get closer to your warmth. The sensation increased with just your undergarments separating the skin-to-skin contact and you rolled your hips into his touch.

“That’s it, ride my hand,” he cooed, spurring you on to chase that feeling until he replaced his thumb with an index finger, sliding your garments out the way to allow him access. The sound that accompanied the intrusion of his finger gave a signal to just how wet you were, even though both parties were already more than aware.

You ran your hands into his curls as he slowly opened you up, thanking him for causing the eruption of tingles all over your body. “Dutch,” you breathed, “feels good.”

With your approval of his ministrations, he added a second finger and you tipped your head back at the delightful fullness. He continued to loosen you, pumping his fingers as his other hand reached up and cupped your breast under your shirt before rolling your nipple between his fingertips. You gripped at his hair as your breaths became short once he began curling his digits inside you, hitting that sweet spot that caused your knees to buckle.

Reality hit when you remembered that you wanted to make him feel good, and you brought a hand to hold his forearm and his motions stopped while his fingers remained sheathed inside you. “Wait,” you managed to stutter and he looked up at you curiously. Against your better judgement, you convinced his arm down until his fingers slid out and you moved around him to lie back on the bed.

He watched as you slowly parted your legs and hitched up your skirt, the rise and fall of your chest not calming thanks to the anticipation of what awaited. You reached out to him and he soon intertwined his fingers with yours, prompting you to sit up when he got the hint and sat on his knees between your legs. You glanced at his cock straining in his trousers, much more neglected than you liked to admit and began unbuttoning. He assisted you by kneeling up and pulling his trousers down to free himself, and once you’d gotten a look at it you were keen to wrap your hand around his thick shaft.

A moan broke from his lips as you began jerking him slowly, watching how his foreskin pulled back to reveal the leaking head on each turn.

“You like my cock, girl?” he asked, running a hand through your hair and gazing down at you with an expectant yet appreciative look in his eyes.

You nodded dumbly, positively infatuated with what currently filled your hand. “Please, fuck me with it,” you blurted, but Dutch appeared to find it seductive and swallowed thickly. He didn’t hesitate to put his hands on your shoulders and push you down until you were pinned to the bed. With your hands now free, you used the opportunity to unbutton his shirt and Dutch had to release you to shuck it off, but it gave you a chance to remove your shirt too and expose your breasts for his viewing pleasure.

And view them he did through half-lidded eyes, and you could see just how much he desired this, the stress of the past few weeks melting away with every inch of your skin he cast his attention to.

You knew what he needed.

Lowering yourself down once more, you relaxed into the cot and your role for the night. You were his little plaything, just what he could use to release all that pent up anxiety by using you as he pleased.

“You can take it out on me,” you informed him. This time around, your voice was soft, confident, and level.

His eyes widened before they dropped between your legs to look at your dripping cunt. His tongue darted out across his lips and you weren’t sure if he was in control of his movements anymore, those big hands of his gripping at the underside of your thighs to push your knees further towards you. A growl released from his chest as he positioned himself, his fingertips tightening more around your flesh the closer his cock came to your entrance.

The path wasn’t interrupted when his head made contact, instead it became smoother once he had your wetness to slide into. And slide he did, all the way in until hipbones nestled against your ass and he dropped his head back while releasing a breath of ecstasy; finally finding that release he didn’t know how much he needed.

His shoulders rose and dropped as he took a long breath, similar to those he took after the first drag of a cigar following a particularly high-risk job. His eyes opened to look at the ceiling before his head tilted forward and his focus dropped to you, the only thing that could give him exactly what he was looking for. Right now, all that mattered was you.

The growl from his chest was animalistic, a low reverb in its undertone. His eyes too were sharp and focused on you as his hands squeezed your hips, moulding you into exactly what he desired.

“Still feeling brave?” he teased and you nodded fervently. “Good girl.”

He slipped his cock out inch by agonising inch until only the head remained, and you felt your walls tighten as your body’s way of urging him to fill you. He had no intention of doing otherwise, taking a brief pause before slamming back in. You cried out, the surge of pain from the hit to your cervix soon dissolving to a pleasure unlike anything you’d ever felt. Your cunt was soaking, aching for him and even with the preparation from his fingers, you couldn’t believe quite how big he was or how you’d managed to take him in such a crude manner.

He repeated the motion, clinging to your hips and holding you in place at just the angle he wanted you. “Dutch,” you moaned, unable to form any words that weren’t his name as he became your entire vocabulary.

“That’s it,” he grunted, slamming in again, “you take me so damn well.”

You nodded weakly in agreement as he slammed in once more, and he altered the position of his hands so one grounded him to the bed and the other could grope whatever part of your body he desired. He opted for your breast, squeezing your nipple as he leaned forward and the slight change in angle made you whimper.

He began relentlessly pounding into you like a man starved, each thrust of his hips pumping out that tension in his body bit by bit. Your eyes fluttered shut as your fingertips danced up his tense forearms, feeling through the hairs that complimented him nicely.

“Fuck,” he hissed, you knew he was getting tired. You wrapped your legs around him as a gentle motivation.

“I’m close,” you choked, tears of pleasure welling in your eyes as you looked back at him.

He gritted his teeth in response, moving his hand from your breast to your thigh to provide some leverage and pull himself further in, if that was even possible. “You gonna come all over my cock, sweetheart?”

“Yes,” you panted, “please.”

The following few thrusts were all it took, your orgasm washing over you in a tidal wave of pleasure and your head fell back as you arched off the bed and stars peppered your vision when you held your eyes shut. Dutch’s cock pulled out of you harshly and when you tipped your head forward, you could see why.

Just in time, you watched as he gripped himself while his cum shot out and landed on you in spurts. His head craned upwards as his eyes shut while he released his signature over the canvas of your body, now littered with small bruises and marks that would surely show up in the morning. You looked down at yourself, a mess covered completely in him.

A few deep breaths later and his shoulders relaxed, and he looked down at you with a pleased smile. “You look good like that,” he mused.

You breathed a laugh, blinking your eyes as the post-orgasmic bliss began to take over and let yourself gaze over his sweaty, muscular form. His body angled away from you, but soon returned with a rag in hand to wipe away the spend he’d coated you with, the gentleness of it all miles away from the brutality of the fucking he’d just given you.

It took you a moment to realise the whine in the air had come from you when he moved off the bed, and he chuckled tiredly after tucking himself away. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

You had no choice but to trust him, you doubted you’d ever be able to peel yourself from your current spot and wouldn’t be surprised if you’d lost the ability to walk. You would’ve probably fallen asleep within minutes, had Dutch not returned with a small box in his hands. He made himself comfy beside you, leaning on his elbow and clearing his throat as he held it towards you.

“Happy Valentine’s Day.”

You looked at him in faint disbelief, raising your eyebrows to soften your expression as you tentatively took the box from him. “I didn’t realise I was your valentine.”

“You don’t want to be?”

“No, I -” you paused, thinking that actions would be a better choice than words at this moment. You leaned over, planted a kiss on his cheek and smiled. “Thank you... you really didn’t have to.”

“Are you going to open it?”

You huffed, still disbelieving he wanted you as his valentine, let alone going to the trouble of getting you a gift. Lifting the lid with care, you were greeted with a pair of gold earrings that held beautiful red garnets in their centres. “Dutch, this is... way too much,” you swallowed, glancing at his hopeful expression before looking back at them. “They’re amazing.”

His smile beamed, all the more delightful to look at now the stress was gone from his face. Truthfully, he could’ve handed you a box of coal and you were sure the warmth in your chest would’ve still made itself known.

“It’s hardly like we’re... you know...” you mumbled, holding up the earrings in your hand to get a better look.

“You think after that, I’m going to let anyone else have you?” he huffed, bringing his hand to rest on your waist. “You’ve put yourself in a dangerous position here, miss,” he eyed you playfully before kissing your temple and you chuckled girlishly.

Dangerous? Perhaps. But at that moment, you couldn’t think of any other position you’d rather be in; however, you were certain Dutch would have you in several other positions in the weeks to come following this particular excursion.

[captains-simp]

Yelena Belova + Fake dating Au!! pls 🥲 :)

I've been waiting for someone to pick the fake dating one *fist pumps air* I'm gonna combine this with your other request if that's okay

"I think I'm inlove with you."

Warnings: shitty family and homophobia

7.7k words

A/n: if y'all want me to do this oneshot again but with Wanda (cos I'm a lazy hoe) just lemme know 👀 I think it would work pretty well 👀

[ masterlist ]

Buy me a coffee ☕

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Pleeaasse, Lena." You pouted once again. You had been begging Yelena for the favour for an hour now; her stubborness was proving hard to overcome.

"I'm busy." Yelena said, her accent strong as she walked around her appartment to collect things for her next mission.

"But will you be busy on the 10th?" You asked from the couch where you watched her disappear into various rooms as she talked.

"I thought you said it was a few days." Yelena quipped, seemingly only giving you half her attention.

"It is." You confirmed with some hope.

"So I'd need to clear my schedule for more than just the 10th." You huffed and rested your head on the back of couch.

"Yes you would. I'm sure Natasha can manage without you for a few days."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." She muttered.

"Please, Lena." You tried. "I need a win." Yelena stopped by the kitchen counter and gave you a long, considering look. You had long given up on your puppy dog eyes and instead copied her expression as you chewed on your bottom lip.

"I'll think about it." Yelena finally said before grabbing something from the cupboard.

It was the best response you had gotten all night and you knew you wouldn't get anything more. So you accepted it and hoped for the best.

Your parents had invited you to their cabin for a few days just like they did every year. It was a beautiful place. You could spend your whole visit in the forest along the back. Or swimming in the clear lake that was a short walk away. The cabin itself was the cosiest place you had ever been and had been where some of your best memories had happened as a kid.

As you got older things changed. Being around your family, especially your parents, wasn't as enjoyable. They had high expectations for their children, expectations that your siblings had met without a problem but ones that you had struggled with.

You enjoyed your life. You had the kind of relationships you had always hoped for, you loved your job and you had the perfect balance of the two. But you could never shake the feeling that you had failed.

Your brother was a surgeon who always told you all stories of the lives he saved and the close calls he had swooped in to save people from. One of your sisters was some hot shot lawyer who had done great things like help people wrongly convicted but still put dangerous people back on the street. And your other sister was the CEO of an energy company that you never quite understood. They even all had equally successful partners who loved to talk about themselves as much as your siblings did. You didn't have any of that. But you did have Yelena.

Knowing the Avengers was the only thing about you your family took interest in. They were always subtly hinting at wanting to meet your friends. But you knew the Avengers had to endure enough fan service and didn't want to push your family onto them, especially with how annoying they all were.

However as your family's unrealistic expectations reached their all time high you were sure you wouldn't be able to handle another trip with them without a win, and you were far too petty to take the moral high ground and just not go. Not to mention that was a huge part of you that was dying to see what the Yelena girlfriend experience would entail. Yep, that was what you were asking of Yelena. To pretend to be your partner for the duration of the trip.

"When are you going?" You asked, changing the subject in hopes that Yelena wouldn't suddenly conclude she didn't want to do it (then you really would have to ask one of the others).

You knew it wasn't a smart choice. That if Yelena agreed your crush on her could get out of hand. You knew you would end up getting too caught up in the act. You could have, no - should have - asked Natasha or Wanda or even Carol if she was around. But your family knew you were the closest with Yelena and she would be the one it felt the most natural with, and the most believable. At least, that was what you told Yelena.

"Tomorrow." Yelena answered, keeping her focused tone.

"When will you be back?" You attempted to keep the concern out of your voice but the glance Yelena gave you told you you hadn't done a good job.

"The day after." She said, softer this time. You nodded as you looked down at your lap and tried not to think about everything that could possibly go wrong on her mission.

"Be safe." Yelena strolled over to you and placed her hand gently ontop of yours and gave it a quick squeeze.

"Always."

¤

"Got any plans Saturday night?" Natasha smirked knowingly at her friend as they preped for their mission.

"No." Yelena replied as she slotted a spare gun into her leg harness.

"Nothing with y/n then?" Nat asked, partly genuinely but mostly knowing Yelena would still say no.

"No." Yelena said again, biting the inside of her cheek in consideration before speaking again. "Not this Saturday."

Natasha raised an eyebrow in surprise and interest. Yelena rarely made any kind of special plans with you as you would always hang out casually so it was never anything fancy or different that needed planning. She had always wanted to though.

"Plans for another time?" Nat continued as she double checked her pack.

"Maybe, I'm still thinking about it." The redhead turned fully to her friend at her words, confused at why Yelena was hesitant to spend time with you. "She wants me to go to the cabin with her and her family." Nat had heard all about the infamous cabin and your family.

"That sounds fun." Nat nodded. The cabin sounded fun. Your family did not.

"As her girlfriend." Nat's eyes widened excitedly but before she could speak Yelena clarified. "Her pretend girlfriend."

Nat paused and looked as though she was going to speak for several seconds until she stuck to just giving a confused look.

"Yeah." Yelena sighed. "Thinks it would seem impressive." Yelena had tried not to be hurt over that. She knew you weren't just friends with her to show her off to people, because you never did. But it hurt her to think the only time you could see her in a romantic way was when you were pretending.

"Well," Nat muttered as she adjusted the zip along the front of her catsuit. "Fake it till you make it." It was Yelena's turn to give Nat a questioning look. "Maybe it'll be an eye opener for her."

"You think I should do it?" Yelena asked, fully open to hearing and accepting her friend's advice in that area.

"Definelty." Nat confirmed. She wasn't sure about it for the reasons she said though. Yelena's crush on you was obvious to everyone except you, just as it was vice versa.

¤

You had been overjoyed when Yelena told you she would come with you to the cabin and play along as your girlfriend. She had told you when she came back from her mission, in fact it was the first thing she said after she had let herself into your appartment.

It was never really brought up after that, but you couldn't deny you were incredibly anxious on the week leading up to the visit.

On the drive up to the cabin you and Yelena stayed in a comfortable silence most of the time, clearly both lost in thought. You had the radio on for background noise more than anything else, but you would occasionally lightly tap the steering wheel if there was a tune you recognised, oblivious to Yelena's acknowledging smiles.

"So what's the plan?" Yelena asked as she looked at you expectantly. Right, of course the spy wanted a strategy.

"Keep things simple, I guess. They know how we met already so we can just say at some point we took things a step further than friendship." Yelena didn't seem convinced at the simplicity of that. "Look they're not going to want to hear about us, not much at least. They prefer the sound of their own voices, they'll be trying to impress you is all."

"Impress me?" Yelena asked.

"Yeah, hope you warm up to them so one day they can invite you to their snobby parties." Yelena chuckled as she glanced out of the window, knowing there was a lot of truth to what you said.

"And what are those like?" She enquired curiously.

"I wouldn't know, I've never been invited." You said simply. You had gotten over that a long time ago, gotten used to being forgotten. Yelena clearly hadn't though.

"It will be an honour to turn them down." Yelena said. You shook your head and smiled at her. That did sound pretty nice.

When the cabin came into sight between the trees your nerves spiked. You figited in your seat and bit your lip when you saw some of your family gathered outside, their attention instantly on you. You shot Yelena a quick smile which she returned before you got out of the car.

"Y/n! So nice of you to come." You mum said as her eyes flickered to Yelena more than you. She opened her arms for the shortiest hug in human history before turning to Yelena. "You must be Yelena, we've heard so much." You mum insisted as she brought Yelena in for a hug too.

The blonde raised her eyebrows at you over your mum's shoulder and you bite back a laugh. The others came over to greet you and mainly Yelena in a rush, overwhelming both of you.

"You too will be in the upstairs bedroom on the left." Your mum told you as you went to grab your bags. You did a double take, convinced you had heard her wrong. That was the best room in the house. A big difference from being in the small room in the basement every other time you had been there.

"First one on the left." Your dad confirmed. There was no way your parents were going to be in the basement so you wondered who else had been moved around but didn't ask, knowing whoever it was wasn't going to be happy.

You and Yelena made your way up to the room and you couldn't help but smile at the sight of the spacious room and the door you knew led to your en suite.

"That was...a lot." Yelena summarised as she said her bag under the bed.

"I would tell you it gets better but I don't want to get your hopes up." You sighed as you got a couple of things out.

"It's just a few days." Yelena said despite the fact you should have been assuring her.

"Yeah." You nodded and stared down at the floor. "Now c'mon." You suddenly said as you took ahold of Yelena's hand and laced your fingers together. You missed the startled blush that crept onto her cheeks when you turned around.

Your family were sat outside whispering amongst themselves when you returned. Their interested gaze fell to your entwined hands in an instant.

"So you work with the Avengers?" Your brother, Dalton, said as soon as you both sat down.

"I do." Yelena said as she continued to hold onto your hand.

"Must be crazy, what are they like?" He enquired.

"They're good." Yelena said simply. Everyone clearly expected something more but Yelena pretended not to notice making you smile.

"I almost did business with Stark once, decided against it in the end." Claire announced proudly. You and Yelena exchanged knowing glances. Stark had told you all about his encounter with your sister, it definetly wasn't her turning him down.

"I was invited to one of his parties." Anna said quickly. "I was busy that night unfortunately."

Bull. Shit.

"Yes I remember working with Doctor Strange when he was still in the medical profession." You gave Yelena an I-told-you-so look as your family erupted into conversation over who had the most contact with the heroes. That had to be a new record of how quickly they started talking about themselves.

They continued like that until your mum called everyone in for dinner. The food smelt undeniably amazing as you took your place at the table next to Yelena and eyed the dishes infront of you. Your parents efforts to impress the blonde weren't all that bad.

Your family continued to catch up and and you and Yelena half listened as you ate. They were all doing as well for themselves as ever and still hadn't learnt any modesty.

Although you were proud of your siblings for what they had all achieved, Yelena had stopped four potentially devastating bombs going off in the space of half an hour a week before but she wasn't going to bring that up anytime soon. Eventually though, the attention turned to you to bring you out of your silence.

"And you're still working in that little café, y/n?" Your mum asked curiously.

"I own it, mum." You corrected quietly as you stabbed some pieces on your plate.

"Ah yes, quite the contrast though, isn't it. Between you two." She said as she pointed at you and Yelena with her fork. You didn't say anything to that because you felt there really wasn't anything to say in response. It wasn't like you hadn't thought that exact thing every now and then.

"The team loves it." Yelena said suddenly making everyone, including you, look at her in slight surprise from speaking up. It hadn't taken your family long to learn Yelena wasn't much of a talker, not to them anyway. You couldn't get her to shut up half the time. "At least one of us goes everyday. If we're lucky we all can. Nothing beats it." She defended simply before turning back to her food to show she wasn't going to say anymore. You smiled down at your plate at her words and the truth of them.

No one said anything in response, clearly shocked from this new information until Dalton spoke up.

"But doesn't Stark like fancy, top of the line, restaurants? I can't imagine him in some random coffee shop, no offence sis." He nodded towards you though you knew he didn't mean it. He couldn't let you have just one win.

"That random coffee shop has catered some of Stark's parties. Not that many though." A smug smile crept onto Dalton's face as he opened his mouth to make a snarky remark but Yelena cut him down again. "Because y/n's invited to the rest as a guest and a close friend." Your family stared at you with open mouths.

"You've been invited to Stark's parties?!" Anna exclaimed. In your defence, your family never wanted to hear about your life so you never got the chance to tell them anything.

"It's not really my crowd." You shrugged. "I just go to hang out with them after." Dalton's jaw clenched in annoyance and he didn't say anything for the rest of dinner. It was only really your mum who kept talking. Telling everyone about her latest travels that fell on death ears.

It was certainly a first for your family.

When everyone had finished their food you and Yelena excused yourselves and said goodnight before retiring to your room. Yelena shut the door gently as you collapsed onto the bed on your back and glared at the ceiling. The blonde shuffled around quietly to get her toothbrush and toothpaste and some other things you weren't really paying attention to and went into the bathroom.

When she came back out she was in her bedclothes and lifted your feet off the floor to turn you so you could fully lay on the bed. You smiled at her weakly.

"You should go get changed." Yelena said as she got her laptop out her bag. "Then you can pick a movie." She announced when she had gotten under the covers and started her laptop. You smiled more and nodded.

You tried not to think about your family and everything they had said at dinner as you got changed but it proved difficult. Everything they had said echoed around in your head but most of all you couldn't shake the disregarding ways they said it. It was as though you could do no right with them. Maybe they would never be proud no matter what you did.

You placed your toothbrush back I'm the holder and rinsed your mouth before heading back into the bedroom to an awaiting Yelena.

You got under the covers next to her and rested your head on her shoulder as you glanced at the Netflix screen and pointed to one of the comedy movies. About ten minutes into the movie Yelena spoke. "You okay?" She whispered as she continued to look at the screen although that wasn't where her focus was.

"Yeah." You whispered back.

"Promise?" She said after a second." You moved your head away so you could see Yelena clearly.

"I'm so glad you're here." You said honestly. She smiled and nodded as her eyes searched yours.

"I'm glad I'm here too." You knew Yelena wasn't glad she had to spend the time with your family. She was glad that she could support you despite their efforts to bring you down. You were incredibly lucky to have her.

You rested your head back on her shoulder and neither of you spoke for the rest of the movie. Or the rest of the night. You must have fallen asleep about half an hour in.

*

Yelena wasn't much of an intimate person. She made the odd exception with you and Natasha, but always seemed to refrain or hold herself back from being too close to you. So when you woke up and couldn't tell where your limbs started and Yelena's ended, you were surprised to say the least.

You were resting your head on her rising chest and had your arm slung across her stomach. Your legs were tangled together and her arms were holding onto your waist. A warmth spread through you and you decided to settle back into her hold and closed your eyes with a content smile.

You had about ten minutes to enjoy that before Yelena woke up. You could feel the moment she realized you were so close, she physically froze. You waited in anticipation for something for several moments until your friend very slowly unhooked her legs and guided your body to lay against the mattress and pillows as she slipped out of bed towards the bathroom.

You sighed when you heard the door close and rubbed your eyes slowly, knowing you should get up but wishing more than anything that you could return to how you woke up.

"Morning." Yelena croaked when she left the bathroom and saw you sitting up in bed.

"Morning." You said back with a smile and tried not to focus on how ridiculously attractive her voice sounded.

You gathered some random clothes into a bundle and went into the bathroom to change again and brush your teeth. When you came out Yelena was pulling her shirt over her head and gave you a generous view of her toned stomach. Your face heated up when you saw it and you turned away to pretend you hadn't seen when Yelena noticed you.

"Don't make a sound." Yelena warned. You glanced up at her with some confusion. "I don't think your family's awake yet, that means we get the kitchen to ourselves." She grinned and you did too.

You and Yelena had gotten so used to getting up early for your jobs you forgot other people would still be sleeping. It was hard to break out of the habit but it proved useful.

The pair of you made a quick breakfast and ate it outside thanks to the warm weather even at that time. But soon enough your parents came downstairs and ruined the peaceful atmosphere with the clanging of pots and loud convosations.

You wandered around the side of the house and saw the old table tennis table that bad been folded away years ago and hadn't been set up since. You went over and started setting it up when Yelena joined you and eyed the table with a glimmer of mischief.

The blonde was the most competitive person you had ever met, you learnt that over a simple game of snakes and ladders years ago.

"You played this before?" You asked convosationally.

"I have." She said as you both automatically took up your positions of opposite ends of the table.

"Me too." You said confidently. "A lot." Yelena hummed in acknowledgment and swivelled her bat in her hand and stood ready. You smiled at her seriousness for the game.

You served surprisingly well for someone who hadn't played in a few years and Yelena was able to hit it back with ease. Once you had developed a steady pace you started hitting the ball more daringly to Yelena who was caught off guard before she started doing the same.

The moment you missed the ball a smug grin started on Yelena's face, her arrogance stopped her being aware of you suddenly sending the ball back her way until it was too late.

"That wasn't fair!" She exclaimed childishly.

"That was tables tennis." You said seriously but started smiling again. Yelena rolled her eyes and flipped you off as she trudged back to the table and served the ball with force. You managed to send it back but took a step away from the table in caution.

You continued like that for a while. The competition tension rising as you picked up the pace, one of you occasionally getting a point before the other evened it out.

At one point you were vaguely aware of Dalton sauntering over to see what you were doing and arched his brow at the sight of the table.

"We still have this thing?" He questioned and you hummed quietly in response, too focused on the game.

"Hey Claire! Get over here, we're playing table tennis." You rolled your eyes at the intrusive and could sense Yelena refraining from doing the same until an idea popped into your head.

You caught the ball in your hand and smiled at Yelena's protests as you moved round to her side of the table just as your sister came out.

"I didn't even know we still had this." Claire laughed as she picked up another bat from the box.

"Maybe we should take it back with us." Yelena whispered to you and you bit your lip to contain your smile because yes, yes you should. Inevitably, your siblings sucked at table tennis.

You had suspected as much you just never thought they would be as bad as they were. They missed almost every hit and everytime they did they got increasingly angry, which meant they ended up flaring their arms around like idiots. It was a memory you would be sure to treasure.

"Stupid game" and "probably broken" kept echoing across the table until your siblings finally stormed off to throw a tantrum.

The rest of the day went by quietly. You and Yelena sat by the lake for most of the afternoon to enjoy the sun and heat. You reveled in the most recent memories of your siblings embarrassment and had to keep hushing down to childish whispered whoever one of them was nearby.

Surprisingly, dinner went by peacefully too. You weren't asked anymore questions at the table. Instead, your family were content with talking about their upcoming plans between stealing glances at you and Yelena that the blonde never failed to notice.

The pair of you slipped off to your room the first moment you got and easily fell into bed besides one another. Yelena picked out a horror movie instantly making you groan into her shoulder as she giggled.

She settled down beside you and within the first few jumpscares she slowly wrapped an arm around your shoulder so you could sink into her further. You were barely paying attention to the film after that.

Despite the chilling scenes of the film, you couldn't help but want to melt under the warmth of your best friend. You hoped it was something you got to experience more, you felt safer than you ever had in Yelena's arms.

Little did you know that having you in her arms was the most comforting feeling Yelena had ever experienced.

*

You had thought waking up in Yelena's arms the morning before had been the best thing to awake to. But that day when you woke up not only were your legs tangled together again but the blonde was slowly stroking your hair while your head rested on her chest. It was a gradual gesture that maintained a perfect rhythm and made you want to fall back asleep. But you were afraid you would mistake it for a dream later on. No, it was definitely real.

Luckily, your head was already tilted upwards slightly so when you secretly opened your eyes to risk a peek at your friend you saw her staring out the window as though she was in a trance. She was clearly so deep in thought she hadn't noticed you wake up, you had never seen her like it. But the feeling was too good to ignore, too compelling.

Soon enough, you found yourself drifting off back to sleep.

*

When you woke up again Yelena was gone. Her absence left am emptiness you knew wasn't good for you. As the days of your visit went on your fake relationship with Yelena was going to effect you even more when it was over.

Over...you couldn't think about that.

Once you got up and got changed you found Yelena in the kitchen looking at the news on her phone as she sipped her coffee.

"Morning, honey." You grinned. Yelena blushed slightly into her coffee, something you thought was undeniably adorable.

"Morning yourself." She tried to play off smoothly making you grin more.

You made breakfast for you both just as your mum came into the kitchen and greeted you both with an overplayed smile, already talking to Yelena about an upcoming party that she should go to. Yelena mumbled something about a full schedule as you managed to whisp her away outside with your food.

Eventually, you and Yelena became bored with sitting around in the house when you had such amazing surroundings on your doorstep. You declared that you were going on a walk with the blonde and left before any of your family could invite themselves to go with you. Especially as you had told your friend to wear her swimwear underneath her clothing as you had a surprise for her.

You made a point of holding Yelena's hand as you left and once you were far away from the house went to take it back only for her to hold on tighter.

"You never know where they could be lurking." She joked as an excuse, so you starting swinging your arms playfully as to assure her you wanted your hands to stay linked together too.

You spent hours in those woods and was thankful for having a spy best friend who of course knew to pack the essentials like food and drinks so you could stay away from the house as long as you wanted. The blonde brought so much you were able to have a small picnic on top of a hill that overlooked the large lake that stretched out all the way back to the house. You remembered thinking up stories as to explain the strange shape and curves to it as a child.

"It's beautiful here." Yelena said as she picked some grapes from the bunch between you.

"It is." You agreed with a fond smile.

"I used to want to live in a place like this." She muttered, sparking your interest.

"In the woods?" You asked curiously and she nodded.

"I thought I could retire to the woods and get a small cabin and I could grow my own food and that was all I needed." You hummed with a smile as you studied Yelena's features.

"Sounds lonely." You thought aloud.

"I'd have a cat." She said simply making you laugh. "I never used to think that but now when it crosses my mind and I picture that life... I picture someone else there with me." You knew she was imagining it as she spoke and you wished you could see exactly what it was she wanted.

"We could always downgrade the holiday house." You half joked as you nodded in the vague direction of the house. "Make it a simple cabin."

"We?" Yelena asked hopefully, the emotion clear before she had a chance to conceal it.

"There's no one I'd rather run away and live in the forest with." You joked although there was a lot of truth to your words. The blonde considered you for a while before smiling and nodded as though she had reached her own internal conclusion.

"Come on." You said suddenly as you stood up and dusted yourself off.

"You want to go back?" Yelena asked and you grinned.

"I'm going to show you that surprise." You declared and packed the remaining food away. Yelena did the same, eager to see the surprise you kept secret the whole way.

It was quite a way back to the house. The whole time Yelena kept asking more questions about it but you wouldn't say. She could only make guesses based on the swim wear which should have left only a few options, non of which she got right.

Finally, you arrived where you wanted to and grinned at Yelena before starting towards the edge. The blonde frowned as she watched you approach the ledge and became worried when she invisioned the steep slope that didn't always lead to water straight down. If you were to fall... your friend didn't have to wait long to see that. You slipped along the edge and disappeared from her view as she gave a startled cry and sprinted towards the edge and knelt over with wide eyes, expecting to see something that could haunt her forever but instead she saw you on a wide ledge but seven feet below her.

To your left was part of the ledge that had been dug into randomly and acted as perfect aid to get back into the woods above.

"Come down here." You beckoned as you starter to take your top off. Yelena's eyes widened more and quickly turned around and dropped down next to you steadily.

She glanced over the side of the small ledge to glance at the fifty foot drop into the water. There was nothing in the way to fall onto but there was no telling how deep that water was.

"You can't go in like that." You laughed as you kicked off your shorts and pushed them to the side. Yelena's face heated up at the sight of you in your y/f/c bikini as you assessed the view. But even in her flustered state she was able to put it all together.

"You want to jump down there?" She exclaimed making you laugh.

"I've done it tones of times." You assured. "It's fun."

"It's a death wish! What if the waters not deep enough?" She questioned making you laugh more.

"Are you scared, Lena." You teased as you took a step towards her making her avert her eyes from your form. She scoffed to play it off.

"Of course not." You hummed in faux belief.

"Well then I'll see you down there." You grinned and took a couple of steps back until your feet were no longer on the platform and you were plummeting down towards the water where you landed with a splash.

Yelena held her breath as she waited for you to resurface for a few agonising seconds. When you did with a gasp and started kicking around frantically to keep yourself afloat with your built up adrenaline the blonde sighed in relief and started taking off her own shorts and shirt and placed them next to your things.

You've jumped from higher. She told herself as she rocked on her feet. With a harness! She argued back before she shoved those thoughts aside and threw herself off the ledge and into the water below.

You laughed as she came back up and pushed her hair away from her way. You swam closer to her and saw her wide smile.

"Fuck." Yelena whispered with a laugh as she looked back up from where you had both come.

"Told you it was fun." You teased as you tried not to focus on the low cut on her bikini bra.

"Yeah yeah." She laughed and adulterer when she looked past you and saw you were surprisingly close to the house. She could see the outline of your family sat outside.

"They're looking." Yelena muttered. You could tell by the look on her face who she was talking about. It wasn't like there was anyone else around either.

"Do you think they've caught on?" You asked nervously as you stared at Yelena's grey eyes to stop you looking at your family.

"Maybe..." She considered and glanced around. "It's not like we've been acting like that much of a couple." You scoffed at that.

"At home everyone assumes we're dating and the one time we need it be believable it isn't." You rolled your eyes but couldn't help the smile.

"I know." Yelena laughed for a second but then paused. "Then let's give them something believable." She gently placed both her hands on your waist and pulled you slowly towards her. You let her guide you and took extra notice of the water droplets across her face. You almost trembled when your bare stomachs pressed together in the water lightly.

Yelena's soft hands left your waist and gripped your thighs to pull you up to wrap your legs around her own waist. You couldn't help but giggle at the gesture as you wrapped your arms around the blonde's neck and held onto her waist with your legs in a lock.

"Can I?" Yelena whispered when she lifted your chin with her finger and her other hand came round the back of your neck.

"Just shut up and kiss me." You demanded with a playful smile and leaned in to do it yourself.

You smiled into the kiss and felt Yelena do the same. It was everything you had ever imagined it to be. Her lips were soft and fell into place perfectly against your own as they moved together.

You mind was hazey and your stomach was doing flips at the realisation that you were actually kissing your long time crush. You forced yourself to remember that it was all a show. That Yelena didn't mean it. But she put on a believable act and kissed passionately, even slipping her tongue through your parter lips to explore your mouth further.

When she eventually pulled away you rested your foreheads together to catch your breath and grinned as you closed your eyes.

"You're a really good kisser." You blurted out making Yelena chuckle.

"Not too bad yourself." She teased.

"I hope not, we're gonna have to do that again." You smiled and instantly realized that sounded like a confession you desperetly wished you could claim. "You know because...Once probably wasn't enough to make it entirely believable." You rambled and Yelena nodded somewhat stiffly and let your legs drop back down.

You wanted to say something to her, anything but it was all stuck on the tip of your tongue.

Just as you opened your mouth to speak, a small murmurarion of starlings flew across the lake, some of them skimming the water then gaining height again as they got closer to you and Yelena.

You both ducked instinctively as they flew over your heads and off towards the forest again as you watched them in awe until they disappeared. You glanced up at the sky and noticed the sun had gone behind a cloud, ableing you to continue looking up at the other birds higher up.

You kicked your legs up slightly so you could lay on your back and outstretch your arms to keep you afloat in the water so you could stare up at the sky without hurting your neck.

You didn't realise Yelena mimicked you until her hands brushed against yours. She withdrew it as soon as you touched and went to murmmer an apology but you smiled and held onto her hand as you both lay watching the birds.

Neither of you had to say anything. It was a comfortable and peaceful silence that was occasionally filled with birds chirping or the sound of a calm breeze. Of all the things you expected to feel on that trip, relaxed was not one of them. You stayed like that for a while until you were both snapped out of your daydreams by the distant yell that declared dinner. Well, you had to go back to them eventually.

Both of you took your time swimming back to dry land and only felt a shiver when you left the water and the breeze hit you. Yelena spotted and reached the towels before you and wrapped yours around you tightly. You thanked her with a small blush as you both sauntered up to the house where the mouthwatering smell of a barbecue greeted you. Your dad was leaning over it while shooing your brother away as he tried to offer his 'help'.

You and Yelena went inside to change swiftly and came back outside as the food was being placed on plates and your mum finished setting up the buffet.

Everyone starter helping themselves and you piled as much food as you could onto the plate. You parents had asked what food Yelena liked and when you gave them a brief list you added in a few things you knew you both loved.

"You gonna eat all that?" Anna asked as she eyed all the food on your plate. Guilt and insecurities washed over you until Yelena purposefully grabbed a large handful of small sausage rolls and put them on her plate that was piled with a considerable amount more food than your own. You smiled at the reassuring gesture as she sat down with a satisfied grin on her face when she saw Anna close her mouth to stay quiet.

"Thanks." You whispered to her as you sat down.

"If you don't eat all that I will." She declared. You were pretty sure she went back for seconds.

Instead of disappearing back to your room like you did the previous nights, you and Yelena stayed with your family for a while after dinner. It wasn't to do with their company, more the mesmerising fire in the firepit you all sat around. You were cuddled up into Yelena's side with a blanket over both of you as you stared at the flames, smiling at their small flickers and dances.

"So Yelena," one of your sisters began, "are any of the other Avengers...you know." She nodded her head in the direction of you both.Oh boy, you though.

"I don't think it's my place to say." Yelena said because yes, a lot of the Avengers were queer.

"Oh come on, you can tell us." Anna encouraged as she sat forward eagerly.

"I could, but I'm not going to." Yelena continued to defy.

"Lay off it guys." You mumbled but was ignored. Your family took it in turns saying her teammates names in hopes of sparking a reaction, clearly forgetting they were facing a spy.

"Stark!" Claire said but was instantly shut down by the others.

"He's married!" Dalton objected.

"Could still be bi though." Claire tried but  Dalton just scoffed.

"I suppose there's going to be more surprises."

"What does that mean?" Yelena asked with narrowed eyes. Dalton met her gaze with his own challenging one.

"I just never thought one of the Avengers would be a dyke." You felt Yelena stiffen as you all held your breath. There was no way to tell what was going through the blonde's mind, especially as after all those years of friendship you still didn't even know what team she batted for. She was an ally at least, but would she see this as her battle to fight?

Upon getting no reaction, Dalton continued. "It makes sense why you'd hang out with y/n though, we always knew something was wrong with her but-"

"That's enough." Your mum snapped with a guilty expression she failed to mask. You swallowed hard and moved to get up, deciding you had heard enough.

"Then you're idiots." Yelena stated as she glared daggers at your brother while you sunk down.

"I'll have you know I have a doctorate-"

"Your idiots." She repeated. "There's nothing wrong with y/n, which is impressive considering she's grown up around you lot." You looked at your friend in awe as she continued.

"She's the most amazing person I've ever known, including any of the Avengers. She's everything that you're not and I'm lucky to call her my girlfriend. It doesn't matter what any of you think of her, I love her and I always will." She declared as shot daggers at each individual family member who had fallen silent. She took your hand and pulled you up from your seat to take you inside.

You couldn't get her saying she loved you out of your head. You reminded yourself over and over again on the way to your room that it was just an act. That the blonde was making her point. But God, how you wished it was real.

She was so gentle with you as she guided you through the house. When you got to your room and broke down sobbing she held you on the bed for a long time until your cries turned to sniffles. The thing was, you weren't sure what you were crying over. Sure, what Dalton had said had hurt. As did the confirmation that your whole family had always looked down on you. But you had known that was the case for a long time, you had moved on from it.

Instead, you may have being crying over what you didn't know and didn't have. How much of what Yelena said was true? It was all based off of something that wasn't real. What if she saw you the same way your family did?

When you stopped crying you became aware of Yelena gently stroking your hair as she rested her head on yours and held you close to her. You remembered the memories you had accumulated over the past few days with her. The kisses, the hand holding, the nights together, how she stood up for you like no one ever had. You loved her so much.

"I think we should go tomorrow." Yelena mumbled and you nodded into her shoulder.

"I'm not going to leave you though, you know that right? You can stay at mine and we'll watch more of those crappy American movies you like." She mocked lightly making you chuckle against her. "Whatever you want."

"I just want you." You said honestly. You knew you shouldn't have said that, but you were too emotionally drained to care.

"I just want you too, y/n." You pulled away from the blonde to look at her clearly.

"I don't think you know what I mean." You sniffer and she smiled at you fondly.

"I mean what I said earlier, around the fire." Your eyes widened slightly and you held your breath.

"It was all an act though." You whispered and Yelena chuckled as she exhaled sharply.

"No y/n." "I think I am inlove with you." She said as she took ahold of your hand and searched your face for any signs of a reaction to her confession.

"Me?" You questioned, not quite believing it.

"Yes you, idiot." You smiled and sighed in relief, not being able to find the words to express your overflowing happiness and numerous other emotions you couldn't quite pinpoint. You let go of Yelena's hand and brought them both up to cup her cheeks. You had done a lot more handholding than kissing in the previous few days. It needed to be evened out.

You closed the gap between you and kissed Yelena with just as much passion as you had in the lake, except all hesitation and questions were gone. Because you knew she loved you. Oh God she loved you. You grinned into the kiss at the thought and felt her hand fall to your hip while the other caressed the side of your neck in the most gentle manner you had ever seen from her. When you eventually pulled away you rested your forehead against hers, a smile still playing on both your lips.

"Told you we'd have to do that again." You said and and laughed. "I love you too."

"Well I hoped that wasn't a pity kiss." She joked and you smacked her arm playfully.

"It definetly was not and I'll prove it to you by taking you on a date when we get back." You promised as you sat back to look at her clearly.

"Oh yeah?" She asked with a playful smirk and leaned over so her face was inches away from yours.

"Yeah." You said back.

"Well until then, my real girlfriend should definetly just keep kissing me." She said as she pushed you down gently and kissed you again. You smiled against her gleefully.

"Your girlfriend would love to."