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#thank u so much bug holds your hands and twirls
cherry-shipping · 1 year
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is . ummmm is this allowed?
HTHY9RE9YG5RGRERI! GREUHGO0+?? GHUHGEHRGSHGPHER!! WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ANYONE ELESE SEEING THIS SHIT!!!!!!!!! HOLY FUCKING HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1HEHERG´```????!!
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lace-coffin · 4 months
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Like the Chica one, can you do age regression reader with Asa :3c
Hi! Thank u for request! I wasn’t sure specifically what u wanted so I wrote a little snippet of an evening with Asa whilst regressed, I hope u like it!
Caregiver! Asa Emory x Little!Gn!reader
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No warnings apply!
Requests are closed (will be open soon!)
Fluffy Socked feet bound down the hallway full force, giving Asa no time to react as you practically jumped onto him. The larger man lets out a wheeze of surprise but steady’s himself. “I’m glad to see you too baby, but what are we forgetting?” He chuckles and ruffles your hair.
“No running in the halls because daddy is lame” you drawl out in an uninterested tone. Asa scoffs.
“Not quite what I was going for but I’ll take it if it saves you from breaking your butt on my floor” he grins back at you softly. All you get is a “Hold on tight bug” before he scoops you into his arms, causing a squeal of delight and surprise. Your pyjama clad legs wiggle in retaliation but mostly excitement as you let yourself be carried to the table and plopped on the chair gently. Your caregiver takes the seat across from you.
“I’m going to get dinner started pet, if I let you sit here and watch can you be good for me and colour me something pretty for the fridge whilst we wait?” He proposes, eyes soft with affection.
You nod happily and make grabby hands at the paper and crayon set sprawled over the other end of the table from last night.
Rising from the table Asa slides the art supplies to you, placing a tender kiss on the crown of your head before pulling the pans he needs from the cupboard and getting started.
Tonight he’s cooking spaghetti, something simple you can manage when regressed and not too complex on the tastebuds, as much as he loves to show off his culinary skills and spoil you with impressive food, that isn’t what tonight is about. Besides you’ll probably have one handfull of pasta in your mouth and your eyes glued to bluey on the tv, it doesn’t need to be gormet.
After checking in on you a few times and praising your drawings dinner is ready to be served, Asa’s on one of his normal black plates and yours on a plastic zoo themed one with a divider to keep your foods from mixing. It’s a nightmare to wash up but he does have a soft spot for the little monkeys lining the edge.
Now settled at the table Asa chews forkfuls of his food whilst giving you little glances every so often to see how you’re coping. He knows you don’t like to be coddled all the time and want some independence so he’ll only step in if it looks like you’re struggling.
After a few minutes of watching the spaghetti slide off your fork and you groaning in defeat he decides to offer some support.
“Would you like daddy to do it for you bug? I know spaghetti can be pretty tricky for kids as little as you.”
You nod, face red but grateful for the help none the less, at this rate the food would’ve been cold before you got halfway through it.
Sliding into the chair next to you Asa takes your plastic handled fork and twirls a helping of the spaghetti onto it, blowing on it carefully he raises it to your mouth.
“Here it comes, bug”
“Perfectly done” he smiles as he reaches for a napkin, wiping the excess sauce from your face like an overbearing mother embarrassing their child. You could never be embarrassed by your daddy, you love him too much.
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maybeimamuppet · 3 years
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the first date
Damian wakes up to two wildly different texts, one from Cady and one from Janis.
Cady’s is about what he can expect from her; if not a touch more nervous.
Little Slice: Good morning Damian!! I’m sure Janis has already told you but she’s taking me on a date tonight and she won’t tell me where we’re going do you have time to come over and maybe help me put together something to wear???? love you!!
And then there’s Janis.
Janjan: dame can u come over today i’m taking caddy out tonight and i’m losing my shit
Oh boy. He’d been absolutely thrilled when they’d finally announced they were dating, but he should’ve known they would never make it easy on him. He decides to go to Cady’s first, Janis will need his support right up until she leaves to go get her.
He texts both of them while he has breakfast and feeds his little french bulldog, Pippa. He learns that Janis is picking Cady up at four to take her to the zoo, so he has a couple hours to kill before he needs to be with either of them. He sends a text to Cady letting her know he’ll be over around one, getting a thumbs up and several heart emojis in response.
True to his word, he knocks on the Heron’s front door at exactly one, greeting Cady’s mom politely before she shoos him up to Cady’s room. She’s sitting at her desk, still in her Lion King pajamas, working on what Damian can only assume is calculus. He taps lightly on the doorframe, wincing a little as she jumps practically out of her chair before snapping her head to look at him. Once she sees it’s him, though, she smiles brightly and rushes up to hug him, as if she had no idea he was coming.
“Damian! You’re here! I totally lost track of time, I was doing math to relax because Janis won’t tell me anything about where we’re going so I don’t know what to wear or how many people are going to be there and I don’t know what to expect so I’m nervous but it’s also my first date with Janis and I’m so excited and-“ She bursts out rapidly. He envies her breath control, sometimes.
“Whoa, little slice. Deep breaths. I’m here to help, she told me what she has planned and it sounds really cute. I think you’ll like it,” Damian says lowly, massaging her arms to help calm her. “There will probably be a fair number of people around, but I don’t think you’ll notice them and they will definitely not notice you. And I’m here to help you pick something to wear that’ll make Janis combust when she sees you. Okay?”
“Okay. Thanks Damian,” she says, resting her chin on his chest and grinning up at him. He gives her another tight squeeze before making his way to her closet.
“Oh, my god. Okay,” He whispers to himself once he opens it. It’s a violent clashing of various flannels and bright pinks, but he spies a few pieces he can probably work with. “I’ve never seen a lot of this stuff before! Most of this is really cute,” He exclaims, pulling out a yellow sundress that it’s definitely still too cold out to wear.
“Oh, yeah. I’ve been meaning to go through and give stuff to Gretchen and Karen that I know I won’t wear. Some of it just isn’t me, and some of the fabrics bug me,” Cady mutters shyly, as if he’d ever judge her for that.
He would never judge her, but he had not taken it into consideration. “Okay, so what kinds of fabrics or textures irritate you?” He asks, flicking through what she has hanging.
“Um, wool or anything scratchy, certain kinds of denim, and most things made of polyester, off the top of my head.” That limits the Plastic side of the closet rather severely.
“What about corduroy?” He asks, spying a green overall dress she bought at the tail end of her time as a Plastic. The color is almost exactly the same as Janis’ favorite jacket, maybe he can coordinate a color scheme. She reaches out to feel it before nodding. “Groovy, now we just need something to go under it.” They’re in the midst of what’s known as “Fool’s Spring”, so it’s just about warm enough outside for her to leave her legs bare. He starts digging through her stuff again, looking for some kind of top to go underneath the dress.
“Did you just say ‘groovy’ in earnest?”
“Yes, I did, thank you.”
“I have some more stuff in my dresser if you want to look at those,” Cady says, decidedly moving on. He puts the discarded garments back on their hangers and closes her closet carefully before moving to root through the drawer she’s pulled open.
“Don’t you judge me, Miss Grool. Let’s see what we have in here,” He says, grinning to himself a little as he pulls out several of Janis’ hoodies. “You guys have only been officially dating for, like, two weeks! How did you already get all these?”
Cady flushes, nearly matching her hair. “She gave me one a long time ago, and it was so comfy I just... never gave it back. And now I borrow them whenever she’s not looking. But only the ones she doesn’t really wear! And I’ll give them back. Eventually.”
Damian laughs at that, knowing full well she won’t give them back until Janis notices they’re gone. “I say go for it, little slice. Payback for her stealing mine since we were little.”
“Aww, you guys must’ve been so cute,” Cady coos, stretching up and pinching one of his cheeks like a grandmother would. “I wanna see pictures soon.”
“You’ll have to fight Jan on that one,” he says, pulling out a black sweater made of the softest fabric he’s ever felt. “Holy shit, this is so nice. Is this one you can handle?”
“Oh yeah, that’s my favorite sweater, I forgot about that. Thanks Dame,” she says, taking it from him gently.
“Okay now go put this on so I can be sure it actually works together,” he demands, clapping his hands and shoving her delicately towards the bathroom. He knows it will, he just wants to see Cady in it.
She shuffles back in a few minutes later and gives a little twirl, holding her hands out to her sides. Damian pretends to take pictures of her like she’s on a runway, and they both start laughing as she goes along with it and starts doing various exaggerated poses.
After a few minutes of shenanigans, he checks the time and realizes he’s been at her place for nearly an hour and a half. Cady is very easy to get lost in conversation with.
“Are you gonna be good if I go now? I have to take Pippa on a walk before dark and run some errands for my mom,” He says, coming up with a little white lie in case Janis doesn’t want Cady to know what he’ll actually be doing.
She nods and comes to hug him goodbye, reaching up to squish his cheeks. He’s exactly a foot taller than her, so she has to reach just a little to get to him, making them both giggle. She gives him one last squeeze, muttering, “Give Pip a snuggle for me?” into his chest before pulling away. He says he absolutely will before wishing her luck and leaving her alone. First job done.
——
Janis’ ten-year-old sister, Juliana, opens the door for him as he steps onto the porch. Their mom must be running errands or something, she doesn’t work Saturdays.
Julie pulls him down to mutter “She’s a mess,” into his ear before running back to the living room with a squeak as Janis calls “I heard that!” from the top of the stairs.
“I’m not a mess,” she murmurs as she reaches him at the bottom, but Damian can tell her anxiety is getting to her.
“Have you taken your meds today?” He whispers into her hair, groaning as she shakes her head. “Janis Olivia, I swear. You gotta take those regularly or they don’t work. Go take them and get something to eat. I’m gonna go pick your outfit.” He pushes her lightly towards the kitchen and thanks the heavens she goes willingly.
Letting himself into her room, he sees the telltale signs of a stressed Janis. Sketchbook open to a random page on her bed, filled with rough sketches of a familiar little redhead. She left her phone blaring music on her nightstand, and he can see faint footprints in the plush carpet from where she’s been pacing.
Damian knows Janis’ closet very well, as she makes him pick her clothes for any important event. He has an outfit in mind already, but he’s a little worried about how Janis will react to part of it. He pulls out the pieces he wants, laying them on her bed gently as she waltzes in. She shuts off the music before turning to look.
“Pants?” She grimaces as soon as she sees what he’s picked. He called it.
“I know, I know, but hear me out. You can still wear your fishnets underneath, they’ll look cool with the rips. And, Cady’s never seen you wear pants before! All you’ve ever worn are your shorts and dresses,” he begs. He knows Cady will love her in this, and it’s in Janis’ comfort zone enough that she’ll still feel confident in it.
“Fine. Turn around, loser.” She grumbles, faking annoyance. He obliges, turning around and covering his eyes until she says he can look. He turns back to face her as she’s pulling her less-decorated green jacket over her black and white checkered crop top, and adjusting where the rips fall on her black mom jeans. “How do I look?” She asks, spinning around like Cady did.
“Bitchin’.” He says, pushing her to her mirror so Janis can see herself. She checks herself out, and Damian can see the grin growing on her face. She really does look great, if he does say so himself.
“Okay, yes, you did a great job, as always. Thank you,” she says as she turns around to hug him. “Now can you help with my hair and makeup?”
———-
Damian pretty much does her typical makeup, just with slightly less around her eyes. After he finishes swiping on her signature dark purple lipstick (and making extra sure to set it enough), they both start talking at the same time.
“Do you think the zoo is too cliché?”
“Can I try something different with your hair?”
“Do whatever you think will look best, Dame. I trust you. But really, is it dumb?”
He grabs her mom’s curling wand and gets to work after putting on a heat protectant. “I don’t think it’s dumb, I think it’s cute. You want to do something she’d like, and she loves animals. Caddy chased that duck around the park for, like, half an hour last week, she’ll love it.”
Janis bursts out laughing at the memory, trying not to move her head to avoid getting a serious burn. “I didn’t think I’d be this nervous. We went out all the time when we were just friends, but like, what if she hates it? What if I’m so awkward she changes her mind and decides she doesn’t want to date me after all? What if I do something dumb and she gets uncomfortable?”
“And what if it’s perfect? Janjan, Caddy’s been pining for you for the better part of a year, and she’s been your best friend for even longer. If she hasn’t run off screaming by now, she’s not going to.” He says comfortingly, shutting off the iron and starting to run a brush through her two-toned hair. “Now hold still, you’re gonna mess it up.”
Janis goes stiff, holding as still as she can. He can tell she’s still very nervous, but she seems to be doing better than earlier, since she didn’t immediately try to contradict everything he just said.
He starts brushing her hair up into a high ponytail, asking “So are you only taking her to the zoo? Or do you have some other scandalous plan for later that you’re not telling me about?” to distract from what he’s doing. It was a valiant attempt that failed miserably, and she shoots him a look in the mirror.
“Um, if she’s not too tired I was gonna take her to that clearing by the pond we found a while ago to watch the stars. She knows all about that stuff,” She murmurs, fiddling with a scrunchie. Regretfully, it is the one Damian needs, so he plucks it delicately from her fingers and gives her the brush to play with instead.
He snaps the scrunchie into place around the ponytail, spraying it lightly with hairspray so the curl holds. He wipes some pretend tears from under his eyes, saying, “My baby girl, all grown up, going on her first date,” with highly exaggerated emotion. Janis laughs, shaking her head and watching her hair bounce around in the mirror.
——-
Julie manages to corral them into playing Mario Kart for a bit, Janis only being able to do one race before she has to go. She grabs her backpack and the large pile of blankets from by the door and puts her boots on, going to kiss both of them on the forehead and remind her sister to feed their cat, Pancakes.
“Get out of the way, Janny, I’m about to win,” Julie whines, kicking her lightly in the shins.
Damian cackles at that, saying “Yeah right, squirt. Have fun, Janjan. Make good choices and send me pictures,” Before also shooing her out of the way. Janis rolls her eyes at them as she locks the front door behind her and texts her mom that she’s going but left Julie with Damian.
——
Janis hears her phone ping as she’s pulling up to Cady’s house. She dries her slightly sweaty hands on her pants before digging for her phone in her bag, grinning as she sees the message.
Cady Girl: Do I need to bring money or anything??? I can’t wait to see you btw, I’m so excited!!!!! 
Janis texts her back, telling her all she might need to bring is a blanket and reminding her to wear good shoes since they’ll be walking a lot.
She grabs the flowers and cup she acquired on her drive over and heads up to the door, knocking politely. Cady opens it with a squealed “Janis!” before she’s in her arms, nearly knocking the stuff out of her hands.
Cady clocks them after a few seconds, asking, “Are those for me?” and pointing to the flowers.
Janis pecks her on the cheek in greeting, answering, “No, these are for your mom. Damian said it’d be a good idea. This is for you,” and handing her the venti chai she got from the Starbucks a few blocks out of their neighborhood.
“Aww, Jan, that’s so sweet. Thank you,” Cady coos at her, taking the cup and calling for her parents. “Mom, Daddy, Janis is here! She got you flowers!” Janis flushes bright pink as Mrs. Heron emerges from the kitchen.
“Oh, hello Janis. Thank you, these are lovely,” she says, taking them from her before turning to Cady. “Binti, you know the rules. Home by ten and make good choices.”
“Yes, mom, I will,” Cady says as she hugs her mom goodbye, turning to grab her bag and the blanket she picked out. “Tell dad I said bye. Love you,” she calls as she drags Janis out by the hand and shuts the door loudly behind her. “Sorry about that, she can be so embarrassing sometimes.”
“Nah, don’t be sorry. It’s cute,” Janis says, opening the door to her truck for Cady to be chivalrous. She gets in on the other side and chuckles as Cady sips her tea, cradling the cup as if it’s the most precious thing she’s ever been given.
“You’re wearing pants! And your hair is up!” Cady nearly chokes on her drink as she finally notices, reaching out to tug gently on a curl and watch it spring back into place. “You look so beautiful.”
Janis flushes scarlet again. “Thanks. So do you,” she mutters, grabbing Cady’s hand and kissing her knuckles, feeling the last of her nerves fading into the background.
“So do I get to know where you’re taking me yet?”
“Nope. I want it to be a surprise. Just enjoy the ride, Peanut.” Janis says, reaching for Cady’s hand again as she drives. She takes it and starts playing with her fingers, fiddling with her rings.
“Fine,” Cady pouts. They continue chatting quietly, Janis rubbing her thumb over the back of Cady’s hand. After a while, she goes quiet. Janis looks over to see her asleep, curled up adorably in her seat. Maybe it’ll be a surprise after all. Now she can’t see all the signs saying “ZOO” they keep driving by.
————
Cady still hasn’t woken up by the time Janis has paid for and found a parking space. She goes around to open her door for her, shaking her awake gently.
“Caddy. We’re here, it’s time to wake up.”
“Noooooo,” Cady whines, pawing indignantly at her hand and curling into herself.
“Yeeeees,” Janis laughs. “Come on, this’ll be fun!” She reaches over to click Cady’s seatbelt off, grabbing her hands and hauling her to her feet.
Cady rubs at her eyes blearily, looking around to see where she is. It takes her a second, but once she sees the big lion on the sign nearby it clicks and she jumps into Janis’ arms.
“Jay! We’re at the zoo?!” She squeals into her ear.
Janis laughs as she scoops her up, spinning her around a few times before setting her down again. “Yeah, do you like it?”
“Yes! Come on, let’s go, let’s go let’s go! I wanna go in!” Cady exclaims, bouncing excitedly as she grabs Janis’ hand and goes into a full-tilt run towards the gates.
“Caddy, Jesus, please slow down a little. It’s not even five yet, we have time,” Janis calls.
Cady stops suddenly, turning to look at her. “Oh, sorry. I got carried away,” she says sheepishly. Janis tips her chin up and boops her nose lightly.
“Don’t be sorry, I’m glad you’re excited. Just do it at a speed I can handle,” Janis tells her, breathing a little heavier. Cady grabs her hand again, gentler this time, and starts walking them at a much more reasonable speed towards the gates.
——-
“Where do you wanna go first, Kitkat?” Janis asks, flicking through the map she grabbed once she’d bought their tickets.
“Uhm...” Cady hums pensively. “The aquarium?”
“Sounds great, that’s this way,” Janis answers, pointing down a pathway to their left.
Once they enter the dark building, Cady makes a beeline for the small touch tank, rolling up her sleeves and quickly skimming the rules before sticking a hand in, giggling as a little stingray comes up and brushes against her. Janis comes up behind her, putting her arms around her waist and bending down to rest her chin on her shoulder.
“Do you wanna feel, Jayjay?” Cady asks, holding Janis’ hands with her free one. Janis shakes her head, kissing her jawline gently.
“Nah, I don’t like touching wet things that move. Creeps me out,” she says, prompting a laugh from Cady, who reaches up to pat her cheek with her dry hand.
“We’ll have to go to the petting zoo then, I saw it on the map. Those are just dry things that move,” She teases, turning her head around and kissing Janis’ nose before moving to get some hand sanitizer.
Janis takes her now clean hand and leads them deeper into the building, towards a much, much larger tank that reaches the high ceiling, filled with various tropical fish. Cady goes up to press her face against it, pointing excitedly as a massive shark swims right past her.
Janis stays back for a second, sneaking a quick picture of her, illuminated by the lights in the tank. It gives her auburn hair an almost ethereal glow, making her look like some sort of siren. She puts her phone back into her pocket, deciding to paint the photo later.
Cady turns around to grin at her, gesturing for Janis to come look at the fish. Janis comes up, taking a place next to Cady and admiring the brightly colored fish swimming by. They really are beautiful, but she’s more interested in sneaking glances at her girlfriend’s excited smile.
Cady suddenly throws her arms around her, burrowing into her chest. “Thank you for bringing me here,” she mutters, resting her chin on her chest and smiling up at her. “I love it.”
Janis wraps an arm around her shoulders, brushing Cady’s hair from her forehead with her other hand before leaning down and peppering kisses on all the freckles she can see. She wants to kiss her on the lips, it certainly wouldn’t be their first, but she’s still anxious about doing so in public. Cady squeals at the sensation, smushing her face into her chest again.
“Janis?” she murmurs after a moment.
“Hmm?”
“Can we get food?”
Janis laughs, kissing her hair again. “Yes, we can. Let’s go find something.”
——
Once Cady is satisfied with her belly full of pizza, they make their way over to the section of the park with the African animals, which they’re both the most excited about. Janis has to grip her hand firmly to stop her from running off again.
Cady rushes through the gorillas and hyenas, prattling off every fact she knows so quickly Janis can’t really understand what she’s saying, but she nods and enjoys them nonetheless.
Eventually, they find themselves on a tall platform overlooking the giraffe enclosure, and Cady practically starts vibrating with excitement when she sees the sign listing all the feeding times. Janis looks over and sees the next one is in three minutes, wordlessly going to get in line to buy a bucket of lettuce.
Cady barely notices her absence, pressed up against the fence and admiring the tall creatures as they come up to get fed. Janis hands her a bit, laughing as one comes up directly in front of them and promptly begins to lick the railing separating them.
Cady proffers her leaf, laughing as Janis yelps “What the fuck?!” when its long, alien tongue pokes out to grab it.
A zookeeper comes up, informing them that their giraffe’s name is Georgie and politely asking them not to pet him before wandering off to the next group. They take turns feeding him and taking pictures of each other doing so, until Cady sticks her hand in the bucket to get another bit of lettuce and notices they’ve run out. She pouts sadly as they both wave goodbye to Georgie before returning the empty bucket and washing their hands at the small sink on the other side of the platform.
——
They go see the lions next, Janis’ heart giving a painful squeeze as she watches Cady stare longingly through the fence, pressed against it as close as she can be. She loves her life here now, but every once in a while her heart longs for her old friends. She stands there, watching as the gentle breeze ruffles the mane of the one closest to her, and as the new cubs chase each other around. She’ll see her own lions again, someday. She knows it.
Janis snaps another sneaky picture of her, sending it to Damian with a sad face emoji; he responds in kind with several more crying emojis. Cady doesn’t linger for too long, coming up to Janis for a quick hug before they move on.
Janis keeps an arm around Cady’s shoulders, squeezing her gently as they walk toward the elephant and rhino building. She winces at the smell as soon as they enter, but Cady doesn’t seem fussed by it. They walk down the hall to where the large windows are, looking for an opening in the wall of people blocking them.
Janis thinks she’s found an area behind a few people. She can certainly see fine. “Aww, there’s a little baby one. Look, Cads,” she says, pointing.
“Jay, I can’t see anything. There’s people in the way.” It is at this point that Janis suddenly remembers that Cady is 5’3 on a good day, and that she’s a whole seven inches taller than her girlfriend.
“Oh, sorry Peanut,” Janis says sheepishly. “Hold on a second.” She hunches over, gesturing for Cady to climb onto her back. She obliges with a giggle, wrapping her arms around her shoulders and resting her chin on top of Janis’ ponytail as she grabs her thighs to hold her steady. Once she’s sure Cady’s secure, Janis straightens back up.
Now that her eye level is a good foot higher than it used to be, Cady can indeed see the baby elephant Janis was referring to, cooing over it as memories of Kenya come flooding back once again. They walk around a little, listening to the recording of a voice listing facts about the creatures and the area they normally live in, Janis laughing as Cady confirms or debunks everything the robotic voice says.
Cady is still clinging to Janis like a baby monkey as they leave the building, burying her nose in Janis’ apple-scented hair and pressing a few kisses to the top of her head. Janis doesn’t seem to mind, though, adjusting her grip and trying desperately not to think about the amount of bare thigh Cady’s dress is making available for her to hold onto.
“Where next, baby?” She asks, freezing as the pet name slips out of her mouth before she can stop it.
Cady pretends not to notice it for the moment, murmuring, “Erm... penguins?” into her ear softly.
“Did you just pick those because they’re all the way across the park and you want me to carry you more?”
“Maybe,” Cady hums, squishing her cheek against Janis’ warm, flushed one. As Janis starts walking she decides now is probably an okay time to ask about the name. “I’m baby?”
Janis bursts out laughing at that, much to her confusion. “Sorry, that’s an old meme I haven’t shown you yet. I’ll do that later. If you don’t like it I can call you something else. I just thought it fit,” she mutters the end quietly.
“No I love it! Aaron never nicknamed me,” Cady says before remembering mentioning her ex on her first official date with her new girlfriend was potentially not the best move. Stupid with love. “But now I have to come up with more cute things to call you!” She tightens her grip on Janis’ shoulders slightly.
———-
She’s spent the entire walk over to the Antarctica exhibit thinking of something to call Janis. “What about Jellybean? That’s fun,” she asks as Janis gently sets her on her feet again.
“Absolutely not,” Janis squeaks, turning away and pretending to be very interested in an informative plaque to hide how much she’s blushing.
“Aww, you’re all blushy. You’re just as sappy as I am,” Cady teases, poking her arm lightly.
“No I’m not!” Janis insists, gesturing to herself. “Look at me. Look at my boots, look at my hair. I’m tough. I’m a badass. Now let’s go see some fucking adorable penguins.”
Cady bursts into giggles. “Fine, mpenzi, you’re tough as nails. But you’re also going the wrong way,” She calls as Janis is briskly walking away. She freezes for a second before turning around and confidently going the correct way as if that’s what she meant to do all along.
“We are never speaking of this again.”
———-
They find a little bench just across from the exhibit, deciding just to sit and watch them quietly for a while. Janis nearly falls off the bench at one point, laughing hysterically as two of the penguins start fighting over some fish. She laughs even harder as an exhausted keeper comes out to break them up, looking as if it’s not the first time those two have gotten into it today. Cady’s not really paying attention to what’s happening, just grinning as she watches her girlfriend laugh so freely.
Once Janis has recovered, gently wiping tears of laughter from under her eyes, she takes Cady’s hand and pulls them up again. “Okay, you ready for best first date ever part two?”
“There’s more?” Cady asks. “But this was already so fun.” She pouts, wrapping herself in Janis once again.
“Hell yeah there’s more. I have a legal obligation to spoil you now,” Janis grins, leaning down to kiss her forehead gently. “Now come on, we can stop by the gift shop on the way out.”
———
As soon as they walk in, Cady spies a pile of stuffed animals, her eye going specifically to a lion one on top. She runs over to check the price, wincing as she sees that it’s nearly thirty dollars. Janis bought her entrance ticket, and dinner, and let her feed the giraffes, and she didn’t bring any of her own money. She puts it back delicately and makes her way over to where Janis is looking at various keychains.
“Hey, Peanut. Did you find anything?” Janis had definitely noticed her rush over to the stuffed animals, and her dejected frown as she walked over to her.
Cady shakes her head, popping up on her tiptoes to lean her head on Janis’ shoulder. “No, I was just looking. I’ve never been able to find my name on one of these things,” she says, reaching out to flick at one that says Allison. They have her middle name, at least.
“I haven’t either,” Janis says, leaning her head against Cady’s. “At least never spelled correctly. Anyway, do you want to keep looking and see if you find anything? I saw something over there I wanted to grab for Damian,” she lies. The pizza was much cheaper than she had anticipated and her student ID got them
both a discount on their entry fee, so she has a fair bit of money left over. She’s been saving her art prize money, and her mom gave her some to have fun with as well. Time to buy a lion.
She grabs a little bouncy ball for her sister and a pair of sloth socks for Damian. He collects socks, so that’ll make a good enough cover story for now. She snatches the stuffed animal from the pile, rushing up to the counter to buy everything before Cady can see.
She finds her again with both hands in the bin of colorful rocks, sighing at the texture before she removes them again. She jumps lightly as Janis comes up behind her, saying, “Having fun, Kitkat?”
“The texture is satisfying,” she mutters. “Didn’t think you’d find me so fast.”
Janis chuckles, coming up to take her hand. “Are you ready to go?” Cady nods, leading them out the gates and towards Janis’ truck. Janis checks the time once they’ve settled in, finding it to be just before seven thirty. Perfect.
She decides to stop by the Wal-Mart on the way to the clearing to pick up some snacks, Cady still chattering excitedly about how much fun she’s had so far. It must’ve been the tea that put her to sleep last time, now she’s got the most energy Janis has ever seen.
Cady seems a bit confused as they pull into the parking lot, but takes Janis’ hand trustingly regardless. Janis tells her to go pick out a snack she wants, and she nods quickly and darts off. Janis makes a beeline for the chip aisle, immediately grabbing all her favorite kinds before moving on to candy.
In typical Cady form, she comes back carrying only a case of strawberries and two bottles of her favorite sweet tea. “Oh my god, Jan,” she laughs when she sees how many bags Janis is trying to carry. She rushes off once again to grab a cart, returning to Janis and putting her things in it before climbing into the basket herself. Janis raises an eyebrow at her, but ultimately can’t resist the crystal blue puppy eyes blinking pleadingly at her and starts pushing it towards the checkout area with a sarcastic grumble about ‘certain people being too cute for their own damn good’.
———
Janis pulls into the clearing in the woods, telling Cady to close her eyes so she can get everything ready as she cuts the engine.
“Are you gonna murder me now?” Cady jokes as Janis grabs the massive pile of blankets from the backseat and begins making a little nest in the truck bed.
“Yeah,” Janis grunts as she hops up. “Took you out to give you a fun final memory.” It takes her a while, and she swears vigorously as she misses her footing on the way to grab the snacks and nearly falls on her face. She sets all their food up in the middle, and as a finishing touch, puts up Cady’s new stuffie holding up her phone, which is now playing music softly. Not too shabby, but she just hopes her girl likes it.
She goes around to help Cady down, making sure her eyes are still covered as she leads her around to the back before she takes her hands away. “Tah-dah,” she says shyly, but smiles as Cady gasps excitedly.
“Janis! This is incredible! And you bought me that lion,” she squeals, pointing to it. “Thank you!” is all the warning Janis gets before her girlfriend is in her arms, kissing her firmly.
She scrambles to grab her as she suddenly pulls back, saying, “Oh, sorry I didn’t mean- I should’ve asked first,” hastily. Janis sets her down gently before leaning in and pressing their lips together again.
“I appreciate that, but you don’t have to ask anymore, baby. It might take me some time to be comfortable with it in public, but I love your kisses,” She says comfortingly. “Now hop up here and snuggle me.” Cady uses her offered hand as a boost, wriggling up and picking up the stuffed animal to hold it close. Janis follows, getting comfortable in a corner she made extra cushy before gesturing for Cady to come to her.
She obliges, leaning her back against Janis’ chest and resting her head on her shoulder so they can both see the sky. “You don’t have to ask, either,” She murmurs quietly after a few peaceful seconds. “In case you were wondering.”
“Good to know,” Janis says, pulling her tighter against her and wrapping them
both up in another blanket. They watch the sun set in silence, observing the stars getting brighter the lower it gets.
“Which one do you like better?” Janis asks after a long moment.
“Hmm?”
“The sky. Is it better here or in Kenya?”
Cady thinks for a minute. “Uhm, both,” she says softly. “There’s less smog in Africa, obviously, so you can see more. The stars themselves are more distinct and you can see more of them. But everything just stretches on for miles, I could see everything around me, and it always reminded me how alone I was. Here I have you, and Damian, and so many people that I know actually care about me. There’s less sky, but more people to share it with.”
“That’s confusing,” Janis cracks in a ditch attempt to lighten the mood. “What constellations do you know?”
Cady takes her hand gently and uses it to point out what she can see, telling her the scientific names of all the stars she knows and the stories behind all the shapes.
“How do you know all this?” Janis asks after she’s pointed out everything they can see, turning Cady around in her lap to face her.
“My brother taught me when I was little, and then I just kept studying it after that.” Cady surmises, nuzzling into her shoulder and starting to stim with the ends of her hair.
“Your brother?”
“Yeah, he-um. He passed away when I was ten. He was in the military,” Cady says.
“Oh.” Janis says. “I’m sorry. My biological father died when I was four but I still don’t... really know what to say in this kind of situation.” She mumbles, embarrassed.
“Don’t worry about it, darling. It’s awkward for everyone,” Cady comforts.
“Tell me about him,” Janis asks. “If you want to, no pressure.” She adds hastily, relieved as her girlfriend chuckles lightly.
“Okay, um- his name is Rhys. He was the best, he taught me all about science and stuff, and he always made up games with me when our parents were busy with their research. I used to get nightmares a lot when I was little, and he would sneak into my tent to cuddle me back to sleep before I woke anyone else up,” Cady recalls fondly. “I think he was a genius, too. He knew everything. He wanted to be a doctor, actually. We couldn’t afford to pay for all of his schooling, so he joined the army to get help with that when he was eighteen. He was almost at the end of his service when he died, he was twenty. My parents never told me what happened, all they ever told me was that there was an accident and he was never in any pain.”
Janis presses Cady impossibly closer to her, kissing her soft cherry-scented curls. “He sounds wonderful, baby. Sounds a lot like you, actually.” She says, nuzzling their noses together.
“You think? My parents say that a lot, but I never believed them,” Cady mutters softly.
——-
They continue to chat quietly as the sky gets ever darker, talking about everything and nothing all at once. Eventually, they go quiet, and Cady leans up to press their lips together gently. Janis sinks into her, tangling her fingers into curly auburn hair and nipping her bottom lip softly.
In her head, Janis knows that the universe is above them, stretching infinitely into nothing. But in her heart, she knows that there are just as many stars in Cady’s eyes, just as much beauty in her heart. Her whole universe is right here, in her arms.
--------
lol remember when I said this one would be shorter ?? oh well.
hope you enjoyed, thank you for reading!
-ezzy
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bookandcranny · 4 years
Text
If You can Change Your Tune
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The interloper arrives in a rented moving van, the same sort as all the ones before.
“Are you sure about this?” her friend asks as they pull up to the house. “I know you’ve always had a thing for fixer-uppers but this place might be beyond saving.”
Even as she unlocks the front door the wind whistles a note of warning through its rickety frame. The floorboards beneath their feet crackle and moan at the intrusion.
“All it needs is a little love,” the interloper retorts. Her name is Ann. I remember her from the showing, a woman of insufferably good cheer walking room to room with the equally annoying realtor of the week, a dopey smile hanging from her lips.
I didn’t think much of it at the time. People like her come around from time to time with aspirations in their heads of moving into the rural countryside to rehabilitate my thickets into sprawling gardens or write the next great American novel from within my historic walls. Seeing the reality of the place in person was usually enough to convince them to chase their fantasies elsewhere. However, it appears this particular happy-go-lucky thorn in my side needs a bit more work to dislodge.
“Are you sure you’re not in over your head?” the other one asks. I try to guess at their relationship. Friend? Sister? A lover? I’m sick to death of couples.
“It’s a little late for me to back out now,” Ann laughs, twirling the keys around her finger. “Don’t worry, Nick’s bringing his crew over tomorrow to start on the repairs. She’s a project but the foundation’s sound. Next time you see this place she’ll be a real beauty.”
“’She’?”
“Yeah, you know, like how people call cars or boats a she.” She climbs the stairs and runs her hand along the dusty banister. I think of splinters— with luck maybe she’ll get tetanus- but nothing comes of it.
The house is my body. Two stories, twelve rooms not including the attic, an old-fashioned spiral staircase, and me, the greatest antique of all, left to rot. Once upon a time a family used to live here: a mother and father, a veritable litter of hyperactive young children, uncles and aunts and cousins who would stay with them some summers and during Christmastime, and the wizened pale face of a grandfather who watched over them from above the mantle. It was all very precious, very southern hospitality, very postcard perfect. All very gone. Not even their ghosts remained; just me, and all the better for it.
Chesterfield is the name of the county as well as the nearest town, though from what I understand that’s using the term lightly. Most folks local to the area know better than to disturb me, but sometimes they get bold. Bored teenagers mostly, or suited vultures looking to see if there’s any profit to be squeezed from the property. In its heyday, the house was probably a sight to behold, but I wouldn’t know much about that. Memories of my life, if ever I truly lived, are slippery like oil on the water’s surface, impossible to grasp.
Though without eyes or ears or a mind to make use of them, I can “see” through my many windows— if eyes are the windows to the soul, maybe windows are can be eyes to the spirits— and “hear” any sounds that tremble through my frame. I’m grateful for these senses; they help me keep things in order. If someone starts to get a little too cozy with my corridors, and providing the spiders don’t scare them off first, I just slam a few doors, flicker a few lights, and they go running.
The interloper and her extra finish moving in the last of the boxes. She squeezes her arm and gives her a peck on the cheek.
“I’ll send you pics once I’ve got my room set up,” she says.
“Bold of you to think you’ll survive that long. This place is definitely haunted. Do you get cell service out here? I want to call a coroner and tell them to save your spot.”
“I don’t remember making this big a deal when you moved into your first place.”
“It had bed bugs, but it didn’t have ghosts.”
Ann makes a face. “I’ll take my chances with the ghosts.” She puts an arm around her shoulders. “Kim. You’re acting like I’m dropping off the map. You’re the one leaving the country.”
“For two weeks!” Her expression grows tense. “I feel bad leaving you like this. I should’ve been there for you, there was just so much going on.”
“It wouldn’t have changed my mind.”
She sighs dramatically. “No, nothing can, can it? I fear for whoever you end up tricking into marrying you.”
Ann slaps her playfully on the arm. “Do not start on that. Speaking of which, don’t you have a honeymoon to be on? Go on, get.”
Kim puts her hands up in mock surrender and backs out the front door. I raise one of the loose planks on the porch and she trips, just barely evading a tumble down the front steps.
“See? Cursed!”
“Go!” But she’s laughing as she adds, “Thank you for the help. It means a lot, even if Sophie is gonna kill me for keeping you this long.”
“I’ve got time to talk her down.”
The U-haul rumbles away down the dirt road until it’s a muddled blur in my perception and then, finally, gone. I’m alone with the enemy now. More importantly, she is alone with me.
I slam the door. It’s the easiest most classic trick in the book. Ann jumps and looks around. I know what she’s thinking. Just the wind? Or could it be…?
But no, one small act like that won’t be enough to convince her. With a shrug, she returns to the task of moving in. She shuffles around a few boxes in the foyer and starts moving them one by one up to the second floor. All things considered she hasn’t much to move in, but I’m not fooled. Where one intruder appears, more will follow, and bring all their junk and their noise and their petty living problems with them.
All my original furniture was auctioned off in an estate sale. It took place right here on the lawn, and I watched through my windows as they divvied up my family’s belongings, breaking them down into numbers and measures of worth for the masses. For the most part though I didn’t miss it. The absence of clutter made the space feel bigger, and I got used to the emptiness.
The interloper sets up in the master bedroom and unpacks some supplies to give the room a cursory cleaning. The agency normally sent someone over to prepare the place for new residence, but since the last few rounds of movers had come and gone, they hadn’t bothered. If Ann minds, she doesn’t show it, and I have to admit it’s nice to have someone sweep away the dirt and detritus.
After cleaning to her satisfaction, she starts opening boxes with foreign labels and assembling her furniture from strange little kits, turning sheets of instructions over in her hands as she nibbles on a hangnail. The result is a set of cheap-looking geometric furniture that makes her curse as she accidentally attaches the table leg to the chair and the chair leg to the bedframe. Something about watching her work transfixes me. Probably her comical ineptitude.
After she fixes all the furniture she dresses her new bed and starts cluttering her shelves with all kinds of bizarre toys and knickknacks. Among her affects is a paperback book titled “the art of moving in and moving on”. I scoff.
“This is a temporary arrangement. Very temporary, you got it?” I tell her, though I know she can’t hear me. I know this, but it still annoys me. It feels like she’s ignoring me.
The interloper smiles to herself and takes out a black rectangle that she holds up like a camera, though the shape is far too small and thin. She lowers it, considering, and then from yet another box digs out a string of Christmas lights and hangs them up above the bed.
“It’s June,” I say, dumbfounded.
I look at the string of lights and put pressure on one of the bulbs until it bursts. She jumps, but the moment passes. She spends the bulk of the evening fussing with her camera-thing until she falls asleep.
Fine. If she wants to play hardball, I’ll play hardball.
 --
 In the morning, the interloper’s camera-thing plays a tune to rouse her. Her waking is both a curse and a blessing, for while I was glad to be free of her active meddling, even as she slept I was never able to completely ignore her presence. I feel her like an itch, like a stubborn pimple forming beneath my skin, and I’m glad to sense her rising if only because it means I can get back to business sooner rather than later.
The water heater and other facilities are still in good condition from the last unfortunate newcomers I drove from my doorstep, which frees her to take a long shower, singing obnoxiously all the while. This, however, is a perfect opportunity for me. When the heat from the shower fogs the chipped bathroom mirror, I brandish my loathing like a pen and write her a message. Granted, precision isn’t my forte, so the words come out a little smeared and crooked, but still the intent is clear as can be.
LEAVE
Ann squints at the streaked mirror. “Love?”
“Are you really that stupid?”
She looks around but, seeing no one, shrugs it off again and starts to brush her teeth. When she ducks her head to spit, I quickly try again.
MINE
“Mina? Who’s Mina?”
I groan. Okay, perhaps a more symbolic approach. I will the mirror to shatter, but just then a loud knocking sounds and Ann runs off in a frenzy before she can see the long crack forming down the center.
“Door’s open!” She calls from the landing as she hurries to finish dressing with one hand and wrangle her hair into a towel with the other.
I try to hold it shut, but despite my efforts, the door is forced open and a parade of half a dozen handymen file into the entryway. As they start setting up, a burly towheaded man breaks from the pack and goes to meet Ann as she’s bounding down the stairs.
“Careful, careful. Don’t put your foot through anything before I’ve even had the chance to bill you.”
“Nick,” Ann says fondly. “If these stairs could handle me, Kim, and the fifty-pound mattress we lugged up there yesterday, I think they’re stable.”
“You gals didn’t have to do all that. I could’ve—“
“It’s fine,” she insists. “You’re helping me out enough as it is.”
“Yeah, well, we’re even for that whole thing at Kim’s wedding now.”
“More than even,” she agreed. “I know this was last minute. Dinner’s on me tonight. I’ll order enough pizza for the entire crew.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep. You haven’t seen how much Seth can eat.”
Their easy banter disgusts me. Living people are all the same; wandering around with blind optimism or bemoaning every bad turn, blissfully unaware of how little it truly mattered. One wrong step with those tools of theirs and any one of them could be joining me among the shiftless dead. I don’t have any desire for that kind of company so I decide to wait until they’re done with their renovations before I risk trying to scare anyone again.
As it is they hardly need my help. Ann, it turns out, is more than just clueless, she’s a klutz. If that isn’t enough she insists on “helping” right up until she almost shoots herself in the foot with a nail gun. Nick warns her not to try it again but I don’t feel any anger from him. The crew are all familiar with one another and with her. They chat and toss around jokes between tasks; someone puts on music.
The feeling isn’t quite a tangible one, but then neither am I. It’s an energy I struggle to describe, something like wading in a river and being aware of a splash rippling from upstream. Compared to the sharp tang of fear I’m accustomed to, all this amicability is nauseatingly sweet.
Ann beams, and the high arches of her cheeks dimple and flush darkly, round as apples.
“What exactly do you have to be so happy about?” I hiss in her ear.
As much as I hate to admit it though, I can understand why someone like her moved so easily among the crowd. Even when she was getting underfoot, she’s a difficult person to condemn for it. How could anyone begrudge her excitement when it was so abundant? Or her love when it was so freely given?
Growing impatient with it all, I knock a toolbox off the top of a stepladder and send its contents scattering in all directions. It lands hard and the sounds of work, the music and the laughter, all come to an abrupt stop.
“What was that?” someone asks. A worker crouches down underneath the arch of the ladder to collect some of the scattered screws and I, with great satisfaction, tip the thing over on top of him. The damage is little, but it’s enough to get the entire crew good and spooked.
“I didn’t touch it,” the injured handyman insists as he nurses his bruises with an icepack. “It just collapsed.”
“Maybe this place is haunted,” another jokes, but her smile doesn’t quite cover her nervousness.
“Kim said the same thing,” Ann muses to herself. Nick looks at her and she startles, as if she hadn’t realized she’d spoken aloud.
“I was wondering how you were able to afford this place, even with the damage.”
“Oh don’t start with all that black cat broken mirror stuff. You see bad omens in everything.”
“And you don’t see red flags until they’re waving right in the face. Not even then,” he accuses. Her guilty expression says there’s some truth to his words. “Tell me honestly, is this house haunted?”
“That’s silly. Of course not.”
“Then how do you explain what just happened?” I demand with frustration.
“Then how do you explain what just happened?” asks the injured worker.
“Thank you!”
Ann hums thoughtfully and looks up at my aged walls, my decrepit ceilings. “The realtor warned me there were rumors about this place. This house has survived fire, flood, and an attempted demolition; somehow nothing was ever able to destroy it, and every person who’s lived here had reported seeing strange things. Objects moving on their own, strange sounds at night.”
Nick leans forward in his seat. “And what did you say when they told you all that?”
“I told her it sounded perfect.”
He puts his head in his hands. “Ann. Mary-Ann Thorne. Tell me you did not buy an actual haunted house. When Kim told me you just up and bought a house on a whim I thought that was crazy enough but this…”
“I didn’t buy a haunted house,” she says. She stood up straight and spread her hands with a dramatic flourish. “I bought a survivor. Houses are like people. They have personalities, they have their own little quirks, their likes and dislikes. Old houses most of all. I could tell as soon as I walked into this place that… well that she had something special. I can’t explain it, I just felt so drawn to her.”
She places her hand on the wall and holds it there. If I were alive I think I would shiver.
“She’s been through a lot, but with some TLC she’s gonna sing, I can feel it.”
“That’s crazy,” Nick says, but she isn’t listening. Not to him. It’s almost as if… almost…
“Can you hear me?”
She doesn’t respond. Of course she doesn’t. I berate myself for even daring to expect something so deluded. However, her little speech seems to encourage the crew, or else they’ve just calmed down enough to put aside their reservations and get back to work.
Watching them I feel… strange. Even when my house had been lived in before I had never really felt so cared for. It’s all ridiculous of course, a blind act of charity sprung from some silly woman’s misguided and misdirected affection. While the workers patch holes and replace crumbling pieces, the interloper sweeps and scrubs, eager to do her part.
Evening falls, and Ann prepares to head into town to pick up dinner.
“The guy on the phone said they don’t deliver to this address for some reason,” she says. “Weird.”
“Why don’t I go,” offers Nick. “I’ve got the truck. There’s more room.”
“Okay,” she reluctantly agrees. “But I’m still buying, clear?”
“Crystal.” There’s a faint air of nervousness wafting from him, I think. I suspect he’s been hoping for an opportunity to get away from me for a while.
The rest of the crew seem mostly recovered from their brief brush with the supernatural. I intend to fix that.
I start by flickering the lights, another classic. Someone gets up stammering about checking the fuse box in the basement, but as he and Nick each go for the doors I slam them both at once, creating a nice echoing effect that rings all through the house.
“Try writing that off as the wind.”
“I got a better idea,” another someone offers up. “How about we all go into town for dinner? It’ll be nice to get out of— it’ll be nice to get out, let the dust settle here.”
“Come on, Ann,” Nick gestures. “We can swing by the bar after. It’ll be fun.”
She hesitates, a strange look on her face, and takes a step back. “You all go ahead. I’m not that hungry.”
“Ann.” He speaks more sternly now, looking something like an older brother with a neat wrinkle of worry taking up residence on his brow. “Come on.”
“I’m fine here, and you’re being silly. If you don’t believe me, bring me back something after you eat and you’ll see that I’m perfectly safe here alone.”
“But you’re not alone,” I whisper, for nobody’s benefit but my own. “What would you say, if you knew. If you really knew.”
“Besides, I’ve already spent the night here once. If something were going to happen, why didn’t it?” She pulls a smirk, puts her hands on her hips. “Maybe it’s just you guys my house doesn’t like.”
Nick huffs an almost-laugh and relents, not entirely satisfied but not looking to argue the point any longer. He tells her to call him right away if anything changes and then he leaves. The workers file out after him, the last of them gingerly shutting the door behind him, so as not to anger me.
“Why didn’t you go with them?” I ask her. My voice, such that it is, takes on a plaintive edge. Pitiful. I correct myself, refocus my aims. “You’ve had plenty of chances to run, and it’s only going to get worse from here on out. You know that, right? You’ve got to know this isn’t just some twenty-four-hour fever. You can’t get rid of me. It’s my house.”
She starts up the stairs. I follow. I have no other choice.
“Are you really this dense? How can you ignore the signs? How can you believe there’s anything here worth salvaging?"
She walks into the bathroom and stares into the cracked mirror.
“What are you doing now?” I complain. “Looking for answers? I couldn’t give them to you if I had them. Or are you just admiring your pretty reflection?” I stroke the mirror’s surface. “Must be nice, to be young and lively. If you leave now, you could have years and years of perfect ignorance, uninterrupted by those pesky reminders of death. You could have a life, and you’re wasting it.”
She touches her fingertips to the cool glass with a mystic look in her dark eyes.
“Mina?” she whispers.
“My name isn’t Mina.”
Or maybe it is. Might as well be, for all I know. I think I must’ve had a name once. Surely there was a word, a simple sound, some collection of syllables that meant I see you. Surely there had been someone to speak it and make it real in their mouth. But how should I know? And if such a person did exist, what does it matter now? I’m not a person anymore, I’m a thing that happened, a thing that’s happening still. I’m a box built to hold my history, filled up to the rafters with hurt and resentment. That’s as close as I get to living. If I could move independent of my dour walls like her, I think, I wouldn’t be wasting my time moldering in the darkness.
Ann shakes her head. “Silly. I’m being silly,” she tells herself. Looking up at the dim light fixed above her she adds, “I should probably check on that fuse box after all.”
She goes back down and opens the door to the basement. She flicks the switch on the wall a few times but that bulb's been long neglected. Even those who swear up and down they don’t fear the fables or superstition became suddenly shy when it comes to probing the deepest depths of this old house. Ann turns, presumably to seek out a flashlight, when her heel catches on one of the repairmen’s screws that had rolled loose. It’s not even my fault this time, technically.
Like some kind of morbid slapstick, her foot shoots out from under her and she stumbles backwards towards the open basement door. It’s a long drop that awaits her, followed by a fast end if she’s lucky. And I know well enough by now that she isn’t.
Without thinking, I push her. Instead of that foresworn drop down the basement stairs, Ann finds herself tripping backwards into the wall instead. She rights herself, takes in a sharp breath, and then releases it with a sigh. She’s dazed but unharmed. I find myself mirroring her relief.
She smiles. “Thank you,” she says.
Then she closes the door and walks away.
That has never happened to me before. Normally, to manifest, to have any direct impact on the physical world, I have to summon up a great deal of anger. That isn’t too hard for me; I’ve been angry a long time. But in that moment, I hadn’t been angry. I think I’d been afraid. For her safety? No, of course not. More likely I’d been worried she would leave behind a ghost and I’d be stuck with her invading my personal space for eternity. Still, I’d never… never done anything like that before. I’d never helped somebody. I suppose I’d assumed it couldn’t be done, even if I wanted to. Ghosts, spirits, malevolent spectral entities or whatever you like to call it, that’s not what we're for. That wasn’t what I did, until I did it.
I become aware of singing coming from the kitchen. The fool is never not singing or humming or whistling something. I know music; it’s not as if I’m totally uncultured. While I have no lungs nor lips to make sound, sometimes on a stormy night the wind whistles through my walls, each creak and moan playing for me the orchestra of slow degradation I’ve come to know well.
This is not that. This is… I don’t know what to do with this. I don’t know the words. Is it too late, I wonder. I can’t. I’m not ready. Oh but if you can give me time, stranger, I think I want to learn your song too.
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muwur · 4 years
Note
Hiii and welcome!! May I please request for the lovable annoying baby Hinata who has a HUGE crush on this popular girl in his class and one day she sees him at the mall or something and rushes to him begging him to pretend to be her boyfriend because there’s a group of guys that won’t leave her alone and that’s when she finally realizes that this gorgeous sweetheart exists and Hinata is just on cloud 9 the entire time but then he remembers it’s all fake :((((( teeeee
✿ pretend boyfriend pt. 1
♡ scenario ♡ for hinata
❧ fem reader
✎ 3.2k words
a/n: aw hello ty for the welcome <3 also this request made me cackle AAHAHAHAHA. also this format is interesting lolol, im so indecisive about how i want it
anyways, hope u enjoy hehe >.> this came out a lot longer than i had originally planned but did i even have a plan in the first place buut i aint complaining LOL
also yes theres going to be a pt 2 firhfnxfwifj hehe
requests: open! pls bbys dun b shy i have summer skool soon fml i need this to make me procrastinate on work LMAO
-having been preoccupied with volleyball, crushes never crossed Hinata’s mind
-however, he was about to find out that he was quite clueless when it came to love
-he found himself speeding to school on his bike one morning, riding at breakneck speed to try to make it on time
-ahhhh, i was so excited about the first day of going to karasuno and seeing their volleyball team that i couldnt sleep until 4 am...!
-that explains why he overslept
-lost in his thoughts, he nearly failed to notice the girl who was walking in front of him
-and so, at the very last minute, he swerved. i nto a tree.
- “oh my gosh! are you okay??”
-if he wasn’t okay before, now he’s cURED because the most beautiful girl was looking down at him with an outstretched hand, concern in her eyes
-he jumped up instead and waved his arms in front of himself, blushing and nodding, “y-yeah, I’m fine! don’t worry about me, a-are you okay??”
- “you’re the one who crashed into the tree!” you responded with shock as you moved to pick up his bike off the ground (luckily, it was undamaged)
-he took the handlebars after you offered them to him
-you frowned slightly. “i’m sorry, i should’ve watched where i was going. are you hurt?”
-he was too busy gawking at you to realize his head started bleeding
-cue you yelling frantically “y-your head! it’s bleeding!” and rushing him to the nurse’s office
-in his head: ‘i-im holding her hand’
-nearly combusted on spot
-and that was how he met you
-later he found out he actually shared the same class with you!
-though you never seemed to notice LOL
-you sat on the opposite side of the room, closer to the front of the class
-he sat all the way in the back, so it’s not like you would’ve really seen him but it was the perfect spot for hinata to stare at you and not pay attention to class
-and during breaks or when the teacher left the room for a few minutes, everyone around you would try to spark up a conversation with you
-oh how he wished he could make you smile and laugh like that too
-and whenever he saw you outside of class, he hid immediately (behind walls, doors, lockers, people *coughkageyamacough* “hinata boke!”, etc) and admired you from afar, way too nervous to approach you after your first encounter several weeks ago
-he just kNOWS he’ll do something stupid and end up a stuttering, blushing mess
-besides, you probably forgot who he was ;((
-one day at lunch, he hid behind yamaguchi, who was confused until he followed hinata’s intent gaze to your form, which was walking by in front of the pair
-kageyama, who also took notice, smiled devilishly
- “pfffft, she’d never glance your way”
- tsukki deadpanned, “you don’t stand a chance. she’s way too pretty for you and people are lining up just to talk to her”
-cue hinata fighting kags n tsukki, blushing and with tears pricking at his eyes
- “aw, guys, don’t be so mean, I think he just has a crush!” yams snickered what an angel (no i am not in love w this man)
-one weekend, hinata was out in a nearby shopping area to get some snacks for natsu cuz she wouldn’t stop bugging him about it (“you ate the rest of my candy, so you have to go get me some more!”)
-as he was leaving the store, hand in his bag, he felt a tug on his sleeve and heard a “psst”
-some higher being must’ve blessed him that day because here he was, face to face with the girl who’s been on his mind everyday for several weeks
-sdgfhjkljihyuitufjhk
-error.exe
-he opened his mouth to say something, maybe like a:
-“h-hey! you look familiar, I totally don’t know your name or think about you before i sleep at night, s-so hOWS the weather???”
-but before he could humiliate himself speak, you gave him a small smile and asked, “aren’t you the guy i took to the nurse after you crashed into that tree?”
- “y-yeah, that was me!” he stuttered out
-he was trying so hard to keep his cool, but he could feel his palms get sweaty and his body quiver with pANIC
-you stifled a giggle with your hand (hinata: so cute dfghjfgljkl) "im glad to see you’re doing well. sorry, i never introduced myself. my name’s y/n, what’s yours?”
-you extended your hand as a greeting
-yet all he could do was stare at it, dumbfounded
-the two brain cells he owned said we ouTTIE
- “my name’s hinata!” he yelled dramatically for no reason. “sorry, my hand’s a bit sweaty, otherwise i would shake yours!” so instead, he bent forward in a bow
-eyes wide at his sudden outburst and gesture, you laughed in response and waved a hand, “it’s okay, really! nice to meet you again, hinata”
-a few moments of silence passed by, he was still bending over, and you were looking at your surroundings awkwardly
-risking a glance up, he caught a nervous expression on your face, and it made his eyebrows furrow in concern
- “hey, are you okay?” he asked as he straightened his body
-nice. smooth and direct.
-you sheepishly looked at the ground and absentmindedly itched the side of your head, twirling a strand of hair with your finger
- “this is kinda embarrassing, but um... could you do me a favor? i promise it’s nothing too bad!”
-little do you know he would literally do aNYthing for you right now
- “of course!” he replied a little too quickly. “w-what is it?”
- “soooo, i ran into these guys from school earlier, and they won’t stop bothering me, especially this one guy. a lot of girls like him and think he’s cool, but he’s such a jerk! i honestly don’t know what they see in him. he’s been so insistent on dating me the past few weeks that i try to avoid him as much as possible...”
-you shyly looked up at him and he had to refrain from exploding
- “could you please, uh, pretend to be my boyfriend?”
-b-b-b-boYFrIeNd??
- “y-y-y-your b-b-b-boyf-f-friend?” he managed to sputter
-you clasped your two palms together in front of your face like a prayer and leaned forward slightly, closing your eyes. “just for today, i promise! i remember you were really sweet when i first met you, so i thought i could ask you! i need to get a few things and i know he’s still around here, so i might run into him and his friends again. also, earlier, i uh... kinda told him i had a boyfriend to see if he would back off, but i think it just made him angrier...”
-you were talking a bit too fast for hinata’s nonexistent brain to process, but he got the gist
-basically, he needed to pretend to be your boyfriend in front of some guy that wouldn’t leave you alone
-it almost sounded like a dream come true
-except for the fact this was all fake and he wasn’t actually your boyfriend
-BUT HE GOT TO TALK TO YOU AND PRETEND TO BE SOMETHING HE WANTED TO BE
-AND PROTECT YOU
-AND HE GOT TO TALK TO YOU
-but...
- “err, how do i do that?”
-you looked back up at him questioningly. “do what?”
-he looked off to the side in embarrassment. “w-well, i’ve never really dated anyone, so i’m not sure how to act and make it believable...”
-you clasped his hands making him even more flustered and jumped up in excitement
- “so you’ll do it??”
-he could only manage to nod in response
- “great! ahhhh, thank you so much! you don’t know how much i appreciate this! as for the acting... well, we just have to do couple-y things. y’know, hold hands, stand close to one another, feed each other, take pictures together, kiss, all that stuff. just follow my lead!”
-did his ears deceive him?
-did you just say
-kISS??
-he?? was going to get?? to?/ kisS yOu?//dfokgjif
-he definitely looked like an idiot right now
-wide eyes glazed over, mouth opened slightly for the soul leaving his body, a grey and sickly pale complexion, stomach twisting from nerves and butterflies
-noya and tanaka would be so jealous
-and possibly kill him so they could replace him as your pseudo boyfriend
- “hinata? what’s wrong, d-did i say something?”
-your concerned voice brought him back to earth
-gazing into your cute, confused eyes, he took a deep breath and exhaled
- ‘im acting so uncool right now! y/n needs my help!’
-he mustered up the courage to flash you a determined smile and a thumbs up. “i’ll be the best fake boyfriend you could ever ask for!”
-you could’ve sworn you felt your heart skip a beat
-you chuckled at his genuine display and smiled back. “then in that case, would you mind tagging along as i pick up a few things?”
-he could barely hold himself together when you clasped his hand and scooted close to him
-so close he could smell a pleasant scent wafting from you
- ‘i cant believe this is happening im holding her hand agAIN was this meant to be—‘
-and then his mind went blank for like the hundredth time in the last several minutes
-he followed you around, trying to steady his rapidly beating heart and ignore the warmth that remained on his cheeks
-how could you be so calm when you two were holding hands for so long?? (kags: it means she doesnt like u)
-he was both elated and terrified at the same time
-hinata couldn’t help but relish the way your fingers felt interlocked with your own
-how you slightly swung your arms together as you walked
-the way your eyes shone as you talked so casually with him
-the crinkle of your eyes and the sweet sound of your laugh when he said something that was apparently funny
- ‘fjjkdjnf i made her laugh‘
-he couldn’t help but notice the way your hair brushed your face when you leaned forward to inspect an item on a shelf
- “this is kinda cute, don’t you think?” you held up a small plush of a hedgehog
- “y-yeah, adorable!” but i’m not talking about the hedgehog
-it was no surprise to him, really, to see why you were so popular with everyone
-what’s not there to like? aside from your stunning beauty and intelligence, you were naturally charming and radiated an aura that just drew others in
-two hours passed and you both ended up sitting at a table, hands linked together across the table’s surface
- “ah, i need to answer this,” you breathed out, letting go of his hand to rummage your bag and answer your ringing phone
-ngl his hand was already getting cold and he missed your touch
-after a few nods and short replies, you ended the call and stood up
- “well, now that i’ve gotten everything, i have to head home now. ..”
- “oh... i-i mean, oh, alright! uhh, it was nice um, shopping with you!”
-his heart sank a bit now that this blissful time had come to an end
-disappointment seeped in hello darkness my old friend
-you, too, were a bit dismayed. you never expected to have enjoyed your time with him that much
-how come you never saw him at school? you definitely would’ve loved to get to know him more...
- “y-yeah, i had a good time, too! er, shopping, i mean! thanks again for following me around, though. you’re really sweet, hinata. i don’t know what i would’ve done without your help...”
- ‘come on, this is your chance!’
-boyo took another deep breath and opened his mouth to say, “y/n, could we do this again som--”
- “y/n! heyyy, i’ve been looking for you, sweet cheeks!”
-you both whipped around to see a group of guys approaching your table
-quickly, you pulled hinata close to you and whispered in his ear, “act natural.”
-nAtUral?????
-nodding, he stood up straighter and hesitantly snaked an arm around your waist
-then stiffened in fear when you were both surrounded by a group of guys who were all way taller than him
-you gave the boys a suspicious eye and scooted closer into hinata’s touch
-“what do you want? for the last time, i am not going out with you. don’t you know anything about respecting other people? besides, i’m already with someone,” you huffed
-the one in the front cocked an eyebrow at the sight of you two
-he had silky dark hair, smooth skin, a captivating gaze, and a smirk that could creep right under your skin
-“you expect me to believe small fry’s your boyfriend? him? with YOU? you could do so much better, buttercup. I could make you feel so good.”
-hinata could tell this guy was bad news. really bad news. he was the type who wouldn’t take no for an answer
- ‘ahhh, what do i do?? if i just stand here, he’s gonna keep harassing her! and possibly even hurt her...’
-the guy inched closer to you, much to your obvious discomfort as you stepped back, and he reached out to touch your cheek
-but hinata was quicker, and he slid in front of you before the guy could lay a finger on you
- “leave her alone! she obviously wants nothing to do with you.”
-the fiery glint in his eye was almost enough to make the other guy back off, but his pride wouldn’t let him
-angry, he instead grabbed fistfuls of hinata’s collar and spat in his face, “say that again, shorty.”
-hinata continued to stare into the other guy’s eyes daringly and grabbed a hold of his wrist in response
- “she said no. quit harassing a girl who’s made it clear she’s not interested, or else.”
- “or else what.”
-his grip on the guy’s wrist tightened and his eyes sharpened. “you’ll have to get through me, first.”
- “tch,” the taller male scoffed. he let go of hinata, pushing him back and glaring as he did so. then he glanced over at you still standing behind the orange-haired boy
- “bet you’ll get bored of shortstack over here soon enough. i’ll be waiting,” he remarked with a wink
-then he and his friends turned and walked away, disappearing from view
-hinata, who’s been running on pure adrenaline during this whole encounter, then collapsed on the floor from all the excitement and terror he tried to contain
- “h-hinata?!” you gasped, using your arms to support his sluggish body
- “ahhh... i thought he’d at least swing at me, but i got lucky...”
-he sounded breathless
-however, the last thing he expected was the soft press of your lips on his cheek
- “thank you, hinata. i really appreciate the way you stood up for me back there. no one’s ever really done that for me.”
-how many times can you die and come back to life in the same day?? p sure hinata’s broken the record for that by now
- “o-o-o-of course! i couldn’t just let him keep thinking that going after you like this is o-okay! i-i didn’t even do much, i-i mean you’ve been standing up to this guy for weeks, this was the least i could do to help--”
-and you were huGGING HIM
-he awkwardly returned the gesture, eyes wide with shock as he patted your back
- “i mean it. thank you. i hope he backs off, but...” you bit your lip and pulled away
- “w-what’s wrong...?”
-you sighed. “i have a feeling he’s still going to be bothering me for a while. i hate to ask this of you, but...”
- “could you pretend to be my boyfriend for a bit longer? at least until he gets the hint and stops...?”
-did this mean...
- ‘dating’ you at scHOOL???
-kageyama and tsukki will never let him live it down, he could already imagine their comments
- “why’d she pick you of all people for this job?? you’re so?? you???”
- “couldn’t she have chosen to be with someone more believable??”
-he shook his head from his thoughts
- “i-is that a no?” you asked worriedly
- “n-no! i mean, yes! i mean, ignore that! i can pretend for as long as you need, y/n.”
- “ahhh, thank you so much, hinata! i promise i’ll treat you to something in return!” you brought him back in a hug, swaying side to side in glee
-you both stood up after you let go. “we should exchange numbers!” you suggested
- ‘oh my gawd, im getting her number rdftegiuofref’
-tanaka and noya would be so proud tho
-you quickly typed down your contact information on his phone before handing it back to him. “alright, here you go, just give me a text! i have to go now.”
-you picked up your bags and gave him a parting smile. “i’ll see you at school! get home safe!”
-and with that, you were on your way
-he stood there and watched as you left, holding onto the cheek you had kissed earlier
-he couldn’t believe it
extra:
-he had texted you after he got home, giggling like a lovesick preteen (was he not thooo LOL) as he was reading your messages and sharing memes with you
y/n 乁( ⏒ ͜ʖ ⏒ )ㄏ : oh ye btw, who’s your teacher? also, where do you usually hang out? just so i know where to find you. i never c u around school for som reason
me: oh rlly? thats strange... (pretending like he doesnt hide from you lol) im usually in the courtyard during lunch or in the gym for volleyball practice, and i have class with ms. akio
y/n 乁( ⏒ ͜ʖ ⏒ )ㄏ : WE’RE IN THE SAME CLASS??? omg im so sorry, i never noticed :((
me: oh no its okay! i sit all the way in the back, so
y/n 乁( ⏒ ͜ʖ ⏒ )ㄏ : well, i’ll make sure to greet you next time :) ! we’ll be seeing each other a whole lot more now, so
-he was still smiling like an idiot when natsu burst open his bedroom door
- “where’s my candy?!”
-shit, you probably took it with all your other bags by accident
- “uhhh....”
- “shoyooooo! you owe me, big time!”
-he rolled his eyes. “yeah, yeah, i know, i’m sorry, i’ll buy you twice as much tomorrow.”
-he went back to typing away at his phone
-natsu raised her eyebrows in curiosity. “whatcha doinnn?”
- “nothing, go away.”
- “you’ve been on your phone all day!”
- “and?”
- “are you talking to a giiirrrlllll?”
- “n-no!”
- “then why are you blushinggg?? moommm! shoyo has a girlfriend!” then she added to her brother, “can i see her?? is she pretty??”
-he just groaned, putting a hand up to his face to cover his blush, and nodded
a/n: OKAY this def took me longer than i thot AAHAHA but no ragrets. ty for your request, anon, i rlly enjoyed writing this and i hope you liked it! there will be a part 2, ill try to get that done soon >.> stay tuned hehe. msg me or send me an ask if you wanna be in the taglist cx <3 have a great day or night, lovelies, wherever you are
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pinkykitten · 5 years
Text
i am shy
Avatar The Last Airbender 
Sokka x shy! female reader
Warning: shynessssssssssss
Specifics: fluff, comedy, romance, one-shot, race neutral reader
People: sokka, katara, aang, toph 
Words: 1,271
Requested: By anon Hello! At first: You have the most talented writing Style i've ever read! Really the way you describe the feelings of the Persons are so unique - I'm in Love ♡~♡ When I look at your Story's, looks mine like a Kindergarten Child has write it's first Story lol😂 You've said you want Request, so here am I: How about a ATLA Sokka x Shy Reader ? ( I miss your ATLA One Shots) Thank's for reading Dear♡
Authors Note: first off thank you again dear for your lovely comment it means the world to me when you guys say such sweet things about me or my writing. but remember fam to practice, i still practice cuz ur girl still needs to improve. if you practice read a lot u will become successful and have faith in urself, dont belittle ur work and dont give up. also if u guys would like to send me some of ur work through the submit button or wherever else i would love to read them and see where i could help out what i love that type of stuff advice. also with this story i didnt rlly know how to end it so im sorry. 
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As you walked around town you enjoyed all the different things. The food, items, the people, but most importantly you liked the clothes. Unfortunately, you were too shy to converse with anyone, just watching from afar the way humans interacted. Whenever you felt you had to speak to a stranger your heart started to pound furiously. 
You were willing to leave the busy atmosphere when the rest of your friends arrived. 
“Hey y/n,” Aang said, putting his hands behind his head, clearly relaxed and having a break day. 
You only waved as the rest said their hellos. Growing up you wondered if you were always liked this. Life just changes a person and to your knowledge it changed you for the worse. 
Sokka could point out when you were about to curl up and shy away but when you were with Sokka things were different. You felt free to be yourself, to express yourself wholeheartedly. Sometimes you would catch yourself leaning further and further away from shyness and just having a fun time. 
“H-h-hi Sokka,” you said almost as a whisper. Sokka smiled knowing you were trying your hardest. He motioned over to you and placed an arm around your back. You almost had a heart attack! Sokka knew about your shyness yet he chose to do that, in public! Your eyes shot wide open as you walked awkwardly in that position. 
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You all scanned the area, hitting all the stores. Eating whatever, doing whatever until your group ended at the store you really wanted to go in. 
“I hate dressing up,” Toph complained and Sokka glared at her as he turned his head. 
“Really? I love all the outfits and dresses, like look at that one,” Katara pointed to a pink dress with beautiful beading. Aang looked at the attire and then at Katara and nearly almost fainted at the image he processed in his head. 
“Man down!” Sokka shouted as he caught Aang. 
“Y/n do you want to go here?” Katara asked as she hooked her arm with yours. You looked again to the ground and shrugged. You hated when you did that. Katara was your friend, she actually cared for you and she was one of the few people who were there for you during tough times. 
“You know you can always tell me.”
You bit your lip, “you’re ri-right, I can tell you. If you want to go here I am fine with that. Its up to you.”
Katara didn’t know if to take your answer as a yes or no. Sokka saw though your face, the way you smiled and the way your eyes lit up when you saw the store in view. He knew that you wanted to go. 
“C’mon y/n, why don’t me and you go together.”
Katara snorted a laugh, covering her face.
“What? You don’t think I can last in a clothing shop?” Whined Sokka as he flailed his arms around. 
“I’m sorry Sokka its just, I would never think you were the one to want to go into a store badly.”
Sokka looked at you and could see you were giggling but covering your smile with your hand. “Well if y/n wants to go, which I know she does, then I will sacrifice my man hood and go.”
Toph scoffed and muttered, “you mean your boy hood?”
“C’mon,” Sokka grabbed onto your hand and guided you in. 
“Have fun you two,” Aang shouted. 
Sokka stood in the middle of the store, pathetically. He didn’t think this far through. Sweat was practically dripping down his face and back. 
“Why am I so sweaty?” He thought as he wiped his forehead. Was it because he was with you? AND YOU BOTH WERE STILL HOLDING HANDS!
Sokka let his hand unlace with yours so quick you thought there was a bug or something. “Sorry, I forgot to-”
Without a word you took his hand and laced it with yours again. Sokka knew this was tough for you and yet you did it. He almost died as you did that. “Oh...okay.”
“Le-lets look over here,” you took him to the dresses and picked out a few that you absolutely adored. Sokka stared at you lovingly the whole time and even offered to hold your outfits. “I am going to try them on now.”
“Sure!” Sokka followed you and sat on the chair in front of the changing room. The other women gave him a look of disgust as he was sitting where girls change, but oh well anything for you. 
The first dress you tried on was orange. You looked at your reflection as you twirled. 
“What do you think? Can I see?”
“...I hate it,” you gave a gloom face in the mirror. 
“Yeah, yeah, yeah but I want to see it...still,” Sokka persisted. 
You froze up and tried to find a way out. You were too shy, but shy for what? To show him the outfit? You had no clue. 
“Y/n I’ll still think you look beautiful even if you wore a dumpling sack.”
He left the decision open for you, if you wanted to show him you knew how. Time passed by and Sokka thought you changed your mind but you quickly opened the door. In his eyes you looked like a goddess.
“Y-y/n you look-”
“Terrible...I hate this color on me. Onto the next.” You closed the door softly as Sokka waited again. 
Next you tried on a dark green dress, you liked the color but not the style of the dress. “This one makes me look like a-”
“Yes?”
You swallowed and prepared for the shyness, “a...booger.”
You could hear Sokka laughing outside and you giggled yourself. You loved to make not just anyone laugh but Sokka. You opened the door and awkwardly posed for him. 
“A booger, hah! You are the most prettiest booger if you ask me! Now if Katara wore that, she would definitely look like a disgusting, moldy booger.”
You shook your head and chuckled, “your poor sister. I’m going to try on this last one.”
You poured a silky dark blue dress onto your body. It fit perfectly, snug but not too much. The color was captivating, there were some beading on the top only but the rest fell down like a waterfall. It reminded you of where Sokka was from. Feeling less shy you opened the door swiftly. “What do you think about this one Sokka?”
Sokka almost chocked in seeing you like that. “Y/n, you look-” He was captivated by your beauty. You looked almost unreal to him. What made the dress more special it reminded him of a dress his mother used to wear. “Y/n,” he stood up and leaned against the door frame, only a few inches away from you. “Y/n, you look so beautiful.”
You almost exploded! He was so close and his ice blue eyes were closing and he was leaning closer. You wanted to so badly kiss him back, kiss him until your lips fell off but you were too shy. You backed away but Sokka held onto you and crashed his lips onto yours. You shrieked but then you placed your hands on his hair, deepening the kiss. Sokka kissed you like his life depended on it, that he needed your kisses for air. 
You two separated and he breathed harshly with you. He realized that you were again shy and profusely started apologizing. 
You placed a finger against his lips and for once said a sentence without a whisper, “its okay Sokka. That was the best moment in my life. I’ve always wanted to kiss you.” 
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Tag list: @harrington-lover, @angelgl16, @perfectlybeautifulsuit, @hyehoney, @haven-prelude (wont let me tag), @leasly, @totally-alexa21, @creamy-pasta-boi, @multireese, @fanfictionrecommendations-com, @prentisskelley, @malereaderforkpop (wont let me tag), @guardian-of-cookies, @justafangirl-97, @teenageshitposts (wont let me tag), @andreaoreas, @dippergravity (wont let me tag), @some-booty, @fromfoolishpeopletodeadpeople, @collectiveyou, @wtfisalltherandoms, @fangirl-4-life415, @dirbel, @eastcoasthaven
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killerqueenmachine · 5 years
Note
Can I request from the smut promp list number 91 or 106 (or mix them if u want) with Gwil or Ben? Thanks honey💜💜💜💜
91.“Stop dancing like that or I’m going to cum in my pants" 
106."Did you just look me up and down and then bite your lip? ‘Cause if you did we’re having sex. Right now”
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Your favourite song blasted through the speaker you had placed in your kitchen. Your beloved boyfriend, Gwilym, had been at an acting gig the whole day. It wasn’t really something big, he had said, but at this point he had been away for 36 hours spread out over the past three days. It was supposed to have been a tiny holiday for the two of you but since Gwilym had assured you that the gig was a quick and done deal, you had agreed to it. At this point, it seemed like that quick easy gig might be a little bigger than first anticipated.
In this very lonesome holiday at home you decided that now was as good of a time as ever to get your spring cleaning done and after almost three weeks of cleaning your whole apartment, the only thing you had left to clean was the kitchen. All your windows where wide open, the music filled the kitchen and your oversized shirt functioned as a dress for today, since you hadn’t been bothered to put on any trousers. You stood leaning over your stove, working as hard as ever to get it clean. Your hips swayed from side to side while you vigorously scrubbed the stovetop.
The music was so loud you didn’t even noticed your front door open and your boyfriend walk in. Your scrubbing continued, as did your long and exaggerated swaying of your hips as you reached up high to clean the exhaust hood above your stove. The lifting of your arms caused your shirt to rise up above your hips, revealing your skimpy underwear. You still hadn’t noticed that you weren’t alone anymore and thus couldn’t be bothered to fix your clothes. The beat of the music picked up and so did the movements of your hips, which caused your ass to jiggle.
“Baby, I’m going to need you to stop dancing like that - or I’m going to cum in my pants” Gwil groaned from the doorway to the kitchen.
With a gasp you turned around baffled by the voice behind you.
“Gwil baby! You’re home!” you exclaimed as you threw your damp cloth back on the table and quickly made your way over to your boyfriend.
You wrapped your arms around his neck, and he wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you in for a tight hug. He placed three quick kisses on your forehead before moving one of his hands over under your chin to tilt your head up, to place yet another two sweet kisses on your nose and then one on your lips.
“I missed you today baby” he whispered against your lips, as his fingers started dancing down your back before he grabbed a hold of your ass.
“Mmmh” you moaned against him “I missed you too - almost done cleaning the whole flat though. How’s the 'quick gig’ going?” you said and kissed his jaw softly.
“Stop making fun of me, I’m really sorry! My agent said it wouldn’t take any longer than a single day and I feel so bad for ruining our holiday” he whined as he pulled you in closer and nuzzled his face in to the top of your head placing soft kisses on your hair.
“It’s okay Gwil, I don’t blame you. And I like, I’ve gotten the best out of all the time right, so it’s all good baby. But with all that being said, I’m really happy you’re home now because.. I’ve really missed you” you said and slowly moved your hands down his back and grabbed his ass, to pull him as close to you as possible. You bit down on your lower lip and looked up at Gwilym slowly blinking in the hope, that he would understand where you were trying to get at.
“Did you just” he said and groaned when you gave his ass a light squeeze that caused his knees to buck and he lightly thrusted his hips forwards, grinding his crotch against your lower stomach, desperate for any sort of friction against his hardening cock.
“Did you just look me up and down and then bite your lip? 'Cause if you did we’re having sex. Right now” he growled in your ear.
“Is that a threat or a promise?” you whispered as seductively as you could.
“A promise”
“In that case, then yes - I absolutely did exactly that” you grinned and gently bit his chin before slowly dropping to your knees before he could reply to your comment.
“Oh, what a good girl already dropping to her knees” he praised you as he unbuckled his belt.
You swatted his hands away after he had fiddled with the belt and you finished his work, unbuttoning his trousers and sliding them down his muscular legs. He unbuttoned his shirt and threw in on the floor as you spat in your hand and slowly started jerking him off.
An array of tiny whines and moans left Gwilym’s swollen lips as your hand slid over his shaft. You didn’t waste too much time before you wrapped your lips around the tip of his cock and swirled your tongue.
Gwilym’s hands found their way into your hair and he twirled his fingers around, grabbing a hold of a few tufts, silently begging you to go deeper. You licked and sucked as if your life depended on it and those sweet sounds that emerged from Gwilym’s lips made it all worth it.
“Holy.. Holy shit” he whined as his hips bucked ever so slightly, forcing his cock down your throat.
“You’re so fucking good for me. What-what did I do to deserve you?” he whined, almost on the brink of tears.
In response you sucked a little harder and swirled your tongue around his tip once more before popping of him with an obscenely loud sound.
“Shit, no- baby! Please!” He whined, throwing is head back in agony, unwrapping his fingers from your hair.
“Uh-huh, love. I want you inside me, please” you retorted slowly kissing your way up his stomach as you got back on your feet.
Gwilym took a few deep breaths trying to regain control, he usually wasn’t as submissive as he was right now but being brought to the edge of an orgasm and then being denied had its effects. It did take him a few moments, but when you finally got back on your feet and placed a soft kiss on his Adam’s apple he was back in his usual dominating position.
“Denying me of my orgasm? And here I thought you were being a good little girl for me today.” he started and began drawing tiny patterns on your arms with his fingertips.
“Maybe you need to be reminded of who’s in charge here” he growled in your ear, before quickly spinning you around in his arms, pushing you forwards until you reached the counter.
He lifted up your shirt to give him a full view of your round ass, before he smacked his hand firmly against it - one, two, three times making you gasp out each time. After the last smack he gently rubbed your now marked ass.
With one hand he pulled your panties aside and within moments he slid two fingers in to your soaking cunt. A symphony of whimpers left your lips ad Gwilym started working his magic on you.
“You’re already all nice and wet and ready for my cock aren’t you, you pretty little thing” he purred, while thrusting his fingers in and out of you.
Unable to form any words you replied with a muffled moan and frantically nodded. You felt another hard smack against your ass before Gwilym removed his fingers from you, leaving you empty. He grabbed his cock and lined it up with your entrance and with one swift thrust of his hips he buried himself deep within you.
The two of you moaned out in sync and after a few seconds of letting you adjust to the feeling of him inside you, he started moving his hips agonisingly slow. His right hand snaked around your hips and down your pubic mound to play with your clit as his left hand found its way back to your hair.
“Mmmh, such a good fucking girl. I fucking love that little tight cunt of yours baby doll” he purred in your ear, which send shivers down your spine.
“And I hope you’re fucking close, cause you feel so fucking tight 'round me I won’t be able to keep this going for much longer.” His voice had gotten needier and whinier within seconds, it was very obvious that he was close and to be fair you had brought him to the edge of an orgasm once, so it wasn’t surprising to you, that he was so close. Luckily you were too.
You whined and moaned Gwilym’s name followed by a lot of profanities and yesses and within a few sloppy thrusts Gwilym groaned loudly as he came and you followed him shortly after, your knees nearly bucking under you as you came.
A few moments of panting and cleaning up later, Gwilym had taken your hands in his, leading you to your bed.
“Gwil - I’m not done cleaning yet I still have to-”
“No more cleaning, I want to cuddle. Please” he whined, sounding so needy you could barely keep yourself from laughing. With a gentle and steady hand your ran your fingers through his hair, resting your hand on his cheek pulling his face down to yours to give him a kiss.
“Then come on up here you big cuddle bug” you laughed when you finally reached your bed.
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mx-sfthrs · 5 years
Text
"we can't keep doing this"
"we're not just friends and you fucking know it"
a/n: i got the starter sentences from this post if u wanna use some !! no one asked for this i just felt like writing because i love me a good friends to lovers troupe and yall already heard me rant abt it but lowkey prob i love w my own best friend so yikes anyways there’s no other warnings besides it getting kind of suggestive but nothing explicitly sexual happens it’s just super hinted at lol also there’s no time on purpose bc this all happens over a span of two weeks so it felt weird to add a time
word count: 1.4k
[__:__] you've had feelings for your best friend changkyun for quite some time, but once you realized it you almost immediately pushed them down. he had never given you any indication that he had feelings for you, and your friendship meant too much to you to screw up with what you thought was some dumb crush.
you'd gotten pretty good at ignoring your feelings, enduring a couple of girlfriends on his end and even dating some other boys yourself.
right now though, both of you guys were single and changkyun had been especially clingy lately, making it your ‘dumb crush’ increasingly more difficult to control.
earlier this week he had asked if you were free on friday night
"yeah, why?"
"i don't know, i was thinking about it and we haven't had a sleepover in a while and... well, i guess i miss it - uh miss you... my place at 7?"
you agreed since you already said you were free, but you knew that the whole thing would make you uncomfortable. you’d probably end up hyper fixating on whatever movie or video game you guys were playing to avoid letting your mind wonder too much.
-
that friday night, you guys were halfway through some old comedy movie when changkyun slid next to you and pulled you into him
"hey" he put his arm around your shoulder "you good?"
you looked up at him and he just looked so... soft? sweet?
"huh?” your heart felt like it was on fire from beating so quickly “y-yeah. i’m fine, just tired”
you guys have snuggled before, that wasn't what was making you nervous. the genuinely sweet and concerned look on his face was what was making your heart flutter
"okay" smiled a sweet, closed mouth smile that you've never seen before "you just seem kind of off"
he took the string of your hoodie into the hand that was around your shoulder and started to twirl it around his fingers while he went back to focusing on the movie
the movie finished and he leaned forward to grab the remote and click to another movie while you checked your phone. when he leaned back he kissed your cheek, grabbing your attention before pulling you back into him
you looked up at him, desperately hoping your ears weren't too noticeably red, just to see him looking at the screen with a smirk on his face. you had no idea what game he was playing but at this point you thought it would be harmless to play along
so, you leaned over and kissed his jaw before leaning back down onto his chest
-
nights like these started to become a lot more frequent, and a lot more intimate. it was actually really nice to receive this kind of attention from changkyun, but you still had some uneasy feelings. both of you had yet to talk about any kind of feelings towards each other, and while you two had been showing a sickening amount of physical affection for two people who were just “best friends”, it seemed that it wasn’t enough for either of you to be completely candid about wanting to be more than friends
almost every night for the next two weeks, one of you spent the night at the other’s house, no matter what you guys had to do in the morning. you were almost always in each others arms, complimenting each other more, and giving soft, chaste kisses everywhere but the lips. during sleepovers you two would usually sleep in the same bed but now you would fall asleep holding hands or cuddled up together under the covers.
-
one night, changkyun had you and some friends over for a small party. he didn’t pay much attention to you and at first it didn’t bug you, until you over heard him talking to one of his friends
“...you’re crazy, dude” changkyun nonchalantly sipped his beer “we’re just friends”
“whatever you say man...” his friend teased
as soon as you heard him say that you avoided him for the rest of the night. you felt like you had been taken advantage of
after everyone had left, you stayed back like you’d promised him before the party. you were cleaning up in the kitchen when you heard him say his last goodbyes and close the door
he came up to you from behind and wrapped his arms around your waist. with his chest flush against your back and his chin on your shoulder, he started to kiss your neck
“hey, thanks for stay - “
you tried to wiggle out of his grip, unamused and not in the mood to receive any kind of affection from him
“woah... you okay?”
“we can’t keep doing this, changkyun” you turned around and tried not to get more upset than you already were “i can’t keep doing this”
he looked confused so you kept going
“listen, you’re my best friend and if it’s not obvious by now, i’m kind of maybe sort of a little bit in love with you and have been for quite some time now...” you looked down trying to blink back tears
“...and i guess i misread the situation or something, i don’t know but all of this - whatever this is - i don’t want it anymore. it’s too much. and maybe you’re fine with all of this while still being friends but it’s really messing me up so can we please just go back to how things were two weeks ago, before that night? before all of the snuggling and kisses and hand holding and whatever, just...please?” 
changkyun took both of your hands in his
“y/n?” he tried bending down to look at your eyes
your voice was barely audible “please don’t...”
“why? why do you think we’re just friends?”
your head snapped up at him “are you serious? don’t pretend like you don’t know what i’m talking about. i heard what you said tonight. i heard you say that we were just friends”
“wait, just - “
“no! do you have any idea how used that made me feel?? for two weeks now all of the feelings i’ve had for you actually made me happy and excited instead of scared and ashamed and i guess i should’ve been more upfront with what i wanted because - mmph”
he kissed you. 
he’d kissed you before but never on the lips and never like this. it was sudden, but deep and soft and full of well, feelings. the same feelings you had for him.
when you were starting to get dizzy you pulled away
“what the - “
“we’re more than just friends and you fucking know it”
now you were the one who was confused, so he continued to explain
“my friend was making some dumb joke about that video of me kissing jooheon on the cheek, y/n. do you really think i’d just play with you like that? that i’d use you? listen, i know that i’ve done some dumb things before, but i knew exactly what i was doing this time, and exactly who i was doing it to. it was never my intention to...”
he stepped closer to you as you lowered your head, inwardly scolding yourself for being scared away at the smallest sign of trouble
“...hey” he gently lifted your chin to get you to look at him
“i’m sorr - “
“no, y/n, i’m sorry. you’re right, i should’ve been more upfront” he tucked some of your hair behind your ears “i should’ve just told you that i was in love with you instead of just showing you”
he stepped closer and guided your hands around his waist
“but i promise” he kissed your forehead, “that i” your left temple “want” your right temple “to be” your nose “so much more” your left cheekbone “than just” your right cheekbone “your friend” your lips
“oh yeah?” you giggled against his mouth
“yeah” he said as he smiled and kissed you again
and this kiss seemed to be making up for lost time and hurt feelings because when it was over, thirty minutes had passed, you were on the counter, and both of your hair was an absolute mess
“so” you sighed “what do we do now?”
“well...” he took a step back a looked around the messy kitchen “we could clean all of this up, or ...”
“or...”
“or... i have about twelve other things in mind that are way more fun and involve far less clothes”
he looked at you with his hand stretched out with expecting eyes, waiting for an answer
“i think i like option two” you giggled as you let him pull you into his bedroom, and with that the mess in the kitchen was long forgotten
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Well... All Right
@strawberryfields-forever said: Hello my love, I saw the Beatles post, and I was wondering if I could request a John Lennon imagine? Maybe where the reader and him are out on their first date of sorts and she surprises him with how wild and rebellious she is, cause she doesn’t seem like that normally. Or just something cute and fluffy! Ilyxxxx
(a/n: i didn’t know how many people like queen AND the beatles so if ur on my reg taglist and see this, let me know if you’d like to be tagged in beatles imagines!! i don’t want to clog ur mentions with things u dont want hehe. speaking of clogs i hope brian may has a good night anyways here u go!!! fluffy misbehaving john lennon for ur viewing pleasure)
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You hadn’t struck John as the type to say yes to dates with men you hardly knew, especially with such an unruly character like himself. So when he was fooling around in your painting class and started flirting harmlessly with you, he expected nothing out of it. You were usually quiet, kept to yourself, turned in your work on time, and asked no questions. Not exactly the kind of girl that would be climbing out of Liverpool’s waterfront, drenched and tipsy and laughing deliriously as she clutched onto John’s hat, which was also beyond soaked, while a cop yelled at you from afar
But here you were, drenched, tipsy, and clutching onto his hat. And he’d never questioned his personal judgement so much, a queer, amused smile coming to his face as he held out a hand to help you up the ladder.
It had started out innocently enough. The professor had brought in another nude model for you all to paint over the course of the afternoon, and you couldn’t help but smile a bit at the way John groaned loud enough for the class to hear. After the hell he’d raised with the female model last month when he managed to show up for one class, you couldn’t imagine what he had in mind for the male model that now stood before you.
“This is the last time I actually show up for class, I swear,” he mumbled, digging through his bag to pull out his paints as you feigned apathy, already mixing your skin tone for the man that laid on the table in the center of the room. But John had said that many times before – he’d always show up, take the seat nearest you, find out what was happening for the day, and swear that he’d never show face again. And then you’d see him eventually, maybe within days, maybe within weeks.
You tried to focus on the man before you, staring intently at the skin on his cheeks and noting that there was some discoloration, possibly rosacea, so you scraped some of your skin tone off to the side and added just a tick of red, mixing it in. John was watching you out of the corner of his eye, clearly not interested in all at painting what he was supposed to paint as his eyes wandered, the professor getting more irritated by the minute as his canvas remained blank.
“Mr. Lennon, you seem to be coming along well,” the professor remarked on his next round, tapping a bony finger to the empty canvas and sending him a sarcastic smile. John scoffed, looking over in your direction and rolling his eyes as if to say ‘This guy.’ Then, his ever-expressive face was blessed by a wide smile, and he gave the professor a thumbs up paired with a goofy, sweet grin, making you suppress a laugh as you tried to focus on the natural curve of the man’s thighs. The professor eyed you for a moment, then narrowed his eyes as he looked back to John – and with that, he was gone, off to his next victim.
“Geez, wonder if he’s ever heard of breath mints,” John mumbled, and that got a snicker out of you before you quickly pressed the back of your hand to your mouth, barely holding back a grin. Now he was actually looking at you, an ever-present mischievous grin on his face making a blush spread across yours as you sat your paintbrush down in your cup of water. “That was a cute little laugh. Do it again.”
“John,” you admonished softly, nodding towards the male model and stifling another laugh as you bit your lower lip. He only shrugged, appearing indifferent towards the subject at hand when he had you right there to bother. “We’re both going to get poor marks if you start bugging me.”
“You say bugging, I say making conversation. Who will ever win?” he countered, and he noticed that the professor had started to lecture, but didn’t really care much as he continued. “I never caught your name, what is it?”
Looking between him and the professor a bit nervously, you returned your eyes to your painting as you held back a grin, still chewing on your lower lip. “Y/N.”
“Y/N. Pretty name for a pretty girl,” he remarked, flashing you a dazzling smile.
He was a bit of a charming fellow in terms of looks, if not a bit odd for the school scene. He always came in with the most unruly, fluffy hair, shorter on the sides than it was on top, and he wore outfits that stood out among the rest of your peers. While they opted for loose sweaters and blocky trousers that hid any sort of curve whatsoever, John dressed in longer blazers, tight jeans, form-fitting trousers, and the likes, sticking out like a sore thumb. And he was attractive, you had to admit. He was young, just freshly 18, and had the teddy boy look down to an art – the swagger, the hair, the confident smile, the glint in his eyes that was so rebellious, and yet not threatening to you at all. His charming, boyish looks and mussy golden-brown hair were enough to send anyone with eyes crazy, especially in such a strict institute.
“Thank you,” you murmured in response, smiling a bit as you picked up your paintbrush, then dipped it in the paint and ran it along the curve of the painted man’s side. The paint thinly spread out and  started breaking up when the product ran out near the end of your swipe. “You always hit on your classmates like this?”
“Nah, just the really cute ones.”
“Mr. Lennon! Something important you’re discussing with Miss Y/N, I presume?” Your professor’s mention of your name set all of your nerve endings on fire and you clammed up, staring straight at your painting and wishing that you could melt into a puddle of nothingness at this exact moment.
But John was unashamed and unafraid, resting his hands on his knees as he sat up on his stool a bit, peeking around the canvas at where the professor was across the room. “Just making conversation, sir. Hard to flirt with all this noise in the background.” He really did not give a shit about this class, did he? You pressed your lips into a thin line as you tried not to blush even more at the fact that John was flirting with you and now the entire class was aware.
The professor looked very much annoyed, but just stared for a moment before continuing his tangent about getting the shading correct, and John gave you a devilish smile when you glanced over at him to shoot daggers at him. “You’re going to get us suspended, you cheeky bastard.”
“Oh, you’re so tame. I like that,” he laughed, starting to dump out some paint that didn’t even closely resemble any of the skin tones on the man before you. He stood, brushing his tight drainpipe trousers off and stretching his legs out so the trousers fell back over the white socks that peeked out of his suede creepers. And then he walked up to the model, crouching down directly in front of his face as you watched, entranced by this enigmatic, lively character that seemed to be studying the model’s … face?
When he came back, you raised an eyebrow in question, resituating yourself on your stool a bit so you could cross your legs. “What was that all about?”
“Give me a date with you and I’ll tell you.” The look in his eyes was challenging, daring you to say yes, although a part of him knew it would probably never happen. You were a straight-A student, and going out with the black-sheep of this college would definitely screw that image right up. So when you responded, a genuine look of shock overtook his features.
“Alright. When and where?”
So you’d decided to meet John the next night outside of a little restaurant in the bohemian district, grab a bite to eat before going out for a few drinks, then ‘see where the night took you,’ according to him. He showed up dressed in his usual tight black trousers, brown suede creepers, and a black shirt layered with a forest green jacket. It was particularly windy, so he’d opted to bring a hat, but it was twirling around on his finger when you saw him, an absentminded time-passer that slowed to a stop when he finally spotted you.
You weren’t in your usual blocky sweater and longer skirt. Now, a short-sleeve sweater of white accentuated all your curves right down to your waist, where the sweater met a relatively formfitting black pencil skirt that didn’t even dare to pass your knees, exposing black tights that slimmed your legs even more. The small tears in the tights led right down to the red heels you’d chosen for yourself, drawing so much attention from older generations as you passed on the sidewalk that you thought they’d drop dead from shock right there. This was rebellion in 1950’s Liverpool. Showcasing your body, accentuating your legs? Scandalous.
Scandalous, and yet you knew John loved it as an appreciative, yet puzzled smile crept onto his face. His jaw was still slightly slack, shocked from the contrast, but he reached out and gave you a polite kiss on the cheek when you finally made it to him, which you reciprocated. And then he offered his arm, walking into the restaurant with you side-by-side.
Conversation remained light during the meal, John footing the bill when it was time to pay and helping you out of your seat when it was time to go to the pub. When you both had a few drinks in you, that’s when things really began to start flowing.
“So what happened to the whole studious library girl look you have going on every day?” he asked, hand firmly wrapped around the mug of beer in front of him on the bar. You grinned fully, not hiding the smile you usually tried to repress in class, and John quirked an eyebrow slightly, noting how astonishingly mischievous the look in your eyes was.
“Every day? I haven’t seen you show up to class consecutively since the beginning of this semester. And here you talk as if you know what I look like every day,” you teased, tracing your finger around the rim of your own beer, John laughing and raising his hands in surrender.
“Okay, you got me. I may or may not skip class a bit. I’m the antichrist, I know. But you didn’t answer my question?” he prodded, leaning forward and resting his elbow on the bar, propping up his head.
“It’s a nice college, John. I’d like to get my degree eventually, but can you imagine what the professors would say if I showed up in what I usually wear?”
“Is this what you usually wear?” he questioned, no hint of malice or teasing in his voice. He was just genuinely curious, leaning forward and hanging on to your every word. He’d never seen someone flip a switch like this, and the ease with which you did it was astounding. It was like he was meeting you all over again, and it fascinated him.
“Yes,” you giggled, taking another drink of your beer before sitting it down and hopping off the stool, holding out a hand. “Any song requests? I’m headed over to the jukebox, the songs are awful right now.
He had to admit, the songs were not the greatest, so he dropped some money into your hand and told you to play whatever you liked before watching you easily slip through the crowd, taking a moment to pick a few songs before returning. And then the sound of Buddy Holly started softly playing as you climbed back onto your stool, crossing a leg and taking another drink of your beer.
John raised an eyebrow, again surprised that you listened to Buddy Holly. Buddy had passed away earlier this year, and you saw quite a few faces sober up, but it was such a good song that people were soon singing along to it. Others, not so much. The rock and roll trend still wasn’t quite a phenomena, and the genre was clearly divisive, but you very much enjoyed the rock and roll sound of Holly, tapping your fingers on the table to the beat and smiling at certain parts of the song.
“You like this kind of music?” John questioned, and you nodded, propping your head up on your hand as your elbow rested on the bar.
“’f course. Shame about what happened to him, really thought he was the best of the best.” John leaned back a bit, nodding slowly and grinning as he listened to you continue on about your preference for rock and roll. A girl talking so openly about such a damning subject was attractive to him, and he found his pulse speeding up when you’d finished talking, asking him what kind of music he liked.
“Same music, really. I actually play in a band, if you’re interested. Well, sort of,” he retracted, pulling a goofy face before pursing his lips and continuing. “We’re just three guys with too many guitars and not enough drums.”
“Sounds like you’re in quite a dilemma,” you observed, finishing off your beer at the same time that he finished off his. The bartender refilled them when he passed by a moment later, John paying and smiling politely at the bartender before they were off again. His focus returned to you, and he took a moment to remember where you were in the conversation as you sipped some of the foam off the top of your lager. When you took quite a big drink of the beer to chase that sip, John raised an eyebrow curiously.
“We are in quite a dilemma. But it looks like you’re going to be in quite a dilemma soon if you keep out-drinking me.” Giggling, you shook your head and took another drink, then propped your head up on your hand and gave him a challenging look.
“If you really want to see me outdrink you, you’d do shots with me.”
“Shots?” he laughed incredulously, his hand still wrapped around the handle of the beer mug. “I take back calling you tame yesterday. Don’t we technically have class tomorrow?”
“At noon, plenty of time to recover. And since when have you ever cared about class? Half of the school has wagers on when you’re going to be expelled, Lennon,” you retorted, raising an eyebrow and giving him a devilishly sweet smile, one that let on to the idea that maybe you were far more feisty than even he knew. “Three shots. That’s all.” Your hand shot out, daring him to take it and accept.
“Three shots?” he considered, mulling over it for a second before he sighed overdramatically and took your hand, shaking it. “You’re a funny girl. A surprise up your sleeve at every turn.”
“Is that such a bad thing?” you asked, flagging down the bartender as you kept your gaze on John expectantly, biting your lower lip to hold back a big grin.
A small smirk toyed at John’s lips as he scanned your face for a second, then shrugged. “We’ll see.”
It was most definitely not a bad thing. You both took the shots, no chaser for you and John looking at you in a disgusted sort of impressed that made you laugh. And when you’d begun to get flushed and overheated from all the alcohol in your system, you leaned on John and requested a walk by the waterfront.
Now here you were, holding on to John’s shoulder as you laughed at another corny joke he’d told in his slurred speech, being just as tipsy as you. His arm was wrapped around your waist, the both of you supporting each other terrible as you teetered and tottered down the sidewalk next to the water, gusts of wind blowing in and stinging your cheeks a deeper red than they already were from a combo of the alcohol and John’s flirting. The sun was getting low, shrouding you both in a semi-darkness that seemed to bring an exclusivity to the pair of you as you strolled down the waterfront.
“This wind is going t’be the death of my hair, I swear,” you complained, trying to push it out of your face to no avail and laughing at yourself when you failed miserably. “I give up. I’m just goin’ to look like a wooly mammoth forever.”
“Aw, I think it’s kind of cute,” he teased gently, squeezing your side, and then he reached up to move his cap from his head to yours, pulling it down over your eyes a bit. “There, is that better?”
“John, I can’t see!” you squealed, John laughing and pulling the cap down over your eyes more as you tried in vain to fight his efforts. “You’re such an arse! Can’t believe I agreed to come on a date with you, you little bastard!”
“Oh, you’re just spouting nonsense now!” he chuckled, letting go of the brim anyways and giving you a mischievous grin when you finally managed to pull the cap up from your eyes. Trying to resituate your hair, you shot him a playfully nasty look before stopping where you were, John’s arm slipping off of your waist for a moment as he slid his hands into his pockets. You used the rail behind you for support, your vision a bit hazy as you pulled your hair up into a ponytail with the hair tie that had been in your pocket, John smiling at the new look and making you blush a bit more. “Are my eyes deceiving me or did you just blush?”
“Definitely your eyes,” you countered, although there wasn’t even a trace of truth in your voice as you blushed even more, John taking the opportunity to lean his side against the rail next to you, taking one hand out of his pocket to lift up a strand of hair you’d forgotten and tuck it into the cap.
It was probably the alcohol, but as you looked up into John’s warm brown eyes, you’d never wanted to kiss someone so bad in your life. His fluffy hair was flying wildly in the wind, making him look even more tousled and adorable than he usually did anyways, and his lips were slightly chapped, but the pout of his lower lip made you graze your teeth over your own, contemplating for a moment. And he was doing the same, suddenly quiet as a mouse as his eyes ran over your own plump, tempting lips before looking back up to meet your slightly glazed eyes.
A mutual exchange must have taken place, but you couldn’t have registered it even if you tried, because the next moment, John was leaning down to kiss you, taking your face in one hand and smiling against your lips when you reciprocated, making a slightly surprised noise. The two of you moved your lips in sync for a minute or two, conveniently forgetting the hat on your head until John went to tilt his head the other way and managed to knock it right into the water.
“Oh, shit,” he muttered as he broke away from the kiss, both of you peering over the railing at the hat that was just lapping up against the concrete barrier below. Laughing a bit, you glanced at John, who had a mournful look on his face. “My favorite hat, too.”
“I’ve got it,” you shrugged, using the railing to lean on shakily as you began to yank off your heels, John looking at you like you were mad. “What? You said it’s your favorite, I don’t personally want to be the reason that John Lennon is without his favorite hat. I’d imagine you’d paint a memorial photo of it in class just to spite me. It’s not like you ever paint the actual subject anyways.”
“Have you gone mental?” he laughed, taking your heels from you and following as you started over to the ladder nearby, nothing but an open padlock to stop you from opening the gate. “It’s probably bloody cold in that water. You’ll freeze.”
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” you teased, giving him a gentle nudge before you swung open the gate, starting to climb down to his amazement. The hat wasn’t far from the ladder, but just far enough that you had to get in. When you did get into the water, you cursed lightly at how cold it was despite the fact that you were drunk, John laughing at your language as you swam over to the hat, snatching it up and holding it up in victory.
“You’re crazy!” he called out over the whistling of the wind, making you smile widely as you started to swim back over to the ladder. Grabbing onto the bottom rung, you were starting to pull yourself up when you heard someone down the waterfront start shouting. Both of you looked in the same direction, spotting a cop that was shaking a fist at you and screaming. You couldn’t make out what he was saying, but you assumed it wasn’t nice, and John burst out laughing at the same time as you, holding out a hand and urging you to hurry. “You’re going to get us both arrested!” he yelled, grinning as you laughed deliriously at the angry old cop who was cursing you out.
Scrambling up the ladder while you cackled, John hoisted you to your feet and didn’t waste a moment in taking off running with you, your hands clasped together tightly as you giggled breathlessly and made an escape down the backstreets towards your dorms. You were freezing by the time you’d managed to make it to your dorm, which was empty when you entered, gasping for air in between hysterical laughing bouts. John slumped back against your door and held his hand to his chest while you grabbed a towel, trying to dry yourself the rest of the way off and catch your breath.
“Here you are,” you giggled breathlessly, tossing him his cap and making him go into another round of laughter as it hit his chest, falling to the floor. “Don’t say I never did anything for you!”
“My god, Y/N, you’re mad,” he gasped, his smile ear to ear as he laughed at the state of you, soaked to the bone and shivering as you searched for dry clothes. When you found them, he covered his eyes graciously and just chuckled, finally catching his breath while he waited patiently for you to change. “I thought we were goners, for sure.”
“You have little faith,” you teased, changing into some pajama pants and a loose shirt before pulling your hair out of the ponytail. “You can open your eyes now, Lennon.”
“I don’t know if I like you calling me Lennon,” he remarked, uncovering his eyes and crawling to his feet after sitting your heels and the hat on the floor. “Reminds me so much of the professor in painting.”
“Would you prefer Johnny Boy?” you asked playfully, helping him out of his jacket and laying it over your arm as he turned to face you, pursing his lips.
“Not exactly.” But he let the subject drop as he tucked some of your still-damp hair behind your ear, grinning softly. “I quite liked it in the soggy ponytail, wild girl.”
“Wild girl?” you asked, briefly interrupted when he leaned in for a quick kiss. You kissed back, pouting a bit when he pulled away so soon, but continued your observation anyways. “I can’t tell if that’s an insult or a compliment.”
He grinned even wider, keeping his hand resting on the nape of your neck while taking his jacket from your arm and dropping it to the floor near his hat. “Definitely a compliment.”
let me know if you’d like to be on the taglist for my beatles imagines in the future! REQUESTS CLOSED!
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lukeysgirl · 7 years
Note
Lil blurb where you ask ashton if you could wear his metallica shirt (the black one with the maroon words) and he expects you to wear it with jeans and sneakers or something but you come out with those American apparel skirts and he gets so turned on by it? Thanks !❤️️
oml i forgot what that shirt looks like scREAMINg but i got u hunnie xx 
so i m a g i n e pacing around your shared bedroom, glancing at your wardrobe with vexation. You had been staring at your closet for a while now, annoyed at the fact that there was nothing you could combine. You had worn so many outfits now and haven’t shopped in a long while. So nothing mixes with anything else, and it was bugging you an intense amount. 
“Ashy!” You called, letting out a sigh as you placed your hands on your hips. A few steps later, and your tall drummer came into the room. His brown hair, looking deliciously caramel in the light, entered the room with his soft smile. Dimples lit up his face and you felt more than content to see him. 
“What’s up baby?” Ashton asked, his voice always full of caring and warmth every time he address you with such names. You gave him a small pout before walking towards him and wrapping your arms around his neck. He quickly wrapped his strong arms around your waist and pulled you close, feeling your body pressed against his built one. 
“Can I borrow a shirt from you for the outing today?” You asked sweetly. “I can’t find anything decent and everything I have has already been worn.” 
“You look gorgeous in everything, but of course,” Ashton hummed, pressing his lips on your forehead to give you a loving kiss. “Which would you like?” 
“Can I get the Metallica one?” 
“Your favorite one?” 
“Yes please!” Ashton was amused by your cute voice, reluctantly letting you go to fetch for the desired shirt. He was quick to find it and tossed it to you, seeing the familiar maroon-colored words upon the black fabric. You hugged it happily and gave Ashton a content smile. “Thank you, babe.” 
“Anything for you, love,” Ashton said, giving you a wink and a cheeky grin before beginning for the exit. “Meet me downstairs when you’re ready, yeah?” You nodded, watching the curly-haired boy leave the room. You tossed the shirt on the bed and looked in your wardrobe, wondering what you could easily put on while rocking it. 
That’s when you saw the denim, American Apparel skirt you bought recently and knew that was the one. 
“I’m ready!” You announced a few minutes later, rushing down the stairs to find your lovely boyfriend in the living room. 
“Oh baby, you ready to–” Ashton began, rising from the forest green couch. But he immediately went mute when his hazel eyes diverted their attention to you. 
Along with the fairly large shirt and black Vans, your ass was lovingly hugged by a tight denim skirt you bought from American Apparel. It had gold buttons going down from your left leg til the bottom hem, with the zipper at the left of your waist, too. But what was the real attention-stealer was the way it made your ass stick out. It was so tight, your bum was practically bulging and you made sure Ashton saw by twirling a bit.
“Holy shit,” Ashton breathed, eyeing you up and down as he came towards you, hunger and desire in his eyes. You smiled, waiting as Ashton wrapped his arms around your waist and rested his large hands on your ass. He began rubbing his middle finger down the crack of it, having you blush as you loosely wrapped your arms around his neck. 
“You like?” You teased, but Ashton was too much in a trance of admiring it. 
“Turn around for me again.” Obliging, you turned around and stuck your ass up for him, knowing that’s what he’d want. You then felt his large hands take hold of your waist and pressing his growing bulge against your ass. “Fuck, you’re so sexy in that skirt, Princess.” 
“Am I?” You whispered, moving your ass in a circular motion around his hard dick as Ashton slowly grinded it against your ass. Throaty moans left your boyfriends mouth and you could help but get aroused as well. 
“Fuck, I’m so tempted to take you right now in that skirt,” Ashton murmured, lust sliding off his tongue as his hand slipped under the skirt and pressed against your moist cunt. You let out a moan, feeling his long finger rub your covered cunt with pure desire. 
“What’re you waiting for, baby boy?” You mumbled, glancing back to meet his eyes. “Take me.” With that, Ashton was quick to grab the waistbands of your thong and pulled it down to your ankles. He pulled the skirt up, having it now cover your lower torso a bit as Ashton held your ass. 
“With pleasure, love,” Ashton growled. 
asdfghjkl
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najatheangel · 7 years
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Hello~ I was wondering if I could have a drabble ship with bts,exo and got7 please? If its not too much trouble of course ~ A Lil extra on my appearance is that, I’m petite, I have freckles and I have dimples when I smile~ the one on right is more deeper tho?? I’m more shy and quiet when first meeting, but once I’m with friends I’m a bit more loud, giggly and a bit goofy(??) I’m more introverted than extroverted but that doesn’t mean I don’t like to go out places~ I’m also very emotional? But tend to be more reserved if that makes sense? I’ll basically open up more when I’m comfortable with you ~ I’m a bit of a more soft spoken person so at times people find it very hard to hear me (sorry if that made like 0 sense fjsbdna). My friends and family say I’m caring, funny,cute,witty, a good listener and that I worry too much ~ my friends LOVE to tease me for my height so I would say I’m able to take a joke hahaha. I love drawing/painting, I’m hoping to have a job related to drawing in the future?? I love, dogs, bunnies, video games ( I’m a bit competitive), listening to music,  playing drums, going for walks, a little bit of photography, watching movies/anime/cartoons and dancing despite being really really bad at it hahaha~ I love to go to places like the beach,fairs, towns, etc?? But as long as I can chill out after then I’m happy haha~ I do also enjoy skinship (like holding hands etc) but I do get a bit embarrassed and shy about it haha~  I’m also very indecisive hahaha. I’m terrified of bugs ESPECIALLY SPIDERS and honestly I’m not a huge fan of the dark~!  Sorry if this is far too much or doesn’t make sense??? and I hope the selfies are okay! But! Thank you so much in advance, take your time and take care~!❤❤
Hey cutie, u are so pretty. And I never had relate to a person this much as u, like seriously. We almost sound alike, but This is totally enough info. Here’s your ships darling.
From bts, I ship you with...Jimin~
-Today was one of your days to go to the beach and find some inspiration for your next art piece.
-You walked around the beach in your long favorite anime tshirt, shorts and some sandals to blend in with the weather. You thought about grabbing a beautiful stranger to take a picture of, but felt really embarrassed and unsure of the idea.
-You felt a very cute, yet sexy guy watching you and was curious of what kind of pictures you were taking. When you wanted to take a picture of a sea shell, he photo bombed the sea shell with his cute peace pose.
Jimin: Whoops, I didn’t mean to interrupt you, carry one. *he smiles and starts walking off, but then..*
Y/N: W-Wait~ *you try to yell out, but you knew how soft your voice was.* *you ran up to him all shy and grabbed him to say* Can you be my model in this little art project?
-The boy turns around all shooked , but slowly starts to smile.
Jimin: Sure, but on one condition. *you tilt your head ton the side confused* You have to go out one a date with me. My treat.
*you hesitate but then you nod, making but of you flustered* Fine, D-Deal.
*he does his cute shy, embarrassed laugh looking forward to tomorrow*
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From exo, I ship you with...Kai~
-Kai was doing his extra practice for tonight's performance "The Eve"
-You being his girlfriend, aka #1 Kai stan , and waned to surprise him a practice. You snuck up behind him and did a worm dance that looked cool for a second..but then looked very awkward which made Kai laugh.
Jongin: You made up another creative dance, what was that?
Y/N: Isn’t that how you do the reverse *you try the dance move again but kai just falls on the floor laughing* Babe, this isn't funny! *you look down at him pouting*
-Jongin walks up to you and slides your arms up teaching you how to do it. He stands so close that you can feel his breaths in your neck. He spins you around in circle and tries to make a move by sliding his hand on your waist.
-You look at him through the mirror all lovey dovey admiring how amazing he dances.
Y/N:*whsipers* So amazing.
Jongin:*leans head on your shoulder* *whispers* I think Y/N is even more amazing. *he smirks and kisses your ear softly*
-*you help him finish his dance practice and in between breaks, the both of you hold hands twirling like happy kids*
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From Got7, I ship you with...Mark~
(The runner up was youngjae, but mark suited more w/ you)
-Mark was at the park with his other members and coco for a fun bro time. Yugyeom and Bambam was in their own world. Jinyoung and Jaebum was napping. Jackson was pranking JJ and YugBam. Mark and Youngjae was walking coco by the swings where that spot you...
-You had a long day, in your emotions and you just needed to find your inner peace. You spot two sweet concerned boys walked to the swings and sat on both sides in between you.
Mark: Hey sweet heart, what’s wrong? Are you okay?
-you looked up with tears still dripping down immediately looking at coco in youngjae hands. *sniffles*
Y/N: W-what’s his name? *you pet her and started to smirk a little*
Youngjae: Her name is Coco, this is me and Mark’s daughter. *sunshine smiles laughing*
Mark: You must like animals that much huh? How about you come play with us? *he helps you up from the swing and pats your head smiling* You’ll feel better, trust me.
*you hold Mark’s hand and link arms with youngjae with the other to run off to hang out with the rest of the members*
Jackson: She’s so cute~ *squeals*
Mark:*glares at him wrapping his arm around you*
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Sorry this took so long and I hope you like your ship @snazygalaxy Have a wonderful day~
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Text
That Marx mem
It's long- And in a buncha different formats cause I'm just copy/pasting from discord
Under a cut. But its not bad, just long
Brain: You met Angels siblings and dad
Me: Wait really
Brain: They all loved you
Me: for obvious reasons
Brain: Molly and Arackniss flirted with you hard core and Angel smacked them both
Me: Uh-
Brain: and papa spider gave you and aproving nod and Angel almost cried cause of that
--
Im gettin images of Molly doin that fuckin
Thing girls do to accentuate their chest to guys they like and battin her eyes at me and im just thinkin
"Uuuuhhhhhhhh I like girls as much as the next guy but plz I am technically dating your brother this is weird"
"MOLS STOP TRYIN TA SHOW YOUR TITS TA MARX THATS MY JOB"
"How about you both stop fawning over him, he aint that special"
"Arackniss your blushing"
"SHUT UP"
-quietly dying in dragon-
--
"You two know I have three brothers right"
Molly slams all four fists on the table "ARE YOU SERIOUS"
"Y-y es?"
Angel sighs "ya shouldnt have said that"
Molly grabs my hands from across the table, she has this huge fuckin grin and Angel is glaring at her so hard "Tell us about your brothers"
"U-uhhhhh-" I look at Angel for a split second and he gives me this look of "dont you fucking dare" and u h
I mouth "I'm sorry", look back to Molly, pulling my hands from hers (with a bit of a challenge honestly) "Wellll I have two younger brothers, and one older-" Molly rests her chin in her hands and Angel slaps all six of his hands against his face. I grin and continue "I don't think y'all would like Fitch- My older brother. Hes a total douche like- Worse than Arackniss-"
"HEY!"
"Whaat??" I chuckle, "He's always tryin ta kill me in some way- It's really annoying... He's got this silly god complex... Not fun to deal with." Molly pouts- I probably shouldnt have started with Fitch, she seems dissapointed. "Hes the only bad one though, Hatchet's pretty entertaining... He's about a year younger than me, covered in tattoos, and really... Spikey... He looks pretty tough but he's soft- he's the only one of us who can put up with Fitch for more than five seconds-"
Angel mumbles into his hands "Marx please shut up"
"Am I not allowed to tell your siblings about my own? You told me sooooo much about these two... I figured I could do the same~" I'm honestly having fun purely cause I'm bugging Angel- I pat his cheek with my tail, and Arackniss pipes up.
"Ya gonna tell us 'bout the last brother or are ya gonna keep teasin Angel?"
"Oh Arackniss, I can do both at the same time~ Now- Malcom. He's the youngest of us, and he's a lil... Weird. In a good way though! He doesn't talk much, but he's incredibly cuddly and sweet. He loves to find a way into my apartment at absolutely random times, and he will tackle ya if he knows ya pretty well. I think y'all would li-"
Angel slaps a hand over my mouth "Okay there we go- haha Ya told 'em bout your brothers.. Woo hoo-" He twirls a finger in the air, "You two happy now?"
--
"Wh- Bee you're gonna miss meetin Angels family!"
"Yeah- Well I don't really have a choice in the matter, boss"
"It'll be fine, 'm sure Molly'll try to see ya again.. Just go out on your job"
--
"GOD Bee I wish ya could've been there, it was amazing!"
"Molly and Arackniss were just flirting with ya the whole time"
"THATS WHY IT WAS AMAZING!!!"
"Marx oh my fucking god-"
"You told Molly when she wanted ta meet us that I attract spiders. All of y'all knew this was gonna be a disaster for you"
Angel groans "I know so I dunno why I a gr eeeeeeddddddd"
"I take it it went well?"
"-w- Incredibly"
"And?"
"We're having dinner with them again next weekend"
"Oh my god-"
"It was Marx's idea and he wouldnt let me say no"
"Bee needs to see the beauty of the chaos"
"he really doesnt"
"..... Yes I do...."
GR OAN S from Angel
--
-that next weekend-
Me: -immediately dies as Molly tackles me and holds my arm until Angel pries her off of me-
Bee: -laughing his ass off in the background-
--
Me: -finds a piece of paper in my pocket-
Paper: -has Molly's number on it-
Me: ..... Uhhhhhhhhh -notices Arackniss scribbled his own really small in the corner- Aaaaaannnngggeeeeeellllll
--
"If ya ever get tired a Angel.." She winks
"MOLLY I CAN HEAR YOU"
"Haha- Thanks but-"
"Oh don't worry, hun I know ya got plenty 'a options..." She pats my chest "It's just an offer~ 'N 'niss has the same lil offer.. In case ya want him instead"
I hear Arackniss spit his drink "MOLLY!!"
Marx.exe has stopped working. Not used to this much love
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shanastoryteller · 7 years
Note
*shyly whispers* do u think u could do another Greek Mythology story~
“Your tapestries are sofine,” the merchant says in wonder, “that you must be blessed by the goddessAthena.”
Arachne tosses herhead, braided hair falling over her shoulder like an obsidian waterfall,“What’s Athena got to do with it? My hands wove these, not hers.”
The merchant blanchesand looks to the sky, as if expecting Zeus himself to smite them for blasphemy.Personally, she thinks the king of the gods has better thing to do with histime. “Ah,” he says weakly, “I suppose.”
He pays her for herwares and she leaves, almost immediately bumping into a hunched old woman withgrey eyes. “Do you not owe Athena thanks for your talent?” she croaks, gnarledhands curled over a cane.
Arachne is not stupid,but she is foolish. They will tell tales of it. She looks into those grey eyesand declares, “Athena should thank me,since my talents earn her so much praise.”
She pushes past her andkeeps walking, ignoring the goddess in humans skin as she disappears into thecrowd.
They will tell tales ofher hubris. They will all be true.
~
The next day she bumpsinto the same old woman at the market. Everything goes downhill from there.
“Know your place,mortal,” Athena says, grey eyes narrowed. There is a crowd around them, andArachne could save herself, could walk away unscathed, and all she has to do issay her weaving is inferior to that of a goddess.
She will not lie.
“I do,” she sayscoolly, “and in this matter, it is above you.”
She is not honest as avirtue, but as a vice.
Athena challengers herto a weaving contest. She accepts.
~
Gods are not so hard tofind, if you know where to look.
“It’s a volcano,” thebaker repeats, looking down at her coins, as if he feels guilty for takingmoney from someone who’s clearly not all there.
She grabs her bag ofsweet breads and adds it to her pack before swinging it over her shoulders,“Yes, I know. Half a day’s walk, you said?”
“A volcano,” he insists, as if she did not hear him perfectly well thefirst dozen times.
“Thank you for yourhelp,” she says. He’s shaking his head at her, but she knows what she’s doing.
She walks. She growshungry, but does not touch the bread she paid for, and walks some more. Thesun’s begun to set by the time she makes it to the base of the volcano. It’stall, impossibly large, and for a moment the promise of defeat threatens tooverwhelm her.
But Arachne does notbelieve in defeat, in loss. They will tell tales of her hubris. Those taleswill be true.
She ties a scarf aroundher braids then hikes her skirt up and ties the material so it falls only toher thighs. She fits work roughened hands into the divots of cooled magma andbegins her slow ascent.
~
The muscles in her legsand arms shake, and her hunger pains are almost as distracting. Her once whitedress is dirt smeared and torn and sweat makes her itch as it covers her bodyand drips down her back.
“What are you doing?”
Arachne turns her headand bites back a scream, looking into one giant eye. The cyclops holds easilyto the volcano’s edges, even though her hands are torn and bleeding. Sheswallows and says, “I heard you like honeyed bread. Is it true?”
The creature tilts hishead to the side, baring his long fanged teeth at her. She thinks he might besmiling. “You’ve been climbing for hours. What do you want?”
“Is it true?” sherepeats, refusing to flinch.
“Yes,” he says, lookingat her the same way the baker had, “it’s true.”
“There’s some sweetbread in my pack, baked this morning,” she says, “it should still be soft.”
His hands are bigenough and strong enough that it could probably squeeze her head like a grape. Insteadhe gently undoes her pack and reaches inside. The honey buns look comicallysmall in his large hands, and he swallows half of them in one bite. He lickshis fingers clean when he’s done, and his smile is just as terrifying thesecond time around. “I am Brontes. Why are you climbing my master’s volcano?”
“I’m the weaverArachne,” she takes a deep breath, “I need your master’s help.”
~
They tell tales ofHephaestus’s ugliness.
They are not true.
He’s got a broad,angular face and short brown hair. His eyes are like amber set into his face,and his arms are huge, and he’s rippling muscle from the waist up. He has legsonly to his knees. From there down his legs are bronze gears and golden wire,replacements for the legs destroyed when Hera threw him from Mount Olympus.
“Had your look, girl?”he asks, voice rough like he’s always a moment away from breaking into acoughing fit.
“Yes,” she says, anddoesn’t turn away, keeps looking.
His lips quirk up atthe corners, so it was the right move. The heat is even more oppressive insidethe volcano, and all around him cyclopses work, forging oddly shaped metal thatshe can’t hope to understand. “You’ve gone to an awful lot of trouble to find me,girl. What do you want?”
She slides her pack offher shoulders and holds it out to the god, “I have a gift for your wife. I havewoven her a cloak.”
He raises an eyebrowand doesn’t reach for the bag, “You believe something made with mortal handscould be worthy of the goddess of beauty?”
They will tell tales ofher hubris.
“Yes.”
They will all be true.
With a gust of wind theoppressive heat of the volcano is swept away, leaving her chilled. In its placestands a woman – more than a woman. Aphrodite has skin like the copper of herhusband’s machines and hair dark and thick and long. Her eyes are deepest,richest brown, piercing in their intelligence. People don’t tell tales ofAphrodite’s cleverness. That is because people are stupid.
“Let’s see it then,”she says, reaching inside the pack and pulling the cloak from its depths.
It unrolls beautifully.It’s made from the finest silks, and it shimmers in the light from the forges.The hem of the cloak is sea foam, speaking of Aphrodite’s beginning, and upalong the cloak is intricate patterns it tells of her life, of her marriage andher worshippers and escapades, all with the detail of the most experiencedartist and the reverence of her most devoted followers.
Her lips part insurprise and she slides it on, twirling like a child. “Gorgeous,” Hephaestussays, though Arachne knows he does not speak of the cloak. She doesn’t takeoffense.
The goddess smiles andArachne’s heart pounds in her chest. She does her best to ignore it – Aphroditeis the goddess of love, after all. It is only expected. “Very well,” thegoddess says, “you have my attention.”
Arachne swallows.Aphrodite’s attention is a heavy thing. “I have offended Athena,” she says,“She has challenged me to a weaving contest.”
Their faces somber.Hephaestus rubs the edge of a sleeve between his fingers and says, “Athena willlose such a contest, if judged fairly. She does not take loss well.”
“I know,” she says,“you are friendly with Hades, are you not?”
There are no tales oftheir friendship. But she’s staking her life on its existence, because whywouldn’t it exist – both of them even tempered, both shunned by Olympus, bothhappily married.
Gods hate being made tofeel lesser. It is why they say Persephone was kidnapped, why they sayAphrodite cheats with Ares. It is why Athena will crush her when Arachne winsthe weaving contest.
“Clever girl,” Hephaestussays, smiling.
Aphrodite stares at herreflection in a convenient piece of polished silver. Arachne assumes Hephaestusleft if lying there for that express purpose. “Very well!” the goddess says,not looking at her, “when Athena sends you to the underworld, we will entrenchupon our uncle for your release.” She turns on her heel and points a finger ather. Arachne blushes for no reason she can think of. “In return, you will weaveme a gown, one equal to my own beauty.”
A gown as exquisite asthe goddess of beauty. An impossible task.
They will tell tales ofher hubris.
“I accept.”
They will all be true.
~
The contest goes asexpected. Athena’s tapestry is lovely, but Arachne’s is lovelier.
The goddess’s face goesred in rage, and her grey eyes narrow. Arachne stands tall, ready to accept thedeath blow coming for her.
The blow comes.
Death does not.
~
She is an insect. Even if she can make it back to Hephaestus’svolcano, even if they can help her, they will not know it is her. She has nohope left, no course of action, she should just give up. But –
She doesn’t believe indefeat, in loss.
It was a terribly longjourney on foot, that first time. It is even longer this time, although now shehas eight legs instead of two. She makes it to the volcano, and creeps inbetween crevices, until she finds out a hollowed room, one with a sliver ofsunlight and plenty of bugs to keep her fed.
Athena’s cruel joke ofallowing her to weave will be her downfall. Her silk comes out a golden yellowcolor – it will look exquisite against Aphrodite’s copper skin.
~
It takes seven yearsfor her to complete it. She hasn’t left this room in the volcano in all thattime, and as soon as it’s done she scurries out back toward the village. She’sa large insect, but not that large.
She arrives just as thesun begins to rise, and leaves before the first rays have even touched theearth, her prize tied to her back with her own silk.
Arachne doesn’t returnto her room. Instead she goes to the more popular parts of the volcano, hurriesand runs around terrifying stomping feet until she finds who she’s looking forand scurries up his leg and onto his shoulder.
“Huh,” Brontes looksonto his shoulder and blinks. “What on earth are you?”
She cautiously skittersdown his arm, waiting. He bends closer and lightly touches her back. “Is – is thata piece of a honey bun?”
She looks up at him,waiting. It’s her only chance, if he doesn’t remember, if he doesn’t understand–
His face slowly fills witha cautious kind of wonder. “Arachne?”  Shejumps in place, being unable to nod, and Brontes cautiously cradles her in hismassive hands, “We must find the Master immediately!”
She jumps down, landingin front of him and running forward. “Wait!” he calls, and she makes sure he’s runningafter her before skittering back to her corner of the cave. It’s almost toosmall for him to enter but he squeezes inside and breathes, “Oh.” He stares forseveral moments, and Arachne climbs her web and waits. Brontes shakes himselfout of his reverie and uses his powerful wings to bellow, “MISTRESS APHRODITE!”
There’s that samebreeze and she’s in the crevice with them, “What was so important, Brontes,that you had to yell?”
Arachne sees the exactmoment that the goddess sees the gown, golden yellow and glimmering, madeentirely of spider silk. “Beautiful,” she says, reaching out a hand to brushdown the bodice. Her head then snaps up, “Brontes, where’s Arachne?”
She warms at that, thatAphrodite knew it was her weaving even though she hasn’t been seen in sevenyears.
They’ve told tales ofher hubris.
They are all true.
Brontes points at theweb, and Aphrodite steps over and holds out her hands. Arachne crawls onto thegoddess’s palms. “Athena is more powerful than I am, I cannot undo her work,”she says, “but I know someone who can.”
Then they are in frontof a river. A handsome young man stands there waiting with a boat. “GoddessAphrodite,” he says, “we weren’t expecting you.”
“Thanatos,” shereturns, “I need to see Persephone.”
The man’s face stayscool, and for a moment Arachne fears they will be refused and she will be stuckin this form forever. Then he smiles and says, “My lady is of course availablefor her favored niece.” He holds out a hand to help her onto the boat, “Pleasecome with me.”
~
Arachne weaves a dressfor Hades’s wife as a thank you, and returns to her volcano.
“I can take yousomewhere else,” Aphrodite says, “you don’t have to hide here.”
Arachne pauses at herloom. She has lived in this volcano for seven years. It’s her home. “Would youlike me to leave?” she asks instead.
Aphrodite scoffs, “Ofcourse not! How could I dress myself without you here?” She’s wearing thespider silk dress Arachne spun for her, and she’s working on another for thegoddess now. Aphrodite runs a gentle finger down Arachne’s cheek and for amoment she forgets to breathe. “You are the finest weaver to ever exist.”
She looks up at thegoddess, “Then as the god of crafts and goddess of beautiful things, where elsewould I belong besides with you and Hephaestus?”
To declare your companyequal to that of gods is the height of arrogance and blasphemy.
They tell tales of herhubris.
“An excellent point,”Aphrodite murmurs, and tucks a stray braid behind Arachne’s ear.
They are all true.
gods and monsters series part iii
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