#that's the longest i've written for a oneshot so far

[incorrect-jojolands-quotes]

So, I wrote a fic about Barbara Ann.

[chuluoyi]

fear

- gojo satoru x reader

his best friend’s defection is still a hard topic for him to swallow, and it leads into an unexpected argument that spurs you to leave, only to unlock a new fear in him when you get into an unfortunate accident afterwards.

genre/warnings: angst, gojo being mean, one scene with a worried nanami *wink*, injured reader, hurt/comfort, fluff in the end

notes: *sigh* my coping mechanism is still gojo’s past arc, which is why this piece takes place on that timeline. just a little context: reader is in the same class with nanami & haibara and was in the same mission that took haibara's life. this is probably the longest oneshot i've written so far sooo… enjoy! :)

series masterlist | oneshot masterlist

A year and a half had passed since Suguru embarked on his path as a curse user. In that one year and a half, Satoru had finished his last year at Jujutsu High, and now was in the halls of his alma mater, speaking to the newly appointed headmaster who was none other than his teacher.

"You're applying to become a teacher?" Yaga asked again with a frown. He still couldn't wrap his head around it. Granted, he was his most troublesome pupil. "Why, Satoru?"

"If I said it's because I want to train young sorcerers to be strong, would you believe me?"

That was not a lie. It was actually 50% of his main reasons anyway. The other 50% was to repent what he missed with Suguru when he chose his dark path—his contempt with the current system of this jujutsu world.

"I would," Yaga responded gruffly. To him, Satoru was irritating, but he also knew that he was also extremely capable, and thus everything he did wasn't just out of nowhere. "But you still have to submit your applications. We can't make an exception even if you come from a prestigious clan."

"That's fine with me," he grinned. "Thanks, sensei."

On summer days, he'd get reminded of Suguru and silly things they had done together. Eating shaved ice, cycling together, driving either you, Shoko or Nanami mad. Satoru missed those days, it hadn't been the same ever since. Not knowing if his best friend was alright—if he was still alive at all—was exhausting.

Sometimes, he felt like he was the only one who was affected by his departure, the only one who stayed right where Suguru left him. Shoko didn't seem ruffled, if anything she just went to more bars and pachinko parlors as of late. Nanami was always a recluse, he never disclosed his feelings. You mourned him, but it was clear that most part of you would always be more focused on Haibara's death.

Satoru understood that he couldn't force anyone to feel what he felt, and he had no right to. But sometimes, he just wanted someone to connect with at his level. Someone to get him just like Suguru did.

And so when he got back to his condo that night—just right next to the one he rented for Megumi and Tsumiki, since he had moved out of his dorm—to find his girlfriend there with a big smile and a tray of cupcakes, unaware of everything and anything, he merely scoffed to himself.

"Satoru, you're back," you acknowledged, beaming like the sunshine you were. "I just baked these for the kids. Do you want some?"

Usually he'd smother you, throw some pickup lines here and there and say yes, but today, he just felt drained. "No." And with that, he stalked away to the bathroom, not glancing back at you.

It was wrong. But tonight he just wanted some peace and quiet, and so keeping his silence seemed to be the best choice as he didn't want to start a pointless argument with you. But you weren’t anything but observant, and definitely noticed that something was amiss with him.

"Are you... alright?" You approached him warily after he came out of the bathroom with wet hair. "Where were you today?"

"Just somewhere," he replied curtly. Afterwards he turned on the hairdryer, drowning the whole place with the noise even as you stood behind him with a visible question mark.

But you were still there after he dried his hair. "Is something bothering you?" you asked with a tilt of your head, concerned. By all means, you mean well. You just wanted to know if he could use your help at all.

When you pulled that expression, he couldn't help feeling annoyed, like he wanted you to take a hint, but you just didn't. "If you know, then just shut it."

It was probably the first time since the two of you got together that Satoru actually said something harsh. But you still tried to be reasonable though, bless you.

"Satoru, I don't know what got into your nerves like this, but I think sleeping through it might help. Have a rest."

"Why are you talking as if you know it?" he snapped, finally turning to you with his cold gaze. "You might not know anything, so don't be a know-it-all. Just mind your own business."

Now you were frustrated with his reply. "Once again, I don't know what happened to you. But if you're taking it out on me because I'm the closest you have—"

"Who said that?" Satoru didn't know where he got all this venom from. It was just at the forefront of his mind and he just got the urge to spew it. "You're considering yourself closest to me? Where did you get that big head from?"

You were aghast, and you blinked a few times to get your bearings. "Let me guess, it's about Geto-san, isn't it? Or the higher ups. Either of that must be what causing you to blindly place your anger on me."

"So what if it was? It isn't like you'll understand anyway."

"Satoru," you started, trying to even your breathing. "What happened to Geto-san isn't your fault. I've been telling you this. It can't be helped—"

"Can't be helped?" he jeered. "Do you know why it has come to this?" his tone took a dangerous edge as he stepped closer. He reached for you, grasping your wrist.

"Maybe because I was too blind back then. If it weren't for you—if only I didn't spend that much time on you, maybe he would still be here."

Did he just say that? Did he just imply that he had regretted the two of you getting together?

You felt your lower lip start to tremble and something seemed to obscure and blur your vision, making it hard to see him clearly. "You... don't mean that."

"Really?" the corner of his lips curled into a disparaging smile. "You never know. Before you know it, this can be over already. After all, I could have anyone out there that I want. Maybe someone less nosey than—”

That did it. You wrenched your arm out of his grip violently, as your first tear fell. His smirk vanished too, replaced with a total stillness to cover his sudden panic that was followed by a sudden sinking feeling at the pit of his stomach.

"You selfish, self-obsessed jerk," you hissed through watery eyes. He was taken aback, even amidst your anger and possible fear of him, your still managed to throw daggers at him. "Fine. You have it. I'll see myself out."

Satoru never wanted you to leave. Honestly, he would've made you stay. But he wasn't in the right state of mind and it was too late to take back what he said. He didn't want to mess this up even further.

You left the cupcakes, even throwing it away just to spite him. Driven by pain and humiliation, you choked back your sob and didn't spare a glance at him as you shut the door.

Peace and quiet. There he had it, he thought as he clenched his fists, at the cost of everything else.

Leaving that condo, every step you took felt like needles piercing your shattered heart. You wiped your tears roughly. No, you refused to cry over such asshole. He made it clear, didn't he? Whatever it was that you two shared, it was at the cost of his best friend leaving him. So now the blame was on you.

If you were thinking clearly, you would've understood that his words were likely a result of his own pent-up pain and frustration that he had kept to himself for some while. But you had no patience for that or even pinpoint what you felt right now—anger, disappointment or dread, or perhaps all three. You just felt wrongly accused.

Your feet brought you back to your dorm in the school. Now it wasn't as bustling as it once were. After Satoru and Shoko's graduation, you didn't really get close to anyone. There was Ichiji, but he treated you more like a mentor rather than a classmate.

As you sank into the comforts of your bed, You replayed the events, trying to find where it went wrong—and found nothing. After all, you had already said all that could be said. It wasn't just him who lost Geto, but you, Shoko and Nanami did too, but it was more convenient for Satoru to blame everyone else rather than trying to understand that they too shared this pain.

Nevertheless, you were disappointed. You didn't expect half of what he spouted, and it got you doubting everything you had.

"You've royally fucked up."

Satoru exhaled, glaring at Shoko through the corner of his eyes. "Yeah, maybe."

The reverse cursed technique user threw him a blank stare, taking in everything from his disheveled hair to his wrinkled trousers. "Gojo, as much as I can’t care less about your sorry ass, I'm saying this not out of concern for you, but rather for Y/N. You are an asshole."

The puff of smoke she blew expanded to create a cloud-like shape. "Yaga-sensei was our teacher. His student is now a mass murderer and wanted dead. Can you even imagine how he feels? And I can't believe I'm saying this—but weren't there three of us?"

A week had gone by and instead of doing the right thing like trying to get into your good graces, Satoru was in Shoko's infirmary in the headquarters instead. He didn't exactly know what he was looking for by going here. Maybe some lingering taste of his happier student days, and Shoko was the only one remaining.

Three of us, huh... she was right. That was precisely why he came here after all.

"You're just sulking because it seems no one cares about your best friend being the best there is. But have you thought about how our juniors also lost Haibara? Right in front of their eyes? Haibara was our friend too."

He was wrong, of course he was. Satoru realized that now. But it felt wrong to ask for your forgiveness now, not to mention the disrupting thought he had—should he let you go for good altogether?

The phone suddenly rang with such fervor that made Shoko utter a swear word. She was on call duty for the rescue team today, and it was supposedly a peaceful day until Satoru decided to barge in to become her company. "Hello? Ichiji? What—speak clearly, I can't hear you."

She switched it to loudspeaker. "...iri-san! Ieiri-san—h-help—please—"

It was noisy, and blaring at the same time, and Ichiji was... Sobbing? Choking? His voice was terribly muffled and—

"L/N-san!" he cried, and Satoru remembered at that moment that you should be in a mission with Ichiji, he remembered you telling him before.

"Hic—s-she fell... hic—she fell! B-blood! She i-is bleeding so much! I-Ieiri-san—hic—s-send help! Please!"

"Hey, stay awake. Breathe. Just breathe."

Everything hurt. Most notably, your head. You could hardly think straight when all you felt was blinding pain and how your breaths came in short wheezes. 

Your vision was blurry. The numbness had started to set in and chills ran up and down your spine. You couldn't make out who in front of you was. Was it Ichiji, who went with you in this mission? The only thing that glared was blue.

"You can't sleep, you hear me?" the voice was commanding, willing you to do his bidding. It was familiar, but usually his tone of voice was much lighter, happier.

Satoru.

But why was he here? He wasn't in this mission. It was supposed to be a mission for you and Ichiji.

You remembered getting the cursed spirit after manifesting your domain expansion, until in its last ditch attempt, it went after Ichiji. You had no choice—even when your cursed energy had burned out, you still shoved him away at the cost of being flung from the top of a building.

Not again. Not after Haibara. You’d gladly pay the price if it meant you didn't have to see anyone die in front of you again.

"I..." You managed to croak out—breathing hurt, and you felt your hands being grasped tightly.

"Hey, just breathe. Y/N. Look at me.” Through your blurry haze, you focused on that cold blue, and you saw him. Satoru's sharp eyes, pursed lips and frown. He's really here.

Satoru always said that if there was a cursed spirit apocalypse, then Ichiji would be the first to die. You used to scold him for that, but now as you a laid here possibly dying in your own pool of blood, you found it to be true.

Yet at the same time you knew that with him here, Ichiji must be safe already, and it gave you reassurance so great even when you were on the verge of dying. "I... can't..."

"Yes, you can. Just look at me," he firmly rebuked, his voice came out in a hiss. For all the time you had been with him, you had never heard him so forceful. "If you close your eyes now, I won't forgive you. So please, just hang in there."

It was a struggle to take in any air and darkness encroached on your vision as your consciousness began slipping away.

And everything faded to nothingness.

Satoru honestly thought he had no fears. His worst fear had fully realized after all—Suguru going away into the darkness. What more could he possibly fear?

But when he heard Ichiji's distress call for rescue team, about how you fell from a rooftop of a building and unconscious, he realized that it was a fear he didn't know existed. His mind got disoriented and he teleported to the scene on impulse. He just had to see it for himself. With their petty argument still lacking closure, he felt even worse.

And the sight before him gave him so much fright he never thought was possible.

It was a mistake, he should have brought Shoko along.

You had laid there like a broken doll, your eyes dimmed, and not been able to breathe. He desperately tried to keep you awake, his presence beside you, yet it didn't seem to matter. He watched helplessly as you passed out in his arms.

Satoru felt nothing. The panic that had set in was suddenly gone as your limp body slumped against him, replaced by incessant ringing in his ears and tremor wracking his nervous system. It wasn't long until the rescue team came to retrieve you and even then he still felt numb. He rejected the idea that you might possibly die on him.

That went on until Shoko, who assisted in the emergency treatment, came out of the surgery, sweat on her forehead.

"It's even worse than the aftermath of the guardian deity mission last year," Shoko explained with a grim expression. "Her brain has sustained damage and it affects everything. It may take her quite a while before she can go back to the field."

When she said that, Satoru felt terror washed over him again. You almost died—was all he perceived.

The two of you had no contact for a week just because of his ego. He could still recall that day with vivid clarity, feeling a burning ache in his chest. If someone were to ask him what heartbreak was like, now he certainly would he able the to tell them the two instances in which he experienced them. What he felt now mirrored the same stinging sensation he had felt when Suguru left him.

He visited you when he was allowed to, and you were still unconscious, with many machines connected to your body. It was a sight he still couldn’t bring himself to get used to. He had seen you injured before, but never seen you in your own pool of blood, so this made him feel sick to his stomach.

"Stupid," he whispered, gently rubbing your forehead. His eyes remained fixated on you as you rested, his insides still churning with emotions. "You're not weak, and you're not hopeless." Once upon a time, Satoru might have thought of you as weak, but now he knew better.

"So why you always pick the worst decision?" The more he thought this could've been avoided, the more irked he was. The thought that he could have done something to prevent it intensified the sting of guilt, and he continued to punish himself with it.

And the more he dwelled on the idea that he had hurt you prior to this, the tighter his breath became.

But that was who you were. Self-sacrificing to a fault. And he loved you for that. There was no way of him letting you go now.

It astonished even himself—that he was capable of this love thing. At first it was an attraction, but now that you had been going on for more than a year, it felt like it was no longer a silly infatuation after all.

"Hurry and wake up, will you?" Satoru gently brushed your hair aside, his eyes fixed on you. He didn't know it even as his gut twisted, his frown deepened and his touch quivered, that he was worried sick. "I have a lot to make up for."

And he left you with a tender brush of his lips against your forehead.

Nanami Kento was the first person you saw when you awoke from coma.

You struggled to regain your senses, still feeling absolutely broken. The dull throb on the back of your head was still there, and as if you had found yourself trapped in a fog, you were only able to move sluggishly.

"You're awake?" his gruff voice greeted, laced with concern. In his hand were a bucket of fresh flowers and fruits basket, which he soon placed at the table next to your bed.

It was unexpected, because ever since the tragedy that costed Haibara's life, the two of you had been drifting apart.

You nodded, and let out a hum in response—all you could manage at the moment.

"Thank God." Nanami sounded relieved as he pinched the bridge between his eyes, and you were moved that he had shown this degree of concern.

Your remaining classmate, who suffered the burden of Haibara's life just like you. He was always quiet or brooding somewhere, hiding his own feelings.

You felt tears pricking the corner of your eyes. The fact that he visited you meant that he hadn't decided to cut you out of his life yet.

"Gojo-san is out today, but he'll be back by afternoon," he said, mistranslating your tears as some sort of a want to have your annoying—ex?—boyfriend at your side.

The two of you were still not on talking terms, weren’t you?

You so badly wanted to say thank you to him—and tell him that no, you weren't looking for Satoru—but it came out hoarse and barely above a whisper.

"Huh?" Nanami then realized what you were trying to say, and a faint smile graced his lips. "Just... get well soon, L/N. Have a good rest."

Just before you drifted back to sleep, you could hear him sigh and mutter, "Hello, Gojo-san? L/N has awakened. Just letting you know is all.”

You weren't sure how much time had passed when you woke up the second time, but the curtains were already drawn and only darkness came from the window. Your body felt lighter, but you still felt like a mess and and couldn't help but groan in discomfort.

Satoru was there, he perked up at the noise you made. And you realized that it was the first time in about a week that he faced you after that disasterous almost-breakup.

He walked up to you, his expression was more hopeful than you had ever seen him before, like a kid whose wish had been granted. He slowly shifted to sit beside you.

"Hey, welcome back." His voice was soft. It was a change of pace for him, as you were used to seeing him all loud and silly.

Now your voice no longer sounds like a lead. "Hey."

"How are you feeling?" he asked and you took a moment to look at him. He was smiling, but exhaustion reached his bright eyes, dimming them. "You know, with the whole you passing out and almost dying thing?"

His words were almost humorous as he spoke, like he didn't know what else to say except try to lighten the mood, but there was also a strain on his tone, like he was holding back.

"I'm quite fine now, I suppose..." You still felt the lingering pain and dizziness as you slowly sat up. Satoru reached out to steady you—and you realized how his fingers trembled when they made contact with your body—as his brows furrowed with worry when you winced.

"You don't look like it though." His voice dropped and the humor was gone, replaced by this haunted look. You blinked. It was probably the first time you had seem him this ruffled.

He immediately pulled you into a hug, cradling your head to his neck gently, as if to protect and shield you from the world altogether. Exhaling heavily, he leaned on you. "You scared me, you know that?"

You wondered out loud if you really had that hold over him. "Did I?"

"You can't do that to me, you hear?" Satoru stroked your hair, nuzzling his face on the crook of your neck. His voice quivered. “Don't ever do that again.”

He pulled you tighter against him, but still careful not to crush you.

You let out a snicker, letting go of everything you felt during this horrible week. "Heh, afraid to lose me, huh?"

"Shut up,” he grumbled. “What were you thinking anyway? How did you calculate that freefalling is better than letting that cursed spirit attack Ichiji?”

"He was defenseless. He could die, you know that."

"And you also can," he quipped, upset, pulling away enough to look you squarely in the eyes, his eyes devoid of any expression, yet filled with a raging wave that you could only interpret as undiluted concern.

The emphasis in his tone made you recoil and feel guilty. If you were in his shoes, you probably would've said the same thing and so you had nothing to say to that.

But the more pressing agenda in the list was the unspoken silent treatment the two of you saw fit to use against each other for the last few days. Satoru was the one who decided to address it first.

"About that night..." he faltered, looking away. "I didn't mean what I said. I'm sorry."

Satoru always had trouble processing emotions. This time too. He must've a hard time dealing with the anxiety caused by the possibility of him losing you for good, no matter how much he tried to be unaware of it.

"..." You wanted to respond, to make him understand your point, but somehow right now you were just too weary. And he sensed your reluctance. So you blurted the first thing that gnawed at your mind.

“You said you could have any other women out there—”

"No, really—" he started to panic, and it was blatantly too, which surprised you. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Us. I don't regret anything. I’m not breaking up with you. Being with you is the happiest I've been ever since Suguru left."

“That's...” you blinked, before letting out a small sigh. “Okay. Fine then. Let's just put it behind us for now.”

“I—” he almost wheezed, his bright blue eyes were overtaken with sheer urgency to explain how wrong everything had been that night. “You must know that I didn’t mean any of it. And that I hate hurting you the way I did. I won’t—”

"Satoru, I understand," you let out another sigh, fidgeting with your fingers. "Sometimes when I’m reminded of Haibara, I also get sad. I don't want to presume but I think I know how you feel. Just next time, maybe," you shifted your gaze on him, seeing how you had his attention fully. Gojo Satoru, the strongest now, was looking at you as if you had his fate in your hands. "Just tell me if you need space and I would have understood."

"Yeah, okay, sure," he responded immediately, relieved, before a lopsided grin appeared on his face, turning him back into your dork slash boyfriend. "So, am I forgiven now?"

"A thank you would be nice."

In the end, he chuckled, seemingly resigned. "You should sleep more."

He positioned himself into bed next to you, and you let him pull you into his chest again. You could feel how his taut back started to relax upon the contact. He pressed his lips on your forehead in a fleeting kiss.

"Promise me you won't pull that stunt again.”

You smirked. "I can't. What if Ichiji—"

"Then just let him die."

You swatted his arm playfully, pressing your head to his chest as he continued to run his fingers on your hair. He cushioned you carefully, and you felt the tension in him slowly melt away with each breath you took. In your mind, you figured he needed this closeness more than you did, if anything, for the sake of his sanity.

“I love you,” he whispered by your ear, kissing it lightly.

“Mmhm.”

As you felt Satoru's calming presence, it helped ease you into slumber. You soon found yourself in a deep sleep, comfortably held in his embrace.

Epilogue

Ichiji gulped as Satoru stared him down, sizing him up as if he was the most despicable creature on this planet.

Okay, he might be. He was a coward, all he could do was trembling in the face of evil. But he had come in peace, even bringing fruits as an offering! He felt bad too that he was the partial cause for you to be this injured.

He was used to Satoru terrorizing him—calling him names, slapping him, and whatnot—and he could take it. Just this time, he really looked like he could murder him on the spot if he wanted to. A small part of Ichiji mourned that you were his girlfriend, because that pretty much sealed his fate that Gojo Satoru could indeed murder him on the spot because he had a valid enough reason to.

"You are—"

"No! I'm sorry, Gojo-san! I'm sorry for my incompetence!"

"Hah?"

If he was mildly irked before, now Satoru was visibly irritated.

"You're not cut out to be a jujutsu sorcerer," he started. "You're useless. You just get in the way most of the time."

Ichiji kept his head down. No, no. He can't cry!

"Get your driving license or I'll slap the shit out of you."

"Oh?" and before he knew it, Satoru had stalked away, leaving him in the dust. How rude! But...

Get a driver license? Quit the jujutsu work?

Hey, that sounds like something I can do!

[swga-ficrecs]

long fic recs

this is a list of fics that are, well, long regardless of the trope and plot. for voracious readers who aren't satisfied with short-length writing. all these fics are considered holy grails because i don't read long fics if they aren't well-written. all fics are finished unless noted otherwise.

✒️ unfinished

yoongi

third wheeling by @untaemedqueen  i absolutely love everything about this. it's a lot of my favorite tropes in one giant fic. the characters are complex and fleshed out, the pacing is good, and i love the writing style. the smut is well-written and, though the catalyst for the plot, well-paced that it doesn't feel like a smut-centric fic.

suit & tie + drabbles by @jungshookz this is is a long fic but in bullet points, so i can only imagine how long this could've been if it was written in full sentences. another fic where yoongi does a 180°, but their dynamic is adorable from the beginning. not a lot of drama, a good fic to go back to if you want something lighthearted. you can probably tell by now that i love ceo fics.

desolate by @angelicyoongie this fic is long but has a very straightforward style of writing that's easy to follow and understand. it's one of the few hybrid fics i've read where they fight for a hybrid's right to freedom. i love how much yoongi opened up and changed throughout the fic. it's one of those fics where the idea of a hybrid isn't romanticized.

the deal by @untaemedqueen a great introduction to syndicate fics if you're looking for one. this is a chaptered fic that isn't too long and is easily digestible. it doesn't touch on mafia-esque activities so much. i have a thing for romance fics where the stone cold character evolves into a romantic, and this tickles that itch.

jimin

balletteacher!jimin x ballerina!reader by @jungshookz ✒️ this bullet point mini-series should be considered a full series already, considering the length of each drabble and how many of them exist. this is a forbidden romance between a teacher and a student with different personalities, so it's interesting and endearing how they developed their feelings over time.

i want to be with you by @oddinary4bts

a lengthy oneshot of strangers-turned-lovers and how love grows slowly between two people who are worlds apart. very well-written, i dreaded how quickly i finished reading it. i love how human jimin is in this fic. the oc is very relatable as well—very realistic and not overtly romanticized. i can easily identify myself in her if i were in her shoes.

taehyung

maybe i do by @chateautae another fic that is a mix of my favorite tropes. this fic has fewer but longer chapters. another smut-filled fic that doesn't feel overworked and serves as a good break between dramatic scenes. i love how both characters developed throughout the story.

jungkook

please love me by @ahundredtimesover i loved the complexity of the characters and how they navigated through their situation. they both had to do a lot of growing up in this fic, and it was done in a well-paced manner. the drabbles also give a lot of insight to this universe. i go back and read the drabbles a lot.

evolution of a lover's heart by @jeonstudios

a heartwrenching masterpiece. i waited a long time for this to be finished, and it did not disappoint at all. one of the most emotional and resonating fics i've read so far. my heart feels for both of them so much. the kind of love that people wish they would have.

the boy with galaxies in his eyes by @oddinary4bts

an emotionally captivating and heartwrenching oneshot that i never expected to read. both characters were well-written and well-fleshed out, it was easy to fall in love with them and understand their actions. the writing itself was really magical too—flowed so smoothly, it didn't feel as long as it actually was. an absolute hidden gem that everyone should read!

4-7-8 by @jiminrings

not the longest of fics, but a great read nonetheless. i read this a while back, and it was only after i reread it that i was able to truly appreciate the characters and their development. it has a very realistic plot that tugs at my heartstrings. everyone deserves this kind of partner and love.

our first and last by @thedefinitionofbts ✨️

if you love the concept of alternate universes and soulmates, this is a must read. the author utilized scientific concepts that i had a hard time grasping and, at the same time, supported the plot really well. i'm so glad i came across this fic.

multi-member

sanguis duology + (ongoing) oneshots by @borathae absolute monster of a fic, probably one of the longest ones i've read. even though i was annoyed at mc's stubborness, i think it was a driving force throughout the fic. i also never imagined the pairings in this, but i enjoyed the ride. there were some parts where i felt the author could've woven details better to make the story smoother, but it's charming in the sense that i need to think and connect the dots from previous chapters.

a place called home by @agustdakasuga i keep re-reading this fic every few years. i loved how each hybrid came into her life and how they eventually stayed. i also appreciate how each hybrid's personality isn't necessarily stereotypical. great pacing in each chapter, good to read if you like chaptered fics that aren't very long.

the road to you by @bonvoyagenoona

a slow burn masterpiece. this fic is a rollercoaster of experiences that is complemented by terrific writing and pacing. it's very instrospective, which is something i personally like. it has a little bit of everything and a good amount of smut, but it all works wonderfully together, the words flew by quickly.

[icarusignite]

Hey,

Could you imagine doing an Athelstan x reader. Where the reader is the daughter of Sihtric.

Maybe the reader could be the first child of Sihtric and his first wife (I know he only has one but his wife from the series could be the second). When his wife from the series met him, he left the readers mother and got together with his new wife. Unfortunately, the readers mother died shortly afterwards.

The reader's world collapsed but she still has her best friends Athelstan and Sophia, who is Finan's daughter. (I just like the name Sophia, I hope it's okay that Finan also has a daughter in this story. Of course you can change the name)

It would be cool if sihtric's new wife doesn't like the reader because she looks like her mother.

(So she is almost the evil stepmother, but the siblings are sweet)

Of course, Sihtric loves his daughter the reader more than anything but the reader distances herself because she blames him and his new wife for the fact that her mother is gone. Maybe she could also be jealous that sihtric also spends a lot of time with his other children and his new wife, because normally it was always only her and her father against the rest of the world.

Athelstan and the reader have always had feelings for each other. They didn't want to tell the other because they were afraid to destroy the friendship.

Sophia and the reader are like sisters, the two are inseparable and do everything together. When the reader was getting worse and worse, because she became more angry because of her father and their relationship got worse and worse, Sophia made a suggestion to go away. Sophia and the reader are both shieldmaiden and always wanted to travel over the world and make a name for themselves. Even if it is difficult for both to leave their family and Athelstan behind, they go away. Sophia, of course, finds it difficult to leave her father because she has no problems with him, but for the reader she would do it.

When the fight for Bebbanburg takes place after years and Sophia and the reader hear about it, they come to help. The two have a great army. The warriors and shieldmaiden wanted to follow them because they were impressed by their fighting skills.

In the end, there might be a conversation between the reader and Sihtric and that she tells him how she feels. And of course, Athelstan and the reader confess their feelings to each other, which became even stronger than they were not together.

I'm sorry it's so long but I wanted to write down all sorts of thoughts I hope you like it.

Your reader

Go ahead and cry, little girl

A/N: Heyyyyy, I am back from the dead. I am SUPER sorry for the massive delay. I've just been off Tumblr for a bit, but I am back. This is quite possibly the longest oneshot I've written so far lol. The Aethelstan bit doesn't quite start until the end but I do like how it turned out and I hope you like what I've done with your prompt <3 (could you tell that I was listening to Daddy Issues on repeat while writing this lmfao)

Disclaimer: I haven't watched the TLK movie (and I've been avoiding spoilers lol) so I have no idea what Aethelstan is like in that one, this is just based on what I know about him in season 5. Also, I was super done with this story by the time I was done with it so it's not really proofread. If you see any typos feel free to point them out so I can fix them lol, or just enjoy it as it is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Word Count: ~8k

Pairing: Aethelstan x Reader.

The air was crisp and filled with the scent of pine and earth, invigorating the senses. In the heart of Rumcofa, a small clearing had been transformed into a makeshift training ground. Sihtric Kjartansson stood in the middle of the clearing, his battle-worn sword resting on his broad shoulder. Across from him stood his young daughter. Although you were only a young girl of seven winters, your hands tightly gripped the wooden sword in your hand as you stood tall, shoulders set and feet wide apart as you tried to copy your father's stance. 

"Hold your sword higher, bend your elbows," Sihtric called out, circling you, and gently nudging you to correct your stance. 

"Yes, Father," you nodded. 

Once Sihtric was satisfied with your pose, he turned as if to walk away, only to lunge forward, swinging his sword with calculated precision. Your training sword met his attack, weapons clashing with a resounding thud. Father and daughter moved in harmony, your steps an intricate dance. SIhtric would feign an attack, allowing you to then parry and counter, your small frame mirroring your father's every move.

As the training session drew to a close, a beaming smile stretched across Sihtric's face, as pride swelled within him. He extended a calloused hand and ruffled your hair, affectionately mussing it. 

"You fought well today, my little shieldmaiden," he grinned. 

"Thank you, Father!"

The sounds of whoops and cheers filled the air. You turned your head toward the two children standing on the sidelines, watching you with keen interest as they clapped. There was Sophia, with her fiery red hair cascading down her shoulders, bouncing on her toes as she waited for you to approach them. The mousy-looking boy standing next to her, Aethelstan, rolled his eyes but his shy smile as he met your gaze gave him away. 

Once you were within a few paces, Sophia launched herself at you with a squeal of delight, throwing her arms around you. 

"You were incredible!" she crowed. "You'll soon be even better than Aethelstan here."

Aethelstan scoffed, "She still has a long way to go before that."

You rolled your eyes, "You know I can kick your arse right now if I want, right?"

"Cannot!"

"Can too."

You stuck your tongue out at your friend, and he returned the gesture, causing Sophia to laugh.

Sihtric cleared his throat to interrupt the bickering, "Alright, alright kids, off you go. The hour grows late and your parents must be expecting you home."

"It's alright, Father knows where I am," Sophia responded cheerfully. 

Sihtric chuckled, "Yes well I don't know about Finan, but Eadith will surely have my head if I don't send you back before dark. Off you go, you can see each other tomorrow."

Sophia gave you one last hug before departing, and Aethelstan settled on a wave of his hand which you mimicked. After they had gone, Sihtric took your hand, gently leading the way toward your own home. 

"Did you see that, Father? Aethelstan denies it but I could definitely kick his ass, couldn't I?"

"Language, little one."

"You use it all the time Father."

"Ah yes, but you know your mother doesn't like it when you use words like that."

"Your mother doesn't like what?" came a frail voice from the doorway of your house.

You looked up to see your mother leaning against the wall, arms crossed and an affectionate smile playing on her lips. There were shadows under her eyes and her skin looked sickly pale but at least she was well enough to get out of bed today. 

"Mama!" you let go of your father's hand to rush up to her, wrapping your arms around her waist and burying your face in her warm dress. 

Your mother laughed, "And what was my mischievous girl up to today, hmm?"

"Father is teaching me how to spar. He says I'm getting better every day!"

"Is that so?"

"Yes, she is," Sihtric came over to wrap an arm around your mother's shoulder and pressed a kiss to her forehead. 

She smiled and leaned against him with a sigh. 

"How are you feeling, love?"

"A lot better now that you're both here. Eadith was here earlier. She...she says that..." your mother sent a cautious glance your way.

"What did she say?" Sihtric prompted. 

Your mother was quick to flash him a reassuring smile, "Nothing too noteworthy. All is well."

"If you say so."

"Now go wash up, both of you!" your mother laughed, pinching your cheeks and gently pushing Sihtric further inside the house. "You both smell awful!"

"Mother!"

"You know I love you darling, but you need a bath."

"Get the fuck out of my house!"

You had never seen your mother this angry before. Her rage was a tangible thing, large and looming as she raged. The object of her wrath was your father, who stood there in your mother's room, eyes steeled with determination, even as she threw things at him. 

"I-I can explain," Sihtric began, his voice faltering as he ducked to avoid the book she threw at his head. 

"Explain?" your mother roared, her voice echoing through the chamber. "Is there any explanation for such treachery? After all these years of devotion, I am met with betrayal?"

Her normally gentle demeanour was replaced with a fiery fury that demanded attention. Her throat was raw and her voice cracked. Her eyebrows furrowed, knitting together in a mixture of anger and disbelief. The delicate curve of her lips, once known for only speaking words of grace and tenderness, contorted into a stern line, a testament to her righteous fury. Her complexion was paler than usual, and all colour drained from her face as tears streamed down, betraying her vulnerability. 

You watched your parents argue from the doorway, eyes darting between them. Your hands clenched, nails digging into your palms hard enough to leave marks. You would have much rather left to be with your friends, but you stayed because you worried for your mother. Your parents were not the type to fight, not explosively like this anyways. Sure they had petty arguments, they were human after all, but those were always resolved soon after, with your father bringing your mother flowers and an apology that would coax a smile from her. You worried that they might not recover from this, and if they did not recover, you wondered how your mother would even survive it. She was already so weak. These were the thoughts that consumed you, as you watched silently. You did not even dare entertain the other thoughts that whispered at the edges of your mind, thoughts about your mother's allegations against your father. 

"I offered you my love, my trust, and this is how you repay me?" your mother continued, her voice quivering with emotion. "You have shamed not only me but our entire family!"

"Listen-" Sihtric tried again, avoiding her eyes in shame.

"No you listen! If you wanted to be free to hump all the whores you liked, you shouldn't have married me. Now go. Go back to your harlot and do not let me see your face here!"

Sihtric's eyes widened with disbelief, "You...you do not mean that."

"Oh, I mean it with all my heart."

"It was a mistake. I swear it was a mistake."

"No, it wasn't." 

Your mother's voice cracked with grief as more tears flowed from her stricken eyes. She suddenly rushed up to her husband, grabbed his chin with surprising strength and wrenched his face up to meet her gaze. 

"It was not a mistake," she hissed. "You have already dishonoured me enough, do not make it worse by lying to me as well."

"I didn't mean to hurt you," was all he said, his voice small.

Your mother's hand fell away and she took a trembling step back. 

"What was it then? What was it about me that was not enough for you? Was it my sickness? I admit that I have not had much energy for anything these past few months but-"

She was then unable to finish her sentence, a choked sob escaping her lips as she clapped her hands over her mouth to stifle it. 

"Was I so awful that you had to seek out the company of another woman? Did you find my company that repulsive?"

"That...that's not true..."

"Get the fuck out of my house. I never want to see you again!"

Sihtric opened his mouth to protest but she held up a hand, silencing him. His shoulders slumped, and with tears in his eyes, he turned away from her. He brushed past you on his way out and something in your heart cracked just then. You had to stop him somehow, you thought to yourself. You had to fix this. You had to fix them. 

You sprinted after him, stopping him just as he was about to step out the door, tugging on his hand. 

"Father..."

Sihtric's eyes softened as he took in your forlorn form. 

"I-I'm sorry darling."

"Father, don't go. Please, please, please, don't go," you tugged on his hand more insistently, eyes beginning to well with tears.

"I'm sorry."

"Apologize to her. Please, just apologize. Say you didn't mean any of it. She'll forgive you, I just know she will, she loves you. Just, please don't go."

"I...I can't, I'm sorry."

"Is that all you can say?" your voice rose in frustration. "Is that all you can do? Apologize? If you're really sorry, you'd try to fix it! Please...please, please, please fix this."

Sihtric smoothed a hand through your hair, his touch tender. He brushed the tears from your cheeks and you shook him off angrily. You felt like you couldn't breathe and the walls were beginning to close in on you. Everything was falling apart and you had no idea how to fix it.

"Father, please. Please don't go. Please don't leave her, don't leave us."

"I'm sorry, but I have to go."

With one last solemn look and a pat on your head, he was gone, and as you stared dejectedly at his disappearing back, you felt as if the world had been pulled out from under your feet. You wondered if he'd ever return.

Suddenly, you were interrupted by a pained wail and your head snapped in the direction of your mother's room. Fear seized your heart as you hastily made your way back to her side. She was slumped on the floor, curled in a fetal position, hands wrapped around her knees as her body shuddered with sobs. 

"Mama!" you ran to her side, gingerly putting your hand on her shoulder.

She didn't seem to acknowledge your presence, a low keening sound coming from her throat. 

"Mama!" you shook her shoulder a little harder. "What's wrong? Are you feeling sick? Should I call for someone?"

 Your mother shook her head, still wailing. You waited a few moments, before wrapping your arms around her frail shoulders and helping her sit up. You were just smoothing her hair back when suddenly she turned her head to the side and retched, emptying the contents of her stomach right there on the floor of her chambers. She groaned in pain then, clutching her stomach wearily. 

"Shhh, it's okay. You'll be alright, mother. Let's get you to bed," you whispered. 

You had already put down your own grief, locking it away somewhere unreachable. You had to take care of your mother first, and you couldn't afford to be distracted. You allowed her to take deep shuddering breaths before wiping at her mouth with the back of your sleeve and helping her to get settled back in her bed. Almost all her weight slumped onto your small frame when you moved her, and you grunted with the effort. Then you ran to fetch a bowl of water to clean her face with, pressing a cold cloth onto her forehead to ease her suffering a little. She seemed to vibrate with pain and you didn't know if it was the emotional toll of your father leaving or the physical pain of her sickness. 

Eventually, she drifted off to a troubled sleep as you continued to run your hands through her hair. You kissed her forehead and felt her relax a fraction and you felt your heart lift with hope. You left her side only to clean up the sickness from her floor, before returning to curl up in bed beside her, wrapping your arm around her waist as you held onto her tightly, as if afraid she'd disappear. 

The next morning, she was running a fever. Her skin was scalding and she only opened her eyes for a few moments to mumble something incoherent to you before drifting off again. That is when the panic began to set in. You were just about to head out to fetch Eadith when she arrived at your door herself. She had a sympathetic smile and pitying eyes as she let herself in and set about checking up on your mother. She had heard about yesterday's commotion, almost everyone in Rumcofa had. It was a small town after all. 

"She'll be alright in no time, love. Don't you worry about her, she is a very strong woman," she told you kindly. 

You nodded, and then hesitantly, you asked her the question that had been plaguing your mind. 

"Where's Father?"

Eadith's lips thinned, "He...he has gone with Uhtred and the others."

"Oh."

"I can stay here until your mother feels better," she offered. "You are much too young to care for her on your own."

You were just about to nod when your mother chose that exact moment to wake up. 

"No!" she blurted out, her voice hoarse. "I-I would not want to impose."

Eadith squeezed her hand gently, "It would be no trouble at all. Please."

Your mother shook her head weakly, "It is just a little fever. I'll feel better in no time. You have children to take care of, and your husband isn't even home. You must go back to them. I'll be just fine."

"But-"

"Please," your mother pleaded. "I'm no invalid. I can take care of myself just fine. And besides, I have my darling here to keep me company."

She stretched out her hand which you took immediately, letting her pull you close. 

Eadith looked unconvinced but after your mother insisted several more times, she nodded. She left you with a few herbs and medicines to give to your mother depending on her various symptoms and promised to return the next day to check up on the two of you. 

"Mother..."

"Yes, my love?"

"You'll be alright, right?"

You were cuddled up next to her, but still, the house felt strangely empty. She felt like a wraith beside you, like she could leave any minute and then you'd truly be left alone. You could feel her bones through her thin nightgown and you clutched her tighter, as if you could hold her together. 

"Of course, I'll be alright, my love," she pressed a kiss to the crown of your head. 

"Promise me. Promise me you'll be alright. That you won't leave me!"

"Oh, I wouldn't leave you for the world. You mean too mu-" her words were interrupted by a fit of coughs. 

She pressed her sleeve to her mouth and it came away tinged with blood. She pulled it away quickly, folding the sleeve up so that you could not see and you pretended that you hadn't. The two of you spent the rest of the day in bed, with you reading to her as she swam in and out of consciousness. Every time her eyes would flutter open and see you, her face would relax and she'd kiss you, as if trying to impart a lifetime's worth of affection. 

Her health took a turn for the worse later in the night. Her fever had greatly worsened and although you had given her all of Eadith's medicines, nothing seemed to help. She was still awake though, so that was some comfort. 

"Let me go get Eadith please," you begged her. 

"No. We will not bother her now. The hour is late and she said she'd come by tomorrow anyways."

"But Mother! You seem to be getting worse. Please, please you need to see someone!"

"I will not make a fuss at this hour. I'll be just fine. I just need to-"

A fit of hacking coughs overwhelmed her once again, blood pooling at her lips. She was too weak to hide it and instead allowed it to trickle down her chin. You wiped at it hastily, eyes filling with tears of frustration. You yearned to rush out and fetch someone right away, but your mother kept a vicelike grip on your arm. 

"Mama, please," you begged again. 

"I-no-"

She was having trouble breathing. You could tell. She sucked in air through her mouth and it rattled painfully in her chest. Every breath hurt her and all you could do was helplessly watch. 

"You...you know I-I love you right?" she wheezed suddenly. 

"What?"

"I...I said I love you, my darling girl."

"I love you too Mama," you whispered. 

She pulled you close and you rested your head on her chest. She massaged your scalp with her fingers, whispering more sweet nothings into your ear. You felt her voice grow softer and her breathing slow down. Perhaps she'd sleep it off, you thought to yourself. Yes, she'd sleep off her fever and be right as rain in the morning. You entertained yourself with such thoughts as you drifted off as well. 

You jolted awake sometime later in the night, some unknown panic clawing in your throat as you bolted out of bed. 

Your mother had stopped breathing. You had felt it. You had felt the stillness of her next to you. You shook her, slowly at first, and then more frantically.

"Mama! Mama! Mama wake up!"

She remained listless, her limp frame rattling like a bag of bones as you shook her harder. Your pleas grew louder as well, your voice rising with every moment that passed. 

"Mama, please. Please, please, please. Please don't leave me. You promised! Remember, you promised that you wouldn't leave me!" you screamed. "You can't break your promise. You'd be a bad mother if you broke your promise...please, I am begging you don't go."

Reality set in soon. Her skin had grown cold. It was clear that she had been gone for a while. You swore at yourself for not waking up sooner, for not going to someone for help earlier, for not doing something. Eventually, you slumped down, throat raw from screaming. The house was indeed empty now, and your mother was a wraith. Your grief was your only companion and it was a quiet needling thing, stripping you raw and ragged from the inside. you wanted to scream but no more sound would come out. You would have to fester in dark silence it seemed. 

In a daze, you wondered if you should go get someone now. It made no sense to, not anymore. What could anyone do now? They'd just come to take her away and then you'd never see her again. You saw how what they did to the dead. They were often burned. Soon there would be nothing left of your mother but ashes. Your mouth tasted like ashes and you had the sudden urge to throw up. Seven years was not nearly enough time to spend with one's mother. You thought you'd have a lifetime. 

You decided not to bother anyone then. You wiped your own tears and lifted the blankets to curl up next to your mother's body, clinging to her, perhaps to share your own warmth with her or perhaps hoping that she'd share her cold emptiness with you. At least then you would receive some relief from the burning agony that lit your heart. With broken syllables, you hummed your favourite lullaby to her, the one she always sang to you, and in that moment, pressed against her ribs, you could pretend that the hollow thud in your own chest came from hers instead. 

You did not know how long you remained there, in the space between wakefulness and sleep, the space where dreams felt like reality and your mother's arms wrapped around you almost as tightly as yours were around her. You did not notice the sun rise in the morning or set again the next evening. The only thing that jolted you out of your reverie was the sharp knock on the door. 

"Anyone home?" 

It was a familiar voice.

"Hello? Sophia's mother sent me with some things," Aethelstan called out from the door, knocking again. "She apologizes for not being able to come herself but something urgent came up."

He said your name a few times too, puzzled at the lack of response. 

You ignored him. There wasn't anything he could do either, and Eadith's medicines would not be of any use anymore. You burrowed deeper into your mother, raising the covers over your face. If you ignored Aethelstan for long enough maybe he'd leave, and then you could be alone with your mother again. 

It worked for a while and no one else bothered you for the rest of the night. However, the next morning there was a larger commotion at the door. Several fists pounded on the door until eventually, they had to break it in. It gave way with a loud crack, and still, you did not acknowledge their presence. The loud voices were inside the house now, as they rummaged through all the rooms of the house, the heavy footsteps growing closer until they finally reached your mother's room. Still, you did not acknowledge their presence. 

Someone said your name, softly at first, and then more insistent. You ignored them. Then suddenly, the covers were ripped off the bed. The sunlight accosted your eyes and you winced. Someone swore and the room burst with activity. 

"By the gods, is she alright? Are they both-?"

It was your father's voice, you realized indifferently. He was finally back. 

He said your name again, more insistently, and you shook your head listlessly, face still tucked into your mother's neck. That minuscule movement was enough though, to confirm that you were still alive. Strong arms peeled your mother's arms back to lift you out of them. It was at that moment when you truly came alive.

"NO!"

You screamed, a terrible ear-piercing shriek. They were your father's arms, as they pried you away from your mother and you shrieked even louder, flailing about desperately. You were downright feral, clawing and biting to get back to your mother. 

"No. Let me go! Let me go back to Mama! I want Mama!"

Several other hands joined your father's in pulling you away. All your father's friends were there, Uhtred and Osferth, and even Sophia's father, Finan was there. They all looked at you with pitying eyes as you thrashed harder, body contorting wildly. Your mother's fingers were clutched tightly in yours and it took several minutes for them to peel you off.

"Don't take her away!" you howled. "She promised she wouldn't leave me! You can't take her away. She wouldn't break her promise, she's not a bad mother!"

"Shhh, darling, she's gone," it was Eadith's gentle voice that broke through your frenzy. 

Sihtric handed your writhing form to her and you immediately slumped in her arms. You did not have the heart to bite and claw at her, not after all she had done. She smoothed her hands over your face gently. 

"Oh, you poor darling girl. I'm so sorry, I should have come earlier," she mumbled softly. 

The time after that was a blur to you as well, lost in your grief and rage. Your mother had only been dead a month before your father married again. You were almost certain it was the woman he had been seeing when your mother had caught him, but you couldn't bring yourself to care anymore. The true fury came when he moved her into your house. The house your mother had died in, the house that you had died in. At first, you refused to live with them. It would be a mockery to your mother's memory, to live in her house with your father and his new whore. That was what she was to you anyways, you never acknowledged her as his wife. Eventually though, even you felt bad imposing on Sophia's family. Despite Finan and Eadith repeatedly assuring you that you could remain with them forever if you wished, you allowed your father to take you home. 

The next few days passed by in a haze and you barely recalled any of it. In the days leading up to and after your mother's funeral, you stayed with Eadith and her family. In any other circumstance, you would have been delighted to spend your days with Sophia, but you spent most of your days curled up in bed. You refused to eat anything, despite Eadith's best efforts and you never spoke a word. You especially refused to see your father, turning your head away from him every time he came to visit and speak to you. 

The next few years passed by quickly as well. Once a lively and energetic child, you withdrew into yourself, but the silent simmering heat burning you from the inside remained. The only people who could ever draw smiles from you were Sophia and Aethelstan, and try they did. They had made it their collective mission to see you in happier spirits. You no longer took fighting lessons from your father, instead joining Sophia's lessons with Finan or Aethelstan's with Uhtred. The chasm between you and your father grew as he began to have more children with his new wife. You watched him be affectionate with them and the bitterness began to poison you from the inside out. You made your disdain for his wife very obvious and the feeling was mutual. You looked too much like your late mother for her to be comfortable in your presence. That paired with your constant reminders that she was the other woman and had only been able to acquire your father because your mother had died, meant that she went out of her way to make things difficult for you. As your father was often away fighting, she ran the household. She made you clean up after your younger half-siblings and do all the chores in the house. Often you escaped, slipping out to spend time with Sophia and Aethelstan, but that meant another screaming match when you returned home. 

Despite your bitterness, you couldn't find it in your heart to hate your half-siblings. By the time you were twelve, you had three. Two brothers and a sister. Your brothers were timid and easy going while your sister was a spitfire. She reminded you of yourself sometimes, often when you sat down to brush the tangles and mud out of her hair as she returned from another grand escapade. You were afraid of yourself sometimes. You were afraid that the poison inside you would come spilling out and taint them. They were innocent, blameless in their conception, and you could not blame them for the sins of their parents. Still, the resentment was difficult to erase. Watching your father spend time with his new family, you felt like an outsider. it felt like watching someone else's happy family through the window, watching how the warmth lit up their eyes while the wind hollowed out your bones and filled your lungs with ice. 

Your father was patient with you, painfully tender as if that would make up for what he did. He never raised his voice at you, even as you threw fits and screamed at both him and your stepmother in the first few years you lived with them. He was kind to you, just as he was with your half-siblings, but the distance was there. He'd avoid looking at you for too long because looking was a painful reminder of what he had lost. Everyone had always said that you were almost an exact carbon copy of your mother, and that was both a comfort and anguish. He treated you as if you were fragile, prone to breaking at any moment. You supposed you were. You felt it yourself sometimes as if you were on the precipice of doing something terrible, of releasing years' worth of resentment in one explosive moment. Your grief walked hand in hand with madness and buried things had an awful way of haunting you. 

Your breaking point came when you were just shy of your fifteenth year. Your stepmother had made you scrub the entire house clean to prepare for your father's return from yet another fighting season. You had done just that, but after you had finished, your sister had run into the house, tracking in mud and debris from the outside. You hadn't been able to clean it up again in time and when your mother returned from her errands, she screamed at you for being lazy and irresponsible as usual. She screamed at you all the time, so that wasn't what made you lose it. It was when she raised her hand and slapped you. The blow came as a surprise and you tasted blood. One of the rings in her fingers had cut you, and your lower lip trickled with crimson. You saw red then as the blood roared in your ears. You let out a string of the worst profanities, calling her all manner of insults. It was your unfortunate luck that it was at that moment that your father chose to return. 

"You will not speak to your mother that way!" he roared. 

"She is not my mother!" you screeched. "Do not ever disrespect my mother again by comparing her to this whore!"

Your father uttered your name, his tone tinged with a warning. 

"Apologize to her," he muttered. "You do not get to speak to her that way."

"Do you even know what she did? Do you even care? No of course you don't. All you care about is your perfect new wife and your perfect new kids. You don't give a fuck about me, just like you didn't give a fuck about my mother!"

"Mind your manners! I am still your father!"

"I'd rather have no father at all than one like you! You killed her, you killed my mother. I wish you had died instead. In fact, I hope your next fight kills you!"

Your stepmother gasped dramatically and your father flinched. His expression grew thunderous and he lifted his hand, almost instinctively. He pulled it back down to his side almost immediately but the damage was done. You looked at him incredulously. 

"You would raise your hand at me?" you whispered in disbelief. "Your whore already hits me at every opportunity, and now you would do? Maybe you should...maybe you should just beat me to death. Maybe it's me who should have died with my mother so that I could at least be with someone who cared about me."

"I-no...I didn't mean-" Sihtric stumbled over his words.

You didn't wait to hear his explanation, stomping out the door and sprinting away. You took refuge in the forest, slumped against your favourite tree as you sobbed. Your wish to remain alone went ungranted as you heard the sound of leaves crunching as someone approached you. A familiar voice mumbled your name. 

"Go away, Sophia!"

"You can't just push people away when you're angry you know."

"I can, and I will."

"Not me," Sophia came over and knelt on the ground next to you. "You can't get rid of me!"

You raised your head to look at her, eyes still swimming with tears, "Why are you here?"

"I saw you run out of your house and head this way. Seemed wise to follow you."

"You can't follow me forever."

"I can certainly try. Now tell me what happened."

You sighed and then straightened up, recounting your story to her, your voice taking on a sharp edge. Sophia nodded sympathetically, and then she pulled out her handkerchief to dab at your lip gingerly. 

"I'm going to leave!" you said suddenly. 

"What?"

"I'm leaving," you said again, more firmly. "I can't stay here anymore."

"You...you can come to live with my family? You know my parents adore you."

"No. I can't stay here, in Rumcofa. I can't watch my father live happily ever after with her new family and I can't watch that horrible witch erase all signs of mother from that house. I can't do it, I won't."

Sophia's brow wrinkled in concern, "Where will you go?"

"Anywhere has to be better than here. I know how to fight, I can go anywhere."

"I don't think-"

"Don't try to talk me out of it Sophia, I've made up my mind. I'm going to go and I'm going to leave tonight?"

"Tonight?" her eyes widened. 

You nodded, "They won't be looking for me for a while. They'll think I got angry and stormed off to your place as usual. That gives me some time."

"What'll you do if they do look for you?"

"I'll be long gone by then."

Sophia was silent for several long moments, pondering something in her head. Then, her eyes lit up and you recognized her expression as one she usually had when she had an idea.

"I'll come with you!" she blurted excitedly. 

"What? No!"

"Yes!"

"Sophia, no!"

"Come on, it'll be perfect! We'll explore the world together. And besides when have I ever not been by your side? Trust me, you need me."

You gaped at her as if she had grown a third eye.

"Are you insane? You have a family. A family who adores you and they would be extremely worried if you just disappeared like that."

"Technically I could say the same about you but it's clear that you're in no mood to listen to anyone. It's final, I'm coming with you!"

"No, I can't let you do that."

"Well, I can't let you go on your own."

"But...your parents...?"

Sophia looked pensive for a moment, "They'll understand. And you're like a daughter to them too. They'll be worried about you so I'm sure they'd be happier knowing we're watching out for each other."

"But you can't leave them!"

After several more rounds of back and forth between the two of you, Sophia jutted out her chin stubbornly. 

"If you refuse to let me come with you, I am going over to your father right now and telling him you're planning to run away!"

"What? You can't do that!"

"Watch me!"

You were silent for several minutes, and then you nodded hesitantly. Sophia's face split into a grin immediately. 

"What about Aethelstan," Sophia winked. "Can't leave him behind. Who knows which fair lady of lovely Rumcofa he might take as his companion if we're not here to keep him company."

Your face warmed immediately at the thought of your friend. He had been one of your best friends but in the past years, your feeling for him had grown into something else, something more. You were too much of a coward, and too consumed with your bitterness to examine those feelings. You had simply buried them somewhere deep inside where they'd never see the light of day. You shook your head frantically.

"We can't tell Aethelstan!" you whisper-yelled. "He's the son of the king and Lord Uhtred's ward. There'd be a whole search party after us if we take him."

Sophia's smile dropped as the reality of what they were about to do set in.

"But...but we can't leave him behind. Should we at least tell him where we're going?"

You shook your head again, "No. He'll only try to talk us out of it."

"But-"

"If you're coming with me, we have to do things my way."

"That's not fair!"

"Then stay here. Where it's safe and familiar, and things are fair," you shrugged. 

Sophia sighed and nodded eventually, "Alright, we'll do things your way."

And that was the beginning of a different life. The two of you left that very night, creeping out of Rumcofa using one of Sophia's father's boats. You had insisted that she write her family a note, telling them that she was safe. you also forbade her from mentioning you in her note, although everyone had known the two of you long enough to know that where one went, the other surely always followed. 

The next few years passed quickly, and both you and Sophia had made quite a name for yourselves and had amassed a small army of sorts. You had formed your own family of sorts, a band of fellow women who had run away from varying circumstances, brought together by fate. Your group of shieldmaidens was famous for protecting villages from raiders. You had taken care to travel far enough that you never ran into your father or any of his men, and over the years the fear of getting caught had worn off. 

You had first heard about Lord Uhtred's fight to retake Bebbanburg through one of your messengers. After much deliberation, you and Sophia had agreed that it would only be right if you joined the fight. Lord Uhtred had always been kind and had taken care of your family ever since you could remember. You remembered him visiting and asking after your mother's health and it was your duty to help him retake his birthright. 

Your army of shieldmaidens did not hesitate to volunteer to fight by your side. They trusted you to lead them and they would stand with you no matter what. You wondered if you'd see your father there. He had to be, he was one of Lord Uhtred's closest friends and if he was still alive, he'd be right there by his side. With a pang of regret, you remembered the last words you had said to him. You had wished for his death and you desperately hoped that the gods had not granted your immature selfish prayer. The years had cooled your anger and you were no longer as bitter. All the women you had met and the stories you had heard made you realize that there were worst fates out there and the sting of poison that ran through your veins became dilute. 

The fight itself was long and hard and you lost quite a few women, all cherished friends and companions. Everyone lost someone in the fight and after all the brave warriors had been honoured and sent on their way to Valhalla, everyone gathered within the newly conquered castle walls to celebrate Lord Uhtred's victory. You had been able to avoid facing anyone you knew so far, but now, as you sat in the corner, allowing Sophia to bandage your injured arm, you could see Lord Uhtred and his men make their way toward you both. 

Finan greeted you first, with a broad grin and a clap on your shoulder. Sophia turned around at his presence and when she saw him she squealed with pleasure.

"Father!" she crowed, throwing her arms around him.

He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her, twirling her slightly, like the used to when she was a child. 

"My girl is a warrior now," he boomed with laughter. "And leading your own army too."

Sophia's smile turned sheepish and she let go of him and lowered her gaze.

"I...I'm sorry Father. I'm sorry for leaving..." she muttered. 

Finan took a deep breath and then exhaled, sighing. He shook his head and patted his daughter's shoulder gently. 

"We will speak of that another time. For now, it is enough that you are safe and whole, and that you're home. You had us very worried you know, your mother especially. She was inconsolable."

"I am so sorry, Father."

As you watched Sophia and her father walk away, presumably to go see her mother and the rest of her family, your eyes stung and you blinked quickly, holding back the sudden onslaught of tears that threatened to spill. You felt bad that Sophia had to leave because of you, but more than that, you felt a pang of hurt at the thought of no one missing you. You had no mother who would be inconsolable at your loss. You busied yourself with the bandage on your arm, not realizing that Uhtred had left as well, leaving you alone with your father. 

Sihtric cleared his throat and you looked up at him in surprise. Both of you were silent for several long moments, neither knowing where to start. Your eyes charted the planes of his face. He looked older, with tired lines around his eyes and mouth. He seemed to have a perpetual furrow in his brow. Now that you had seen him, you were hit with an overwhelming wave of relief. His battles had not taken him from this earth, he was still alive. 

"I...I am sorry."

It was you who had mustered up the courage to speak. You looked him in the eye as you did, shoulders back, eyes blazing with defiance as if daring him to rebuke you. You waited for him to turn his head away, to make some sort of cold remark or something of the sort. He didn't though. He just stared at you and you felt rooted to the ground. Then, wordlessly, he stepped closer and pulled you into his arms. You froze in his embrace and he just held on tighter. You could not see his face but you felt his shoulders tremble and you wondered with some disbelief if he was crying. You patted his back awkwardly. 

"I'm sorry Father... for everything."

Sihtric shook his head and when he pulled away you saw the tears that had tracked down his face and soaked into his beard. He cupped your face with aching tenderness and pressed a kiss to your forehead. 

"I thought I had lost you forever," he whispered. "I thought I would never see you again. You didn't even leave a note."

The tears you had been holding back fell now, and you forced yourself to harden your eyes. 

"I didn't think you'd care," you shrugged.

He thumbed the tears from your face, "I am sorry. I am sorry I ever made you feel that way. I understand if you can never forgive me but you have to know how truly sorry I am. I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you if you let me. Please let me. Please come home."

You avoided his pleading gaze, instead letting your eyes fall on your fellow warriors. 

"I have another family as well now. They need me."

Sihtric's face was crestfallen but he nodded, "Of course. I am proud of you, you know, more than you can imagine. You have become a most fearsome warrior and I am proud to call you my beloved daughter."

"I have another family...but you will always be my father," you finally said. "The first family I ever knew. You will always have a part of my heart."

It was you who fell into his embrace this time and you could feel his joy in the way his arms wrapped around you. 

"I understand that you have another place now, but know that you will always have a place with me, should you ever wish to return," he mumbled and then he hesitated. "And...you should visit. Your siblings have missed you dearly."

"I suppose a visit won't hurt."

Sihtric chuckled and pulled away, clapping your shoulder, "We have much else to talk about, I have much else to apologize for...but for now, I think there is someone else who wishes for your attention."

He gestured toward the tall boy watching you from across the courtyard and when you caught his eye, his eyes turned cold and he turned away. 

"Ouch," you muttered.

"The two of you left him behind," Sihtric explained. "You cannot blame the poor boy for feeling hurt. Now go, make things right."

He nudged you toward Aethelstan's disappearing form with a wink and he was gone before you could question his action. You turned around to make your way toward your friend, waking fast to catch up. 

"Aethelstan!" you called after him.

At first, you thought that he didn't hear you because he didn't turn around, but then he started to walk away faster. He walked right out the front gates and into the field beyond. You dropped your sword in the grass and chased after him.

"Damnit Aethelstan, slow down!"

Your words only spurred him on, but by now you were fully sprinting after him. You caught up in a matter of moments, grabbing his arm to pull him to a halt. He kept his back to you so you circled him, meeting him face-to-face for the first time in years. His eyes remained glued to the floor you crossed your arms in frustration. 

"You won't even say hello?" you asked furiously.

He did not respond. You pinched the bridge of your nose and sighed. 

"Go away," he finally muttered, his voice sharp. "I don't want to talk to you."

"No, I will not! Why are you running from me? You were my dearest friend, and now you won't even look at me."

Aethelstan's eyes finally met hers, burning with emotion, "You're no friend of mine!"

You flinched, "Hey...that's not fair."

"Friends don't do what you did. Friends don't abandon friends!"

"I never wanted to hurt you," you pleaded, reaching out to him but he took a step back, avoiding your touch. "I had to go."

Aethelstan shook his head, "I don't want to hear your excuses. You told Sophia and took her with you, but you didn't even bother leaving me a note? You clearly didn't think of me as a friend so why should I?"

"I couldn't take you with me. You know that."

"You could have at least asked. You could have at least let me know!"

"It all happened so fast, I didn't get a chance. I-I am sorry."

"Don't bother apologizing. You don't owe me anything," he shrugged. "It won't change the past."

"No...but it's a start. I should have told you that I was leaving. I should have explained why I had to go. I never meant to hurt you, and I'm truly sorry for the pain I caused."

"You treated me like I meant nothing to you. Now you have to accept that you're nothing to me."

Tears welled up in your eyes, "You mean everything to me, Aethelstan. You're my dearest friend, and I never wanted to lose that."

"You left without saying a word. We were supposed to share everything. But you abandoned me, just like that. How dare you say that I mean something to you?"

"Please..."

Aethelstan shook his head, his eyes firm, "We are not friends. Not anymore."

"That's not fair!" you protested, voice breaking. "After all these years, after everything we've been through together, you're going to dismiss our friendship like it never meant a thing?"

"It's the truth. I can't forget the way I felt. Do you even know what I went through on my own, without you there."

The two of you stood there, locked in a tense silence. You refused to give up, your determination fueled by the urge to make things right with him, no matter what it took. You felt desperate. You couldn't lose him. Not when you had spent every day of the past few years thinking about him. 

"Fine," you said finally, voice steady and shoulders slumped. "If you don't want to call me your friend, then I'll respect that. But I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me one day. Please, give me a chance to fix this."

Aethelstan did not respond, expression guarded. You nodded, mostly to yourself and turned around, starting to walk back to where the others were. Disappointment churned in your gut and you felt sick. You had quite possibly ruined one of your most cherished relationships due to your own stupidity. You pressed your lips tightly against each other to prevent them from trembling. You knew that he did not owe you forgiveness. Whether or not an apology was accepted was entirely up to the person one had hurt and if Aethelstan decided never to forgive you, there was nothing you could do about it. Just the thought of it made your heartache.

Just then, a hand landed on your shoulder, making you stop in your tracks. You turned out, bewildered. Once Aethelstan caught sight of your reddened face, his eyes widened.  

"What's wrong with you? Why're you crying?"

You hastily swiped your hands under your eyes, shaking your head, "I'm not."

He raised an eyebrow sardonically, "You have always been a terrible liar."

You shrugged. 

"I don't know if I can forgive you," he admitted after several seconds of silence. "But I'll try."

Your eyes brightened and your lips lifted upward. You weren't a hopeless case after all.

"But I don't think we can ever be friends again," he quickly pointed out, making you deflate again. 

"Right. Of course. I understand. I'll take what I can get and you are under no obligation to...to be my friend. Just your forgiveness alone is enough."

Athelstan watched you with a peculiar expression, halfway between amused and concerned. 

"I don't think I can go back to being just friends with you."

"By the gods, I know! You don't have to keep saying it like it'll hurt any less."

He outright laughed then, and you bristled. You glared at him.

"What I meant, silly girl, is that I can't go back to being just friends when I think of you as more than that."

Oh.

Oh.

"Yeah," he reached out to brush the tears from your lashes. "So stop moping about like it's the end of the world."

He turned around and jogged back to the courtyard where everyone was gathered, leaving you to marvel at the latest development of things on your own. 

[ddoxhan]

that summer

draw me in your world, as you let yourself into mine let me be your safe haven, for I love when you shine

word count : 4.8k words

genre : fluff with a tinge of angst; your typical summer love story but haerin does not feel the same way you do for her?; runner! haerin x literature student! fem!reader; you are an overthinker and sometimes just wish you stop thinking

t/w : none :)

a/n : this is the longest i've ever written for a oneshot and honestly, i didn't want to split it up cause i wanted yall to feel the whole thing at one go. enjoy !

"haerin-ah, wait up!"

"you're just slow! we're gonna be late if we don't hurry!"

you swore you needed to wake up earlier to avoid having to rush to school, especially when haerin waits for you every day to walk together. at this point, the two of you had been running to class for three days in a row now, not walk. to your surprise, the girl has never complained or grumbled about how you would make her almost miss the bell. but then again, she's always been like that. haerin was never someone who wouid let out her anger on you or anyone in general. you've never seen her get angry, concluding that she just doesn't know how to.

the said girl turned her head around while not faltering in her rushed steps, making sure you're keeping up with her speed. but the thing is, she's the school's top runner and you barely pass your required tests for physical education. haerin knows, which was why she opted to drag you along by your hand. the sudden grab left you slightly taken aback. well, slight is an understatement, you were very taken aback. especially when you have the most obvious crush on her.

you've always had a crush on haerin ever since you were 12. it just happened so when she saved you from some bullies, aka silly boys, running away from them as you two rest at the neighbourhood playground after. she sat you on the swing while you cried in both fear and relief. but all the fear washed away when she flashed you a smile that you never forgot till this day. the way her eyes curved up and her snaggletooth showed with that big smile of hers, that's when you fell for her.

as you busied yourself in your own world, you once again arrived at the school gate right before they closed it off, with some students sighing at how they missed it by a split second behind it. a slow realization hit that you've ran to your limit, you tried taking deep breaths but it might have made it worse. sometimes you wished you were more athletic, for these kind of situations, and also to spend more time with haerin if you were in the track and field team.

"hey, try breathing with both your nose and mouth, it can help."

the girl in front of you looks unfazed, as if she just went for a relaxing morning jog. which isn't entirely wrong as you don't live too far from school. you stand up straight again, doing what she told you to. it actually did help but as she glanced at her watch, you understood what it meant.

"go on, don't be late for class because of me."

"it's fine, there's still some time. I'll go with you."

although you were very sure classes starts in 3 minutes, you didn't argue further as it just meant you get to spend more time although it's just minutes. when the two of you were put into different classes, the time spent together reduced drastically plus haerin's training after class on some days. it was just lunch and maybe weekends if she didn't have extra training. but you felt bad for wanting her to spend her only free day with you, so you try to refrain from jumping onto her bed during some weekends.

why is it so hard to just spend some time with her?

lunch came. and that meant you get to see haerin again after the last time before classes started. at this point, you were just too infatuated with her that you were experiencing some sort of separation anxiety that you can't seem to quite explain. there's nothing you can do about it, you were just that in love with her.

but you did not guess for her to walk along to the cafeteria with him. him who? him, woonhak, the heartthrob who happens to be almost as good as haerin in the track and field team. everyone who sees them walking down the corridor would literally stop to look at how good they look together. it's to the point that they gush over the possible relationship they should have.

you were one of the people who'd look too, but you were always left slightly upset and heartbroken whenever you heard such comments. for sure, woonhak didn't do anything other than walk with her because he likes to ask and learn from haerin when it comes to running. there was no one to blame for your feelings except yourself. and at times, you just wished you could just like someone else cause the pain gets unbearable.

"hey froggie! how was class?"

it might sound like you're being selfish, but you wished haerin only ever smiles at you like that. that smile, the very same one you fell for and also the one that makes your heart clench a little. not to mention the nickname, it makes you feel as if she sees you nothing more than just a friend.

"the same. mr park is giving out work, again. I'm not surprised anyways."

"how about you?"

you swore you saw how her eyes sparkled a little when she started telling you about hers. but you don't feel that much good inside after.

"oh! you know woonhak right? him and I got chosen to be interviewed for a promotional video for the school."

"oh, him..."

"sorry, did you say something?"

"ah, yeah I know him."

"yup him, we agreed to meet on sunday to prepare ahead of the interview. I'm sorry if you wanted to come over."

"no don't be, it's fine. I can just work on mr park's project on sunday."

"but still, it feels weird that I won't be around."

"oh come on, it's literally just a few hours! and before you know it, you'll be back and I can come over if you want."

"this is why you're my best friend, I can always count on you."

well, that hurt a lot. you didn't know if it was intentional or just coincidental as she manages to throw your urge to confess out of the window every time it surfaces. all you could hope was that she didn't take notice of your feelings, or else you swear you'd never be able to face her again. the very last thing you need is for this friendship with her to shatter to the ground like glass. but you knew, the moment you fell for her, you were already walking on thin ice.

"what do they have for lunch today?"

"kimchi fried rice, today has your favourite strawberry milk."

picking up yours, you shaked it to tempt her to quickly go get hers and come have her food with you. and so she did.

whenever it came to her favourite food, she always looks like a cute little kitten who's hungry all the time. and when she spots them, she'd rush to get it and sit with you with an adorable smile plastered on her face as she eats or drinks away. you wish you were able to be someone who makes her that happy too, but along with those thoughts were the heavy consequences of your confession.

whatever you two have built throughout these many years will just shatter like glass, into fragile pieces that will not be able to be pieced together again. even if it could be pieced together again, nothing can stay the same.

for now, you'll keep it to yourself. nothing has shifted between you and haerin, so you shouldn't too.

you have no idea what the hell you're doing right now. what kind of situation is this, you don't know.

"you told me we were gonna work on that project. as far as I know, this is not part of the project."

"I know, but just, we'll work on it after. for now, I just need you to accompany me."

"bro, this feels so illegal to be spying on someone."

"I'm just making sure that boy isn't doing anything to haerin."

"you know they're like the most shipped couple in school right? and woonhak's a really nice person."

"you never know."

all dani could do was roll her eyes at how dumb you look, she looks, with this so called disguise that barely covered their identity. she told you the shades were not it when it's practically indoors, and how it literally makes them stand out even more. at times like this, she questions herself why she's friends with you, and why she's willing to be in this with you. overall you were a great person, just not when you get too overprotective of the girl you love.

"if you're just gonna snoop around, you might as well just confess."

the moment you heard the word 'confess', the coffee you were drinking through your mouth came out through your nose. dani didn't know whether to laugh or help you wipe the table cause that was the reenactment of that 'the incredibles' meme of violet. maybe this was why she was friends with you.

"w-what do you mean?"

"you're too obvious to not notice each and every time you zoom out of class to have lunch with haerin. and zoom out again when the bell rings so you can head over to the gym hall to watch her practice."

"bro why didn't you tell me?!"

"tell you what? that you're like an idiot in love but the person you love doesn't seem to feel the same way?"

"I am not an idiot! but I definitely am in love..."

the mood suddenly shifted to somewhat gloomy as those words left your mouth. admitting that you had feelings for haerin to someone else for the first time didn't feel much extravagant than you thought. it wasn't that what you felt wasn't real or overwhelming, they very much were. but the thought of her not reciprocating them, broke you a little on the inside.

you've always imagined being by her side throughout university till the day you'd grow old and get a small house in the countryside. if it were the best friend context, things would have been fine. but you want to be there for her as someone she loves, too. as cheesy as it sounds, just the two of you against the world and no one can stop you.

reality begged to differ when you see how happy she is now as she picks up some clothes from the racks in a store. with woonhak smiling down at her. you couldn't deny that they look good together, way to good that it was believable if haerin told you they started dating after this date. the more you saw the two of them together, the more it was harder to imagine you being the one who would be making her happy.

although you've known her for so long, you weren't one to express your feelings through words. 'actions speak louder than words' was the motto you've lived with all this time. but this love thing takes more than that. being a literature student did not help with that vast range of vocabulary cause there was no point of preparing a confession. it has to come from the heart, and that's what makes it so hard.

"..."

"they left by the way."

your head whipped to the direction of the store they were in, and the last spot you saw them at was indeed empty.

"let's go then! you better saw where they are heading."

not even allowing dani to finish her chocolate drink, you dragged her along to chase after the two. they were definitely fast, very fitting to be in the track and field team. and dani did not sign up for this.

in the end, dani had to drag you out of that mall before you ended up actually stalking those two poor souls. you were definitely not pleased with that decision but you two had a project to attend to, so you placed whatever that's disturbing to the back of your head. although it was sort of futile.

"well, at least we got half of this done, sorta."

"we can meet again tomorrow after school to finish it up if you want."

the australian squinted her eyes at you, as if trying to question your intention. she had the right to after what you pulled off today.

"for real, this time. I kinda want to get this over with and watch haerin practice."

"you better keep your promise."

giving a salute, all dani could do was chuckle at your attempt to lighten the mood with your antics. how can she not love someone like you when all you do was make everyone around you smile?

"hey, do you think it's possible that haerin would have feelings for me? even the slightest bit?"

"I don't see why not. you're a nice kid."

"the definition of nice is different for everyone, and so it is for me."

the older took a seat next to you on the bed, putting down her books on your study desk. when the topic about your feelings for haerin surface each time, you can't help but let your real self seep out a little, the happy-go-lucky facade faltering.

"you know, you don't have to be nice to be liked by anyone."

"but that doesn't mean I can be bad either."

"you know I don't mean it that way. it's just that, whether the person is nice or not, if you like them, you just do."

"that's true..."

it was feeling a little weird to talk about this with someone, but you were glad that it was dani. she was like an older sister figure that you could rely on whenever you needed her.

"you love haerin. and do you love her because she's nice? or because it's her?"

as you registered her words in your brain, you couldn't help but feel hopeful all over again, even after seeing those two at the mall today. maybe, they really are just friends. maybe, haerin does like you a little. maybe, you should confess.

you were so lost in your own thoughts that you couldn't feel the presence next to you, slowly clasping your hands. dani looked at you really endearingly, as if you were the person she cherished the most in the world.

"whatever you do, I'd be here to support, okay?"

giving her a reassuring nod and grin, dani's heart swelled at how your mood was lifted again. all she wants to see was you smile, regardless of who's behind it.

"FROGGIE!"

the shout from across your bedroom door grabbed your attention as your eyes darted towards it. as it swung open, the very person you two were talking about barged through to throw you into a hug. along with dani cause haerin knows her too.

"unnie! what are you doing here? the project?"

"hmm, we were just tidying up cause it's getting late."

the older slipped out from the embrace to finish packing her stuff to leave those two to their own world. maybe one day, she'd be able to find someone she loves too.

"bye unnie!"

"dani, I'll let you know what time tomorrow."

"yup sure, just ping me when you're done."

as dani left when she saw your thumbs up, you're tackled into another hug. you were wondering why she was being extra clingy after that date with woonhak. did woonhak confess to her? was she being shy about it? is she gonna tell you something? you were overthinking a lot of things and it wasn't a good sign cause that just means you're going to start doubting every single action haerin takes.

"I missed you."

you wish you would just disintegrate into dust at this very moment. everything that has happened today had already put your brain and feelings into overdrive. and for her to say this, made your heart feel heavier than ever. you didn't know why, it just didn't feel all that good although you did miss her too. but the words just can't seem to fall from your lips.

all you could do was look away and nod. because if you were to look at her, you think you are going to cry and confuse her even further.

"I should go shower first, it's been a long day."

"then we can cuddle!"

haerin slipped away from the embrace into your bathroom. with her belongings scattered around your room, it makes you feel even dizzier from all these crashing feelings. it's as if you are itching to confess to her or else you'd combust for real. that was why you could only keep your mouth shut, or everything would be over.

for now again, you try your best to act normal in front of her. for your own sake, for her sake, and to keep this friendship the way it has been this whole time.

everything went on like normal. you and dani wrapped up that damn project mr park gave, having lunch with haerin every day, spending your time watching her practice, hanging out every weekend. but as haerin's competition was approaching, she spends more time at the gym hall, even during weekends at times. you can't blame her when she's the top in her team.

this competition was utmost important for her as many big companies scout at this particular one. meaning that if she does well, she may have a chance of signing with one. but that means that she would have to move to the city if that does happen.

you were afraid to lose her. sure, you two would still be friends even if she was miles away. so that's exactly what you're afraid of, staying friends. you knew you had no guts to confess to her anytime soon. if haerin leaves, you will still be here. you can't imagine how it will be without her, because you've spent your entire life with her by your side.

even today, you're in your room as haerin is training more as days are left till the competition. divided between confessing or not, you wrote down all the things you want to get for her on your laptop. the tomato frog that she loves so much, a printed sweater with a cat, a couple bracelet that she had her eye on last month. you remembered everything like you knew the back of your hand. it wasn't intentional, but you just did. not to mention that you had quite bad memory that you took a week to remember your seatmate's name.

you were going to do it. you were going to confess. it took you years to finally make that decision and you want it to be perfect. what did it mean by perfect, you don't know. it was your first time, but you just wanted it to be from the bottom of your heart. regardless of whether haerin would reciprocate the feelings, you came to an agreement with yourself that it was fine if she didn't. she was going to move away when she wins that competition so it would just mean that you two stay friends. friends who are apart from each other.

although it may take time to heal, it was going to be fine. not everything in life can go smoothly, and you were willing to take the risk. it was unfair for both you and her. you couldn't pretend any longer that you saw her as a friend, when the way you treat her is definitely more than one. and she deserves to know what you feel for her, with no secrets kept between the two of you.

D-10.

"WOONHAK! GOOD LUCK!"

"YOU'RE GONNA DO GREAT BRO!"

"HAERIN-AH! SLAY IT!"

"HWAITING!"

screams and shouts from both sides of your ears were definitely gonna leave them ringing for some time. of course you weren't going to miss haerin's big day. you were beyond proud that she made it to the finals after beating her opponents in the semifinals. quarters were a piece of cake since she was a whole second ahead of everyone.

it was no doubt when she held the fastest record for 100m among the schools here. the agents definitely had their eyes on her the entire time, it just depends on who she chooses.

you didn't really like going out for events like these but she was an exception. although you weren't screaming your lungs out for her, you caressed that ring on your finger very dearly. the ring haerin got you when you two got into the same high school, calling it "the lucky ring". whenever there were big happenings, you'd wear it, feeling that she was with you through them. this time, you wore it so she could feel that you were with her.

"ON YOUR MARK."

the determination on haerin's face didn't go unnoticed even if you were nowhere close to the tracks. and when she flashed that smile at you before the whistle went off, you cried softly into your hands.

you love her so much. so much that this was going to be the last time you two were going to be friends. friends who grew up together, playing with puddles at the playground. finding restaurants to visit together. laughing at stupid videos in bed. taking pictures and videos of each other when one is sleeping. all those days were going to be a memory. a sweet memory for you to look back at after this day.

reporters swarmed the winner of the competition, blocking the pathway for the others who could only sigh at their defeat. some were lucky with outstanding performance.

"could you tell us what's your future plans after this?"

"will you be signing with Krux? we saw their agent approach you personally."

"is it possible to know who kim woonhak is to you?"

"i'm sorry everyone but haerin will be heading off first, any questions will be answered by me."

the coach pushed haerin into the locker room before locking everyone outside with him. she let out the breath even she didn't know she was holding.

"so, who is kim woonhak to you?"

the noise was starting to die down outside as the reporters were led to a different room for interview. the silence was growing deafening as those words echoed across the empty room.

"you're my friend."

"damn, I really didn't have a chance, did I?"

"you know that very well. plus, there's a whole line waiting to date you so why waste your time on me?"

haerin couldn't bother, as she had something better to do and someone better to be with.

"sunbae, you do know I don't like you anymore right? not after you turned down my confession the other day."

"I was just making sure. I've seen too many of you playboys in action."

"oh come on, I'm not a playboy!"

woonhak was someone who was very responsive to teases, and haerin takes every chance she gets to tease the hell out of him. if anything, he was like a brother to her and she was like a sister to him. in fact, both of them decided to sign with the same company since they were offered. it was always good to have someone on your side in the sports world.

"I know, I was just messing with you. now get out, coach probably needs you."

"why me when the winner is right here chilling?"

"because you're gonna answer on my behalf."

the scene that was unfolding could easily be misunderstood if walked in at the wrong timing. and someone did just that. but what haerin didn't expect was that you walked in on them, seemingly laughing and smacking each other, like a couple. well, it did look like that to you at least.

you felt like you were interrupting something, so you dashed out of there as quick as you could. your eyes were stinging as the humid wind cut through your tears that were threatening to fall. although haerin was deemed the winner today, you were zooming past people faster than she could, as if in denial that you lost even before getting a chance to tell her.

it was getting more and more suffocating as the people around you were overwhelming. although you could breathe better when you reached the tracks, taking in the view of the vast field, it was too much that you had to hit your chest to let out some suppressed cries.

just as you felt slightly better, you felt a pair of arms swinging across your sides from behind, trapping you with them. you didn't even need to see who it is, as their scent invaded your senses, carrying familiarity with it.

"haerin-ah, congratulations! I'm so proud of you."

you turned around to bring her into a hug, but also hiding the fact you were crying because things were to change today.

"thank you, I wouldn't have done it without you."

"no, don't say that. you.. did it because you trained very hard for this. and you'll be achieving your dreams."

"you did do something for me, you were there for me. I saw you at the bleachers and that made me more determined to win."

"why are you crying, froggie? don't cry, we'll still see each other."

haerin cupped your face with her hands to wipe the tears off of your face. but that just hit the nail on the coffin, meaning that she would sign and leave for the city. which was now or never.

"haerin-ah."

"hmm?"

the endearing look in her face as she looks at you was more than enough to let you know she would be here for you no matter what. even as just a friend. although it was starting to rain, you knew you had to do it now. the words were getting stuck in your throat as it started to get dry. but, you were going to do it still.

"I love you."

"huh?"

the confusion on her face hurt you more than it should. you should know that she does not feel the same way you did for her. you should know that she was probably already dating woonhak after what you saw earlier. you should know-

"I love you too."

it was the first time you have ever seen that smile on her face. a grin so wide, it's like she's the happiest girl in the world. the most crescent eyes you've seen on her, as if she's staring at the girl she loves.

wait. she said she loves you too.

the sunshower was drenching the two of you but you couldn't give a damn about it. she said she loves you. she reciprocated your feelings. but you were having a very hard time trying to wrap your head around it.

"I love you too, you silly."

her laughter tickled your ears as you stood there frozen. your dumb reaction had her swaying you around with her in the rain as the sun was blinding through the droplets. just as she stopped to look at you again, you still had that bewildered face.

"I thought you were dating woonhak..."

"me? and that idiot? babe, you gotta be kidding me."

the sudden endearment had your cheeks flare up as you bury your head in her shoulder, in attempt to cover your face. but your ears were shooting bright red too, earning an earthy laughter from haerin, you could feel it through the embrace.

"so that means we're dating right?"

she looked at you with a shocked face before peppering kisses all over your cheeks.

"yes, of course froggie. unless you wanna get married."

the attempt at humor cracked both of you up, but you knew that was something you see happening in the future. but for now, everything was perfect. you were perfect, and haerin's urge to kiss you was too strong at that moment.

"can I kiss you?"

all you could do was nod and as her lips touched yours, that's when things were sinking in for you. your hands slowly draped over her neck as you pulled her closer to feel the longing for her warmth grow stronger. the sunshower painted over you and her, but you couldn't care less about what's around you when the most important person is in front of you. it was true that today was the last day you two were friends, but blossomed into a new beginning as each other's love.

as you pulled back to breathe, you two had your eyes closed, foreheads touching. although no words were exchanged, you knew, many more summers were to be spent with the love of your life.

it was the summer rain, the summer rain when haerin fell for you as you held her hand and ran in the rain back home.

that summer you fell for her too.

[tossawary]

"Servant to a Different King" is definitely a Moshang fic, first and foremost, but it is also my Tianlang-Jun and Su Xiyan fic. I have some unfinished oneshots for them as well, but this is the longest complete thing that I've written for them so far.

They're a background pairing, but very relevant to Shang Qinghua's situation, and it was a lot of fun to get to explore the two of them actually escaping their plotted dooms and getting married. It's all very "Help, the closest things I have to friends are the tyrants of the Demon Realm and they WON'T STOP SUGGESTING double dates!!!" for poor Shang Qinghua.

[wellgoslowly]

Hello! I love reading your stories and I was wondering if I could get a request please. It’s for Lockwood and Co. One day, Lockwood stumbled into a small bookstore because it was raining and there he finds the reader (and her dog, a boxer please) who owns the bookstore and they start talking and the reader doesn’t think anything about it (because she talks to all her customers the same way) but Lockwood starts showing up more often at the bookstore to just to talk to her and slowly but surely they start falling for each other. Thank you so much!!!

Bookstore Girl

a/n: this is by far the longest request I've written to date! I'm very proud of it and I'd defo be interested in writing a part two. I also just love me a good bookstore romance so this was super fun to write! i listened to the song bookstore girl by charlie burg a lot while writing this!! also there's quite a bit of tea related discussions and I have never made tea so pls don't scream at me I am simply american and unexperienced.

pairing: lockwood × fem!reader

word count: 3.3k

warnings: none

notices: a character in this oneshot uses neopronouns [ey/em]!! if you don’t know what they are, please check this out- and if you don’t support people who use neopronouns, do not interact. If you comment hate, you will be blocked. neopronoun users are valid and loved on my blog, and I won’t tolerate hate of any kind. if you use neoprouns- know that I love you and you will always have a place in my writing (as a person who goes by they/she/ey)

tags: @ikeasupremacy @oblivious-idiot @givemea-dam-break @tangledinlove @neewtmas @losticaruss @waitingforthesunrise [if yall want to be tagged when I post requests, lmk in the comments! also sorry if I forgot anyone!!]

It was a slow, rainier-than-normal London afternoon when you first met Anthony Lockwood.

“Hi there… Would you happen to have anywhere I could sit and… dry off?” You had been shelving what was left of a new shipment of classics you had just received when you’d heard a distressed patron behind you. “Oh yes, of course.” You said as you turned to face the customer, suppressing a laugh at the sight before you. A handsome figure stood behind you, their dark long coat absolutely dripping as they wrapped it around themselves, trying to salvage some sense of warmth. “We have a cafe in the back, follow me… and try not to drip too much.” You joked, and goddamn, of course the pretty customer had a pretty laugh.

“Apologies, uh… ma'am.” He said, noticing the pronoun pin on the strap of your apron. “I was just walking home and the storm came out of nowhere and one of my roommates broke my umbrella last week… long story.” They explained as you led them to the small cafe situated in the rear of the store. “Would you like anything? Cocoa, Tea?” You offered as they sat down at a small table near the entryway. “Oh, tea would be perfect, thank you.” They spoke, and you couldn’t help but notice the rapier attached to their hip as the sheath scraped gently across the hardwood floor.

“How do you take it?” Nellie, your best friend, business partner, and head barista, asked from behind the counter. “Hm- surprise me. However you take it is fine.” The customer said with a smile. You slipped behind the counter, brushing past Nellie as ey flitted about looking for the secret stash of eir favorite tea that ey always keep hidden, only taking from it on “special occasions”. Nellie winked at you as you slipped into the backroom, looking for the spare blanket you always keep back there for cold winter days. You rolled your eyes and shooed Nellie away, causing em to laugh. Finding the soft reserve blanket, you turned to take it to the sopping wet customer, only to find Nellie blocking your way.

“What are you doing?” Nellie asked, a slightly mischievous glint in eir eyes. “Getting our dripping wet customer a blanket. Why?” You asked, suspicious of Nellie’s train of thought. “He’s nice. Asked me my pronouns and told me he goes by he/him. He’s pretty cute too.” You scoffed. “What does that have to do with anything?” You laughed, causing Nellie to roll eir eyes at you. “You never let anyone use your blanket, not even me.” You laughed again. “Yeah, Nellie, well, you’re never sopping wet when you ask. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must attend to our customer.” You say, brushing past Nellie and ignoring eir laughter as you walked out of the backroom.

When you returned to the main floor, you noticed that the customer was no longer alone. “Bruce, leave the poor guy alone.” You laughed, watching as your dog, a Boxer, jumped up, front paws landing on the customer’s lap as the customer laughed. “It’s not a problem, honestly. He’s quite cute.” You smiled, handing the blanket to the customer, who took it with a soft “thank you” and an appreciative smile.

“I'm glad you think so. Some of our older patrons don't like that we have a dog around, but I could care less.” You say, bending down slightly to pet Bruce on the head as he jumped down from the customer's lap. “Is he yours?” The customer asked as he wrapped the blanket around his body. You nodded, sitting down at a chair opposite the patron.

“Yep. This place, too.” You said with a cheerful smile as Bruce jumped into your lap. “Oh! I had no clue I was in the presence of the owner.” You laughed, scratching behind Bruce's ears. “No, I'm serious, that's really cool. I run my own business too, but it's not… quite like this.” He chuckled, almost to himself, glancing down at the rapier on his hip.

“Wait- you run your own agency?” You asked, intrigued. You had vaguely heard of agents running their own agencies, but you hadn't necessarily believed that someone your age was capable of running something like that. And yet it kind of made sense, taking in his appearance- the long coat, white button down, black tie, and slightly too-tight pants gave the desired effect of making him look slightly older and a bit more authoritative.

He smiled and stuck out his hand. “Anthony Lockwood, of Lockwood & Co, at your service. Most people just call me Lockwood.” You smiled, shaking his hand in turn as Bruce grumpily whined at the loss of your hand. “[Name], of Read Rose Books. Pleasure to meet you, Lockwood. You know, I think I've heard of you. You did the Annabelle Ward Case a while back, right?” He nodded, a sparkle appearing in his eye at your mentioning of hearing of his agency. “Yes, that was us. It's a pleasure to meet you as well, [name].”

“And I'm Nellie.” Nellie had a knack for sneaking up on you at the worst times, and that day was no exception as Nellie had somehow crept up behind you without a sound. ~~The customer~~ Lockwood himself didn't seem to notice Nellie's presence, jumping about 3 feet in the air at eir arrival. Nellie set down Lockwood's tea, and he thanked em before taking a sip.

“Oh my god, this is amazing.” He said, turning to Nellie. “How did you do that? I've never tasted anything like it before.” You could see Nellie beam at Lockwood's praise, and you couldn't help but smile. “Secret recipe” was all Nellie said before ey flounced back behind the counter.

Lockwood chuckled, taking another sip. “George- one of my housemates, would love em. He's really into cooking too- makes all sorts of elaborate meals that always taste amazing.” You chuckled, looking back at Nellie. “Even I don't know what Nellie puts in there- ey've never told me.”

“If there's anyone who could get the recipe out of Nellie, it's George. He's an insanely good cook, and he loves tea more than the average person.” You both laughed softly before Lockwood spoke up again.

“Speaking of George, do you have a phone I could use to call home? Just to tell my housemates where I am.” “Oh, of course! Follow me.” With a distressed whine from Bruce, who had to depart from your lap, you got up off you chair and led a blanket-clad Lockwood over to the front desk, where your store phone was located. “Thank you so much, I should be quick.” He said, picking the phone up. “Don't worry about it, take as much time as you need.” You assured him. “I'll be right over there stocking some classics if you need me.” He nodded, and you walked back to where you had been dutifully stocking the beautiful new editions of Pride and Prejudice, making a mental note to leave one aside to purchase later for your own personal collection.

You were still within earshot, so you could hear most of the conversation that Lockwood was having (not that you were purposefully eavesdropping, of course- it was very quiet in the store so it was very hard to try and not hear his conversation. You did try, though.) Lockwood's conversation started with a “Hi George, I wanted to let you know that I'm ok-” before Lockwood was promptly cut off by a loud voice shouting at him, causing Lockwood to jump and have to hold the phone away from his ear for a moment.

“Hello to you too, Luce. Look, I'm fine- I got caught in the storm and *someone* broke my umbrella on that case last week so I had to seek shelter before it got too bad. Don't worry- I'm at that bookstore in town… The one George has been wanting to check out? Read Rose? The staff has been very nice and helped me to warm back up but I'm not sure when I'll be able to come home with how the storm is going.” A moment of silence followed as someone- Lucy, you assumed- spoke to Lockwood. The quiet was broken only by the sound of books being pushed into their respective slots on the shelves.

“No, no, Lucy, you are not coming to get me. I don't care if you broke my umbrella, I won't allow you to walk over here in the rain- Lucy? Lucy?!” And then Lockwood let out a frustrated sigh and put the phone back down on the receiver. You looked back up at him, stifling a laugh at his exasperated expression. “I guess one of my housemates is coming to retrieve me.” He laughed, running a hand through his still-wet hair as he looked outside at the still raging storm. “From what I could hear, they sound very stubborn.” He chuckled. “Oh, she is. Lucy is insanely stubborn, believe me.” You laughed, liking the picture you were putting together in your head of this Lucy already. “To be fair, something tells me you're fairly stubborn yourself.” You chuckled. Lockwood gasped, putting a hand to his heart. “You wound me.” He said, and you both fell in to laughter.

Your laughs subsided after a moment, and you fell into a comfortable silence as you stocked and Lockwood walked around, perusing the aisles of books. You two stayed like that for a couple of minutes, and you had never been more content to just be quiet with someone before. “Now I understand why George has been bugging me to visit here for so long. We haven't had much time- cases have been piling up so George is either at home or at the Archives most of the time these days.” You nodded in understanding as he took a book off a shelf near you and examined the cover.

“I get it. Not the agency work- I don't have any Talents. The stress, I mean. My grandmother owned this place and passed it down to me when she passed. Every day there's something new to take care of or a new problem that comes up.” You laughed as you put the last book on the shelf. Lockwood laughed as well. “I know exactly what you mean. You love it though, don't you?” He asked, turning to you. He smiled as your eyes met his, and you gave him a smile in return. “Yeah,” You said softly. “I really do.”

He grinned, and was opening his mouth to say something when there was a sudden noise at the door, and then there was a borderline soaked girl holding an umbrella standing breathless in the doorway. This must be Lucy, you thought to yourself. She was obviously righteously pissed, her hair dripping as she tried desperately to control the bangs that were matted to her forehead. “Lockwood, you idiot.” She said, shoving the umbrella at Lockwood and turning to face you. She sent a look Lockwood's way, which you translated to say something like “who is this?”. Lockwood smiled.

“Lucy, this is [name], owner of Read Rose Books. She and her friend Nellie have been very welcoming and helped me to get warm. [Name], this is my associate, Lucy Carlyle.” Lucy rolled her eyes, elbowing Lockwood in the ribs and whispering something like “you can just introduce me as your friend, you dickhead” before she turned her attention to you, smiled, and stuck out her hand for you to shake. You did, softly saying “nice to meet you”, as did Lucy. “Thank you for taking care of this one.” Lucy said after your handshake had ended, pointing to Lockwood. You laughed. “It was no problem at all, really.”

Lockwood moved to return the blanket you you, but you refused. “You need it more than I do. Just make sure to return it whenever you can, ok?” He smiled appreciatively, nodding in understanding before Lucy grabbed him by the arm ans hauled him to the door. “Thank you again!” Lockwood yelled at the same time Lucy said “Have a nice night!”, and then they were out the door and the shop was silent again.

Nellie was there within seconds, pressing a warm cup of cocoa into your hand. “I'm never getting that blanket back, am I?” You asked em softly. “Probably not, no.” Ey agreed.

---

It was a week until you saw Anthony Lockwood again.

It was sunny outside this time, and you had a pretty nice crowd going inside the small Read Rose venue. You were just finishing up a customer's transaction, barely had the words “have a good one” out of your mouth, when you saw him enter the store. He had on the same outfit, but his hair was more styled, in a totally not attractive way. He was entering the shop with someone who you didn't recognize. They were slightly shorter, with brown skin and curly dark hair and glasses.

You noticed the second that Lockwood found you, watching his eyes light up and a smile form on his face as he waved. You waved back and returned the smile when you saw what Lockwood was carrying in his left hand.

“I was thinking I'd never see that blanket again.” You joked as Lockwood and his companion walked up to the front counter. Lockwood chuckled. “I see how little faith you have in me.” He spoke as he passed the blanket over to you. “Well, she's not exactly unfounded. Remember that time I leant you a sweatshirt and I didn't get it back for a month?” You laughed as you placed the folded blanket on a shelf beneath the counter, not seeing Lockwood sharply elbow his companion in the ribs.

“Anyways, [Name], this is my best friend and business associate, George Karim. He's the one I told you about that's really good at cooking. ” You reached out your hand for George to shake, but he ignored it and turned to examine your store. Within seconds, he was walking away to an aisle that had caught his eye, leaving you behind with Lockwood as you yelled out a rushed, “it was nice to meet you!”

Lockwood smiled apologetically. “Don't mind him. He's au- he can be a bit brash, but he's a good guy, once you get to know him.” You smiled back as you waved your hand in a dismissing manner. “Don't worry about it. I hope I do. Get to know him, that is. Lockwood & Co. seems like a very fun bunch.”

All Lockwood could do was smile before George returned, informing you that they would be back soon but they had a case that night that they had to prepare for. You nodded in understanding. “I'll look forward to your next visit. Be safe out there.” One last dazzling smile from Lockwood and he was gone, being borderline pushed outside by George as you laughed.

---

It went on like that for weeks- at least once a week, Anthony Lockwood would wander into your shop, only once or twice actually buying a book. You got to know each other fairly well- you learned that he hated sugar in his tea, that he always wore pink socks, that he didn't always wear suits, and that he started wearing [favorite color] ties whenever he came to visit after you told him it was your favorite color.

You learned that his favorite genres were classics and mystery (and that he had a bit of an obsession with gossip magazines). Often times, he would come in right before closing a couple times a week and sit and read with you to pass the time before you closed and walked you to your flat a block away.

Every time this happened, Nellie would leave work a half an hour before you and give you a set of totally non-subtle winks before flitting off into the sunset. Lockwood never seemed to notice eir suggestive winks, and if he did, he never appeared too flustered.

Nellie would corner you every morning after, grilling you for every detail. “Why do you even care?” You would say, laughing as you unlocked the storefront. “Because a super hot guy is obviously falling for my best friend!” Ey would exclaim, and you would roll your eyes and laugh it away, making sure to change the subject while you tried not to dwell on the possibility that Nellie was right.

---

“Well, well, well, if it isn't my favorite bookseller. Do you ever take a day off?” You laughed from your perch on one of the bookshelf ladders, looking down to see Lockwood standing below you, a smile on his face and his hands on his hips. You laughed. “Hi, Lockwood. To what do I owe the pleasure?” You bent over, grabbing a book to put up on the top shelf.

“I was sent by George to search for a book he was looking for.” Came the reply, not an uncommon excuse. You turned to reach for another book to stock, but you realized that Lockwood was holding out a book for you. “Thank you.” You said softly, and he looked up from the synopsis of a book in his hand to smile at you. “Of course. It seems you're a bit of a workaholic- I'd love to help in any way I can.” You laughed as you shelved the book.

“You're one to talk. Pretty much every time you come in here you've got that getup on and intense bags under your eyes.” You joked as you descended the ladder, taking the empty box from Lockwood's hands.

“Well, one needs to be a little bit obsessed to lead a top agency, don't they?” He asked, following you to the cafe. Nellie brightened as ey saw Lockwood trailing after you, calling out and asking if Lockwood wanted anything. “Yes, please, Nellie. Could you by any chance make your secret recipe tea to go? I really need to get going, but I was in the area and I just wanted to stop by.” Nellie smiled. “Aye aye, captain.” Ey said before they started the tea making process.

“I thought you came in to look for a book for George.” You said, turning to him with an eyebrow raised and a smile on your face. You giggled as you watched Lockwood flush. “Ah, yes, well, you see-” He was so caught up in his mumbling that he didn't realize that Nellie had appeared next to him, a bag in eir hand. “Jesus, Nellie.” Lockwood jumped, and Nellie chuckled. “Not Jesus- people do often get us confused.” Nellie joked before pushing the bag in front of him.

“What's this?” Lockwood asked, cocking a brow. "A gift for you, George and Lucy. For being such great patrons.” Lockwood smiled. “You really don't have to-” Lockwood started to speak, but Nellie interrupted him. “I insist.” Ey said before turning and running away before Lockwood could fight anymore.

Lockwood turned to you and scoffed. You chuckled. “Ey really like making baked goods for people.” You explained. Lockwood smiled, and the two of you lapsed into a comforting silence, taking in the slow crowd that filled in and out of Read Rose Books.

After a moment, Lockwood broke the silence. “Are you- would you be amenable to visiting Portland Row tonight?” His question caught you off guard, but you smiled nonetheless. “I could be convinced. Why? What's in Portland Row?” You asked, turning to look at him. He smiled softly, a soft flush dusting his cheeks. “Lockwood & Co. We just finished a pretty big successful case so we're throwing a small get together at the house, if you wanted to come?” He asked, and you could sense the nerves radiating off of him. You smiled, nudging his shoulder as you turned to face away from him, trying to draw attention away from the blush that was slowly spreading across your face.

“I'd love to.”

eeeek thank you so much for reading!! pls leave feedback, it truly makes my day :) also if you want to request or see my other works, my masterlist is linked in my about me post which is pinned :)

I love you all so much, remember to stay hydrated, and I hope yall have an amazing day!!! mwah

xoxo linnie <3

[angelinpiink]

movie star

❥ paring: meangirl! historia x fem!reader

❥ summary:  historia decides to teach the reader a lesson after she decided to stand up against historia’s bullying for the first time, leaving her humiliated in front of her minions. Reader will too be put in a humiliating predicament and to her surprise discover it to be something she finds to be quite joyful. ❥ author's note: this is the longest one shot i've ever written, I hope that the time spent on this was not in vain and that you all receive it positively! If this particular trope interests you keep your eyes peeled for the second fanfic relating to it i am currently working on. 

❥ warnings: this oneshot contains mature content such as bullying, thigh riding, humiliation, and degradation.

the halls  of sina academy were bustling with students and unreasonably lively given the hour. It was five minutes past seven. Yet, the students moved through the hallways with speed. The volume of their voices was so great it could be heard by those on the opposite ends. You were among the crowd. Unlike your peers, you were silent and hunched over with the intention of blending in. It was never a good thing to stand out in such a place. It would only serve to make  you a target for the cliques of students who took their social lives far too seriously.

 You had already caught the attention of Historia, the school's “Queen Bee”, who tormented you on the daily.  The very last thing you needed was to become someone else’s victim.  Historia was already far  more than you could possibly handle.  Each day she found a new way to suck the enjoyment out of attending school. She made cruel remarks about your appearance, spread rumors behind your back and encouraged other students to engage in physical attacks against you. Her position as head cheerleader and  daughter of wealthy businessmen who made frequent donations to the school offered her protection from the consequences of it all. 

You found yourself hoping that she wouldn't show up today–that she would decide her time was better spent on a shopping spree instead of class. It wasn't as though she truly had any real reason to show up. Her father could easily  bribe a professor into giving her a passing grade in the event that she flunked. There was a moment where time seemed to slow once you caught sight of Historia’s blindingly golden hair. It  flowed behind her as she passed. Speak of the devil, her blue eyes met your own  for a mere second. The rosy glossed lips of hers curled into a smile.

 “Y/n.” She called, her tone laced an overwhelming amount of phony kindness. You found it sickening. 

A rhythmic clicking sound could be heard while she made her way towards you. You watched with your gaze to the ground as the heels she wore  inched closer and closer. The blonde soon stood in front of you. 

It was obvious as day that she was studying you— judging you, searching for something to tear you apart over. She remained silent. The students in the halls began making their way to their respective classrooms.

By that point there was only a handful and a half of witnesses to whatever torture she intended to inflict. Majority of course, were either in complete alliance with her or feared her influence far too much to express their disagreement of her actions. 

“I see that you actually took the time to look a little less hideous today.” She let out a sigh, her eyes scanned over your figure. “if only you’d taken some time to acquire a fashion sense.” 

Historia gave a pout of faux pity, her arms crossing over one another.  It was  difficult for you to remain silent as her friends burst into laughter. You wished nothing more than to tell them about themselves for supporting someone as cruel as her. Instead you took a deep breath. This was your everyday life thanks to her,  tomorrow there would be something far worse. You couldn't comprehend why she was so mean to you. Never had you given her a reason to dislike you. 

“Still, the outfit is cute..if you're auditioning for a circus.” The blonde began circling you like a vulture. It was then that you caught a whiff of her vanilla perfume. The smell  was pleasant and left your mouth salivated.  Thoughts of baked goods filled your head.  How can someone so evil smell so sweet? 

“Oh. what's this?” She questioned, her eyes now glued to your skirt. 

The skirt you wore was slightly darker in the back. The fabric was made of was ombre. This of course would have been obvious to anyone who cared enough to take a closer look. 

“It looks like she’s pissed herself!” Historia pointed, her nose turned up in disgust. As if  you were some exhibit in a freak museum. 

 “It really does!” Shouted another student.  Your face was drained of all its color when  the crowd began laughing along. To call a moment such as this humiliating would be an absolute understatement. There was no way you’d even show your face in school after that. 

Insults continued to be  thrown around and your embarrassment morphed to anger. If it had been any other day you would have just allowed them to take the little dignity you still possessed. But, you couldn't stand by while they made a mockery of your skirt. The very skirt  that your grandma had taken the time to make one of  a kind for you. There had to be some sort of retort you could come up with to even things out. You needed her to know just how it felt. 

“Maybe, if you weren't looking at my ass you wouldn't have noticed.”  The crowd erupted into a symphony of gasps that later morphed to ‘oos’. 

“No one else here cared enough to until you said something. How obsessed with me could you possibly be? It's unhealthy at this point.”

“You should seek help, Historia.” You added. 

Without a doubt you’d struck a nerve. She stayed silent, her cheeks turning a  bright red. There was nothing she could come up with in time before the bell rang and forced everyone to retreat to class. Historia’s friends began to pull her in the direction of their class. 

“If i were you’d i’d watch myself, there are worse things to be known for than being the girl who pissed herself.” She whispered into your ear as she passed. A shiver made its way down your spine at the threat. 

You headed to class with your brow furrowed in confusion. 

–

Unexpectedly, The day went by smoothly. You made it to and through two of your classes without bumping into Historia again. She was nowhere to be seen when you went to  lunch.  Nor was she in the hallways as when you transitioned to your classes . There was a part of you that had begun to question if the threat was an  empty one. Perhaps,  she had just said it with the intention of causing mental anguish. In the worst case possible scenario she had in fact  meant every word and was plotting something in the shadows. You simply kept telling yourself it was nothing you couldn't handle.  She had already ruined

your reputation, crushed your self esteem and made it impossible to enjoy school. In a sense you had nothing to lose but your life. At least that was what you believed. 

In your final class of the day you sat doodling in your notebook, silently dreading when you’d be forced to leave the protection of the classroom. The bell rang and you stuffed your notebook into your backpack. You rushed through the hallways as fast as your feet would allow. You weren't concerned with who you bumped into. There was only one goal on your mind, you had to make it to the bathroom as soon as possible. It often served as a safe haven from Historia’s bullying. You planned on staying there until you had an opportunity to escape unnoticed.

Pushing open the doors, you glanced around and sighed in relief that the bathroom was empty. The Lock on the bathroom door made a faint click as you twisted it. You soon choose a stall to your liking. Your backpack was  placed  on the hook of the door before you took a seat on the toilet. After a passing of twenty minutes, the silence was interrupted when you heard voices outside of the door. 

Your heart dropped to the pits of your stomach, the sound of keys jingling and the door being pushed open as familiar shoes came into view. They  stopped in front of the sinks outside of the stall. It's Historia, her voice echoed through the bathroom as she thanked the janitor for unlocking the door. Her performative kindness went  unnoticed by everyone except you. 

Once the janitor left, you took note of the two other pairs of legs you saw. You gulped and lifted your legs,  so the stall looked empty. Your eyes remained locked on the door. 

“I know you’re in here y/n. Stop being such a little bitch and come out.” She spoke while she walked. 

“You had so much to say earlier, why so silent now?” 

She paced  back and forth, the air around you beginning to feel heavy. The silence,  putting you on edge as your mind pondered what would happen next. You wished now more than ever to be invisible. You hugged your knees to your chest in a feeble attempt at making yourself smaller. 

 In the blink of an eye, the door swung open forcefully so much that if you hadn't leaned back it would have hit you in the face. There stood one of History's friends, Mikasa. Her expression was straight and uncaring. “Thanks, I'll take care of the rest now.” 

 “What are you planning?” The girl asked. 

“Don't worry, you'll see.” Mikasa nodded. 

Both her and the other girl, a brunette who was known for having an insatiable appetite for food, made their exit.

Historia soon came into view, her wardrobe of pastels  replaced with something more revealing and fitting to her figure. She wore a tank top with lace trim that stopped just above her belly button and left the tops of her perky breasts exposed. The skirt she was wearing was so small it was  difficult to miss the light pink panties she wore under. You wondered what would have possessed her to come here dressed in such a way. What exactly did she have planned?

It was hard for you to take your eyes away, there was no denying that she was gorgeous. Still, it wasn't logical to think such a thing of someone who clearly viewed you as less than human. Your thoughts came to a halt as she grabbed your chin.  Her manicured fingers guided your face to meet hers, lips crashing against one another’s. Her fingertips caressed down your arm  and across your stomach.  Making  their way inside the waistband of your skirt. 

With eyes wide of shock you squirmed out of her grip. “What are you doing!??” you questioned. 

“Don't act stupid, you know just what I'm trying to do.”  She snapped. 

You raised a brow. 

“Do you want me or not?” Her tone made it evident that she wasn't interested in beating around the bush.

“But I thought you..hated me?”

“Maybe it’s true or I've just been a little frustrated.” She whispered. Her breath hot against your ear, hands pulling your body closer to her own.

“Help me out please.” Her voice switched to that of one coated with sweetness that almost sounded genuine. A pout formed on her lips while  she awaited your reply. You nodded.  It was impossible to refuse her even if you wanted to. 

“Let’s not make it awkward..” She said, giving you a smile as she tucked strands of your hair behind your ear.  Her lips crashed onto yours once more. Your hands made their way to her hips and Historia deepened the kiss. A whine fell from your lips, her hand slipping under your skirt, rubbing at your cunt through your panties. 

You felt her smile into the kiss and her tongue roamed your mouth. The atmosphere was now heavy for a completely different reason. A burning heat formed in your core, your hips grinding against Historia‘s hand. 

“Promise to do everything I say?” she asked. 

You simply responded by nodding.  Your brain was far too foggy to formulate an adequate  response. All you could think about was how badly you needed her to touch you there again. “Come here.” She spoke, grabbing your hand as she pulled you outside of the stall towards the sinks. She propped herself up on the

counter and signaled at the door for you to lock it. 

You of course did just as she said in hopes that doing just as she said would encourage her to give you what it was she knew you wanted. As she sat on the counter, she beckoned  you to come closer. “Lift your skirt”

 You complied. Her fingers tugged at the fabric of your panties, pulling them to the side she exposed your dripping core. The bathroom echoed with your whimpers as her thumb toyed with your clit. Her movements were slow and painfully sweet. 

“Here ..”She said, pulling you towards her thigh.  You lifted yourself up and placed your cunt against her.

The fabric of her tights  smooth against you as you moved your hips back and forth.  A moan escaped your lips, the friction against your clit sent you into a frenzy. 

It was difficult to keep your balance as pleasure overtook you. Historias hands rested on your hips, holding you in place.  She watched you squirm as the sensation became too much to bear, your juices coating her thigh. Still, her grip never faltered. “My..god!” You cried out Historias lips connected with your neck and your eyes fluttered shut. This gave her an opportunity to pull out her phone. Making sure your face was well in the view of the camera, she pressed record. 

 “You’re a dirty little slut aren't you?” She cooeed, watching you through the video feed. 

 You nodded, moans continuing to spill from you. 

“That’s right.” She smiled.  The sight of your legs  trembling giving her satisfaction all the more so being that she had such a lovely moment on video. 

“So eager to get fucked youre making a mess all over my thigh.” On cue,  Historia  aimed the phone’s camera at her leg, her tights now stained from your slick, the sweet juices dripping down her knee. She continued to record while you desperately grinded your cunt against her. 

“It’s pathetic.” She hissed.  With the  hand that rested on your hip she guided them, forcing your poor clit to bump against her thigh more times than you found bearable.   A string of whines and broken please could be heard. 

“Maybe if you beg enough I'll give you my fingers.”

“P-please..” you choked out. Historia responded by rolling her eyes.

“That’s all you’ve got?  My god! You suck at begging.” 

“Guess the only thing you're good for is being a needy slut.” She added.  You took no offense to her words, in fact they only served to increase your arousal. There was something about the way she pretended to be repulsed  by you while her eyes were heavy with lust.  She enjoyed this as much as you, but her ego caused her to refuse allowing you to know that. Historia pushed her fingers inside of you, her free hand gripped the camera to show off throw easily her fingers could slip deep inside your cunt thanks to the fact that you were practically dripping by that point. 

“I’m so close.” A whimper could be heard. Her movements sped up the sensation in your core tightened, you felt as though you were going to burst any moment.  You squirmed and squirmed. 

“Can you do something for me first ?”

“Yes! I’ll do anything..please just let me..”  You cried out, as your legs shook. It was no secret that you were eager. Her fingers continued to pound into you. 

“Look into the camera and tell everyone how much of a dumb little whore you are,” You Struggled to formulate a response, logic was no longer a concept to you. There was no time to ponder what her intentions might be. Your mind fuzzy as you tried to fight off your orgasm through the constant stimulation.  A few muffled please left your lips, your hips bucking  pathetically as though you were some desperate feral thing. 

Historia shakes her head, her movements coming to a halt.  “No cumming yet. Not until you say it.” 

With a whine, You obliged looking into the camera with heavy, desperate eyes and flushed cheeks. 

“Good girl..” She cooed as she returned to thrusting her fingers into you, her thumb rubbing circles at your cit as your body shook from the release. The juices dripped down your thighs and coated her fingers. 

“Now that you’ve got what you want, time for me to get what I want.”

“On your knees.  Her tone  now stern and direct. 

She soon pushed her fingers into your mouth, letting you suck them clean.  She began to spread her legs. Under her skirt was now in  view, the wet spot on her panties made it all the more evident  that she had been enjoying this as much as you. You felt your mouth water as you leaned in, her sweet smell filling your nostrils. Slipping her panties down to her ankles, You flicked your tongue across her clit. 

 Watching her cheeks became flushed, you licked a stripe along her core. She grabbed a fistful of your hair, tugging it. This was her way of telling you to speed things up.  Your movements were painfully slow to her still she enjoyed it so much so that she was in need of more. 

She had no intention of letting you know that, instead she chose to settle for insulting you. “Come on, don't tell me that's the best you can do.” She groaned in an attempt to cover up her moans. Her eyes rolled into her head as you buried your face between her thighs, your tongue lapping at her cunt repeatedly. 

“Y-you’d think that you’d be able  to put that mouth to use for better things than talking shit and being like a desperate slut.”  her thighs clamped around your head, hands tugged at your hair, forcing your face deeper into her cunt.  Her free hand still gripped the phone which she had been using to record this whole encounter. 

Her insults were  soon drowned out by the  moans that left her lips. As angelic and pretty as her appearance, they fell on your ears like a beautiful melody. Watching the way she arched her back and ground her hips against your face soon brought back the feelings of need you'd been overwhelmed with just minutes before.  

By instinct, you reached a hand down to play with yourself. 

“Look at this pervy bitch getting herself off to eating my cunt.” she hissed, exposing your actions to the camera.  You rubbed at your cunt, sloppily and slowly as you still gave much of your focus to the task at hand. 

“After she just came, she wants more..how greedy?” She said, yanking your hair harshly.  Still, You continued to devour her until she released in your mouth.

 No time at all passed before she ushered out her way. You watched in confusion as she slipped off her skirt, and replaced it with the outfit she had been wearing earlier that day. She pulled her hair into a ponytail and began fixing up her makeup which had been smuggled from the encounter. She tossed the tights  she'd been waiting into the trash and made her way towards the door in silence. Before she took her exit she opened her mouth to speak.  Her expression had reverted back to that of how she usually looked at you. 

“Since you seemed so impressed with yourself earlier over  all the attention you got today for that foolish remark.  I thought I'd help you get some real notoriety. You’ll surely be the hot topic now  movie star,” 

You watch as she tapped away on her phone screen.

And with that she left, taking the final piece of your dignity with her. 

You weren't too sure what was going on  but from the looks of it she appeared to have sent a text to someone. With a furrowed brow, You stood and began to clean yourself. The mirror exposed your ragged appearance, your hair was practically a bird's nest across your head from all the tugging and pulling Historia had done. The  streaks in your makeup from your tears left you looking like you were returning from a drunken night out. It wouldn't have been a big deal if you left the bathroom in such a state as most would assume you had been attacked but still you’d feel weird walking around with the remnants of your encounter with historia on your sleeve.

Letting the cold  water run,  you splashed your face.  Everything that happened seemed like a dream. You were in need of something to keep you grounded in reality and harsh icy water was perfect for the job. You shivered as it ran down your neck. With paper towels in hand you dried your face and wiped the remnants of your orgasm off your thighs before pushing your panties back into place.  You fixed your hair and once you felt presentable, You too made your way out of the bathroom.

As you walked down the halls, they were  uncharacteristically empty. No one was in sight, you breathed a sigh of relief was that meant  it was a high possibility that no one had heard of the encounter from outside of the bathroom. Perhaps there was some after school event occurring outside like a football game?

As your legs carried you towards the large exit doors you saw a crowd of students lined up with their phones in their hands. Their laughs filled your ears when you stepped outside, they pointed to you.  Some cheered as an audio of you degrading yourself echoed throughout the crowd. “Who knew y/n was such a slut!?” You heard someone say. “

Yeah it must be true if she said it herself.” Another student replied. “Look at how many views the video has gotten already, you're a real star.” Said reiner, putting the phone in your face, showing you the phone. The video had been uploaded to some random porn site by what appeared to be an anonymous user, You of course knew exactly who had done it..the very person who’s thigh you could be seen riding.  

You stopped in your tracks, eyes scanning the crowd. You searched for someone, anyone who didn't have their phone out viewing the video.  It was at that very moment your eyes landed on Historia who simply shrugged and mothed ‘oops’, the cruel smile on her face evident as ever. 

The whole school had witnessed what had gone down, the begging, the desperation and the compliance you had all for someone who viewed you as a peasant.  Not only that but they had a permanent copy of the encounter on their phones, never given a moment to forget it. You would be forced to relive it over and over until you graduated.

  The only thing that left a bad taste in your mouth was the possible bullying that would occur as a result from other students. You found yourself feeling foolish for thinking you’d ever win against her. Historia never played fair, she didn't have to  when it came to you. She was the one in absolute control, you’d be lying to yourself if you didn't say you were okay with that. 

my masterlist!

[scmg11]

Okay, first of all, hi 😊 just wanted to tell you that your work is by far in my top 3, no jokes ! Your writing is chef kiss ✨

So since your writing is one my my fav ever I have a request.

Kate Bishop being injured and coming at Y/N’s window in the middle of the night by the emergency stairs and waking her up by like calling her and to look at the window (idk actually). She wakes up and let Kate in and panics as she sees the multiple cuts on her face and see her suit being damaged as well. She goes to find things to patch her up and becomes a gay mess when Kate has to take off her top and let her abs on display. Both of them have a crush on each other since a very long time but too scared to admit it but being this close to each other, Y/N’s hands on her stomach, faces close leads them to something else…

Feel free to do what you want this that 😘

KATE BISHOP x READER

STUMBLING INTO YOUR APARTMENT

A/N: HELLO HELLO HELLO! FIRST OF ALL... 300K READS ON THIS IMAGINE BOOK HERE ON WATTPAD?!?!?! I'M SPEECHLESS GUYS! THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART FOR THIS ACHIEVEMENT ❤️ YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH THIS MEANS TO ME ❤️ Thank you for finding time to read, like, comment and share this story, it truly means a lot ❤️

Anyway, to celebrate here is the longest oneshot I've written so far! Buckle up and get ready because it's gonna be smutty!

Without further ado, ENJOY! ❤️

Sending love ❤️

-

Summary: Kate comes stumbling into Y/N's apartment one night after a rough fight. While Y/N cleans Kate's wounds she gets distracted by her abs and this leads them to confess their feelings.

Warnings: smut, a lot of smut.

Word count: 28198 words.

-

It was a normal, snowy night of January and Y/N just finished eating the dinner she cooked and was tidying up her kitchen before settling on the couch and catching up on Game Of Thrones, watching just a few episodes since she was too tired from her workday.

"Alright, time to bed." Y/N stated after the umpteenth yawn and turned off her TV then started her nightly routine before settling into her bed and sighing out in relief when the exhaustion she felt was starting to subdue as sleep took over her. It was a normal, snowy night of January, or so Y/N thought. At 2:48 a.m. Y/N got startled from her peaceful sleep and got pulled out of an amazing dream of herself walking hand in hand with Kate around Central Park as they made their way towards their home to have their weekly date. Yes, date. Let’s not talk about that now, let’s focus on what or rather who woke Y/N up in the middle of the night. "What the-" Y/N murmured still half asleep, blinking her eyes in the dark room lit just by the moon and streetlights before settling her head back on the pillow with a soft thud and tried to get back to her wonderful dream, thinking her brain just made up that strange sound that woke her up. Just when she was about to fall back asleep, Y/N heard that noise again, this time followed by the faint whisper of her name. Ok, what the actual fuck. Y/N’s eyes slammed open before she hastily sat up and tried to locate the source of the sound in her room, "what the fuck?" She whispered a bit frightened, her heart beating wildly in her chest from the panic of having someone in her house.

"Y/N." The Y/H/C girl turned her head towards the window and squinted as she effectively saw a figure crouched down in front of her window on the fire escape.

"I’m armed!" Y/N absentmindedly grabbed the first thing that she could reach from her frozen spot in her bed before switching the lights on. She blinked a few times to help her eyes adjust to the sudden brightness before refocusing her attention on her window, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion when she saw a familiar figure there. She sat up and sauntered slowly towards her window, her frown only deepening when she recognized who was standing outside before opening her window, "Kate?"

"Hey. Nice weapon." Kate smiled sheepishly at her best friend with a taunting lilt in her voice as she tried to subdue her shivers but the New York’s cold and snow was proving it to be a difficult task as snowflakes landed gingerly on her head and stuck on her black hair, "can I come in?"

"Yeah, of course! You must be freezing!" Y/N stepped back to give Kate enough space to move into her room and frowned some more when she noticed the girl was taking longer than usual to climb into her apartment. It wasn’t unusual for Kate to enter her apartment through the window, she liked to be dramatic sometimes, but Y/N felt like something was oddly different this time, proving her point a few seconds later when Kate landed slowly on her feet and whimpered in pain. She closed the window quickly, before assessing the black haired girl who had her back to her as she shivered wildly, "not that I’m not happy to see you, but why the hell are you climbing into my apartment through my window in the middle of the night? What are you doing here?" Y/N rolled her eyes at her poor choice of her weapon to defend herself and placed her charger back on her nightstand.

"You’re acting like it never happened before."

"It did, but never this late and especially not when outside there’s a fucking snowstorm."

Kate snorted at Y/N’s extremely dramatic words and shook her head, "it’s simply snowing Y/N/N."

"Okay, then why are you hiding from me?" Y/N asked matter-of-factly as she crossed her arms around her chest and lifted her right eyebrow up in challenge. She watched as Kate’s shoulders moved up and down as she sighed loudly before tentatively turning around. Y/N gasped in shock when she took in Kate’s battered form, from her black right eye, to her cut left eyebrow and a bit of blood running down the side of her face, her bottom lip a bit swollen due to another cut gushing blood on the left side of it, to her suit completely ruined by a few slashes on her right arm, on her left hip and the right side of her ribs. With a better inspection, after taking a few steps towards the archer, she noticed she was bleeding through the cut on her arm and on her side and she felt a thrill run down her spine at the pained expression Kate was trying to cover up with a small, apologizing grin, "oh my god Kate! Who the hell did this to you?! What happened?!"

"You should’ve seen the other guys!" Kate winked with a cheeky grin at Y/N, but hissed in pain when her bottom lip hurt from the excessive strain of her smiling while another gush of blood streamed out of the cut on her eyebrow when she arched it proudly.

"Oh Kate." Y/N sighed out in exasperation as a traitorous smile rushed on her lips at the girl’s antics, "always joking, no matter how serious the situation is. And you’re literally bleeding in the middle my bedroom, so this is next level serious."

"You like it." Kate smiled as she teased Y/N by poking her finger into her side and watched as her grin broadened as a small giggle left her lips while she squirmed away from the soft tickling.

"I’m tempted to say I don’t but I would be lying." Y/N laid her hand softly on what she hoped was Kate’s not injured arm, sighing in relief when she didn’t emit any sound of pain or something like that, and caressed her bicep gently, "I need to take care of these injuries or you’ll lose too much blood. So you have all the time to explain to me what the hell happened to you."

"Yes mom." Y/N rolled her eyes at Kate’s witty counter back and helped her sit down at the foot of her bed, helping her out with taking off her combat boots before walking into the en-suite to retrieve a well-stocked first aid kit, "did you just robbed an hospital or pharmacy with all these gauzes, needles, stitches and so on?" Kate quipped as she inspected the inside of the box, a small snort leaving her mouth while looking at Y/N with a bright grin.

"Luckily no, I bought everything just in case you stumbled into my apartment injured." Y/N answered honestly as she soaked a cotton wool with oxygen peroxide and started tapping it on the cut on Kate’s left eyebrow, grimacing in apology when the girl hissed in pain, "sorry, sorry."

Kate felt butterflies fly around her stomach at the admission and at the thoughtful gesture and smiled warmly up at her best friend, her eyes skimming all over her beautiful features lighted up by the lights in the room and noticed how the focused look on Y/N’s face was making her ten more times attractive than she already was, "really? Have you been already prepared?"

"Well I hoped to never use it, but I bought it just in case." Y/N shrugged as she tapped as gently as she could on Kate’s cut, but the archer hissed in pain and winced a few times, however she tried to be as put as she could to let Y/N mend her injuries. She winced after a particular hard dab and turned her head instinctively to shield herself from the cotton wool, but a soft hand grasping her chin tenderly and turning her head around made her almost dizzy with mushy feelings swirling into her stomach, "remember, me helping you with your injuries does not mean I am not mad at you."

"I’m sorry, really. But you were the first that came to mind after I left the pier. I didn’t want to wake you up and scare you, so I was ready to go back to my place and mend my own injuries but then an asshole came out of nowhere and stabbed me in my side." Y/N gasped in worry at that as her eyes instinctively fell on the open, gushing cut and shivered visibly, "don’t worry, he was too stupid to know how to hurt someone. He just scratched a bit deeper than a normal cut, but I’m fine. I knocked him out a second later and was ready to follow through my previous plan, but I was too much in pain to do this all by myself."

Y/N listened carefully to Kate’s small and quick retelling of her night, knowing she still had to explain a lot but was happy her best friend was okay after the rough fight she seemed to have had not too long ago, "almost done." Y/N made sure to clean all the blood that gushed out of the cut and tapped on it a few more times before throwing it on the small trashcan she brought over to throw everything she needed to use to mend Kate’s injuries then grabbing another cotton wool and put the hydrogen peroxide on it as she focused on Kate’s bottom lip, "and this cut? What happened that made your lip bleed out?"

"A few lackeys charged towards me and when I succeeded into knocking three of them out, one came running from an hidden spot and head-butted me." Kate tried to explain with as much understandable words as she could due to Y/N blocking her bottom lip to clean it thoroughly, "I reacted after getting past the pain and let’s say he won’t be able to walk for a few weeks, maybe months." Kate continued before winking at Y/N who blushed gently and chuckled under her breath.

"Okay this will hurt, but I need to press a bit more to be sure the cut is well-cleaned."

Kate nodded and closed her eyes, instinctively wrapping her right hand around Y/N’s left wrist to prepare herself for the pain, a gesture that warmed the Y/H/C girl’s heart and put a tender smile on her lips, "ohw."

"I know, I’m sorry."

"It’s not your fault Y/N/N." Kate sighed out at the apologies coming out of Y/N’s mouth and opened her eyes to stare at her best friend down right into her Y/E/C irises, "you’re just trying to help. It just hurts like a bitch."

"Well I hope this teaches you something miss Bishop. You need to be more careful." Y/N stated with a big smile that hid a hint of seriousness behind it as Y/N finished taking care of Kate’s bruised lip.

"I know." Kate sighed dejectedly as she fidgeted with her fingers, "Clint told me I am a bit reckless and that is thanks to my big overconfidence I have, but I’m trying to do better. I know it was a bit dangerous for me to go there alone but I had to try and pin this asshole down."

"You seriously need someone that helps you out. And if not on the field, at least someone that guides you and watches your back from afar." Y/N countered back sweetly as she stopped rummaging around the first aid kit and looked into Kate’s intoxicating blue pools.

"I know, I thought about it. Actually, Clint suggested it too!"

"See?" Y/N shook her head in amusement and snorted under her breath at Kate’s sentence before smiling down at her best friend tenderly and tapping her knee gently before settling it comfortably there and squeezing the girl’s knee and thigh softly in reassurance, "we see eye-to-eye. And I mean he is Hawkeye after all, isn’t he?"

Kate laughed heartily at the joke and placed her hand on top of Y/N’s one to clap it softly before entwining their fingers together. "I am the Hawkeye now." Kate stated proudly and puffing her chest out as she nodded at the Y/E/C girl, who just chuckled in amusement.

"Oh, my bad." Y/N smirked in mockery at her best friend, who rolled her eyes in fond exasperation and got ready for their usual childish banter full of jokes and taunting. "So this means I should be honored to have an Avenger in my apartment?"

"You should be, yes."

"Then why all I am feeling is annoyance because you woke me up?" Y/N smirked as Kate shook her head with a smile before she pushed on the girl’s shoulder gently and triggered a small laugh from her. "Okay, we need to take care of those cuts too. I don’t know how bad they are but I need to be sure you’re not still gushing out blood from them." Y/N rummaged through the first aid kit box and got ready everything just in case Kate needed stitches and almost lost the control of her body when she realized she had to ask Kate to take off her suit top to inspect her injuries, "uhm-"

"What?"

"I need to- you have to- can- uff!" Y/N huffed out in frustration at herself for not knowing how to ask Kate to remove her suit’s top without blushing furiously, while the archer’s face erupted in a big grin.

"Hey, Y/N/N!" Kate smiled encouragingly at her best friend and grasped her bicep gently to calm her down, "easy, breathe and just ask away. It’s me, you know that."

I know, trust me. That’s the problem. Well not a problem, but y’know my crush on you is making me stutter like a lovesick puppy at the mere thought of having you half naked in front of me. "I know, okay." Y/N took a deep breath and just blurted out her request without second thoughts, "I need you to undress yourself."

Kate’s eyes widened imperceptibly at the request, despite knowing what Y/N was going to ask, she just wasn’t expecting that to be that bold, as her heart race started to increase at the thought, but covered all up with a gentle giggle at the Y/H/C girl’s poor choice of words, "okay." Kate’s gentle smile morphed into a smug one as she gripped the girl’s bicep once before continuing with a low tone, "I hoped you would’ve asked me on a date first, but I’m always eager and willing to try new things, in this case skipping a few steps." Kate winked seductively at a blushing Y/N and reveled in the adorable view with a smile that was turning back to being soft and gentle instead of smug, teasing and seductive.

"I-I-" Y/N was having an hard time with kick-starting her brain and making it function properly, but it has been proved to be a really difficult task to complete, not with the archer so close to her and hypnotizing her with her magnetic blue eyes and kissable lips curled over a tender grin. She got out of her gay panic induced haze when that said grin morphed into a wolfish one as the black haired girl obviously caught up with her stuttering self and rolled her eyes, before huffing out in fond frustration and started to sit up, "y’know what Bishop? Patch yourself up. I’m going back to sleep."

Kate laughed heartily at that and tightened her grasp around Y/N’s arm to prevent her from moving and boldly laid a soft peck on her cheek, "no, please! I’m sorry. Uhm- I need help though. I’m worried I will only make the situation worse if I pull my suit’s top off myself."

"You’re right. You can’t risk ripping the cuts more open that way. Here, easy." Y/N helped Kate with the zipper behind her back, pulling it slowly down as she nibbled on her bottom lip in concentration and anticipation, before just as slowly pulling the ripped suit’s top off of Kate and Y/N almost fainted at the sight of an half naked Kate Bishop in her bedroom.

"Sorry, I’m still a bit chilly from outside." Kate sheepishly apologized when goosebumps appeared on her skin and the blue eyed girl shuddered visibly, even though she was pretty sure she wasn’t shivering from the cold but from a pair of Y/E/C irises ogling her half naked torso.

Y/N was trying really hard in not blatantly stare at Kate’s chest clad in a black and purple sport bra or skidding her gaze up and down the girl’s contracted abs due to the shivers on her soft skin still wrecking her body. She tried okay? "Oh yeah, let me turn the heat up so you can warm up a bit." Y/N sat up straight and with wobbly legs dragged herself to the heat control and turned the heat up a few notches. "Here you go." Y/N walked back to the archer and forced herself to stay focused to help Kate and examined the cuts, shivering at the bad gashes. "Oh."

"What? That bad?" Kate met Y/N’s eyes and grimaced before following her previous gaze and looked at her injuries and furrowed her eyebrows in apology, "well, nothing that a few patches and some rest won’t heal." Kate tried to light up the mood as she watched Y/N’s face paint with worry.

"It’s not that bad." Y/N stated softly as she eyed the cuts a bit more before regarding Kate with a worried look mixed with a sprinkle of reprimand into her Y/E/C irises and frowned at her just a tiny bit, "but it still could’ve been worse and you could’ve been seriously injured. You need to be more careful on the field."

"I know, I know. I promise I will from now on." Kate reassured Y/N some more, her chest warming up at the clear worry showed by the Y/H/C girl, "hey, look at me. I’m here. I’m okay." Kate stared Y/N down and smiled softly at her, "a bit battered and exhausted but I have the most amazing best friend in the world who is an incredibly extemporary nurse when needed."

"Well playing soccer in high school meant a lot of injuries during games so I had to become good at mending wounds." Y/N giggled as she coated another cotton wool with oxygen peroxide and grimaced in apology at the archer, "I’m sorry, but this will hurt a hell lot more."

"Okay." Kate closed her eyes and prepared herself for the pain, "I’m read-FUCK!"

"Almost done, just a few seconds."

"Shit, shit, shit, fuck." Kate cursed repeatedly to try to subdue the excruciating pain coming from the disinfectant cleaning the wound on her shoulder, leaning her forehead on Y/N’s shoulder and breathed her amazing scent in for some comfort.

"Okay, done." Y/N smiled apologetically at Kate and instinctively kissed her shoulder gently, right on top of the wound, widening her eyes just a bit, imperceptibly enough for the archer to not to notice it when she pulled her head away from her own shoulder and played it cool with a soft laugh and busied herself with preparing another cotton wool with the disinfectant, not noticing the shivers appearing on the blue eyed girl and the blush blossoming on her cheeks and neck. "It seems like it doesn’t need any stitches, just a few patches to help the wound close as soon as possible and quicken the cicatrization and the healing process."

"Good, I think the worse one is the cut on my ribs." Kate leaned her head down and looked at the aforementioned injury, the Y/H/C girl mimicking her right after, and both inspected it closely.

"I don’t think this one needs stitches either, but I need to clean it up to be sure."

"Okay, let me just prepare myself." Kate took a few calming breaths, squeezed Y/N’s bicep three times before smiling at her, watching as the girl mimicked her grin and got to work.

"Try to stay still, it is a deep cut but luckily it just needs a few patches and you have to stay in bed for a few days." Y/N stopped her movements to pointedly look at Kate with her right eyebrow arched up in challenge and reprimand, only arching it more when the archer just smiled innocently at her. "Kate."

"Okay! But I need to-"

"No buts." Y/N interjected with an hard tone, amusement and mirth underlying in her voice, and lifted her right eyebrow back up at Kate in challenge, "you can work from home and you can take a few days off your vigilante work. Actually you need, you must have to take a few days off Hawkeye. And you will. I will make sure of that."

"And how are you gonna do that?" Kate challenged Y/N with an humorous, cheeky smirk after her determined speech spoken with fire burning behind her Y/E/C irises and lifted up her head, jutting her chin up defiantly.

"You are staying here with me." Y/N answered shortly with a casual but still a bit authoritative tone, resuming her work on Kate’s wound and swallowing loudly when she noticed each time she delicately swiped the cotton wool on the cut, Kate’s mouthwatering abs contracted involuntarily, making the defined muscles bulge up even more and causing Y/N’s tongue to itch to slip out and lick every inch of the archer’s stomach. "I will literally tie you up in my bed if necessary."

Kate took her time to answer to that, her eyes skidding over Y/N’s features as she noticed the hungry look she had on as she ogled her abdomen and smirked widely as her stomach flipped over itself at the prospect of having the girl reciprocate her feeling she had been nurturing since they were kids. "Hm, kinky. If you wanted me in your bed you just needed to ask."

The smirk Kate sent Y/N at her witty remark was so fucking filthy Y/N felt all her moisture leave her whole body and flow right between her legs. "I-hm- I-I-I-" Y/N slapped herself inwardly and tried to get a grip on herself, before countering back with real words instead of stuttering like the gay mess she was in that moment, "Kate! I was trying to be serious."

"I was too." Kate replied with a softer tone this time, trying to meet Y/N’s eyes that were trying desperately to avoid those ocean blue, hypnotic pools, but not even her voice stopped Y/N from lifting her gaze up from her stomach. She was laser focused on her abs and that discovery alone set Kate’s body aflame, while a smirk made its way on Kate’s face when she noticed Y/N being that much distracted by her contracting abs - she wasn’t contracting them on purpose - that her hand tapping on the cut moved a bit down and started tapping the archer’s clean skin right under the gash. "Y/N/N."

"Yeah?" Kate felt a wild shiver run down her spine at the raspy, hoarse, low tone Y/N used to reply, her eyes still glued to her stomach and her hand still tapping away relentlessly on Kate’s ribs.

"Just wanted to point out that if you want to clean the cut is about a few inches up from where you’re focusing on." Kate bit down on her bottom lip to prevent her smirk to become too smug as she watched Y/N furrow her eyebrows in confusion before removing her eyes from Kate’s abs and watching where she was tapping away. When she noticed she was totally missing the cut, a blush tinted her cheeks and neck as she sheepishly looked up at the blue eyed girl and smiled coyly.

"Sorry, I got distracted."

"By what?" Kate couldn’t contain her grin anymore and let it unfold widely on her lips as she stared pointedly into Y/N’s Y/E/C irises in amusement. When the girl avoided answering and got back on her task at hand and resumed cleaning Kate’s wound, Kate gripped Y/N’s arm to stop her and waited for the girl to meet her soft gaze, "Y/N? Answer me please. What got you distracted while cleaning my wound?"

"I-I-" Y/N stuttered as she desperately tried to pull her eyes away from Kate’s intense stare but she felt like she was trapped in the most sweetest trap. "I- y-your-"

"I might know the answer, but I want you to say it." Kate’s smirk widened when she watched Y/N’s blush deepen instantly, but still no sound escaped her lips as they stared each other down. "C’mon, Y/N/N. Say it."

"I- I got distracted b-by- ugh, do I have to say it? You know it. It’s already embarrassing enough." Y/N used her free hand to cover her blushing face and to shield herself from Kate’s intense gaze.

A melodious chuckle met the Y/H/C girl’s ear, making her groan again as she sunk more into her hand, but Kate’s fingers wrapping around her wrist and pulling her hand off her face gently, made her almost protest at her but she stopped herself when instead of meeting amused and smug blue eyes as she expected, she was met with serious irises staring back at her with fondness and some kind of determination she only saw when she attended the girl’s archery competitions and watched her determination making her win each single time. It made her swallow in curious anticipation as to why it was directed at her, "it’s not embarrassing Y/N/N."

"It’s not?"

"No." Kate countered back with a small shake of her head, a big grin unfolding on her plump, rosy lips, a bit swollen now from the cut on the left side, "it’s quite- how can I explain it? Alluring, enticing. You staring at my abs and getting distracted is everything but embarrassing."

"I’m sorry. I promise I will focus on your wounds only from now on."

"Who said it was a bad thing? You don’t need to apologize Y/N/N." Kate gripped Y/N’s wrist a bit more and smiled widely, leaning a bit closer while licking her suddenly dry lips, "if it makes you any better, you can stare at my abs as long as you please."

Y/N’s stomach churned wildly, Kate’s gaze making her hazy and unfocused and their distracting proximity made her brain malfunction and she couldn’t control the words that left her lips a few moments later, "I could stare at them forever." After the small snort Kate emitted, Y/N widened her eyes in dread as her face burned in embarrassment, "shit, I didn’t say it out loud, did I?"

"You did. And fuck- it was empowering. You can touch too, y’know?" An hard shiver wrecked her body as an hungry glint passed through Y/N’s eyes after her question.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes." Kate answered shortly, looking into Y/N’s eyes in challenge as she gave Y/N the opportunity to back away from this if she had read the signals wrong and Y/N wasn’t actually into her like Kate was into Y/N.

Y/N took a small breath in to steady herself and summon as much courage as she could before putting a seductive face on, arching her right eyebrow up and staring Kate down like a predator looked at its prey and asked in a raspy, low tone, "so you’re implying that, if I do this-" Y/N skidded her pointer finger up and down Kate’s abdomen, that contracted under the light touch, and smirked knowingly, "you would like it, am I right?"

"Fuck."

"That’s not a proper answer Kate." Y/N countered back with a sweet, innocent tone and smiled tenderly at her as she scratched Kate’s skin gently to pull another reaction from her.

"Oh." Kate moaned under her breath at the sensation triggering from that small gesture and felt her body shudder wildly in arousal, "yes!"

"Hm." Y/N hummed in thought as she repeated the motion and scratched at Kate’s abdomen more firmly, eliciting another small whine from the archer, "how about this?"

Kate bit down on her bottom lip hard when Y/N flattened her palm on her stomach and pressed gently there, careful on not hurting her in the process by scraping over one of the girl’s wounds on her torso, "oh fuck, yes." Kate couldn’t believe this was happening. Y/N was actually into her, right? She wouldn’t have followed through Kate’s teasing if she wasn’t, right?

"Hm, I like these pretty sounds coming out of your mouth." Y/N hummed in appreciation as her eyes fell down on her hand and bit on her bottom lip hungrily at the defined muscles contracted needily under her palm.

Kate grunted in pure lust as she tried to collect some of her cool and tease Y/N back, wanting to see that beautiful blush tinting her features again, so she lifted her free hand up and combed her fingers into Y/N’s Y/H/C tresses and pushed her face closer to hers, "hm, I wonder what beautiful sounds I could pull out of you."

Y/N whined pitifully under her breath as she instinctively moved closer to try to reduce the gap between their faces as much as she could, "Kate." Y/N sighed in pure bliss as her other hand gripping on the archer’s scalp tightened its grasp, her arousal growing copiously from their blatant teasing.

"Hm, I love how your name comes out of your beautiful lips." Kate boldly inched closer and brushed their noses together, feeling electricity all around them as the air became heavier.

"I-I- shit." Y/N scratched the archer’s abs some more in need, eliciting a loud groan from the girl and shivered in the process.

"Fuck. Can I- oh shit-" Kate trailed off to whine needily when Y/N teased the underside of her sport bra-clad left breast before skidding rapidly down and teasing her lower stomach right above her pants. "Can I kiss you?"

"Shit." Y/N moaned pitifully between them, a sound that traveled right down Kate’s spine and merged right between her legs, hitting her core hard and making a gush of fresh arousal to leave it and drench her panties some more, ruining them completely, "I thought you would never ask."

Kate shuddered at the need clear in Y/N’s hoarse voice and inched impossibly closer to Y/N, wanting to hear the girl to give her permission to close the gap between them, "is that a yes?"

"Yes! But if it isn’t an enough validation, how about this?" Y/N whispered sultry between them before surging forward and clashing their lips together, making Kate gasp in both surprise and eagerness when she felt Y/N’s plump lips wrap around hers in a slow, delicate kiss, a stark contrast from their previous teasing activities. They felt that trope-y sensation of the world stopping around them as they lips danced together experimentally, both savoring the feeling of the other’s lips on their own, so much better than how they imagined and dreamed so many times all these past years. Y/N pecked Kate’s lips a few more times, smiling brightly when the archer chased her mouth down for more chaste kisses each time she tried to pull away, before giving her what she wanted and kissing her hard once more then pulling effectively away from the archer, but still staying in her personal space as she leaned their foreheads together. "I have been waiting to do this for years."

Y/N’s admission breathed out on her lips in a haze as she skidded her eyes all over Kate’s face to commit to memory her beautiful features, made Kate’s almost fall off the bed as she fainted in pure bliss, "are you serious?! I had been pining over you since we met in grad school!"

Y/N’s eyes glazed over with happiness and love as she let Kate’s words sink in, before leaning forward and shared a languid, soft peck with her, "if you came stumbling into my apartment injured way sooner, we could’ve been together for a long time now." Y/N taunted with a teasing look in her Y/E/C irises and giggled when she heard Kate gasp indignantly.

"Oh so this is my fault?"

"Totally!" Y/N replied seriously as she nodded resolutely at Kate before letting out what Kate considered the cutest shriek when she tickled her softly.

"Well." Kate started with an amused grin after stopping her assault on Y/N’s torso and grasped her hands in hers, her stomach combusting in mushy feeling and wild butterflies when Y/N turned her hands over and interlocked their fingers together as she mirrored Kate’s big, bright grin before bumping their noses together cutely and leaning over to share a quick, soft peck then letting the archer continue with her train of thoughts, "if I remember correctly, I did stumble into your apartment injured when we were younger. It only wasn’t your apartment, it was your dorm room when we were in our freshman year there."

"I remember that night! I remember how I badly I wanted to kiss you for protecting me." Y/N leaned over to kiss Kate languidly, but pushed on the archer’s chest when she tried to deepen the kiss with a small laugh, "you were so cute but also so hot with your black eye and bottom lip bleeding. Well, would you look at that! Something resembles that night!"

Kate smiled as Y/N lifted their interlocked hands and touched her bruised lip softly, shuddering visibly when she disentangled their hands to focus on rubbing her thumb right under the wound and pulled at her lip gently, before wrapping her mouth around it, cautiously avoiding the cut, to suck on it tenderly, eliciting a small whine from the archer, who combed her fingers into Y/N’s hair and pushed her more into her. "You could’ve kissed me that night."

"And risking having my heart shattered when Kate Bishop, college’s heartthrob and the most wanted girl would’ve rejected me before going to fuck some random fangirl throwing her panties in her face? No thank you." Y/N replied with a sarcastic tone, a wistful lilt present in her tone as she avoided Kate’s eye contact, who was trying desperately to lock her gaze.

"Y/N, look at me." When Y/N kept playing with a fresh cotton wool without moving her Y/E/C pools to meet Kate’s ocean blue ones, she sighed and placed a finger under her chin and tilted her head towards hers to meet her apologetic eyes, "I would’ve kissed you back. Hell I would’ve took you to a date right after that kiss." Kate was quick to assure Y/N as she bracketed her face and cradled it between her hands, caressing her jaw gently as she tried to morph Y/N’s frown into that bright smile she loved so much, "I admit it wasn’t the best period of my life back then. We just started college, I gained quite some audience with my archery skills and victories during championships and I- I was feeling a bit lonely." Kate sighed dejectedly as she tried to find the right words to explain her behavior during those years, "I swear I just slept with only a few girls that, like you said, threw their panties in my face, but I stopped a couple of months later when I knew those girls couldn’t never, in a million years, compare to you. Even if I tried to at least move on from you, knowing I could never have a shot with you, I couldn’t. With only a small gesture you pulled me right back in."

"But I had to endure girls gushing with their friends about how Kate Bishop ‘rocked their world all night long’ or ‘fucked their brains out’ or ‘railed their bod-"

"Okay, I think I got it." Kate chuckled embarrassed as she tried to discard images of doing all those things to Y/N. "Uhm, those were just voices. I was winning trophies after trophies, medals after medals and people just wanted some fame by telling they slept with me. But I swear never went further than an heavy make out session while I was drunk. I was too in love with you to go further." Kate held her breath in anticipation as she wore her heart all the way out in hope Y/N’s worries would wash away.

Y/N gasped softly under her breath at this new piece of information as her heart rate skyrocketed wildly, "what?"

"I am in love with you. I have been for quite a long time now."

Y/N stared at Kate in disbelief, her eyes wide and her breath shallow as she tried to wrap her head around Kate’s confession, "w-what?"

Kate chuckled nervously, covering up her anxiety for maybe dropping a bomb on Y/N too soon, but the cat was out of the bag now, so she continued wearing her heart out for Y/N. "I am in love with you. I love you with all my heart. And believe me when I say-"

"Wait, hold on. You love me?" Y/N interrupted Kate to ask with a shocked tone, her features stretching over an almost confused frown as she stared intently at the archer.

Kate chuckled once again, still not knowing if Y/N was stunned by her confession because she was freaking out in a bad way or in a good way. "Yeah." Kate cleared her throat when she heard her voice crack a little from nervousness and distress, but covered it up with a small, sheepish smile, "like I said I have been for a long while. When I slept with those girls, it was just a poor attempt to try to get over you-"

"Wait." Y/N stopped Kate once again mid-sentence, lifting her right hand up between them and furrowing her eyebrows together, "let me wrap my head around something I’ve been dreaming about since I realized I was in love with you. You love me?!"

Kate’s stomach exploded in a million of butterflies at the confession and bit down on her bottom lip to attempt to subdue her grin trying to grow widely on her face, before grasping the back of Y/N’s neck and cupping her neck as her thumbs gently caressed her jaw then pulling her forward and leaning their foreheads together, "yes, Y/N/N. Stop looking so astonished, I love you. With all my heart."

"I love you. So much." Y/N whispered in a daze, her eyes fixated on Kate’s face before surging forward and clashing their lips together in a kiss full of the emotions they had been stashing away for too long. "I love you." Y/N whispered on Kate’s lips before leaving a peck there, "I love you." She continued like this, alternating between murmuring those three words on the archer’s mouth and small, sweet kisses, triggering adorable, cute and carefree giggles from Kate.

"If this is a dream don’t wake me up. Wait maybe I am unconscious on the pier’s floor!" Kate chuckled at her own joke, but grimaced a second later when Y/N regarded her with an unamused look. "Too soon?"

Y/N’s frown quickly became a big, bright grin before she shook her head and kissed Kate languidly a few more seconds, "let’s get you cleaned up Hawkeye."

Kate felt her stomach do somersaults at the nickname but willed her body to stop buzzing in excitement as she gritted her teeth when Y/N resumed cleaning the wound on her ribs. "Fuck."

"Almost done, just a few seconds." Y/N finished her ministrations on the open cut, blowed some fresh air on it before laying a soft kiss right beside it and thinking about her action only when she felt Kate’s intake of breath and her abs contracting excessively under her lips. "Hm." Y/N started embarrassedly when she moved her head up to be face to face with Kate, her cheeks burning in a red hue and her bottom lip trapped under her teeth, but when she opened her mouth again to apologize for her gesture, Kate’s hands grasped her neck harshly and her tongue invaded her mouth to lick hungrily and suck eagerly on her own wet muscle. Y/N moaned in appreciation when a particular swipe of Kate’s tongue made her legs wobble and she almost crashed into Kate’s body, but the archer moved her hand on her hip to stabilize her, but the second moan that escaped Y/N’s mouth, set Kate’s body aflame as pure, raw arousal pumped fast in her veins, so with a small pull on the girl’s waist, she prompted Y/N to straddle her legs. "Fuck." Y/N murmured between kisses at the silent motion and quickly stumbled over Kate’s form, her thighs bracketing the archer’s legs as they mouths never stopped devouring each other.

"You’re so hot Y/N/N." Kate murmured on Y/N’s lips when they pulled away to take some needed air before moving down her jaw to nibble on the defined muscles there, focusing on her neck and sucking on her pulse point right after and smirking proudly at the mewls leaving Y/N’s lips as she gripped her scalp to push her more into her skin and quickly bit on it, then letting her tongue out to lick the stinging pain away. Y/N then gasped loudly at the gesture and bucked her hips slightly at the arousal growing quickly between her legs and shuddered visibly when Kate’s hand secured on her hip skidded down and kneaded her ass harshly as her lips attacked her collarbones to leave another sweet mark there, "I want you. So. Fucking. Bad." Kate bit down hard on Y/N’s skin and moaned alongside Y/N when the girl bucked her hips more firmly to gain some friction.

"Oh Kate."

"Hm, moan my name again." When Kate didn’t hear Y/N emit a sound, she looked up at her and found the girl completely unfocused, lost in her own aroused mind, with her eyes closed and her bottom lip trapped under her teeth. "I said-" Kate bit on Y/N’s pulse point again and smirked when the girl whined softly still biting on her bottom lip, so with a wicked idea in her hazed mind, a newfound resolution to hear the girl moan and the impending need to fuck her, she skidded her other hand wrapped around Y/N’s nape down her torso and gripped Y/N’s left breast harshly, whining at the knowledge of the girl clearly not wearing a bra when she felt a nipple stand up under her palm at the unexpected attention.

"Oh fuck Kate!" Y/N bucked her hips again in need while her head fell forward and leaned her temple on Kate’s hair, "fuck, keep going." Y/N pleaded in a breathy tone, another whine escaping her lips at the girl eagerly kneading her ass and boob with a matching rhythm while her head fell off Kate’s head and moved backward as her back arched more into the girl’s hand.

"Hm, so needy for my touch." Kate murmured in desire as she tried to move her eager lips down the girl’s torso but her pajama shirt was making that task nearly impossibile, "can I take this off?"

"Yes! But wait, your wounds-" Y/N mumbled in a haze as she found an ounce of clarity to remember why Kate was here in the first place, but it was gone a moment later when the archer slipped her hand under her shirt and pinched her nipple softly.

"They can wait." Kate murmured as she stared up at Y/N through hooded eyes, waiting patiently for Y/N’s ‘go ahead’ as she never stopped her ministrations on her chest and ass. "Can I take this off please?"

"Yes. Yes!" With the craved validation, Kate removed her hands off Y/N just enough to pull her shirt off her head, taking just a moment to admire the marvelous sight of Y/N’s breasts on display only for her, perked nipples staring back at her as goosebumps appeared on her skin at the cold air of the room hitting her hot skin, before her hands slipped under the girl’s pants and panties to grasps her ass without any piece of clothing in the way as she leaned forward and attached her mouth on Y/N’s collarbones and started a journey down her mouthwatering boobs.

"So perfect." Kate murmured on Y/N’s skin, biting softly on top of Y/N’s left breast before licking all the way down her nipple, wrapping her wet muscle around it and then slipping it into her mouth and sucked on it avidly. "So delicious."

"Kate! Fuck!" Y/N let out loudly as her hands clamped down on her black tresses and pushed her more into her chest, shuddering copiously when Kate switched to the other breast to give her nipple the same treatment, the air hitting her now wet breast deliciously.

"Hm, are you turned on as I am? Fuck you have no idea-" Kate trailed off to leave a few open mouthed kisses all over Y/N’s sternum, before continuing, "how many times I’ve dreamed about this, imagined about this, fuck." Kate felt a surge of fresh arousal curse through her at the scenarios she made up in her mind during all these years and gripped Y/N’s ass hard to push her more into her.

"Babe-"

"Hm, yes?"

"Fuck." Y/N opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to find enough coherent words to answer Kate’s question, but she succeeded in just cursing out in an harsh breath when her core clenched down on nothing.

"Hm, since you can’t tell me how turned on you are, maybe I should check myself, what do you think?" Kate asked in a pensive, serious tone, before a wolfish grin made its way over up to her features, that morphed in a proud one when Y/N moaned pitifully and bucked her hips in a silent, desperate validation. "Can I?"

Y/N canted her hips up again and nodded furiously, her hands around Kate’s hair tightening their grasp as she prompted Kate on. "Please." Kate moved her lips back up over Y/N’s ones and kissed her hungrily while one of her hands slipped out of Y/N’s pants and circled her hips before settling in front of Y/N and cupped her through her pajama pants. "FUCK!"

"Is this enough?" Kate asked innocently, blinking up at Y/N and smirking when the girl grounded her hips down her hand to gain some friction.

"No babe, please touch me."

"Hm, in a minute. I need to make sure you are wet enough for me. But I can’t feel it with all these layers."

"Then fucking do something." Y/N forced out harshly, her brain too much gone and her arousal too much unbearable to function properly and ask nicely.

"So needy." Kate smirked and teasingly pecked Y/N’s lips before swiftly slipping nimble fingers under Y/N’s pajama pants and cupped the girl through her panties, finding the garment completely drenched. "Fuck, you’re dripping."

Kate tentatively circled the girl’s clit through her panties with two fingers and Y/N tensed as a moan left her lips before moving her hands from her neck to her shoulders for more stability, but got almost thrown away when Kate screamed in pain and curled over her own body when she involuntarily pressed her fingers on the gash on her upper arm, "FUCK!"

"Oh shit baby! Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. Shhh, I’m so so sorry!" Y/N scrambled off the archer’s lap and clarity came up to her, clearing up her hazed mind as she stared at Kate’s face scrunched up in pain with her eyes brimmed with tears.

"It’s o-okay." Kate strained out through gritted teeth and closed her eyes to will the pain to go away, before reopening them again and focusing her deep blue irises back on Y/N. "The pain is gone. Come here. I was about to fuck you."

"Hm-hm. No. Not happening."

"Why?" Y/N had to literally restrain herself at the adorable pout Kate sent her as she tried to grasp her hips to push her back on her lap, but she moved more out of her reach and shook her head furiously.

"Because I almost lacerated your cut on your arm some more. You‘ll be lucky if you won’t need stitches now."

"It was well worth it." Kate stated with a mischievous smile on and wiggling eyebrows before continuing, "and it would be even more worth it if we keep going."

"Do not tempt me Bishop. I’m trying to be responsible." Y/N let Kate pull her between her open legs as she hugged her closer, with her face laying comfortably on her stomach, her cheek squished cutely on her skin, and sighed in frustration when she felt the very uncomfortable pressure between her legs still nagging her to no end.

"Hm, c’mon baby." Kate murmured on Y/N’s abdomen before peppering open mouthed kisses there, teasing Y/N some more as her hands clasped down on her ass while her lips trailed over the waistband of her pajama pants before sitting up straight and wrapping her mouth around a pebbled nipple, only now then her brain catching up in realization that she was still half naked in front on Kate.

"Kate." Y/N reprimanded as her hands sneaked into Kate’s hair, but her voice came out whispered and pleading and shook her head at her own hormones to get a fucking grip on themselves. "Kate." She succeeded now in speaking up in authoritative voice as she pulled on Kate’s scalp a bit more firmly and almost threw her resolve away when Kate moaned around her nipple.

"Do that again."

Y/N stashed away the conversation they will definitely have at Kate’s response and tried softly, "babe, please stop."

As if a jolt passed through Kate’s entire body, she jerked away and looked at Y/N in worry, something that warmed Y/N’s chest beyond herself, "what’s wrong?"

"Nothing’s wrong babe. We just need to stop for now."

"But-"

"I know, babe. I want you too, but you’re seriously injured and you had been lucky enough to come back to me in one piece. So please, let’s just-" Y/N pecked Kate’s pouty lips gently before continuing with her speech, "give your body enough time to heal properly. Then I am all yours."

"Fuck, okay. Ugh, I was ready to touch you, to finally feel you around my fingers." Kate rattled off in frustration, clenching her hands, now in a more appropriate place around Y/N’s waist, on Y/N’s skin and leaned her head on the girl’s stomach.

"Babe, it’s not easy for me either. I’ve been waiting for this moment just as much as you had." Y/N whispered lovingly on the girl’s hair before laying a tender kiss there. "Let me finish mending on your wounds, then we can cuddle and watch a movie."

Kate sighed as she closed her eyes and willed her own arousal to subside, "we waited so long, a bit more won’t be that hard right?" Kate conceded softly when she lifted her head up and laid her chin on Y/N’s stomach to look up at her, only to shudder hungrily when her naked boobs dotted with a few hickeys got in the way. "Hm, you should put a shirt on, otherwise I don’t want to be held responsible if I jump on your bones and fuck you senseless."

Y/N let out a small moan when a fresh gush of arousal left her core at the images bouncing at the forefront of her mind and tightened her grip on Kate’s scalp a few seconds before reluctantly pulling away and retrieving her shirt laying on the floor near Kate’s feet, then continued cleaning Kate’s wounds and patched her up.

-

The next day Y/N was the first one to wake up, the sun already up in the sky as the city below was in full swing with people passing by to go wherever they need to be while cars honks echoed around the busy streets. Y/N’s eyes blinked a few times to get used to the brightness in the room before realizing how warm she was due to the body she was clinging to right beside her and last night caught up with her still a bit sleepy brain and smiled widely while she slowly lifted her head up from Kate’s chest to look up at her relaxed face as small, steady breaths left her lips as she slept peacefully. She stared at the perfect beauty that she had in front of her and let butterflies fly free into her stomach as she recalled the events of last night while a familiar pressure made its presence known at the images of Kate’s hands and lips lavishing her her brain replayed over and over again. She couldn’t help the big bright smile that formed there when Kate’s ‘I love you’ echoed around her mind and involuntary hugged Kate closer, careful in not waking her up. "I can few you smile."

Y/N’s grin became even more big at the archer’s voice as her Y/E/C irises, still fixated on the girl’s face, noticed the archer had her eyes still closed but her face stretched over a smile of her own, "I can’t help it, I have the most beautiful girl in my bed."

"Yeah, you are breathtaking. It’s not my bed though." Kate joked as she finally opened her eyes and Y/N’s chuckle at Kate’s counter back died in her throat when bright blue irises stared intently into her Y/E/C ones as she hugged her so close their noses brushed together. "Can I kiss you?"

Y/N’s stomach flipped over itself at the question as she smiled sheepishly, "I have morning breath."

"So do I. I don’t care as long as you don’t." This time, instead of answering with real words she leaned over and wrapped her mouth around Kate’s one languidly, both humming happily into the kiss as they hugged each other more closely. "Good morning babe."

"Hm, good morning beautiful." Y/N laid her head back on Kate’s chest and looked ahead of her as she carefully caressed her bandaged side, a sense of domesticity and love invading her bones, "how do you feel?"

"Like a fucking truck run over me." Kate’s smile broadened when Y/N left a small, tender kiss on her sternum.

"I need to check the wounds to be sure no one got infected."

"Just admit you want to see me naked." Kate joked with an airy laugh, only to whine in pain when her ribs hurt a bit.

"Well it would only be fair since you saw and touched my boobs." Kate hummed lowly as her hand around Y/N’s ribs skidded up and caressed the side of Y/N’s breast before moving a bit further down and grasped it gently. "Babe, behave." Y/N slapped Kate’s hand away and chuckled at Kate’s sigh.

"I can’t help it. Now that I have you, I can’t help but want you in every way, every single moment of the day." Kate growled as she pulled Y/N into another kiss, this time hungrier as her tongue swiped over the seam of Y/N’s lips to ask for permission, Y/N granting it a beat later, and both hummed in appreciation when their tongues slid over each other.

"I know, I feel the exact same way. But I don’t want to hurt you. No-" Y/N kissed Kate firmly when the girl opened her mouth to counter back before pulling away and continuing, "I know your stubborn ass was going to say I won’t but I don’t want to risk like last night. And I don’t want to- y’know hump you or something like that, I want to feel all of you."

Kate shuddered at the words and raked her hands over Y/N’s back before closing her eyes and breathing evenly, "I want that too. But we can wait."

"Yeah, but-" Y/N trailed off seductively as she rubbed teasingly her clothed chest over Kate’s clothed one, feeling their nipples clash after every each swipe up and down before trapping Kate’s bottom lip under her teeth and sinking them softly on it before suckling on it a few seconds to soothe the sting away, "it doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun while we wait for your masterpiece of a body to heal completely."

Kate groaned greedily and gripped Y/N’s ass to help her movements as she slipped her tongue into her mouth and sucked on Y/N’s one hungrily. "You’re so fucking hot."

"Not as much as you are." Y/N whispered sultrily before laying a sweet peck on Kate’s lips and sitting up, "c’mon, I’ll change your bandages after your shower. I’ll go prepare our breakfast."

"Or you can always join me." Kate countered back seductively as she tried to sit up to kiss Y/N again, but whimpered in pain when a excruciating pain hit her ribs.

"Nice try Bishop. Let me help you up so you can go shower." Y/N got off the bed and stretched her hands over to help Kate up too, before walking hand in hand in her en-suite, grabbing a fresh towel for her and walking over the door to give Kate some privacy but she stopped her in her tracks.

"Y/N/N."

"Hey, what’s wrong?" Y/N asked alarmed when she watched the girl standing in the middle of the bathroom wringing her fingers as she smiled sheepishly at her.

"Nothing, it’s just- I need some help with my shirt. My ribs hurt."

"Oh yeah, here- wait, is this one of your wicked games tricking me into something?" Y/N stared Kate down through squinted eyes in suspicion, but the archer kept looking at her innocently.

"No?" Y/N hummed at the answer more questioned than stated and cautiously lifted Kate’s shirt up, "the sport bra too." Y/N lifted an unimpressed eyebrow up and smiled incredulous at the girl. "I can’t take it off myself."

"Just tell the truth and I will help you."

"I seriously need help." Y/N went to roll her eyes when Kate’s voice stopped her mid-roll, "but some fun in the way won’t hurt, right?" A wolfish grin then appeared on Kate’s lips that made Y/N’s insides burn with want.

"Unbelievable." Y/N tried to avoid Kate’s puppy dog eyes and sighed when the archer circled her waist and nuzzled her cheek with her nose. She won. Kate knew Y/N caved in and smiled triumphantly, "5 minutes. If you feel any pain we’re stopping."

"Okay. By the way you look hot when you’re so bossy." Kate murmured on her cheek where she planted kisses there repeatedly as she hugged the girl closer. "I just wanted to return the favor."

"What?"

"You let me enjoy your wonderful boobs last night, I’ll let you enjoy mine now." Y/N whined at the offer and sunk her nails on Kate’s back in need. "Are you still sure about that 5 minutes rules?" Kate asked seductively as she nibbled on Y/N’s lobe, hearing her take a sharp intake of breath as she clung to her.

"Yes. I don’t want you to be in much more pain than you already are." Y/N replied earnestly as she silently asked Kate by tapping on her arms to lift them to take the sport bra up and off of Kate, her eyes darkening instantly when they fell on the archer’s round, full breasts and licked her lips involuntarily.

"Hm, like what you see?"

"Yes, a lo- wait, oh my god!" Y/N’s eyes settled on a big purple bruise forming on Kate’s left ribs that was concealed under the sport bra, and she gasped as lust got replaced by worry, "you didn’t tell me last night you got fucking kicked in the ribs."

Kate found Y/N’s reprimand gaze adorable and smiled innocently up at her, "in my defense, my mouth was too busy to talk."

Kate’s cheeky statement set her body aflame as shivers spread all over her skin and arousal pumped fast in her veins, but it just lasted a moment before worry prevailed. "Does it hurt?"

"Not too much. When I woke up it was hurting like crazy, but now it’s subsiding."

"You’re not belittling your pain just because you want me to suck your tits right?"

Kate blushed furiously at the bold, crass words as a familiar coiling feeling settled on her lower belly, "no, I swear. It’s still a slight stinging pain right into my side, but if I don’t make sudden movements, I am overall fine."

"You sure?" Y/N asked worriedly, biting her bottom lip as she stared in apprehension up at Kate, "I don’t want to hurt you if I get too carried away like last night." Y/N confessed while her hands caressed the archer’s naked back up and down, paying attention in not pressing too much on her bruised side or on her bandaged cuts.

"C’mere babe." Kate smiled lovingly at her before tugging softly on her shirt and squishing her into a soft hug, "I promise I will tell you if the pain gets too much to handle. I know you won’t hurt me purposefully. I don’t blame you for getting carried away last night, let alone hurting me for blindly reaching for me. I love you."

Y/N felt her heart rate skyrocket at those three words whispered out lovingly on the crown of her head before feeling a kiss being laid there. "I love you babe." They stayed like that, in their comfortable, loving bubble for a few seconds before the archer shifted in her position to hug Y/N closer and made her naked chest to rub deliciously over Y/N’s clothed one, their nipples brushing gently and making her let out a small whimper.

Y/N pulled gently from the hug and kissed Kate tenderly. Y/N knew Kate wasn’t pressuring her into touching and tasting her boobs, if she wasn’t in the mood for that and she just wanted to have a few soft, slow and languid kisses she would respect it. But Y/N wanted to taste Kate’s mouthwatering boobs, she wanted so much more, she wanted all of Kate but unfortunately they had to wait a bit more for that. She silently told Kate just that when she pushed more into the kiss and slipped her tongue in when Kate granted her access and licked avidly into her mouth while her hands caressed her back, then moved to her sides, always careful in not hurting Kate, before slipping them between their bodies and grasping both of Kate’s boobs, massaging slowly those soft mound and whining into the kiss when she felt two nipples teasing the palm of her hands. "Your tits feel amazing under my hands." Kate moaned at the whispered affirmation and arched her chest more into Y/N’s hands as a moan escaped her lips when Y/N’s lips traveled down her jaw and settled at the base of her throat to leave a visible mark there. "Can I lick them?"

"Yes! Do whatever you want." Kate let out in a strained voice with her face contorting in pleasure at Y/N pinching softly on her nipples before resuming its unrelenting kneading. "Fuck, that felt amazing."

Y/N smirked on Kate’s collarbone as she licked the raw skin there before slowly bending slightly while leaving wet kisses down her sternum, before stopping on the top of the black haired girl’s left boob and nibbled the skin there gently, she then proceeded in teasing Kate some more as she kissed all around her nipple but neglecting it every time her mouth was ready to wrap around it, smiling triumphantly at Kate being so pliant when her flat palms behind her back pushed her more into her mouth. "Does it feel good?"

"Yes babe, but please more." Y/N smirked at the needy tone Kate used as she switched to the other breast and did the exact same thing of kissing thoroughly the archer’s boobs but ignoring her straining nipples begging to be touched.

Y/N turned again to the other breast and wanted to repeat the same gestures, but moaned pitifully when the archer’s hands clasped in her hair gripped there tightly and pushed her mouth right on her nipple, "needy." Y/N stated shorty right on the pebbled nipple before engulfing it with the wet, warmth of her mouth and sucked on it like her life depended on it.

"Oh yes! Fuck." Kate hissed out in pleasure as white shocks of pure pleasure run down her spine and merged between her thighs were an already copious amount of wetness was collecting there.

"Hm, delicious." Y/N let out in a haze as she switched to the other breast and suckled on Kate’s nipple hungrily as her hands clamped down on Kate’s marvelous ass and kneaded it eagerly. She decided to slow down their fun activities when Kate’s hips bucked needily over hers to gain some friction, peppering soft, light kisses all the way from the girl’s boobs up to her mouth, kissing her hungrily just a few seconds before pecking her lips repeatedly a few more seconds then pulling away. "Take a well needed shower. I’m going to make some breakfast for us."

Kate let her hazy mind clear a bit, understanding Y/N for slowing everything down to prevent it to be more easy to stop instead of getting completely lost in their desire and risking hurting her, something that made her love for the girl grow exponentially more - she didn’t know it could be possible - as her stomach clenched adoringly at her. She caught up with Y/N’s words and gasped in fake indignation, laying her hand on her heart as she gasped loudly, "are you implying I stink?"

Y/N smirked mischievously at Kate and shrugged nonchalantly, "you said it. Not me."

Kate gasped again and slapped Y/N shoulder softly, looking at her lovingly when a tender laugh escaped her mouth, "okay, leave. Go make breakfast for yourself. I’m leaving."

Y/N laughed heartily at that and stopped Kate from pulling herself away from their embrace and kissed her left cheek repeatedly, "I’m sorry. I meant you need your muscles to relax a bit and the shower will help with that. You also need to wash the wounds so they won’t get infected, although I will probably use the disinfectant again to-"

Kate stopped Y/N with a breathtaking kiss, smiling when the girl visibly relaxed and hugged Kate closer, "I’ll see you in a bit."

"Yeah." Y/N murmured in a daze and a dumb smile and Kate couldn’t help but giggle softly and leave another peck on Y/N’s mouth then reluctantly pulled away. "If you need something call me."

"Don’t try to find excuses to come here while I’m in the shower, just join me instead." Kate teased with a teasing wink and reveled in the deep red blush dusting on Y/N’s face before pushing her towards the exit, slapping her ass in the process and winking at her again when she turned towards the archer to stare at her incredulously.

-

"Kate you have to stay still."

"I’m sorry it fucking hurts!" Kate whined when Y/N was trying to put ointment on her bruised ribs after her shower, but every time Kate jerked up in pain, Y/N’s hand jabbed in her side and increased the pain ten fold.

"I’m sorry baby, I’m almost done I promise." After making sure Kate’s bandages were all clean, the archer got dressed with Y/N’s help, who was clearly struggling in watching the half naked form in front of her, "that’s my shirt."

"I know. I love your clothes and besides all my stuff is at my place."

Realization then downed on her when she remembered they weren’t together and they weren’t sharing a place yet, so Kate would probably ask her to go back to her apartment where all her things were. When she told Kate she was gonna tie her to her bed to not let her leave to heal completely she was only kidding, so at the mere though of Kate leaving a big hole in her chest started forming, "oh yeah right."

"What’s wrong?" The black haired girl asked with her eyebrows furrowed in a worried frown at the Y/E/C girl’s dejected tone and clear upset features.

"Nothing."

"Yeah right. Y/N/N we’ve been best friends since we were kids, I know you when you lie. Tell me, please." Kate sat up on the bed and patted the place beside her for the girl standing in front of her to sit on.

Y/N sighed slightly and sat down, their thighs brushing gently and a sense of comfort immediately calmed her down, "I just realized you will probably need to go back to your place and I know we will see each other in the next couple of days, but I just- liked this small domestic bubble we’ve created in these past few hours."

"I need to go back to my place, yeah." Kate confirmed slowly as she eyed the girl sighing dejectedly and nodding in reverence, "I need to take a few things like my laptop, a few files and dossiers to work on and then you’ll help me take it all back here."

Kate bit down on her bottom lip to prevent her smile to broaden at the plethora of emotions passing though the Y/E/C girl at her words. Sadness, then confusion, then puzzlement, then bewilderment, then elation and then merriment. "What?"

"You heard me."

"Yeah, but- are you- I mean- staying here?" Y/N asked sheepishly as she wrung on her fingers anxiously, feeling her hands getting a bit sweaty.

"Of course." Kate then let her grin broaden as she grabbed Y/N’s hand and entwined their fingers together lovingly, took them up to her lips and kissed Y/N’s knuckles softly without breaking their staring contest before laying them on her lap and squeezing three times Y/N’s hand in comfort, "if that’s okay with you."

"Are you kidding me?! Of course I would love to have you here for as long as you would like to stay." Y/N was quick to reassure Kate as she squeezed her hand back and leaned over to peck her lips, feeling a weight lifting off her shoulders now that they established they wanted to spend more time together and Kate reassured Y/N she wanted to stay at her place and not go back to hers, only going there to take a few things she needed to work from home. At Y/N’s house. Y/N’s stomach did somersaults at that thought alone as she smiled dumbly at the archer. "You forgot your clothes."

"Hm, no. I’m more than happy with wearing yours." Kate smiled cheekily as she hovered her mouth over Y/N’s one before slipping her tongue out to tease the seam of Y/N’s lips. Y/N sighed loudly as she parted her lips slowly and in a second Kate’s tongue invaded her mouth, immediately sucking on her own wet muscle while her hands sneaked into her hair and gripped her scalp to push her more into the kiss.

-

"Y’know I was starting to like that black eye, it made you look badass." Y/N pointed out as she put some ointment on the cut on Kate’s eyebrow and smiled when the archer huffed out indignantly.

"I’m always a badass. I don’t need proof to make me look like it."

Y/N snorted in amusement and nodded quickly when the archer met her eyes and stared her down unimpressed, "tell this to the Kate that stumbled into my apartment at 2 a.m a week ago looking like a kicked puppy with her battered, even though still hot, costume."

"Hey! Wait-" Kate was ready to counter back Y/N’s statement when her brain caught up on Y/N’s words and smirked wolfishly as she skidded her finger up and down Y/N’s forearm and bicep seductively, "do you find my costume hot or do you find me hot in it?"

This time Y/N forced her blush back as she teased back, "both? I mean I always find you hot, you just look hotter in your costume. That ass in those pants- ugh!"

"You should see it without my pants." Kate winked with a dirty smile and laughed heartily when Y/N’s eyes instinctively went down Kate’s ass and swallowed loudly as lust invaded her Y/E/C pools. It has been like this the entire week, a sort of electricity clinging into them and charging up at the most random times, filling their bodies up with almost uncontrollable desire. Their teasing banters increased exponentially during this time while each make out session got heavier and heavier as hands wandered and fondled greedily, edging them up beyond themselves. "Hey, I was wondering." Kate trailed off as the air around them returned loving and affectionate and detached her eyes from Y/N’s intense stare to her fingers picking at an hangnail nervously, "we can- I would like to-" Kate stumbled over her words and begged her brain to function properly, however it was pointless nevertheless, but a finger under her chin moving her head up to meet warming Y/E/C eyes and encouraging, loving smile relaxed her instantly, "do you want to go on a date with me? Tonight maybe?"

Y/N’s small, smile became a big, brighter than the sun grin as she nodded furiously before leaning forward and kissing Kate softly, "yes."

"Our first official date." Kate murmured on Y/N’s lips as she stared in awe at her girlfriend, who nuzzled their noses tenderly as she hugged her closer.

"What were you thinking?"

"Ah-ah! It’s a surprise. I’ve been planning this date for a very, very long time. So, I’m just gonna go. I need to take care of a few things while you get ready. We have-" Kate stopped in her tracks to look down at her watch with furrowed eyebrows on her focused and determined face, "3 hours before I need to pick you up."

"Can you at least tell me what do I need to wear?" Y/N sat up from the bed and walked over to Kate hastily retrieving her coat from the coat rack, putting her keys and phone in her coat pocket, and stopped her abruptly with a soft hand on her bicep.

"Hm?"

"What is the dress code for tonight?"

"Oh, yeah. Formal but not too much? I know you’ll look beautiful regardless."

"Charmer." Y/N smirked and kissed Kate softly, "I’ll see you later."

"I’ll be here at 7." Kate pecked Y/N’s lips once more before opening the door and exiting her girlfriend’s apartment with a newfound determination.

-

"Coming!" Y/N yelled from her bedroom after she heard a knock on her door, looking at herself once more in the body length mirror, straightening her black one-shoulder dress and smirking at the side slit starting at the top of her leg and showing teasingly her thigh, before making her way towards the door, the softly clinking of her heels on the floor filling the silence in her apartment, and then opened the door a second later.

Y/N felt her whole mouth dry up instantly as soon as her eyes took in the archer clad in a purple two pieces suit with a black blouse under it and her black hair flowing down flawlessly in waves down her shoulders as her blue eyes staring back at her got highlighted by the light make up she put on. "Holy-" Kate was having an hard time breathing correctly and standing still as her mind spiraled out of control at the mouthwatering sight of her girlfriend while eyeing her hungrily, "-fuck, you look- gorgeous."

A blush dusted over her cheeks at the blue eyed girl’s truthful words while her hands wandered down at her hips and stayed there, "thank you babe. You look beautiful as well."

Kate smiled at the embarrassment clear on her girlfriend’s features and stretched her arm over to ease both their nerves down, "shall we?" Y/N mirrored the archer’s smile and nodded, grabbing her purse, putting her phone inside, before closing and locking the door, then intertwining their arms together and let Kate led them out of the building.

"Going all out I see." Y/N smirked at the archer after laying her eyes on the black Lamborghini Urus parked right outside her building, who puffed her chest out proudly and nodded gingerly.

"Only the best for my girl." Kate joked with a proud smirk before stopping them right beside the passenger door and looked into Y/N’s eyes seriously, "you know I don’t like all this showing things off with money and luxury cars, but I wanted to go big for our first date."

"I know baby." Y/N was quick to reassure the archer as she bracketed her face and caressed her jaw gently, "show me what you planned cutie."

Kate promptly opened the car door and helped Y/N in, before walking around her car and sitting in, "you ready for the best ride of your life?"

"Since you got your driver’s license recently, not so much." Y/N joked with a worried look on and when she saw the archer roll her eyes fondly and start the car, a wicked thought made its way to the forefront of her mind and acted on it quickly by placing a hand on Kate’s thigh, dangerously close to her crotch and leaned over the console to pepper small kisses along the side of Kate’s neck, smirking when she felt the girl’s small intake of breath, "but I’m waiting for our first time together to claim what has been the best ride of my life."

"Holy shit." Kate clenched her thighs to relieve the tension building fast between her leg as she leaned her head to the side to give Y/N’s lips more access to her neck, "babe, we will be late f-for- fuck- o-our r-reservation."

"Just a kiss and we can go." Y/N murmured on Kate’s skin and heard the girl sigh before she gripped her nape, turned her head towards her and pushed their lips together in an hungry kiss, full of tongues and teeth. Kate grunted out in frustration when she tried to pull Y/N more into her but the console between them was proving it to be a difficult task and opted on skidding her hand down and gripping the girl’s ass to grope her harshly.

Y/N let out a greedy moan at the gesture but willed herself to slow down the kiss to a stop, pecking the girl’s lips a few more times before reluctantly pulling away from her addicting mouth, "we can go now."

Kate whined childishly with her hand still fondling her backside eagerly and pouted down at Y/N, "just one more kiss?"

"Hm-hm." Y/N shook her head in amusement and squished Kate’s cheeks softly, involuntarily pushing her ass more into Kate’s hand, "like you said, we will be late. You’ll get more kisses after our dinner date."

Kate sighed dejectedly, squeezed Y/N’s butt one more time then pulled her hand away and placed it on the steering wheel, watching wistfully as Y/N readjusted her dress that moved a bit to the side after their impromptu make out session and whined loudly when she got a glimpse of her panties, "fuck, you’re making all of this so hard for me right now."

Y/N lifted her head up in confusion at the girl’s words and followed her gaze, smirking right after while she adjusted the dress to hide her underwear again, then winked at Kate with a sultry look on, "just a taste of what’s to come."

Kate widened her eyes in realization at the implication behind Y/N’s words as she felt the girl’s hand entwine with hers placed on the console and met her seductive, yet sheepish gaze on as she laid their hands back on the console, "are you implying-?"

"Yes. You are healing fast, your wounds are almost completely closed, your bruise on your ribs is nearly totally faded, so why wait more?"

"Fuck babe, why can’t we skip right after our dinner?" Kate pleaded in a whiny tone that made Y/N chuckle but also squirm in delight at the blue eyed girl’s desperate eagerness.

"Because I want to know what you’ve been planning for years."

Lust got quickly replaced by love and affection at her words and Kate leaned over to peck her lips tenderly after nodding gently, "you’re right. My teenager self would kick my ass if I put my needs before you. You deserve to be treated with the best date in history."

"I highly doubt your teenager would do that since you act like an horny 16 years old boy all the time."

Kate laughed heartily at that and shook her head in amusement, "don’t pretend you don’t do the same."

"What can I say? You’re irresistible."

-

"Ugh Ben is the worst! He made an inappropriate joke in front of the CEO!"

"I do it all the time." Kate shrugged nonchalantly as she sipped on her wine and smirked proudly with a small nod.

"Kate, the CEO is your mom and although I always love watching your mom trying not to strangle you in front of a room full of people, she is still our boss. I had to literally stab myself with my pen to prevent laughing in her face."

"She would have smiled subtly too." Kate giggled nonchalantly at Y/N, who took a large gulp of her wine and groaned in response.

"Sorry to interrupt ladies, would you like dessert?" The two girls decided to share their last meal and thanked the waitress when he left them before continuing their conversation.

"Y’know-" Y/N started slowly with a low tone and her hand stretching over Kate’s one on the table to caress the back of it teasingly, "I was thinking of some other kind of dessert to finish off this perfect night." Y/N literally purred as she stared intently into Kate’s blue irises, smiling when her pupils widened visibly as she bit on her bottom lip.

"Y/N." Kate started but a gasp made her stop talking when she felt Y/N’s foot touch her shin and slowly sliding up her leg flirtatiously, "oh shit." She whispered out as her free hand gripped the edge of the table, white shocks triggered by Y/N’s teasing traveling down her spine and flowing right between her legs.

"You look so hot with this suit. I can’t wait to rip it off of you." Y/N whispered sultrily between them, keeping her voice low enough to not be heard by other people around them, despite they were sitting in a more secluded area of the restaurant. "See what you chose to wear underneath it."

Kate’s body started trembling softly when Y/N’s foot passed by her bent knee and slid higher, Kate involuntarily opening her legs wider to give her more space as she held her breath in anticipation. She felt desire pump fast into her veins each passing second Y/N’s foot got near to her pulsating core, but the moment finished right before Y/N could reach the apex of her thighs when Y/N dropped her foot down. Kate was ready to voice her protests when the waitress approached them and smiled politely as he placed their dessert on the table, "here you go ladies. Enjoy!"

"Thank you." Kate was literally stunned at the total composed, innocent tone Y/N used meanwhile she tried to regain her composure with small, quick breaths.

The black haired girl turned her head to the side when she felt Y/N shift and watched as she moved herself still sat on her chair a bit more closer to Kate, "since we’re sharing our dessert." Y/N clarified innocently as she sat down right beside Kate and grabbed her spoon to take a bite of the dessert, but Kate knew she was fucked - literally - when Y/N moaned out obscenely only for Kate’s ears to hear. "Hm, so good. Here taste it."

"Y/N." Kate started with a warning tone as she stared at her girlfriend pointedly before eyeing the spoon Y/N was bringing up to her lips, then cautiously opening them and taking the spoon into her mouth.

"Hm, can’t wait to have those lips all over me."

Kate whined pitifully under her breath and clenched her fists on the table as her core pleaded her to pay attention to it. "Babe, please. Not here." Kate pleaded softly between them as she watched if someone was paying attention to them then breathing a sigh of relief when everyone was minding their own business.

"Am I turning you on?" Kate’s breath got stuck in her throat when Y/N’s fingers caressed her bicep slowly before skidding down towards her hand and entwining their fingers. "Because you’ve been turning me on since you picked me up at my apartment." Y/N admitted lowly, watching delighted as Kate clenched once again her thighs together and clasped her hand down.

"Babe, you’re playing dirty."

"Hm, but baby-" Y/N stated with a soft, innocent tone, something that told Kate what was about to come out of Y/N’s lips was far from innocent and she was proved right a few seconds later, "I am so wet for you."

"Fuck." Kate cursed under her breath through gritted teeth and looked into Y/N’s eyes sharply, silently begging her to stop.

"Here, feel it yourself." Y/N moved both their hands off the table and concealed them under the table then she disentangled their fingers and was ready to push Kate’s hand between her dress slit to let Kate touch her core through her panties, but Kate’s hand grasping her thigh instead stopped her in her tracks.

"You’re so gonna pay for this." Kate now understood why Y/N moved herself right beside her, not to share their dessert but to hide her lower half from everyone else with the table. It was her plan since the beginning. The mere thought made Kate whimper in pure arousal as her hand slid slowly between Y/N’s dress’ slit, her fingers finding Y/N’s wet panties a moment later and immediately started teasing the girl’s clit through the drenched fabric. "You planned this, didn’t you? You want me to fuck you in front of all these unaware people?"

"Oh Kate." Y/N opened her legs wider to give Kate’s fingers more access to her core as they slid to tease her entrance and bit on her bottom lip to prevent loud sounds to escape and to be heard from the other customers in the restaurant.

"Hm, as much as I would love to see struggling to hold back as I make you come on my fingers, I want our first time to be a bit more- intimate. So let’s fucking get out of here."

Kate reluctantly pulled her hand away from Y/N’s covered center, paid their check, much to Y/N’s protests, but she kissed her tenderly and smiled at her charmingly, making the girl cave in with huff and a promise to pay on their next date, before entwining Y/N’s fingers and ushering them both out of the restaurant. "I want you so bad baby." Y/N grunted out as she pushed Kate onto the side of her car parked in the secluded parking lot of the restaurant and kissed her greedily, her tongue invading her mouth when the blue eyed girl gasped at the sudden, harsh move and both moaned needily as they sucked on their tongues.

"I want you too. Let’s just- fuck." Kate’s brain short-circuited when Y/N’s teeth sank on her pulse point as she grabbed one of her hands and guided it on her ass, while she slipped the other back between her legs. "Let’s just- shit- behave for another 15 minutes and I’ll promise you I’ll fuck you so good you won’t be able to walk tomorrow."

Y/N moaned when the archer paired her words with an hard pinch on her clit and her legs gave out for a second, but Kate’s other hand on her ass helped her up and laid her body on her own leaning on the side of the car, "don’t make promises you can’t keep Bishop."

Y/N gulped visibly at the determination passing through Kate’s irises before she found herself slammed on the car door when the archer switched their positions, "you’ll see. I can’t wait for everyone in your building to hear you scream my name." Kate then kissed her hard once again before slowing their hunger down and pecking lovingly her lips, "let’s go. 15 minutes." Kate reiterated as she guided Y/N to the passenger side after entwining their fingers tenderly.

The air in the car was charged with lust and desire as they clung on their hands on the console, trying with all their might to behave as they basked in the comfortable silence in the vehicle, "y’know, it’s been oddly good, so far. You’re not that bad at driving even if you recently got your driver’s license." Y/N taunted Kate and giggled when the girl scoffed and shook her head unamused.

"Ha-ha. You’re just jealous Clint taught me how to drive."

Y/N snorted loudly and pushed Kate’s shoulder gently, not distracting her from the road, "oh please, I’m just rightfully offended you let him teach you how to drive but you refused me when I offered to give you free lessons."

"I was too scared to destroy your car! Clint made me drive a stolen car so it wasn’t that much of a problem when the passenger door fell off."

"I- wait what? There are too many informations I need to process." Y/N stared at Kate wide eyed as she laughed her ass off at her bewilderment before bringing their joined hands to her lips and laying a kiss there, "you stole a car?!"

"Technically Clint stole it when we needed to escape from gun shooting at us. It was already ruined, so why not completely destroy it?"

"GUN SHOOTING AT YOU?!" Kate grimaced at Y/N’s worried screech and was quick to reassure her.

"Don’t worry babe, we had everything under control."

"Oh god." Y/N stressed over with a hand on her face and sighed out loud, "babe you need to be more careful."

"I was born careful!"

"Yeah careful like a week ago." Y/N scoffed indignantly but Kate could detect worry in her voice and even if she couldn’t see her face she knew her eyebrows were knitted together in a cute frown.

"I promise I will be more careful. Besides Peter just texted me this morning while I was planning our date and told me my new, upgraded costume is ready! You should come pick it up with me tomorrow at the Avengers Compound."

"Are you fucking insane?! Of course I’ll come with you! I AM MEETING THE SPIDER-MAN. Holy shit." Y/N freaked out loudly as she clung on Kate’s arm and jumped slightly in her seat.

"Okay, you can take your enthusiasm down a notch babe." Kate scoffed gently as she rolled her eyes. She knew she was being childish, but she couldn’t help the nagging feeling clamping at the pit of her stomach.

"Is Hawkeye jealous?" Y/N murmured teasingly into Kate’s ear after leaning over the console before nibbling on her lobe and smirked when with the corner of her eyes she saw Kate’s grip on the steering wheel tightening.

"No."

"You totally are. But let me tell you something." Y/N trailed off softly, waiting for Kate to stop at a red light to place her fingers on the archer’s lower stomach and moved them alongside her pants’ waistband, hearing Kate gasp gently as she turned her head to the side to meet her gaze. "It’s normal I am excited to meet him, but he is not my favorite Avenger, no. My favorite Avenger is an hot badass archer, with black hair and amazing ocean blue eyes, the cutest smile in the world, a big, loving heart, mouthwatering boobs and abs I could spend hours worshipping with my mouth and tongue and an ass that is out of this world." Y/N grinned seductively at Kate as she kept her soft movements on her lower stomach, "she is the one I dream about fucking me senseless with her hot costume on. Without her costume on. With a strap on. With her long, talented fingers. On my bed. On my couch. In her office. Everywhere." Y/N watched as Kate visibly struggled to keep her composure as her breath got shallower, her hips imperceptibly canting up in a silent plea for Y/N to do something, "and the mere thought I will touch you soon is making me so wet." Kate whimpered under her breath and slumped her head back on the headrest, "not to mention, you being jealous makes you hotter." Y/N purred into Kate’s ear before cupping her through her pants and reveling in the loud, guttural moan leaving Kate’s throat at the attention her pulsating core was receiving.

"Shit babe." Kate almost forgot they were still in her car, stopped at a red light and was ready to fumble with her belt to open it and push Y/N’s hand in her ruined panties when a loud honk made her jump in fright and come back to earth. "Fuck! Asshole." Kate murmured in wrath as she started driving again while regaining some semblance of composure with evening her shallow breath and silently begging her body to halt its eager buzzing for at least the rest of the ride.

Y/N smirked proudly at the desperate and lustful state she seemed to have put Kate in and retrieved her hand slowly, giving her some mercy to let her focus on driving and on the road. "I promise I’ll behave from now on."

"Good. We still have 7 minutes left, more or less, and I don’t know if I can control myself if you tease me some more." Kate warned with a filthy tone, a small pleasing lilt also clear in her voice, her ocean blue eyes, now almost black in pure, raw lust staring at Y/N quickly before refocusing them on the road ahead of her.

"Hm, I wouldn’t be opposed to that."

"Babe."

"What?"

"Behave." Kate warned once again with an amused grin and shook her head at the innocent pout Y/N sent her way.

"I am!" Y/N countered back jokingly, loving their banter and how they were quick to switch from lustful moments to happy, taunting ones, from kissing each other hungrily to making fun of each other and laughing heartily as they had an overall good time, from groping and fondling each other eagerly to bickering till laughing their assess off, "I promise I am but- y’know, I am curious to know how much I can tease you or how many buttons I need to push before you loose control. And for the record, I know you like my teasing a lot. Just admit it! Ha! I see a smile!"

"It’s not that I don’t like it." Kate started as a big grin adorned her features, "I just don’t like that I can’t do anything about it if I’m driving."

"You can always pull over." Y/N stated nonchalantly as she bit on her bottom lip, knowing Kate was sending quick looks at her from the corner of her eyes and saw her teasing gesture.

"I just- I just, like I said at the restaurant, want our first time to be intimate. The two of us letting our bodies do the talk on a bed, surrounded by just us and without having to worry about the world for a bit, or more."

Y/N felt warmth settle right in her chest as her heart rate increased exponentially and her stomach erupted in wild butterflies, "yeah, I know what you mean. I want the same." Y/N leaned over the console and placed a soft peck on Kate’s cheek.

"So behave."

"I am! I was just teasing for experimental purposes."

"Oh yeah?" Kate asked in amusement, her stomach churning in excitement when she turned left and noticed they were only 2 minutes away from Y/N’s apartment.

"Yeah. I wanted to see how long it would take of my teasing to pull over and fuck me in your backseat." Y/N let a smirk break her serious façade and chuckled when she heard Kate growl under her breath.

"You are paying for this." A shiver run down Y/N’s spine at the blue eyed girl’s tone and had to clench down on her already pulsating core and sigh out loud with her eyes closed. "Finally!" Y/N reopened her eyes and noticed they were approaching her apartment building, before feeling the car stop. "Let’s go." Kate’s tone left no other choice and held an authoritative lilt in it that made Y/N’s whole body buzz with anticipation and desire, but Y/N was too much in her hazy mind to notice the archer exiting the vehicle so when she went to open her car door, it opened and Kate came into vision.

"Thank you." Y/N took the blue eyed girl’s stretched hand in front of her and got off the car, her legs almost giving out when Kate entwined their fingers together and brought them to her lips to leave a tender kiss on the back of Y/N’s hand, then closed the car door and locked the vehicle, before making their way into the building and up to Y/N’s apartment. When they reached her door, Y/N had to reluctantly let go of Kate’s hand to open her purse to take her keys out, but she almost dropped them on the floor when a few seconds later she felt two strong arms circle her waist and a pair of soft lips nibbling greedily at her neck, "babe- let me just- fuck."

Y/N moaned under her breath at Kate’s wandering hands, one splaying right on her front, dangerously close to her core, while the other wrapped itself around Y/N’s breast and started kneading the soft flesh slowly, "hm, you’re so fucking hot. I want you so much."

Y/N laid her head on Kate’s shoulder to give her more access to her neck, but when the impending need to kiss her got unbearable, she turned her head to the side as she gripped Kate’s scalp to pull her away from her skin and clashed their lips together, their tongues immediately sliding over each other. "Oh." Y/N’s legs gave out when Kate’s hand on her lower stomach traveled lower and cupped her dripping center through her ruined panties and immediately teased her entrance by dipping just the tip of her middle finger in before skidding up and rolling her clit between two digits, but Kate’s body pushed her up and helped her stand still while she swallowed greedily her girlfriend’s moans.

"Open the door Y/N/N." Kate grumbled onto Y/N’s lips and smiled tenderly when the girl whimpered in response but nodded hastily, before inserting her keys in her door with trembling hands, but stopping to lay her head on the wooden surface and close her eyes to focus when Kate’s front bucked into her ass in need. "Please babe, hurry up. I can’t wait any longer." Kate rubbed her front more into the girl’s ass, the friction not even close to be satisfying and it was frustrating Kate to no end.

As soon as Y/N found enough clarity to quickly open the door, they stumbled into the apartment, Y/N’s back colliding with the wooden surface right after when Kate slammed her on it, closing the door shut in the process. "Come here." Y/N murmured before pulling her girlfriend in a frenzy kiss, her hands bracketing her face pulling Kate impossibly closer while Kate’s hands gripped her waist harshly.

"Hm." Kate hummed out when their tongues met a second later, sliding over each other before sweeping hungrily all around to try to memorize every angle of the other’s mouth.

"Oh Kate!" Y/N moaned into the archer’s ear as her mouth devoured her neck’s skin after they pulled their mouths away to take some needed breath and pushed her ass more into Kate’s greedy hands that massaged her flesh like her life depended on it.

"Fuck, I love how you moan my name. I can’t wait to discover how you scream it."

Y/N clamped down on Kate’s scalp at the growled words and let out a filthy mewl when one of Kate’s hand traveled from her ass to her front and slipped between her dress’ slit to tease her core once more, "babe, please, do something."

Kate shuddered visibly at the pleading tone, feeling like she got electrocuted as her body lighted up in pure need, and started a maddeningly slow pace around Y/N’s clit, "like this?"

"Yes- fuck no- faster babe please."

"Hm already begging me." Kate grunted as she applied more pressure on the girl’s clit and quickened her circles around it, feeling the girl’s hips canting up to try to gain more friction from the already heavenly attention the archer was paying to her core. "Fuck, you look so hot like this."

"Kate! Please- oh!" Kate stared mesmerized at her hand’s movements on the girls center as Y/N’s moans traveled from her ear right between her legs, pumping a raw, pure desire into her veins and making her head spin out of control.

"Shit, can you come like this?" Y/N couldn’t find in herself the force to answer with coherent words, so she sticked with nodding hastily and letting out whines of approval. "Fuck, I- you are so hot."

"Kate babe, faster." With a renewed determination to feel Y/N fall apart, she pressed impossibly hard on Y/N’s clit and circled her fingers so fast around it her wrist started to hurt, but she pushed the pain aside and kept going, fueled by Y/N’s moans increasing in volume each passing second she got near the edge. "Fuck, fuck, fuck. I can feel it-shitshit."

"Don’t hold back beautiful. Let me see you come apart." Kate whispered hotly in Y/N’s ear and bit down on her lobe while she increased her speed on the girl’s clit as she pressed more firmly onto it. After about 30 seconds Y/N tipped off the edge with a long, guttural moan of Kate’s name as she gripped the girl’s scalp and nape to ground herself down and Kate had to push her body over her girlfriend’s one and lay it on the door to keep her upright when she felt the girl loose her balance while her body trembled uncontrollably and her core released its juices, consequently ruining completely her panties. "That’s it babe. You look so beautiful, fuck."

"I- shit, I need a moment."

Kate smiled at the breathy whisper into her ear and slowly pulled her head and body away from Y/N to look at her wonderful face, her cheeks now slightly red from the orgasm and her lips still kiss-swollen. "Perfect. Beautiful. Gorgeous."

"Babe." Y/N whined in fake reprimand as she moved her hands from Kate’s head and placed them to her face to shield her blush from Kate’s loving gaze.

"What?" Kate smiled tenderly at her girlfriend and wrapped her fingers around her wrists to pull her hands away from her face, "it’s the truth."

"You." Y/N huffed out a small laugh and shook her head, "you are making me blush after giving me a mind-blowing orgasm without even touching me properly."

"Well." Y/N watched as a smug grin unfolded over Kate’s features and knew she only goaded her with her declaration.

"Don’t." Y/N started with a small smile adorning her lips and lifted her pointer finger at Kate.

"I was just gonna say that I can’t help I’m good with my fingers." Kate declared in a cheeky tone and tightened her grasp on Y/N’s ass, making the girl moan loudly as she pushed her butt more into the archer’s hand, the needy gesture making Kate’s grin broaden widely as she stared lovingly and tenderly down at her, "but it wasn’t enough for me. I want you naked and wrapped around my fingers with you not holding back your moans and letting your neighbors know who is making you feel that good."

"Oh fuck. Bedroom. Now." Y/N pushed herself off the door and quickly took her heels off, watching as the archer did the same with her combat boots, before clashing their lips together and laying a hand on the black haired girl’s sternum to push her towards the direction of her bedroom. On their way there their hands wandered all over their bodies while their tongues danced hungrily in their mouths, "you look so fucking hot in this suit, but I bet you would look hotter without it."

"Better take it off then." Kate pulled away from Y/N’s lips just enough to murmur those words on them before diving right back in and playing with the zipper on the back of Y/N’s dress. "Can I?" She asked after another frenzy kiss and pulled on the zipper gently, yanking it down quickly when Y/N nodded furiously before helping Y/N take off her blazer and letting it fall on the living room’s floor.

"Ugh!" Y/N groaned in frustration when she struggled with the buttons of her blouse and Kate, with a small laugh at her impatience, helped her to speed up the process of taking another garment off, puffing her chest clad in a purple, lacy bra out when a pair of dark Y/E/C eyes stared at her breasts hungrily.

"Like what you see?"

Y/N didn’t answer right away, too busy ogling at her girlfriend’s torso, her eyes skidding over her healing wounds and traced them gently before sliding down her abs, that contracted deliciously under her fingers’ attention, before splaying her palm there and whining at the hard muscles there, "you have no idea."

"It’s my turn to see your wonderful body." Kate whispered sultrily on Y/N’s neck while her hands moved the strap of Y/N’s dress down her right shoulder and quickly let it fall down and pool at her feet. "Hm." Kate hummed as her hungry eyes drank Y/N’s form clad in a matching pair of lacy black bra and underwear, then moving slowly towards her, her hands skidding down her ass to grope it harshly before flushing their bodies together, "I can’t wait to worship this breathtaking body."

"Oh Kate." Y/N’s fingers combed into Kate’s dark locks and joined their lips together in a slow, languid kiss, moaning softly when Kate’s belt teased her lower stomach, so after pulling a whine from Kate with a particular swipe of her tongue in her mouth, she slipped her hands away from Kate’s hair and fumbled down with her belt to take it off, then quickly popped Kate’s pants open, pulled the zipped down and sliding her hand inside to cup the archer through her panties. "Fuck, you’re so wet."

"Just for you."

"Better take these pants off then." Y/N pushed Kate’s trousers down her legs and helped her out of them when they pooled at her feet, then joining their lips into another hungry kiss and pushing them both towards her bedroom.

When Kate felt the back of her knees hit the mattress, Y/N slowly pushed her down to sit on it, staring her down with blown pupils. "Fuck, you look so hot right now. C’mere."

Kate grasped Y/N’s hips and opened her legs wider to fit her between them as her mouth glued to her toned stomach and left a few open mouthed kisses there as her hands settled on her ass, giving it a firm squeeze before pushing on it to make Y/N straddle her thighs. "Look who’s talking."

"Don’t you have a sense of déjà-vu?" Kate murmured on Y/N’s neck as she dotted her neck with small, sweet kisses while her hands kneaded her ass greedily.

"Fuck, yes!" Y/N whined in desire when Kate started nibbling on her pulse point and licked the raw skin to ease the stinging sensation down. "But, if I remember correctly I wasn’t wearing a bra." Y/N moaned out when Kate grunted in acknowledgement as they both recalled their first heavy make out session a week ago after Kate stumbled into Y/N’s apartment injured and bleeding.

"Hm, better remove it then, even though I quite liked it." Kate took a few more seconds to admire Y/N’s lacy, black bra before skidding one hand up from her ass and with one swift motion unclasped her bra and let it fall on the ground. "Fuck."

"Hm, I love how you’re looking at me right now." Y/N hummed loudly as goosebumps appeared on her skin at the intense stare Kate was regarding her with, her eyes full of lust and desire but also love and affection and it was making her head spin wildly, "but I want you to do so much more than stare."

"Patience, my love."

"Kate, I can’t take anymore teasing, so please fuck me." Y/N stated boldly as she grounded her hips down onto Kate’s lap to prove her point, a gesture that triggered a groan from the archer, who squeezed her ass hard and looked at her lustfully with hooded eyes.

"Hm, if I remember correctly, I already made you come once." Kate recalled as she started a slow but hard kneading on Y/N’s butt that made her hips grind steadily on her lap and both grunted in pure bliss as lust invaded every cell of their bodies. "So why the rush?"

"Babe." Y/N started in a tone of reprimand, knowing Kate would tease her to no end and would make her crazy, but she also knew it would be worth it in the end but she couldn’t wait any longer, she craved her girlfriend, her touch, her love, her fingers and her tongue to worship her like she promised her to not too long ago and she was also craving to touch her everywhere and make her come undone under her, because of her, so she was done waiting. She wanted her girlfriend to touch her, she wanted to touch her girlfriend, so much so her own body was starting to buzz due to arousal and desire pumping fast into her veins.

"What?" Kate asked innocently, blinking rapidly up at her.

"Don’t play dumb." Y/N stared pointedly at Kate with a raised eyebrow and a small smirk on her lips, a look of fond exasperation at the dork that is her girlfriend present on her features as she took a moment to skid her eyes all over the black haired beauty’s face before meeting her dark blue irises, "stop teasing. I think you’ve teased me enough."

"Well not exactly, you were the one that teased me more, especially at the restaurant. Do you recall when you decided to caress my thigh with your foot? Or when I was driving and you grasped my cunt?"

"You almost fucked me in front of dozens of oblivious customers."

"You pushed my hand there."

"Okay fine! You won, I teased you more. So y’know what?" Kate let a smug smile appear on her features for only a few seconds before it got wiped off of her face when Y/N pushed forcefully on her sternum and made her fall down on the mattress with a soft thud. She gazed up at Y/N with wide, hazy eyes and wailed under breath at the predatory look Y/N had on her face, "I teased you enough, you are dripping wet for me, so I can finally fuck you so hard and make you come over and over you will forget your own name and will have only mine in your mind." With those hoarse words Y/N yanked Kate’s panties down and touched her core, collecting as much of the copious amount of wetness pooled there as she could with her fingers before drawing idle circles around Kate’s pulsating clit.

"Fuck Y/N/N!"

"Take off your bra for me baby. I want to see those amazing tits of yours." Kate’s body got wrecked with jolts of arousal shooting right between her legs as a broken moan left her lips when Y/N eased just the tip of her forefinger in and with shaky hands arched her back to unclasp her bra and throw it behind Y/N’s back on the floor. "Hm, perfect. Fuck, can I lick them, please?"

"Yes baby. Do whatever you want but please fuck me." Y/N felt her body light up like a Christmas tree at those needy words spoken in a begging tone and with a primal need to watch Kate come on her fingers, she eased one digit in and started a slow rhythm to let her adjust to the intrusion as she leaned down to dot Kate’s left breast with kisses, purposefully avoiding Kate’s pebbled nipple for a few more excruciating moments. When Kate combed her right hand in her hair while the other gripped her back, she slowly circled her tongue on her nipple, curled around it as she eased another finger in and increased her pace.

"Fuck yes!" Kate moaned out loud in rapture, her hips moving in quick precise movements to meet Y/N’s thrusts as her back arched into the Y/E/C girl’s mouth lavishing her breasts blissfully. Y/N spent quite a bit on Kate’s boob, licking, biting, kissing every inch of her skin, alternating between leaving a few hickeys here and there and suckling on Kate’s perked up nipple while reveling and basking in the unhinged moans, whines and wails leaving her girlfriend’s mouth after each thrust into her wet center. "Yes! Right there."

"Fuck your boobs are amazing." Y/N moaned around Kate’s other nipple and lapped up at it quickly, increasing the speed of her movements into Kate exponentially and thrusting in deeper every time Kate moaned particularly hard and clenched on her scalp in pleasure.

"No, your fingers are. Fuck-oh yes there." Kate bit down forcefully on her bottom lip, almost drawing blood from it, when Y/N experimentally curled her fingers into her core and the gesture triggered a new kind of pleasure she never experienced before. "Shit, I- I’m so close."

"Hm, I can feel you squeeze around my fingers." Y/N hummed a few moments later after spending some more time on giving Kate’s other boob the same treatment she gave to the other then kissed gently on her nipple and moved her head up to meet Kate’s unfocused eyes lovingly, "are you ready to come babe?" Kate nodded hastily, too much focused on Y/N’s fingers to make her brain form intelligible words, moaning loudly when Y/N increased her thrusts and trashed her head around in bliss as the coiling feeling in her lower stomach was ready to snap. "You are so beautiful like this."

A few more deep, hard and fast thrusts and Kate came with a loud moan of Y/N’s name, her juices spilling out of her core and onto Y/N’s hand as her walls pulled Y/N’s fingers more into her center as they spasmed around them. Y/N gradually slowed her fingers down to a stop to help Kate come down from her orgasm, as she kissed her cheek repeatedly, whispering sweet nothings here and there from time to time. Only when the Y/H/C girl felt Kate’s body slump down on the mattress, her muscles still a bit twitching slightly, she pulled her hand out and kissed Kate slowly, savoring their moment in their loving bubble. "I need a moment. Teenager Kate and college Kate are freaking out right now."

Y/N giggled cutely at the sentence spoken out of breath and pecked Kate’s lips softly. "How about present Kate?"

"She is so blissfully fucked she is afraid she imagined it all again." Kate shared shyly as she blushed hard, biting on her bottom lip and searching Y/N’s eyes to gauge her reaction.

"I know how you feel. I’ve spent so much time dreaming and imagining about us like this that is doesn’t feel real."

"Do you realize we could’ve been doing this for so long if we weren’t that stupid and acted on our feelings sooner?" Kate asked after a few seconds of silence and made Y/N giggle sweetly as she shook her head in amusement.

"Now it would be the perfect time to confess I almost declared my feelings for you when we were 17 during a sleepover at your house."

"What?! Are you serious?"

"Yeah, it was March. We decided to have a sleepover at your house instead of going to Zack’s party since your mom had to work late."

"I remember that night. We had so much fun we decided to make it a tradition to have a sleepover each Friday when we didn’t feel to go to a party."

"Yeah well, I almost made a move on you that night, when you asked me where I disappeared to in the middle of the night." Kate nodded and let Y/N talk, now more curious than ever about the story Y/N was retelling, "I had a- dream about you and when I woke up we were cuddling and I felt so fucking dirty I had to go downstairs to grab a glass of water."

Kate’s eyes lighted up at that new piece of information as a wide, smug smirk appeared on her lips, "what kind of dream?" Kate was actually loving beyond herself their small, causal conversation after fucking and her body literally hummed in appreciation when she pushed between Y/N’s shoulder blades to let her lay down on her body and shivered when their nipples rubbed together slightly.

"Y’know a-" Y/N cleared her throat to get rid of the sudden lump that formed there before continuing, "a w-wet dream."

"Really? What did you dream about?" Kate’s wolfish grin made Y/N groan in embarrassment as her core clenched needily over nothing at the dream she stil remembered.

"I- Kate! It’s embarrassing."

"Why? I had and still have wet dreams on daily basis, if you want I can share a few of them. We could take some inspiration and some ideas from them."

Y/N’s body shivered visibly at the possibilities and thought about it before deciding to share her dream with her, "it was a pretty "basic" dream-" Y/N lifted her hands to make question marks before she resumed her caresses on Kate’s sternum and kept going with her retelling, "we were in your room and we were having a sleepover. We were talking about your archery competition and you made a joke about me being your personal cheerleader. One thing led to another and a second later we were fucking on your bed, you dressed in your archery suit while I was sporting a cheerleader outfit. I was so wet. I had to stay away from you or I would’ve done something that made me fear it would’ve ruined our friendship. The worst part? When I walked down the stairs, I grabbed a glass of water and drank it almost in one go, then stood there thinking back to that dream. It was so fucking vivid. I could hear you moans, I could feel your fingers in me. But then your mom scared me when she entered the kitchen and made me almost combust in embarrassment." Kate stayed silent to let Y/N explain as her mind made up images of Y/N’s dream and a fresh wave of arousal hit her, but only hummed when was necessary. She laughed heartily at Y/N’s last sentence and pulled her more into her when she heard her groan bashfully, "it was so fucking awkward. Your mom was trying to make small talk as she made herself some tea, while I was asking the floor to open and swallow me whole."

"It wasn’t bad. I mean, you weren’t touching yourself in my kitchen, did you?" Kate asked teasingly with a cheeky grin but it almost dropped as images of her watching Y/N touch herself in her mom’s penthouse’s kitchen flowed her mind.

"No, oh god no! I already felt bad for touching myself in my room thinking of you or after a wet dream. Touching me in your house’s kitchen?! It would’ve been-"

"So fucking hot." Kate butted in as she bit on her bottom lip, her nails sinking slightly into Y/N’s back’s skin as she watched Y/N’s pupils dilate, thinking about the conversation they will definitely have about them both touching themselves to the thought of the other.

"Really?"

"Yeah, even hotter if I was there and watching you." Y/N felt a gush of arousal left her core and drenching her panties some more and whimpered in need at the possibility. "We can arrange something if you’re up to. But we’ll talk about that later, keep going."

Y/N stayed silent for a few seconds to let Kate’s words sink in, shuddered at the promise behind her tone and shook her head softly to focus back on her story, "it was embarrassing because she was so sweet and caring while all I could think about was you fucking me in your bed."

"Hm, I still think it’s hotter. You don’t even know how many times I’ve just though about fucking you senseless with my mom in front of me, talking about something I clearly wasn’t listening to."

At that Y/N clenched her thighs together needily, the pressure between her legs becoming unbearable. "Fuck."

"Does me thinking about us having sex makes you wet?"

"Yes. So please, fucking do something about it."

Kate smirked wolfishly at her and captured her lips in an hungry kiss, her tongue immediately slipping into Y/N’s parted mouth and sucked on Y/N’s wet muscle greedily while her hands skidded over her butt cheeks under her underwear and touched her cunt from behind, moaning alongside Y/N between their mouths at the amount of wetness she found there. "Hm, so wet for me." Y/N squealed loudly when Kate swiftly switched their positions and laid the Y/H/C girl on her back on the bed as she pulled her underwear off and threw it on the floor. Y/N shivered at the cold air hitting her heated, drenched core and whimpered pitifully when Kate’s digits teased her entrance, skidding the tip of her fingers up and down her slits before settling on her clit and drawing idle circles there.

"Babe, I can’t take anymore teasing. Inside please." Kate’s stomach flipped over itself the moment her forefinger eased without any restraint into Y/N’s core and felt the girl’s walls clenching around her fingers.

"Fuck, you feel amazing around my fingers."

"Babe, please move." Kate just now noticed that she simply buried her digit into Y/N’s cunt without moving, too much in awe of a literal dream coming true to move. At Y/N’s needy plea, she pumped her finger in and out tentatively and slowly, savoring the sensation of having Y/N around her fingers and exponentially moving faster and deeper each passing second. "Yes! Fuck you feel so gOOD UGH!"

Kate added a second finger in without warning and pushed them in and out at a maddeningly fast pace, placing then her thumb on her clit and pressed on it hard to increase Y/N’s pleasure, who moaned lewdly at the overwhelming sensations wrecking her body as she rocked her hips to meet Kate’s thrusts and chase down her orgasm approaching fast. "You look so hot right now."

"Babe more." Kate grunted out in acknowledgement and spurred into action, using her own hips to push her digits deeper and faster into Y/N, her head getting hazy with the squeaking sounds of the bed moving with their activities, the squelching sounds of her fingers slipping in and out of Y/N’s wet core and Y/N’s loud moans mixing together and creating the best melody she had ever had the pleasure to listen to. "You fuck me so good babe."

"Yeah? Did no one ever make you feel so good?" Kate asked in short breaths, fatigue catching up to her as she pumped in and out of Y/N, who shook her head with a loud whine leaving her lips, "did no one fuck you this throughly to make you moan so loudly?"

"No! Only you babe!" Kate watched with rapt attention, as hunger tinted her blue eyes, Y/N’s boobs bouncing up and down quickly with each one of Kate’s thrusts, "fuck I’m so close."

"Shit, ugh." Kate felt raw desire invade her whole body watching Y/N trash around in ecstasy with her face contorting in pleasure, "I can feel you clenching around my fingers." Kate experimentally curled her fingers into Y/N’s cunt and got rewarded with a filthy moan, so she repeated the gesture before thrusting impossibly deeper into Y/N. "Come for me. Let me see how good you look when you come on my hand."

And after a few more quick thrusts with her thumb playing around Y/N’s clit with a matching pace, Y/N came with a loud scream of Kate’s name while her body stilled a few seconds to spill out her juices onto the archer’s hand and sheets. "Oh Kate."

"That’s it babe." Kate slowed her movements to help Y/N ride out her orgasm, before stopping when she slumped back on the bed and stopped twitching. "Holy shit, you don’t even know how much I love you."

"Come here and cuddle me. I think you fucked my brain into oblivion."

"That’s really good." Kate smirked as she laid on the bed and opened her arms for Y/N to slot into and immediately started caressing her back gently, "I hope your brain comes back soon because I want to fuck into the mattress properly."

Y/N felt wetness pool once again between her legs and groaned out into Kate’s neck before biting down on her collarbone. "Give me five minutes. I can’t wait to know how fucking good the world’s greatest archer and the brand new Hawkeye tastes."

-

"Who would’ve thought, Katherine Elizabeth Bishop working late in her office." Y/N taunted her girlfriend as she leaned on the girl’s office’s doorframe and stared at her mockingly with her arms crossed under her chest.

Kate smiled lovingly down at the paper she was checking on before lifting her head up and meeting Y/N’s eyes. "My mom forced me to stay here all day and finish all of this for tomorrow. She is still mad I skipped two days of work to go to Minnesota for a mission a month ago."

"Well to be fair, you didn’t tell her."

"I forgot!" Kate grunted out in frustration and slammed her pen down on the stack of papers beside her right hand. "Wait, why are you still here?"

"I had a few things to check out. I didn’t realize it was this late."

"How did you know I was still here?" Kate asked before humming when Y/N walked into the room and rounded her desk to sit on Kate’s left leg and pecked her lips lovingly. "Hi beautiful." Kate finally had the time to appreciate Y/N’s face now illuminated by the only source of light in the room coming from her lamp desk, painting the room in a soft glow since it was well past the work hours and since everyone already left, the whole building lightening got shut down.

"Jim was ready to close and lock the building but noticed we were the only occupants of the offices. He came to me to warn me he was ready to close and was on his way to do the same with you, but I told him to go home and that we would’ve closed after finishing working." Y/N explained as she caressed Kate’s nape softly, before peppering kisses all over the crown of her head and then nuzzling her temple lovingly. "How long till you finish all this workload?"

"Half an hour I think." Kate’s eyes skimmed over the papers in front of her and sighed out loud.

"You need a well needed pause." Y/N noticed the tiredness clear on Kate’s gorgeous features and placed her forefinger under Kate’s chin and turned her head around to meet her lips in a loving kiss, "why don’t you take these papers home? We eat something and then I’ll help you finishing all of this for tomorrow. What do you say?" Y/N proposed in a whisper between them, peppering kisses all over Kate’s face when she thought about her proposal with troubled and clearly tired features and making her giggle cutely.

"Okay." Kate caved in as she bracketed Y/N’s face and kissed her tenderly, "let’s go to your house. I already have my laptop there." Kate stated as she started collecting the papers she needed and put them into her bag, before shutting her laptop and closing it, doing all of that with Y/N still seated on her leg. When she turned her head around to kiss her once more before making their way out of the building, she was met with Y/N’s eyebrows furrowed together as a confused gaze focused on her crotch. Eager thrills run down her spine as she waited for Y/N to ask the question she had been planning for Y/N to ask and she knew she had on the tip of her tongue.

"Hm, babe?"

"Yes?" Kate tried with all herself to prevent her cheeky grin to broaden on her lips, but she clearly failed as she met Y/N’s eyes now hooded and with her pupils a bit blown.

"I-is that your phone there or are you happy to see me?" Chills invaded their bodies as they stared each other down hungrily.

"I’m always happy to see you, but this should’ve been a surprise." Kate stated in a low tone as her hands slowly caressed Y/N’s back up and down. "I wasn’t planning on working this late and neither did you. So I wanted to surprise you with a romantic dinner and then y’know, fucking you throughly on that same table with our favorite strap on."

Y/N shivered visibly at the hoarse tone Kate used and shifted softly on her thigh, whimpering under her breath when the side of her thigh skimmed over Kate’s strap. "Fuck." Y/N gripped Kate’s nape harshly as she took deep, calming breaths, "you’ve been wearing this all day?"

"No. I put this on right before going to say bye to my mom and telling her I would’ve finished those papers tomorrow. But she forced me to stay here, so I’ve been wearing this for a few hours."

"Shit." Y/N’s left hand skidded down Kate’s front and cupped her crotch eagerly, shuddering copiously as her hand tried to move along Kate’s clothed strap. "Did you really innocently said goodbye to your mom wearing a fucking strap on?"

"Yeah!" Kate smirked cheekily as one of hands gripped her waist hard. "All I could think about was you throughly fucked by my strap on." Y/N whimpered as she clenched her thighs together again, a gesture that made Kate smile smugly at her before skidding her other hand on Y/N’s back up and grasping her scalp to push their mouths together, starting languidly as they savored the other’s taste before Kate’s tongue slipped out to lick the seam of Y/N’s lips to ask for permission, that Y/N granted a second later and moaned into Kate’s mouth when the archer slid her tongue in and licked greedily every nook and cranny of her mouth, pushing more into the kiss to be as close as possibly to Kate. "Fuck." Kate grunted in pleasure when Y/N’s hand still clutched to the strap on pushed on it and made the other edge buried into Kate’s core stimulate her clit.

"You’re packing really good miss Bishop."

"Ugh, don’t call me that." Kate let out through gritted teeth as an impending need to take Y/N there was becoming uncontrollable.

"Or what?"

"Or I’ll make one of my dreams come true and I’ll fuck you on this very desk." Kate whispered sultrily on Y/N’s ear and bit down on her lobe before focusing her open-mouthed kisses on Y/N’s neck.

"Fuck, you would make both our dreams come true." Y/N let out in a strained voice as she tilted her head to the side to give Kate more space to leave a mark at the base of her neck as she bucked her hips involuntarily up as a moan got ripped out of her throat when she bit particularly hard on her skin.

"Are you fucking serious?" Kate groaned out loud as the hand around Y/N’s waist tightened its grip there.

"Yes and I mean you could."

"What?" Kate pulled her lips away from Y/N to look at her with blown pupils and short breath, anticipation making her core eagerly clench wildly over nothing.

"We are the only ones in the building. We can be as loud as we want. We can do whatever we want. You can rail me onto this very desk. Or I can suck you off under it. Or I can ride you on this chair. We can do all of that too, what do you say?"

"God I love you." Kate said in response and kissed Y/N hard, her hands wandering all over her body while arousal pumped fast in their veins, "you look beautiful by the way, this suit looks amazing on you."

"You’re the one talking. Shit this might be my favorite suit so far." Y/N’s eyes spent a few moments ogling the dark grey suit the archer had on before her hand still gripping the blue eyed girl’s strap, took care of the archer’s belt, then popped open her button and pulled the zipper down, "why don’t we let this bad boy out and have some fun?" Y/N quickly pushed Kate’s boy shorts down enough to free the strap and let it stand up between them. "Hello there, ready for me I see."

Kate snorted at the joke and shook her head before gripping Y/N’s ass and stood up with her in her arms, sitting her down on the edge of the table as she kissed her lustfully. "Are you ready for me too babe?" Kate stared at Y/N with hooded eyes while she played with the button of her trousers, popping it open when Y/N nodded eagerly and she helped Kate push the papers stacked on the desk on the far end of it to prevent them to fall on the floor. "I should check myself, what do you think?" Kate smirked smugly when Y/N whimpered under her breath and, after getting rid of Y/N’s shoes, she pushed her pants and underwear down in one swift motion and threw it on the floor in a messy heap. "Hm, just like I like it. Wet, glistening and screaming for my attention." Kate rasped out in pure desire as her eyes settled on Y/N’s center spread out in front of her and licked her lips hungrily when a gush of arousal left Y/N’s core and dripped down onto the desk.

Y/N grunted out needily before grabbing Kate’s lapels and crashed their lips together, moaning pitifully into Kate’s mouth when the tip of the strap on teased her inner thigh and her slits. "Fuck me, babe."

"Impatient, aren’t we miss Y/L/N?"

Y/N shivered at Kate’s question spoken with a formal tone she usually used during their meeting with stuck up, cocky, haughty men trying to disregard them and treat them poorly, putting them into places each time and Y/N found it so hot it always left her hot and bothered after each meeting. When she confessed it to Kate on their way back to the archer’s apartment after a meeting, they ended up almost fucking outside the archer’s apartment door, before stumbling into her house and fucking for hours with Kate using that voice casually. "I’m sorry miss Bishop, but I’m just so wet for you."

"I can see that, you are dripping down on my desk’s glass." Kate countered back, enjoying their small role play they were doing as her body buzzed in anticipation and her hips bucked involuntarily up in need, causing the tip of the strap to rub teasingly over Y/N’s clit, who moaned out loud at the contact.

"Babe, please." When Kate only kept staring at her slits hungrily, her pupils blown and full of lust, Y/N just spread her legs wider and teased her own core with her fingers, hearing Kate gasp as her eyes stayed glued to her fingers on her cunt before placing her wet digits on Kate’s strap on and spread the juices she collected on it. "Just getting it ready."

"Fuck Y/N/N." Y/N knew Kate liked a lot her gesture by the way her chest heaved quickly with shallow breaths and by the grasp Kate had on her waist that tightened immediately. "C’mere." Kate pulled Y/N into another hard kiss full of tongues and teeth, this time moving her own hand between Y/N’s legs and collecting some more juices to spread on her strap before gripping Y/N’s thighs and pulling her more into her as she aligned the strap’s tip to Y/N’s entrance, looking up into her eyes in a silent question, "are you ready babe?"

"Yes." Y/N nodded furiously while her hands circled the archer’s shoulders and flushed their upper bodies together to be as close as she could to her girlfriend, shivering in need, love and affection when Kate nuzzled her temple and laid a kiss there, before kissing her cheek and then her lips, "I’m ready babe. Rock my world, please."

"As you wish, beautiful." Kate eased the tip of the strap in slowly, letting Y/N adjust to the sensation of being stretched out and gradually pushed the dildo slowly and delicately in, grunting when halfway in Y/N’s walls greedily pushed the strap into her center and huffing out in desire as soon as she was all way in, their waists glued together as Y/N tried to spread her legs as open as she could to give Kate as much space as she needed. "Fuck, I can feel your pussy clenching around the strap. You are so tight." Kate heard Y/N whine into her ear at her words and gripped her shoulders more firmly, making the archer smile lovingly at her and place a tender kiss on her neck, "tell me when I can move."

A few more seconds passed as Kate waited patiently for her girlfriend’s signal, that arrived not to long after with a whine, "you can move now baby."

That spurred Kate into action, starting with a slow, tentative rhythm into Y/N’s cunt, pushing the strap a few inches out at first as she felt Y/N’s wall still having a tight grip around it, then speeding her movements’ up and pushing in deeper when her girlfriend’s moans increased in volume each time she bottomed out into her core, "how does it feel?"

"So good babe, fuck." Y/N’s grip around Kate’s shoulders only tightened after each thrust into her pulsating center and her moans spilled freely and unhinged from her mouth and right into Kate’s ear at the amazing sensations the archer was triggering with her precise, hard and skilled thrusts.

"Ugh, yes!" Kate grunted out when after pulling the strap almost all the way out and slamming it back into Y/N’s core, the small end buried inside of her hit her clit just right and sent shivers down her spine. Kate was too much laser focused on bringing Y/N over the edge as they cling onto each other in an intimate position, so she decided to stick with small, soft pecks and nibbles under her jaw as she increase her movements’ speed and force.

"Oh shit! There babe. Do that again." Kate puffed out a small laugh at the whined request and repeated her previous gesture, pulling all the way out and then slamming back in precisely and hard, this time hitting something deeper within Y/N that made her scream in pure bliss. "Fuck you’re so good at this."

Kate didn’t speed up her movements anymore, sticking with a steady rhythm as they made love, not rushing anything, just enjoying their bodies connecting on a deeper level and just existing in that moment together. "Are you close baby? I want to feel you come all over me."

"Yes babe. I can feel it-fuck- I- oh shit YES!" Kate felt pride swell into her chest at the girl having troubles to finish her sentence to moan out in rapture at Kate’s movements, so with a determination and a primal need to feel and hear Y/N come, she sped her movements just a bit and started thrusting in harder and deeper, feeling the girl meet her thrusts with her hips, a clear sign she was really close to tipping over the edge.

Y/N came a few moments later with a strangled cry of Kate’s name as her walls spasmed around the strap and juices spilled and dripped out of her core. "So beautiful." Kate murmured on Y/N’s cheek tenderly as she kissed the heated skin repeatedly while slowing her movements to a stop to help Y/N ride out her post-coital wave. She pulled Y/N into a loving, languid kiss before pulling out slowly out of her, much to Y/N’s protests whined out on her parted lips after pulling away to take some needed breath. "Would you look at that!" Kate started as she put some small distance between their bodies to stare down at the dildo now glistening with Y/N’s juices, "look at the mess you just made."

"Fuck." Y/N whispered mesmerized as she licked her lips involuntarily, something that didn’t go unnoticed by the archer, who growled under her breath and gripped Y/N’s thighs hard.

"Someone needs to clean it, am I right?"

Y/N shivered at that authoritative tone Kate used not too long ago and silently watched as the archer, after assessing Y/N nodded at her question, walked over her chair and sat on it unceremoniously and sprawled on it with her legs spread wide, then leaned her back on the back rest so her hips stood up a bit with the strap on proudly standing still from her pants with Y/N’s juices still glowing on it. As soon as Kate’s question and her position on the chair settled in her still a bit dazed mind, a wild shudder wrecked her body as arousal pooled immediately between her legs, making her mesmerized at how easily she was getting turned on. She schooled her face and forced herself to look and act calm instead of wanting to scramble to her wobbly legs and run to the archer waiting for her, so she stood up slowly, stumbling just a bit due to her legs feeling still a bit like jelly, and sauntered towards the black haired beauty with a cheeky grin on, "oh miss Bishop, of course! I will take care of it myself!"

Kate’s hands clenched around fists as lust invaded every cell of her body at the sentence spoken with a filthy tone while her eyes took in her girlfriend being completely naked from her hips down while she still had on her blouse and blazer. "Shit, your ass looks amazing."

"Do you wanna touch it?" Y/N asked seductively as she reached Kate on the chair and caressed her clothed sternum, bending down just a bit to tease Kate more, and looked down at her with a big, smug smirk that morphed into an O shape when Kate nodded while biting down on her bottom lip and leaned over to grasp both her butt cheeks with her hands and kneaded the soft, but firm flesh lustfully. "Hm, yes."

"Wet for me again, I see." Kate teased as her eyes moved from Y/N’s ones when they closed momentarily at her ministrations on Y/N’s ass and settled on her center and inner thigh glistening with her orgasm juices and clearly fresh arousal. "Do you want me to fuck you again?"

"Shit, yes!" Y/N wailed and whimpered needily and leaned forward to steady herself on Kate’s shoulders when the pleasure that was overwhelming her senses made her legs give out just a moment. "Yes! I want you buried deep inside of me!"

"Hm, fuck I want that too. I want to stretch you over so nicely and so good as you scream my name and beg me to make you come."

Y/N let out an embarrassing sound that was something between a wail and a moan when Kate slapped her butt cheeks hard, causing her to bounce forward slightly, before resuming her kneading, "fuck." Y/N took a grounding breath and with all the strength in her body grasped Kate’s hands and pulled them away from her ass, entwining them as she pushed Kate’s legs wider apart with her knees and made her way between them right after, "but first, I need to clean the mess I made." Kate cursed under breath as her hips bucked up imperceptibly when Y/N kneeled in front of her with her dark Y/E/C eyes glued to her own lustful irises. Y/N let go momentarily Kate’s hands to push her pants and boy shorts just a bit more down to give more space to work on the strap before kissing on the juncture between her left thigh and hips and smirked proudly when she felt Kate’s hips canting up needily in a silent plea. Without further teasing she started with just a few soft kisses at the base of the strap before making her way up till she reached the tip and left another peck there. She grasped the base of the dildo as she wrapped her mouth around the tip and started a steady rhythm with her hand as she took a few more inches into her mouth, enough to give Kate a good show to watch and without gagging around the particularly large strap on.

"Holy shit, you don’t even know how hot you look right now." Y/N hummed in acknowledgement and pushed down with her hand more firmly as she stroked right back down on the strap on, effectively making Kate wail out loud when the small end of the dildo buried inside of her sent white shocks of pleasure all over her body. "Yes! Yes baby, suck me oFF, UGH!" Kate tried with all her might to not buck her hips up to avoid hurting Y/N, but when Y/N started stroking the dildo faster and firmer as she eagerly sucked on it, she couldn’t help but canting her hips up softly in pleasure. She was ready to apologize but stopped in her tracks when Y/N moaned around the dildo and increased the speed of her ministrations. "Shit." Kate slammed her head back on the back rest at how excitingly dirty their actions became and almost came on the spot when her brain caught up with the fact that Y/N was sucking and jerking her off with a strap on under her desk, in her office. The thought alone made her shiver visibly and bucked her hips up slowly but steadily, still careful on not hurting Y/N but moaning when she chanced a look down at Y/N and saw her eagerly bobbing her head up and down the shaft as Kate fucked her mouth nicely. "Fuckfuckfuck, babe you are so good. I’ve imagined this so many times. I once, fuck, imagined it so vividly that I had to touch myself on this every chair."

Y/N met Kate’s hooded eyes and pulled her mouth away just enough to ask, "are you serious?"

Tumblr has words limit lol, so keep reading here!

[tackytigerfic]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you so much for the tag @lettersbyelise. loved reading yours here!

How many works do you have on ao3?

63 under my tacky account and I think 2 under my brasstacks account.

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

On my tacky account: 358,302.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Only HP so far (plus, inexplicably, one Witcher fic even though i wasn't even really into the show let alone in the fandom). I have an idea for a Steve x Eddie fic (stranger things) and an F1 fic (i don't know the fandom or the real life people at all but I am obsessed with the writing of @boxboxlewis and have, fatally, had An Idea for a galex fic as a result. pray for tacky, i can't afford another hyperfixation, the one i have is bad enough). but they will probably never get written, alas. i barely get my drarry stuff done!

4.. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I never check my stats - i don't have them blocked or anything, it just doesn't occur to me. I also think it's a really unhelpful way of judging the merits of a fic. Fandom is supposed to be fun, and a fic can be great in many different ways for many different people, and none of that can accurately be conveyed by how many hearts people leave. That said, I appreciate every reader i get so much - I never ever imagined people would read my fics so each person who does gets a whole lotta love from me. However for the purposes of this ask i did go into my stats section to have a look and here we go, it might be a surprising one as i suspect Modern Love is probably my most recced:

If It Takes All Night: quick oneshot i wrote for Lock Down Fest, forced bonding, quidditch buddies, friends to lovers.

A Lick and a Promise: My first long fic, a case fic involving an auror/unspeakable team who go undercover as Hogwarts professors to solve a crime at the school. oh and they also happen to be fuckbuddies already.

Modern Love: My own favourite, also my longest fic (so far, mwahaha). Muggle world Draco, depressed Harry learns to love himself and falls in love with Draco along the way.

Through the Window, Clear Skies: 1.4k of love story. so fond of this one as it's the first fic i wrote where i felt like i had finally clicked stylistically. it was the start of me learning to write in my own style rather than trying to emulate the fics i loved to read.

And One to Play: Gosh, i actually do not really remember what this is about. auror partners? Harry loves clothes in this one i remember. And it's about weather magic. I was so proud of this one when i wrote it and really learned a lot at the start of my fic writing journey.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Just like Elise, I would love to but I fell massively behind after Modern Love posted and never got my momentum back. I am currently about 3 years behind though i do try to reply whenever i can. i absolutely treasure comments and i really miss interacting with readers. at the moment it's a choice between writing new stuff and replying to comments. i also never ever mind when an author doesn't reply to my comments so i figure people will allow me the same grace.

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Some people might say it's Last Offices as that's MCD, but my own choice would be The Quiver of a Heartstring because of the sheer hopelessness of it. Depends on your particular flavour of angst i think.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Most of my fics are cheerful, I suppose Modern Love as there are two follow up fics so you get to see them happy in both of those, as well as in the epilogue?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

not much that anyone tells me about! Someone did feature one of my fics (ironically, the one with most kudos) on some horrible mean-spirited blog about crap mary-sues, which was probably the most out-and-out horrid thing i've come across. i wasn't upset by it, but i did think it was a surprisingly shitty thing to do about anyone's fics! I also had someone leave me very very long comments on one of my fics asking me to explain why I made Harry so mean, and then went on reddit and posted some long posts about the same thing (naming the fics they had a problem with, including mine). bizarre! i have never had out and out hate comments, thankfully. just the usual WELL ACKSHULLY type "concrit" that really just means "i didn't like how you did this, so i'm going to let you know in detail about it". to which i say, off you fuck, buddy, and learn some self-awareness. and brush up on your grasp of fandom etiquette while you're at it.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes i do, not necessarily all the time and sometimes it's more M or T rated hints. I read fic for the romance and sex is part of that. and i write what i want to read.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

No i don't, though after chats with my resident F1 expert @sweet-s0rr0w I wondered about writing a racing AU where one of them crashes and ends up in a fiery inferno but walks out of it. only they've come back wrong.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of, i would absolutely hate that though.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

earlier fics yes, but now i ask that people not translate my fics. this is because if i need to delete all my works off AO3 at any point, i would prefer to have them all in one place to scrub them. i know it doesn't work like that but it's just one of those irrational worries i have and it gives me the illusion of control!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes! Body Electric with @shealwaysreads which is a Drarry bodyswap. And Dreaming Skies with @sweet-s0rr0w which was the Dron dragon-tamer getting together fic of my dreams. love a collab, what a privilege to get to work with such talented people!

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Drarry absolutely 100% no questions asked. I've never had another ship and never will. my brain just isn't made that way. it's a pain but it is what it is.

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

None, i have quite a few WIPs but I feel like I could go back to any of them at some point. I'd never say never on a fic tbh. if i started writing it, i had a reason. some WIPs i have from years back are: quidditch fic where Draco buys the team Harry plays for, Master of Death Harry fic where he is reckless after the war and Draco dies due to trying to keep up with him, and Harry has to go get him back... umm political fic about a corrupt Ministry where Dudley has a magical baby and Harry and Draco take the kiddo (and Dudley!) and go on the run. i probably have more that i've forgotten.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Not being disingenuous but it's harder for me to appreciate my strengths as I tend to be too immersed in my own writing to have any distance. I think maybe, going by what people have said, I am able to capture a mood? And i write love in a loving way.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

From my own perspective, my weaknesses are being too slow (it takes me ages to write anything), inability to focus for long, and not being a good plotter.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Yeah, I think that's fine! i'm not sure what this question refers to tbh 🤔😂 I mean, if it works in the story then it works. I have never done it myself other than in Our Little Life which is a multiverse fic where Harry gets visions of multiple other lives with Draco through space and time. In it they speak Middle English, Latin, Irish... i think that's all?

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter. i actually wrote an angsty Draco x Ron oneshot YEARS ago (it was called Take This Longing and i went by perfidia back then and i can see the link on the wayback machine but the fic itself is lost sadly.. or actually that might be a good thing) but then I never wrote anything at all ever again until i started writing fic in 2019. i have never been in another fandom and i don't think i ever will. i don't know why i've imprinted so hard on these two idiots but here we are. I have also started writing original work in recent years, again not something i ever imagined doing but it's lovely and satisfying in different ways to the way fic writing is! so i feel very lucky tbh.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Probably Modern Love. It is exactly the fic i wanted it to be, and people who read it seem to get what I wanted to give. and you can't say fairer than that.

Tagging @blamebrampton @boxboxlewis @citrusses @epitomereally @maesterchill @mintawasalreadytaken @porcelainheart3 @shealwaysreads @skeptiquewrites @sweet-s0rr0w @teacup-tai if you fancy it! and anyone who wants to play.

[pixelchills]

Also in each of of your fics which were your most fav chapter you've written for them?

Oh, this is such an interesting question and I'm so bad at making choices... XD I'll try to answer this as best as I can with all of my multichapter fics (and grouping oneshots together).

Dolldrops First Adventure:

Despite not being able to finish the last chapter of this fic, I think my favourite chapter to write was either chapter 3 or 4, because that's when I realised I really enjoyed writing things from Sun's POV and have my stories centre around his experience. The alarm clock scene and Sunny and Chill making flower crowns were also really cute to write.

A Not so Sunny World (Prequel):

This is my longest fic so far, so it's really hard to choose which chapter I enjoyed writing the most... I am quite torn between the first meeting between our celestial animutants in chapter 3, and Sun's embarrassing sexual awakening in chapter 17 after Moon cuddles him...

A Not so Sunny World:

So far, I think I really nailed the tension and horror in the first chapter quite well. I literally had to take breaks from writing it and even delete a scene because I was so anxious of what was happening. I'm aiming to gain a similar climax to the last chapter of Arc 1.

My Dear Daffodil:

I actually like most of the chapters in this fic for different reasons, but if I need to choose which one I enjoyed writing the most, it must've been the first one. I loved getting Solar's backstory out and build him up as a character.

May I Love You

Even though there's only a couple of chapters out, I've written 5 so far. My favourite one to write must've been chapter 3 so far, but I don't want to spoil it ;)

From all of my oneshots, Bloodmoon has been the one I probably enjoyed writing the most. It was refreshing to touch a subject I haven't seen many writers do and write a hurt/comfort fic with my favourite characters (or my version of them). It is also a very personal work for me since all of Moon's uncomfort and pain comes from personal experiences.

[tervaneula]

Now that we're entering into 2024, I'm asking some artists and writers that I follow:

1) What is the one piece you're most proud of from this past year?

2) What are some pieces that you would have liked more people to see? If you can include links, I'd love to go check them out!

3) What were your top three favorite pieces (art, comics, fics, etc) that someone else has made this past year?

(As always, no pressure to respond! Feel free to just ignore, or let me know if you'd rather I not send you these kinds of asks in the future.)

Ooooh my goodness this is so fun, thank you for sending this! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!<3<3<3

1 Oh gosh, I'm so sorry but I cannot choose because it's definitely a tie between make your home in me and world's end boyfriend.

The first one because I hadn't written smut in literal years but writing it felt so flowy and nice still, I loved showcasing Leonardo and Yuichi's fondness for each other and including all the funny bits!!!

The second one because it's the longest oneshot I've written so far and I'm so proud of all the little details and ESPECIALLY the interactions between the turtle fam. Leo and Leonardo's relationship is secondary to the plot but I just love their interactions in it SO MUCH.

2 The fic breathe (and let go) flew under the radar, idk why. It's wholesome af, as is my brand u_u

My turtlesona!! She's CUTE

This meme redraw. It's still hilarious to me

The leoichi meet-cute fic - I'll always remember how freaking giddy I was while writing it but... it's still missing the second chapter (y'all it's the next WIP I'm gonna finish!!!!)

3 THIS AU by @witchofthemoss AARRARARARSHJDFG

THIS THIS THIS by @mushangaa because ohhhh my god

This fic by @beeceit I'm so soft over it FOREVER ;;_;;

And honorary mention for @amevello-blue's Ghost as a character because that old man squeezes my heart every time I think about him

[kasagia]

I just read 'lose your memory' and my first reaction was like 'okay that seems like a lot of chaos is gonna breakout and i love it'

What makes sense to me is Coriolanus winning and reader being with him against her will till he finally breaks her but she still despises him even after she gives in to him she still gives him the cold shoulder

I hope you understand me 😭

This story is a work of art really it's already my favorite ❤️

Thank you very much!!!! I'm sooo glad you liked it! 🩵🖤🩵🖤🩵🖤🩵🖤🩵🖤🩵🖤🩵🖤🩵🖤😊😊😊

I'm very sorry, but I have already written part 2, so... 🙈🙈🙈 I cannot confirm, deny or promise anything. (Apart from the fact that there will be a lot going on. This is probably the longest thing I've written so far.)

But my requests for Coryo are open, so if anyone wants something particular to read, then you can send me your ideas for oneshots.😊

I'll post The Grudge - (part 2 of LYM) in about a few hours (5-6🙈. I still need to check the text and do a few other things. 'StUdY tImE'.)

I really hope you will enjoy it as much as 'Losing your memory'. 😬😬😅🙈🩵🖤🩵🖤🩵🖤

[saelterlude]

I've been working on this fic for weeks! You don't understand how excited I am to post this

Time In A Tin Can

Summary: Twelve years ago, back in middle school, Mao Weijia and her two friends, Guo Xiaolu and Liu Sanjie, went on a camping trip. Together, the three of made a time capsule and buried it somewhere in the middle of the forest. Now she needs said time capsule back. Hopefully this photo hopping sorcerer can locate it, she'll even pay extra to get it retrieved. Qiao Ling and Cheng Xiaoshi are excited they're essentially getting paid to go camping, and Lu Guang is just along for the ride.

It's a Link Click camping fic! This is by far the longest oneshot I've written and I'm so proud of it. (12k lol, I thought it would be a 3k)

The base concept for this is a case fic where both Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang have to work simultaneously in the past and present. My first idea was darker, a missing journalist case, but I decided to go with a lighter treasure hunting case instead. And I'm glad I did that, because this ended up being what I like to think as the perfect balance of hurt/comfort.

Anyway! I would appreciate if you give it a read, thanks!

[ursafootprints]

*eagerly holds up microphone ;D

1, 3, 12, 13, 17, 22, 24, 26, 27, 29, 30

Sldkfjsdf 💖💖💖 THANK YOU FRIEND you're the sean evans to my weeping-while-answering-questions interviewee

1, 12, 24 have all been answered!

3. What’s something you learned about yourself as a writer? Oh, gosh. That I can finish something longer than five chapters? That banking all my oneshot ideas is a great way to focus on a main project but means I will be extremely scattered from having too many WIPs in the aftermath? I feel like I'm much less thoughtful/self-aware about this kind of stuff than a lot of other authors, lmao.

13. What fic was the easiest to write? Cheating because it was by far the shortest, but it happens here every day (and its soon-to-be-posted Part 2, as they were actually originally written as a one-shot, haha.) I finished each scene in one sitting of CLAMP-fuelled brainworms.

For the ones that are on more equal ground wordcount-wise, Pyrite was the easiest! I had a pretty solid idea of what I wanted out of it and didn't struggle overly much with any of the individual elements.

17. What were your go-to writing snacks? Salt & vinegar chips are my favorite snack, but I don't snack while I write! I don't wanna get chipfingers on my keyboard.

22. Share an excerpt from your favorite scene I can't actually pick a favorite from the last two chapters of YNYD (Peter's talks with May? Tony and Peter's final date night before Peter moves for MIT?? the final scene?!), so instead, from Pyrite:

"I accepted that I had no fucking clue what Dad would let you get away with all the way back when you were three and I didn't revert to being an only child after you drew all over his Shelby Cobra with a screwdriver," he said, rolling his eyes at the memory. It's not like he'd at all wanted his baby brother to get slapped into next Tuesday, but— "For all I know you could blow Norman Osborn right in front of him and he'd just compliment your technique." "Tony!" Peter squawked with a peal of horrified laughter, twisting up out of Tony's lap to shove at his shoulder in protest. "'Hmm, excellent work, son,'" Tony intoned in a well-practiced imitation of their father, catching Peter's wrists. "'See how he's working the shaft, Anthony? Now this is how a worthy Stark successor sucks cock.'" "Oh my god," Peter wailed as he struggled against Tony's grip to try and shut him up, beet red and laughing.

Despite being wholly inappropriate, Tony was actually just being a big brother rather than trying to flirt with Peter here, and so this part actually struck me as being weirdly charming as a look into what their sibling relationship could've been like if not for… everything.

26. If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year? Oh finishing YNYD for sure. I've never written anything near that long or complex before (my next-longest work is only 37k vs YNYD's 166k,) much less finished it, and it felt like a massive accomplishment.

If we're talking something more specific to the writing process, coming up with the idea of using Hanahaki as the premise for the wicked love sequel was also super satisfying! I was pretty content with the idea of just letting the first part stand alone as a full-on tragedy, but I did keep rolling the idea of "but what would their relationship look like after that" around in my mind just out of sheer fascination with it.

I didn't think my answer at the time ("they'd get therapy but Tony wouldn't really ever open up to talk about it and things would never really be the same I guess???") would be that interesting to write or read, but landing on "Tony would be forced to talk about it because his son got Hanahaki" was immediately exciting!

27. Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic? I live in a constant state of buying myself a little treat, so I probably did that, but otherwise not really actually!

29. If this were an awards show, who would you thank? Lolll oh god. You and @shivanessa for sure for all the lovely gifts and for being such thoughtful and supportive readers and friends, my sibling for listening to me ramble about my fics, Rome for letting me bounce ideas off of them and being a wonderful friend and cheerleader, allllllll of my regular commenters…!! You guys are what makes being in fandom so fun 💖💖💖

30. What’s something that you want to write in 2024? Lmaoooooooooo

People were sharing their WIPs lists in the Super Starkers server a while back so I threw one together and, well…

…We'll see what happens!!

[tamras-shieldmaiden]

I saw this ask game circulating around the Tumblersphere, and I don't remember having done a fic writing recap before, so here's my take for 2023:

2023 Year-End Fic Round Up

Words written (published or not, WIPs totally count too!): 

Total published word count for this year is 38,706. Hadn’t I been sick, which derailed my flow and hit me with a writer's block, I think it might've written more, but I'm still satisfied with my output. I'm not a prolific writer but I'm still proud of what I was able to publish in 2023.

Smut scenes written (if applicable): 

Two, with a oneshot written specifically for one of them (cough mirror cough).

New things I tried: 

I embarked on a spanking brand new ship. Although I've always said I didn't like shipping Kuvira with any of the Beifongs (and yes, that includes the canon one), after a series of insightful conversations with @redcatmusings, with some nice persuasion I ended up changing my mind about Lin/Kuvira and well, here we are with 4 Linvira fics published so far. 😅

Fic I spent the most time on: 

The fic I spent most time on last year was Masquerade, since it was the longest with 6 chapters. It had been a while since I wrote an action heavy chapter, so chapter 5's car chase scene took me a while to figure out, but I believe that in the end, the effort paid off.

Fic I spent the least time on: 

That would be Melody of our hearts. The process felt almost like a stream of consciousness, from choosing 2nd person POV as narrative devise to the writing itself which I wrapped up in a day. Even coming up with title was a breeze, something that's unusual for me because I tend to agonize over coming up with titles.

Favourite thing I wrote: 

I'm torn between Masquerade and Seeking Harmony. Masquerade was an absolute blast to write. I loved Asami and Kuvira's rapport throughout the story and building up the tension between the leads amidst the suspense of the investigation was tons of fun to write as it was to read.

Seeking Harmony is the opposite because it's a short, soft introspective oneshot, and that's precisely what I liked so much about it because I was able to weave in some atmospheric elements to emphasize the calm and soft mood of the story. And besides, depicting a vulnerable Kuvira with a supportive Korra is always a win in my book.

Favourite thing I read: 

This one is not easy because one advantage of participating on Fanfiction Exchanges is that you get to be exposed to a variety of fandoms and talented authors outside of one's prefered fandoms that otherwise one wouldn't read, and I've read some amazing stories that at moments they've made me doubt of my skills because they were so damned good! I was skeptical at first of the concept but it is a great experience that I wholeheartedly recommend for both the quality writing and the amazing authors one gets to meet and admire and build friendships with.

Writing goals for next year:

I want to pick up on the Linvira fic I had originally planned for last year's ATLA Rare Pair Big Bang because that story is itching to be told. I also have a Kuvira/Asami WIP in the works set in the Bodyguard continuity, and maybe this will be the year which I finally get to complete my Kuvira redemption saga with the last story I've been cooking for years now.

Tagging @redcatmusings @rakaiawriter @roguegona @alpaca-clouds @udaberriwrites @diana-fortyseven @the-orion-scribe @orangepanic and anyone else who'd like to join in.