#tangled (just the movie though even though i do like the series)

[strrwbrrryjam]

for all my grievances with tangled the series, one thing i cannot criticize them for is their songs, i mean, sure, not all of them make sense in context (let me make you proud comes to mind), the songs are spectacular, from the vocals to the instrumental, all of them are a joy to listen to, whether they are just incredibly goofy, like the buddy song, to heartbreaking, like waiting in the wings, whether its a solo, a duet or a group, they are wonderful to listen to

[always-a-joyful-note]

I am mildly curious about everyone's favorite piece of media except I want to divide it into four categories: problematic fave, "i should be mocked at how seriously i take this" fave, unproblematic fave, and "i take this too seriously and it objectively should be" fave

[supernovafics]

hiiii i just read your entire i’ll be there for you universe and I’M OBSESSED❤️❤️ Friends to lovers is my favourite trope ever and I love how you wrote a cute slow burn without characters being toxic and mean towards each other bc that happens a lot!

I was wondering how would their parents react to them being together?? And when do they decide to tell their parents, and how it goes down? It’s totally okay if you don’t want to write it but I thought it might be cute!🌸🌸

𝐌𝐔𝐂𝐇 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑

"i'll be there for you" universe masterlist

pairing: bestfriend!roommate!steve harrington x fem!reader

word count: 2.3k words

warnings: explicit language, fluff, implied smut, very slight parent drama

summary: in which your parents finally find out that you and steve are dating 

author's note: thanks for the request! (also for @hippiefairy02 since you requested basically the same thing like a week ago lol). i didn’t really know how to end this one so it kinda just ends lol<3 enjoy though<333

general note: everything in this universe/series can be read as standalone oneshots but to understand the full “lore” it would prob be best to read the other stuff too<333

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Spring 1986

The movie became long forgotten after only the first twenty minutes, which was somewhat of a routine at this point. It was a good thing that you both had seen this one already. 

If you were to look back at who started everything this time around you’d toss the blame onto Steve for initiating the first kiss, but he’d put the blame on you for settling yourself close into his side and giving him a “certain look.”

You were far from thinking about who started what, though, because all you could focus on was the feel of Steve settled on top of you and his mouth against yours. 

Your hands started traveling underneath his plain white t-shirt and one of his took hold of your hip, teasingly slipping a finger or two beneath the waistband of your small pajama shorts. Your legs were tangled with his in a way that was a bit awkward because the couch was way too small to do anything completely comfortably, but you two were okay with making it work for the time being. 

You maneuvered a bit, attempting to push up so that your head could find the pillow that was leaning against the arm of the couch, and the abrupt movement made your forehead bump his.

It didn’t even hurt, but Steve still pulled back and looked at you concerned. “You okay?”

You nodded as you tilted your head up a bit to press a quick kiss against his nose. “I’m fine. You okay?”

“‘M good.” He nodded too and then slotted his lips against yours again.  

You were pulling away after only a second. “Wait, let’s switch. I feel like I’m gonna accidentally knee you or something.”

“Or we can just go to one of our rooms,” He suggested as his lips found your neck, which immediately made your eyes slip shut and you had to bite your lip to hold back the contented sigh that you wanted to let out. 

You almost said yes to Steve’s words, it would’ve been so easy to say yes, but you were trying to keep your thinking somewhat rational, so you shook your head instead. “If we do that, we’re not gonna come out for the rest of the night. And we said that we’d at least try to study for the test we have on Thursday once the movie’s over.”

“The movie we’re not watching,” He mumbled against your neck. 

“Still counts,” You said, lightly pushing him away, and he conceded as you shifted things around so that you were on top of him, settled nicely in his lap with your legs on either side of him. “See? Much better.” 

Before he could potentially say anything in response, you pushed a hand through his hair and leaned down to kiss him. His fingers started teasingly playing with the hem of your t-shirt before simply finding a home on your hips and squeezing you there. 

It was almost too obvious what should’ve happened next and both of you could feel the energy shifting into something a bit more heated, more needy. You would’ve lifted from his lap for a second so that he could slide down his sweatpants and boxers, and then you’d simply pull your underwear and shorts to the side because it would’ve been too much work to fully shimmy out of them. 

But then the phone started ringing in the kitchen and everything that felt like it was right on the verge of happening was pushed out of the window.  

You detached your mouth from Steve’s and sat up. “I’ll get it.”

He let out a groan, head falling back against the throw pillow and hands still on your hips. “Don’t.”

“We have six needy kids and a Robin, I think we have to answer it.”  

“Sadly, that makes sense,” His grip on you loosened and you finally maneuvered off of him after pressing a quick kiss against his forehead. 

You went to the kitchen, where the phone was, and picked it up. “Hello?”

“Hi,” It was easy to decipher your mom’s voice on the other end of the line. “What are you doing Saturday?”

It wasn’t surprising to you that your mom completely skipped past any sort of small talk; the “How are you’s” and “How’ve you been’s.” She always got straight to the point. 

“Me and Steve are gonna be out of town this weekend,” You answered. “I planned this whole date thing and we leave Friday night.” 

It was completely accidental; so accidental that at first, you didn’t even register what you had just told her.

“You and Steve are what?” 

“We’re gonna be in Chicago this weekend for—” You stopped abruptly, finally realizing what you said before. “Oh. Oh, yeah, um, we’re dating.” 

Her gasp was immediate. “Oh my God.”

You couldn’t decipher what that reaction was. She sounded surprised, definitely, but you couldn’t tell if it was a happy kind of surprise or upset.

“How long has it been?”

“A few months.” You shut your eyes then, bracing yourself for what you knew was about to be nothing short of an interrogation.

“What? Why haven’t you told us sooner?”

In all honesty, it wasn’t like either you or Steve were planning on keeping it from your parents forever, it had just never come up in the handful of conversations you’d had with them over the last few months. 

“It’s just, I don’t know. It hadn’t come up yet,” You ultimately answered. “And plus, you never really cared that much about my other relationships.”

“Sure, but Steve’s completely different. This is great!” She told you, and you inwardly sighed in relief that she was happy about the news; even though you were certain that you wouldn’t have cared about having her “approval” either way. “Does Christine know?” 

“No.” 

“Okay, I’m gonna call her right now,” Your mom told you, and you were actually perfectly okay with her ending the call with you right then to go call Steve’s mom instead. “Oh, this is so great!”

She was hanging up before you could say anything else and you were sighing as you placed the phone back on the hook.

“I’m sorry,” You told Steve as you joined him back on the couch. 

He looked at you, confused. “What happened?”

“I accidentally just told my mom that we’re dating, and now she’s calling your mom to tell her too.”  

“Oh, okay, that’s not that bad,” He shrugged. “I guess it had to happen eventually.”

“Yes, but I was kinda hoping that that day would be years from now. Like, when we sent out wedding invitations or something.” 

In your head, telling your friends about you and Steve was one thing, but telling your parents was something entirely different. Your friends were heavily involved in your life, and you knew that you couldn’t keep it from them forever because of that; and then it eventually just felt right to finally be honest about it, anyway. 

Telling your parents, on the other hand, was the farthest thing from your mind. 

“They would probably kill us if we did that. Especially our moms because you know that they’re gonna wanna be involved in the whole thing,” Steve told you, and you knew he was right. 

There were some few and far in-between moments where your parents would switch and pretend to be real parents that were actually involved in their kid’s life. Usually, it only happened during the holidays; Christmases spent pretending that you were a happy and normal family or Thanksgivings that were used to prove the same thing. In a way, it made sense for this news to warrant that same kind of treatment.

You groaned as you leaned further into Steve. “I hate that you’re right.”

Your mom was calling back barely twenty minutes later, right as the two of you were in the middle picking up where you had left off before the first call. Steve answered that time, pulling his sweatpants back up and heading over to the kitchen, and you slipped your shirt back over your head.

“Oh, um, yeah, that’s fine. That night is good,” You heard him say. “We’ll be there.”

Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion at whatever he was agreeing to right then.  

He hung up a few moments later and gave you an apologetic look. “Okay, now I’m the one that needs to say sorry.”

“What happened?”

“It was your mom,” Steve started as he sat next to you again. “She said she talked to my mom and they’re both really happy about us dating. And they decided that they wanna have a “celebratory dinner” kind of thing with us.”

“No.”

Steve nodded. “It’s gonna be at your parent’s house on Thursday since she knows that we’re going to Chicago for the weekend. I couldn’t think of an excuse on the spot, so I was just agreeing.”

“Oh, God. I feel like this is gonna be like Thanksgiving all over again.”

“Hopefully the dessert is better this time around,” He said, attempting to lighten the mood, and you let out a laugh. 

“If not, then we will definitely be ending the night at Third Street,” You told him and he nodded in agreement before pulling you into his lap. 

“Can we please go to my room?” He asked, arms circling around you. “I feel like the couch is cursed.”

You smiled, lips finding his for a brief second. “Okay, yes, I’ll allow it.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

This night didn’t feel anything like the Thanksgiving dinner that you and Steve had been forced to have all those months ago; at least, not at first. During that night, your parents had gone on and on about their ski trip that was coming up and there were barely any moments where the conversation was focused on you and Steve. 

Now things were different because all they cared about was talking about you two, which did make sense given the reasoning for the dinner. But still, you knew your parents, and this amount of excited fanfare surrounding the two of you felt entirely unexpected. 

Your dad was jokingly giving his “stamp of approval” for the relationship, and Steve’s dad was saying something about how you’d always been a good influence on Steve. And then your moms went on tangent after tangent going down memory lane and telling stories about you and Steve as kids. 

“I’d been hoping this would happen ever since the cruise,” Christine said, a happy smile on her face. “You two were practically attached at the hip the entire time, and that still hasn’t changed.” 

“Yes, you guys were always so cute together. Oh, and remember when you took each other to your proms? I think I still have the pictures somewhere,” Your mom said, smiling happily as well, and you honestly wouldn’t have even minded if she brought out the pictures. 

Eventually, though, things shifted, and toward the end of dinner, the conversation moved away from you and Steve. Instead, your parents started reminiscing about old moments from their collective friendship that didn’t involve you and Steve at all. This made sense to you; you knew that it could only be a matter of time before they finally started talking about themselves.   

With the topic of you and Steve long forgotten, you two slipped away from the table, no one noticing or stopping you, and retreated to your old bedroom that was just down the hall. 

You sat at the foot of your old bed and watched as Steve simply walked around, taking a look at the things that you had decided to leave behind and not bring along to the apartment. 

You kicked your shoes off and crossed your legs under you. “Tonight actually hasn’t been completely unbearable.” 

“Yeah, weirdly, it hasn’t,” Steve agreed as he walked over to you and leaned down to press a kiss against the top of your head. “There’s no dessert though, so we’ll have to go to Third Street.”

“Do you think they’d notice if we slipped out of my window right now?” 

He laughed a bit. “Fifty-fifty shot.”

“Personally, I wouldn’t mind taking those odds,” You said, smiling up at him. 

“I would say okay, but I think I have to be the reasonable one here and say that we should just walk out the front door like normal people.”

His words only made you smile wider because usually, it was you who would say the logical thing to do in situations.

“We’ve swapped roles tonight,” You said as you stood up and put your shoes back on. “I think you do a great job as the reasonable one.” 

“I don’t like it. You can have that job back after tonight,” He told you, smiling as his hand found yours.

You only nodded as you and he headed out of your bedroom. Your parents were still at the dining table, laughing about something that you didn’t hear. 

“Hey, we’re gonna head out. We have to wake up early tomorrow, so yeah,” You said, pulling their attention onto you and Steve. It was a lie, but it felt like it would be a plausible enough excuse. “Thanks for tonight.” 

“Yeah, it was great,” Steve agreed with a quick nod. 

A slew of “Goodnight’s” and “Drive safe’s” came from your parents, which you two nodded and smiled at before exiting your house. 

You let out a sigh of relief once you were sat in the passenger seat of Steve’s car. 

The night hadn’t been horrible, you’d experienced much worse dinners with your parents. But that didn’t mean that you weren’t glad that this one was over. 

“So, are we gonna be basic tonight and do milkshakes, or have whatever pie Mary made for the night?” You asked as you played with the radio and then left it on a station that you’d probably end up changing in a minute or two. 

Steve took a quick glance at you and smiled. “If she made apple, then I think the answer is obvious.”

“Very true,” You nodded and smiled back at him. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

let me know ur thoughts<333

(requests are open for stuff you wanna see in the universe/series!🫶🏾)

[madlittlecriminal]

could i request cockwarming w jonathan crane? like maybe he's had a stressful day and you fuck it out of him, but when you're about to pull off he grabs you and just... asks you to stay right there, with him inside of you... 😞 i'm so down bad for him it's not even funny...

Stress Relief ↦ Jonathan Crane × Female!Reader

anon, i get it. trust me, im down bad for him too. i was like 4 or 5 when i saw the first movie (Batman Begins) even though i was 3 when it came out and i could say he was one of my first celebrity crushes. im 21 now & Cillian Murphy is still a celebrity crush, so...yeah...little me had taste lol

y'all, why did i roleplay with one of his bots and they gonna say he had blonde hair- as far as i know, he was never blonde in general (comics, games, animated series/tv shows and/or movies) i was so disappointed.

Warnings: smut, dirty talk, praise, unprotected p in v, cockwarming, there's like no plot at all, i listened to a lot of spicy songs while writing this...IN BOTH ENGLISH & SPANISH

You saw it on his face when he walked into the house; your boyfriend was stressed. You've been together for almost 2 years, so you lived together and you also knew what relieved his stress.

"Jonathan?" He took off his blazer before looking over at you, taking off his vest. You looked down at his tie before pulling it and bringing him towards you. "You need to relax, baby." You pressed your lips onto his and he quickly reciprocated. His hand rested on your cheek, and you got on top of him, taking off tie and unbuttoning his shirt. You took off his shirt and he quickly rested his hands on your hips.

His hands slid from your hips and under your shirt, before taking it off and kissing your neck. You tilt your head to the side, biting your lip as he nibbled on your neck gently, not wanting to mark you; you both agreed it was better when they couldn't be seen. He unclasped your bra, letting it glide down your arms before kissing and sucking on one before doing the same to the other. You let out a small whimper, him humming in pleasure as he heard your little noise.

Your hands went to his belt, undoing it and his hands fixed your flowy skirt so it covered him. He felt your arousal soaking through your panties, so he knew you more than ready for him. You undid his button and his zipper before he stopped you. "Just take it out, darling. I can't wait anymore." His whisper against your chest made you bite your lip, doing as he said. "Hope these aren't your favorites." Before you could say anything, you heard a rip and let out a breathy laugh. "They weren't. Don't worry." He chuckled, sliding into you without a hassle. After nearly 2 years, you didn't really need to adjust to him as much as you did the first few times.

However, you still loved how he filled you up and pleased you like no one else has.

You wrapped an arm around his shoulder as you bounced on him. "Fuck baby," Jonathan moaned, his hands wrap around your hips as he thrusted into you. "Feels so good inside me, Jon." He bit his lip at your words. "Yeah, darling? You take me so good like the good girl you are." You moan at his words, his lips finding yours as he groans, feeling you clench around him. "Just like that, darling. Let me feel how good praises make you feel." He goes back to kissing you as his fingers go to your clit, playing with it as you continue to bounce on him. He breaks the kiss, tearing his glasses off of his face before meeting your lips once more.

Your fingers tangle into his hair, tugging slightly as he fucks you and plays with your clit. Your eyes widened when he adjusted himself quickly, reaching your sensitive spot, making you let out a moan loud enough for all of Gotham to hear. "Are you gonna come, darling?" You nod as best as you could, knowing your voice would betray you. "Come all over my cock, darling." You pull his hair, pulling him closer to you as you came on his cock. He continued, his thrusts getting sloppy before he came inside you.

As you both tried catching your breaths, he pulled you into a weak kiss. After you felt your heart rate begin to go back to normal, you began to pull yourself off of him, but he gripped your hips, making you stop your movements. "Stay," Jonathan's soft yet raspy voice spoke as your eyes met his blue ones. "You feel so warm, darling, I don't want you to move yet."

"Okay," Jonathan fixed himself, the small shift making you whimper at the movement in your sensitive core. "Sorry darling." You giggle as he pulled you closer to him, rubbing your back slowly as you rest your head on his. "That's okay, Jonny. Are you comfortable?" He chuckled. "You have no idea." His lips met yours in another kiss, making you clench around him. He groaned into the kiss, shaking his head. "Not yet, darling. Let me enjoy your warmth." You nodded, brushing some of his hair out of his face. "Did I relieve your stress?" He nodded. "You always do, but we should really just start doing this. It feels fantastic."

"I'll keep that in mind the next time you come home stressed out."

[prythianpages]

Golden Hour | Eris x Reader

summary: Eris sneaks you out of the Forest house to watch the lantern festival in private and it's getting harder to ignore his feelings for you.

warnings: fluff a little break from the angst to come hehe

a/n: this one is inspired by Kacey Musgrave's Golden Hour and the movie Tangled (: you can find the masterlist for this series here or just read this as a stand alone imagine. All you have to know for context is that reader is arranged to be married to his younger brother.

“How do I look?”

Eris stares at you, feeling a surge of warmth rush to his neck. You stand right in front of him, arms extended slightly, dressed in his clothes. Though the garments hang loosely on your frame, they do nothing to conceal the beauty that radiates from you. He wonders if this is a mistake, if perhaps he should call off your–

“Just say I look hideous,” you muse, your voice pulling him back from his thoughts.

“You could never,” he murmurs as he meets your gaze.

Your eyes twinkle with anticipation. He had promised to take you–sneak you out, more like it– to the lantern festival and it was a vow he was determined to uphold. Anything to not let the light dim from your eyes.

Eris takes a deep breath and regrets it immediately as you overwhelm his senses. You smell like him and the thought pleases him more than it should, stirring emotions he dares not name. Clearing his throat, Eris forces himself to look away and says, “we should, um, we should go now.”

He then strides towards the full-length mirror, aware of your curious gaze following his every move. His fingertips trace along the edges of the mirror, seeking out the concealed lock with practiced precision. With a deft touch, he unlatches it, revealing the hidden doorway leading to the dark passageways nestled within the Forest house.

“Are you sure it’s safe?” you ask, peering over his shoulder into the shadows beyond.

Eris startles slightly at your sudden proximity. “Yes,” he reassures you, his hand rising as he summons forth his powers. Flames dance from his fingertips before he turns to you, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “But we don’t have to go. We can simply stay here—”

You cut him off before he can finish his sentence, stepping forward eagerly and venturing into the concealed corridors. Eris follows suit, closing the door behind you both. Turning around, you cast a curious glance towards the door, relieved to find no glimpse into your room. You let Eris walk ahead to guide you both.

Your eyes are wide as you look around the dark, twisting passageways of the forest house. The only source of light are Eris’s flames. They cast shadows along the stone walls and as you walk behind him, you can’t help but ask again.

“Are you sure it’s safe?” 

You grimace as you nearly walk into a spider web, feeling a shiver run down your spine. It's undeniably creepy here. You can't help but wonder how Eris travels through these secret passageways alone just to see you. 

“No monsters lurking in the shadows, right?” 

Eris abruptly pauses on a step and then turns around, causing you to jump. You stand a step or two above and he grins, finally at eye level with you. Even in the dim lighting, you can see the flicker of mischief in his eyes. “The only monster in here is me.”

“Ha-ha,” you respond dryly, rolling your eyes. “Very funny.”

The flames flickering from his fingertips brighten, allowing him to study your face. Despite your attempt at a playful glare, he can see the lingering fear in your expression. “Here,” he says, holding out his other hand to you, smiling when you eagerly grasp onto it. “It’s best if you hold onto me for the rest of the way down. It’ll be easier for me to pull you away from the naga that linger in the shadows.”

“Eris!” you exclaim in a hushed tone, your grip tightening around his hand as you draw closer to him, practically clinging to his arm. “Stop it!”

Eris chuckles, a warmth spreading through him as he revels in your proximity. He continues to guide you both down the passageways, slowing his pace. He tells himself it’s for your sake but the smile gracing his lips betrays him. He just longs to linger in this moment.

**

When the two of you finally emerge from the passageways, you welcome the blinding sunlight. You let out a deep exhale of relief, thanking the Mother as you let go of his hand. It’s Eris’s turn to roll his eyes.

He pulls two cloaks out from the pocket realm. He helps you with yours before putting his on and placing a glamor over you both. One can never be too safe. He takes your hand again and the two of you walk quietly until you reach the edge of the forest house’s magic barrier.

“Are you ready?” Eris whispers.

“Yes,” you reply, giving his hand a tight squeeze.

Then, he winnows you both.

You gasp in awe at the meadow, lost in the beauty of the autumn flowers surrounding you. Eris smiles softly to himself as he walks toward the riverbed, where a canoe sits, gently rocking with the water. Wanting to make it onto the river before the sun sets, he prepares the canoe swiftly.

“It’s so peaceful here,” you remark, voice filled with wonder.

“I often come here,” Eris confides, a hint of nostalgia in his tone. “It’s a nice walk here too. I like bringing my hounds with me, even though Clover tends to spend her time eating the flowers,” he adds with a chuckle.

“I love her.”

There’s a fond smile on your face as you think about the adorable hound, picturing her frolicking amidst the blooms. She had been the first one to greet you with kindness upon your arrival. Your first friend.

"She loves you," Eris murmurs, his gaze softening. And who wouldn’t? He muses to himself as you step closer to him.

Your eyes meet, holding onto each other. There’s so much said in your gazes but no words dare to slip out. You’re so close to him, you can appreciate the light freckles scattered over his nose and cheeks. One more step and you’d be able to trace your lips over them. Eris swallows hard, as if he could sense the unspoken desire that pulses in the air. There’s a gleam in his amber eyes as he looks down at you, pulling you in and enticing you to take that step.

But your foot catches onto the cloak that is much too long for you. Your hands instinctively find purchase on his chest and he helps steady you, his hands on your waist sending a jolt of electricity through your veins. “Sorry,” you mutter, a blush staining your cheeks.

“Good thing I caught you this time. Wouldn’t want a repeat of last time now, would we?” Eris teases lightly, referring to the time you fell into the water fountain at the palace’s gardens.

“I’d bring you down with me again,” you reply, matching his tone.

Eris laughs. He realizes in that moment that he would let you. He’d follow you anywhere. 

“You still owe me my book, you know.”

“I know,” Eris says as helps you into the awaiting canoe. He waits until you’re seated before taking the seat across from you. “I’m not done with it yet. I just finished the chapter where they spent the night at the inn... that just so happened to have only one bed and I–”

You cut him off abruptly, sending a splash of water his way. The mischievous twinkle in his eyes has your blush deepening. You know exactly what happens in that chapter. “I don’t want to know,” you reply quickly. 

“You don’t want to hear my thoughts on the book?” Eris teases further, using his power to give the boat the push it needs. He picks up both oars, shaking his head at you when you offer to help row.

“Save it for when you’re finished.”

“Okay,” Eris chuckles and you’ve never been more grateful for the silence that follows.

With a small sigh of contentment, you brace yourself on your palms and tilt your head upwards. Your eyes flutter shut, finding comfort in the gentle rocking of the water as your blush begins to settle. Eris doesn’t mind, admiring the sight of you basking in the glow of the setting sun. The tension that often weighs on your shoulder is gone and so is the usual furrow of worry that marks your brow. 

You’re free from the burden of the forest house. Free to speak your mind and you do so quietly. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Eris.”

You don’t know what you do to me, Eris wants to respond, feeling his chest tighten at your words. Instead, he lets out a low hum in question, yearning to know more.

Your eyes flutter open, revealing the reflection of the setting sun within their depths. “You’re my golden hour,” you say and Eris feels a surge of warmth coursing through his veins. Different to the fire that usually lingers there. “I used to get sad and lonely when the sun went down but it’s different now. Sometimes, I–I wish it was you…”

You don’t finish your sentence but you don’t have to. Eris knows. You lower your head, a slight frown taking over your features and he longs to coax your gaze to his. To have a taste of your lips and kiss that frown away. To tug on the bond that tethers him to you until you feel it.

He doesn’t do any of those things. You’re marrying his brother soon. Something he has to remind himself constantly of. It doesn't matter if you're his mate. You're upcoming loveless marriage with his brother puts you at a place much safer than you would be with him.

Still, it doesn't stop him from murmuring a quiet, "me too."

You lift your head, allowing your gazes to meet again. Your mouth parts to speak but a gasp leaves your lips instead. Eris catches the slight widening of your eyes as your gaze fixates on something behind him. He follows your gaze, and together you're both captivated by the mesmerizing sight unfolding before you.

Lanterns ascend gracefully into the dusk sky, their gentle glow mirroring the ascent of the sun and bathing you in its ethereal light. The river below shimmers like a canvas of stars, the lanterns' reflections dancing upon its surface.

“I used to hear about this night all the time when traveling with my parents. My father didn’t care for it but my mother said she’d take me one year…,” your voice trails off. “I never thought I’d be able to see it in person.”

Eris quietly shifts in his seat, moving to sit beside you instead. He lifts his hand and his magic brings forth a lantern. You’re too lost in the moment to notice his proximity.

"The festival is a celebration of hope," Eris explains softly, his gaze alight. "Even in the darkest of nights, the smallest flicker of light–" Flames burst forth from his fingertips, illuminating the lantern. "–can bring forth a fiery hope that perseveres against all odds. Some believe that if you make a wish as you release your lantern, it’ll come true by the next festival.”

He holds the lantern to you, dimming the flames in his hand to not burn you as you take it. 

“And do you believe?” You find yourself asking, tearing your gaze from the lantern to glance at him.

“I do,” he responds without hesitation.

"Then let's release it together," you propose, gesturing for him to grasp the other side. Eris complies, his fingers brushing against yours as you hold the lantern between you. "On three. One... two..."

"Three," you declare in unison, releasing the lantern into the night sky.

You tilt your head back, tracing the path of your lantern as it ascends, joining the myriad of twinkling lights above. As they disappear into the heavens, you're left mesmerized as you can no longer discern them from the stars shining above.

But for Eris, his gaze remains fixed on you, his heart swelling with adoration as he beholds the radiant smile that graces your face. A sight he cherishes as it’s one that illuminates his own darkened world.

When you finally turn to look back at him, you’re beaming. There’s a light in you, warm and real and bright, and all he wants to do is be kept in your glow. Leaning forward, you press a tender kiss to his cheek.

"Thank you," you whisper to him and as the sensation of your lips against his skin lingers, Eris finds himself overcome with a wave of emotion.

He should be the one thanking you. Despite catching him at a time when he least expected it, you've ignited a flame within him. A flame that burns with an intensity that terrifies him because he can no longer ignore it.

You're setting his world ablaze with a fire unlike he's ever known.

a/n: Sorry that this took so long to update. I actually ended up writing another part to this series that was supposed to come before this part but then, I decided to just keep my original order.

tagging: @fabulouslyflamboyant5 @fxckmiup @stormhearty @skyesayshi @sfhsgrad-blog @crazylokonugget @evergreenlark @secretlyhers @mybestfriendmademe @ib525, @96jnie, @kennedy-brooke, @scooobies, @sillysillygoose444, @lilah-asteria,

(idk why the tags didn't work for everyone :/ sorry if you asked to be added and I didn't. Please leave a heart emoji if you'd like to be tagged on the next part. I have like 4 more imagines planned.)

[lumosinlove]

Vaincre

June part iv

I’ll tell you the truth

But never goodbye

Remus thought about practice and all the sounds he wouldn’t be hearing again for a couple of months now. A din he desperately hoped would come again in the Fall.

The quiet bustle of the boys arriving. Yawns and some early morning groans. Bags being tossed down into stalls. Velcro and stick tape. The skate sharpener across the hall. The shivery sound of a bucket of pucks being scattered onto the ice. The slap of pucks and bodies on the boards rebounding in a high-roofed, empty rink. The ping of the goalposts. Bursts of laughter between drills. Showers stuttering into a hard, hot spray and the echo of voices off of tiles.

He wanted it all again. The crowds and video tape sessions. The signings and the chance to meet fans. The wins—even the losses. Even the press conferences. He wanted to see his best friends every day. He wanted to win.

They didn’t have a destination, but neither Remus nor Sirius tried to change that. They walked through the New York streets, downtown, where everything felt a little bit like a movie set. Most places were shut tight for the night, but it still felt alive.

Sirius looked handsome in the city lights. In his jeans and t-shirt. More importantly, he looked relaxed. More relaxed than Remus had expected, anyway.

“You’re calm.”

Sirius didn’t look over at him, but a small smile appeared on his face. “Maybe I just look it.”

“Okay, fair.” Remus squeezed their tangled fingers together. “I just meant that you don’t seem…”

“Miserable.”

“Well, sure. That word works.”

“I’m just…” Sirius looked down at him. “Not sure if it’s sunk in yet, maybe. You?”

“No. Not really.”

Sirius squeezed his hand back and Remus felt his engagement ring press into his skin. If anything good came out of this, it was that he would not be taking of his ring any time soon. He caught it glinting in the passing lights.

“New York really never sleeps,” Remus said.

“Neither do we, apparently.”

It was helping more than sleep, though—the walking. It was starving off the soreness they were bound to feel soon. He’d already glimpsed a bad bruise forming near his knee.

“Either way,” Remus said. “I like these walks of ours. It feels different than Gryf.”

“Ouais,” Sirius agreed. “At least we both have rivers.”

The next street they turned onto was not asphalt, but cobblestones. It wound and bent, going against the grid of New York that Remus had become accustomed to. He leaned his head back to look up at the lit apartments above. It might have been two AM, but he could see shadows moving around, or the colorful flickers of televisions.

“Did you talk to Logan?” he asked.

“Non, not really. I mean, on the ice I did. But I don’t know. I wanted to get out of there.”

“Yeah.” Remus sighed. He fought the urge to start talking about the game. Part of him wanted to know each and every single one of Sirius’ thoughts. The hit in the second. The odd, sloppy breakaway in the third. That last buzzer attempt.

“You want to talk about it don’t you,” Sirius said.

Remus laughed, then groaned, hiding it in Sirius’ shoulder. “Yes. No. I don’t know.”

It was something special, to have someone who could read his mind. He closed his eyes, inhaling Sirius’ familiar scent and trusting him to guide him on the street. Sirius’ hand disappeared from his and wrapped around his waist instead. A kiss was pressed to Remus’ temple.

“Curb,” Sirius said softly, and Remus stepped down to cross the street then opened his eyes.

“Magnetic,” Remus said. “Do you remember them calling us that?”

“No one needed to remind me.”

Remus tightened his arms around Sirius’ hips and pressed a kiss over his shirt. “I know. I was just remembering.”

Their passes had connected so thoroughly this series. So well. It was awful, almost mean that the passes that stuck in their minds the most were the ones that had missed. 

“How about we keep remembering…” Sirius began. “But how about we do it with fries and milkshakes.”

Remus looked up. The idea made his mouth water. “Yes. What made you say that?”

Sirius just smiled and jerked his chin forward. “Là.”

There was a diner on the corner. Many of the booths in the window were filled—Other people in search of late-night snacks. The neon sign out front read 24 HOURS and Remus could see a group of girls with milkshakes and a basket of fries in front of them.

He reached up to wrap his arms around Sirius’ neck and pressed a hard kiss to his cheek. “Love of my fucking life.”

He felt Sirius smile. Sirius reached for his hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing his ring. “Ouais, it’s true.”

He held the door open for Remus.

They were shuffled into a leather, worn booth and given giant seemingly endless menus. Remus found that he could hardly sit still. He kept laughing to himself. At one point, when Sirius gave him an amused, dazed look, he’d had to cover his mouth.

“You’re wild on adrenaline,” Sirius laughed.

Remus wondered if that was it. If adrenaline was what this was. These weird, surprising tight bursts of joy bubbling over in his chest. Surely he should be feeling low. He had just lost part of his childhood dream yet again.

Was adrenaline fueling the smile Sirius gave him when their two chocolate milkshakes and order of fries arrived? Did adrenaline cause Sirius to skeptically watch him dip a fry into the thick chocolate? Did it make them both laugh when Sirius tried it, made a face, and quickly switched back to ketchup?

Or maybe something had changed.

“You know, I always wanted to talk about games with you,” Remus said.

“Always?”

“You know. Before.” Remus brought the straw of his milkshake between his teeth. “I always wondered what you were thinking. Even when you were mean to me.”

Sirius groaned and covered his face with his hands. “Arrêt.”

Remus reached across the table and tried to pull his hands away. “I did! Sirius, don’t hide, come here.” He laughed when Sirius wouldn’t. “Sirius.”

Sirius let out an exaggerated sigh and pushed himself up from his side of the booth, only to slide into Remus’, arm along the back behind him and tight against his side.

“Wh…” Remus began.

Sirius leaned forward and stole the fry from Remus’ fingers with a short tug of his teeth. “You said come here.”

“That was my fry.”

“Too late.”

“Meanie.”

Sirius just made the sound that Remus associated with both him and Logan—a very Quebecois sort of tisk of disapproval (in Logan’s part, mostly jokingly aimed at Finn). Sirius’ arm slid from the booth to Remus’ shoulders and he kissed him. Remus tilted his chin up into it and let himself relax.

“Chocolate and potatoes?” Sirius asked as he dipped to kiss Remus’ jaw. “Really?”

“Sweet and salty,” Remus replied, trying not to let his eyes slip closed. They were in a diner.

“Weirdo.”

Remus hissed at a playful nip to his neck and Sirius pulled back. Sirius dragged his milkshake over to their side of the table and took a long sip. Remus could tell he was thinking. Remus had always been able to tell when he was thinking. Even when he hadn’t been able to figure out anything else about Sirius.

“Tell me,” Remus said.

“I wish I hadn’t broken that stick,” Sirius said quietly. He dropped his head back and closed his eyes. “Re…”

“I know,” Remus said. “I know.”

Sirius let out a frustrated sound and rubbed at his eyes. “Merde…I don’t know what gets into me. Well, I do…”

They had both been expecting them, but as the clouds of loss edged back into their peripheral vision, Remus sighed. Sirius tightened his arm around Remus and tilted their heads together. Remus closed his eyes as they took each other’s weight.

“Julian said it best,” Sirius said. “I wanted this for you.”

“And you.”

Sirius pressed his lips together. “I—yes.”

Remus arched a brow, confused by the conflicted look on Sirius’ face. “What, what’s that look?”

Sirius sighed. He smiled, just a little. A bewildered sort of smile. He hooked his fingers into the plastic fry basket mindlessly, the greasy paper crinkling at his touch. His eyes went a little unfocused as he thought. Their blue-gray looked so fair in the diner’s light. “I keep wondering why I’m not as upset as I usually would be. I keep trying to, like…” He moved his free hand outward in a small sharp motion, palm forward. “Push myself towards being that upset. Which is insane. Why do I feel guilty for feeling slightly okay about this?”

“I…” Remus nodded slowly. “I get that. I do. Hey, but that’s good. It’s good you feel okay, you wouldn’t have been okay other years. That’s why I said you seem so calm I’m…I’m fucking proud of you for it.”

“Ouais. I guess…” His expression turned almost shy. “I guess me too.”

That made Remus smile.

“What I mean is…I’m gutted.” Sirius picked up a fry. “I want to throw something, I want a do-over…I want to be angry at Logan.” He tossed the fry back, turning to look at Remus. “But the thing that I keep thinking about isn’t the game. Isn’t the Cup. It’s you.”

Remus’ smile faltered. He looked down. “Yeah? Well… you keep catching yourself feeling guilty?” Sirius nodded. “Well, I keep catching myself thinking that this was it. That I’m finished.”

“You’re not. Re.” Sirius’ hand cupped his shoulder and Remus turned his head to look down at it. He could have drawn his scar in perfect alignment even while not being able to see it. Sirius’ fingers, over his shirt, traced it perfectly, too. He watched Sirius do it once, then twice. It was so much apart of him that even Sirius could map it into his skin.

“Loops.”

“You almost never call me that anymore.”

“Well, right now you’re my teammate as much as everything else and I’m telling you you’re going to get there.”

Remus smiled. He felt the waver in it and so did Sirius. “Telling me as my Captain?”

“As your Captain,” Sirius confirmed. His fingers traced the scar again. “As your friend and teammate who watched you…watched you take every part of your life back from Fenrir.”

Remus surprised himself with a laugh and tears springing to his eyes. “Fuck. I did, didn’t I?”

“Ouais.” Sirius kissed a tear away. “You fucking did.”

“Oh my God,” Remus whispered as the tears pressed harder at him. He tucked his face into Sirius’ neck and Sirius wrapped him up tight. His voice was warm and familiar in his ear.

“I’m telling you as all those things, and I’m telling you as someone who loves you more than anything. Ever.” Sirius’ hand spanned his back, rubbing gently. “D’accord. I think that was most of my English for tonight.”

Remus laughed tearfully again, and then let out a quiet sob, shoulders hitching. “I don’t know if I’m crying because I’m sad or relieved or what.”

“I don’t know either,” Sirius said. His voice held a teasing note. “But our waitress looks like she’s going to bring us free pie.”

Their next laughs were realer, and Remus pulled back. Sirius made a soft sound and thumbed away the tear tracks on Remus’ cheeks. Sirius still looked tired. The strain of the game was still there, but there was a happy, weightless flush to his cheeks that Remus had never seen before.

Sirius dipped a fry in his chocolate shake and held it out to Remus. “Sweet and salty night.”

Remus let Sirius feed him the chocolatey fry. Sirius dipped his own in ketchup and popped it into his mouth. Remus looked over his familiar profile. He’d seen it in shadows and bright lights…he would see him soon in the lake house’s sunset.

“Next year, mon loup,” Sirius said. “You and me. It’s not the end.”

Remus nodded and let Sirius tuck him back under his arm. “You and me.”

~

Logan was leaning against the side of the rooftop bar between Luke and Alex, listening to everyone swap stories and enjoying the warm wind on his back. It was good to be with Percy and Will again. He was glad now, basking in the New York night, that he hadn’t ruined this year for himself—at least not the entire year. He was glad he could stand here laughing with them about old times. The desperate fog of sadness from his first month still haunted him, but it was easier now. That was all he could hope for.

His rum and coke was sweet, but not as good as it was when Finn made it for him. The chicken wings on the table were spicy, but not as balanced as Leo’s. What had started with promises of a big, wild night had mellowed out quickly. It seemed like the team was content to simply be together, basking in the high of the win. Logan was basking with them. Just a little. Even when part of his heart, part of his mind, part of everything that was him, was at home with Leo and Finn.

It was close to three in the morning and Percy was in full form, joking with him about all the girls trying to get his attention. It was true—their group had been clocked the second they came in.

“I swear that’s the sixth one,” Percy sighed, looking over at the bar. “We’re just stars in your galaxy huh, Tremzy.”

“It’s the eyes. Nothing’s changed since college,” Will added. “Thank God Finn isn’t here.” Will had stayed out with them, which was rare. Usually he went home to his family before long. Logan was happy he was here. He’d always loved how loud his laugh was. It reminded him of Freshman year, hanging out in the kitchen of OKN house with Finn and Percy, watching Will cook the house dinner. He’d been such a good captain. The best, besides Sirius.

“What would happen if Finn was here?” Saint asked. He was standing at Luke’s side. Luke kept stealing sips of his whiskey—and narrowing his eyes playfully when Logan smiled at him.

“He, ah, sort of forgets what flirting is,” Logan explained and Alex nodded, pointing at Logan like it would enhance how true that was.

“I mean, maybe it’s more like he’s too good at it?” Percy offered.

Logan laughed. “He talks to everyone and it’s only when they ask him for his number after like, twenty minutes of talking—”

Alex laughed. “Then he’s like, oh no.”

Logan tried for a Finn accent. “Oh, shoot, sorry, I’m actually…”

Will threw his head back with that wonderful, infectious laugh. “Wait, that’s so dead on.”

Logan smiled. “But it was so so wonderful getting to know you! Those pictures you showed me of your dog—Man, they made my night.”

“All right,” Saint held up a hand. “I get it.”

“Yeah stop, it’s creepy now,” Alex said. “That’s scary good. Maybe better than mine.”

Luke scoffed. “Dude, you can’t have a Finn impression. You are a Finn impression.”

“Whoa, whoa.” Alex held up a hand. “If anything, Finn is an impression of moi.”

Logan smiled. He glanced at his phone. One new message, but from Noelle telling him he was coming to lunch tomorrow. It was late.

“Hey, hey,” Percy said, making Logan look up. “I know that look…Nu-uh. Not yet.”

Logan raised his eyebrows, smiling. “Perc.” He put on the Finn voice again. “C’mon, give me a break.”

Percy shuddered. “Okay, I didn’t mean to open this can of worms. This terrifying can of worms.”

“Perc, he beat his boys out today,” Will said. “If he wants to go home, let him.”

Percy put his hands against his chest. “But I haven’t even gotten to the best part of my day yet!”

“How could we ever guess,” Saint said flatly.

Percy winked at him. “Sebastian…Cassie Baker smiled at me today.”

Logan laughed and finished his drink. “Ouais, I’m out. You can moon over my ex-girlfriend without me.”

Alex finished off his drink, too. “I’m done, too. This was fun, boys.”

Percy spluttered. “What? It is young. The night. The earth—is young!”

“I have two boyfriends in my bed, warm and asleep,” Logan said, pushing up from the wall. “And my bed is usually very cold and very empty. So. This was fun. Goodbye.” He looked over at Luke, knocking him lightly in the shoulder as a way of saying goodnight. Luke jerked his chin in reply.

“Tremzy.” Percy actually pouted. “No, non, no.”

“Ouais, yeah, ouais,” Logan said. Percy grabbed onto his arm and made a show of putting most of his weight on Logan to keep him in place. Logan did nothing to help him and Percy began sliding towards the floor.

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Will dragged Percy back to his feet with a fond shake of his head. “You’re so embarrassing.” he nodded to Alex and Logan. “You two have a good night. Don’t beat yourselves up too hard. It was a good game.”

“Yeah.” Alex sighed but nodded. “It was.” He looked up and called over to the bar. “A round for these guys, Hank!” He tussled Percy’s hair. “My parting gift, Perseus.”

Percy sent them a mournful look, but looked willing enough to accept the drink. “Fine.”

Even Saint cracked a smile.

“That really was a good Finn,” Alex said as Logan followed him down the stairs to the main restaurant and out the door. A breeze picked up on the dark street.

“Merci.” Logan shivered a little in his thin shirt. “Are you calling an Uber?”

Alex sent him an unimpressed look.

Logan sighed. “You’re walking, aren’t you?”

“What do you take me for?”

“Fuck,” Logan said, but followed him.

It was like walking with Finn—Logan didn’t have to think about directions or finding his way around. He knew they lived near each other but would have to split up at some point. Alex would tell him when they did. For now, the air felt good against his skin and the silence was gentle. Sometimes he still felt like he could hear the game in his head.

“Finn asked me once to try and take the shot for you if I could,” Alex said.

Logan wasn’t surprised. Alex touched his elbow briefly to get him to turn left.

“Luke offered me the same,” he said. “It…it is what it is.” But that wasn’t quite right. “Non. It fucking hurts.”

“I know,” Alex said. “I’ve had that with Kasey. You want to apologize when there’s nothing to be sorry for.”

Logan half nodded, half shook his head. “I don’t know. I wish I had gotten to see Le before we left. I thought he needed space. I thought I needed space…I guess we did. I don’t know.”

“Yeah,” Alex said.

“Adrenaline’s wearing off,” Logan said. “I miss him.”

“You’re walking home.”

“I know,” Logan said, eyes down. “But I miss him.”

Alex’s hand appeared on his back, rubbing gently.

“Is Kasey doing okay?” Logan asked.

Alex was quiet for a long time. When Logan looked over, he was frowning down at the ground and fiddling with the small, dark diamond he wore.

“Alex?”

Alex guided him right. The light was red but not a car was in sight. “It’s…really hard for me to tell right now actually.” He stepped up onto a low wall and balanced for a few steps before jumping off again. The temperature had dropped. Logan thought it felt like rain.

“You’re the one who told me to talk to Finn when I was worried about us,” Logan began carefully, and frowned when Alex sort of flinched. “You’re not the type to not take your own advice.”

“I don’t know,” Alex said. “Sometimes I am.”

Logan supposed that was true enough. No one always practiced what they preached. Logan watched their feet as they walked, waiting for Alex to say more. They had fallen into sync. They were quiet for a while again. Alex lead him straight, then left, the straight on again. Logan knocked their shoulders together at one point. Alex knocked back.

“I’m not…worried about us,” Alex said suddenly. “Exactly… I just wonder—I wonder if I’m…” He rubbed a tired hand across his face as they avoided a puddle at a curb. Logan was beginning to think this was about the wedding. He didn’t blame Alex if it was. If Leo and Finn suddenly decided to get married, he’d crawl out of his fucking skin.

“You should tell them,” Logan said softly. He realized he was replying to unsaid things, but if anyone might understand even a sliver of Alex’s situation, it was him.

Alex’s face tightened. “Tell them what?”

Logan thought for a moment. “Whatever you want. Whatever you need to.”

“What I need to?” Alex repeated. “What I need is to show them—show them that I…” Alex gave a sharp shake of his head. Just as suddenly, Alex switched topics. “Thanks for coming out tonight.”

Logan looked up at him. “Alex—”

“I hope—did I force you? I’m sorry, Tremz.”

“What? Non, non. I…I’m glad I came. Really, I am. But—”

“Okay,” Alex said. “Just checking.”

The streets turned to cobblestones and took on curves. There were still a few apartment glowing. Logan liked that. It felt like Gryffindor. There was always a light on. Finally, Alex stopped.

“You’re right,” Alex said. “I’m left.”

“Oh, I thought you were agreeing with me.” What he meant was you can talk to me. “Al, can I do anything?”

Alex smiled. It was a little tight, but he gave Logan a playful shove in the right direction. “No. Thanks, Tremz.”

Logan didn’t believe him, but he didn’t know how to push either.

They stood there in front of each other for a moment. Alex huffed out a laugh and hugged him hard. A hug Logan associated with Finn, with Finn’s parents. They both did the little shoulder pat that their mom hugged with, too. It made Logan smile.

“We’re gonna be okay,” Logan said.

“Yeah,” Alex replied, muffled by Logan’s shoulder.

When Logan had crossed the street, he turned. He felt like he hadn’t tried hard enough, and he’d already made that mistake once tonight with Leo.

“Mais—I’ll say one thing?”

“What’s up?” Alex nodded, waiting on the corner.

“What you said earlier,” Logan said. “In the locker room and just now. About showing them. That we can be both lovers and—” He almost said enemies. “Opponents.”

“The…oh. Yeah?”

“I think…I think I won a hockey game today,” Logan said. "And I love my boyfriend. If I had lost a hockey game, I would still love my boyfriend. When there are no more hockey games, I’ll still love Leo. And if someone, some fucking reporter wants to link those two things, then they can go to hell.”

Alex was shades of blue and silver across the narrow street.

Logan shifted, a little nervous now. “I don’t think…I don’t think we have to show anyone anything. If it’s okay for me to say…”

Logan thought of the hell this year had been. He thought of Leo, holding him when they’d found out he was going to New York. Leo, tumbling into their living room in the middle of the night when Logan had come home from All-Stars. Leo and his soft kisses in the bright hospital hallway while they waited to see if Finn was okay. None of that was a show. Leo might like to put on a performance on the ice for the fans, but everything else about him was instinct, real and pure. Logan admired that. He’d put up fronts for Finn for so long, fronts that he was still tearing down.

“You don’t have to show Kasey and Nat anything. Not, like, a happy face or that you’re okay. That’s not…” Logan shook his head. “That’s just a bad habit, Alex.”

Alex tilted his head up to look at the faint moon over the city. It wasn’t full, but it was getting there.

“Tremzy…” Alex said slowly. When he smiled, the moonlight lit up his face. “You know what?”

“Quoi?”

“You’re fucking right.” Alex put a hand to his chest. The necklace glinted between his fingers. “You’re so fucking right.”

Logan let out a breath. He smiled back. “Yeah? I don’t know if that made sense in English.”

“Yeah.” Alex’s voice cracked, his brown eyes were bright with tears, but when Logan made to step forward he waved him off.

“Well,” Alex said. “I’m going home now.”

There was a lot of relief in that word. So much that it made Logan smile and feel choked up, too. “Me too.”

Logan tried to open the door as quietly as possible, going slow and expecting darkness.

Only, the lamp above his couch was on, turned down to the dimmest setting, and Finn was looking at him from just below it. He was wearing his faded NASA t-shirt and sweatpants, socked feet crossed on top of a pillow. His sling was draped over the back of the couch, his arm resting easily atop another pillow which also propped his book up.

Sleeping against his chest, was Leo.

Logan wanted to crumble to his knees.

“Oh,” Logan mouthed. He kept perfectly still.

Finn folded the book closed silently. He had his glasses on. Hi, his soft eyes said, and then with a glance down at Leo and a palm on his back: Don’t worry, I’ve got him.

Logan set his keys into the bowl by the door as quietly as he could. Leo. He toed his shoes off. Leo. He walked over to the couch and knelt beside them.

“You are so bad at sneaking,” Finn whispered—so quiet. “Did you have a good time?”

“Ouais,” Logan whispered back. He settled a palm beside Finn’s on Leo’s back, eyes trained on his sleeping face. He looked so peaceful. Logan leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss over his t-shirt. He looked up at Finn so he could read his lips more than hear him. “Had a good walk with Alex.”

Finn’s eyebrows raised, surprised. “Oh? Alex…is very good to walk with.”

Logan nodded. He would tell Finn he was a little worried tomorrow.

“Is he okay?” Finn asked softly.

“He will be,” Logan said. He nodded towards Leo. “And ours?”

Finn rubbed a slow hand down Leo’s back with a sigh.

“Lo…”

So far, Leo hadn’t stirred, but at Finn’s touch Logan felt the change in his breathing. Logan could always tell when Leo was awake. Slowly, Leo’s eyes opened. His cheeks were flushed. He regarded Logan sleepily for a moment. Logan felt Leo’s muscles tense as he remembered.

“Hi,” Logan said softly. “Hi, Le.”

“You—” Leo began, but his voice was hoarse and he had to begin again. “You should be out celebrating.”

“I did,” Logan said. “But I want to be here. Merde, Le, I wanted to be here fucking hours ago, I…” Logan shook his head. He was upset with himself, more so than he’d allowed himself to realize earlier tonight. “I should have come and see you. Soleil, I didn’t know…I didn’t know if you’d want…God, I love you, what can I do? Is there anything?”

Tears filled Leo’s eyes. He gave his head a small shake.

“Okay,” Logan said. Was he allowed to reach out to him? Did Leo want that? “Okay…”

“I’m going home with my parents tomorrow for a couple days, Lo.”

Everything in Logan froze. He looked up at Finn, whose eyes told him that this was what he had been about to say.

“Quoi?” Logan breathed. All the tension came right back into him. The fizzy, heavy quiet drained right out of his head.

“Lo,” Finn said, slightly warning.

It knocked him off balance, sitting back on his knees, but Finn reached out and grabbed his hand. His brown eyes were firm, clouded with racing thoughts and emotions. Relax. Think. Wait. Finn’s fingers squeezed around his own. Think. His thumbs made slow tracks across Logan’s knuckles. It’s okay. Think about him. Think about why.

Slowly, slowly, Logan pulled himself back towards Leo, who was watching him with exhausted blue eyes.

Logan let out a breath, he squeezed Finn’s hand then dropped it and combed his fingers through Leo’s hair. “I…okay. Okay. Whatever you need, Soleil.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to see you play—”

“Shh,” Logan whispered. “Le. Leo. It’s not about me. I know I just—um. Freaked out for a second. I’m sorry. We’ve had enough of that this year, ouais?” He leaned down to kiss Leo’s temple. “Home is always good.”

Finn closed his eyes at that, tucking his nose into Leo’s hair. “He’s right, Le. I…he’s right.”

Leo’s first sob was quiet, just a hitch of his chest, but the second came out in a harsh breath. He turned his face towards Finn’s chest, eyes squeezed shut.

Logan felt Leo’s pain right in the center of his chest. “We love you. So much. Le…” Logan wrapped an arm around his back, and Leo reached out a hand to hold his.

“We do,” Finn whispered. “We’re right here.”

“Always,” Logan said. “And—Le, you played so well tonight.” Logan’s throat closed up and he had to pause before he could talk again. “And I’m so fucking proud of you. You’re so talented and this year has been shit. It’s been absolute shit, Le.”

“I really—love you, I just—I need…” Leo gave up trying to talk, just pressed closer to Finn.

“You don’t have to explain,” Finn said soothingly. “We understand.”

“Ouais.” Logan nodded. “I also would—would want Eloise’s chicken soup.” Logan wiped his eyes clear of tears so he could see Leo better. “Even with full spice.”

It startled a laugh out of Leo, crying and blocked-nosed as it was. “Full spice?”

“Ouais, I would. I swear it.”

“Me too,” Finn said. “It’d make me cry but me too.”

  Outside it started to rain. A crack of thunder and the force of the drops doubled. Logan didn’t realize he’d hardly looked up until the second clap of thunder.

“The storm,” Leo said.

“Can’t hear it,” Logan replied.

Leo took a few breathes, then picked up his head from Finn’s chest and looked at him.

“Hi, pillow.”

Finn laughed softly. “Very happy to be of service.”

“Didn’t think I was going to be able to sleep at all.” Leo pressed a kiss to Finn’s chin and groaned a little as he pushed himself into a sitting position, like he hadn’t moved in ages. He let out a long breath, rubbing at his eyes.

“I love you guys, too,” Leo said. He reached out for Logan. “The ice…Seeing you on the ice…”

Logan shook his head. “I know.” He pushed himself up onto the couch when Leo made free the space on his other side. Finn sat up and slipped his sling back over his head to cradle his arm. He sat facing them criss-crossed and Leo touched his face. Finn kissed his palm.

“Did you guys eat after the game?” Logan asked.

Leo shook his head. “Finn wanted to get me something but…I really just didn’t want anything.”

“You should have something,” Logan said, then he leaned forward for a quick kiss. “Wait.” This. This was something he could do. “Don’t move, either of you.”

Logan moved around in the yellow light of his kitchen with hard-fought for ease. He cracked eggs into a bowl. He poured a splash of milk in, the way Leo had taught him. In the pan, he kept the heat on low, turning the eggs slowly so their soft curl didn’t break. He turned the heat off while they were still just a little runny, slid them onto the toasts—which he had managed to time perfectly—to let them finish cooking while they melted in butter and a few passes of shaved cheddar. Four shakes of chili flakes. He went to the fridge and found the fresh mint that Leo had bought for him. He waited a moment for his kettle to boil, then clumped the mint into three mugs and poured the hot water over them. A little drizzle of honey in Leo’s, a big drizzle in his, none for Finn.

In the living room, Finn and Leo were dozing together. Outside, the sky lit up with lightning and both of their eyes opened. Leo held out his arm.

“You’re back.”

“Of course,” Logan said.

Leo looked over at Finn. “See?”

Finn shuffled Leo closer under his arm. “I do. I do.”

Logan braced himself, setting the tray of Leo’s eggs and the three teas down just in time for the thunder to make him flinch. Leo’s eyes were clearer now. He smiled when they saw the food.

“Aw, Lo…”

“It’s nothing like you can do,” he said. “But I love you.”

I love you, love you, love you.

He settled the plate on Leo’s lap and watched as he took a bite, humming as he chewed. He held out the toast for Finn. Another crack of thunder rang out, but Logan hardly heard. He was warm in one of those softly glowing apartments he’d seen from the street. The sun was going to rise soon and Leo and Finn were tucked close to him. Their faces were tear-streaked, noses still sniffling, and it wasn’t quite their summer. Not yet.

Outside it was raining and thundering, but inside it was beginning to feel to Logan like their storm was passing by.

[yoonbroom]

TOMORROW X TOGETHER FIC RECS

a list of TXT fics I really enjoyed! pls go and show these amazing authors some love <3 if there wasn't a summary I just included a little blurb from the fics! now onto the recs ↓

CHOI SOOBIN

IT'S YOU!! YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT!!! - @koqabear

oneshot, fluff, angst, friends to lovers

Witty jokes? Didn’t really work. Pick up lines? Been there, done that. Now he probably just thinks you’re corny. These are two of many (many) methods that you used to try and get Choi Soobin, your classmate, your friend, and your husband (though he doesn’t know it yet) to notice you. Come on Soobin!!! You’re practically throwing yourself at him and yet, nothing. Is he blind, or just a robot? It’s time to find out.

FAIRY OF SHAMPOO - @02chois

series, fluff, idol au, friends to lovers, smau

soobin found his own fairy of shampoo. the one that makes him smile whenever they show up on screen, and even manages to brighten up his day whenever he's upset. but this feels a little familiar, isn't it? he hopes it won't be like the song they released. he wants to be able to face the fairy that casted a spell on him without the screen between them.

CHOI YEONJUN

JUST A LITTLE TIPSY! - @aakomii

oneshot, fluff, established relationship, idol au

Taehyun calling you to pick up your wasted boyfriend after their videoshoot with Suga!

SOFT MOMENTS WITH YEONJUN - @blue-jisungs

oneshot, fluff, est relationship, idol au

"Hihii!! Your writings are so incredibly good like you deserve to be one of the big 3 writers of kpop fanfic dead serious here. Can i request random moments with idol yeonjun!! In the dorm, practice room, with the members. Just random moments while dating yeonjun :))"

CHOI BEOMGYU

ATTENTION - @/aakomii

oneshot, fluff, college

Everyone and their mama knows about Beomgyu’s massive crush on you. Even you do, but you’ve never given the poor boy a chance. He’s not complaining though, he loves the chase and you love the attention.

ETERNALLY - @h4chi

series, fluff, angst, fake dating, friends to lovers, idol au, smau

yn works as a producer for the companies BigHit and SM. one day she founds herself victim of a dating scandal, but what will happen when she agrees with her company to a dating rumor?

LOVE YOU, LOVE YOU, LOVE YOU... - @wildernessuntothemselves

oneshot, fluff, angst, smut, arranged marriage, royalty

You go into your arranged marriage already distrusting your husband and all other men, and despite him repeatedly attempting to gain your favor, you are resolved to rebuke him at every turn. Will you manage to keep up the walls you’ve built to protect yourself, or will prince Beomgyu succeed in getting through your defenses?

HOW TO GET THE GIRL - @ijhyo

oneshot, fluff, angst, friends to lovers, college

lee chaeryeong is the most sought after girl in your school. everyone has fallen victim to her charms, including choi beomgyu and it is no surprise that he wants to try and win her over. what is a surprise is that he came to you for help considering that one: you have never spoken to him in your life, and two: you have no connection to chaeryeong at all. well, except for your beginners music composition class.

TOTALLY UNLABELED KISS - @heart2beom

oneshot, fluff, best friends to lovers

in which you and beomgyu teeter between being normal best friends and well...best friends who makeout from time to time.

KANG TAEHYUN

태현 소프트 시간 ⟡ [8:26 AM] - @kazmura

drabble, fluff, est relationship

"As the sun's gentle rays streamed through the curtains, casting a warm glow in the room, you slowly stirred awake, greeted by the peaceful stillness of the morning. The soft sheets tangled around your body, and you shifted slightly, feeling the weight of Taehyun's arm draped over your waist, holding you close in a comforting embrace."

HERO - @btxtreads

series, fluff, angst, idol, samu

"Heavily based off of the Disney Channel Original Movie “Starstruck”

OMG - @eundiarys

series, fluff, angst, idol au, smau, fake dating

in which — yn who just debuted gets into a dating scandal with one of the most famous group members because of a misunderstanding and is forced to fake date with him. what happens if it isn’t as bad as she thinks? and and what if she finds comfort with him? (❗️ — dia’s jueun is used to potray yn! )

SEASONS (WAITING ON YOU) - @noramoons

oneshot, fluff, angst, college

when your high school sweetheart choi yeonjun is off to grad school, you aren’t too worried about how your relationship will last—but your favorite coworker, kang taehyun, is. OR: a study in the seasons of loving and losing choi yeonjun—and how you put yourself back together afterwards.

HUENING KAI

LONELY BOY WILL STAY LONELY? - @awmancreeper

series, fluff, angst, idol au, enemies to lovers

StayC’s Y/n is notorious for being K-pop’s social butterfly and making friends comes rather easy for her. When she’s asked to be an MC for Inkigayo, one of her co-hosts doesn’t seem too pleased to be working with her. This unknown feeling sparks a drive to become the bestest of friends with him but from the looks of it, he’ll fight her the whole way there.

want recs for other groups? check out my navigation → here!

[foreveralbon]

i see heaven in your eyes - mv33

pairing: max verstappen x reader | word count: 900~

series masterlist | masterlist

your whole life, you’d always thought that giving love is much easier than being loved.

it might’ve been because you’d spent so long perfecting yourself, making yourself the best person you could possibly be, for the sake of everyone around you. some might say you conform to the needs of everyone else - you say that’s how you show love. what better way to say i love you than to be the best version of yourself?

and while you hold that mentality close to your heart, many others never quite reciprocated that feeling. you found that people preferred to receive love rather than give it back. eventually, you grew accustomed to never getting the same treatment in return.

so when max of all people was the one to hold your hand and get you off the ground, you were surprised to say the least. he wasn’t a man of many words, nor was he one to show his affection often. but for you? for you, he was always talking, always smiling and laughing and there was never a moment that he didn’t have a hand on you. and when he’s not holding you, he’s holding something for you.

the first time he did it, you were skeptical.

“i can hold it,” you’d said, reaching out to grab your backpack from him. you’d gotten as far as looping your fingers through the strap before he was tugging it back towards him.

he’d frowned. “no, i’ve got it.”

it was then that you’d realised his only intention was to take care of you. you didn’t like it though, hated it almost. the thought of having someone else concerned over you was unnerving - you’d gotten used to doing it yourself, being by yourself.

but as much as being taken care of was an unusual feeling, being loved back was even more odd.

over time, max’d become the lighthouse guiding you to shore, the anchor to stop you drifting too far from him. when he sees you pulling back from his affection, his smile is the tether pulling you back down to the ground, and when you’re the one to look after him, he’s sure he falls more in love with you each time.

he never stops showing his love. it becomes… overwhelming to say the least, but you can’t ask him to stop. you don’t think you ever can because you’ve come to crave his love, need it as if it’s oxygen, as if it’s a lifeline pulling you back down to earth.

but it makes you feel guilty as well - you much preferred it when it was you taking care of them, not the other way around.

the guilt comes at weirdest, most uncalled for times. like now, when you’re lying down on your bed, max sitting against the headboard behind you and his fingers are tangled in your hair.

the moment he’d walked into your home, you’d seen the exhaustion etched into his features, worn out from two back-to-back weekends of racing. you’d suggested a movie night to ease the stress out of him, but even then, you were the one sat back, watching him as he moved around the house, putting away his clothes and preparing snacks for the movie.

you’d protested profusely but he’d simply guided you back to bed with a finger to your lips and shh, i’ll take care of it.

now, he’s focused on the movie. you, on the other hand, cannot stay still. there’s a notion lingering in the back of your mind, and it’s nagging you to ask him, though you know it’s a meaningless question.

max notices your discomfort, and squeezes your shoulder, as though to ask is everything okay, my love?

“why do you do all this max?”

your voice is small and weak, and max just about feels his heart break at your question. he quickly pauses the movie before pulling you onto his lap to make sure you don’t avoid his gaze.

“i don’t know what you mean by that, schatje.”

you shrug. “why do you do things for me, max? i mean, no one i know did. so what did i do to deserve it from you?”

he sighs deeply, purses his lips. you give him time to think - you’d never take his silence as hesitation. with max, silence means he’s forming the words in his head, articulating them to make the most of it.

“you didn’t ask me anything,” he starts. “you didn’t ask for anything. whatever you gave me was - is - from your heart. you give your whole to everything and everyone, why shouldn’t i do the same back?”

there’s a lump forming in your throat, the only thing that’s holding back your tears. he can see your willpower crumbling, can see it in the way you breathe deeply to stop the tears, the way your hands twitch as though stopping themself from touching him. so he brings your palm to his chest, right over his heart, to steady you, remind you that it beats for you. always you.

“i’m not a religious man, schatje,” he murmurs, resting his forehead on yours. “but i see heaven in your eyes, and i never want to look away. write my name next to yours on the list into heaven, just so that i know it’ll be there forever.”

“but-” he stops your protesting before you even start, already knowing what you’re going to say. he knows you’re going to keep questioning yourself, him and his love for you.

“when i see you, i want to worship you like the queen you are, the way you’ve always deserved to be worshipped. what else am i supposed to do?”

and what else can he do, when everything he’s always wanted is right in front of him?

—

song + translation if anyone is interested! also just a gentle disclaimer, these are based solely off lyrics, so sometimes it may not really suit the song itself (this was so half-assed i’m sorry)

@namgification please let me know if you’d like to be added to my taglist!

[wwinterwitch]

the film (eddie munson x fem!reader)

summary: after finding a very interesting movie in eddie's trailer, you can't help but point out a very important detail...you and the girl on the tv look exactly alike.

pairing: eddie munson x fem!reader

word count: 4,678

requested?: yes

warnings/what to expect: SMUT (18+ MDNI), bestfriend!eddie, descriptions of a porn video, reader has glasses, teasing, kissing, dry humping, dirty talk, glasses kink i guess, oral (m receiving), cum swallowing, facial (yk), vaginal fingering, p in v sex, protected sex (yay!), praise, daddy kink, also gif's not mine

a reblog and/or comment on my posts really help me out as a content creator so thank you in advance if you take the time to do either!

main masterlist | stranger things masterlist

Like any other Friday night you found yourself laying in Eddie's bed, listening to him compose new music for his band. The scene has to be the best way to end the week. Watching Eddie play his guitar, half of his hair up in a bun while half fell loosely to his shoulders, the short sleeved t-shirt he was wearing did little to no attempt to cover his arms...

God, you love Fridays.

But your show was interrupted when Eddie stopped playing, unplugging his guitar before hanging it on the wall where it usually is before joining you on the bed. Both of you were with your backs against the mattress, looking up at the ceiling of Eddie's room.

"You're staying the night?" he asks.

It wasn't unusual for you to spend the night at Eddie's house. The two of you have been best friends since you were little, so sleepovers were a recurrent thing. Your parents love Eddie, Uncle Wayne loves you. You're always welcomed to stay, just like Eddie is always welcomed to stay at your house.

And unlike what most people would think, nothing has ever happened between you and Eddie. Not once in all your years of friendship.

Not like you haven't thought of something happening. Because you have. Far too many times.

You can't deny that even though you enjoy spending time with him, it's gets harder and harder to pretend like sleeping next to him isn't driving you insane. Because you can't do anything but lay there. You can't move closer, you can't touch him. You can't tangle your fingers in his hair and whimper next to his ear while he's fingering you underneath the covers, trying your best to stay quiet because your parents are sleeping in the room at the end of the hallway. All of that lives hidden inside your mind.

"Maybe," was your reply, still not entirely sure if his company is worth spending yet another night craving him. "Why?"

"I need to make a quick delivery down the block. I wanted to know if I needed to take my van or not, in case I needed to give you a ride home."

"Wasn't planning on leaving yet."

"Good," was his reply, that hint of a flirtatious tone in his voice, but the glimpse of it wasn't strong enough to let yourself believe he's actually flirting. Eddie stood up to walk over to his desk, the familiar lunchbox placed there. He took out a few bags before putting on his usual leather jacket and putting the bags inside the pockets. "Wanna go with me?"

"I'd rather stay here."

"Fine. Try not to burn my house down."

With that said, Eddie walked out of his bedroom. Shortly after, you heard the front door of the trailer opening and closing, meaning you're completely alone now.

You rolled to your side on his bed, getting into a much comfortable position. The small TV in one corner of his room catches your attention, and you figure you could watch something until he gets back. The remote control was on top of his nightstand, but shortly after trying to turn the TV on a couple of times you realized it wasn't working.

Sighing, you stood up from the bed and began pushing the little button that should turn the artifact on, but nothing was happening. The solution to your current problem appeared before you when you kneeled down to check the cable, realizing it was disconnected.

As soon as you plug the TV, you hear a series of loud moans coming from it. You jumped slightly at the sudden sound, your cheeks starting to burn a little when you realize what is going on.

Eddie forgot he had a porn film playing. Maybe he had to unplug the damn thing in order to avoid getting caught watching that. Was it Uncle Wayne the one that almost discovered him or was it you?

But before your mind could drift entirely that way, you focus on another much important manner that requires your immediate attention the moment your eyes land on the screen and witness what is going on. There, you see a woman kneeling in front of the guy that's filming her, a close-up to her face as she begins sucking the guy's dick...she looks exactly like you.

You were kinda shocked to see just how similar this person is to you. Same hair color, same eye color, same nose...even the same pair of glasses you wear. Could this be...? No way. Is...Eddie watching a porn film with an actress that looks just like you?

Fuck.

You were unsure if you wanted to watch the rest or not. Has he watched it more than once or was this the first time he's seen it? It was already halfway in so most definitely he has seen enough. Doesn't he realize how similar you and the actress are? Or did he get this film because you and the actress are very similar?

After hearing the woman moaning around the guy's dick for another few seconds, you finally decided to pause the video and turn off the TV as if nothing happened, going back to the bed and deciding to stay there. Maybe it's better if you don't touch anything else.

When Eddie got back, you were staring at the ceiling while laying on your back. He smiled your way, taking his jacket off and putting the money he got for the drugs in a safe place.

"You've been there the whole time doing nothing?" he asks jokingly, his back facing you while he counts a few dollars before closing the little box where he kept his money.

"Mostly," was your reply, failing to hold back the smirk forming on your lips.

"What does that mean?" he insisted, finally turning to look at you. The look on his face let you know he has absolutely no idea where this is going.

You were quiet for a few seconds before turning to point at the TV. "I tried watching cartoons..."

When your attention was back on Eddie, he looked absolutely mortified. His cheeks were red and he looked panicked, opening his mouth to say something but closing it when he realized he couldn't find something to say.

"Those weren't cartoons..." you teased him even further.

"You– I...How much did you watch?" he asked, walking towards the TV and staring at it, knowing there's nothing he can do now to prevent you from watching that movie.

"Not much," you replied, shrugging despite him once again not looking at you. "But it was interesting..."

"What? Why?" he blurts out nervously, turning to face you. "What's interesting?"

You can tell Eddie is mortified. His cheeks are still burning red and he's frantically moving his arms around when he speaks. He only gestures this much when he's nervous.

"Actually, I don't think I want to know," he added right after.

"It's a good thing...I think."

He somehow looks even more frustrated. You didn’t think that was possible. "You think?"

"Depends on what your answer is."

That comment certainly made Eddie more interested, stopping to protest about how uncomfortable he was to really think about what could happen next. If you say it depends on his answer...

"What is it?" he eventually asks.

Him being cooperative made you smile, sitting up on the bed, legs crossed and hands resting against the mattress at each side of you. "If I tell you the question, you must answer. And no lies!"

"Sure, okay," he dismisses it, curious to know what you had in mind.

You doubted yourself for a second before finally asking the one question that kept playing over and over in your head since you saw that movie. "The woman in that film...does she happen to look like me or was that the idea?"

Eddie scoffed, immediately shaking his head. "Nope! Nope! Not answering that!"

"You said–!"

"I didn't know that was the question!"

"Well...your reaction kind of answers it perfectly, anyway," you commented.

He looks ever more defeated, too self-aware to try to come on top in this situation, knowing he couldn't save himself. He was watching a porn film with an actress that looks exactly like you and you noticed. You know he jerks off watching someone that resembles you getting fucked over and over again, wishing that was actually you being completely wrecked by him.

There's no way he's winning this one.

"Why are you doing this?" he gave up, taking a seat at the very edge of his bed. "It's enough knowing you watched the damn thing, I don't need you teasing me about it."

"I'm not teasing you, Eds," was your reply, crawling to where he was. "Well, I was. But not in a bad way..."

Eddie leans back just slightly when he notices the way you crawl on top of him, sitting on his lap with one leg at each side of his body. A hand rests at the back of his neck, the other carefully traces up and down his sleeveless t-shirt.

His hands instinctively rest at each of your thighs as he watches you. The gesture makes you smile, leaning closer to him. His breath catches in his throat when he feels you moving on top of him, knowing you did that on purpose. The feeling of your pants rubbing against his black jeans wasn't nearly enough to help you ease the growing ache in between your thighs, but at least it was something.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm actually flattered."

"You...you are?" he asks in disbelief.

You nod, the smile never fading as you move slightly closer, your face too close to his. He immediately wraps an arm around your lower back hoping that would make you stay right there, your noses practically touching at that point.

"Yeah. I mean, why wouldn't I like knowing you touch yourself thinking about me?" you asked innocently. "Because that's what you do, right?"

"Yeah...All the time," he was barely able to say, too focused on the fact that you were straddling him, your hips once again moving just enough to tease him. And you made sure to look at him as if you had no idea what your movements on top of him were doing to his body and mind. Like this wasn't driving him insane.

"Say it for me, please."

Eddie practically moans at your request. "I jerk off thinking about you."

"Yeah? And you think about all the stuff you could be doing to me if I was there with you?"

He nods after your question, silently begging for you to lean down and kiss him at this point. Or for you to start moving your hips faster. Or both. Both would be great, but either would be enough for now.

"Would you like to show me, Eddie?" you ask again, eager for this to escalate already.

"Can I show you?" he practically repeats, unable to still fully comprehend how did he managed to be in this situation with you on top of him, asking if he can fuck you like the many times he had fantasized about it. It's too good to be true.

"I'd love that," you reply, as if the fact that you started rocking your hips faster wasn't enough of an answer.

Just right after you said those words, you lean down and finally crash your lips against his. The second you're kissing him, Eddie loses all self control he had left, immediately starting to kiss you back as his hands gently grab your ass, forcing you to speed up your movements on top of him.

The kiss deepens, your tongue meeting his as the two of you continue to make out. You could feel his pants becoming tighter underneath you, letting you know how much Eddie was enjoying this.

You eventually move back from the kiss and, much to Eddie's discomfort, you get back on your feet and take a few steps back from the bed. Just before Eddie could protest about you being so far away from him, he stays quiet when he notices your hands grabbing the end of your shirt, pulling it over your shoulders and off your body.

It made you feel exposed, but you can't deny how much you enjoy having his attention. To know his eyes are scanning your body and the more he does the more turned on he gets. To watch him having to fix the fit of his jeans because it was almost impossible to keep them on with the boner he currently has. And you're the one to blame for that.

He watches as you reach to your back, getting rid of your bra too. The item of clothing fell to the floor at your feet but Eddie couldn't care any less about that, as he was way too focused on your now exposed chest.

Eddie was standing in front of you in no time, taking his shirt off and throwing it somewhere before capturing your lips again in a heated kiss while his hands cupped your tits. They were cold, making you hiss against the touch, but somehow it made it that much enjoyable.

Moans would leave your mouth anytime Eddie would pinch one of your nipples, gently twisting them with his fingers before massaging your tits however he wanted. Your sounds were muffled almost entirely against Eddie's lips.

You only broke the kiss so you could look at him, not wanting to miss his reaction the moment you got on your knees in front of him, your fingers tracing down his body until meeting his belt. Eddie's eyes got darker in anticipation, his mouth slightly agape as his breaths became heavier, watching you unbuckle his belt and unzip his pants before sliding them down his legs.

His underwear was still in the way, his erection more evident than ever now. He breathes out slowly the second he feels your hand palming him. The reaction makes you smirk, slowly tracing your fingers up to his hips, grabbing his underwear in an even slower gesture just to tease him a little bit more. You can tell Eddie is frustrated, his hips involuntarily rocking closer to you and his body tensing just enough.

But you finally decide to show him mercy, sliding his underwear down to expose his already fully-erect cock. You bit your lip at the image in front of you, once again looking up at Eddie with a smirk. The way you just looked at him nearly drove him insane, grabbing a fistful of your hair to guide you closer to him.

You gladly take him inside your mouth, all at once first before focusing exclusively on his tip, only to fill your mouth with every inch of him that could fit one more time, repeating the process. And you didn't care about being too messy or too loud, which encouraged Eddie to rock his hips faster. That, and the fact that you kept looking up at him through your glasses with a doe-eyed look while continuing to take him inside your mouth.

"Fuck, baby..." he grunts, gripping your hair tighter. "Your mouth feels so good...look so pretty like that with my dick down your throat."

You moan around him, loving to be praised like that for what you were doing. One of your hands travels under your sweatpants and panties, your fingers starting to rub hurried circles on your clit.

Eddie noticed the gesture. "Touching yourself while you suck me off, hmm? Can't wait to play with that pretty pussy of yours."

He continued to thrust in and out of your mouth, you meeting his movements halfway by bobbing your head. At the speed you two were going, the scene got messier and much louder, his dick coated with your saliva.

You knew Eddie was getting closer and closer, his moans increasing and his eyebrows furrowing closer together with each series of thrusts.

Eventually, you took him out of your mouth to start pumping him, wanting him to cum all over your face. It didn't take long for Eddie to do exactly that, his cum falling predominantly inside your mouth and over your glasses.

"You're beautiful," Eddie compliments you, the image of you still on your knees with his cum all over your face being his new favorite things in the entire world.

He watches you swallow what fell inside your mouth, using your fingers to clean around your chin before he walked over to his dresser to grab a few tissues so you could clean yourself. You take a few tissues for your face before removing your glasses, trying your best to clean them as much as possible before rubbing the glasses against the fabric of your sweatpants in an effort to clean them even further, making the stains disappear much better.

When you get on your feet and put your glasses on again, Eddie grabs your face with both of his hands and pulls you in for a heated, passionate kiss. Your tongues meet almost instantly and you moan into his mouth when his hands leave your face to grab your ass instead, squeezing the flesh there.

"I really made a mess on you, huh?" he mutters after pulling away from you, looking down to see a few ropes of cum still dripping down your chest. Just when you were about to move back to clean properly, he grabs both of your arms to stop you from walking away. "It's okay, I can clean it for you."

You lean your head back when you feel his tongue tracing its way across your body, making sure to clean everything off you. When he was done, you were quick to pull him in for yet another kiss, appreciative of him for helping.

Eddie guides you to the edge of his bed and you only move back from the kiss to lay down, gladly accepting his kiss again when he's positioned on top of you. His hands immediately start pulling your sweatpants down your legs and you allow him, lifting your hips from the mattress so he can easily get rid of them.

You're forced to move away from his lips when you feel his fingers touching you, his hand making its way inside your panties and his fingers already in contact with your clit. He rubs his fingers in slow circles, his head moving to hide his face in the crook of your neck.

"So wet for me already," he whispers. "Should we get rid of your panties?"

"Yeah," you reply, nodding eagerly. Eddie starts kissing your neck while his hands take care of removing your underwear. You feel him smile against your skin when you spread your legs wider for him, needing to feel his touch again.

Two of his fingers trace down your pussy until they reach your hole, slowly entering you as you let out a moan at the sensation. He pulls them out of you only to thrust inside of you again, this time faster, curling his fingers inside you.

He moves back from your neck so he can look at you, watching your face while he continues to finger you, smirking every time he would curl his fingers because he knows how much you enjoy the feeling just by the way you react whenever he does it. Your breathing would become heavier, your mouth would open wider, your hips would rock slightly faster.

"You like that?" he asks. "Tell me how good it feels."

"It feels so good, Eddie," you whimper, needing him to move faster already. You grab the back of his neck to pull him closer to your face again. "Faster," you whisper, your lips practically touching his. He increased the speed like you requested. "Shit, like that...keep doing that."

"Is this better for you?" he insisted, wanting to hear you express what he's making you feel as much as he possibly could.

"Yes."

"Are you gonna cum all over my fingers?"

You really tried not to lean your head back into the pillow, enjoying your face so close to his as he continues to say all these things to you. "Uh-huh."

He continued to make out with you right after that, fingering you impossibly faster now. The muffled sound of your moans encouraged him to keep that pace, knowing that meant you'll soon reach your orgasm.

You can feel him rocking his hips against one side of your body, already getting hard again with the sensation of his fingers moving in and out of you, your pussy just so wet all around him.

Eddie uses his thumb to take care of your aching clit while his fingers repeatedly curl inside you, making you grind your hips against him desperately. He moves back, admiring your face as you get closer and closer. "Want to hear your pretty sounds," was his explanation as to why he would stop kissing you.

He once again focused on your neck, his mouth sucking on the skin there. You knew that would leave a mark, but that didn't bother you in the slightest. The idea of Eddie branding you, claiming your body like that, only contributed to the knot in your stomach becoming tighter.

And he made sure to leave not just one hickey, but several. He would occasionally bite down on your neck, adoring to feel the way your grip on his bicep would tighten, nails digging on his skin and your back arching in response while your pussy clenched around his fingers. Your other hand was gripping the sheets underneath you, desperately wanting to hold onto anything because you were just too close, your body needing to brace itself for it.

You lose it when you feel his teeth biting your earlobe, letting out the loudest moan yet when you reach your orgasm. Eddie moves back again, not wanting to miss the show. The sight of you whimpering, still rocking your hips against his fingers, looking so needy and vulnerable for him. And he couldn't get enough of the look in your eyes when you stare back at him, knowing he did a great job just by the expression on your face.

Your hand reaches down to grab his wrist, silently pleading him to keep his movements as slow and gentle as possible, still sensitive from the feeling of your orgasm. He understands, his fingers carefully moving in and out of you one last time before moving his hand away.

Eddie looks at you with a grin, his fingers absolutely soaked with your juices. He didn't think twice before cleaning them off with his mouth, which has to be the hottest thing you've ever seen.

Right after, both of his arms are at each side of your head and he's leaning down to capture your lips in a very heated kiss, tongues meeting and teeth occasionally crashing as you both hungrily devour each other's mouths. You can feel him rubbing himself against your stomach, and you whimper at the feeling because you need to feel him somewhere else.

He only pulls away from you to reach for a condom from his nightstand. You sit on the bed, moving your hips further up to give him space to put the condom on before continuing what you were just about to do.

A smile appears on your face when you see he's done, chuckling when he grabs your hips and pulls you back down, your back pressed against the mattress as you return to your previous position. He was so eager for you and you can just tell by the way he's looking at you.

Eddie kisses you again, holding his weight with one arm while the other explores your body, fingers tracing down your hip to your thigh, grabbing your leg to put it over his shoulder. The position stretches you out even further, moaning in anticipation because you can feel how exposed you are for him.

One of your hands holds onto his bicep the second Eddie starts entering you. "Fuck," you let out in pure ecstasy, already wanting to have him buried deep within you.

You moan again when his skin touches yours, indicating he's fully inside you. When he pulls out, your available leg practically forces him back in by wrapping around him, which definitely took Eddie by surprise judging by the grunt that just escaped his lips.

"So needy of my cock, huh?" he teased. "It's okay, baby. I'll give you exactly what you need."

"Please, Eddie..." you moan, enjoying the fact that his thrusts increased. You were so wet, it was so easy for him to go in and out of you.

He continued to fuck you, the chain hanging from his neck tickling your own while his thrusts continued. Your leg hanging from his shoulder helps to make you feel him deeper than ever, making the experience that much better. He's reached places inside you you're pretty sure no one else has. Ever. And you wouldn't want any other person this seeded in you that isn't Eddie.

Only he can have you like this, a moaning and sweaty mess because he doesn't look like wanting to slow down his movements. He's the only one that would ever make you feel like this. No one can fuck you like he can, and you hope this isnt't the first and only time you get to have him inside you.

Your glasses were starting to fog because your face was buried in his neck while he continued to thrust in and out, forcing you to move your head to the side to avoid them making it impossible to see a thing. That gave him the perfect opportunity to begin kissing your jaw.

"I'm gonna cum," you announced, knowing that you wouldn't last when he's repeatedly hitting that sweet spot inside you, your nails digging harder on his arm.

"I'm right behind you," he replies, his lips barely breaking contact with your skin as he speaks. "Cum for me, baby. I want to feel your pussy clenching around me."

"Keep talking like that..." you were barely able to say, feeling you could come any second.

"I need to feel you squeezing my dick when you cum all over me. Make sure to say my name, too. I bet it sounds so pretty when you're screaming it for me while I keep fucking you nice and hard."

"Oh, fuck...Eddie!" you practically gasp, holding onto him as you reach your orgasm, eyes rolling to the back of your head as you completely lose yourself in it, enjoying every second of your release.

"That's it," he encourages, smiling down at you. "So fucking tight around me..."

"Please, give it to me, Eds," you're barely able to plead, still trying to ride down your recent orgasm. "I've been good for you, I need...please, I deserve it. Please."

"You've been so good," he agrees, practically hoping that would be enough hint that he also wants you to keep talking.

"I have. I've taken your cock so well, Eddie...don't you think your good girl deserves to feel you cum?"

"Fuck, you do. You deserve...you deserve it all, baby. "

You whimper underneath him, knowing he was so close already. You just needed to give him one last encouragement for him to lose it entirely. And you knew exactly what you needed to say to get him to break right there.

"Please, daddy. I need to feel you cum."

It was like a secret code only you knew the correct answer to. Or like a complicated riddle only you had the answer to. Because as soon as those words left your mouth, Eddie was rapidly reaching his own orgasm.

A few occasional profanities left his lips as he came down from it all, his hands still worshiping your body as he gave his final thrusts before finally pulling away from you.

He got rid of the used condom while you got under the covers of his bed, not minding to get dressed just yet. You could do that later. Right now you just wanted to rest in his bed.

Eddie got back and joined you underneath the covers. You were gladly surprised when he wrapped his arms around you, giving you a quick kiss on the top of your head. He didn't bother to put any clothes on either.

"So, was that better than your movie?" you asked jokingly, obviously knowing the answer.

"Much better," he replied instantly, which inevitably made you chuckle. "Don't think I'll need to watch that anymore if I can fuck you like this whenever I want."

"Yeah, you can forget all about that stupid film," you agreed, already waiting for the next time you get to have Eddie all to yourself like this again.

[whoxeology]

can you write the sfw alphabet with percy? hihii i thought it was so cute and i really love ur writing style!!

- b 💖

A/N: AGHH OF COURSE I CAN. This is my first request and I’m so excited. I'm so happy you enjoyed my writing :3 Thank you so much for request B 🫶🏼

⛧☾༺♰SFW Alphabet♰༻☽⛧

PAIRING: Percy Jackson x Reader

WARNINGS: Established Relationship, Swear Words, Possible spoilers for TLT, Kissing, Making Out, OOC Percy.

W.C: 3.05k

A/N: I have not read the books only knowledge I have of Percy is from the movies, TV series, and multiple fics I have read. While making this I have Logan Lerman Percy Jackson in mind but feel free to imagine him as you wish. With that being said this is purely for fun and these are just my headcannons. You are more than welcome to disagree and leave feedback.

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Percy is the personification of affection. Whenever he's around you (which is always) he has to have your attention directed towards him. His love language is obviously touch so numerous hugs and countless kisses throughout the day. He's not afraid of PDA hell he's proud to show you off as his. He'll kiss you like there's no tomorrow when he leaves. Only to be back an hour later. When he's with you he will always be touching you in some sort of way. Hand on the small of your back, holding your hand, arm wrapped around your waist any way for him to remind himself that you are not going anywhere.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

You would be at camp before he was, it would be similar to his and Luke's dynamic (Minus the betrayal). You would be friends with Luke, meaning he would introduce Percy to you. Percy being Percy would go straight into his usual sassy self. Seeing as you and Percy were much closer in age you and him would hit it off. He found himself as protective, as loving, as sarcastic towards you as he was towards Grover.

After being told that someone he calls a friend would betray him he didn't think it would be you or Luke (He was definitely wrong about one of those) and when it was found out to be Luke he kinda ices you out. He thought that considering how close you and Luke were you had to know. When he finds out that you really didn't know about Luke he lets you back in. Slowly as if he's still on guard and worried about you suddenly also being with Kronos.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

Percy is touchy in public when it's just the two of you he practically lives and breathes in you. If you are in his cabin (Which is always because he has his own cabin) then he'd love to lay on your chest, arms secured tightly around your waist, and your legs wrapped securely around his waist. Like a koala on a branch.

Sometimes when Percy has had a rough day he likes to cuddle with you in his lap. Having your hands tangled in his hair while his hands drift from tracing your spine to caressing your hips. Your legs are on either side of his thighs as his legs are slightly bent pushing you further into him.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

When it comes down to settling, Percy would love to be with you for the rest of his life. However, the idea of having children with you would concern him a little. Not because he doesn't want kids with you more rather because he wouldn't want to put you or the children in danger. If you guys did have kids he would certainly wish for all boys but the second your baby girl was born he'd adore her with every fiber in his being. She'd so be spoiled and reign over her brothers.

Percy sucks at cooking but at least he's better than Luke. He knows how to cook the basics eggs, spaghetti, blue cookies, etc. He'd always try though. For you, he's willing to learn loving the way your eyes light up when you eat whatever concoction he made up with. Even when it's not edible.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

No. Percy would rather be dragged into the depths of Tartarus than break up with you. Oh lord and if you tried to break up with him. Good luck.

"Percy I think we should break up" "No" "No? What do you mean no this isn't your choice" "You're right it's OUR choice and I said no" "Percy this isn't up for negotiation" "I know I said no and that's it, sweetheart you are not getting rid of me that easy nice try tho" " I hate you" "You know you love me"

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

From the moment Percy saw you he knew you'd be the end of him. He'd be anything you'd want him to be. A friend, a best friend, ..... a lover. He knew that if you just wanted to be friends he would be by your side through everything, If you wanted him to be a lover he'd probably run through camp cheering then run back to you and twirl you around. He'd be yours from the moment you saw him.

The only marriage he saw growing up was his mother's and Gabe's. He knew he would be nothing like Gabe. He would want to marry you whenever you were ready. He would be the best husband he could possibly be.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

Physically Percy is strong. Like really fucking strong he killed a minotaur by himself at age 12 During training sessions, he goes easy on you unless you tell him not to (Even then he's still holding back). Other times Percy would try his best to be softer around you in fear of hurting you.

Emotionally Percy is deflective. Percy isn't the type to sit down and talk about his feelings. When his feelings get too much he tries to ignore them. He asks about your day, he's overly active in camp activities, he's up and about. When it comes to your emotions Percy tries his best to comfort you. He is not entirely sure how to handle emotions too well but he tries.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

Percy hugs you as if you are going to disappear. He hugs you any chance he gets. He'll come up to you and wrap his hands around your waist while yours go around his neck. Stupid grin on his face while you and him rock back and forth. Or sometimes when you're busy he'll come up and hug you from behind head resting on your shoulder watching you as you do whatever it is that you're doing. His hands always soothingly slip under your shirts the feel of your skin on his makes him feel at peace.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

Percy knew he loved you since he first saw you so of course he would say it rather fast. Most of the time it was a quick "I love you" before he ran off to do gods know what but on your first date he looked into your eyes and practically bared his soul to you and said in the most hushed voice "I love you" as if this time he feared you would disappear or would suddenly realize you deserved better.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

Percy wasn't the type to get jealous. Only because he didn't have a reason to be. Everyone in camp knew he was your boyfriend. No one dared to make a move on you especially when your boyfriend killed a minotaur at 12 and is the son of Posiden. However, when an old friend of yours showed up in camp things went a little sour. The newcomer was not only gorgeous with his wavy blonde hair, beautiful tan skin, and piercing honey-brown eyes but he was naturally funny, talented, and really fucking flirty. He'd always be with you and seeing as you were an old friend you felt obligated to show him around. When Percy found out that this hunk was an ex of your good gods was he beyond jealous. He immediately stuck to your side and made sure Mr. Supermodel knew that he was yours and was not going to be replaced.

He'd call you baby, love, and doll in literally everyyyyy sentence. He'd take your hand and interlace it with his and examine your hands together very visibly while you talked to your friend. He'd stare at your friend as he kissed your cheek. While you were mid-sentence he'd whisper something in your ear that would either make you lose focus by giggling or turning bright red while being speechless.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like?)

Percy can hold his breath for quite some time so his kisses are so long you feel as if you'd faint. Percy kisses with his all. Trying to get in your skin basically. He'll wrap his arms around you or pin you to a wall and push himself impossibly closer to you. He loves to kiss you anywhere he can. Your hands, your lips, your arms, your legs, as well as other places of course.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

Percy can not be trusted around children. Swear if you left a child with Percy they would learn enough curse words to make Hades himself gasp in shock. If they're older and a bit more hardheaded leave it to Percy to knock em around. With the younger kids at camp, he'd definitely scare them a few times while training.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Percy is not a morning person. Most of the time you'd wake up, manage to get ready, have breakfast, and have at least 2 training sessions before he even stumbled out of bed. On the rare occasions when Mr. D dragged Percy out of bed and into the mess hall Percy would manage to say at least 2 sarcastic comments to and behind Mr. D's back and sneak in a least 3 cuss words before promptly falling asleep with his head smashed into the table.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Since Percy has his own cabin you and him often spend the nights together there. The two of you are entangled within each other grasp. Since your cabin was fuller than Percy's you would stash some of your belongings in his cabin per his request of course so that it felt more like your place too. You had a mushroom blanket that you crocheted years ago that Percy had draped over his bed. It wasn't at all symmetrical or pretty since it was the first one you ever made but Percy cherished it nonetheless. You'd often times sneak out of his cabin with him and go to the lake. He loved to be in the water and you loved to be with him. You'd stay out way past curfew and swim until your legs burned and your fingers were prunes.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

Percy would unknowingly say things around you that made you wonder out loud about his past. It took him some time to open up but after you guys got together he'd tell you all about his life over a short span of being together. You'd be in the lake with his arms around his neck and legs around his waist as he told you about his mom. He told you about her smile, her hugs, her famous blue cookies. His eyes would sparkle brighter than the stars themselves as he talked about her.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

Percy is impulsive but he does not lack patience. If anything he has more patience than most. He knows this and he uses it to his advantage. Seeing as he makes everything around him into some kind of joke he loves to antagonize his enemies into attacking first so he can learn more about them. The only times when he'd lose his patience is when someone would talk about his mother. his friends, or you in a negative tone.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

Percy's mind is all over the place. He doesn't remember which Disney princesses you were obsessed with in 4th grade but he does know the story behind your name. He seems to forget the bigger details and rather latches onto the smaller the ones that others seem to forget about. He doesn't remember your favorite artist but he does remember the beat of that one song you loved as a child but were never able to find the name of.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

Percy's favorite memory in your relationship was the moment you said I love you back to him. Percy would always say "I love you" before running off. This time you had told him you were going to sword train with Annabeth and he said that he loved you and that he would find you later he had to see Grover. Percy was shocked when you pulled him back by his armor and kissed him deeply before almost breathlessly whispering that you "loved him too". He practically skipped his entire way to Grover and was blushing the whole time.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

Percy is extremely protective over you. Not in an overbearing way because gods know you can handle yourself but Percy would rather be there for you and keep you safe than find you in a position that would require you to protect yourself. In Capture the Flag when you are on the opposite team he finds ways to flirt with you instead of fighting. When he and his teammates stumble upon you and your teammate he tells him that he has you when in reality you most likely end up holding a sword at his throat while you straddle him playfully of course.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

Percy will gift you the moon if he thinks it will make you happy. Every morning you'd wake to a single flower from him. Every day was a different flower. It surprised you how he even managed to find so many. Every time you'd receive a flower from him you'd book press them. Yes, it took a long time but they looked beautiful once they were done and framed.

On dates and anniversaries, Percy would tell you the night before to be at his cabin at 10 pm and to dress comfortably. The next day you'd wake up and he'd be gone. That whole day you wouldn't see or hear a single peep from him. The first time he did it you freaked kinda worried that something had happened to him. Grover told you he was doing Percy things and just to be at his cabin. Of course, Percy would be there and he'd take you for a stroll through the forest that led to a lighted picnic area. He'd leave camp to personally get you your favorite takeout, a new book to add to your forever-growing collection, and a new pack of Polaroids for your camera. How he got the money he'd never tell. All that mattered was that these were gifts that he knew you'd love. After the forest, he'd take you to the beach and you guys would swim till well past curfew. Having to run away soaking wet, clothes in hand, giggling manically as Mr. D almost catches y'all.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

Swearing. Look swearing is fine we're young adults and there's nothing wrong with it. However, Percy has a really bad habit of dropping curse bombs all the time. Around your peers, the younger kids, hell even Chiron. The face he makes when he realizes he very loudly said "what the fuck" around Chiron is always funny.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

Percy has some self-esteem issues deeply rooted in him from his childhood. He'd never consider himself to be jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Not like you of course. You'd tell him how gorgeous and he'd just blush your words making him feel prettier. Eventually, you'd have to knock him down a few pegs or else he'd turn into a bobblehead.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

Percy is attached to you. Like deep-rooted attached. He wouldn't be able to focus on anything if you were gone for a long time. He'd constantly think about you and become worried the longer you were gone.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

Once you and Percy start dating and he's more comfortable with you he's so gossipy. He will literally be so involved in the tea you tell him and vice versa. When he hears something really juicy from the other campers he practically runs to you to tell you.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

Dishonest and Disloyalty. Loyalty is Percy's biggest moral. If you were disloyal to him it would sever any friendship/relationship with him (Luke). Along with honesty. If you are loyal to someone, truly care for them, or even just mean well then why would you lie.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

When Percy first joined camp he couldn't sleep too well the nightmare of his mother getting crushed replaying over and over in his head. Eventually with you by his side, he was able to have a better sleep schedule.

He tosses and turns a lot in his sleep oftentimes accidentally bruising you in the night. You'd have small bruises on your legs from where he'd kick you and smaller ones on your arms from where he would accidentally elbow you as he turned. He'd also have bruises from where'd you kicked him back of course he was such a heavy sleeper he'd never wake up and wouldn't notice till days later.

[000marie198]

Are there any sonic au’s you would recommend? I am trying to find more to get into so would love to know if you have any favourites out there :D

Hello! Oh there are so many! :D I definitely have some favorites and some which aren't favs but are pretty great.

Putting these under the cut because there are so many! And there's definitely more cool AUs that I haven't seen or haven't saved.

Anyways, please enjoy my personal selection:

Seven Years Too Soon by NightFuchia. Basically what if a much younger Sonic accidentally set Shadow free from Prison Island. It has awesome characterization and happens to be one of my favorite stories. The rest of Team Sonic is also present

Brotherhood's Twist by @/drawloverlala even though I don't think it counts entirely as Au but it still sort of does. Unbreakable Bond ageswitch due to Zeti's meddling.

Passion's @sonic-tangled-au . I love it! So very much. The lore and backstories are so good.

Noonui's World Restored in Imbalanced Chaos au. Extremely engaging and good. Has a bunch of world building and fun concepts and lore.

Sonic's Super Totally Awesome Mixtape, though it seems to be discontinued, I'm not sure. It's pretty good so far! Takes place in the movie verse.

@brainworms-all-night-long is working on a Dreamtale Au which I'm hyped for. The tag in use is 'dreamtale and sonic tomfoolery'.

@/the-starlight-project comic is pretty good too. Mystery! And emotions. So many emotions ough.

And there's @the-emerald-isle-au by @0vergrowngraveyard . Very intriguing. 👀

Please do check out the Pandora Au by @/starrjoy. It's great!

The Fair Folk by Irritable_Fabulamancer, this fic is one of my favorites! Team Sonic as Fae my beloved! I love fae AUs.

On that note, if you're alright wanting to read a Fae!AU which is pretty much a sonadow fic, there is also I don't believe in fairy tales [but I believe in you and me]. Fantasy and Fae! Satbk inspired, another one that had me hooked.

My Arms Are Blue by thekyuubivixen and its unofficial, fan-continuation (My Arms Are Blue! Final Four Edition) by PlaystationPassenger. The story doesn't completely count as an AU but I'm recommending them anyway cuz they're really really good and has that watching your own show from different dimension trope. It's also hilarious and fun.

Burning Arrow, Wildfire Heart by Taranea is SatSR novelisation AU with Sonic's other friends present too, it's pretty fun. Not very accurate regarding the desert but it's a good read and I come back to reread it often. Must read in my opinion. Just don't dare use it as guide for desert travel or you'll be shriveled up in the sand somewhere

This fic. Read it, I will not elaborate this one. Just trust me :]

And don't miss out on @shadofiredragon's Legends Never Die fic. It's a future fic! And an awesome one. I won't spoil much but it is so good. She also has lots of fun AUs in the works.

Down the Foxhole series by MoonlitNightin. Sonic Prime AU series which is great! Tails' pov. The Shatterverses have their own Sonics. Engaging and great.

Feel free to check out @/Son1c's 10verse and other AUs. Those are some pretty great ones. Love the different lore and variants given to the Shatterverses in 10verse.

Spirit of the Wind by TrenchCoatGecko. Satbk inspired fantasy au. Sonamy, has focus on magic and lore and other characters as well.

If you'd like some Forces angst with Unbreakable Bond focus, please do read Illusionary are your arms around me by @nixoon-again. The feels will kill you /pos

Chaos Barren by but_why_not. I forgot to add this earlier (this is an edited addition). Takes place in the Blue Devils AU, great story!

Baby Tails shenanigans by @myymi . Tails got turned into itty bitty infant kit. (And also check @0vergrowngraveyard 'baby tails' tag for more little gremlin scenarios)

Myla is also working on @tails-and-the-ink-machine au

Feral au by Oneshot_bravo. Little short stories or drabbles taking place in Unleashed but the werehog is feral yet keeps his memories. Very lighthearted and fun and cute

Three or more foxes form a skulk by @/chiropter36 . Post Prime au fic, loved it! Go read.

Also, @donelywell 'roadtrip! sonic au' and 'Casino Nights Au'

Haven't yet started reading The Fox's Burrow by @/space-gutz but I'm planning to. Recommending it either way cuz I feel like it's gonna be good. Unbreakable Bond but ageswaped au.

@/sonicchaoscontrol comic. Another in-progress au which is also quite intriguing. Sonic jumps through a portal and exits in future where the planet is a mess. The mystery of what and how it all happened and what's going on slowly unfolds.

The Buzzsaw Dillemma by redpenship. I haven't personally read it myself but I've heard many good things about it, especially it's world building.

Incomplete and won't be updated anymore but if you haven't read them yet, DO NOT miss out on Ghosts of the Future and The Murder of Me fancomics by Evan Stanley (spiritsonic) and Gigi Deutrix (gigi-D) respectively. They're a must read. Both are available on DeviantArt.

The Heart of a Monster comic, @/the-heart-of-a-monster. It's in progress and updates regularly. Unleashed retelling, really really good with some extra lore and everyone involved.

Sometimes the Picket Fence isn’t Perfect and Sharp Edges (Sonic Prime AU) series by @/skimmingthesurfaces. I'm holding off the first one to read later, like that one book you've been saving so I'm not sure if it completely counts as an AU, still putting it in recs, and the second one is intriguing so far. I have heard a lot of good thing about the Picket Fence series.

Dark Boom by Smash50. The entirety of Team Dark in the Sonic Boom universe. Alongside it, there's also Boomtober by the same author.

It Always Snows by the 24th by Selendred had me hooked even though it's a oneshot. Great au and would love to see it explored more.

No One said I Wish by SylWritesStuff. One of my fav stories from the Sonic Platonic Fairytale Week event. It's really funny.

Sonic Phantom Forces (SPF) au comic. Sonic Forces au, blue boy gets taken away but not in the way you think, pretty cool story so far. It's in-progress and available on both Tumblr and DeviantArt. @/spfau

If Black Doom tried to be a better father by Tirainy. Don't take this one seriously. It's pure comedy and I love every second of it. Shadow is having a time for sure XD.

Silent Talkers by @brainworms-all-night-long. Takes place in the Prime Bros verse, feels intensified, all the good ones. A must read, trust me.

And speaking of the Prime Bros AU (in which all Shatterverse foxes also got adopted by Sonic and are now brothers), feel free to scroll through the 'prime bros' tag here. So many awesome posts for this particular au by everyone!

There's so many more, cool ones, epic ones. I haven't saved all and I'm probably forgetting some great ones too so I'm leaving this open for others to add. If y'all have more cool AUs, plz add to these (I wanna check em out too)

....

And now a few from the Fanfiction.net site because it doesn't have much audience compared to AO3 and there are some actual gems hidden there;

Premonition by thekiyuubivixen (not entirely an au but it feels like one due to the unique ability Sonic gains)

The Sonic Project by SconnieSA. Rated M but it's a pretty awesome AU and the rating is due to more serious themes and uncensored language in some parts. Highly recommending this one

Survivor's Resolve by DC111. Not entirely an AU but I must rec this fic it's so good and doea havs some AU vibes.

Sonic the Hedgehog: Attorney of Law by thedraconicwerewolf. Ace Attorney type AU with Sonic and Tails as main characters. Not too adventurous but very very fun and interesting and still managed to keep Sonic in character. Though it has a sequel started, I only rec the main story, not the sequal as it seems to be abandoned and isn't needed to be read like them cliffhanger stories.

beLIEve by Meow21. I have only read snippets from this, waiting for this story to continue but it seems to be discontinued. Felt like an epic story too and deserves to be recommended.

Sonic and the Golden Journey. Sonic gets thrown in another storybook, this time it's a children's classic fairytale. Short but very comedic and fun. Go read it.

Tales of a Samurai. I am begging you to read this one, please it's so good. Also by Taranea.

Wonderful and it's sequal Sanctuary by Inflamore for some Unbreakable Bond angst. (Kindly ignore the obliviousness of earlier ff.net for not knowing the meaning of certain symbols, there's nothing of the sort in story, trust me.)

Regrets by MazzyBooks. A high school au of sorts. Sonic centric with some heavy angst. I'm not kidding about the angst part, trust me. It had me hooked from the first chapter though and I believe it deserves a rec.

You need the cracks (to let the light shine through) by king.needlemouse. Istg this is the most underrated thing I've ever come across, it's one of my absolute favorite fics which I can never forget. Do read it.

Within this Nightmare by sonicfan1990. Sonic get transported to an alternate universe which has gone post apocalyptic and his counterpart in that universe has been dead. Pretty great story, lots of angst and everything.

And that's all I could remember and have saved for now. I'm leaving this open to more AU recs (yes even self plugs are welcome) so if you know any I missed, plz feel free to add. I hope you enjoy all these great AUs!

Thanks for the ask!

[discount-shades]

Contract Spouse Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Crashing

A/N: So Chapter 8 was split into two chapters. The series will be 10 chapters long so I am getting close to being done writing! 

Pairing: Jake Seresin/Reader (nicknamed Pip)

Warning:  Angst,  

Length: 2400 ish

Summary: Pip makes a decision about her relationship with Jake, and Jake’s feelings regarding spinach are revealed. 

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You had pizza for dinner, and you hadn’t made cookies. Jake had tried to convince you to watch a movie together but you couldn’t do nothing. The anxiety embedded in you from your childhood would not let go. 

Logically you knew Jake was nothing like your parents. He had said multiple times he was not mad at you, nothing about his actions indicated he was upset with you in any way, but you could not let it go. You hadn’t felt like this in years. The urge to smooth things over and make it better consumed you and you couldn’t shake it.

When Jake had been unable to convince you to stop he had joined you, turning the Bluetooth speaker on to Texas country. He helped wash the few dishes from dinner, humming along to the song playing. He vacuumed the area rugs while you swept. Whatever you did he was there assisting.

He finally catches your wrist as you start to reorganize the drawers in the bathroom. “Pip it's after midnight.” You stare at the hand on your wrist. His grip is gentle, thumb gently caressing the inside of your wrist. “The house is clean and it's time for bed.” 

You finally look at him and his eyes are soft, worry lingering in them. He backs up and gently tugs on your hand and you follow him. Your heart clenches at the hopeful smile and the relief on his face. He had been shooting you worried looks all night and you can see the tension leave him. You change in the bathroom, your room still under repairs from the water damage.

When you reach the bedroom Jake is still hovering by the side of the bed. “Do you want me to sleep on the couch?” 

“No Jake, it's ok.” You crawl under the covers and pat the spot beside you, feeling ashamed by your behavior all night. “I’m sorry for tonight. You shouldn’t have cleaned too. It's a ‘me problem’.”

Jake hits the light and plunges the room into darkness. You feel the bed dip as he lies down beside you. “Well you weren't stopping and I figured it would be more efficient if I helped you clean.” Your lips twitch at his words as the bed shifts. You can tell he is facing you on his side and you turn to mirror him. “You kinda freaked me out today.”

“I'm sorry,” you whisper, feeling even worse.

“I don’t want you to be sorry,” Jake's hands slide across the space between you. His fingers brush against yours and slowly tangle together like he is waiting for you to pull away. He brings your fingers to his lips and gently kisses your knuckles as traitorous butterflies erupt in your stomach. “I want you to tell me what happened. You were so upset then you were so blank and it scared me.”

“I don’t know.” You lie, unsure of what else you can say. “The interview kinda got to me.”  You couldn't explain the way your brain panicked after you pushed him and there is no way you would explain why you were mad. You wouldn’t tell him that when he called you Darlin’, your heart broke. That you were sad he didn’t love you like you loved him. It made you feel pathetic. 

It felt like the story of your life, loving and wanting to be loved by people who didn’t love you back. At least Jake was better than your parents, even though in the end he would probably hurt you worse.

“Just promise me you won’t leave me.” Jake's voice is strained in a way you have never heard before. “I don’t think I can do this without you.”

“Do what without me?” Your voice drops further, afraid that if you spoke too loudly it would break the fragile thread between you.

“Life, existing, I don’t know.” He pauses like he is searching for words. “Pip, I love you.” You fight to keep your breathing steady at his words, wishing there was some kind of light so you could see his face. He has said it before, but tonight, in the dark, he sounds different. Your heart beat increases as hope fills you. “You know me, and even after the divorce I need to know you will be in my corner. I need to know I’ll still be able to call you.  You’ll always be my best friend.”

At his final words the spark that had filled your chest dies. “Yeah Jake,” you agree, keeping your voice steady. “I’ll always be there for you.” At your words he pulls you into his arms and you go. 

Legs tangled together and his arms around you, you lie there trying to drift off, knowing Jake won’t sleep until you do. That his brain won’t let him rest if there is someone else awake in the room. Another way you know Jake like no one else does. Unwilling to move away and unable to deny yourself the intimacy you crave, you stay. After all, this is all you are ever going to get.

– – – 

You awake the next morning feeling overwhelmingly warm. Jake’s chest is pressed against your spine, his nose tucked against you and his breaths flutter the hairs at the nape of your neck. 

It’s too hot and you want to move but you don’t. Judging by the light filtering in through the curtains Jake’s alarm will go off soon and he will leave you then. It’s a Saturday so you have the day off but Jake has a training flight. 

When the alarm finally rings you wait for the inevitable loss of warmth but Jake just reaches over and turns it off before wrapping himself back around you and nuzzling into your neck, raising goosebumps. 

“How did you sleep?” you break the spell of the peaceful morning with your words. Jake hums and rolls onto his back, you shift with him so you are propped against his side but he doesn’t leave like before. 

“Good,” he tells you, “really good actually.” You smile at his admission and toss the covers off so your body can feel cool air and Jake copies you. He asks you about your plans for the day and you lie together talking about everything and nothing like you used to on the phone. 

It’s you who leaves the bed first to start the coffee and part of you feels more relaxed after your lazy morning. It had been nice to lie next to Jake and talk about your day but it made you realize what you truly wanted. You had been so caught up in your unrequited feelings for Jake that you had never taken a moment to think of what you were looking for in a relationship. And despite everything you feel for Jake you realize that while he might love you, he wasn't in love with you, and it was no longer enough. You decide it’s finally time to start letting go of your love. 

– – – 

When you look at your ringing phone and see Javy’s contact information you frown. You had spoken to the man a few times over the years but he had never contacted you for a  social call.

“Javy? What's up?” Your stomach clenches when you answer the phone.

“Hey Pip,” Javy’s voice is strained. “There's been an accident, Jake crash landed in the desert.”

“Is he ok?” you hate how small your voice sounds. 

“They’re taking him to the hospital. I’ll meet you there. Wives are allowed.” He says the last part pointedly and you know that he is hinting that as Jake's wife, you are expected to be there.

“Yeah, of course.” You would have gone to the hospital even if you weren't married to Jake. “Text me the hospital and I will meet you there.”

Traffic seems to slow the closer you get to the hospital. You can’t stop nervously tapping the steering wheel of the used Rav4 you had bought the week after moving. Your mind catastrophizes everything that might happen. Jake is paralyzed, there’s internal bleeding, traumatic brain injury. Jake dies. 

When you are able to park you sprint to the front desk. “Lieutenant Jake Seresin, he's a pilot, where is he?”

The nurse gives you a compassionate, yet reserved look. “May I ask your relationship to the patient?”

“I’m his wife.” The words fall from your lips easily. They are words you have barely spoken in all your years of marriage and have become increasingly common the last few months. 

She directs you to a different floor and when you arrive you see Javy, still in his flight suit, broad shoulders tense, pacing the waiting room. When he sees you he wraps you into a hug. “He’s in surgery,” he says, releasing you. At your look of horror he amends. “It’s for his wrist, he fractured it, probably has a concussion, but he's going to be ok.”

You sag in relief and collapse into a chair letting out a shuddering breath. You stare at your hands and notice for the first time that they are shaking. You squeeze them together until your knuckles turn white, trying to hide the trembling from Javy when he sits down beside you. You take deep breaths and slowly the shaking stops. 

“He’d be happy you are here,” Javy says and you smile. 

“I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” you say with a tight smile. “What happened? How did he crash?”

“There was some sort of electrical malfunction, he couldn't make it back to the tarmac so he landed in the desert.” You wince thinking about it and Javy continues. “He broke his landing gear off the plane so he must have hit pretty hard.” You nod and sit in silence, waiting. 

“He’s gotten worse.” Javy says in a low murmur, breaking the silence. You are sitting in the corner of the nearly empty waiting room but he still glances around. “After the last mission, I don’t know, he’s different, on edge, even before the investigations. I don’t think he’s sleeping.”

“He’s not.” you say before amending, “At least not well.” 

Javy sighs and you give his hand a squeeze and stare at the door to the operating rooms together. The two people who looked out for Jake while he looked out for everyone else. “He’s gotten better too.” 

You look at Javy frowning, “how?”

“After the last mission, I dunno, it humbled him.“ Javy shrugs. “Made him more of a team player, less closed off. Less of an ass.” You smile. In the few times you had met Javy he had always made jokes about how you were too nice for Jake, but you never saw it. He was never an asshole around you. “You’re good for him.”

The grin on your face turns bitter. “Spinach is good for you too, so is exercise.” 

“What’s your point?” Javy is frowning at you and though you feel guilty for bringing it up with Jake in surgery, you are so emotionally drained over the last two days that your walls are down. 

You have hid your feelings for Jake away for so long it is second nature. There has never been anyone you can tell. And there is still something stopping you from outright bearing your soul to Javy. 

“I’m not going to be someone's spinach forever,” you say following the analogy. “I want to be the gooey chocolate chip cookie that you want because it makes you happy and the bad days better, not the spinach that you keep eating because it is good for you.”

Javy is silent beside you and you begin to spin the ring around your finger again. You have no idea if Javy caught on to what you were trying not to say and a part of you is past caring. Eventually Javy breaks the silence, “Jake likes spinach, and exercise.”

You sigh sadly, “I know he does.”

– – – 

When Jake is out of surgery you and Javy both get to see him. He is groggy and doesn’t do much more than mumble hello before the doctors advise him to sleep. Javy sits with you a while before a nurse insists that only one of you can stay. Javy leaves you with a hug and you curl up into the chair next to Jake’s bed.

Part of you regrets your promise from last night, that you would never leave him. You wouldn’t for good, but after the divorce you would need to go away for a while. You are staring out the window when you hear Jake's scratchy voice. “I thought I dreamed you were here with Javy.”

You pour some water into a cup and hold the straw for him. His one arm is in a cast and the other has an IV. You hit the call button the nurse had told you to press when he woke up. 

“I’m glad you stayed.” His voice is less scratchy and still heavy with sleep, but there is a little smile tugging on his lips. 

“I’m your wife, of course I'm here.” You smile at his groggy expression and gently squeeze his hand 

“No, I want you here for me.” His smile drops, “it's not fair, but I do.” The nurse and doctor come in and you step back to let them work, mulling over Jake's words.

They keep Jake in the hospital a few days and you call out of work so you can sit with him. Mostly he sleeps but when he is awake you talk about the little things, Javy’s upcoming wedding, the house repairs, but never anything to do with your relationship. You are sitting next to Jake when Cyclone arrives. Jake goes to shift his posture and the man waves him off. 

“Are you his wife?” You frown at the brusque question but nod. “Do you intend to stay married to him?” You nod again and Jake squeezes your hand. You glance at Jake, unnerved.

“Well in that case, Lieutenant Seresin I am ordering you to attend marriage counseling every two weeks for six months, with your wife.” He drops a list of counselors on the foot of the bed. “After that, and you are cleared medically, you can fly again. If you are quick about it, most of your time in counseling will coincide with your recovery.” 

Your jaw drops and Jake nods. “You’re getting off light on this Seresin. Mess around again with another vindictive woman and it won’t go well for you.” 

“Yes, Sir,” Jake salutes from his bed and Cyclone leaves just as abruptly as he entered. 

“I think he just strengthened our case.” Jake says.

[from-the-clouds]

texas sun - joel miller x f!reader - vol. vii

series masterlist | series playlist | writing masterlist | previous chapter |

chapter summary: Reader and Joel try (poorly) to keep their budding relationship hidden from Sarah. pairing: pre-outbreak!joel miller x f!reader words: 6.3k chapter warnings: SMUT, 18+ ONLY. Angst, PTSD (though not explicitly stated). References to abusive parents. A bit of a drunken brawl. Men being generally shitty and misogynistic. Alcohol and marijuana mention. Fluff. As always please dm if you have questions. a/n: Strap in, ya'll. This chapter is pretty heavy at times but I promise, it'll be worth it. Things have been going well so we needed to bring some drama! Also, some of my links are breaking and I try to update them but as of right now the masterlist should have links to all the chapters ! Also special shoutout to @str84pedro for reminding me to close out the 'Joel getting his wallet back' storyline. And @ay0nha for the Hank Williams joke. tysm my friends.

-June 27th, 2003-

“Joel.” 

Pleasure swirls low in your belly, his name comes out as a throaty moan.  

“Aren’t you-oh, fuck,” you manage. “-worried y-your neighbors might see?”

You’re splayed open on one of the patio chairs in his backyard, fingers curled in his hair. The dress you’d worn is hiked over your hips, thong pushed to the side. Joel has long since pulled your legs apart, one of them hooked over the cool metal arm of the chair, the other pressed against his cheek, his beard rubbing your skin raw. 

“No.” His lips pull away from the suction they have on your clit, but the two fingers he’s got inside you continue to work diligently, scissoring and curling against a spot deep within you that serves as the cause for all your stuttering. “They shouldn’t be lookin’ over the fence,” he murmurs, voice surprisingly clear and steady considering what he’s doing to you. “And if you stay quiet, you won’t give them a reason to.” 

Joel hums contentedly as he latches his mouth back against the sensitive bud, sucking furiously, and you do as you’re told, panting into your palm to keep your whimpers to yourself. It’s Joel who seems to be struggling the most to stay quiet, especially when you arch your back to press your hips into his face, and he moans against you. He loves going down on you – you’ve learned through lots of experience. As if to prove it, you look down to where he’s knelt between your legs and see that his free hand is squeezing himself over his jeans. 

It’s only been ten minutes since you walked through his front door. Currently, you can’t remember what your plans had been for the night. Seeing a movie? Going to dinner? For a walk? Your brain is mush. But Joel had suggested you have a quick drink on his back patio before leaving and, well…here you are. 

You can’t get enough of Joel, and yet, you never have to ask for him. When you have plans, they’re often abandoned, and you end up tangled in bedsheets together. Whether it’s his place or yours, he’s taken you everywhere and every way you can think of, but you still want more. He is just as insatiable. 

Sarah has been away at camp for two weeks now, which means you’d actually gotten to spend an entire weekend together. This past Saturday, Joel had made good on a promise to spend an entire day in bed with you, and then Sunday was spent the same way after he’d revealed to you he had never had sex stoned. Well, we need to fix that, you’d said. It felt like a huge accomplishment when you were able to drag yourselves out of bed and clean up for long enough to grab a meal at a 24-hour diner that wasn’t far down the road. Such a short drive, even, that when you’d tried to suck him off in the car on the way home Joel had said there ‘wasn’t enough time.’ 

Of course, most of your flings started off with this phase, but Joel still found ways to surprise you at every turn. You didn’t know it was possible to be with someone who was so thoughtful, so sincere. It was easy to trust him, to be yourself with him, even if you were still learning how.

Tonight is your last night alone before Sarah returns from camp, and Joel’s determined to use it to his full advantage.  

After you’ve come on his fingers, against his tongue – and he talks you through it – Joel pulls you onto his lap. He’s still on his knees, crushing you against him, and you can feel him straining through his jeans.  

“We’re not gonna make it to the movie, are we?” It���s more of an observation than it is anything else, pulling back from one of his greedy kisses.

“You wouldn’t be upset if we didn’t go, would you?” There’s some sincerity in his expression, like he almost feels bad. 

“Stay here with you, or go see a terrible action movie?” you say, shaking your head, steadying your breathing. “That’s a tough one.”

Joel rolls his eyes, but doesn’t hide his smile. “Want to go upstairs?” 

“Sure.” 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

At this point you’ve been in Joel’s room more than once. But you notice new things each time. There’s photos of him and Sarah he has framed on his dresser, one from when she’s just a toddler, and he looks not much older than a kid himself. He has a stack of books there too, but they’re collecting dust, one of them is some sort of thick construction manual, and the other is titled Everything You Need To Know About Creating a Startup. You would sooner crack those open than you would your old law textbooks. There’s always a pile of clothes on the floor, and you don’t think the chair in the corner has ever not had a couple pairs of his work jeans strewn over the back.

Joel lays back on the bed, stretches out like a cat, his arms above his head, flannel and t-shirt combo lifting to reveal the swathe of hair that trails down and disappears into his jeans. You’re well accustomed to his body at this point, but it still doesn’t stop your stomach from flipping every time any inch of his skin is revealed to you. The muscles in his biceps flex as he props his head back on his forearm, looks over at you, pausing in the threshold. “Why are you bein’ shy all the sudden?”

“Can’t I just look at you?” 

Joel’s face gets flushed, or at least, it sort of looks like it does, and he holds a hand towards you. “Get over here.” 

You step forward to take his hand, and he tugs you onto him, shifting his weight so the line of his body is pressed against yours. Since he’s already gotten you off, and you had a few moments apart while walking upstairs, you’ve both calmed down a little, and the kisses he gives you are lazy, exploratory. 

Outside, all the light has nearly left the sky. A cool breeze filters through his open windows, the sheer curtains billowing out. When you shiver, Joel pulls you closer, one broad, warm palm raking up your arm, brushing over pebbled skin. 

Joel makes love to you slowly, languidly, hovering over you. This isn’t new, it’s how he always seems to like it. Before, it had never been your favorite. You used to think it meant there was a lack of enthusiasm, but you must have been with the wrong people. With Joel, it just makes sense. You’re still able to taste the desperation dripping off of him when you trace your tongue along his collarbone, and can feel how badly he wants you in the unhurried drag of his fingertips. The way he touches you, so confident, but also so tenderly, makes you feel insane. All you want to do is take and take. And he’s so eager to give it to you. 

When you wake the next morning, your cheek is resting on his sternum, and his palm in the dip of your spine. Window still open from the night before, you can hear the morning doves calling – probably what woke you to begin with. Something you’ve learned is that when given the chance, Joel loves to sleep. You do too, obviously, but it doesn’t seem to come as easily. So when you tilt your head back to look up at him, you’re surprised to find him already awake. Sunlight glitters off the amber in his eyes, and there’s such a warmth to his gaze that your first instinct is to turn away. 

But you don’t. You let him kiss you, let his beard tickle your neck. 

“I love waking up next to you,” Joel whispers. 

Even though you’re too afraid to say anything in return, he doesn’t hold it against you. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

-July 5, 2003-

Sarah answers the door to her house before your knuckles can even make contact with the wood. She all-but pounces on you as you step over the threshold, wrapping you in a hug that’s so tight you barely can breath, and pulling back before you can return it. “How are you? Where have you been?” 

“I’m good, just busy,” She’s been back for a week and you still haven't had a chance to see her. Work has been hectic, and you’d even had to work during the holiday yesterday to meet a deadline for a new client. “I’ve missed you.” 

“I missed you too,” she gives you another quick hug.

You wait for her to pull back before she speaks again. “How was camp?”

“So much fun,” she nods. “But I got eaten alive by mosquitos so I’m kind of happy to be home.”

“Yeah,” you say. “I don’t know how well I’d do out in the wilderness for so long.”

“Oh yeah,” Sarah raises her eyebrows. “The New Yawk-er,” she says with an unconvincing accent, but grimaces. “Sorry, that was bad.”

“We’ll work on it,” you pat her shoulder.

There’s a fresh smattering of freckles across her nose from the days she’s spent outside under the Texan sun, which is unrelenting this time of year. It also seems she’s grown another inch since the last time you’d seen her, but you can’t be certain. “My dad is upstairs. Running late as usual,” she says, rolling her eyes. “You can come in. I have so much to tell you.”

You act tentative, because as far as she knows, this is your first time in her home. When you sit on the couch, she plops next to you, leaning against the cushions. “What’s this?” you reach for one of the many photos strewn out across the coffee table. 

“Oh, that’s my dad and his brother when they were kids.” The photo is of the two young boys seated in a red wagon. Tommy’s got a half-eaten strawberry in his hand, his lips and cheeks stained red. And he’s leaning back against Joel, who's wearing a cowboy hat that’s far too big for him, his plump cheek resting on the top of his brother’s dark curls. You are ashamed by the twinge of bitter longing that twists in your gut when you see their carefree smiles, despite it being one of the sweetest one of the sweetest things you’ve ever seen. But you’re even more ashamed that for one quick second, you wonder what Joel would look like with a son that age. Would he be just as adorable? “My dad was going through a bunch of old family photos the other day,” Sarah says. 

“Cute,” you observe. 

But Sarah doesn’t seem as interested in them as you do, so to avoid any suspicion, you put the photo down. You let her recount her trip, starting with day one, and moving on. Sarah explains what it was like to live in a cabin for a week, to sleep for a night under the stars. She learned archery, and swam, and rode horses, and hiked, and wove friendship bracelets with the other girls there. She shows you one of the multicolored woven bracelets on her wrist, and pulls an identical one out of her pocket to fasten around your own. It’s so thoughtful you aren’t quite sure how to thank her, and you’re hit with a fresh wave of guilt over the secret you’ve been keeping. It had been easier to ignore when she wasn’t around. 

You hear Joel shuffling down the stairs before he comes into view. “You ready, babygirl?”

“Yeah,” Sarah answers. “We’re waiting.”

“Hey,” Joel says when he reaches the landing. He pauses, looks between you and Sarah, huddled on the couch together, and then nods at you once. “Nice to see you.” 

“You too,” you say, rather rigidly. “Thanks for letting me tag along.”

“Of course,” he says over his shoulder as he heads into the kitchen. He’s trying so hard to be nonchalant, you almost buy it. Almost.

The county fair only lasts a week, and tonight is the last night you’re able to go. Sarah had called you at work a few days earlier to invite you. She seemed adamant that although it was a yearly tradition to go with Joel, she wanted you there. I asked my dad already and he said it was fine. It had been awhile since you’d gone to a carnival, and you weren’t one to turn down the opportunity to eat a funnel cake and drink some fresh-squeezed lemonade. 

“Alright,” Joel returns from the kitchen with his car keys, all business. “Let’s head out.” 

He holds the door open as Sarah filters outside, followed by you. But you stop yourself in the threshold, turning to Joel. “Did you remember your wallet?” You ask him out of habit, because historically speaking, he’s always leaving it behind. 

Joel pats his pockets, groans, throwing his head back. “Shit.” and then disappears back inside. Briefly, you worry that Sarah might have picked up on the implications of the question – maybe you know him a little too well – but she doesn’t even seem to be paying attention, and you scold yourself for being so paranoid. 

“Good catch,” Joel says as he exits the house, stuffing his wallet into his back pocket. He grins at you and Sarah. 

You bite back a teasing remark. Are you sure you’re the oldest child in your family? Sometimes he seems just a tad too frazzled, forgetful. That might’ve drawn a laugh from him, or a pointed ‘Shut Up’. But you’ve got to keep that sort of thing to yourself, if you can.

You pile into the car, Sarah in the back and you on the passengers side, but it doesn’t stop her from leaning forward to stay in the conversation while Joel puts his elbow over the bench seat and looks over his shoulder to back out of the driveway. It’s a hot night, so he’s only got on a fitted t-shirt that’s a tad too tight through his chest and upper body. You do everything in your power not to let your gaze linger on him. It’s hard to believe someone could make putting a car in reverse sexy, but if anyone could do it, it’s Joel. 

“Do you like The Chicks?” Sarah asks from behind you, once you’re on the road. 

“I don’t listen to much country music,” you’re honest. 

“You live in Texas,” Joel interjects. 

“Yeah, you live in Texas,” Sarah echoes. “I think you’ll like them. Dad, will you play my favorite song?” She nudges you to get your attention. “He finally fixed his radio.”

“Is your seatbelt on?” Joel does a double-take when he notices how far up she’s sitting. 

“Yes, I actually can get a pretty good range of motion with this thing.”

“Well it needs to go across your shoulders,” Joel adjusts his rearview mirror so he can see Sarah better. 

“It is, Dad,” she chastises. “Can you please play the song?”

You smirk. Joel puts one of the discs sitting in his center console into the CD player, and then skips forward two tracks. 

“Turn it up,” Sarah says immediately as the first few bars of quiet guitar kick in. 

“I should’ve never bought you this album,” Joel grumbles, but reaches out and obeys. 

I said I wanna touch the earth, I wanna break it in my hands, I wanna grow something wild and unruly….

“Are you going to learn to play this on guitar like I asked?” she questions Joel, who is focused on the road.

“No,” he deadpans.

Oh, you play guitar? You’re tempted to ask, like he doesn’t put on a show for you every time you decide to get stoned on your back porch – which has been often, lately. But it seems a little too risky, so you keep your mouth shut. It’s better right now to be an observer.

“Why not?” Sarah asks. 

“Not my style.”

“It might be good to expand your catalog outside of Hank Williams and Johnny Cash,” Sarah encourages. 

“I play more than just them,” Joel defends himself.

“Whatever you say,” Sarah says, but looks over at you as though she’s skeptical. You grin and roll down your window. 

I said, cowboy take me away, fly this girl as high as you can into the wild blue…

“Turn it up,” Sarah prompts again.

Joel pretends like he doesn’t hear her, so when she requests again, you reach out to do it. Instantly, you’re met with a firm, smack on the back of your hand. “It’s loud enough,” he says.

“Dad!” Sarah exclaims, and seems almost shocked that he would do such a thing, offended on your behalf.

Joel doesn’t turn from the road. “She’s fine.”

“Ouch,” you dramatize, shaking out your hand, egged on by Sarah. 

“Oh, come on, I barely touched you,” Joel reaches out, squeezing your hand gently in response. A force of habit. For a second, you’ve both forgotten where you are, who you are with. Joel pulls away, clears his throat and looks back at the road. “You’re fine.”

You know if you look for Sarah’s reaction, you’ll give yourself away. So instead you continue to antagonize. “What if I was turning it up for myself?” 

“Yeah, dad. It’s a really good song.”

“It is,” you nod. “I’m enjoying it.”

“Stop that. Don’t encourage her,” Joel warns you. 

You reach back out to turn up the radio. 

“Oh, come on,” Joel rolls his eyes, realizing he’s outnumbered, but he sort of laughs as he does it, running his hand through his hair. 

I wanna be the only one for miles and miles, except for maybe you and your simple smile…

You look over your shoulder to wink at Sarah, who is beaming. Satisfied now that the music is blaring from the truck’s speakers, she settles back against her seat and looks out the window, the wind tousling her hair, her sweet voice singing along faintly to the rest of the song. Joel gives you a sidelong glance when she’s not looking, the same unidentifiable warmth in his eyes that you had seen last weekend, and you let your eyes remain on him for another moment, before forcing yourself to turn away. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The sun is down, and the lights of the carnival glitter and twinkle as you weave through the crowd. Sarah’s arm linked through your own, the other around a giant stuffed teddy bear you’d somehow managed to win at the shooting gallery booth. All those summers of your brother forcing you to play ‘target practice’ with his BB gun when you were supposed to be honing your serve finally paid off. There’s a band playing swing music somewhere, but there are so many people around, and you’ve sort of lost your spatial awareness. Joel and Sarah both seem to know where they are going, so you stick with them. 

Every now and then, in the fleeting moments when Sarah runs up ahead of you, or turns her back to look at something, Joel will take her place. You had been a little worried that your teasing in the car may have gone too far, but he doesn’t seem upset. It’s quite the opposite, really. He’ll wind an arm around your waist, put his lips to your temple, squeeze your hand. He seems completely at ease despite the relative chaos around you, and always manages to pull himself away just in time. 

“Should we go into the funhouse?” Sarah asks, after your little group has pulled off to the side. 

“Eh,” you wrinkle your nose. “I’ll pass.”

“What?” she’s incredulous. “No! You have to, come on.”

“I don’t really want to,” you shake your head. 

“Why not?”

“Sarah,” Joel interjects. “She said no.”

“They make me claustrophobic,” you say, tone much softer than her father’s. You were pretty sure you’d be fine, but it seems dumb to traumatize yourself doing something that’s quite literally supposed to be fun.

Surprisingly, Sarah doesn’t continue to press, and instead turns to her father. “I think I’ll stay back,” Joel says. “But you go ahead. We’ll wait.” 

“Ugh, lame,” Sarah rolls her eyes, but doesn’t protest, pushing the giant stuffed teddy bear towards it. Joel tucks it under his arm – he’s already holding a bag of popcorn, and she bounds off.

“I didn’t know you were claustrophobic,” Joel says, his eyes locked on Sarah until he sees her disappear into the attraction. Then he turns to you.

“Only in specific situations,” you explain. “Plus, did you know that funhouses were originally invented to give people panic attacks?”

“What? Really?”

“No,” you say. “I just made that up.” 

Joel shakes his head. “I guess if I’m thinking about movies I’ve seen, nothing good ever comes from a funhouse.”

“Yeah,” you say. “Carnivals in general don’t usually great media representation.” 

“Well, I hope you’re having fun at this one.”

“I am,” you smile at Joel. The crowd is just tipsy enough to be pleasant, and it’s not late enough in the evening for any children to be having the tired-hungry-overstimulated meltdown yet. Plus, you’re in good company. “Are you?”

“I would be havin’ more fun if I didn’t have to watch you walk in front of me in that little dress all night.”

You look down at the floral sundress you’re wearing. It’s very flattering and feminine, and felt right for the hot summer evening. “You don’t like it?”

“No,” Joel says. “I like it a little too much.”

“Oh,” you nod. “I mean….I did sort of wear it because I figured you would.”

“Darlin’,” Joel puts his head back and groans dramatically. “Please don’t tell me that.”

“What’s the issue?”

“Because I can’t touch you. I could now, but instead I’ve gotta carry all her shit.”

You snort, amused, crossing your arms. “You’re in the trenches, huh?”

“Exactly. At least you understand,” Joel smirks. You’re unable to resist the urge to lean close enough to wrap your arms around his torso and kiss him, despite being rather out in the open. Joel lets out a noise that sounds like relief, hand on your waist, keeping you from pulling back. 

“How long do you think she’ll be gone?” His eyes flick behind you towards the funhouse. “Think we could sneak off, pay off a carnie to keep watch so we could- what’s that face?” 

“Nothing,” you shake your head. “You’ve clearly thought this through…”

“Well, I’ve been third wheeling all night so I had time to get creative,” Joel drops his hand from you and turns you both around so you can see in between two booth games. “You see over there, between those two tents…there’s a dumpster-”

“Sounds hot…”

“Right?”

“...And also kind of like the beginning of an episode of Law & Order.”

Joel loses it, and you steal a bite of popcorn from the bag in his hand to hide how satisfied you are at making him laugh so hard. You nudge him in the ribs with your elbow when his hand goes to cover his eyes. 

“What’s so funny?”

The smile doesn’t leave your face as quickly as Joel’s does when you both pivot to find Sarah standing behind you. “Hey babygirl,” he offers a weak grin. “That was quick.”

“Yeah,” she says, smiling. “There wasn’t a line.”

You try not to act suspicious, but you’re wondering how much she heard. Apparently, not enough to be skeptical, because she continues on. “And you’re right,” she looks at you. “It wasn’t very fun.” 

“Yeah,” you nod, reaching to take some more popcorn out of the bag in Joel’s hand, hoping it just seems like a nonchalant, platonic thing. “They’re kind of a lot right?”

She nods, shrugs, and then reaches for the popcorn herself. You might be in the clear, and make a pointed effort to keep more distance between you and Joel for the rest of the night.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“Do you think we should stop for another snack?” Sarah asks, like you haven’t already eaten your weight in junk this evening. But you’ve arrived at a little picnic area surrounded by food trucks and vendors. “Maybe we can sit down for a little.”

“That sounds nice,” Joel says. “Why don’t you two get in line, I’m gonna run to put this in the car.” He lifts the prize you’d given to Sarah up with a grimace. Somehow, he ended up carrying the plush bear all night.

“Is it too heavy for you?” Sarah teases. Joel doesn’t even answer, just rolls his eyes and turns around. 

“I’ll be back,” he calls over his shoulder. 

Sarah’s giggles subside and Joel disappears into the crowd. 

“Where do you wanna go?” you ask her, putting your hands on your hips and taking in the area. At this point in the night, many people attending appear to be fairly plastered. At this point in the evening, most of the families with younger children have cleared out, and it’s well past dinner time, so there aren’t a ton of people hanging in the area. “I probably owe you dinner. And your dad a beer, since he’s paid for everything.” 

“He’d like that,” Sarah says. “I’m glad you two are friends.”

“Oh?” you glance over at her. “Yeah, me too.” Sarah just stares at you, doesn’t say anything. “You have a nice family. You, your dad, your Uncle Tommy…”

Sarah just keeps studying you.

“What?” 

Her eyes narrow, just a touch. You recall what Joel had told you about her picking up your mannerisms, but you never realized how horrible it was to be on the other side. Still, it was you, who had taught her this, so you do your best to appear confused. What do you want from me? It works, and she smiles, shakes her head, then looks at the ground. “Nothin’,” when she looks back up, there’s something melancholy about her expression, and she kicks the toe of her Converse into the gravel. “Can we get a funnel cake?” 

“Lead the way.”

As you follow her to the food truck, her petite form gets jostled by some of the patrons waiting in line near a drink stand. You have to squeeze through them to get by. There’s a picnic table near the walkway where a bunch of men sit – hunched over, listening to a man on the end of the bench tell a very animated story. Several empty draft cups and beer bottles are stacked or lined up on their table, and the sickeningly sweet smell of the tipped cigarillos they’re smoking makes your nostrils burn.

Just as Sarah’s about to pass them, the man talking stretches his arms wide, and the hand that just so happens to be clutching a solo cup filled to the brim reaches out directly into Sarah’s path. 

It’s too late. She collides with his arm, and the beer is knocked from his hand, landing on the picnic table and spraying everyone in the vicinity with liquid and sticky foam. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Sarah says, putting her hand over her mouth, genuinely apologetic. 

And that’s where it should’ve ended. 

“What the fuck?” the man, who looks to be about your age, maybe a little older, gives her a once over. 

You reach Sarah. “Are you alright?” you ask, stepping between her and the man, turning her away from his nasty glare. Before she can answer, he speaks up again.

“You better learn to watch where you’re fucking going, girl!”

Sarah’s jaw drops, even though she’s staring at the gravel. You turn to face the man. “Hey,” you keep your voice light. “Calm down, dude, it was an accident.”

“Oh, it was an accident?” The man looks down at his shirt, soaked through, then back up at you, his hand landing on the table. “Seems like a pretty big fuckin’ accident.”

“She said sorry,” you shrug. And if you really want to get down to brass tacks, asshole, it was totally your fault, you think, but you keep your cool.

The man drags himself to his feet. Your head tilts back to look at him, notice how he hulks over you, and you ignore the feeling of your heart rate picking up. But you stand your ground, pushing Sarah backwards without looking, hoping to put some space between her and what is becoming an increasingly ridiculous situation. Who the fuck picks a fight with a middle school girl?

“Are you at least gonna pay for another round?”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” you pretend to reach for your purse, even though you have no intention of giving him any money. Prick. You can’t help yourself. “You’re at a county fair in Texas, what do you want, like, two dollars?” 

The man flicks the plastic tip of his cigar onto the ground. For a brief moment, your eyes float towards the men at the table behind him. Some of them are watching, seemingly amused, while others stare at the table. Like they know they should be doing something about this, but they aren’t. They won’t. Typical. 

The truth is, you’re scared. You’ve been here before. Helpless, praying that some adult would intervene - and being let down every time. Surely, someone had to know. Surely, someone could’ve helped you. In the end, you had to do what you were doing now. Look out for yourself.

“Shut the fuck up, you fuckin’ cunt.” He says it like it’s supposed to end the conversation. But being a woman who's been on her own most of her adult life, and regularly seen as a threat to men’s fragile egos, you give him zero points for creativity. 

Your fatal flaw is your mouth. It can get you into trouble, it can get you out of trouble, but one thing is certain; when you’re angry, you always have shit to say. 

“Is that all you got?” you ask. 

Any bit of bravery that remains vanishes entirely when the man’s hand rises. You take a step backward but know it’s too late, flinching in anticipation. Sarah, who's huddled behind you, clings to your waist, and you nearly topple over her but luckily, you don’t lose your footing. 

The impact never comes. 

Well, not for you, at least. 

Joel has materialized, seemingly out of nowhere, and his hands are fisted in the collar of the man’s shirt. He’s yelling something unintelligible, and it doesn’t really register because you are too focused on the fact that he looks like a wild fucking animal – teeth bared into a nasty snarl, his voice gravelly. Your Joel, the sweet and gentle man who you’ve come to care so much about looks positively feral. 

Of course, it’s only then that the other men at the table decide to intervene. It takes three of them to pull Joel off before he can do any significant damage, and they all scatter, heading out in the opposite direction. 

You can’t move. It could’ve been worse, you think. There wasn’t even a punch thrown. But it caught enough attention from the crowd that you can hear people murmuring amongst themselves now, like they deserved to have an opinion as bystanders. 

Sarah releases her grip from you as Joel makes his way back towards you both, looking shockingly calm after what you’d just seen him do. His daughter tucks herself against his chest, he murmurs something into her hair. You’re still frozen in place, but you manage to turn your head away from the scene, sniff, and straighten up. 

“Hey, are you okay?” Joel’s voice is in your ear, his hand is on your shoulder, his face coming into view. For one split second, you’re struck by the impulse to pitch forward, to bury your face into his chest and allow yourself to be comforted. That’s until you see Sarah under his opposite arm and you remember where you are. You’re not a child. 

“I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Like he doesn’t believe you. You nod, step away enough that his hand drops off of you, and you cross your arms. “I saw what he-”

“I’m fine,” you put every bit of venom that you can into your voice without letting it crack, and you see the change in his face. Whiplash. Oops. That’s too far in the opposite direction. “Really, I’m good,” you say, much more gently this time. Then you force a smile, before realizing that even if you are okay, it’s not really appropriate to smile in this type of situation so you abandon that strategy. 

Breathe. Reset. 

Reaching out, you squeeze Sarah’s arm. Her eyes are red-rimmed, her cheeks wet, but she doesn’t appear to be crying anymore. “Are you alright?” you ask her. 

Sarah nods, relaxing slightly. “Thanks for sticking up for me.”

“Of course,” you answer, and now that you’ve shoved every emotion that came bubbling up back to their rightful place, you’re able to offer: “Guess I’m not too great at deescalating.”

“Well, he wasn’t very nice.”

“He was a fucking asshole,” Joel rubs her back, but doesn’t release her. It’s only then you can see he’s still on high alert. “But I think that’s our cue to get out of here.” 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Keeping control of your emotions, as you have gotten older, does not work as well as it used to. And this…event….feels like you’ve gone to pull a loose thread off a sweater, only to realize it was the one that held the whole damned thing together. You don’t realize until it’s too late, and the next thing you know, you’re on the floor of your closet, scraps of fabric all over the floor, and no idea what to do with them. Oh, and it’s cold outside, so now you have nothing to wear. 

In the car on the way home. Sarah and Joel chat a bit. They go over everything that happened in detail, starting with the spilled beer. You don’t speak. You can feel your heartbeat thrumming in your body, your jaw clenched so tightly it’s begun to ache. It’s hard to tell if you want to scream or cry – maybe both, but as the whole situation solidifies itself in your memory, you’re starting to feel like it might be more of the latter. And you just want to get home, so when it happens, you can be alone.

It’s not great to know that you have fucked up the whole vibe. Unfortunately, you cannot give anything else right now. Joel keeps looking over at you, and you imagine he thinks you’re acting pretty pathetic. 

Joel pulls into his driveway, puts the car in park, and you can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Until he speaks up. 

“Sarah, can you give us a minute?” he asks, and you hear his car keys jingle. Elbow on the window frame, fist pressed against your nose, you stare at the dashboard. “I’ll be inside in a little bit.”

“Yeah…” Sarah answers, though she sounds timid. There’s the click of a seatbelt, and she slides out of the car on your side. As she passes your open window, she pats your shoulder gently, and you nod. You watch her walk up the path to her front door and ignore the feeling of Joel’s eyes on you. 

He says your name, and you give in, turn to look at him, just for a second. “Thank you for looking out for her,” So earnestly. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there earlier.”

“Yeah, well….it wasn’t your fault.” 

“It wasn’t yours, either.”

“Yeah.”

The front door slams closed. Sarah’s inside, and Joel reaches out, moves a bit closer to you. He lays his hand on the side of your face, guiding you to look at him. You can’t meet his eyes, or he might see right through you. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Has something like that-?” 

You know what he’s getting at. You don’t need to hear the rest of the question. “No.”

"Please," Joel takes a deep breath, dropping his eyes. “You can tell me the truth.”

You hate that he knows you’re not. And you hate yourself for hurting him, for being so cruel and dismissive when he’s only trying to help. But what is going to happen if he knows you? If he really knows who you are? “Joel,” you shake your head. “I can’t get into it.” 

“Okay,” he says, nods. 

“But….” you raise your hand, let it clasp around his wrist, over his watch. “Thank you. For everything.”

“Why don’t you come inside for a little, huh?” He asks. “Watch a movie with Sarah and I?”

“I don’t know, I-” You’re not sure how much longer you can keep the tears to yourself. You’d been planning on letting them out the second you walk inside, and bottling them up for more time sounds excruciating. So what are your valid excuses? “She might figure out that-”

Joel shakes his head. “I don’t care about that right now.”

“It’s late.” You say, as if you’re actually going to sleep tonight.

“You just spent the whole night with us. What’s another hour or two?” 

Those were your two best shots. Joel finally asks. He’s pleading with you, you can see in his face. This is for him. It’s not even about you. Well, it is. But it’s sincere. He’s not just pitying you. “Alright.” 

Sarah seems just as relieved to see you walk through the front door as Joel had been when you agreed. She sits between you on the couch while you watch some shitty action movie Joel picked out, and falls asleep curled up against his side. Once her measured breathing fills the room, Joel reaches over to clasp your hand, thumb rubbing over the back of your palm, and he doesn’t let go.  

Your plans to end the night crying yourself to sleep are long forgotten by the time you get home.

-----

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-

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-

[love-hatred-stuff]

“tales of bucky’s heart“

- close enough -

~(from this fic) my new series

~ enjoy! I hope you like it!

„She’s just- too much. I think. I don’t know! I don’t know why it’s bothering me all of the sudden, it never did before.“ Bucky’s distraught voice clung to the walls of your apartment kitchen. Steve trying to listen, instead of judging the way he was feeling right now.

Bucky knew Steve probably wasn’t the best person to tell this. Because Steve was like a brother to you. He was protective, because he loved you dearly. He would put you over everything if it came down to it, he always knew that. But Steve was the only one Bucky would be honest with in this situation. Although he would be the hardest on him.

„So you’re saying, she’s too clingy?“ Steve raised a brow at him, confused as to why he would feel this way towards you if you’ve been nothing but a understanding and loving girlfriend.

„No- yes. I’m not sure!“ Bucky wiped his face in frustration.

You clutched your chest, feeling your fast heartbeat and your quickening breath with it. Back pressed against the wall, which separated you from them.

„Tell her then. Be open with it. You know it’s best if you just communicate your feelings. She will understand and you two will figure this out. Just don’t expect me to pick sides here.“ Steve tells him honestly.

The air felt like the oxygen in it was slowly dwindling, because nothing reached your lungs. Causing you to find refuge in your bedroom across the hall, here you locked the door and fell into bed, ordering the tears to stay back. As your breathing calmed down, you fell asleep into a restless slumber.

The knocking on the door woke you. Wiping your eyes and starting to remember what had happened, you forced yourself to stand up and put on a tight lipped smile.

Bucky was already asking for you, concerned as to why you would lock the door, you never did that.

When you opened up, relieve washed over his face.

„Baby. What were you doing? Since when do we lock doors?” His calming eyes searched for yours and they almost drew you in like they always did, but you refused to believe that he was being genuine.

„I don’t even remember doing it, must’ve been reflex. Just fell asleep.” You lied, avoiding looking at him directly, because he could tell you weren’t telling the truth.

He hummed in response.

„Do you wanna watch a movie or something?” Bucky tried caressing your arm but you moved away.

A cold pain rushed through him. And panic immediately after.

„Baby, what’s wrong? Are you sure you’re okay? You can tell me everything. Even if it’s something I did. Let me help you, hm?“ All he ever wanted was to please you. And seeing you act so distant made his heart ache awfully.

„No, I just- Yeah, let’s watch a movie. Is Steve still here? Sorry if I missed saying goodbye.“ You gave him a cheeky smile. One that made it look like you weren’t having doubts about the person you loved more than life itself.

„That’s fine, doll.“ He gave you a gentle smile, trying to give you comfort without touching you again.

<><><><><><><>

Usually when you two watched tv just to relax and calm your minds a bit, you were always tangled up in each others arms, no matter the heat. You just wanted to be close.

But not today. And that got him feeling like someone was ripping at his chest without end. Bucky couldn’t concentrate on the movie that was playing, not in the slightest. Not while you sat there, on the other end of the couch, curled up in nothing but the blanket around your body. He never thought he would once desire to switch roles with a blanket.

He wasn’t the only one feeling upset, though. No one could guess what was going on inside your head. And you were internally beating yourself up over being so clingy and affectionate. You had thought he always liked the way you two warmed each others hearts as well as bodies.

James just hoped it would be a matter of just a few hours, that you didn’t want to be touched right now and that tomorrow everything would get back to normal.

Except it wasn’t going to be like that.

The morning after, nothing in your behavior had changed. In fact, you were trying even more to avoid him. Not granting him his usual sweet good morning kiss. Not letting him hug you from behind while you made coffee. You always found a way to snatch out of his grasp.

——

When the evening came around and you just got home from your weekly meet with the Avengers, Bucky begin pleading with you. Asking why you were acting this cold towards him.

“I just don’t feel like touching at the moment. I’m not in the mood for it.“ You stated. You were lying and Bucky just wouldn’t believe this.

„But why? Did I do something that made you uncomfortable? I’m so sorry if I did and didn’t even notice! Please just tell me!“ He got closer but forced himself to keep the distance you so desperately wanted to have between you.

feedback is always welcomed <3

tell me what else you’d want to happen

Taglist;

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Masterlist ;)

[captain-mj]

hi! no pressure, just want to offer you an idea for non military au. ghost is former soldier, now he is a lighthouse keeper. one day he finds unconscious and maybe wounded selkie!soap on the beach and decides to take care of him, because the nearest city is very far away and he doesn't know what to do in strange situations like this.

I love this idea so much! Wrote this in a series of scenes to cover more of the story :) Also I wanted it to feel like an indie movie where you walk away feeling like you missed something.

Ghost was smoking quietly outside of the lighthouse, watching the stars. He was having one of those nights where he couldn't sleep. All of his duties were done for the night and the light would continue without him until morning. But he couldn't sleep.

Movement happened at the shoreline. His eyes quickly flicked over to it, watching for it to happen again. The water lapped over the shore and hit something, making it splash. Something that definitely was not a rock.

Occasionally, seals would wash on shore so he wanted to make sure nothing bad was happening. If they were hurt or tangled in nets, he'd try to help them. Even if the bastards liked biting him.

When he saw the soft fur lighting up in the moonlight, he resigned himself to having to help one of them. The very human foot that appeared though. That was new.

Ghost slowly walked closer, not making a sound.

The person in front of him had a seal coat on and nothing else. In this freezing cold, that wasn't a good idea. There was also blood that was slowly spreading around.

Ghost moved him gently, seeing where there was a broken spearhead in his side. Who the fuck uses spears? What the fuck happened to him that he'd be in the position to get hurt like this?

With how bad it was and how far they were from civilization, there was no way he'd make it unless Ghost did something. Good thing Ghost did all his own medical care and he could cover it.

Hopefully, mystery man wouldn't be too upset. He was sure if he explained he was ex-military and was medically trained, he'd understand. Or he wouldn't and he'd sue him.

Mystery man was heavy. And naked besides the coat. Not even underwear. He made sure to keep his... bits covered. Didn't want mystery guy waking up in a compromising position.

He'd hate to get blood all over his bed, but the couch would be hard to work with. So he laid mystery man in his bed, exposing the wound and not much else.

Ghost heated up a needle and threaded it. He started to clean the wound with vodka and pulled the spearhead out. As the needle slid in, the mystery man twitched but didn't wake up. The wound was deep and bloody, but he still got it under control. With a few bandages on top, he looked just fine.

The coat had to come off. It had blood all over it and needed to be cleaned. If it set in the fur, it might stain it. He gently took it off.

Ghost's focus on the wound shifted to focus on the man himself. His body was extremely toned like he worked out constantly. Scars littered his body, big ones that looked like they were from a shark and little ones from something. He couldn't quite figure it out.

Ghost put a blanket over him. After a moment, he tucked him in. Felt a little silly to be a grown man tucking in a grown man, but he did it for some reason. Mystery man sank a little further into the bed when he did it. His mohawk just barely stuck out from the blankets.

The coat. Ghost grabbed it and took it to his laundry room. With how it looked, he probably needed to handwash it. He soaked it first, getting all of the blood out, before he put some soap on it. It was the same he used for his balaclava so he knew it wouldn't be damaging. Then he put it up to dry.

It took a while, but he managed to fall asleep on the couch.

-

A few hours later, there was movement in his home. He tensed up when it happened and went on high alert. On instinct, he went for the knife under his pillow but it wasn't there.

Mystery man was staring at him. Giant black eyes staring deep into him. Feral.

"Where the fuck did you put it?" Mystery man moved so fast, pouncing on him, using his thighs to pin him down. His hands grabbed Ghost's wrists so he couldn't attack him.

He was still naked.

Ghost kept his eyes trained on his eyes, not wanting to look down and be a perv.

Was it technically pervy if this guy jumped on him?

"Where is my coat?" He bared his teeth.

Ghost's eyes widened, seeing the set of seal teeth. The eyes.

"What the fuck are you?"

Mystery man snapped at him, ready to sink his teeth in to him, and then winced right as Ghost felt the warm blood hit his stomach. With practiced ease, he flipped them around, pinning him down now. He then stood up and got some more bandages. "You ripped your stitches. Stay right there."

Silence followed as Ghost restitched him and put more bandages on him. Once he was sure he wouldn't bleed out again, he pressed him down on the couch. Mystery man looked up at him, something fierce and wild in his expression. He looked beautiful honestly. In a frightening way. Like an angel.

"What are you?"

He snarled at him but looked down at where Ghost's hand was pressed to his chest to keep him down. His hand dwarfed his chest. It made the situation a lot less tense. Both of them believing they could definitely kick the other's ass.

"Selkie."

"The fuck is that?"

"Sometimes I'm a seal. Sometimes I'm a person." He explained, slowly relaxing more. "Where is my coat?"

Ghost realized this person was certified insane. Though he did see the dark eyes and seal teeth, though maybe they both were. "I cleaned it."

"Cleaned it?"

Ghost nodded. "Yeah. I washed it since it was bloody. You're going to need to stay here for a bit. You'll need to heal some more or you'll rip those stitches and bleed out. No jumping around either."

He frowned but seemed more content now.

He was still fucking naked.

Ghost grimaced. "What's your name?"

"Soap."

"Soap?"

"That's what the people up the street call me."

Ghost thought about the fact that there was not another house for about twenty miles and decided to ignore that. "Just relax. I'll find you some clothes?"

"Why?"

Ghost wrinkled his nose at him and went to his bedroom. He found a few things and looked up, freezing.

his face.

He hadn't been wearing his mask last night. Why would he? It was cold, but not that cold and there was no one for miles.

This guy had seen his face. And while yes, he had seen this man's... everything, his face was an intimate affair.

If he put the mask on now, it would cause even more questions and problems. If he didn't, the man would still be looking at him.

Then the man was there.

"I ripped my stitches again."

"Fucking hell."

-

Once Soap was bandaged, dressed and back in his coat, he was more than happy to take up Ghost's entire couch, body spread out and branching. The coat hugged him perfectly. A glove made for him.

His bright blue eyes were staring at him. Ghost had to stare and try to remember if they were blue before as well. They fit his face. Bright blue eyes with tan skin and pretty features. Not delicate by any means. Strong jaw and nose. But definitely pretty.

"So, Ghost." Soap started to speak, glancing at where Ghost was cooking for them in the kitchen. "Why are you here?"

"I run the lighthouse."

"The big tower with the light on it?" Soap sat up curiously, tilting his head.

Ghost nodded. "That's the one."

Soap hummed. "Always wonder what that did." He put his head on the back of the couch, staring at Ghost with his pretty blue eyes and dark eyelashes.

"Helps boats know where the shore is."

Soap hummed in response and continued to watch.

Ghost brought him food, watching Soap start to shovel it in his mouth with his hands. "Do you not know how to use a fork?"

Soap snapped at him and Ghost let it go.

-

Ghost watched his progress with great interest. Soap's wounds healed faster than the average person and it healed cleaner. It was still a slow process though so he had to watch carefully. He never slipped the mask back on. Maybe he should’ve. It would be smarter too.

Soap noticed the masks but he never said anything. He never passed judgement on Ghost’s quirks. His giant blue eyes peered at him all the time. Absorbing him. It was odd, being the one watched. Though, he did watch him back.

They got into long staring contests which were tons of fun for him. It was calming. Weirdly. Soap was much like the ocean he came from. Unsettling and eerie and beautiful. Especially the eyes.

Ghost did research, trying to find out if maybe selkies had an effect like this. Instead he just found dozens and dozens of things about their coats.

He didn’t touch the thing. It looked soft. But it made him nervous in a weird way. Like he’d make it dirty. Didn’t help that Soap went from civil human to snarling animal if he glanced at it. Big black eyes ready to rip him to shreds.

Soap never truly scared him. Unsettled, sure. But Ghost was pretty sure he could take him.

Pretty sure.

Soap was complaining again. Maybe horrid noises as he rolled around the floor.

“I could help if I knew what was wrong.”

“Dirty.”

“You want a bath?”

Soap paused his writhing to consider. “Yes. I would like... a bath."

Ghost nodded and fixed it for him. He made it cold. For some reason it felt right to do so.

Soap sank deep into the water and looked very happy. It made Ghost feel calmer. Big black eyes stared at him from the water.

He had seen them before. While out on the beach, he had seen those eyes staring at him.

A predator from the depths. Maybe like cats and wolves, this predator could be tamed as well.

Ghost grabbed the shampoo and started to wash Soap's hair, enjoying the softness of the strands. He used nicer shampoo for the smell so he hoped it was okay. With how Soap's was styled, he assumed he took pride in his hair.

Soap relaxed into the freezing water, humming. "A little warm for my taste."

"Should I put ice in it?"

"That sounds good."

So Ghost poured ice in the bathtub. He started to wonder what this was. If maybe he had finally killed himself and this was some weird purgatory. Or maybe it had been so long since he had a conversation that he was imagining this. What if he had a wild seal in his home?

Ghost decided this was a path he didn't want to travel. He could live with not knowing.

Soap relaxed and his eyes went back to the nice blue.

-

Ghost took his bed back after the third night. Soap stayed on the couch. He was still healing and outside of when he wanted to be dramatic, he rarely moved.

Ghost cooked for them every morning and night before going to check on the lighthouse. He did his normal duties and then came home in record time every day.

Soap was always doing… something. Usually staring out the window at the ocean or biting at his pillows or laying dramatically on the floor like a broken doll. Ghost would sit with him and they’d talk.

They sat there for a few minutes before Soap looked at him. Dark eyes staring into him again. Shredding him. Making a place inside of him that only Soap could squirm into.

"If you died, you think you'd go to Valhalla?"

"Valhalla is for people who die fighting."

"Are you not fighting now?" Soap asked him and smiled. It was impish. Like he had secret Ghost wasn't getting.

Ghost frowned. "No. I'm not fighting now."

Soap grabbed Ghost's hand, comparing their hand sizes. "So what are we eating tonight? Fish again?"

"Yeah, I can make more fish." Ghost glanced at him, watching his mouth.

"Thank you." Soap batted his eyelashes at him and smiled softly.

They fell in sync so easily. Ghost cooking and Soap by his side to watch it. If it weren't for Ghost, he'd eat the fish raw, but it was impolite to do so in the house.

Soap licked over his teeth. Giant things. Sharp.

Ghost thought of what it would be like to feel them pierce his throat.

-

Ghost wasn't sleeping. He laid down and just stared at the ceiling.

Soap had healed. He could leave now. Maybe that's what kept Ghost up. Or maybe it was the fact that Soap was clearly moving.

The door creaked open and Soap stepped in. He didn't speak, just found where the bed was in the dark. Slowly, he got on the bed next to him and then moved on top of him, straddling him.

"My name, when I played human, was Johnny."

"My name was Simon."

It felt inevitable. The way their lips brushed against each other. Pressed soft but insistent. Intent on devouring each other.

"Simon." Johnny said softly. "First human I've met than I've liked."

"Thank you." Ghost felt honored weirdly enough. He pulled him closer to kiss him more.

Johnny's mouth traveled down his jaw and to his throat. Simon relaxed, waiting for the sting. For the inevitable death. He'd welcome it like a lover. Like Johnny.

Instead it was only soft kisses. Trailing and claiming. Spiraling around. Fingertips searching each other in the dark.

Johnny moved and slowly undid the tie on Ghost's pants. "I want to give my gratitude."

"You don't have to."

"I want to. Want you to touch me."

This was Valhalla. Or maybe that purgatory he feared. Scars all over his body ached as he reached for Johnny's face, cupping him. "Johnny."

"Simon..." He breathed against him.

Their mouths stayed close, breathing in each other's air as they moved against each other. It was slow and aching and it made Ghost want to take Johnny's coat and mix them together in the sheets. To never let him leave and stay there for eternity, breathing each other in.

He'd never. Johnny finally sank his teeth into him. Into his shoulder. Ghost groaned and grabbed on to him. Johnny's hands. They dragged him under.

It had been so long since he had been touched. He felt undone by Johnny. Simon tried to reciprocate, to make Johnny feel just as good.

Until they were both wrecked and panting and sinking into the bed.

Johnny clawed at him and buried his face in his neck. He kept him pinned down so his hands could go over Simon's body.

The touch was heavenly. It felt like it was burning him.

Simon held him close.

"Are you going to disappear in the morning?"

"Do you want me to?"

Simon held him closer, fingers going through the fur of his coat. "No. God no."

[thewritingbeforesunrise]

Share Our Skin (part 1).

18+ ONLY. MINORS DNI

______________________________________

A/N: Hi everyone! It's been ages since I last posted a fic on here, so I am really nervous.

I have been working on this one for a while now. This is the first part of a wonderfully unhinged request from the lovely @twistedmelodies. Hannah, I really cannot thank you enough for your incredible patience and kindness!

This series is going to have three parts; the first two are building the background for the third and last chapter that is going to be 🔥.

I really hope you like this.

Word count: 8.1K

Pairing: Josh x female!reader

Warnings: fluff, NSFW 18+ONLY, graphic sexual content, oral (f!receiving), protected sex, rat tail Josh.

Summary: You stumble upon a nice little cinema in the city you have just moved to and you meet an even nicer boy, there.

_____________________________________

You didn't do that on purpose.

Absolutely not.

But, as you would soon learn, in life you should always prepare for trouble and only hope for it not to become double.

It was safe to say, though, that this time you had fucked up big time.

You had met him at your local cinema.

You had just moved to a new town alone and you had started to explore your surroundings, trying to find some interesting things to do, when you had stumbled upon a nice little cinema, just at the corner of your neighborhood.

You almost hadn't noticed it at first because it was mid afternoon on a Wednesday and it was closed.

The building looked absolutely anonymous but, as you lifted your gaze to the darkening clouds swirling in the sky, promising a storm soon, you spotted a faded unlit white and red sign saying "Cinema" and nothing more.

You made a mental note to try it on Saturday night, though.

You loved going to the cinema, so having one so close was making you feel a little less like a fish out of the water in a town you didn't know well.

Saturday evening came quickly.

You got ready and made your way to the building, finding the sign lit and a small queue of people just outside the door, which was still closed.

You learned that every Saturday evening they showed old movies. That night they were showing "To Catch a Thief", one of your favorite ever.

You waited in line and about ten minutes later you heard the sound of keys giggling and the door finally opened.

People slowly started to move inside and soon you were standing in front of the ticket booth.

The cinema from the inside looked old-fashioned but the atmosphere was warm and inviting. The first thing you noticed upon entering was the salty buttery smell of fresh popcorn that brought you back to when you used to go to the cinema every Sunday afternoon with your parents.

A little sense of nostalgia about your childhood invaded you and you started to get lost into your head.

You were quickly brought out of your tangled thoughts by a voice, nice and crystal clear.

"Good evening, love. What can I do for you?"

The voice belonged to a boy about your age with curly hair and buzzed sides, a perfect heartstopping smile and the most sparkly brown eyes you had ever seen.

You were at a loss of words.

Your expression must have been incredibly funny because he giggled and repeated himself, his smile deepening even more,making a tiny dimple appear on his left cheek.

It was even worse.

He had the cutest giggle you had ever heard.

You had to bite the inside of your cheek to prevent yourself from getting lost into your head again.

You blushed furiously and averted your eyes from his face, starting to stumble over your words making him giggle again, sweetly.

"Uh…I-I…" you tried to say but your brain didn't intend to cooperate.

You were making a fool of yourself and blocking the line. You heard people behind you starting to complain and you shook your head to finslly get a grip on yourself.

"Uh… a ticket please" you managed to say without looking at him and rummaging inside your purse for your wallet.

"It's 10$" he said, still smiling and as you handed him the money, your fingertips touched his and you felt a little jolt of electricity.

His fingers were warm and soft.

When he handed you the ticket he also slid a little chocolate bar your way.

When you frowned, he spoke.

"It's on the me, don't worry" he said gently and you blushed even more, thanking him in a sliver of voice and scurrying away absolutely embarrassed.

You kept scolding yourself for looking like an idiot in front of everyone.

When you entered the cinema room, you felt a nice warm feeling spread in your chest and again you remembered how much you loved and you missed cinemas.

The room brought you fifteen years back.

The cherry wood of the walls and the low golden lights made you feel at home.

The red velvet seats were incredibly soft to the touch and looked absolutely comfortable and well-kept.

The floor was covered in a dark grey carpeting that muffled your steps.

Like an enthusiastic child, you slowly made your way down the central corridor tracing your fingers dreamily against the side of the seats and scanning the room for the perfect spot.

Once you found it, you pulled down the seat and sat down on the soft cushion.

You started rummaging inside your purse for your phone and found the little chocolate bar the ticket-boy had gifted you and your stomach rumbled.

You had already had dinner so you weren't hungry. But you always had a sweet tooth so you couldn't resist.

You unwrapped the chocolate and took a bite.

Your eyes scanned the room slowly as you let the chocolate melt on your tongue. Inevitably your mind kept conjuring up images of the boy that had made your brain go blank and you mentally slapped yourself again for the terrible first impression you made.

Suddenly, the light faded out and the white screen came to life, making you momentarily forget about the cute boy and your clumsiness.

You lost yourself in the images.

Grace Kelly's dresses were a dream and Cary Grant was absolutely stunning. You were transported back in time by Hitchcock's virtuosity.

Before you knew it, the end credits were rolling slowly onto the screen and the light were turned on again.

People started to exit the room quietly and you stood to follow them.

You were the last one to exit.

The boy wasn't behind the register now, but he had a broom and was carefully sweeping the floor near the exit door.

He lifted his eyes from the ground as you approached the door and was quick to grab the door handle and open the door for you, like Cary Grant had done in the movie, you noticed.

Such a gentleman, you thought, a delicate blush covered your cheeks and his at the same time.

You thanked him. As you stood there ready to go home, he let go of the broom, leaning it against the wall and offered you his hand.

"I'm Josh," he said with that same big smile and bright eyes as before.

You reciprocated the greeting and introduced yourself too, shaking his hand.

He repeated your name slowly, rolling every letter on his tongue and you found yourself staring at his full lips moving.

He kept your hand in his for a second longer than what was considered usual and you couldn't help but notice his warmth and softness, compared to your icy skin.

You both blushed as you shook hands and let go, awkwardly standing one in front of the other in silence

"Well, I really have to go now," you said to break the silence.

"Good night, Josh" you added with a small smile and you saw his eyes twinkling upon hearing his name rolling off your tongue.

He wished you good night, too, as you exited and slowly started to make your way back towards your flat.

When you crossed the road, you couldn't help but turn around and look towards the building.

A warm smile spread on your lips before you could stop yourself when you saw that he was already looking at you from behind the cinema glassdoor.

As you caught him staring, he swiftly hid behind the wall but showed up again seconds later with a guilty grin and a hand rubbing the back of his neck, a bit embarassed.

God he is so sweet, you thought and blushed under his gaze despite being so far away from him.

He waved at you and you reciprocated, feeling something stir in your belly, like a hundred butterflies spreading their fluttering multicolored wings.

That night you couldn't fall asleep for hours and when, finally, sleep graced you, your dreams were haunted by beautiful brown eyes and contagious smiles.

You woke up with a jolt to the sound of your alarm clock. You cursed it because it had interrupted the sweetest dream you had ever had.

Of course you were dreaming of Josh.

You were afraid that you were starting to develop the biggest crush on that little cinema guy.

By the end of the week, you were sure you were madly in love with him.

You couldn't go five minutes without thinking about him and you hated yourself for that.

You didn't even know him, how could you feel that way for him already?

On Saturday evening you decided that you needed to see him again, the thought of his smile was more or less the only thing keeping you from saying to hell with everything. The week at work had been absolutely draining so you really needed a breath of fresh air.

And, of course, the cinema was the first thing that came to your mind.

This time they were showing "Pulp Fiction". You had already seen it millions of times but you didn't mind as long as you could see him again.

There were more people waiting outside than the last time.

When you entered, you saw him there, tearing tickets and serving popcorn and beverage to customers, expertedly.

Your heart started beating wildly as you waited for your turn.

Finally, you were in front of him again.

When he saw you, you were graced with that heartstopping smile that your brain had replayed hundreds of times in your dreams.

He greeted you using your name in his usual sweet tone and you tried not to swoon in front of him.

"How are you tonight? Ready for some Tarantino?" He asked playfully and you nodded, unable to control your smile.

"Yes, I am. I've seen it many times but never in a cinema, actually" you confessed as he gave you your ticket and change.

"Oh, it's way better on the big screen, trust me" he said and winked as he handed you the little bag of popcorn you had ordered.

You blushed at the gesture and entered the cinema room.

You chose your usual spot and you started eating popcorn waiting for the movie to start.

The film was almost finished when you reached the bottom of the popcorn box, feeling the little grains of salt under your fingertips.

And something else too.

There was something inside.

You took the item between your fingers and brought it out of the box. Thanks to the light coming from the screen you saw what it was.

It was the same chocolate bar that he had offered you the first time you met. But it wasn't alone. It was attached to a little strip of paper folded on itself.

You detached the chocolate from the paper and unfolded it.

Despite the darkness, you could see what had been handwritten inside.

"This is to make it up to you for last Saturday night. I should have at least offered to walk you home. I shouldn't have let you go out alone at night. I am so sorry. I would have never forgiven myself if something had happened to you. I hope this doesn't come off as rude or creepy but here's my number, don't hesitate to text me when you get home safe or whenever you want to know what films we are showing.

P.S. Please, ignore this if I am overstepping.

Josh :)

You blushed instantly and unconsciously brought the paper close to your heart as you felt butterflies go crazy in your stomach.

Nobody had ever been so thoughtful with you.

You couldn't stop smiling and, as the credits started to roll on the screen and the light switched on again, you stood and walked out of the room to see if he was there.

You wanted to thank him for his kind gesture, but once you were in the hall, he was nowhere to be seen.

An old man with round glasses and kind eyes was sweeping the floor, exactly like Josh had been last Saturday.

You were a bit disappointed.

You wished him goodnight and walked home.

Once you arrived home, you decided to text that number anyway.

With trembling fingers you typed a brief message.

Hi, Josh. I found your message inside the box. Thank you for your kindness. I have just gotten home safe. Please, feel free to text me the scheduled films every week, thank you.

P.S. You were right! The film was so much better on the big screen!

Goodnight.

You signed the message and before you could start mulling over it and overthinking, you sent it.

A few minutes later, your phone vibrated on your nightstand.

I am glad you got home safe and you enjoyed the film.

Sweet dreams!

Josh.

You felt again those damn wings flutter in your chest. You read the message hearing his voice in your ears and you blushed even though nobody could see you.

You were already smitten with him.

That night you dreamt about him again.

~

It started like that.

Every Thursday he texted you the scheduled movies and every Saturday night you texted him when you got home safe.

He was always so sweet every time you saw him and every time you fell a little more in love with him.

Every Saturday night he kept offering you the same chocolate bar, hiding it inside your popcorn box together with a little slip of paper where he wrote little anecdotes about the movie you were watching.

He told you he was a film nerd, but you were honestly impressed by the extent of his knowledge.

One Saturday evening, the weather looked awful but, after a long week at work, you didn't really feel like staying at home. And you needed to see him, his smile was more or less the only thing that helped you keep your sanity.

You had spent the entire afternoon baking a cake for him, to thank him for all the times he had offered you a chocolate bar and shared his precious knowledge with you.

You had opted for a chocolate fudge cake, since he gave you major chocolate vibes.

Dark, sweet and captivating. The website described the recipe with those three words and they made you think about him, immediately.

The recipe wasn't exactly easy, so you spent all afternoon mixing and stirring ingredients and then wiping and cleaning the kitchen.

Once the cake was in the oven, you showered and started to get ready to go out.

You had been so busy that you didn't even heard your phone vibrate with a message and then a phone call.

When everything was ready, you placed the cake in a box and exited your apartment.

The sky was dark. The clouds swirling fast and looking menacing and an intermittent rumble of thunder could be heard in the distance.

You grabbed an umbrella and walked to the cinema.

Once you arrived there, though, you were very surprised to find the sign unlit and the doors closed.

You checked the time on your watch and noticed that the cinema was usually open at that hour.

You knocked but the lights inside were off.

You started to worry that something had happened to him

You knocked again, just before a loud thunder shook the glassdoor.

You flinched at the loud noise but your heart flooded with relief as the lights inside switched on and you saw Josh make his way towards you with keys in his hand.

His smile was a little surprised but beaming as always.

"Hi, darling, what are you doing here? The storm is about to hit" he greeted you and said, looking up at the darkening sky.

"You didn't read my text, did you?" He added then, still smiling, at your confused expression.

You panicked and started rummaging through your bag for your phone.

"Hey, hey, calm down, it's ok!" He said placing a warm hand on your arm. "I texted you to tell you that tonight the cinema was closed due to the incoming storm. I even called you but after one call I didn't insist because I thought you were out with somebody and I didn't want to bother you." He said sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck and smiling, a little embarrassed. His cheeks pinkened slightly.

"Oh, I am so sorry Josh, I spent the entire afternoon baking this cake and I didn’t look at my phone." You started rambling, then added in a sliver of voice, "this is for you, for your kindness and sweetness"

You handed him the box as you started to back away from the door.

"Hey, darling, please don't go. Stay. I am really happy to see you. I don't want you to go away and…" he stopped for a second before continuing, casting his eyes down to the pavement.

"And I don't really feel like staying here alone working during a storm, so please stay" he said quickly, his cheeks pinkening even more.

"You can even choose the film tonight, it will be a private screening" he added and winked, playfully.

You blushed at his sweet request and after a few seconds you agreed. In reality, you had decided straight away to stay, but you didn't want him to believe you were too desperate.

His smile beamed even more when you accepted and he motioned for you to take his arm.

Then he closed the door behind you and escorted you inside like a gentleman, thanking you profusely for the cake.

You were really afraid he could hear your heart beating wildly in your chest at the thought of spending the evening alone with him.

He started leading you to a part of the cinema that was restricted to the public.

He opened a door, flicked on the lights and motioned for you to enter.

At that moment, you understood that he had taken you to the very screening room. You had never been inside one and you were mesmerized by everything you saw there.

You gasped and he chuckled.

"Here's were the magic happens" he said while spreading his arms wide.

You started to take a look around but you were interrupted by his voice as he placed the cakebox on the table and opened it.

"Wow, love! This cake looks delicious! How did you know chocolate is one of my favourite things in the world?" He asked, his eyes glittering with happiness.

"I just guessed" you answered sheepishly, blushing at his compliment.

He looked at you with a strange light in his eyes but the moment was interrupted by a loud thunder that shook the whole building.

You both flinched at the loud sound.

"Now, I really have to sort these new films that arrived today. But you can do as you were at home, you can choose the movie you want to see and I'll set it up for you while you get comfortable on the seats downstairs." He explained.

He pointed to a staircase that lead to the cinema room downstairs.

"Are you sure you don't need a hand with those films? I can help you so we can sort it out quickly and watch the movie together." You asked tentatively. You really didn't want to watch the movie alone while he worked.

It didn't seem right to you.

"Well, I don't really want you to work on Saturday night, really. I can do it myself, it won't take much time. Thank you, darling, but you just have to choose the movie and relax" he said sweetly, motioning you towards a closet full of rolls of film.

He left you there and you started to take a look around among all those movies.

This was honestly one of your dreams coming true.

You always loved movies and you always wanted to know what happened behind the door of the screening room.

You felt giddy being in such a special place.

Your eyes landed almost immediately on one of your favorites of all the times.

Your friends and family mocked you because whenever there was a movie to choose, you always picked that one, without even caring about how many times you had seen it.

"The Shining" was written in bold red lettering on one side of a roll on the bottom of the closet.

You picked it gently, trying not to make the others fall to the ground.

You assessed the weight of the film between your hands and you felt like a little girl with her favorite toy.

You turned around and he lifted his gaze from one of the boxes of new films.

He spotted the title immediately and bit his lip with a beautiful smile.

You heard him mumble something low under his breath but you caught it anyway.

"God, you are perfect" he whispered before catching himself and giggling, noticing that you had heard him.

You blushed and so did he.

You really didn't want to watch the movie without him so you told him and offered again to help him.

"I'd love to see this, but only if you let me help you with those boxes first, I really mean it, Josh" you said and you saw as he mulled over your offer.

You knew he had refused your help only because he was a gentleman and didn't want to make you work on a Saturday.

You also knew that four hands were better that two, so you really wanted to convince him.

"You don't want to end up like Jack, do you?" You said tauntingly, referring to the main character of the movie.

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, remember?" You continued and you saw his smile beaming again at your reference.

"All right, you sold me, darling," he said chuckling "I could really need some help. Plus, it's been a lot since I last watched that masterpiece, I'd love to see it again with you with the cinema all to ourselves. But only if you promise me that, after, you'll eat that cake with me" he added, pointing a finger at you.

"Ok, now tell me, what do we have to do?" You asked him, curiously.

"We have to classify these rolls briefly and then order them alphabetically on that shelf" he explained and you sat next to him, ready to work.

In less than an hour, you had finished and, meanwhile, the storm seemed to have passed. An occasional rumble of thunder could be heard far away.

He started thanking you profusely but you quickly interrupted him saying that that wasn't that big of a deal.

In reality, the truth was that you had loved spending some time alone with him. His presence was absolutely captivating and his eyes beaming while he told you every little thing he knew about those films. You could have listened to him talk for hours and hours nonstop about his passion.

"Now we can finally relax" he said, gently taking the roll you had previously chosen and starting the various machines that occupied one side of the room.

You watched mesmerized as he made quick work of operating the projector and you gasped when you saw the first images light up the screen in the cinema room from the little window in front of you.

He winked at you and you tried so hard not to swoon you had to bite your tongue.

"Here we go, love, let's go search for the best seats," he said, grabbing the cake box and guiding you down the stairs with a warm hand on your back.

You felt the butterflies go crazy in your stomach again at that simple touch.

He guided you to the center of the seats and motioned for you to choose.

You sat down in the same place you always chose and he sat down next to you placing the box on the seat next to him.

As the opening credits started to roll on the screen, he came closer to whisper into your ear.

"Wait here, I'll just go get two forks for the cake and I'll be right back" he said, his warm breath hitting your neck, making goosebumps raise onto your skin.

A few minutes later, he came back with two forks and two cans of coke. He settled them on the floor next to you.

As you thanked him, he opened the cake box and handed it to you, along with a fork so you could take the first bite.

"No, Josh, the cake is yours, you have to take the first bite. I really hope you like it" you said.

Worry started to creep up on you. You were mentally retracing the recipe steps for the millionth time to check if you had forgotten something.

You watched with bated breath as he sank the fork into the soft cake and brought a bite to his mouth.

He started chewing slowly and moaned in pleasure at the enveloping taste of the cake.

"Good Heavens, this is delicious, love. You are the queen of chocolate cakes." He said still chewing and looking at you, amazed.

You sighed in relief and watched mesmerized as his jaw clenched and unclenched with every bite he took.

You were quickly brought out of your reverie when he motioned for you to get a taste, too.

You had to admit that it was really good, and the perfect treat for a movie night with him.

As you ate and watched the movie, every once in a while he moved closer to whisper little anecdotes about the movie into your ear.

You usually hated when people disturbed you during a movie, but, with him, it was different.

His voice was so soothing and soft that you didn't want him to stop. You would have spent the entire night just listening to him talk about anything and everything.

After some time, you heard a sudden loud thunder and, all of a sudden, everything was dark around you.

"Oh, fuck" you heard him groan as you rummaged through your bag to get your phone and turn on the flashlight.

Its white light illuminated the room casting a spectral glow on everything.

"I can't believe it" he said again, dragging a hand on his face.

Another crash of thunder shook the building.

Then he started giggling. And you couldn't help but mirror him.

"Ok, I think that the storm decided that we shouldn't see anything tonight." He scoffed and you giggled, helpless.

Silence encompassed the room, then. The only sounds you could hear were his regular breathing and the harsh wind outside.

Suddenly he stood up with a new idea.

"Ok listen, I am pretty sure there are some candles under the stage. A few years ago this was a theatre, so there are a lot of scenery in the storage closet" he said with a hopeful look into his eyes.

"Let's go, lead the way" you said and stood up next to him.

You followed him through a door and down some narrow steps that led behind the white screen.

You almost fell on the floor because everything was extremely dark despite your flashlight.

He caught you before you could smash yourself to the ground and grasped one of your hands in his to keep you from falling again.

His skin was so soft and warm that you felt a little shock of electricity at the contact.

He guided you down the corridor and stopped in front of a door. He unlocked it and entered, bringing you with him.

The room was packed with all kinds of handpainted scenery.

He spotted the box of tealights and matches next to the very door and grabbed it. He handed it to you and grabbed what looked like a big pile of velvet fabric that was on a table.

"What is that?" You asked and he snickered.

"Those are the old velvet curtains of the theater. In case we get cold" he said and you laughed

"That's creative" you said and he chuckled.

"Let's go back, it's too dark in here" he said in a spooky voice.

"That sounds like a last line before getting killed by the monster in a horror movie" you whispered and he giggled.

Once you were back into the main cinema room you started placing tealights all around you and slowly the room was immersed in the golden light of many tiny flames.

You both decided to move to the first row of seats, right in front of the stage, so there was more light.

You sat down next to him again and you both listened in silence to the storm raging outside.

Then he turned towards you and spoke.

"I am glad you are here but I am sorry that you are stuck with me instead of being in the comfort of your house. '' He said sheepishly.

"I am happy to be here with you and not alone at home, honestly" you answered him, turning towards him, too.

His flawless skin was glowing golden in the feeble light of the candles and his eyes were the same shade as the chocolate cake that lied abandoned on the floor.

You lost yourself inside them.

He had the innate capacity of drawing you in, like a magnet.

You couldn't control yourself and, honestly, you didn't want to.

Before you knew it, his lips were pressing against yours, hot, soft and so gentle.

You felt your head spin as your heart melted from that simple kiss alone.

You were shocked when he pulled away and he must have seen it in your expression because he immediately started apologizing.

But you didn't hear a single word.

Your mind froze in the exact moment his lips parted from yours, depriving you from their warmth.

There was only one thought occupying your mind.

Him.

Without thinking, your hands snaked on the back of his neck and you dragged him towards you again, pressing your lips against his and successfully interrupting his ramblings.

You felt something under your fingertips and smiled in the kiss as you understood that the hair at the nape of his neck had been braided in a little rat tail.

He placed one of his hands on your hip and a little groan escaped his lips as his fingers came in contact with your skin, left bare by your shirt riding slightly upwards.

He squeezed your hip and you whimpered into his mouth, parting your lips and allowing him to deepen the kiss.

When his warm tongue caressed your bottom lip, something into your brain snapped.

Without further thinking you climbed on his lap and lost yourself in the kiss that turned every second more heated.

Both his hands came to rest against your cheeks and the sound of smacking lips filled the room making your head hazy.

He parted from you then and chuckled at the whine that left your mouth.

You couldn't tear your eyes away from his perfect plump lips, glistening in the golden light of the candle.

Both your breaths were ragged, your faces flushed but you couldn't care less.

You started kissing again and this time his hands started to roam your body, quickly slipping under your clothes.

As his hands slowly traced your back and moved to your front, inching towards your breasts, you stopped him biting his lip lightly. You grasped his rattail and tugged at it, making his head tilt back with a low groan.

That sound went straight to your core and you knew there was no going back.

You needed to have him.

"Fuck, love. I can't get enough of you" he confessed against your lips and you shivered at the low register of his voice.

He kissed you again and started fumbling with the hem of your shirt.

"May I take this off?" He asked gently and you nodded quickly.

He took off your shirt and you shivered, feeling exposed in front of him.

He gently grabbed your arms with which you tried to cover yourself and caressed them, taking them slowly away from your body to admire you with care.

You had a very simple bralette on, but he was looking at you like you were wearing the most expensive Italian lace lingerie he had ever seen.

You blushed but he was quick to comfort you.

"Has anybody ever told you how beautiful you are?" He asked and you bit your bottom lip before crashing your mouth against his, his tongue soothing your need.

Your hands gripped the hem of his tshirt and you pulled it upwards, admiring him as he took the hint and slipped it off with a smug smirk.

He was astonishing, the perfect tanned skin of his chest was glowing against the deep red velvet of the seat he was sitting on.

You started kissing his neck nibbling at his skin and reveling in the little whiny breathy sounds escaping his reddened lips.

His fingers traced your spine, making you shiver, and they slowly inched towards the button of your jeans.

His expression was tentative when he looked at you, silently asking your permission to remove them.

You nodded and he winked before slowly unbuttoning them.

With some effort and chuckles, you managed to take them off with his help.

When you sat back down in his lap, he was quick to place his hands on your bare thighs, kneading the skin gently.

You never felt like that before.

As you sat there almost naked, a deep hunger overcame you, observing him taking in every little detail of your body.

Suddenly his lips were pressing featherlight kisses along your shoulders, where the straps of your bra sat against your flushed skin.

One of them slid down your arm and you shivered.

He kissed you again and his lips started a path down your throat and down the center of your chest.

"Josh" you heard yourself whisper as his fingers traced the other strap making it fall, too.

"Tell me, love" he whispered back, leaving open mouthed kisses on your neck.

"I need you, please" you whispered down to him, like a secret, even though nobody was there to hear.

"You want me to take this off?" He asked, tracing the hem of your bralette with his pointer finger.

You nodded and he smiled sweetly giving you what you needed.

He took his sweet time admiring you then, making you blush as you sat almost entirely naked in front of him.

He looked in awe, his eyes sparkled as he looked at you.

Then, his lips encompassed one of your nipples while his hands grabbed your hips and pushed you further against him.

You groaned as you felt his erection press against your core.

You started grinding against him and his breathing picked up as his mouth kept spoiling your chest, nibbling and sucking.

After a while, though, his hands stilled your hips completely.

"Baby, you should really stop this, or soon it will be game over for me" he smiled, out of breath and a little embarrassed.

You smiled at him and blushed, apologizing.

His hands on your hips gently pushed you upwards making you raise on your knees, still on his lap.

You rested your hands on his shoulders as he started placing a trail of kisses down your tummy and towards your lower abdomen.

When he reached the hem of your panties, he looked upwards and you forgot how to breath.

His eyes were wide like a deer in the headlights, pupils blown out, making the soft shade of brown disappear completely. His breathing was ragged and you shivered as it hit the damp trail that his lips had left on your tummy.

What he did next made your soul leave your body.

A little smirk appeared onto his lips as he took the little bow that sat at the center of the hem of your panties between his teeth and tugged at it before letting it snap back against you.

You whimpered and he chuckled. Then his mouth moved downwards, placing gentle hot kisses on your still covered mound.

"You want me to kiss you here, don't you?" He whispered looking up at you for permission and caressing your slit through the fabric with gentle fingers.

"Please, Josh, yes" You begged him and you shivered as his thumbs hooked on the sides of your underwear, pulling it slowly down your legs.

He groaned at the sight of the wet fabric parting from you and you shivered as the cool air of the room hit your flushed skin, squeezing your eyes shut.

"Hey, love, look at me, please" he whispered and you lowered your gaze.

He kept a steady eye contact as he slid down the seat just enough for his mouth to reach your center comfortably.

Both your hands were gripping the velvet seat behind his head, but when his mouth was close enough to your core that you could feel his warm breath hitting your wet skin, one snaked into his curls, gripping them tightly.

That simple gesture spurred him on and in a second his mouth was on you, his tongue lapping up and down your slit, parting your lower lips and making your breath stop in your throat.

You were holding onto his hair so hard you were afraid that you were hurting him.

Little breathy sounds escaped his lips as he ate you out at the perfect pace.

You felt his fingers slowly reaching between your legs and you stiffled a moan.

"Baby, let me hear you, nobody is here, you are safe" he whispered onto your skin and next thing you knew his name was echoing in the room alongside thunders as you slowly started to unravel.

He slid a finger inside slowly and started stroking your clit with the tip of his tongue in quick circles.

You shivered.

You were close.

"Josh" you gasped as he added another finger and curled them harshly, making you almost double over him.

Before you knew it, you were coming undone on top of him, clawing at his shoulder and his curls.

He parted from you slowly and you bit your lip at the sight of his lips and chin glistening with your arousal and his puppy eyes looking up at you wide and in awe.

"You did so good" he said against your lips before kissing you deeply.

Your hands reached quickly for his belt and you unbuckled it.

He groaned as your fingers pressed against his crotch while you were trying to free him.

When he was finally free from the confines of the fabric, you gasped.

He was beautiful, girthy and veiny. It made your mouth water.

You started stroking him gently and you saw as his head lolled backwards again the seat, exposing his neck.

You licked a stripe up his throat and stopped at his ear, tugging with your teeth at the little silver hoop that adorned his lobe.

Suddenly he grasped your wrist.

"Baby, careful" he said out of breath and you understood.

He was close.

"I want you Josh" you whispered onto his lips as thunders kept booming.

"Inside" you punctuated and he nodded.

He placed you on the seat next to him and stood, getting rid of his pants and reaching in his back pocket.

He fished out a condom and sat back in the same spot.

You climbed again on top of him, shaking lightly with anticipation.

You watched enraptured as he rolled it on himself and groaned in need.

His hands reached for your hips and guided you up.

He nodded towards himself signaling to you to grab him and guide him where you needed him.

You did so with trembling fingers and his voice immediately came to soothe your nerves.

"Don't be nervous, baby, it's just me. Take your time" he whispered onto the skin of your sternum that covered in goosebumps.

You kissed him and, at the same time, slid his tip a few times along your slit.

When you were ready, you lined him up with you and started to sink down slowly.

Both your gazes were trained between the two of you as he slowly entered you.

By the time he was fully inside of you, you were biting your lips so hard you were sure you were drawing blood.

He felt amazing inside, the sting of the stretch took your breath away completely at first but it slowly dulled.

You both exhaled shaky breaths and he held you still to let you adjust to him.

"You feel amazing, Josh" you whispered onto his lips.

"You feel like heaven, love" he whispered back, clenching his jaw, trying so hard not to move.

You moved, then, sliding up and then back down and feeling him caress your walls beautifully.

You started riding him at a slow pace and watched mesmerized that every time you pushed back down on him, his brows knitted together.

His eyes were shut and his mouth was parted, letting out whispered whimpers of pleasure every time.

You kissed him, deep and slow like your rhythm, but soon it turned famished and your rhythm quickened, with the guidance of his strong hands on your hips.

Your legs were burning, the effort of keeping your body upright when he was eating you out paired with the one you were enduring now started to make you move a bit more erratically on top of him and he was quick to notice the slight change.

"Your legs are hurting, aren't they, baby?" He whispered into your ear hoarsely.

"Yeah, a bit," you said out of breath "it's been a lot since I last…" Your voice trailed off and your face flushed in embarrassment.

"Hey, it's fine don't worry about it," he whispered pressing his nose in your cheek "let me help you"

He stopped you and stood carefully, with you still on his lap, showing his strength.

You wrapped your legs around his hips and pressed your body completely against his.

You were both covered in sweat and glistening in the low light.

He started walking backwards and soon, you were sitting on the side of the stage with his body between your parted legs

He managed to move the both of you while staying inside of you. You were impressed.

You admired the toned muscles of his arms as he flexed them to keep you close to him.

Once your body relaxed back, he searched for your gaze and you nodded, giving him permission to move.

He took the lead and set a quick and deep pace, hitting places you didn't even know existed inside of you.

The first thrusts made you slip down, so you were laying on your back on the stage gripping the edge tightly and looking up at the ceiling.

But you missed the eye contact with him so you managed to bring yourself back up.

You kissed him again and your hands tangled in his hair, making him moan in your mouth.

Suddenly he grabbed your ankle and hooked your leg in the crook of his elbow, opening you up even more for him.

His next thrust shook your entire behind, making you clench harshly around him and you couldn't help but claw at his back.

"Are you close, baby? I can feel you squeezing me so tight" he whispered into your ear as he kept his pace, strong and steady.

You nodded, unable to speak and slid your hands down his sweaty back and on his ass, digging your nails in the supple muscle there.

He groaned and angled his hips so he could hit your sweet spot repeatedly, while simultaneously stroking your clit with his thumb that he had previous wetted with his tongue.

A thunder so loud that rattled the walls muffled your cries as you hit your climax, enveloping him in a vice-like grip.

He followed soon after, the sounds escaping his mouth were unbridled and heavenly and echoed into the room sinfully.

His body fell limp against you, his damp forehead pressed to your shoulder as he tried to calm down his heavy breathing.

You tried to do the same, feeling his hands caressing your back gently.

He slowly pulled out of you and kissed you sweetly.

When your eyes met the both of you were still panting, with flushed cheeks and disheveled hair, but you couldn't hold back a little embarassed giggle at how the night had escalated.

"Thank God there is no one in here or that would have been a hell of a 18+ show" he whispered playfully into your ear and you cackled loudly.

He helped you get down from the stage and grabbed some of the tissues you had brought for the cake to clean you up gently.

Then he grabbed your clothes from the seat and handed them to you.

"Don't run away, I'll be right back" he said and walked towards the bathroom with his clothes in his hands.

He came back with other clothes on, a white tshirt and black jeans and brought you a clean tshirt too, so if you wanted to change.

It was black, with the cinema logo in bold red lettering and it reached you mid-thigh, like a perfect sleep tshirt.

You sat back in your respective seats and ate some more cake, chatting about your favorite movies.

After a while, you started yawning, the tiredness of the day was starting to making itself known.

He looked tired too, but the storm outside wasn't subsiding in the slightest, so you were stuck there with the lights still out.

Then you saw it.

The deep red velvet of the curtains folded on one of the seats.

He noticed your gaze and chuckled.

"We had the same idea, love" he said and stood helping you, unfolding the fabric and placing it on the floor.

Quickly you had set up a makeshift bed in the middle of the cinema room.

You laid down feeling extremely awkward but giddy to be there with him.

The velvet felt extremely soft against your skin end despite it being old, it was clean.

As you laid down, his arms brought you closer to him. You could feel his breathing, steady and calm on your neck and soon you were drifting off, listening to the wind whistling outside.

In the morning you woke up in his arms. You were a bit sore due to sleeping on the floor and other activities but you felt extremely at ease with him close to you.

He looked so soft, with sleepy eyes and his usual contagious grin on his lips.

It was hard to part from him but you had to go to work so you had to leave him there.

"Have a good day, love" he said in a hot whisper against your neck and you forcefully parted from him, knowing that if you didn't, you would end up tangled in the curtains with him, again.

But at work you couldn't focus, your mind kept drifting off to him.

And you spent the entire week thinking about him.

On Saturday you went to the cinema as always, they were showing "The Shining".

His smile at the register was very flirty and warm.

The evening went on as usual, but when the movie was almost over, you felt someone touching your elbow in the dark.

It was him.

He motioned for you to follow him and you ended up in the same showing room as last time.

Before you knew it you were pressed against the wall by his body, his lips hot on your neck and his hands sneaking around your body.

"Did you miss me, baby?" He said unbuttoning your jeans and sinking down on his knees.

"God, you don't even know how much" you whispered back, biting your bottom lip and sinking both your hands into his hair.

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