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basicjetsetter · 3 years

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The Rise of Deus

♡ Pairing: Mob!Peter Parker x BlackFemale!Reader

♧ Setting: The Terrace Room in The Plaza Hotel, New York

♤ Warnings: Language, Adult Themes, Violence, +18 Smut (If you are under age, please do not read this).

♢ Word Count: 7.2k

☆ A/N: Okay, so I got a little carried away. This is such an indulgent mess, I love it to pieces. If you haven’t read The Fall yet, I suggest you read it before you get to this part. It takes a while to setup, but I promise it’ll be worth it. Please hit like if you enjoy it, leave me a lil’ comment and a reblog if you love it. Happy reading! (P.S. I like these two characters so much, I might just write some more moments for them).

The game is in your hands. Exactly as planned.

♢ ♤ ♡ ♧

You’re not a great poker player.

In fact, compared to Peter and even Rumlow, your skills are subpar at best. The idea of betting everything on chance rankled the very fibers of your being, and you never could quite remember which hands beat which. But you were excellent at reading people.

It’s how you became New York’s best attorney. That, and because you were sharper than most people assumed you were.

Exhibit A: Rumlow.

You have to give it to him, though. He was initially difficult to read.

Earlier in the game, you tried to gauge his tells as he demolished Peter. Everyone reacts when they have a good or bad hand, whether they’re aware of it or not. As an attorney, you study your clients, plaintiffs, and sometimes the theoretically impartial jury for their tells—how they react to damning information, or rather, how they choose not to react.

The truth is in their eyes. The way they hunch their shoulders. Touch their face. Purse their lips. Breathe. Everything is a tell.

Rumlow’s whole personality screams dominant knowing, and he strategizes that way. Like he’s seen your hand before you even pick up the cards.

He plays too smart. And when he’s drunk, it becomes all the more apparent.

The way he rubbed his bottom lip before bargaining the final bet, slow and methodical, sealed the game against him. It’s not much to go off of for some, but for you, it’s more than enough. It’s a nervous habit—the movement confirming that his hand isn’t crap, but it isn’t the best, either.

You glimpsed down at your hand, then back up to Rumlow with a pleasant expression.

No, you aren’t a good poker player. But Peter is.

“Save your time, sweetheart. Let’s just get this over with,” said Rumlow, leaning back in his chair. It creaked under his muscular weight. “Fold.”

You arched an eyebrow, then crossed one leg over the other, causing the hem of your dress to ride up and show a decent amount of skin. “Don’t I get to place a bet of my own? You know, just in case my hand is better.”

Rumlow’s eyes predictably feasted on your exposed skin before he dragged them back up to your face. “What makes you think your hand is gonna be better than mine?”

“Indulge me, Brock,” you nearly purred, internally gagging as Rumlow’s breathing became labored. “If you know your hand is better, then you have absolutely nothing to worry about. I just want to have a little fun.”

Part of you is grateful that Peter is handcuffed in the back of a police car, not here to witness your attempt at seduction. You needed to do it while Rumlow is still drunk enough to fall for it.

Rumlow contemplated your words for a split second, eyes dipping down once more to relish the sight of your skin while his thumb repeatedly ran over the top of his cards. You resisted the urge to roll your eyes.

He finally said, “Alright, I’ll bite. What’d you have in mind?”

Saccharine venom oozed into your words as you held a charming smile. “When I win, you’re going to give me $20 million, all of your inventory and routes to Peter, and I want your promise that the Scorpions will no longer operate in New York. You can go be someone else’s problem.”

The smug light fizzled out of Rumlow’s eyes, and his mouth hardened into a flat line. “Not going to happen.”

“And why not?” you asked innocently. You’re having way too much fun with messing with Rumlow’s head. “What’s so different about my demand from yours?”

“You don’t think you’re asking for too much?”

You leaned forward, letting your eyes slowly roam over his face before settling on his dark eyes, loving the way it made him uneasy, then said matter-of-factly, “Not at all. If you want everything from Peter, then I want everything from you. Only seems fair. That is, of course, if you want to renegotiate your previous proposal…?”

Rumlow sat up in his chair, staring too hard into your face. Searching for a crack in your armor. He wasn’t going to find anything that wasn’t already there. You’re sincere and know next to nothing about manipulating a game of luck, and it showed all over your face, clear as day. He’s got nothing on you.

“What is this?” He looked around the room as if there were hidden cameras on the walls, looked at the clueless faces of people spectating the game.

Tony muttered, “Well, this was supposed to be a party, but I’d say we’re miles away from that—ouch!” He groaned as Pepper elbowed him in the ribs.

“What do you think this is?” you questioned him back using the same inflection.

Rumlow’s head snapped back to face you, his eyes practically pitch-black. “A fucking setup.”

“It’s just a game, Brock. That’s all it is.” You’re surprised at how serene you sound because your heart is leaping around in your chest, about ready to burst free and fly away from the excitement of it all, but you’re conscious enough to keep the surprise off your poker face. “Do we have a deal or not?”

He filled his lungs with a ragged breath, expelling it out of flared nostrils. Pinched the bridge of his nose. Strategized. “$25 million. Everything else stays the same. His routes. His connections. You.”

You nod once. “And you accept my wager?”

Rumlow begrudgingly nodded. His knuckles turned white from clenching his cards.

“On three, we show our hands,” you said and waited, giving him one last chance to object. He doesn’t; he just keeps his hawk-like stare trained on you.

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three.”

You both turn your cards over at the same time.

Rumlow’s hand shows a Three, Four, Five, Six, and Seven, all clubs. Straight Flush.

Peter’s hand shows a King, Queen, Jack, Ten, and an Ace, all hearts. Royal Flush.

“Bullshit!”

Rumlow shot up from his chair, threw his cards to the floor, and snatched the gun from one of his men, aiming it at you.

Gasps filled the room, and you’re certain you heard Tony shout your name in alarm. Just as they’d done with Peter, the venue's guards raised their weapons at Rumlow and his men.

You broke out into a fit of giggles. There were uncontrollable, bubbling from your lips and almost doubling you over. Maybe it was your nerves finally getting the best of you, or perhaps it was the dumbfounded shock on Rumlow’s face as he pulled a gun on you. Either way, you didn’t have a hope of taming them.

Rage intensified the crimson flush on Rumlow’s face. He barked out, “Why the fuck are you laughing?”

You struggled to pull it together. “Di-Did you honestly think you could beat Peter at poker, of all things? Seriously? I mean, don’t get me wrong. I knew you were dense, but geez.”

“He cheated. Ain’t no way he got that hand. Ain’t no fucking way.”

“Oh, come on,” you said, trying hard to stifle the giggles. “You said it yourself. Peter's a lucky son of a bitch.”

Rumlow took a minute to process the loss, eyes spacing out while the gun remained pointed at you. Your giggles died down as you sat patiently, drumming your fingers against your thigh and staring right back at the gun, uninterested. He wouldn’t shoot you. Not if he valued his life.

If Peter were here, you knew he’d be proud. Furious, yet proud.

At last, the arrogance returned to Rumlow’s smile, and he scoffed, “Congratulations, I guess. But um, I don’t really have to give you anything, you know. All bets have been word of mouth, nothing written down.”

Your smile never faltered. “Don’t do that, Brock. That isn’t how this works, and you know it. You were fully expecting Peter to hand me over to you with a nice, shiny gift bow taped to my ass and $25 million. Right? Or are you pointing a gun at me just because you feel like it?”

Rumlow shrugged with one shoulder. A hint of his anger traced his features before it faded back into an impassive mask.

“Doesn’t matter. I’m not giving you shit.”

You sighed dramatically. “Okay, fine. Be that way. But this is how it’s going to play out, regardless. You have three choices.” You ticked them off on your fingers. “One: You give me what I won and leave New York. Two: I sue your ass until you have nothing. Three: You get to deal with Peter. That last one won’t bode out too well for you.”

“Oh yeah?” he asked, snickering. “And what you gonna sue me for, sweetheart? Gambling?”

Your eyes firmed into a severe gaze as you spoke. “I had a nice little chat with Miss Shuri Udaku earlier.”

The dark look passed over his eyes again. A thick mask of indifference tried to hide his culpability before you could spot it, but you didn’t even need to see it in his face. The guilt in his tightened shoulder blared like a blinking neon sign.

Bullseye.

You forged on. “Now, if what Shuri told me is true, which, guessing by the look on your face, it must be, you’re in deep shit. And I’ll take an educated guess and presume she isn’t the only one you’ve…spoken with.”

You paused for him to defy your assumption. He remained silent, his jaw grinding.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” you inquired with a faux mask of concern. “Did I hit a nerve?”

Rumlow’s eye twitched as he lowered the gun. Defeat heavy in his furrowed brows. “I’m gonna make you pay for this. You and him.”

“Just be sure to run me my money, first,” you said. A sly smirk curled up the corner of your mouth. “I want the whole amount by tomorrow, and I want you out of this state by the end of the week, got it?”

A snarl rumbled in his chest. “Got it.”

“Good,” you smiled brilliantly. “Now get your ass out of here. And take the Dynamic Duo with you.”

Everyone lowered their weapons as Rumlow and his two shadows stomped out of the Terrace Room. You watched their backs until they were no longer in your eyesight. It’s over. You won. A rise of applause swelled after the threat ultimately left the room, catching you off guard as you moved to retrieve Peter’s cards from the ground. You curtsied for them and offered a humbled grin.

A rush of adrenaline is humming through your veins, and it’s unlike anything you’ve ever felt before. You’re positive you could scale the Empire State Building without so much as a harness, just running on pure pent up energy. Maybe you should do this kind of stuff more often.

Steve was the first to come up to you, confusion laced in his blue eyes. “We’re letting him go? Just like that?”

“Yes.”

“He pointed a gun at you!”

You brusquely scanned your unscathed body. “No harm, no foul, Lieutenant Rogers.”

“Jesus, you and that kid are a match made in Heaven,” Steve mumbled, shaking his head in shock.

“Wouldn’t be marrying him if we weren’t. And thank you for reminding me…” You trailed off, heading in the direction of Tony and Pepper.

You had to tell Tony the truth about you and Peter before your nerve wore off, or else you’d never find the courage to ever say it straight to his face. Even as you trudged over to him, a leaden ball of anxiety smothered your chest.

Shuri sprang at you without warning, tightly hugging you and jumping up and down as she squealed, “That was so awesome! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“It was nothing,” you said mirthfully.

“It was everything! That man’s been breathing down my neck for months about those weapons. I couldn’t turn a corner without seeing him. I can’t thank you enough.” As you broke apart, she handed you an embossed card. “If Peter is interested, I would love to have a meeting with him. Maybe we could all catch lunch.”

“He is definitely interested. I’ll be sure he calls you,” you assured, beaming her a friendly smile.

She nodded in agreement then waved her goodbyes, walking away to find her companions.

Everything always falls right into place for Peter.

You shook your head in awe as you made your way over to Tony and Pepper again, this time scanning your surroundings to ensure no one else ambushed you. Once you were close enough, they both threw their arms around your shoulders and pulled you into a protective embrace.

“We’re so glad you’re okay, sweetie,” said Pepper as she rubbed a comforting hand up and down your back.

“Don’t you ever pull something like that again, you hear me?” Tony chastised, his tangible relief choking up your throat. He pulled away to look into your eyes thoroughly. “I almost had a heart attack watching that. How could you just stare at the guy as he held a gun to you? You didn’t flinch or anything. I swear you’re turning into a different person right before my—”

You blurted out, “I’m marrying Peter.”

Tony blinked and opened his mouth to speak, but you cut him off, the floodgates bursting open as you spilled everything.

“He proposed three months ago, and I said yes because I am in love with him, Tony. I am in love with Peter Parker, and I know you hate his guts because of what he does, but I don’t care. And…” you stopped, sucking in a deep breath to steady your trembling words. “And I don’t care if me loving him means you hating me. You’re like a father to me, and I respect you, but I won’t continue to let you badger me about being with Peter.”

Tony interjected, “Woah, woah, woah, pump the brakes. Where did you get the idea that I’d ever hate you for being with Parker?”

Both you and Pepper raised an eyebrow at Tony, a universal look that easily translated to Your words said it all.

“Alright, sure, I never really liked the kid. He’s this devious little mastermind who circumvents the law to get what he wants and somehow even got you. But I can hate him and still love you, hon.”

You coughed up a laugh partly because of your relief and partly because of how ridiculous Tony was. “I want you to tolerate him at least. That means no more bringing up the fact that I am his Personal Attorney, no more threats of arrest, and no more nicknames.”

Tony sighed and said, “Okay to the first two, but I can’t make any promises for the nicknames. Baby-faced Criminal has a nice ring to it.”

Your smile brightened. “Deal.” You stepped back into his hug, pressing your face against his shoulder and exhaling. Finally, having the truth out in the open felt like releasing a breath you held in for three long months.

You heard Tony add, “ ‘Sides, I already knew you were engaged.”

“What?” you screeched, stepping back. “What do you mean you already knew?!”

“First of all, ouch,” Tony groused as he rubbed at the ear you accidentally screamed in. “Second of all, Pepper is not really that great at hiding wedding preparations as she thinks she is. And Parker came to me about four months ago.”

You’re so shocked you forgot to breathe, involuntarily pulling in a long drag of air as it dawned on you that your tormented lungs screamed for oxygen. “What—what do you mean Peter came to you?”

“Your young man thought it proper to ask me for my blessing before popping the big question, and I may have expressly told him to go swim in the Bermuda Triangle.” At your expression, he quickly added. “Well, he didn’t!”

“It’s just—He never told me that he asked.” You omitted the part where Peter held your refusal to tell Tony about the engagement against you. Tony wouldn’t understand Peter’s motives any more than you could. But you were going to make him explain himself.

A brief impression of chagrin flashed in Tony’s eyes. “I admit I wasn’t that forthcoming about it. He probably thought it’d be better to keep it to himself than tell you I said no.”

That’s not what it was, but you hummed in agreement anyway.

“Welp, my party mood’s long gone,” Tony stated, unbuttoning his jacket and loosening his tie. “Anybody else up for some Shawarma?”

| Next Morning |

Today wasn’t unlike any other day. Phillips told you your client's location, even though you both knew the area by heart. Third floor. Cell Block E. Number 7. Always Number 7. Lucky Number 7.

♢ ♤ ♡ ♧

One of the guards, a new hire with a tag reading Lang, shadowed you as you walked out of the detention center’s lobby and into the bustling dayroom, then up to Peter’s cell. An untrained eye wouldn’t notice the guard’s careful proximity, and an untrained ear wouldn’t hear his trepid footsteps. You knew better.

Your fiancé is many things, and cautious just happens to be a large part of his make-up. None of the inmates lounging around the dayroom dared to glance your way, not because of the authoritative figure trailing behind you, but because of Peter and his imposing rap-sheet.

While Lang’s presence was somewhat reassuring on your way around the crowded cells, you didn’t need the security detail. You weren’t afraid of anyone in this facility. The moment you propositioned to be his attorney, he should’ve known you weren’t one to be easily rattled.

When you stood in front of Peter’s cell door, Officer Lang moved up close enough to smack the door twice, then placed the key in the lock. As the heavy metal door swung open, you weren’t sure what you might see.

He’s been away from the action, holed up in here all night. A tiny part of you expected Peter to be pacing the floor, running his hands through his hair and wringing them together in distress, beads of sweat trickling down his neck as he counted the seconds to your arrival. You wondered what it would be like to witness God panicking.

What you saw made you smile. Peter, sitting on his squalid mattress with his body propped up against the wall, his eyes closed and mouth slightly ajar, is sound asleep. Some of his brown curls are slightly lying over his forehead, giving him the perfect air of innocence.

Lang took a half step through the door, poked his head in the room, and loudly sang, “Wakey, wakey, Parker! You’re sprung.”

Peter jolted up from his position, looking around as if he forgot his bearings. The moment his eyes landed on yours, a sly smirk slid onto his lips, and the air of innocence vanished.

“Took you long enough.”

He got up from his bed with a low groan, stretching out the kinks in his neck. His dress shirt from last night is has a few more buttons open, exposing his black undershirt, and his shoes are in the corner of the room. The guards didn’t bother giving him a change of clothes because they knew he’d be out in less than 24 hours.

“I could always leave you in here, Mr. Parker,” you said, a small, teasing smile playing at your lips.

Peter grinned back at you, then retrieved his shoes. Lang stood against the wall like a statue, head forward and hands crossed in front of him.

When he was out of the cell, and Lang locked the door behind him, Peter addressed Lang. “She can take it from here, Scott.”

And just like that, Lang’s stoic face melted into a rueful grin as he mockingly saluted Peter and walked off, leaving the two of you alone.

Your mouth gaped for approximately two seconds before you caught on. “You hired him to play pretend-cop?”

“Oh no, Scott works here.” Peter slipped his shoes on and unbuttoned the rest of his dress shirt’s buttons. “He just also happens to work for me while working here.”

You wanted to ask how many Scotts he had in this facility but thought against it, deciding to quietly lead him out of the dayroom and into the lobby. No one acknowledged your departure. Every single one kept their heads down and tended to business as usual.

Peter’s driver, Flash, leaned against the car, smoking a cigarette. Once he saw you both approach, he stamped it out and immediately opened the back seat door for you and Peter.

“Good morning, sir,” he said, always overly cheerful.

Peter clapped Flash on the shoulder and said, “Hey, man. How you doing?”

“Good, sir. Thank you for asking.”

“Dude, we talked about this. Stop calling me ‘sir’ so much. It’s getting weird.”

Flash automatically nodded, saying, “Right, sorry about that,” before closing the door behind Peter. He’d call Peter ‘sir’ again by tomorrow.

Peter groaned in instant satisfaction as he sank into the leather seat. It’s a low and throaty sound, and you felt its vibrations all the way to your core, leaving a flustered mess for longer than you’re proud to say. Two years you’ve been with this man, and the lust hasn’t dimmed.

Peter got right to the point. “So, how’d it go?”

You smirked contentedly, flattening your hands across the lap of your pencil skirt. “You are $20 million richer. And you have the Scorpions’ trading routes and connections, along with a guarantee eviction by the end of the week.”

“20 million… Damn, baby, I knew you were a hustler, but that’s in-fucking-sane!” Peter whooped, turning in his seat to face you fully. His face radiated with excitement. “I bet Rumlow’s pissed.”

“Oh, yeah. He was pissed, alright. He tried renegotiating, then tried to worm out of it. It was fun to watch him squirm.” You’d never mention the part where Rumlow pulled a gun on you to Peter. Not because you cared for Rumlow’s safety in any way, but because you’ve seen how Peter reacts when someone threatens his loved ones, and you never want him to go down that dark tunnel again.

Peter leaned his head against the headrest and wistfully said, “Wish I could’ve been there. Stark didn’t give you a hard time for gambling, did he?”

The topic shift smacked you with the remembrance of what happened last night, what Tony had said. It shouldn’t have kept you up all night, but you tossed and turned with the nagging fact that Peter both hid his confrontation with Tony and had the nerve to pester you about not telling Tony something that he already knew.

For a while, you stayed up wondering why Peter even brought it up at dinner. What was his purpose? Why act cold towards you if there wasn’t a reason? Or was it even an act? Did he genuinely resent you that much for being anxious about telling Tony? Would you ever see that side of Peter again? So indifferent, so cruel. So quick to discard you.

The rest of the night, you replayed over and over how he ignored you, how he minimized you. That wasn’t part of the plan. Most of what happened before the cards got into your hands played out unexpectedly, and you understood why that had to be at some degree, but the ambiguity of it all ticked you off. Did he not trust you?

When he dismissed you, you actually thought about leaving him there alone. Was that not real?

That ache in your chest was real.

“Babe?” Peter waved his hand in front of your face. “Babygirl? What’s wrong? What’d I say?”

You couldn’t bring your eyes up to meet his. They strayed to your lap, refusing to move even as Peter hesitantly took hold of your chin with his thumb and index finger. He emphatically called your name a few times, worry intensifying more and more as an unspecified amount of time passed. Peter never dropped his hand. His thumb caressed your chin while he waited for you to speak, knowing you would.

The desire to verbalize took longer than you expected. There just didn’t seem to be a right way to say what was weighing on your mind. Outright confronting him with only inference to go off of felt childish, but so did beating around the bush. You ultimately chose to address the subject of your silence.

In a tense voice, you said, “Tony told me that you asked for his permission to marry me.”

About thirty seconds ticked away. Peter sighed, “Are you upset that I didn’t tell you?”

You nibbled on your lower lip, then brought your eyes up to meet his. Mild concern drowns his warm brown eyes, somehow increasing their depth, and frown lines creased his forehead. If this were one of your typical squabbles and he stared at you with those damn eyes, you’d have been a goner.

“No.” You shook your head to clear the effect of his gaze. “I’m upset that you asked Tony and then proceeded to act like I had an obligation to tell him something you already told him. And then you got so mad about it last night…” you trailed off in a whisper, recalling his restrained animosity, something you never thought you’d experience with him.

“I wasn’t actually mad,” he rushed.

“So you were pretending?” You asked lamely, feeling the ghost of last night’s ache lash around in your chest. “All that wasn’t real? Ignoring me? Snatching your arm away from me? Dismissing me?”

He insistently shook his head, brown curls swaying across his forehead. “None of it.”

To you, the truth is almost as bad as the lie.

“It felt real to me.” Your voice sounds so small, it’s humiliating. You shifted uncomfortably in your seat, severing the eye contact again. “The fact that you couldn’t just tell me that that’s what you were doing beforehand makes me feel like… like you don’t trust me. Like you’re willing to sacrifice my feelings for some stupid game. Like I’m a pawn.”

“Fuck,” Peter cursed, running a swift hand through tousled his hair. “No, baby, that’s not it. Come ‘ere.”

Peter reached over the divider and pulled you into his lap despite your attempt to scoot away. You didn’t want him holding you, consoling you because even if you tried your hardest to resist him, an irrational part of your brain would immediately relent to his closeness.

You stiffened at the touch of his hand rubbing small circles on your lower back, then loudly to clear your throat. “What is it, then?” You spoke to him as if he were one of your clients. Professional. Distanced. But you couldn’t look into those eyes.

“I was giving you an alibi,” he confessed, not fazed by your tone. “In case anything went wrong. We needed to look distant so Rumlow wouldn’t catch on to how coordinated everything was.”

Okay, that’s nowhere near the answer you were expecting. Because, of course Peter would come up with a convoluted explanation that only made sense to him. Irritation rose in you like a brewing storm as you peered straight into his eyes, ignoring the visceral pull as they locked on you.

“Did it ever occur to you that I’m a grown-ass woman who can handle shit by herself? I didn’t need a fucking alibi, Peter,” you said, indignation souring your tone. “What, did you think I was going to fuck up that bad?”

“No,” said Peter firmly. When you scoff, he persists. “I mean it. I was just—I was just trying to look out for you.” He held your chin again, applying a slight amount of pressure to keep your eyes on him. “I’m sorry. You’re right, you’re more than capable of taking care of yourself, and I love that about you. Sometimes, though, I want to be there for you as much as you’re there for me, if not more.”

You stubbornly held your tongue. You’re not going to cave with a simple apology… no matter how sincere it sounded.

Peter leaned in closer, poorly hiding his smirk as he heard your breath hitch while his lips skimmed up your neck. “I’m sorry, baby,” he murmured against your skin. “I apologize for not considering your feelings.” He placed a tiny kiss on the crook of your neck, trailing the tip of his nose against your jawline. “I’m sorry for keeping you in the dark.”

An undeniable heat flickered to life within you, building as Peter’s actions grew enticingly bold. The pads of his fingers glide up and down your stocking-clad thighs, and each motion brought his hands down further and further until his whole, warm palms flattened down to massage your calves and thighs. Unknowingly, you inclined your neck to allow him to access a larger expanse of your skin.

Any resolve you cemented against Peter crumbled as a pair of lips outlined the shell of your ear. His voice comes out hoarse when he speaks, hoarse and deliberate. “I trust you with everything I have. You know that, don’t you?” His lips hover dangerously near yours.

You exhaled out a breathy, “Yes.” You do know that. He wouldn’t trust anyone else to hold those cards but you, wouldn’t trust anyone else bargaining with his assets but you.

Peter held your lowered gaze steady as he hooked his hands under your thighs and hoisted you up so you fully straddled him, your pencil skirt elastic enough to permit marginal movement. A low whine emitted from your throat as he pressed a chaste kiss to your lips, then pulled away to stare at you, using the full force of his immorally brown eyes.

“Can you forgive me?”

It’d be as simple as sin to whimper out a pathetic affirmative and let him off scot-free. Excruciatingly simple. You knew he meant every word, and you were glad he let you express your anger before apologizing. You wanted to forgive him. But your mind currently wasn’t on the same circuit as your mouth, refusing to utter a single word, wondering where that would get you.

“Hmm,” Peter hummed pensively, contemplating while a predatory grin crept onto his lips. “Guess I gotta work for it, then.”

♢ ♤ ♡ ♧

Your back arched up off the bed, and you toss your head back as you gutturally cried out Peter’s name for the fourth time.

The moment you two entered the house, Peter was on you, guiding you to the bedroom with his lips attached to yours and his hands groping your backside. His hands never left your body, and once they did, it was only to tear off his clothes. You weren’t sure what you signed up for, but something glinting in Peter’s eyes, an erotic passion you’ve encountered several times in your relationship, bespoke of an intense afternoon headed your way.

Before you could even guess what that might entail, you were lying on your back in the middle of the bed, and Peter was parting your legs open.

Currently, his grip on your bucking hips remains vice-like as he keeps his face planted between your quaking thighs, still lapping up the rest of your orgasm and staring you dead in the eyes with wicked lust.

Each time he made you cum, he’d huskily ask, “You forgive me?” The first time, you were cheeky, shaking your head with a tiny pout on your lips and eagerly wiggling your hips and tugging on the silky strands of his hair for more. The second time, your body ached wonderfully, and you lazily nodded your acceptance of his apology, but he didn’t stop, tightening his hold on the swells of your hips and delving his tongue through your silken folds. By the third time, you were religiously chanting, “I forgive you,” grasping the sheets for dear life as Peter solely sucked on your clit and salaciously groaned into your core.

On the fourth orgasm, your whole body is aflame, your fingers are desperately clutching Peter’s wrists, and you’re a blissed-out, gibbering mess with tears of ecstasy streaming out the corners of your eyes.

“You forgive me?” Peter rasped, his breath fanning against your sensitive skin. He alternately kissed your inner thighs, sometimes gently sucking the skin until he left stinging love bites.

Knowing words were well beyond your reach, your jerkily bobbed your head up and down, gulping in air to calm your heaving chest.

A whine of relief breaks free when Peter finally lets go of your hips and leads a sloppy trail of kisses up your abdomen, between the valley of your breasts, along your neck, your jawline, until he claims your lips in a sensually slow kiss, one that stole away your regained breath. You mewled into it, wrapping your arms around his neck and threading your fingers through his hair. He lowered his body on top of yours, deliciously suffocating you with his body heat and his scent—an intoxicating aroma of smoky spice you only associate with Peter.

Your brain treads on a fine line near oblivion. All your mind can comprehend is Peter. His soft little grunts in your mouth, his toned chest brushing against yours, his hardened cock against your stomach as he ruts into you.

“I want you,” you panted, wanton need thick in your voice. You’re entirely spent, but you couldn’t help but crave more of Peter, couldn’t help but want him to thoroughly build you up only to tear you down all over again.

Peter teasingly nipped at your lips, mumbling, “Where do you want me?”

You let out an impatient, low-pitched groan. “Inside me, baby. Please, Peter.” Your hips angled up on their own accord, grinding your dripping core against his cock. “Please, fuck me.”

His eyes rolled back, mouth slightly agape, and his face pinched in pleasure—what a pretty sight. Your eyes drank him all in. You loved the way he squinches up his eyes, almost as if all the sensations are too much to process. You loved how the flush creeping up his neck turned his skin a lovely scarlet. You loved watching him try to be attentive to you while being so engrossed in his own bliss.

Unhurried, Peter took himself in his hand, then slid his length through your folds before guiding his tip to your entrance. He always liked to draw this moment so he could hear the desperate noises you’d make for him. Your whole body sang out for him, from the broken moans spilling from your lips to the constant, stuttering pitch in your hips.

At an agonizingly slow pace, Peter slid inside of you, hissing out a drawn-out Fuck. You jumped and gasped at the slight sting as he stretched you out, gripping onto his biceps and clenching around him as the sting built up to a toe-curling burn of ecstasy.

He stroked into you with painstaking emphasis, hitting a deep spot within you that brought stars to your vision while capturing your lips in a blistering kiss. Your hands held his face as the kiss deepened, both of you moaning into each other’s mouths in carnal abandon. Yeah, it definitely tops the sex you had on the night he proposed.

Peter broke the kiss to dip his head down and favor the skin on your neck. His voice is a low murmur when he speaks, barely louder than your gasping breaths. “You forgive me?”

You practically sob out, “Yes! Yes, baby, I forgive you.” The flames are multiplying, licking up from your lower region and engulfing you as his strokes rock steadily.

“You know you’re my everything,” he grunted, sucking down hard on your skin and laving it with his tongue after you yelp his name.

Your heart flutters as you moan, “Yes.”

“Say it, baby,” Peter mumbled, an undercurrent of firmness in his voice. “I wanna hear you say it.”

“I’m your everything.” The things this man does to you…

“Good girl.” Peter’s hand wedged between your entwined bodies, reaching down to rub your overstimulated clit, watching the tremors shaking through your body as your mouth hung open in a silent moan. “I want you to remember that,” he ordered. “You’re my everything, and I’m sorry I”—grunt—“Fuck, I’m sorry I hurt you.”

He carefully collects you in his arms before rolling over and putting you on top, wrapping his arms around your back so your bodies remain pressed together. Some of your twists cascade on either side of Peter’s face, but he doesn’t mind, keeping his head buried in the crook of your shoulder as he pumped up his hips, deeply thrusting into you.

“You feel so good, babygirl,” Peter said roughly, his hips picking up into a bruising speed. “So wet for me.” His hands slide down your back and squeeze your ass. “Always take me so well.”

All you could manage were needy, shameless whimpers in response as his dirty words, his scorching touch, his soft lips, his slick body against yours all sent you reeling towards a rapturous release. Every stroke brings you closer to the edge, and you know Peter isn’t far behind.

With some effort, you drag yourself up to sit on Peter’s cock and brace your hands on his chest, lolling your head back as the new angle allowed him to hit a deeper spot within you.

Peter admired you through half-lidded eyes. “So fucking beautiful.”

You mustered up a beaming smile for Peter, then set your focus on riding him with the little energy you had left, slowly bouncing up and down on his thick length and loving the quick hitch in Peter’s breath as you took control. You wanted to see him writhe underneath you as he came inside you, wanted to see his pretty lips part as he called out your name. You’re so close, it’s maddening, but you’re waiting for Peter to fall off the edge with you.

As soon as Peter’s hips began to chase yours in a broken pattern and a repeated mixture of your name and fucks streamed out of his mouth, your climax slammed into you, slightly choking you up as you came with a high-pitched, quivering gasp and cried out, “Peter!”

Peter’s crashed down on him with the same force. His hips stalled for an instant before jerking up into you one last time, your name tumbling from his lips in a hoarse groan as he filled you with his hot, sticky cum. It feels as if you’re riding the wave of your orgasm for hours, and you blissfully drown in it. Savor it. Bask in the absolute pride of knowing that this man is yours and yours alone even though you have yet to seal it with the promise of ‘for as long as you both shall live.’

The comedown is a sluggish process, like trying to swim the length of a 10-foot pool of honey. Your heart rate is the first to slow down into a stable rhythm, then the raucous hum singing in your body simmers down to a delicious buzz whose sole purpose is to remind you of the five breathtaking orgasms Peter drew out of you. Every part of your body aches when you merely think about moving, so you cave and slump onto Peter’s torso, eliciting an amused oomph from Peter as he wraps an arm around your waist. When he pulls out of you, his cum smears a sticky trail in between your thighs.

Peter brushes away some of your twists from your face to press a gentle kiss to your perspired forehead. “I love you.”

“I love you,” you echo back, leaning up a little to peck his jawline. You snuggle up closer so your head rested on his shoulder. “And I really do forgive you. Your intentions were pure, and I know you were just trying to protect me.” You reach up and grab his chin, making him look into your eyes. “But I want your complete trust, Peter. Trust that I can handle things on my own.”

“From this point on, you have my whole trust,” Peter promised. He took hold of your hand, entwined your fingers together, and then put your hands over his heart. Its slow thud matched yours. “You have my word. No more alibis.”

You laughed tiredly. “Thank you.”

For a while, you two just stayed in each other’s embrace, your eyes falling as Peter’s finger lazily traced an infinity sign around your knuckles. You’re still buzzing, and you know you should roll out of bed to wash up, but you try to save these soft moments in your memory, to help remind you of the kind man who can be, at times, too cruel for words. That’s when he’s Deus. Right now, he’s your Peter.

Seconds away from succumbing to sleep, a thought occurs to you, and you quietly ask, “Hey, babe?”

Peter sounds wide awake. “Yeah?”

“Did Tony literally tell you to go swim in the Bermuda Triangle when you asked him for his approval?”

He snickered. “I believe his exact words were, ‘Go to hell, Parker. Better yet, why don’t you do us all a favor and take a swim in the Bermuda Triangle, and become a cold case?’”

Geez, Tony. You bit your lip. “And you still asked me to marry you anyway, even though he didn’t approve?”

“I was going to, regardless,” Peter murmured, and you could hear a smile in his words. “I just wanted to try and, you know, see if I could make you a little happier. Me and Stark bump heads a lot, and I saw how it upset you, so I thought asking him for his permission would get us on the right track to some sort of civility. Wanted it to be a surprise if he did say yes.”

Unexpected tears gathered in your eyes, and your chin wobbled. He tried for you. Had been trying for you. He even noticed how his and Tony’s bouts caused you to be anxious about your future together and tried to mend the stupid rift between them, for your sake. You aren’t going to lie and say that you’re glad Tony refused. You wished with your whole heart that he could clearly see how much you loved Peter. But, from now on, you’re no longer going to be scared of what Tony thinks of Peter. You love him, and he most certainly loves you, and that’s all that matters.

You scooch up a little more and capture his lips in a deep, passionate kiss. He’s only caught off guard for a second before kissing back, wrapping both of his arms around your waist. When Peter felt the wet tear tracks on your cheeks, he brought up his hands and wordlessly wiped them away.

As you pulled apart, you rested your forehead against his and said, “I can’t wait to marry you, Mr. Parker.”

Peter lightly rubbed the tip of your nose with his, replying, “I’m already yours, Mrs. Parker.”

#peter parker #peter parker au #mob!peter parker #mob!peter #peter parker x black!reader #black!reader #tom holland #peter parker smut #peter parker fanfiction #peter parker fanfic #the fall and rise of deus #the rise of deus #peter parker x black reader #peter parker x reader #black reader

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illfoandillfie · 3 years

Text

Pet Names, Double Dates and Other Fiascos

READ PLATONICALLY

Request: SECOND ARO FIC OH MY GOD !!!! maybe them getting a lil dirty and ben really does a number on reader, so he takes her to mcdonalds or sumn and the waiter says something along the lines of “you’re such a cute couple!” and reader gets really uncomfortable with it maybe??? and ben being taking her home and cuddling her PLATONICALLY and he’s like “it’s ok we don’t need to let anyone else’s opinions affect us”

Pairing: Aromantic!Fem!Reader x Ben Hardy

Summary: It's (nearly) all fun and games until someone assumes your relationship is romantic.

Warnings: Smut, kitchen sex, floor sex, oral sex (f receiving), a mild hint at choking, vaguely dom!Ben but not intentionally lmao, discussions of aromanticism and queerplatonic relationships, not as dialogue heavy as the first part though.

Words: 7, 264

A/N: Happy Arospec Awareness Week!! Big thanks to the anon who sent in that request when I asked for ideas for future chapters. I put a little bit of a twist on your idea but it’s fundamentally the same. Also the last scene is one that I’ve been thinking about for literal months now and I finally managed to fit it into a fic!

As always, if you’re curious about anything to do with aromanticism I am very happy to talk about it and answer questions!

Taglist: @atomic-watermelon @kellypenac @labessieisallama @deakyclicks @jennyggggrrr @drowseoftaylor @hannafuckingsucks @i-cant-hangout-im-drumming @queenmylovely @ilovequeenmorethanyou @johndeaconshands @borhapbois @stardust-galaxies @cherries-n-rocknroll @scorpiogemini

The day had started off well. You woke with Ben tucked up under your arm, his legs curled up towards his chest since you’d stole the covers as you’d slept. Your face was pressed against the back of his neck and you felt him shift as you sighed sleepily and tried to keep from waking. Squeezing your eyes shut and pretending you hadn’t stirred must have worked because the next thing you knew was waking up to an empty bed and tinkly tapping sounds from somewhere else in the apartment. Groggily you shuffled out from the inviting comfort of the mattress, stretched, and pulled down the hem of the shirt you’d slept in to better cover your otherwise bare thighs before following the noises. You found Ben, still in his pyjamas (well, his boxer briefs) in the kitchen, dropping a couple of toasted waffles onto a plate, humming to himself.

“That for me?” you asked, stifling a yawn. “It can be,” he said, passing the plate to you with a quick kiss on your cheek, “There’s some cut up fruit and the maple syrup out on the coffee table and there’s coffee brewing over there,” “Thanks Benny,” “You’re welcome, Puddin’,” “Puddin’?” “I thought it was cute,” “Very cute.” You laughed as you reached for your coffee, unable to help but smile as you left the room. The first few months of your partnership had taken some adjusting and one thing Ben had decided he would do to make you both feel more at home with the dynamic was to come up with some non-romantic based terms of endearment for you. You’d vetoed things like baby and honey straight away, all of them a little too heavily skewed towards romance, or just reminders of past relationships you’d tried to force yourself into, for you to enjoy them. But, as Ben had said, he liked a good pet name, and he’d seemingly been determined to prove as much, constantly coming up with new things to call you. You, never really one for pet names anyway, mostly stuck with Benny or Benjamin if the situation called for something longer but you had a few other go-tos – things like Pet and Blondie as signs of affection, or Handsome and Tiger when you wanted to make him blush.

A few minutes later Ben joined you on the couch, placing his coffee down beside yours, almost spilling it as he watched the news story that was playing. “Remember we’ve got that double date with Jill and Martin this afternoon,” you said, the memory only just coming to you yourself. “Yeah, what time was that?” “Hang on, I’ll check the chat.” You scrolled through the messages on your phone with one hand while you ate with the other, “uhhh right, yeah, meeting at the bowling alley at 1.30.” “Bowling? Good, better than another shitty movie,” You laughed, “hey the last one they picked wasn’t too bad.” “Yeah I know, just not in the mood for it since I’ve been on set all week. I know if I went to the cinema now I’d just get distracted thinking about all the behind the scenes stuff which isn’t ideal for becoming invested in the story. Plus they’re always choosing romcoms, doesn’t that get annoying for you?” “Not really,” you shrugged, “I mean, do I sometimes wish they’d branch out? Sure. But I enjoy romance in fiction I just don’t need it in my real life. Don’t get me wrong though, very happy to do something different this time.” “How long d’you think we’ll be out?” You shrugged, “A few hours maybe?” “We should pop to the shop on the way back then. You need milk and we could get something nice for dinner.” “Sounds good. Does that mean you’re staying over again tonight?” “I was planning to, yeah. Barely saw you last week so I was hoping to spend all weekend with you to make up for it.” “Bet you regret agreeing to go out with them now,” “Kinda. S’pose it’s too late to cancel though,” “Nah you still could but you know they’ll get stroppy about it and we’ll have to go out with them next week. They don’t have any other couple friends since Neil and Percy split and Bianca took her fella overseas.” “Yeah, wasn’t seriously suggesting it.” “What would the plan have been if we did cancel?” Ben chewed a mouthful of fruit thoughtfully, “you, me, your bed. No need to be too quiet since Sophie’s still out,” he glanced at your roommate’s bedroom door, his eyes swinging back to you as he continued, “Or y’know, we could do a puzzle and listen to music all day, have a cat nap after lunch, whatever.” “You’re cute when you’re being all lazy,” “There would be nothing lazy about it thank you very much,” “Cat naps aren’t lazy?” “You know that’s not the part I was talking about,” “It wasn’t? Then what won’t be lazy,” you tried to hold back a giggle in the middle of your faux confusion but broke when Ben blew a raspberry at you in response.

Nothing more was said about cancelling as you finished your breakfast, though truthfully you probably wouldn’t have minded if Ben had cried off sick and rescheduled the double date. But you both decided that Sunday would be a day for just the two of you to make up for having to spend Saturday afternoon with others. Instead, you spoke of the week just passed and commented on the news still playing on the TV. When you were finished (Ben using the last corner of one of his waffles to swipe the remnant syrup from his plate) you stood and stacked the sticky dishes in your arms. Ben collected the coffee cups and a few other assorted dishes from the previous night, leading the way towards the kitchen and the dishwasher. He loaded his small collection onto the shelves before turning to grab the top plate from the pile you held. A noise of disgust rose from his throat as you held the plate out and he miscalculated the trajectory, his palm landing in a puddle of syrup and fruit juice. You were torn between laughing at his expression and taking the opportunity to toy with him a little but, always ready to tease him, your desire to see him blush won out. Trying not to smile too much, you reached forward and wrapped your hand around his wrist, pulling his palm closer so you could lick the sweet syrup from his skin. Predictably his cheeks turned pink and he pulled his lip between his teeth as you let him go with a laugh. “Bet you’re really wishing we didn’t have to go out now, huh Tiger?” Ben didn’t respond but he did react, his eyes locked on you as he swiped his fingers along the same plate and held them out in offering. Not quite sure where things were heading but very keen on finding out, you leaned forward and let your lips part slightly. He took the action for what it was, an invitation, and trailed his fingertips across your lower lip before slipping them between the two. He watched closely as you sucked his fingers deeper, using your tongue to lick up the sweet residue. There was still an element of novelty with this aspect of your partnership. Still part of you that was intensely aware that it was Ben’s fingers in your mouth. There wasn’t any hesitation though, hadn’t been since that first time when you’d both had to psych yourselves up to actually look at each other naked. But there was a part of your brain that was almost surprised when you found yourselves at the edge of a sexual situation. You suspected he was similarly discombobulated by how easy it was for you to end up there, how frequently playful teasing and friendly jokes turned into hands grasping at bed sheets and breathless moans against sweat-slick skin. He pulled his fingers free from your lips, unwilling or perhaps unable to shift his gaze away from the thin string of saliva that connected them like some kind of erotic spider web that you were both already caught in. You waited to see what he’d do next, feeling your heart race in the pregnant pause so full of potential. And then he moved. You laughed as he grabbed you around the waist and lifted you at the same moment he stepped towards the bench, your legs instinctively wrapping around him. He kissed you too, hungrily, as if it were impossible to resist. You’d looked down at him and suddenly been pulled towards each other, lips meeting with all the force and attraction of a magnetic field. Usually, he would have had a hand against the back of your head or your jaw but carrying you meant both his hands were already occupied so instead you substituted your own, tangling your fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck to keep him from pulling away too far. As soon as you were safely positioned on the edge of the bench though his hands were free to fall elsewhere. One pressed against the small of your back as the other squeezed your thigh, encouraging you to keep your legs spread. Not that you could have closed them with Ben standing between them and not that the thought had even crossed your mind.

If you’d had all day Ben probably would have taken his time with you. Despite what he’d said earlier, you’d discovered Ben had a soft spot for slow and sensual intimacy. Making out that gradually built to passionate kiss-filled sex, foreplay that included soft caresses and whispered praise, anything that let him explore your body in intricate detail with his hands and lips. You’d been with guys like that before and had hated their insistence on linking hands and kissing you slowly. Those relationships never lasted long but with Ben it felt different, it felt good. Maybe it was because he knew you weren’t on board with overtly romantic acts and respected those boundaries you’d talked about so you never felt as if he were pushing you into a roll you didn’t enjoy. Or maybe he was just a better lover than they had been. Either way, it came to same result. You still preferred something less gentle and more energetic, though you felt you better understood the appeal of being held so close and kissed so tenderly. But with only a few hours before you’d have to start getting ready, Ben was inclined to speed things up a little. His hand quickly slipped up your thigh to press against your pussy, the cotton knickers you’d slept in the only thing keeping him from direct contact. You broke the kiss suddenly, the smacking sound loud in the small room, and dipped your head to press your lips to the notch between his clavicles. In response, Ben lifted his chin, exposing more of his throat to you and you took the chance to playfully nip at the junction where his neck and shoulder met. “Oi, no marks,” he said lwoly as you moved to kiss back up towards his jaw. “Afraid I’ll brand you with my initials?” “If you could legibly write your initials in hickeys I’d put up with whatever teasing the makeup ladies gave me,” “I’ll give it a crack then shall I?” Before you could so much as flick your tongue over his skin, Ben had raised a hand and placed it over your mouth to keep you from testing our your writing abilities, “Don’t think theres enough time, Sugar, but if you really want to I’ll let you try tonight, on my thigh where no one is likely to see it.” “Make it your arse and you’ve got a deal,” you said though it was a little muffled by his palm. “Fine,” he laughed, drawing his hand away, “But then I get to try it on you too,” You nodded, grinning, and then both fell into giggles, leaning against each other’s shoulders. This was what you’d hoped for when Ben had first approached you with the idea of being partners, what you’d been afraid you’d never actually find. Someone who would follow your tangential jokes even if it delayed sex. Someone you could be yourself with. You were distracted from the thought as Ben pressed his lips to your shoulder over the sleeve of your shirt. “Should I continue?” he asked, still smiling though softer, his fingertips lightly dancing over the crease of your thigh. “I’d be offended if you didn’t” “Can’t have that,” he leaned in to catch your lips once again, at the same time resuming stroking you over your panties so that you felt all the air leave your lungs in a rush. It felt good but you need more and so shifted your hips, trying to press yourself harder against his fingers. To get more leverage and better brace yourself as your centre of gravity changed, you dropped a hand behind you. Intuitively, Ben shifted the hand on your back higher and closer to your side to help keep you steady, the other still drawing lines along your clothed slit. You gasped as his thumb took up residence against your clit, rubbing it firmly so a visible damp patch began to form on your panties.

Ben grinned at you as your breath came harder and dragged his thumb back down away from your clit towards the leg of your underwear. Still watching your reactions, he twisted his fingers up under the material, gently tracing them along the same path they’d just followed only now he could feel your wetness directly. “I’ve got an idea,” he said, leaning close to your ear, as he circled your entrance with a fingertip before pressing it into you, “of how I’d like to fuck you right now. It might take a little flexibility on your part though. I mean, nothing too much, just getting your legs up on my shoulders.” Curious, and more than a little distracted by the addition of a second finger inside you, you nodded, “Sounds fun.” “Knew you’d say that. Just tell me if it’s too uncomfortable,” “Will do.” You leaned forward as Ben moved back a little, taking his fingers with him, giving you enough room to drop your hand to his crotch and grasp his stiff length through his undies, “Just get on with it.” “Puddin’ was too nice a nickname for you. Sugar too.” he gasped as you dragged your palm along his length and back again. “What’s the matter, Tiger?” “Maybe I should call you Tiger, if you’re going to keep grabbing my cock like that,” You laughed and let him go, leaning back on your palm again, “Tigress? Whatever, doesn’t matter. Are you going to fuck me or not?” “No I just wanted to get my dick hard for no reason,” he said sarcastically, poking his tongue out at you as he pushed his underwear down. “You’re such a –” you broke off with a sharp gasp as Ben tugged your underwear aside and pressed into you without warning, “dork.” Ben chucked and leaned in to kiss you quickly before readjusting your position a little by pulling you closer to him so your arse was right against the edge of the bench. Slowly he rolled his hips against you, pulling back and thrusting forward again, finding a rhythm that worked. You leaned back on both palms as Ben grabbed you by the waist, the other resting on your knee to keep it pressed against his side. “This feel alright?” he asked as he gave another thrust, hitting a spot deep inside you. “Mmhmm,” you nodded, able to feel yourself growing wetter with each stroke of his cock. “What about this?” Ben shifted first one of your legs and then the other to his shoulders, encouraging you to bend them at the knee. His hands moved to your sides, fingertips digging into your back as he pressed you even closer. The effect was that you felt as if you were almost folded in half but it wasn’t too uncomfortable. There was an almost weightless feeling to it and any slight awkwardness you felt with your chest meeting your thighs was a small price to pay for just how good Ben felt once again moving inside you. You tightened your fingers against the benchtop, wishing there was something you could grab onto as your whole body rocked with each of his thrusts, the position allowing him to penetrate you deeply, continuously brushing against a number of spots that sent electric spikes of pleasure through you. “Fuck,” was about all you could think to say. “That a good fuck?” Ben questioned, voice gruff with his exertions. “Yeah, yes, fuck, so good,” “So you like when I do this?” You let out a soft moan as he roughly fucked into you again, timing it just right. “I’ll take that as a yes,” he half laughed, turning his head to kiss your leg before leaning forward to catch your lips again. After that there wasn’t much room for talking. Ben, having assured himself that you were happy, speeded up his rhythm, clutching you tightly to keep your legs from slipping off his shoulders. His breathing became rougher, matching your own, as he drove into you, though he still kissed you as much as he could, panting against your lips, swallowing your moans and pushing whatever air he had into your lungs.

You could feel your orgasm bubbling up, like a pot of water on the verge of boiling, but knew Ben would reach his first, recognising his expression as the one he wore when he was trying to hold back from the edge. “Fu-ck you’re s-so tight,” he grunted, squeezing his eyes shut as he leaned his forehead against yours, “gonna have to pull out soon,” You could feel him pulling away and tightened your calves on either side of his neck in an effort to stop him, needing just a little more to reach your own release. “Not helping,” he groaned, suddenly unable to hold off any longer, “Shit. Y/N.” You whined as he stilled to shoot his release over your walls. “Jesus,” he said a little breathlessly, as he pulled out, your underwear slipping back over you, and rubbed his neck absentmindedly, “Didn’t expect that to finish me off. Did you…?” You shook your head, letting your leg slip to be caught in the crook of Ben’s arm. “Well let’s fix that, shall we,” he said, already letting you go to bend forward, his face right between your thighs. You felt a puff of his hot breath against you as he hooked his index finger into the crotch of your knickers, pulling it aside, and then his tongue was on you, lapping up your arousal and coming to rest against your clit. He set up camp there, focusing all his attention on the small nub. You let yourself drop back so you were holding yourself up on one elbow, your other hand on the back of Ben’s head, tugging on his hair as he drew a series of moans from you. With a particularly firm suck, you felt your cunt pulse and something warm and wet ran from you, dripping over the edge of the bench onto the cupboard door. You had an idea what it was so it surprised you when Ben released your clit to lick between your lips, catching it with his tongue and spreading it along your slit. “We taste good together,” he mumbled, going in to trace the same path over again, greedily licking up the mixture. You swore under your breath, feeling yourself right on the edge of your orgasm, unspeakably turned on by Ben lapping up the load he’d just left in you. Sensing how close you were he dragged his tongue over your clit again, quickly sliding two fingers into you to help you along. You whined his name as he pushed you over the edge, continuing to pump his fingers into you as he again sucked at your clit, not stopping until he was sure it had worked. “Thank you,” you said as he straightened up again, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “You’re such a dork,” he laughed as he kissed you again, tracing his tongue over yours. The man clearly wanted you lightheaded from lack of air. “Shut up,” you pushed yourself to sit up straight again, expecting Ben to step away and let you hop down from the bench. He didn’t though, instead absentmindedly toying with the leg of your underwear as his gaze fell to your lips. “Seriously?” Ben shrugged, “Eating you out made me hard again. And,” he quickly ran his fingers along the edge of the bench, collecting some of the mess you’d left there, “I think it’s only fair you should taste us too,” If he’s said it less earnestly you might have batted his hand away and laughed off the suggestion but something about his tone made you grab his wrist to pull his fingers towards your mouth. He hadn’t been wrong, the mix of you both did taste pretty good, though you’d already got a hint of it as he’d kissed you. “Good girl,” he breathed out, eyes heavy with lust, “think you’re up for more?” “Can we move elsewhere? The edge of the counter is digging into me.” “Okay,” Ben began tugging your underwear down and kicked off his own before pulling your shirt over your head, making you laugh. He Helped you stand and then immediately pushed you to the floor. For a moment you thought he was suggesting you give him a blowjob and were about to question him but half a second later he was following you down, laying down and pulling you on top. “I meant like the bed or the couch at least,” you said somewhere between incredulity and amusement. “Too far,” he grunted, bucking his hips to encourage you to mount him properly, “need you now.” You rolled your eyes as you sank down onto his dick, “Do I actually get to cum this time or…?” “Only if you move,” Ben growled as he grasped your hips and pulled you down onto him, making you cry out at the unexpectedly sudden sensation of being filled. He let you ride him for a bit, alternating between squeezing your thigh as he rubbed his thumb over your clit and cupping your breasts, teasing your nipples as he encouraged you to fuck yourself on his cock faster. You kept to the same steady pace though, intending to drag it out a little, make him wait. But it wasn’t long before he got fed up with the deliberately slow pace you’d cultivated. Without warning you found yourself on your back, Ben grasping your thighs as he kneeled over you, pulling your hips up a little so he could fuck you the way he wanted. Your voice shook as you moaned and writhed in his shadow, your own fingers dancing over your clit to keep building your orgasm. “Isn’t that better?” he said roughly, laughing a little as you nodded your agreement, “Making me wish I had cancelled our plans. Could stay in your pussy all day.” You whimpered and rubbed your clit harder. “C’mon Pumpkin, so close aren’t ya,” You squeezed your eyes shut, moaning when you finally tipped over the edge. But that didn’t stop Ben. He waited until your orgasm had subsided and then pushed your legs wide and up into the air so he could lay directly on top of you as he continued to pound you. Your voice shook as a moan was pulled from your throat and you squirmed beneath him, feeling yourself once again being drawn towards release. There was something about his weight pressing down on you, his breath against your ear. Something about how close he seemed, almost panting as his hips stuttered in and out of the rhythm he was desperately trying to hold on to. He mouthed at your neck as you tilted your head to accommodate him, reaching a hand down to squeeze his arse cheek. You were sore from every other way he’d fucked you, tired from the two orgasms he’d already wrung from you, and yet the thought of stopping him, of ending the incredible pleasure you felt at his hands, was the furthest thing from your mind. A scream caught in your throat as he seemed to press you even harder into the floor, your legs shaking in the air as he grit his teeth and grunted with each harsh drive into you. And then he came, gasping against your throat as he felt you cum too, finally releasing the scream you’d been holding onto until the noise turned to breaths so ragged they felt like sobs.

Ben kissed your throat and then your jaw as he came back to earth, still laying on you. “How was that?” he asked softly when you’d remained quiet for a while. You drew in a deep breath, “Pum-Pumpkin?” “What?” “You called me fucking Pumpkin of all things, while trying to get me off?” “So?” “Jesus Ben,” you half-heartedly swatted at his side, “you’re lucky I was so close that it didn’t matter otherwise I might have laughed and completely lost the orgasm.” Ben joined in your laughter, the sensation of his shaking body on top of yours slightly odd but mostly quite comforting. Until he shifted his hips without thinking and made you wince. “Sorry,” he said, pressing his lips to yours again as if to kiss away the discomfort before he gingerly pulled out of you and sat back on his knees, “But you did cum that time, right?” “I think you know I did,” you sighed, already able to see what was coming, as you let your legs drop to the floor. “So wait, how many times exactly?” You sighed and shook your head slightly. “Because if my maths is right, I think we got you to three times. Once on the bench and twice on the floor. One plus two is three, yes?” “Yes that’s how basic addition works Ben,” “And who was it again that got you to three orgasms? Was it,” he pointed a finger as his one chest, “Moi?” “Alright asshole, you’re very impressive and a somewhat decent shag,” “I think you could be a little more grateful considering that performance. Might have been my best ever moves,” You pushed Ben in the middle of the chest, exaggeratedly rolling your eyes but, truthfully you were inclined to agree that it had been his best performance yet, at least in your experience. “Here let me help you,” he chuckled as you tried to stand, almost falling over as your legs shook. Quickly, Ben pushed himself to his feet and then offered you a hand up too, wrapping an arm around your waist to keep you steady. “Thanks,” “I hope I haven’t made it too hard for you to walk. Wouldn’t want to throw off your bowling cos you were fucked so right.” “Jesus Christ,” you couldn’t help but laugh.

The rest of the time you had before you had to leave was spent tidying up the kitchen, cleaning up the evidence of the mornings activities in case your roommate got home before you, washing up and getting ready to go. Which is really when things started to go downhill. If you’d realised you might have told yourself to stay home, come up with a quick excuse to get out of it and just played video games with Ben for the rest of the day or something. But there was no way to know what was coming so you didn’t. You talked happily as you got into Ben’s car (which was already parked on the street), excited to see your friends and looking forward to the afternoon.

The double date itself was quite fun, although draining. There was always an element of playing pretend at these sorts of occasions. Not that you minded so much. It was either play up the romance of your relationship or have to explain what you were to everyone and a few hours of pretending Ben was your boyfriend was honestly much simpler. At least bowling was better than the cinema. The first time you’d gone on a double date to a movie you’d sat down beside Ben, the popcorn you were sharing balanced on the arm rest between you. Martin and Jill had raised their armrest and were virtually sitting on top of each other, hands entwined. Which would have been fine except Martin had leaned over and said, “you know these things move” and looked expectantly at you. Ben and you had shared a glance and then tried to say you were both fine with the space but they’d given you matching looks that said they thought you were being weird or prudish or judging their willingness to cuddle in public. So you’d relented and shifted the armrest so you could spend the next two hours sitting with Ben’s arm around your shoulders, both of you more tense about the situation than you ever would have been if you’d just been allowed to sit in your seats like normal. Things had improved a bit since then. Ben had told you that one night when you’d gone out to a bar together, Martin had pulled him aside as asked why he never kissed you properly. Ben had shrugged and said he didn’t like PDAs, that he didn’t want photos to spread or anything like that, especially since it was still so new, and Martin had accepted it. They began to see that your ways of being affectionate were quieter, stealing sips from each other’s drinks, a warm hand against a knee, dumb nicknames that made you both laugh. Even if Jill did sometimes still try to convince you that there was nothing wrong with snogging in the middle of a busy street. Nonetheless you never felt fully able to relax when it was just the four of you. Always conscious of how they saw you, always worried that they’d decide you weren’t being affectionate enough and would tell everyone else you were going through a rough patch which would lead to more scrutiny. While at the same time worrying that one of them would start asking how serious it was between you and Ben, were you thinking about the future? Could you see yourselves moving in together? Was he the one? And it took a lot of energy to constantly be alert about what you were saying, always careful to not accidentally give away the secret truth of the situation. Bowling was fun though and less pressure than other double dates you’d been on. You could get away with not holding hands or sitting on Ben’s lap since everyone was standing up frequently and it didn’t make sense to be on top of one another. You could share small pecks on the lips or else tight hugs to celebrate strikes. And Ben made sure to tease you for missed pins, just like he always had, with a few added silly nicknames. He called you his sweet little hotdog after a particularly bad gutter shot which had made you laugh so hard you choked on your drink, and made Jill give him a disapproving glance. He’d smoothed it over by letting her overhear him saying he loved you, whispering the platonically just for you.

By the time Jill had been declared the winner of the game, you were ready to head home and spend a night forwarding Ben weird videos and dumb memes. Ready to be allowed to just exist without needing to be romantically linked to anyone. But it wasn’t quite to be. Martin made the suggestion that all of you should head to McDonalds for dinner and before you knew it you were standing in line, waiting for the kid at the cash register to serve you. You leaned your head on Ben’s shoulder as you stared at the menu, and vaguely wondered how someone working in a fast food joint could be so bright and bubbly. Right up until Ben nudged you and asked what you wanted. “Um, can I get a quarter pounder and a frozen coke, thanks.” “And?” Ben supplied. “And what?” “Y/N I know you want dessert, get dessert.” “And an Oreo McFlurry,” you smiled and bumped Ben’s shoulder with yours as he laughed and finished paying. “You guy’s make a cute couple,” the girl who’d served you said, eyes following the path of Ben’s gaze to you, still smiling. She seemed to realise what she’d said, her ears turning red, but Ben thanked her and added, “I think I have to agree,” as he squeezed your hip, before moving away so Jill and Martin could order. You’d smiled at her too but it wasn’t quite genuine.

It wasn’t that you weren’t used to it, people assuming you and Ben were in fact a couple. You were. One or two weeks after you’d first agreed to try out being queerplatonic partners, most of your friends had put two and two together and worked out that something was going on between you. Of course they didn’t know you were aromantic and they probably didn’t have any idea what a QPR was so they’d really added two and two and got five but you weren’t about to correct them. As you’d said to Ben, it was too much too soon to do that. Maybe if the QPR thing worked out long term, maybe then you could tell them. And besides, they weren’t exactly wrong anyway. They’d originally assumed you and Ben were just hooking up after Martin had dropped in to pick up something he’d left at Ben’s and had seen you spread out on Ben’s couch with sex hair and a rather large hickey on your neck and Ben’s sweater hanging off your shoulder. He’d asked Ben who’d just shrugged in response and said it wasn’t a big deal. You estimated it took about a minute and a half to reach everyone else. The next time you’d gone out as a group you’d felt them all watching you and Ben closely, trying to determine if Martin with bullshitting them all or not. They’d all decided it was just sex though. Until you were clearly still together a month later and they decided it had to be serious since Ben had never successfully fucked a girl for that long without catching feelings. That was when they started referring to you as boyfriend and girlfriend. That was also when the comments about how cute you were or how they’d always known you’d get together had first started. The first few times you’d heard it, it felt weird but you figured that was just because it was you and Ben and you were still working out how to be partners without the romance. You’d been in relationships before though and didn’t have any major objections to anything they said so you found it fairly easy to deal with and mostly you didn’t notice it anymore.

Except now it was bothering you. Something about the girl’s comment had rubbed you the wrong way. Which made you feel bad because she was just a kid with a shitty minimum wage job who didn’t know you from Adam. She had no idea. She was just trying to say something nice to a couple of strangers. You supposed your dislike of the comment probably had something to do with spending all afternoon putting on the romantic act for the benefit of your friends. Maybe even something about the sex from earlier. Probably just exhaustion from everything, a shorter fuse. It could even just be PMS though you’d have to check how far off your next period was to be sure. Whatever the reason it felt…not wrong exactly just off. You stayed quiet during most of the meal, aware you weren’t being great company and aware that Ben had realised something was wrong since he kept glancing at you when the other two weren’t looking. “Y/N,” Jill’s voice cut through your thoughts, “Still with us?” “Yeah,” you said, pulling a smile onto your face, “sorry, just a bit tired. Didn’t sleep well last night,” That statement was met by high pitched oohing noises and Martin jokily reprimanding Ben for keeping you up. You forced yourself to laugh with them, “Not like that you pervs. Ben was filming a night scene yesterday so didn’t actually get to mine until what,” you looked to Ben for confirmation, “One-thirty was it?” “Something like that. I don’t know I fell asleep almost as soon as I put my head down.” “Me, not so much,” you shrugged, “It’s all just catching up with me now.” They accepted that excuse without question and didn’t aim too many more comments in your direction, letting you finish your food without having to keep your mind on their conversation. And pretty soon you were hugging them goodbye and promising you’d organise the next date as Martin told Ben to get you home to bed before you fell asleep in your ice cream.

Ben waited until you were safely back inside your apartment before he asked if you were okay. “We were meant to get milk,” you sighed, trying to push away the annoyingly persistent discomfort. “I’ll go out later and get some. Or we can get Sophie to bring some back when she comes home. Are you okay though?” Unsure if this was a situation where you’d want space, Ben hovered at a respectful distance until you stepped in close and leaned your head against his chest. As soon as he knew you wanted him there he wrapped his arms tightly around you, “What’s wrong?” “Not sure. Think it all just got a bit much.” “How do you mean?” You shrugged as much as his embrace would allow and talked against his chest as you tried your best to explain how flat you felt, “I think the girl who served us was just like the straw that broke the camel’s back, y’know.” “Did me agreeing with her make things worse?” You shook your head, “Don’t think so. I knew you meant it in a different way to her. Besides, the other two were in earshot so there wasn’t much else you could say.” “You know that what everyone else thinks of us doesn’t change anything about what we have, right, or what we mean to each other. It doesn’t change who you are.” You didn’t mean to say it but the words had escaped before you could stop them, “Wouldn’t it be easier if it did though.” “But then you wouldn’t be you and I love you, platonically.” You smiled and nodded as you stepped back a little, though Ben’s arms wouldn’t let you go too far, “I know, thank you. And I’m fine, just having a bit of an off afternoon.” “Are you sure? Is there anything else I can do to help?” “No, you’ve been perfect.” You leaned up to give him a quick kiss, “And I know I’m being stupid about it. I knew what I was signing up for when I decided not to come out to them. Besides, being back home with you has definitely made me feel better already.” “Do you want a cuppa or anything?” “Nah, think I might just go lie down and read for bit. Decompress a little, y’know.” “Okay. Give me a shout if you want anything, yeah,” he pressed a kiss to your temple and give you an extra squeeze before he let you go.

Slowly you headed to your bedroom, kneeling down at your bookshelf and running your fingers along the spines until you found the one you wanted. That particular book had seen better days. It’s spine was cracked, the image on the cover peeling away from the cardboard underneath. More than one page had begun to fray around the edges like an ancient treasure map in a cartoon, with little triangles missing and the corners permanently creased where they’d been dog eared a hundred times. But as you settled into the bed, Ben’s pillow still smelling faintly of his hair pomade, you began to feel more yourself. Ben was right. What other people thought of your relationship didn’t matter. He was still your Ben, the same Ben who’s hoodie had been living in your cupboard for years now because he spent so much time at yours anyway it just made sense to keep a spare there. The same Ben who’d bought you your favourite pair of sunglasses when you’d left your old ones at home by accident. The same Ben who’d gradually been reading his way through your entire bookshelf rather than buying his own paperbacks. You had too much history there and too much love for each other for anyone else’s opinions to matter. And your partnership was good. It made you happy so it had to be good.

The time passed quickly as you read so when you looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps and saw that a couple of hours had passed, you were a little taken aback. Ben poked his head round the corner and then stepped through the doorway when he saw you looked better. “Nice to see you smiling again,” he said softly as he crawled up beside you. Without thinking you lifted your arm so he could snuggle against you, his head on your chest. “What’re you reading?” “First Test by Tamora Pierce. First book in her Protector of the Small series.” “What’s it about?” “A girl training to become a knight. Gran bought it for me as a kid while we were on a holiday at the seaside.” Ben glanced at the worn pages, “Do you reread it a lot?” “Yeah a bit. The main character, Kel, is like the only aromantic character I know of so she’s kinda important to me.” “The main character’s aro?” “I mean, not explicitly. It was published in ’99 and the terminology to describe aro experiences didn’t really start being used until like the late 2000s and even then only in certain communities online. But Tamora Pierce did answer some questions on her website and said that as she was writing the series Kel became less and less interested in romance and sex so even though she didn’t have the words for it back then, she would consider Kel aro and probably ace too. And I mean, rereading them I definitely feel an aro sort of reaction to a lot of the romance stuff, even when Kel does start kissing boys and all that.�� Ben leaned back to better see your face, “Will you read to me?” You leaned down to kiss him, unhurriedly, softly, letting your lips linger on his. “Is that a yes?” “That was a sorry I’ve been weird this evening kiss actually.” “Don’t worry about it,” he said simply, snuggling back down, his head once again resting on your chest and his arm thrown over your waist. You adjusted your grip on the book and began to read from where you’d left off, one hand running absentmindedly through his hair, both of you sighing softly as you relaxed into each other.

#my writing #my fics #ben hardy x reader #ben hardy smut #ben hardy imagine #idk i hope its okay #also if you have any more idea for potential future chapters about these two send them my way #i like having an aro character to come back to every now and again lmao

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snarkwrites · 3 years

Note

round two of my ✨thot✨ spam

this was inspired by the “i would never let a man spit in my mouth” tiktok and while i whole heartedly agree with said sentiment, i would totally let ryan do that to me without question. if anyone else tried to do that, it would be hands on site. BUT ALSO the fact that he could call me a whore [ or any other variation ] and i’d thank him - ❤️

Ooooh, I love this one. One, I can totally see Ryan doing it. T O T A L L Y. Also, I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment too. I LOVE THIS OMG, YEAH.. Lemme see what I can come up with here.

Just for reasons, I'm gonna go ahead and venture this might well... Get dirty.

Life edit: I kept it mostly clean.. Mostly. Sexual encounter is heavily hinted at.

Warning:

Absolutely no minors here. If you're not 18+ you clearly do not need to be reading this, whether it's full on sexual or not, because sexual themes will be implied. So, if you're one of the kiddos, please take this time to click away from the adult content.

If you continue to read beyond this point, here are a few things you need to be on the look out for: dirty talk / light name calling & heavy af on the teasing / public makeouts....

It didn't get sexual BUT... it's filled with innuendo. Oops?

Tagging:

@chasingeverybreakingwave

@twistnet

[ faq - tag list doc ]

( at me all you want. I'll stop using this gif when he stops being so damn pretty when he's a lil wounded.)

RYAN WOLFE & dirty little girl;

“You’re all depraved, holy shit.” I glanced around the table at my sister and her friends, taking a sip of my margarita. Grimacing because it tasted as if someone doubled up on the tequila and skimmed on the margarita mix.

“All I’m saying is sometimes it’s fun to be dirty. You’ve never just given in to the urge to let a man spit in your mouth?” Natalia asked, more in teasing than anything. Smirking at me when I pretended to gag because I have a strong feeling she can see straight through my bullshit.

“What the fuck? No! I would never let a man spit in my mouth. I don’t know why ya’ll keep saying spit in my mouth, spit in my mouth. It’s not hot, okay? It’s gross.”

“There has to be that one guy you’d let do it. Everybody has that one person.” my sister gave me a teasing grin as she said it. I shook my head firmly. “Nope. No and no. I have never looked at a man and just thought “Oh hey, I’d gladly let that man spit in my mouth and call me his dirty little slut…”

“That’s oddly specific for someone who says she’s never thought about it and thinks it’s gross.” my sister was at it again, teasing me. I tensed a little, because of course, she was right. I’d die a thousand painful deaths before owning up to it, but she was 1000 percent correct. There was a guy.

But it was a non issue. Because the guy in question?

Only had eyes for my sister Natalia.

Ryan Wolfe.

“I think you’re onto something, Nat.” Calleigh mused as she gave me a thoughtful look. I could feel myself tensing. Quick to shake my head no. Quick to laugh and joke, “Oh no, trust me, she’s not. Just face it, ladies. I have my limits. There are no exceptions.”

Calleigh gave a soft laugh and shook her head. Taking a thoughtful sip from her mixed drink. I relaxed, thinking that maybe they’d both drop it.

And then Alexx spoke up.

“It’s Ryan.”

I shook my head, doing what I hoped was my best unaffected and unamused act. Sipping my drink and watching the guys in the back of the bar, gathered around the dartboard. It was Ryan’s turn to throw and naturally, my eyes were glued to him. Laughing to myself when he smirked and launched the dart and it just barely settled beneath the bullseye.

But I was curious enough to ask… “What makes you think that?” I asked Alexx. My intention was to figure out if maybe I wasn’t as good as hiding my feelings as I previously thought.

Alexx gave a soft laugh and shrugged, saying nothing.

My sister was watching me, a brow raised. Thinking long and hard about something as she sipped her drink.

“You’re not denying it.” she finally spoke up.

I shrugged. “Because I know the truth. Doesn’t matter that you guys don’t believe me.” I turned my attention back to the ongoing game of darts, slamming back a shot of tequila. Ryan’s turn came around again and when he landed a bullseye, we locked eyes. He flashed me that smirk and I bit my lip, pounding the bar as I held his gaze, smirking back. Ordering myself another round of tequila shots when the bartender came.

When my shots arrived, I slammed them all down, turning the shot glasses upside down, forming the first and second row of a pyramid. Wiping the back of my hand over my mouth as I found myself doing it again, staring at Ryan just a little too much.

“Maybe we’d believe you if you weren’t staring at him like you were on fire and he has the hose.” my sister teased, making me glance over at her and stick out my tongue. “I still wouldn’t let him spit in my mouth. I mean.. I don’t think I would…” I trailed off, going quiet. Well aware that I was dangerously close to letting everything come pouring out.

“Says the woman who openly admits to having more than a few kinks.” my sister teased, laughing. Pushing me when she heard what I said under my breath. “What was that? Was that doubt? If you’re not sure whether you’d let Ryan Wolfe spit in your mouth or not, that usually means you might be open to it.” my sister teased.

��My kinks are choking and bondage… Spanking on occasion. Not… That.” I scoffed, smiling at the looks on their faces when they all turned to look at me. I shrugged and slipped off the barstool.

“Where are you going?” Calleigh called out, an almost teasing gleam in her eye as she asked the question.

“I’m going to show those dorks how you play darts.” I answered, trying to maintain as much nonchalance as possible as I did so. Truth be told, I wanted to get away from the conversation before it got too deep.. Before they dragged the whole truth out of me.

“You mean you’re going to go get a closer look. It’s okay, go ahead.” my sister and Calleigh teased and I turned to walk backwards, flipping them both off as I went. “Ha freaking ha. I am not going to get a closer view of Ryan Wolfe. And if I were, what’s it to ya anyway? It’s a free country. And I can’t help it my eyes like lookin at him?”

As a parting jab, my sister called out, “Spit in my mouth.” and the three women dissolved into rowdy laughter as I poked out my tongue and rolled my eyes at them, calling out in response, “Okay, fine. Maybe I’d let him spit in my mouth and call me a dirty little slut. Maybe.”

My back smashed into someone just as soon as the words left my mouth. I gritted my teeth, swallowing hard as my ice cold beer spilled all over the front of my favorite white shirt. Soaking through immediately, revealing a fire engine red bra. I turned abruptly, prepared for it to be some drunk person, a stranger. Praying against everything that it was just that.

Naturally, it wasn’t. I wasn’t going to get that lucky.

Ryan stood there, staring at me thoughtfully. Almost a stunned look on his face. The look he was giving me faded and I swallowed hard, raising my free hand to tousle my hair.

“Shit.” I muttered softly. I could feel my stomach churning nervously.

Ryan chuckled, nodding at my shirt as he took off the button up he wore, leaving him in a white tank top. Holding out the shirt to me. “Looks like you need that more than me right now.”

All I could do was nod.

And for some odd reason, the entire “Spit in my mouth” debate I’d just been in with my sister and her friends replayed itself in my mind. And I wanted to disappear into the floor of the bar when I realized that he’d probably just heard every single thing I said… ,, maybe not. Maybe he didn’t.” the thought came, but when I saw the playful teasing gleam in his eyes, my stomach churned nervously because I knew he had to have heard it all. Every single word.

I bit my lip and took a shaky breath. As much as I hated asking the question, it had to be asked.

“How much did you hear?” I asked in as innocent a way as possible. Fidgeting and shuffling my feet under his intent and thoughtful stare.

All Ryan did was smirk and shrug. “I heard enough.”

“How much is enough?” I asked, not sure why I wasn’t just leaving it alone.

Ryan stepped closer, towering over me. His hand settled on my hip and his eyes settled on my lips as he licked his own. Seconds that seemed to drag on like hours passed and he finally leaned down enough to whisper against my ear quietly, “Let’s put it this way… I heard you say you liked looking at me. Among other things...” before standing up straight again, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

I swayed slightly, the beginnings of a healthy buzz taking over. Giggling at the way he kept staring at me, raising a hand to my mouth to stop the giggling. He reached out, lowering my hand. Pulling me against him slightly as a crowd made their way past.

He tilted my face so that I had to look up at him. Biting his lip. That thoughtful look in his eyes that prompted me to ask quietly, “What? Do I have something on my face? Lipstick on my teeth?”

“Just thinking.” Ryan answered quietly.

“About?” I questioned, holding his gaze. Smirking to myself a little when he looked away first.

“ How much I like looking at you too.” Ryan finally replied. I swallowed hard when his eyes locked on me all over again. Hints of a teasing smirk turning the corners of his mouth upward as he closed the distance between us. His hands went straight to my hips settling. His fingers digging in as I melted against him.

“Oh you do, hm?” I purred, raising to tiptoe. Leaning into the buzz I had going for the necessary courage to just let go and roll with whatever was happening.

“Very much, actually.” his voice was this perfect mix of velvet and gravel and I could feel my thighs getting slick under the weight of his gaze. His eyes roamed over me slowly. I gulped and licked my lips, found myself staring at his.

“You didn’t… hear anything else I said..Right?”

Ryan chuckled. His mouth inched towards mine. Almost painfully slow.

“Which part? The part where you said you might let me spit in your mouth and call you my dirty little slut?” he muttered just as his lips barely brushed against mine. He pulled away, smirking. Teasing me and I knew it. The realization had me pouting and dropping my gaze.

Which wouldn’t do for him, apparently, because he gripped my chin, guiding my face so that I had no choice but to look at him.

“Ya know…” he muttered in a daze as his tongue slipped past my lips, dominating the kiss as it deepened, “ typically, I’d prefer to buy you a drink or somethin first.” the kiss breaking so we could breathe.

“Yeah?” I breathed out, pouting at the end of the kiss. He chuckled and nodded, whispering quietly, “But honestly, as bad as I want you right now…” his hand circled my wrist, guiding my hand down to the way he strained against the khaki trousers he was wearing, letting me palm at the bulge. “I don’t wanna waste any time.”

“Get me out of here.”

Ryan scooped me up in his arms, carrying me towards the door. Once we were outside and standing beside his car, he sat me on the hood, moving to step between my legs. Devouring my mouth with his hungrily. His lips strayed, latching onto my neck as my hand slipped down between us, palming at the front of his trousers all over again. Making him buck against the movement of my hand and growl into my mouth, “You gonna show me how dirty you can be tonight, princess? Are you gonna be my dirty little girl?” as the kiss deepened, getting sloppier. I rubbed against him, clinging to him frantically, gasping out “Yes.” as I felt myself getting even wetter. His hand slipped down, settling palm flat against my aching sex, rubbing. The friction building had me rocking against his hand, earning me a smirk from him.

“Good girl.”

#Anonymous #ryan wolfe fanfiction #ryan wolfe fanfic #ryan wolfe fic #my writing ; ryan wolfe #my fanfiction ; ryan wolfe #my fics ; ryan wolfe #// absolutely no one (0) under 18+#// ns*w content... kinda

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hh-rose · 3 years

Text

James Potter and the Retelling of the True Story Chapter Four: Happy Days, Happy Times

ao3

masterpost

Listen to the bells and chimes. Sorry, I had to. Anyway, seventh year passed in a flash. We all knew there was a war hanging over our heads, and we wanted to have as much fun as humanly possible. So, we went on double dates to Hogsmede every week. We skipped class. We played pranks. We just had fun.

On our last night at Hogwarts we all snuck into the Room of Requirement. Remus and Sirius were sitting in a large chair, Sirius in Remus's lap. Lily and I were laying on a couch with my head in her lap. Peter was sitting in a chair, ever the fifth wheel.

"Where do you think we're going to be in ten years?" Lily pondered. We all thought about it for a second.

"Well, me and you will be married with a bunch of little tykes running around," I said, smiling up at her. "I'll be a famous auror, and you'll be a potions master."

"Me and Remus will be married in the wizarding world but not in the muggle world because they're all wankers," Sirius said, and Remus kissing him on the cheek.

"Maybe we'll be able to find a spell that can allow one of us to get pregnant or something," Remus said causing Sirius to chuckle but there was a hint of sadness there.

"And hopefully I'll be married with my own kids because I really don't want to just be living vicariously through your families the rest of my life," Peter said, causing us all to laugh.

"I want to have a weekly dinner," Remus stated. "It's not going to be like school. We're not going to see each other every day. Well, we might see each other at work, especially with Order business, but I want to just have one dinner a week when it's just us having fun."

"Alright, every Sunday we can have dinner," Lily said, offering Remus a smile. "We can rotate whose house we do it at every week."

"What? No, I'm not going to have dinner in Wolfstar's sex cave," I said. They both glared at me.

"We told you to stop calling us that."

"You'd be lucky to be invited to our sex cave."

"We're not going to have a sex cave, Sirius," Remus chastised. "We're going to have a very normal, very mundane flat."

"Boing," Sirius responded, but he kissed Remus all the same.

"It's not gonna be that different though, right?" I asked sitting up. I'm going to be honest, I was completely terrified. Lily squeezed my hand.

"It's going to be different, but we'll all be fine," Sirius said in one of his rare moments of being sincere. We shared a look, and I nodded.

"We're gonna make it through just fine," Remus said. "We have each other, and we have the Order."

"We've got this," Lily said, kissing my cheek.

"We're all in this together," Peter said.

I could say that looking back, it's all very funny, but that would be a lie. I don't think I'm quite ready to laugh about being murdered because of one of my best friends and not being able to see my son grow up. It is ironic though that that's what he chose to say. It is also fucking heartbreaking that we were just kids with these dreams of the future and they all got ripped away.

We did stay true to some of those promises though. We had our dinners every Sunday, rotating between our three houses. We did that for two whole years. Then, on one special night, we had a dinner that was just a little bit different.

Now, I'm going to be honest, I'm a total romantic. I wanted more than anything to have the best proposal ever. Instead what happened was Lily and I were sitting on the couch one night, and I looked at her and said "Marry me." She looked at me and said, "I'm sorry. What?"

I got off the couch and knelt in front of her, and I asked again. She started crying, and so did I. She obviously said yes. We immediately flooed over to Remus and Sirius's to tell them. They both cried. Then, we told Peter. He was happy, but he didn't cry.

But, like I was saying, for the first time after two years we didn't have our normal Sunday dinner. That was because it was instead Lily and my wedding. We had the most beautiful wedding. I cried the entire time. As soon as Lily started to walk down the aisle I began to cry. Sirius, my best man, was practically wailing next to me, Remus, Lily's man of honor, was crying with a little more dignity, and Lily, my love, let a few tears fall but didn't blubber.

I'm not really sure how to describe a wedding. We danced and drank and ate. It was a party, you know. Well, our first dance was perfect. We danced to some muggle song called "Close to You." I'm kidding. It wasn't just some muggle song. It was Lily's favorite song, and I learned it all first year because I wanted to impress her (I didn't).

After our dance, the other couples were welcomed to the dance floor. I watched as Sirius dragged a blushing Remus onto the floor. Everyone knew about their relationship at that point. Nobody gave a shit, obviously. "Your Song" by Elton John was playing, and I knew full well that that was their song.

"When is it gonna be your turn?" I asked them as Remus spun Sirius around me and Lily.

"Whenever Remus wants," Sirius announced. "I've wanted to marry him since the moment I saw him."

"I have an idea," Lily whispered in my ear before dragging me off the floor to tell me about it. Did I expect her to shag me? Yeah, I did, but I was just as happy with the actual thing she wanted to tell me.

We left a dancing and laughing Sirius and Remus on the dancefloor when we went to talk about the plan. When we came back, Sirius's head was on Remus's chest, and they were swaying softly. I wanted to curse them for being a cuter couple than the bride and groom, but I didn't even have it in me to be mad about it. Then the speeches began.

"Hello, hi, everyone. I'm Remus Lupin. Well, most of you already knew that," Remus started. Sirius shot an assuring grin at him and Lily squeezed his hand from where she sat at the end of the table.

"When Lily asked me to be her man of honor, I told her that that was a made up thing, and it was completely ridiculous. In reality, I only said that because I was too busy trying to hold back tears because I was so overwhelmed with the fact that she thought of me to be such an important part in her wedding," Remus said, eyes welling up. Then, he chuckled.

"I'm sure most of you thought that me and Lily were the sensible ones who kept the others in line. The truth is, Lily and I are both just as crazy as our other halves on. I'm also sure that it took all of you a long time to figure out how smart Lily Evans could ever end up with our resident wildling, Mr. James Potter."

"Hey!" I interjected. Remus just kept on with a chuckle.

"James Potter might be the biggest prankster that Hogwarts ever saw, but he's also the kindest and most caring person on the planet," Remus said, and I immediately started to cry. I loved Remus so fucking much.

"He was the real mum of the Marauders, more so than Lily or I ever were. These two lovely people are genuinely the best-matched couple I have ever seen. They're both equal parts caring and crazy. They're quite literally soulmates. If you don't believe me, ask their matching patronuses.

"So, let's raise a glass to the best damn couple this wizarding world has ever seen," Remus announced, raising his glass. Everyone cheered. "I love you both to the moon and back."

Lily and I were both trying to keep ourselves together at that speech and that beautiful line at the end. He came over to hug both of us, and I sobbed on the poor bloke.

"I love you so fucking much, Moony," I said into his shoulder. He chuckled, but I felt a tear fall onto my shoulder. He then hugged Sirius whose speech was next. He whispered a don't embarrass me in Sirius's ear causing him to laugh heartily.

"I said I didn't want to follow Remus up because honestly there's no way that I could ever top that," Sirius said with a chuckle. "My better half just stood in front of you lot and gave the most heartfelt speech I have ever heard in my entire life. I'm not going to stand here and cry though, even if that does shock you. No, instead, I want to take this opportunity to embarrass the fuck out of my best mate."

"Oh, Merlin," I whispered, putting my head in my hand. Lily squeezed my thigh with an evil grin.

"James first saw Lily when we all got sorted into Gryffindor on the first day of school. Lily first saw James when the poor girl sat down at the table across from us, which caused James to choke on his water and spit it all over the table. A brilliant first impression in my opinion," Sirius stated, causing everyone to laugh. "That night as we all went to sleep, James whispered 'I'm going to marry Lily Evans one day.'"

"Cute, no?" Sirius asked. "Well, I'll tell you what wasn't cute. Having to hear about Lily every single second of every single day for the next six years. I mean, I love you, Lils, but I was ready to kill your husband, I swear. Not only did he talk about her constantly, but at least once a week, he would ask her out and get rejected. The man could not take a hint."

"He was persistent, I'll give him that. That doesn't make it any less embarrassing," Sirius said. Lily laughed and kissed me on the cheek. "Now, Miss Lily, don't think you're getting away with anything here."

"Black," she warned. Sirius's eyes sparkled.

"During our fifth year, Remus, Peter, and James all got detention for doing their only prank that I wasn't involved in. That left me and Lily alone together," Sirius explained. Remus and I looked at each other in shock. We had never heard about this before. "Some firewhiskey was drunk, and some secrets were spilled. At one point, Lily looked me in the eyes and said 'I'm going to marry James one day.'"

"She what?" I asked, completely stunned. Sirius barked a laugh, and Lily turned a deep shade of red.

"Clearly, these two lovebirds are completely meant to be," Sirius stated. "Their love was written in the stars. So, let's raise a glass to these proper soulmates. I love you loads."

"Before we all get sappy and hug Black and get back to this party, we have something to say," Lily said, pulling me up to stand in front of everyone with her and sitting Sirius down. "Sirius very carefully left out the part about that night in fifth year when he said 'I'm so bloody gone for Remus John Lupin, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.'"

Remus blushed, and Sirius just kissed him on the cheek. I smiled and said, "They both just stood in front of you and said how perfect we were for each other, but Remus and Sirius are just as made for each other as me and Lily are."

"They've been talking about getting married for a long time, and it's honestly codswallop that they're not already together. So, we have a little surprise if you're interested," Lily explained. Remus and Sirius were both ridiculously confused. "We know you can't get married in the muggle world so there's no need for a marriage license, and we do still have an ordained minister here."

"Merlin," Remus said, his eyes going wide.

"We would like to extend this ceremony to include another betrothal if you're interested," I said. The look on Sirius's face was the best thing I had ever seen. "What do you say?"

"Rem," Sirius whispered. Remus was looking at me and Lily, shaking his head fondly. He looked over and Sirius with this huge smile.

"I want to marry the pants off of you," Remus stated, causing Sirius to laugh and snog the living crap out of him.

"I want to marry the pants off of you," Sirius stated. And, that was exactly what they did.

"James," Remus said, while Sirius and Lily were talking after the ceremony. "Thank you. You really didn't have to do that."

"Of course, I did," I said plainly. "You're my best mates, my brothers. I want you to be happy."

"We're going to be very happy," Remus replied, looking absolutely lovestruck as he looked across the room at Sirius.

A double wedding, how insanely beautiful. Now, the happy times are not over just yet, but let me just say something. If my four best friends had a double wedding and didn't include me, I would probably also have them killed.

#James Potter #Remus Lupin #Sirius Black #Lily Evans #Harry Potter #peter pettigrew #Marauders #wolfstar #jily

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star-spangled-eyes · 4 years

Text

Winner Take All: Part 5: The Confusion

This alternate universe fan fiction uses characters created and owned by Pixelberry Studios. Character names, descriptions and likenesses are owned by Pixelberry Studios. The MC, Bragnae Bennett, and story is created and owned by this author.

Book: The Royal Romance (Alternate Universe)

Alternate Universe Theme: Senior Year of College for Drake, Leo, Bragnae and Madeleine in the United States

Pairing: Drake Walker x MC / Leo Reese x MC (Bragnae Bennett – *pronounced Brawn-yah)

Warnings for this series: NSFW, Adult content, suggestive and strong language, sex

Series Description: Bragnae Bennett sought adventure when she first went off to college. Now, navigating through her senior year, she finds herself befriending two gorgeous guys, Drake Walker and Leo Reese, who engage in a seemingly innocent bet with her during a game of pool that leads to a surprising threesome.

Their intimate evening prompts deeper feelings than they all expected to arise, and Bragnae is suddenly swept up in both of their charms, unique to each man himself. Through the pressures of college, work and maintaining a social life, which man will prevail and win Bragnae's heart?

Master List

A/N: I am loving this series! It’s been fun to write Drake because he doesn’t have all the angst that he normally does around the MC due to Liam. This is college Drake when he’s just starting to get out in the world as an adult. And Leo is still blowing my mind. Thank you all for reading! It means a lot to me.

Warnings for this chapter: NSFW, Adult content, suggestive and strong language, SEX!

Word Count for this chapter: 3543

Setting for this chapter: Bragnae and Leo’s hot night continues…

Permatags: @burnsoslow @cora-nova @dcbbw @thorfosterlove @emceesynonymroll @edgiestwinter @of-course-i-went-to-hartfeld @msjr0119 @notoriouscs @drakewalker04 @pedudley @desiree-0816 @choices-lurker @kingliam2019 @loveellamae @drakexnadira @flutistbyday2020 @indiana-jr @moonlightgem7

Series Tags: @yukinagato2012 @marshmallowsaremyfavorite @nomadics-stuff @ravenpuff02 @texaskitten30 @themadhatter1029 @randomfandomteacher @queenjilian @princessleac1 @seriouslybadchoices

Part 5: The Confusion

Bragnae arched her back as Leo kissed down her exposed chest. He had managed to completely disrobe her in a matter of minutes. The way he took his time using his hands and lips to prove his adoration for her had placed Bragnae in a comfortable daze. She didn’t have a care in the world.

In the midst of it all, she had removed his shirt letting her admire his magnificent abs with fingers on her way to reaching for his belt. She fumbled a bit getting easily distracted by the sensual way he continued to touch her.

Leo chuckled lightly. “Let me help you out, beautiful.” He rose up off the sofa. The absence of his body on top of hers left a sudden chill, but the heat in his eyes as he stared down at her while removing the rest of his clothes made her warm again.

She watched carefully as his long, hard cock sprung out of his clothes. He stroked himself a few times while looking her over head to toe. Bragnae laid there with her legs parted just as he left her. Her head rested on the cushy arm rest of the black leather sofa. The sultry but unhurried beat of the music in the background added to the mood. She was primed, and wanted him desperately.

“Leo, come here. I need you,” she whimpered as her breathing increased.

“I’m coming, babe. Don’t worry.” He reached down to his jeans and pulled out a foil packet. Like an expert, he quickly rolled the condom on, and was already back on the couch. He knelt before her, nudging her legs open more with his knees. He ran a soft, slow hand down her chest, guiding it to the space between her legs. His fingers encircled her clit before gliding down her silky sensitive skin. His breath hitched as he dove a finger inside her. “You’re ready for me. So wet,” he whispered.

His finger moved with the rhythm of the song that played. When he withdrew it, he doubled his effort with two fingers reaching for her pleasure center. It felt amazing. Bragnae moved her body along with his intentional motion. Both of them staring into each other’s eyes.

“You’re so sexy, Bragnae.” His focused gaze traveled down the length of her body. His other hand grabbed her leg, holding it against his hip. Removing his fingers, he guided his engorged tip to her entrance, teasing her a bit.

“God, Leo. Please.” Her core burned with anticipation. She rolled her hips trying to encourage him inside, but he stayed put. She moaned out of frustration.

He braced his hand on the head rest next to her, and leaned down. His face inches from hers. “Just trying to savor the moment, babe. I know this is going to go fast once we start.” He bent down to capture her lips in a lustful, impassioned kiss. “I’ve wanted you all to myself since the other night.” He guided the tip of his cock just inside her making them both exhale shuddering breaths. “And now I get to feel your wet pussy around my dick, and I can’t wait anymore.”

Leo pushed into her with agonizing slowness. Bragnae moaned, finally feeling what she craved. Her hands flew to his hips holding him against her so she could feel the fullness inside, not to mention the pressure of his pelvis between her legs.

He laughed. “I like a woman who knows what she wants.”

Bragnae let out a gasping breath. “Glad you finally gave it to me. You feel so good.”

“Just you wait, lil’ lady. You’ll feel even better when I make you come.” Leo curled her leg around his hips. Bragnae took the hint wrapping her other leg around him too, locking her ankles.

He bent down to kiss her again, sliding his hand underneath the small of her back to hold her in place as he rocked his hips against her. The couch wasn’t that wide, but they made the best of the space they shared. Leo gripped the head rest to help steady his movements. The sound of the leather groaned in her ear as his pace increased.

Every moment from that day had led to this one. The flirting while he helped inspire her to defend herself. The playful words when he first saw her in the dress. The smoldering looks at the bar. The grinding on the dance floor. The irresistible touches he laid on her skin. Leo was scratching an itch that had burned for longer than just today. She hungered for his fun-loving take on life, his sense of humor, and his apparent desire to be with her – now and after they were finished.

The passion of their moment and the leather from the sofa was making Bragnae hot. Her back stuck to the couch keeping her even more in place than before, allowing Leo to hit the exact spot inside her over and over again. Lucky for her, it was the spot she needed him to find. A warm pressure started to build. She exhaled ragged breaths as she concentrated on bringing her release closer.

Leo had brought his other hand up to caress her breast, quickly finding her nipple and pinching it between his fingers. This propelled Bragnae’s orgasm forward as she released a scream into the room that carried on for several seconds. The explosive pleasure continued to ripple throughout her body.

An accomplished smile appeared on his face. “There ya go, babe. That was hot. So hot,” he said as his eyes fluttered closed for a second before he too had found his release. Leo pumped into her slower than before as he rode the pleasure out. Then, his head fell forward exhaling a satisfied breath.

Still feeling the effects from her blissful high, she smiled up at him as she gently rubbed her fingers over his cheek. He was still in her, but resting. After another moment, he raised his gaze to hers, which was different than before.

“That was incredible, Leo.” She steadied her hand against his face feeling a deep connection between them. The way he stared into her eyes now made her heart skip a beat.

Leo took another breath in. “Yes, it was.”

She sat up to kiss him in such a tender way, taking her time with each parting of her lips that devoured his. When she finally pulled back, he looked more deeply into her eyes as if he was searching for something.

“Bragnae,” he whispered. “I…”

Still cradling his face, she spoke softly. “What is it?”

She watched as his eyes sharpened from their once passionate haze. “We should get going.”

That was not at all what she was expecting him to say. It took her aback especially when he suddenly vacated her and the couch with haste. She watched in slight shock as he discarded the condom in a nearby trashcan and began getting dressed.

The energy in the room shifted so dramatically that she felt extremely vulnerable, being as naked as she was, and like a trespasser. Bragnae stood and pulled her clothes on too. She didn’t know why he was suddenly not looking in her direction or why the beautiful moment they just shared made him react this way.

Both fully dressed, they left the room and Leo led her out of the club. He hadn’t taken her hand like he did when they first walked in. He felt more cold and distant than she’d ever seen him before and was utterly confused.

Leo walked to his bike and straddled it as he quickly started the engine. He didn’t even look at her, not even to watch her lift her dress the way she had before. Bragnae felt extremely awkward all of a sudden, and wanted to talk about it with him, but sensed that wasn’t an option. She didn’t even know if she was welcome to sit behind him on the bike. She stood there on the sidewalk contemplating her options. Walking home wasn’t preferable as dark as it was, so she’d have to call an Uber.

Finally, he looked over at her. “Come on.” His tone wasn’t rude, but it wasn’t altogether pleasant either. Not like before.

She mounted the bike like she had earlier and barely had her arms around his stomach before he sped off. Startled, she held on tightly. A few minutes later, he pulled up to her apartment.

Bragnae got off the bike and waited for him to do the same but he didn’t. He just avoided her gaze. She walked over to see his face waiting for him to acknowledge her before speaking. After a moment, he did.

“Did I do something wrong?” She couldn’t hide the look of concern in her eyes.

Leo averted his gaze again, shaking his head. “No. I had a good time, Bragnae.” He pulled her in closer by her hand, and rose out of his seat to give her a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll call you, okay?”

“Okay.” She didn’t know what else to say to that.

Without another look, Leo pulled away from the curb and left her sight. She was dumbfounded. What the hell just happened? Bragnae went inside to her apartment. Madeleine was still watching television in the front room, but she didn’t feel like talking to anyone. So, she just went to bed instead.

The next morning, Bragnae woke up feeling off. Her weekend had started off great with Leo, but then abruptly ended and she didn’t understand why. She checked her phone, but all she had was a text from her mother. Determined to not let that ruin her day, she got up and showered. After getting dress again, she toweled her hair as she made her way to the kitchen. A cup of coffee was calling her name.

When she rounded the corner, she saw Madeleine was already there making a cup. “Morning, Bragnae.”

“Hey, girl.” She took a seat on the stool at the breakfast counter.

“You okay? You came home awfully early last night. What happened there?” She asked before going to the fridge to grab the flavored creamer.

Bragnae sighed. She definitely wanted some advice, but it was still so disappointing. “Well, it was weird.”

“How so?”

“You saw how…attentive Leo was when he picked me up right?” She waited for Madeleine to nod before continuing. “Well, he was like that for the rest of the evening until…”

“Until after you guys had sex?” Madeleine asked.

Bragnae nodded, a little surprised. “How’d you know?”

Madeleine gave her a knowing look complete with an eye roll. “B, that’s how they all are. They want you until you give it up, and then they ditch you so fast your head spins.” She pushed a cup of coffee across the counter. “Here, girl, you need this.”

Bragnae accepted the cup of java and inhaled its comforting aroma. “Thanks. I just didn’t think Leo would be like that. He seemed into me. And I don’t know if I said anything to spook him. I keep going over everything, but I don’t know what I did wrong.”

Madeleine leaned on the counter. “I’m going to save you some time. Don’t worry about what you did because this is all on him. If he doesn’t want you that’s his fucking loss.”

“But,” Bragnae started to say.

“But nothing. Girl, you have to move on from his sketchy ass. Leo is a player, and players break hearts. Don’t get involved with a player. And yes, I’m speaking from experience.” She gave Bragnae a sympathetic smile as she finished making her cup of coffee the way she liked it.

Bragnae absentmindedly watched as she put the creamer away, and caught a glimpse of the leftover beer Drake had brought over a few days ago. She was instantly reminded that he had never returned her call. Not even a text. She groaned in frustration.

“What is it?” Madeleine asked.

Sighing, she palmed her forehead with both hands. “Guys suck.”

“Join the club. But… is there something more?”

“Yes. Drake still hasn’t called me back.” She watched Madeleine give her an expectant look. “So, he came over on Friday, and we were talking and getting along great. And then we started kissing…”

“You little minx!” Madeleine guffawed. When Bragnae glared at her, she swallowed the rest of her surprised giggles and gestured for her to continue.

“We started kissing, and then Drake stopped it. It stung my pride, so I basically kicked him out. Well, I called him yesterday to apologize for that, and he still hasn’t returned my call. And he said he’d call me before he left on Friday, so why wouldn’t he call me back yesterday?” Bragnae stared at the countertop. “What’s wrong with me?”

Madeleine reached out to squeeze Bragnae’s hand. “Hey, don’t go there. There’s nothing wrong with you. Leo is a profound jerk who’s just out for sex, and Drake… well, I don’t know what his problem is. But that doesn’t mean the problem is you. Do you believe me?”

Bragnae met her eyes. “Yeah, I do. Thanks.”

“Try not to let this worry you. I know it’s easier said than done, but the best way you can show those douche bags up is by being happy and moving on with your life. They’ll be sorry they missed out.” She took a sip of her coffee. “It’s guys like them that make me seriously contemplate being a lesbian.” She sighed to herself. “But I love dick too much. Damn them.”

Bragnae laughed. “I’ll drink to that.” They clinked their mugs together taking another sip.

Madeleine set down her coffee and lightly slapped the counter top. “So, I work tonight, but why don’t we do a little retail therapy to get your mind off those bozos this afternoon?”

“You’re a good friend, Maddie,” she smiled.

The girls spent the day shopping and eating at one of their favorite Mexican restaurants in town. It was a nice, relaxing day. One that Bragnae desperately needed. Later on, after Madeleine left for work, Bragnae finished up the little homework she had over the weekend before settling on the couch to watch television.

She still had one full day left to her weekend, and the hopeful plans she had with either Drake or Leo were completely shot. Even though she had a fun and breezy day with her friend, now she was alone with her thoughts, and they drifted back to the two men that made her heart ache and her brain confused. All within the same few days.

As Netflix appeared on the screen, she saw the unfinished movie she and Drake started. Embarrassing memories of being asked to stop kissing Drake flooded her mind. She didn’t like how she reacted, but then, even as she tried to make amends, Drake wouldn’t even acknowledge it.

And Leo. He reached out to her asking her to join him for a self-defense lesson and then to a hot club. She really thought he liked her. She knew she was definitely into him. And as soon as they were finished having sex, he switched off whatever game he was playing with her, and left her feeling used. It was a horrible feeling.

She had no idea what she did to deserve to be ditched by two men in the same weekend, but her strong sense of self kicked in and told her to listen to Madeleine’s advice and forget about them. Fuck them. If they can’t appreciate me for what I have to offer, then they can go kick rocks.

Instead of the ice cream dinner she had planned for herself, Bragnae fixed up a salad packed with lots of vegetables, a sliced egg and croutons. She tossed it with some ranch dressing, grabbed a water and went back to the couch. Knowing laughter always helped her through times like this, she turned on stand-up comedy and settled in for the night.

The rest of her weekend went by in a flash. She powered through her first two classes of the day, dreading her math class after lunch. As she walked towards the next building, she heard her name being called. Her last name. Sure enough, she looked up and saw Drake heading in her direction. Feeling empowered, she rolled her eyes and kept walking.

She cringed as she heard hurried footsteps behind her. Bragnae felt strong and determined to tell him to fuck off if necessary, but she was still fragile, and didn’t want his words to pull her back in.

“Bragnae, wait a minute. Are you trying to ignore me?” He asked, slightly out of breath.

She whipped around so fast that Drake almost lost his footing. “What gave you that clue?”

“Hey, look.” He sighed. “I know you’re probably upset about me not returning your call, but I can explain.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and glared up at him. She shouldn’t have even given him the time or day, but something peeked her curiosity. When she didn’t say anything more, he continued.

“When you called on Saturday, I was still at work. But then my mom and sister showed up surprising me with a visit for the long weekend. They didn’t leave until last night. I didn’t have time to call you, and I’m sorry.” Drake spoke with sincerity, but it wasn’t good enough.

Bragnae narrowed her eyes. “That’s a shitty excuse.”

“It’s the truth!” Drake barked back.

She stepped closer to him. “I know it’s the truth, Drake. You’re not one to lie.” She studied his face for a moment. “But are you telling me that there was absolutely no time to shoot me a quick text letting me know you got my message? There wasn’t a single second for you to do that, so I wouldn’t be sitting around wondering why you didn’t want to talk to me?”

She didn’t want to play her hand too early to let him know she was thinking about him all weekend, but she was fueled up, damn it, and wanted answers.

Drake’s expression softened as his eyes fell. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I should’ve at least done that.” He returned his gaze to hers. “But I didn’t ignore you on purpose. I wanted to come see you as soon as I was off work to talk things over, but then my family showed up.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t blame you for being mad.”

“Drake, after that night, I wasn’t feeling very desired. Yes, I felt like an idiot later for kicking you out just because you told me ‘no’, but then I put myself out there again, and by you not calling or texting me back… well, it hurt.” She stared into his eyes unflinching.

“I’m sorry I hurt you.” He took a step towards her running a gentle hand down her arm. “I realized it wasn’t right for me to just spring that on you while we were, ya know, in the moment. If you had been the one to stop us just when things were starting to heat up, I know I would have been disappointed too.”

It took maturity to see the other person’s perspective, and Drake was trying to make amends. At least he wasn’t just shutting her out cold turkey like Leo had done. The rest of the weekend went by and she heard not a peep from him.

“So, what do you want, Drake? What do you want from me?”

His hands lightly held the sides of her crossed arms. “Let me make this up to you. I’d like to explain why I said what I did last Friday. I want to take you out to dinner tonight. Will you let me?”

“No.”

Drake pulled back slightly, his eyebrows raising in surprise.

“I work tonight.”

The corner of his mouth curled up. “You’re making me work for this, aren’t you?”

“Maybe,” she replied with soft smile.

��Well, I know Mikey’s is closed on Wednesday’s, so if you have nothing else to do, can I take you out to dinner tomorrow?”

She worked her jaw as she looked up at him, pretending to think over his request. “Yes.”

Drake smiled. “Okay, good. I’ll call you, and we’ll set up a time.”

“You better,” she said with an absolute seriousness to her voice. Bragnae would not allow him to hang her out to dry again.

He moved even closer to her, this time his face inches from hers. She felt her heart pounding at his proximity. “I promise I will, Bragnae.”

She nodded, and swallowed discreetly.

“I’ve gotta get to class, but I’ll see you tomorrow.” He brushed his thumb lightly over her chin. She thought he’d lean in for a kiss, but he just smiled before walking away.

She took a deep breath as she watched him head in the opposite direction. A part of her was upset that she agreed to go out with him, but the other felt hope that he was actually being genuine. And despite her weekend heartache, she was eager to hear what he had to say.

#trr #trr choices fanfic #the royal romance #the royal romance drake #the royal romance fanfic #trr fanfic #drake walker #drake x mc #leo x mc #leo reese #bragnae bennett #trr love triangle #TRR Winner Take All Fanfic #the club #the confusion #the coffee

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lowkey-lokis-bitch · 5 years

Text

our chosen family - dad!steve.rogers

request - can i request for steve rogers x teen!reader? they have a father daughter relationship ever since he recruited her for team cap. they see each other again back @ the avengers facility after a long time. reader got affected by the snap (they shared a moment before turning to dust like peter & tony in titan) her last words: “i love you dad” and she’s the last one who’ll turn into dust. steve cries, vowing to avenge her and the others. reader has strength, speed, heat vision and flight. thank u!! - @barnes-parker – i’m so sorry it’s taken so long aha but i got so invested in this story and couldn’t stop ahaha <<33

word count - 7679

pairing - dad-figure!steve rogers x teen!reader, uncle!bucky barnes, uncle!sam wilson (btw the uncle figures are so much fun to write i love it omg), pretty much team cap family

a/n - hi! this became a long one and I’m kind of really proud of it so I hope you enjoy!! please let me know if this is the sort of thing you would like to read more!! also this kinda jumps between timelines so the lil ‘—-’ are the same scene just jumps, but the proper ‘——’ are different scenes :::))))))

Stars lit up the sky as you floated above the metropolitan horizon of New York. Your mask covered the bottom half of your face, but you could see your breath cloud as the evening became cold. Landing on a rooftop, you squatted and scanned the area for any disturbances. Your eyebrows furrowed as you saw a group of bodies, all crowding around a young woman. The heat signatures they gave off were crazy, deep reds and bright oranges almost hurting your eyes. You jumped across a gap to the next building, trying to get a closer look. Then the woman screamed.

You leapt down from the building, landing in a crouch as the bodies turned to look at you. You stood up quickly, taking in the gasps from the men as they realised who you were. The first man sprinted towards you, throwing a punch at your face. You blocked it with your forearm and jammed your fist into his stomach, doubling him over in pain. You drew your knee up to hit him in the face and jumped over his falling body. Throwing yourself onto the floor, you swung your leg in front of you and tripped up two of the remaining five bodies. As they fell you grabbed their heads, banging them together just hard enough to knock them out for a few hours.

A knife flew by your face, missing you by only a few centimeters. You turned quickly, sprinting towards the attacker and buried your elbow in his face, taking out his legs with your foot. As he fell to the ground, you grabbed his body and threw it against the remaining men, taking them out like bowling pins. Walking towards the young woman, you helped her up and checked her over.

“Thank you,” she stuttered, tears falling on her cheeks. You gave her a smile, hidden by the mask, before sending her on her way. You began lining the bodies up against a wall, ready for the police, when the sounds of footsteps approached you from behind. You spun, holding your hands up in a defensive measure.

“Hello (Y/N),” a man in basic black and purple armor spoke, a quiver strapped across his back. You were taken aback by his use of your name; you had never told anyone of your true identity.

“How do you know my name?” your voice was tense, as were your fists. “Who are you?”

“I’m Clint, this isn’t my normal way of introducing myself,” the man laughed to himself, rubbing a hand against his forehead. “I’m just gonna cut to the chase, we need your help.”

Days later you found yourself in Europe with Captain America, having been recruited for his fight against Tony Stark. The two of you had clicked instantly, him taking the fatherly role that had been missing from your life. You trained together, Wanda helping you with controlling your powers and Steve taking responsibility for your hand-to-hand combat. The progress you saw within yourself in just a few days was outstanding and you found yourself imagining a life with the team, training and becoming friends. But that was a dangerous fantasy.

———–

“Take the new guy, he seems about your age,” Steve didn’t look at you as he spoke, his eyes still focused on Tony as he ran across the airfield. “Save Buck and Sam.”

“Ah, my boys always need me,” you laughed despite your anxieties. Sprinting towards the glass building, you flew into the air and crashed through one of the walls. You landed in a traditional “superhero” pose, looking up to assess the situation. Bucky and Sam lay on the floor, tangled up in some kind of web, as Spiderman crouched against a tall pillar.

“Woah, you can fly?!” the kid spoke, his voice revealing his youth. As you considered, he probably wasn’t much younger than you, a year or two at most. How could Tony bring in someone this young?

“Hey kid, haven’t you got homework or something to be doing?” you cocked him a brow, a smirk hidden beneath your mask. Spiderman’s eyes flicked up to you, widening in shock. You threw yourself towards him, arms outstretched to tackle him to the ground. Landing with a thud, you launched Peter across the room where he hit and slid down the wall. You bolted towards Bucky and Sam, ripping apart the webs that bound them. “What would you boys do without me?”

“Probably not have all of my food stolen,” Sam muttered, standing quickly and bringing his hand to his goggles. You sent him a glare before standing alongside Bucky. Glass shattered behind you, and you turned to see Spiderman caught by one of Sam’s drones, pulled outside.

“That works,” you shrugged your shoulders, leading the pair of men towards the building’s exit. “I can’t believe you got your asses handed to you by a kid.”

————

Deep breaths echoed, bouncing off of the prison cell walls. You sat by the bars, your arms wrapped around them and your hands intertwined. Your head rested against the cold metal, your eyes barely open as exhaustion took over your entire body. You had barely eaten, you couldn’t remember the last time they had given you water and you were sure the fatigue was obvious on your face. A sigh escaped your lips as you forced your head up to look across at Clint in his cell. He was sat on his bed, his head in his hands - as had become his usual position.

The opening of the main door caused you to look up; you half expected Tony to be back to gloat about his victory, to try and weasel any secrets out of you, but the silhouette in the doorway was taller, broader. As he stepped into the light, you heart broke and your lower lip quivered. Steve’s face was rugged, a hint of a beard tickled his jaw as he walked towards Sam’s cell. The two had a brief conversation, Steve glancing around the room at several points. You assumed Sam was explaining what had been going on. Steve reached into his pocket, pulling out a tablet that had hacked into the Raft’s mainframe. With a click of the screen, the cell bars lifted and you lifted yourself from the ground slowly. Your head spun and your legs shook beneath you as you stumbled your way to Wanda’s cell.

Wanda was the weakest of the group, she had been wrapped up in a straitjacket with an electric collar around her neck. Her eyes were sunken, deep bags hanging beneath them. She dragged her eyes up from the wall to look at you. A tear landed on your cheek as you knelt down before her, looking for some way to remove her restraints. Your breathing sped up as you began to panic, unable to find a solution. A hand touched your back, throwing you off balance as you spun around quickly, falling as your head went fuzzy. Large arms wrapped around you as your consciousness began to fade. You forced your eyes open just long enough to see Steve’s face, smiling down at you as you drifted off to sleep.

———–

“She needs to be here, where I- we can look after her.”

“She’s old enough to make this decision herself.”

The steady beeping of medical equipment steadied your breathing as you began to regain consciousness. You tried to lift your hand, but it felt like dead weight. Your fingertips twitched and you let out a soft groan, attempting to communicate with anyone who was in the room.

“Hey kiddo,” Steve’s voice calmed your racing heartbeat as he stepped towards your bed.

“Where are we?” your throat felt as though you had swallowed broken glass and the taste in your mouth was foul.

Steve looked towards the other man in the room, who you could now see was Sam. He sighed, his head hanging before looking back up at you, “A safe house in Sweden, the whole team’s here.”

“How did you- what happened?” your eyebrows furrowed as you coughed, your chest aching with each exhale.

“Well, I couldn’t leave my best girl,” Steve smiled up at you, but his eyes showed his true sadness. “Can’t be part of a team if the rest of the team isn’t there.”

“So, everyone’s staying here? What about Tony?” Steve flinched as you mentioned the name, taking a deep breath before speaking.

“We have to stay under the radar, according to everyone we’re criminals now. Tony isn’t going to try and change that. Nat, Sam and I are going to go underground and Wanda’s gonna be with us most of the time. What you do is up to you,” Steve looked up at you once again, his eyes pleading for you to stay.

“I-I don’t know.” “I don’t want to interrupt a lovely moment,” Sam stepped forward, his hands in the pockets of his jacket. “But you’re young. You can’t be giving up your life before you’ve even had one.”

“Whatever you do,” Steve started, rubbing the back of your hand with his thumb. “We’re always here for you, whatever it is, I’m here.”

In the time after Germany, your physical and mental health took a hit. It took you days to be able to walk again, and weeks beyond that to start training. Natasha and Clint would often find you pottering around the safe house at 3am, a dazed look in your eyes and various weapons in your hands. Not to mention the nightmares, they woke not just you, but Steve who would race through from his room - adjacent to yours - when you began screaming, your lungs crying out for oxygen. It was decided that you would go with Wanda, she was the only one who could fully comprehend what was going on in your head, and you would return when you had fully recovered. Whenever that was.

“I’ll come visit as soon as Wanda thinks it’s okay, kid,” the tears in Steve’s eyes threatened to spill as he held you close to his chest. Your cheeks were already damp with salty tears as you had said your goodbyes to the rest of the team. Your arms were tight around Steve’s waist, and you didn’t want to let go. He pulled back to push loose hairs away from your face and to look into your eyes one last time. “I love you.”

“I love you, and thank you,” you hesitated. “Dad.”

———————————————————————————————————

You kicked your leg out as you leapt into the air, thrusting your foot into the chest of an Outrider and slicing another in half with your blade. As you returned to the ground you drove your foot into the fallen Outrider’s face, leaving the Wakandan dirt splattered with black blood. You wiped your face with the back of your hand, a grimace painted across your expression, before looking up to see Steve struggling against a pack of creatures. You launched yourself into the air before hurtling into the group, sending Outriders flying in all directions.

“Thanks kid,” Steve breathed, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he tried to regain his momentum.

“You know, maybe you’re getting too old for this,” you joked with a quick salute. Steve simply raised an eyebrow at you in response and the two of you sprinted in seperate directions. You grabbed a pistol from the holster at your thigh and sent bullets flying towards two Outriders, dark gore showering the dusty ground beneath you. You increased your speed as you lifted off the ground, taking an aerial view of the battle. From your viewpoint, you saw Wanda fighting against one of Thanos’ children, and she wasn’t exactly winning. You bolted towards her, your hair flying behind you as you landed on the ground, sending dirt flying from under your feet.

“She’s not alone,” Natasha spoke as Okoye readied her blade. You stood next to the assassin, fists out in a fighting position. Proxima Midnight looked between the three of you before lunging towards Okoye, blades prepared to strike. She dove, striking at Okoye’s chest as you plunged your foot into her lower back, tripping her onto her back. She rolled up easily, landing in a crouch as she kicked out at Natasha’s feet. Wanda, now up from the ground, lifted Proxima into the air and sent her flying into one of Thanos’ large tanks.

“Anyone got eyes on Vision?” Sam’s voice came through your comms and you spun quickly to see Vision fighting another of Thanos’ children. You gave Wanda a quick nod before she used her power to give you a boost into the air. You hurtled through the air to the forest, your landing ruined by the dense trees. You dropped through branches before arriving at the floor, the air sucked out of your lungs. You wheezed, your eyes closed as pain surged through your entire body. Your adrenaline was starting to wear out, and you weren’t unscathed from the fight. Looking down at your body, blood and dirt was caking your armor, skin exposed to show deep wounds. You lifted yourself onto your knees, looking up to see Vision stabbed by Corvus Glaive. You stood quickly, grabbing a dagger from your belt and lunged towards the creature, sinking the blade into his side.

Suddenly, Corvus was tackled to the ground and you whipped around to see Steve getting to his feet, yelling across at you and Vision. Vision was visibly injured and struggling to move. He nodded at you and the message was clear. You sprinted towards Steve and Glaive, landing a punch on Glaive’s cheek and kicking your shin into the back of his knee. As he fell, he grabbed your arm and threw you into a tree, your spine curving around the trunk. You cried out in pain as you landed against the ground. Steve blocked Glaive’s blade with his shield, landing a punch and grabbing the blade and throwing it in the opposite direction. Glaive grabbed Steve by the neck, throwing him onto a fallen tree where Steve rolled, grimacing in pain. Corvus walked towards the tree where you were still shaking with agony, and wrapped his hand around your neck. You gasped for breath, your eyes beginning to go hazy.

As you sucked in a shallow breath, Glaive’s eyes went wide. His body lifted as a blade protruded from his chest, revealing Vision holding the staff behind him. Letting go of the stave, Vision fell to the ground. You gasped for oxygen as Steve sprinted over, blood trickling down his face from a cut on his forehead. You crawled towards the pair as Vision’s eyes began to droop, Steve holding his head.

“Hey, you’re good,” you spoke slowly, breathlessly. “We’ve got to get you out of here, okay? I can take you-”

“There’s no way you’re doing anything,” Steve’s voice was stern. “You’re injured, we can’t risk you any further.” “Steve, we need to get him out of-”

“I know, but-”

Wanda arrived on the scene, her face painted with worry as her eyes landed on Vision.

“Don’t cut me off!” your voice was raised, filled with urgency. “I can fly him up, get him back into the building. I’ll take out all of the Outriders, I can do it.”

“It’s too danger-”

Steve stopped speaking as dark clouds appeared between the trees, an ominous noise wiping out all cries from the battle field. A large figure stepped through them, a familiar golden glove decorating his left hand. He tensed and flexed his fingers, the stones making beautiful sounds as he glanced around, assessing the area. You looked towards Steve, his eyebrows furrowed as he stood.

“He’s here.”

———————————————————————————————————–

early 2018 - remote europe

The bed creaked beneath you as you sat, the old wooden bed frame groaning at your presence. You pulled the medical kit out from your drawers, opening it to grab the antiseptic and cotton wool, before pulling up your shirt. A grimace crossed your face as you pressed the ointment to your skin, the stinging sensation dancing across your stomach. Grabbing a bandage from the box, you unwound it and wrapped it around your torso, ensuring it was tight enough to stop any bleeding. Then you moved on to the multiple wounds across your arms.

“Got yourself in kind of a bad state, kid,” you turned slowly to see the familiar face of Sam Wilson. “Need a hand?”

An aggravated sigh left your lips as you stood from the bed, “How did you find me?”

“Well, the deal was you were with Wanda. But that’s obviously not how it played out,” Sam gave you a serious look. “She told us the last place you said you were going and we took it from there.”

You rolled up the leg of your suit, cursing under your breath as you saw the bruising that had begun to appear. “Are you alone?” The uneasy tone of your voice didn’t go unnoticed. Sam looked across at you, his eyebrows furrowing slightly as he considered the team.

“We didn’t want to undo anything Wanda might have-” Sam struggled for his next word, thinking carefully of his next word.

“Fixed?” you finished the sentence for him, looking up and giving him a breathy laugh. “Well, don’t worry. I can take care of myself.”

“You don’t have to.”

The words stopped you in your tracks. You took a deep breath, turning to face the man before you.

“You’ve heard about the Infinity Stones?” Sam crossed his arms over his chest.

“Wanda and Vision mentioned them a few times, told me a bit about them. Why?” “Some big, scary guy is trying to get them all. They went for the Mind Stone, but we got to Vision first.”

“Is he okay?” you spoke, your voice raising slightly with concern.

“He’s fine, he’s back at the compound with Steve and Nat,” Sam stepped towards you. “We need you, (Y/N).”

“Now, where have I heard that before?” you joked with a sigh, rubbing your forehead with your palms.

“He needs you.”

You looked up, pained eyes searing into Sam’s.

“What’s the mission?”

——-

The quinjet landed beside the Avengers facility and your heart jumped the second you reached the floor. You were instantly aware of how you looked, the weight of your backpack, the noises your jacket made as you stepped off of the jet. Sam moved to stand beside you, giving your shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

“You ready, kid?”

You gave a quick nod in response, your eyes fixed on the main doors directly in front of you.

“You’ll be fine,” Sam began to walk, his large strides putting distance between the two of you. Gritting your teeth, you forced one foot in front of the other, counting down the seconds until you were inside. The training hall was the exact same as when you had left. A sense of comfort washed over you, releasing the tightness in your chest as you looked around. A small smile broke onto your face as memories flooded back: training with Bucky, long nights talking with Wanda, Natasha trying to teach you new moves, leading to you on the floor, the breath stolen from your lungs.

Footsteps alerted you to a presence behind you and you spun around to meet Wanda’s kind eyes.

“Hey,” you breathed, a wobble in your voice.

“I’m sorry, I know you wanted to be by yourself bu-” Wanda began to walk towards you, taking your hands in hers.

“It’s okay,” you reassured her, pulling her into a hug. “I understand. Plus, everyone was probably missing me tons. You know, I don’t know how they survived without me.” You feigned a confident front, but you weren’t sure that Wanda was fooled.

She laughed nervously, taking your arm in hers and leading you towards one of the main rooms. You stopped before the door, looking across at your friend. She gave you a comforting smile before opening the doors and walking in. Your body felt like lead as you stepped through the doorway, seeing the same people you had left two years ago.

Nat’s eyes met yours and she rushed over, wrapping you in her arms. Although she rarely showed it, Natasha was one of the most caring people you had ever met. It was an extreme contrast to the act she maintained, but you knew her in a way no-one else did. She pulled back, her hands on your shoulders as she studied your face. You could see the relief on her face as you took in her appearance.

“I like the hair,” you let out a laugh. “You know, it’s hard for a redhead to pull off blonde.”

“Good thing I have the attitude for it,” she smirked, hugging you once again before returning to the large screen in the centre of the room.

You spotted Vision at the other side of the room, talking with Wanda, and gave him a quick wave. He responded with a smile, still growing accustomed to human greetings.

“Where’s Steve?” you spoke softly, to no-one in particular.

Natasha turned to look at you, “He’s in his room. Something about not wanting to make you uncomfortable or nervous.”

“I’m gonna-” you trailed off, leaving the room.

The corridors were hauntingly familiar, the same lights flickering as your shoes moved quietly along the wooden floor. 84. It was still 84 steps from the stairs to your room. Your heart rate increased as your hand stroked the door handle, pressing it lightly to reveal your room. Nothing had been moved, it looked as though you had been there only yesterday. The light streamed in from the closed window, thin, white curtains sitting perfectly still. You walked slowly towards the centre of the room, dropping your backpack onto your bed. It was a weird sensation, being back in a place that held so many mixed emotions.

You were snapped out of your memories as footsteps quickly approached from behind. You spun around and saw Steve standing in the door frame, an apologetic look on his face.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you were back already,” Steve diverted his eyes, avoiding meeting yours. “I thought someone was-”

He stopped talking as you walked towards him. Once you were within touching distance, your lower lip began to quiver and you wrapped your arms around him quickly, sobs escaping your lips. He sighed in relief and hugged you back.

“I’m sorry,” you spluttered, pulling away to look up at him. “I shouldn’t have gone off on my own, it was stupid and-”

“Hey, no,” Steve pulled you back into his chest. “I just-, I got scared. But that’s my fault, not yours.”

You stayed in the same position for a few minutes, just taking comfort in his familiar heartbeat. When you pulled away, he wiped the tears from your face before walking you back through to the meeting room. Natasha was now joined by Rhodey and they were deep in discussion, frequently referencing to various sheets of paper that were strewn across the table. They looked up when you entered, Rhodey folding his arms across his chest.

“Welcome back,” you hadn’t met Rhodey before, only briefly encountered him at the airport battle, but you could tell you were going to get along with him pretty well. “You heard of Thanos?”

———————————————————————————————————

“What did you do?” Thor bellowed. The gauntlet was fried, burned into Thanos’ skin. The titan looked around, a smile growing across his face, before summoning a portal and falling through. You looked across at Bucky, who was standing from where he had been thrown. A sense of unease settled across Wakanda and glancing around, it was obvious that everyone felt the same. You launched yourself into the air, trying to see the battlefield, to see if the same dread could be felt across the nation. And that’s where you saw it. Soldiers floating away in the wind, nothing but ashes. Your heart dropped as your mouth opened, your breathing staggering. You crashed back into the forest, looking around at your fellow Avengers.

“Something’s not right, people are-are-” you stuttered, your heart racing faster than it ever had. Steve looked across at you, concerned.

“Steve,” Bucky’s voice came from behind you as you turned. A pile of dust was on the floor, where Bucky’s body would have fallen. Your breath hitched as tears pricked your eyes. Steve staggered over, his heart breaking in his chest. Kneeling down, he ran his fingers through the remains of his best friend, his face obvious with distress. He looked up between you and Thor, the three of you sharing a thought. What the hell is going on?

Something inside of you felt off. Your stomach lurched as you looked up at Steve, tears beginning to stream down your cheeks. He stood quickly, racing over to hold you in his arms.

“Steve, I-I don’t know-” you spluttered, tears staining his armor.

“It’s okay, it’s going to be okay,” Steve’s voice cracked, his facade of strength dissolving before your very eyes. Natasha burst through the trees, her breathing heavy and her face panicked. You had never seen her this way before, the unshakable assassin, shaken. You fell to the floor as your knees gave out, Steve going with you. He held you in his lap, his hands running through your hair.

“What’s going to happen?” your voice wavered as you looked up at your mentor, your face tacky with salty tears.

“I-I don’t know,” Steve could barely look at you, feeling sick to his stomach. “But it’s going to be okay, I’m gonna figure it out, okay?” He nodded, trying to convince himself most of all.

Your legs went numb and you tilted your head to look down, but Steve placed his hand under your chin, lifting your eyes back to his. Your breathing sped up, panic settling in your stomach as you felt like you were going to throw up.

“I love you, Dad.”

Steve fell forward as your body dissolved before him. A tear fell from his eyes onto the ashes on his arms. Natasha walked towards him, placing a hand on his shoulder as she chewed on her bottom lip, her anxieties getting the best of her. Steve looked at the floor, his body heating with despair and anger.

“This isn’t over. I will get them back, and I will kill Thanos.”

Your eyelids were heavy as light beamed through the thin layer of skin. Squinting, you lifted a hand to cover your face and sat up slowly. Steve was gone. Looking around you could see Bucky standing up, Sam on the floor and the tree guy next to a log. But no Steve, no Natasha, no Rhodey. You made eye contact with Bucky, and confusion was plastered across his face, as you were sure it was across yours.

“Where’s Steve?” you stuttered, your legs shaking beneath you. Stumbling over to Sam, you took his hand and he gave it a quick squeeze. “Where’s anyone?” “I don’t know,” Bucky spoke slowly, moving to join the pair of you as T’Challa and Wanda emerged from seperate parts of the forest. You lowered yourself to the ground slowly, your body exhausted from whatever had just happened. Sam rubbed his forehead, desperately trying to hold it together and figure out an answer to the thousands of questions running through his head.

Your breathing was speeding up, your heart pounding in your chest; it felt as though your ribs were about to explode from the pressure. Your worried eyes met Bucky’s and he knelt down beside you, taking your hand in his larger, calloused grip. He gave you a soft smile, exaggerating his breathing to encourage you to fall in sync with his. Due to his past, Bucky was no stranger to anxiety and thus he was the one you always went to when your body started to act against you. He was more than happy to help, seeing you like a little sister and wanting nothing more than to protect you from the big, bad world. Your lip quivered before you took it between your teeth, hard enough to draw blood. Your eyes darted between Bucky and Sam, but as you looked at them you saw them looking in an entirely different direction.

A man stood before a glowing, amber circle, his red cape floating behind him as he strided towards you.

“My name is Doctor Stephen Strange. I was with Tony Stark as we fought Thanos, and I’m assuming you lost as we did,” Stephen’s eyes danced across the group, trying to devise the leader.

Sam stepped forward, “Nah, this is our victory party. You don’t see the balloons?” Despite his jokes, his voice was dark, serious.

“It’s been 5 years since our defeat,” your eyebrows furrowed at Strange’s statement. “And the Avengers need us.”

———————————————————————————————————–

“Avengers, assemble.”

Roars broke out from all around you, an army running and fighting as one. Steve was at the forefront, his shield in one hand and Mjolnir in the other. You could see the grime and dried blood that coated his face from your position, despite being fairly far away. You sprinted forward, a cry escaping your lips in anticipation of the extreme battle that quickly approached. Holding your arms out before you, you launched yourself into the air and thrust your fist into an oncoming Leviathan. The punch reverberated through its entire being and it began to fall as a white horse came flying through the air, the Valkyrie atop it slicing the beast’s spine. You sent her a quick smile before turning to observe the ongoing battle. You bolted into a large group of Outriders, a shockwave exploding beneath your feet and sending creatures flying into the air, where they were quickly taken out by Tony and Pepper. You were moving at an incredible pace, legs and arms flying as you obliterated any Outriders that dared to threaten you.

“What do I do with this thing?” Clint’s voice was familiar over comms, and instantly you knew the object he was referring to. The gauntlet.

“Get it as far away from here as possible,” the sound of Steve’s voice made your heart skip a beat. A smile broke onto your face as you realised, this could be it. This could be the end of Thanos, the end of constantly looking over your shoulder for trouble. You could have a life after this. Your eyes roamed the battlefield, searching for a glimpse of the red glove. Amongst the hoards of creatures, you spotted Clint diving and dodging oncoming attacks and bulleted towards him, your feet leaving the ground and your body becoming streamlined.

“Hey kid, not really an ideal time,” Clint spoke, his breathing heavy as he dodged under a blade that flew towards him.

“Gimme that thing,” you nodded towards the gauntlet.

“Hell no, I’ve already fallen for that once today,” he continued to run, the glove tucked underneath his arm.

“Clint,” you looked at him, your eyes stern. “I can fly. They can’t get it up there.”

The man hesitated a moment, before holding the gauntlet out to you, “Touché.”

With the gauntlet secured in your grip, you bolted into the air, your hair flying out behind you. The roars of battle echoed from below, but your focus remained on getting the glove away from Thanos. A searing pain shot through your abdomen as you were thrown to the ground. Looking down, you saw the hilt of a knife sticking out of your side. You gasped, blood trickling down your side as you brought yourself to stand again, gripping the knife and pulling it out of you. Gritting your teeth, your eyes roaming for the perpetrator as you began to run. Your feet were heavy beneath you, swinging back and forth across the uneven battlefield. Shots rang out around you, but you didn’t flinch. Once again, you jumped into the air, throwing your head back to look at the ships above you.

Bullets flew past you, bolts of energy and weapons you couldn’t recognise skimming your armor. Leather could only hold off so much, and little cuts and digs were becoming bigger and more painful. You could feel your power draining as your body began to give out, failing under the increasing pressure of losing oxygen and blood. Your eyes struggled to remain open as the air became thinner and you felt your grip on the gauntlet loosening. In a panic, you scrambled to hug the glove to your chest and you began to fall. The ground was closing in as you squeezed your eyes shut to prepare for impact.

“Hi, I’ve got you!” a familiar voice rang out as you felt arms catching you. You forced your eyes open and saw the familiar mask of Spiderman. A breathy chuckle escaped your lips as Peter raised an eyebrow, a cheeky smile across his face. “I thought you said you could fly.”

You simply nudged him in response, trying to maintain any kind of energy that was left in your exhausted body. “You have spider-legs now?”

“Oh these things?” Peter glanced at his suit as you reached the ground, him letting you down gently. “That’s not even the best bit.” He reached out for the glove, and you gave it to him gladly. You smiled at him before he swung off, gauntlet in hand. You allowed yourself a few moments to catch your breath, glancing around at the battlefield and trying to find your teammates. You spotted Rhodey in the air, thrusters lit up as he attacked a Leviathan, with Sam on his tail, shots firing out at a rapid speed.

Blood rushed through your body as you gathered your strength to stand, muscled legs holding you up. A herd of Outriders watched you rise and sprinted towards you, teeth scratching and drool flying as they ran. You gritted your teeth as your rubbed your hands together, readying your familiar fighting stance. Your fists acted upon muscle memory, driving into chests and faces, legs flying and stomping on fallen creatures. Your armor became covered in Outrider gore, staining your skin with a deep blue tint. You fought until an entire group of monster corpses lay at your feet, your breathing was heavy and sweat droplets coated your forehead. With a quick swipe of your hand, your face was almost cleared of Outrider blood and your eyes focused once again as you looked towards the surrounding creatures.

“I am inevitable,” Thanos’ voice rang out over the battlefield and you spun to see the heavy gauntlet on his hand. Your breath caught in your throat as his fingers touched, the sharp snap cutting through the dense air. A confused look appeared across the titan’s face as he turned his hand, revealing the lack of infinity stones. You gasped as your eyes roamed to Tony, who was kneeling with the stones implanting on his suit.

“I. Am. Iron Man.”

A sharp, metallic tone shattered the air. Pain was instantly shown on Tony’s face as his body crumpled to the ground. The hoards of creatures that had begun to charge towards you stopped, all seeming to share a thought. These monsters that you had previously thought incapable of emotion were scared. A quick look around the battlefield showed that their entire race was reacting the same way. The area was almost silent, only heavy breathing could be heard over your comms.

Your feet began to move slowly beneath you, carrying your body towards the familiar presence of Wanda, who was stood near to you. Without turning to look at you, she took your hand in hers, her eyes still glued to the titan knelt in the centre of the fight. Around you, ships fell from the sky, exploding as they met the ground. Fire burst out in the perimeter of the battlefield, but you couldn’t tear your eyes away from the monster stood before you. His breathing slowed as his eyes dropped to the ground, his elbows resting on his knees. He remained there for a few seconds before looking up towards Tony, and dissolving away with the wind. Your breath hitched in your throat as he turned to ash. You tilted your head up to look at Wanda as a single tear rolled down her face. She dragged her eyes towards you and a relieved smile broke onto her face as she looked at you. You pulled her into a tight hug, sobs escaping both of you as you felt her arms around you.

You pulled away after a few moments, your tearstained face smiling up at her with a mix of relief and heartbreak. You couldn’t imagine the cacophony of emotions whirring through her body. Your heartbeat was steadily increasing as you looked around the battlefield, looking for one person. Steve. Your comms were alight with conversation and celebration, making it impossible to identify individual voices. And then, from across the battlefield, your eyes locked with his. A breathy sob escaped your lips as you began to sprint towards him, your injured legs stumbling as you crossed the uneven terrain.

His arms were around you within an instant, your face pressed into his chest. Tears spilled from both of you, neither in belief of what had actually happened. Steve pulled away to look at your face, and despite being in his old uniform, you could see the weathered effect the past 5 years had had on him. His eyes were swimming as he assessed your face, barely an hour older than when you had disappeared before him. Your mind raced with questions but you couldn’t bring yourself to speak.

“Hey kid,” Steve’s voice cracked as he looked down at you, his hands on your shoulders.

“Hey,” you stuttered, your voice shaking. “So, it’s not weird that I called you dad right?”

Steve laughed, shaking his head, “It would be an honor.”

He pulled you into him once again, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. You spent a few moments just relishing in the familiarity of your family. Wanda had approached the pair of you, alongside Bucky and Sam. Steve took Bucky into his arms, patting his back as he pressed his face into Bucky’s soft shoulder. Sam jokingly wrapped his arm around the pair, encasing them in a group hug. You smiled at the action, taking Wanda’s hand once again. Once the group of boys had separated, Steve gave Wanda a quick hug, smiling at his friend. You situated yourself between Steve and Bucky, an arm around each as you settled into the comfort of your family.

Peering around the group, you noticed an empty space, “Where’s Nat?”

Steve’s face dropped as he looked around the group, “She -uh, she didn’t make it.”

Your eyes clouded over as your eyes fell to the ground. The group shared a few minutes of silence, grieving for your fallen sister. You reached to take Steve’s hand in your own, giving it a squeeze and looking up at him through clouded eyes. “She knows we won, and we won for her.”

———————————————————————————————————–

Tony’s lakeside cabin was beautiful during the summer, the rays of sun beaming through the windows. You could have sat out by the lake for hours, not a single thought crossing your mind. It was peaceful, and you felt the most peace in knowing that Tony and Natasha were at peace as well. The funeral had been deeply emotional; you hadn’t known Tony too well yourself, but seeing the effect he had had on people’s lives proved to you how important your job was. You sat on the porch, watching Tony’s young daughter as she played by the lakeshore. An absent-minded smile danced across your face, the cool breeze tickling your face.

“Hey kid,” Steve approached you, his hands in his pockets as he sat next to you. You lifted your eyes to meet his, noticing the nerves he was trying to hide. Your eyebrows furrowed, but you shifted to give him some space.

“Hey,” your voice was soft. “How is everyone?”

Steve took a deep breath, surveying the horizon before you, “As good as they can be, I guess. Bruce is setting everything up, should be ready to go pretty soon. Best to just get it all fixed now.” You nodded up at him, leaning your head on his shoulder. He responded by wrapping his arm around your shoulder, hugging you into his side. “Can we talk?”

“What else were we doing?” you turned to face him, your entire body shifting as you crossed your legs beneath you.

“I mean, a serious talk.”

“Of course, what’s up?” nerves rumbled in your stomach as he looked down at you, his well known “serious face” on display.

“I think I’m going to stay there,” Steve’s eyes dropped to the floor, as though he was trying to look at anything other than you. Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Where? What are you-” you stopped yourself as realisation vibrated through your body. “As in-?”

Steve nodded, his eyes clouding with tears.

“With Peggy?” Your voice cracked as you felt your throat thicken. Tears threatened to spill, but you focused all of your efforts into staying strong, for him.

“I- I can’t stay here when I could be living the life I truly want.”

You ducked to meet Steve’s eyeline, drawing it back to you. Giving him a reassuring smile, you took a deep breath and composed yourself. “I understand, and I love you. No matter what.”

Steve pulled you towards him, tears falling from his eyes onto your hair. He pressed a kiss to the crown of your head then placed his cheek on top. He could feel your chest rising and falling unevenly as quiet sobs escaped your lips. Your face was pressed into his shirt, taking comfort in being able to hear his heartbeat.

“Say hi to Peggy for me,” you smiled, your lower lip quivering as a tear dropped onto your cheek. Steve pulled away from you, taking your face in his hands. He pressed a kiss to your cheek, his eyes alight with emotion as he looked down at you.

“Do you want to come out, stand with Sam and Buck?” You nodded in response, taking his hand gently in yours. “I’ve spoken to Bucky, but we’re not gonna tell Sam. I don’t think he would take it too well.”

“Judging by some of his previous reactions, I would say you’re correct,” you laughed slightly as the two of you left the lodge. The brief walk through the forest was a daze, you barely felt as though your feet were touching the floor. You tried your hardest to take in every moment, knowing it would be some of your last with Steve, but your uncertainty took hold of your consciousness.

You reached the clearing where Bucky and Sam were deep in conversation with Bruce. The pair turned as they heart your footsteps, Bucky giving you a knowing smile as his eyes met yours. Sam jogged over, throwing an arm around your shoulder.

“You okay, kid?” he looked down at you.

You wiped your face quickly, having forgotten about the tears. “Yeah, just allergies.”

“I keep telling you to go outside, instead of stuck in your room all day,” Sam’s eyebrows raised in an “I-told-you-so” manner.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” you shoved his chest jokingly, making a beeline towards Bruce. You watched as he pulled a small briefcase out from beneath the table. Steve stepped towards you, unclasping the buckles to ensure that all of the Infinity Stones were counted for.

“Remember, the exact second they were taken, then-”

“Then back, yep. Got it,” you were surprised at how Steve sounded, confident. He closed the case, taking it in one hand and Mjolnir in the other. It still shocked you to see the magnificent hammer in his grip. He climbed the stairs, not looking back at the group of friends behind him. You found yourself moving towards Bucky, wrapping your arm around his.

“Okay, and 3, 2, 1,” Bruce pressed a button on the machine and Steve was gone. You breath faltered and Bucky reached to take your hand, his eyes still fixated on the spot where his best friend had just stood. You remained silent, not wanting to bring Sam’s attention to you, not wanting to let him know anything that was happening.

“And back in 3, 2, 1.”

You turned your head into Bucky’s shoulder, trying to steady your breathing as you began to accept that he was gone.

“Where is he?!” Sam’s voice boomed through the bare clearing as he glared across at Bruce, who was panicking and rushing around his equipment.

Bucky nudged you with his shoulder, causing you to look up and across at the bench by the lake. A small silhouette was outlined in light, white hair sitting atop of a frail, old body.

“Sam,” Bucky’s voice pulled Sam out of his confusion as he turned, following Bucky’s gaze towards the old man. “You go ahead.”

Sam walked over slowly, his hands in his pockets as he looked out to the water. You watched the conversation, too far away to hear any of the words spoken. Bucky remained in silence, your hand still in his. He pulled his eyes from the scene before him and looked down at you, trying to gauge your feelings towards the situation. “You wanna go speak to him?”

You considered for a moment before shaking your head. “We said our goodbyes, I’m okay.” Bucky gave you a soft smile before turning his attention back towards his friends. You pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before spinning on your heels, your gaze fixed on the cabin through the woods. A tear fell to your cheek as you left, leaving behind the comfort of your father. Thoughts spun through your head as you walked, but you brushed them to the side.

The future is bright, so full of opportunity and possibility. And you have to take it. For Natasha, for Tony, for Steve.

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creativenicocorner · 5 years

Note

5, 10, 19?

Aaay! Thank you so much!! @dreamcrow

5. What’s a crackship you love?

As a crack ship gfdkgsd oh man, my heart is set on Blinky/Strickler on that one ahaha. I already adore whatever dynamics they have together on screen - or even when referencing one another!! And honestly I think they’d make great friends!! Heck they could bond on Roman pennies, and mechanical engineering (seeing as Blinky helped build Jim’s Vespa, and Strickler made a super accurate replica of Merlin’s amulet) and don’e get me started on the quick witted beautiful back and forth they’d have

Once tried writing a Good Omens AU with all this in mind, but never quite had the energy to finish it. Let’s face is the two of them have great Aziraphale / Crowley energy haha

10. Mutual pining or enemies to friends to lovers?

Oh man oh man, mutual pining. It leaves so much potential open!! Heck even the enemies to friends to lovers could happen within the umbrella of mutual pining (especially if one of the two isn’t ready to admit to their pining -wink- )

That and I’m just a sucker for two people being so equally into one another but just, not quite having the confidence to learn how the other feels. It’s so juicy and can be played oh so deliciously in so many fun ways!

19. What’s your favorite character head canon?

Weeeell there’s certainly one HC I’ve been hinting at for quite some time and have been meaning to make a proper post about - but here is what I’d like to call the Meat and Potatoes (super lean edition) of the Etruscan Strickler HC ヽ(o♡o)/

(please keep in mind I’m not a qualified historian, or anthropologist, or archeologist - but an avid lover of history )

So the Etruscans and the peoples of Etruria have been around for a loooong time, in fact there are some who believe the Etruscan language is one of the building blocks of many italic languages. And for a good amount of centuries they thrived!

Then Rome happened, which was perhaps inevitable seeing as they were on the same peninsula - and because of that the size of Etruria changed depending on which century map you’re looking at. And although at some point Etruria spanned from Umbria to just grazing into the region of Lazio - its biggest consistent chunk existed in what we know today as modern Tuscany.

Because of this I should perhaps make it clear that I believe Strickler came out through the fetch after 32BCE during the already decline of the Etruscan language (in which Etruria is already absorbed and occupied by the Roman Empire). In fact by then only a select few, unless they were Etruscan, knew the language Marcus Terentius Varro for example, the Roman Emperor Claudius (though he probably learned it from his first wife, Plautia Urgulanilla who is believed to be Etruscan).

Now I hear what you’re probably thinking: But his/ his familiar’s name is Waltolomew Strickler? That’s not very Latin sounding for a name.

And you’re absolutely right!

However, Etruscans (despite occupation and absorption into the Roman Empire - and more so before) were known to be seafaring, trade was very important from Egypt to what we know today as the Greek islands and to the northern coast. Import and export was important and (as well as fighting pirates, but that’s a very fun wiki rabbit hole to fall through another time haha), and with trade comes awesome exposure to other cultures and other peoples from that culture!

Case in point the vague similarities and non similarities between certain deities between the Roman Greek and Etruscan Pantheon! Of course each pantheon has its own variants and deities that don’t exist in another pantheon, as well as different takes on certain heroes i.e the Greek Heracles, and the Etruscan Hercle -which through a lot of found art, is perceived to be a very popular hero for a number of reasons.

I could also go into the account of Etruscan soothsayers being well praised even by Cicero - but that’s another rabbit hole for another time - as well as a reason I like to indulge in the fact that Strickler can come across as rather superstitious at times!

But I’m getting off topic XP TRADE we’re talking about trade, and it was important be it Egypt to the Balkans

And with that in mind it isn’t impossible for a Northern Germanic man to fall in love with an Etruscan woman.

1) women were treated far better in Etruria, as opposed to Rome and Athens. In fact Romans thought they were more promiscuous because of how freely and equally they were treated.

2) Germanic tribes treated their woman on a similar level of equality.

3) As a culture of partnership, heck we are still discovering more and more about the Etruscans but we can make educated guesses through their sarcophagus covers (the reclining lovers and so on). This celebration of life lived even in the face of death.

Very on brand Strickler imo, and if we from history can see how they treated marriage in death we can assume how marriage was treated in life. As loving and equal as possible. In short Strickler grew up with that respecting women juice (at least compared to Roman and Athenian standards)

So name wise, Waltolomew Strickler can come from the Norther Father’s name. Vel for short, as names beginning with ‘w’ aren’t very common in Latin, Etruscan, or Italian. In fact if you go to Italy today and introduce yourself as idk, William - there’s a good chance they’ll pronounce William as [Vee-lee-am].

However in Latin the use of ‘v’ often replaces the ‘w’ and ‘u’ sounds. u = v and a double u = vv (aaay get it?) And just like that a VValtolomevv is named haha

Enter the name Vel slowly over time becoming Walt over time. I could go on for paragraphs, but I know I explained the whole congnomen thing in Terpsichore, I’d have to re-check and I fear this is already getting…ah…crazy long so I’ll try and wrap it up ^^’’

Initially the real Waltolomew was supposed to be left in the woods to die at the mercy of nature because it didn’t look like the infant wouldn’t survive anyways, but when they went back to check in the woods to find who we know as Strickler the host family Strickler saw it nothing short than an auspicious miracle of the gods, or that their child managed to strike a deal with Vanth (a death god), there’s a lot of theories between the family members to try and explain how Walter’s survival is possible - but all the same Waltolomew is raised in a rather loving family!

There’s the quiet and slightly distant Northern Father (who is occasionally homesick) and mainly tends to the olive grove. The Mother that settles the finances. The Uncle that runs shipptrades and sells the family olive oil. And, of course, The Grandmother who is very proud of living Etruria thank you very much, openly mocking romans, quick with an opinion, morally gray, with a sparkle of mischief - and someone who pretty much elbowed her way into the very serious child Waltolomew’s heart in such a way the changeling wasn’t sure if she knew his secret or even cared!

Eventually Roman payments became too steep, the Northern Father racked up a bit of debt and was sent into the army…the Northern Father never returns presumed dead in action. The resentment of Romans grows even more in the Strickler household because of this.

Which is one of the reasons why later in life Stricklander chooses to occasionally pass as ‘British’ aka one of the peoples the Romans couldn’t occupy and conquer, as opposed to siding with a people who absorbed the population of his home peninsula that would later be known as Italy.

In fact I believe after being forced to work at Hadrian’s wall (which was a laughable failure, although as a Cesare Hadrian was well praised), and returning to find his host family home repossessed by Romans Walter would flee to Gaul (another location where Romans couldn’t conquer).

It wouldn’t be long until the Romans called on a 13 ½ year old Waltolomew to enter into the military just in time for the Hadrian’s Wall debacle. Where Waltolomew grows a respect for the peoples of the British isles for being able to hold off Rome for so long and so much. Afterwards he returns to the peninsula to find his home repossessed by Romans, his grandmother having passed, and his mother and uncle closer to the port and not doing so hot. This spurns Strickler’s dislike for Romans more, an incident occurs, and Waltolomew flees to Gaul (another area famous for being able to hold off the Romans), but this time to join the Gumm-Gumms

More on that another time cause ooo boy this is a long response XP I’m sorry this got so out of hand!!

I wanted to add my thoughts as to why and how I came to the conclusion of this HC but like I said this response is crazy long already so I’ll keep it short (for now) to: That classic ‘Roman Nose profile’ of his, the pale olive skin tone, the vague roman/greek helmet he has in his office, how his Italian VA did not do an English accent in the dub, and - uh, well, I like the idea of it haha

Oh! And here’s a picture of a supermarket outside of Sarteano named ‘Etrusco’ Look at that lil face! It probably doesn’t mean much, but it does spark joy haha

Thank you so much for your questions!! I deeply appreciate it!!♥(ˆ⌣ˆԅ)

#oooff this one got a bit long haha I hope it makes sense!!#Nico Responds #Tales of Arcadia #Walter Strickler #Stricklander #Blinky #Blinkous Galadrigal #fan fic ask

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thehomierobbstark · 5 years

Note

HC/ y/n is mad at Erik cause he did something dumb and he’s trying to make it up to her “kiss me like you mean it “

Shame [Prelude] // Communication [Part II] // In The Cut [Side Story]

A/N: So I have an inkling who might’ve asked this question *cough @wakanda-inspired cough* but I hope this turned out the way you were hoping anon!

I wanted to get something out for Valentines Day while I’m working on other stuff, and this isn’t part of it but don’t forget to check out the With Love, From Wakanda Fic Fest that @purple-apricots and @hoopshoney are hosting. @wawakanda-btch posted the first one I’ve seen so far and and I’m super excited about it.

Anyway, I know some peeps do celebrate Valentines Day and some don’t, but I just wanted to dedicate this fic out to all of yall. I know I write Erik in super cheesy n corny ways sometimes, but we all deserve to have people in our life who will take the time to learn us authentically. Romantic or otherwise. Hope yall like it!

This is for all my lil cute ass black gorditas out there rockin back fat, belly rolls and thick ass thighs that touch!! x Reader is always gon be black, chubby, and sassy.

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

You sigh, crossing your arms as you lazily trail out in front of the rest of the group, feet moving slowly as you put one foot in front of the other and attempt to walk in a straight line, if for no other purpose than for your own personal enjoyment. You were pretty through with the night, but you didn’t want to rush along anyone and risk dampening the fun mood, so you tried occupying yourself as best you could to keep from sending out the wrong vibrations.

You feel the presence come up next to you before it makes itself known, but you ignore it, choosing to feign ignorance instead of acknowledging it with your usual situational awareness.

The presence lingers for a moment, waiting for you to notice it, but when you don’t it inches a little closer, nudging its shoulder against yours with a light tap, the spot where it touches you feeling tingly.

“So, how’d you like the movie?” He asks you, and you glance up at him, seeing his eyes lit up and full of interest.

“It was ok.” You answer flatly, shrugging your shoulders, and those eyebrows of his hike up, not expecting your nonchalance.

“Oh.”

It was an honest answer. The movie was just OK. Even though it wasn’t just the movie you were expecting more out of tonight.

You divert your attention back down to your feet, indulging again in your own little game of ‘Walk the Plank’. The presence next to you grows quiet again, and you know he’s observing you, trying to figure out what’s going through that head of yours.

It doesn’t phase you, already knowing that whatever emotions you had you didn’t wear them on your face.

Luckily, you were hard to read like that.

This was the second time-

*Correction*, the third time that the both of you had hung out this week with your friends, and you were starting to get the feeling that maybe there was something happening between the two of you.

At least, that’s what you thought… up until tonight.

“Everything okay?”

You can hear the hint of worry hiding somewhere behind his words, and part of you wants to just drop it and chalk your mood up to being tired or something.

You nod your head, shrugging your shoulders again, eyes focused somewhere on the floor.

Don’t be petty. Don’t be petty. Don’t be petty.

You lift your head and look him in the eyes, smiling.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

He returns the smile, visibly relaxing now, diverting his own eyes to the floor now as he chews on his lip.

You quirk an eyebrow, watching him, and open up your mouth again.

“So where’s your friend at?”

Fuck.

The sound that comes out of his mouth is something between a choke and a snort, and he brings a fist up to his mouth to clear his throat before looking back your way.

The smile is still plastered on your face, but not an evil one, just…friendly. Weirdly friendly.

You can see his eyes squint a little as he quickly studies your face, trying to figure you out, but there’s nothing to see except what appears to be your innocent smile.

“You, you mean Clarissa?” His voice almost cracks at the end as he points a thumb back in the direction of your friend group, referring to it’s newest blonde member, but you don’t even bother to look.

You know who she is.

“Oh? Is that her name?” The charade you’re putting on sounds so real you almost believe it yourself for a second, and you have to drag your attention back to the conversation at hand to keep from verbally patting yourself on the back.

“Clarissa?” You repeat (for clarification, of course), and the name sounds harsh and abrasive in your mouth, but that doesn’t keep you from saying it with perfect pronunciation.

“Yeah, yeah no she’s back there chillin, I guess.” It’s his turn to shrug now, and he almost acts as if he didn’t spend the entire movie sitting right next to her. While you were all the way on the other side.

Out of the group, you and Erik were the only single people, and while you usually hated it when your friends’ boyfriends tried to set you up, you liked Erik.

He’d just happened to be back in town the same week his boy had made plans, so it wasn’t like he was there for you.He was just… there too.

But you’d clicked instantly.

The whole night you and Erik had been hanging together, picking right up where you’d left off from the other night.

Then Clarissa showed up.

Your voice keeps its same curious tone, and you press on. Not to make him uncomfortable or anything, but just to…understand better. After all, it’s not like the two of you were dating or anything, you were just friends.

Friends were allowed to be curious, right?

Maybe the feeling you thought you had between the two of you was wrong.

“Oh, OK.” You say, and silence falls between the two of you again for a moment as you reach the double door exit of the movie theater. He opens the right side, holding it for you, and you brush past his chest a little as you walk out.

You can feel the solid muscle resting underneath his sweatshirt and smell the scent of his body wash, and before you can let yourself get distracted by it you accidentally blurt out your next sentence more aggressively than you wanted to.

“Umm, you can go hang out with her if you want, you know. You don’t have to be up here with me.” You word vomit, and you squeeze your eyes shut, mentally face palming.

So much for trying to be subtle.

“What?” He walks out behind you, letting the doors shut, but you don’t stop walking, not wanting to have to look him in the face.

Your feet unwittingly stop in their tracks after a few steps and you blow out a sigh, your body betraying your urge to flee. “I mean…”

You scratch at the back of your head, gathering up all your courage to deal with the dumbass situation you’ve just put yourself in.

“…don’t feel obligated to be up here with me. If you wanna go be with her that’s okay-”

“Be with her? Who said I wanted to be with her?” He interrupts you, and you open your eyes to see he’s standing in front of you now, eyebrows scrunched in confusion and what looks like frustration.

Shit. You so didn’t mean for it to go this way.

“Nobody! I’m just, I’m just saying that if you wanted to you could-”

“Y/n.” He stops you again, but this time when you look up at him his face is oddly calm, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth barely hidden by his bottom lip tucked between his teeth.

You don’t say anything at first, but when he raises his eyebrows at you as if to repeat himself, a small ‘yeah’ escapes your lips.

“…Are you …jealous?” You can hear the teasing lilt in his voice, and your face deadpans, your feet working again as you stomp past him.

Jealous? You? Please. You’d sooner watch the original ‘Birth of a Nation’ than ever let anything that girl says or does intimidate you. You knew your self worth, and you’d rather die alone than let any man think you’d waste your time competing for his attention.

You can hear his boisterous laughter behind you, and you quicken your pace, but you don’t get very far before you feel his arm wrap around your waist and pull you back, feeling the deep rumbling emanating from his chest.

“Alright alright ma, damn, I was just joking. Where you think you going anyway? We all drove together.” He wraps his other arm around you to keep you in place, emphasizing his words.

“I got Lyft, I’m good.” You sniff back, and he kisses his teeth, dragging you both backwards until the back of his knees hit the edge of one of the patio tables, and he lifts the both of you onto it to sit, you on his lap.

You sit there stubbornly for a few moments, and when he realizes you’re not going to speak he rolls his eyes, breaking the silence.

“So you gon tell me wassup, or what? Why you acting like this, babygirl?” His voice is soft but stern, and you stir a little in his arms at the pet name.

“I’m not acting like anything,” you try and disagree, but your words sound distant and clouded in your ears, losing some of their bite.

He sighs patiently behind you, leaning forward to tighten his arms around you, resting his chin on your shoulder.

You can feel him looking at you, and you turn your head away, staring through a hole in the grated table to the ground.

“… I’m trying, okay? Just… give me a second.” Your voice is just above a whisper, but he still hears what you say.

“I know,” he presses a kiss into your shoulder through you sweater, and he lays his head there. “Take your time.”

You take a few beats to gather your thoughts, mulling them over in your mind a few times to make sure you’ll be able to say it right.

When you’re finally ready, you turn around a little to sit sideways in his lap, still facing away from him as you rest your head on his chest.

Taking a deep breath, you finally let it all out.

“Look…all I’m saying is if you’re interested in other people, that’s okay. It’s not like we’re together or anything, all we did was share one kiss. You’re free to do whatever you want and so am I, there’s no commitment here.”

A dry laugh that comes out as a sniff blows out through your nose, those shoulders of yours shrugging again as you try and crack a joke.

“It’s not like you live in California.”

Your last sentence hangs in the air for a bit, and when Erik doesn’t say anything, your heart starts skipping beats.

Shit, was he offended? You didn’t mean to offend him. All you were trying to do was be honest…and keep your heart safe.

“Erik?” You wait a second for his response, but when it doesn’t come you turn your head to look at him.

His eyes are downcast, and a small smile plays on his lips.

“Do you think I just go around kissing strangers, Y/N?”

The question catches you off guard, and when he lifts his head to look at you, you don’t know what to say.

“Do I seem like the type of person who would kiss random people just for the hell of it?”

Well, it didn’t seem like he was the type.

“…no.”

“Then why would I kiss you and go be interested in someone else? You are the person I’m interested in, Y/N. It’s you.”

You want to say something back to him, but when you open your mouth, an emotion you can’t place starts creeping up your throat, paralyzing you.

“Listen… that… ‘thing’ at the movies… trust me, ya boy not interested. I was trying to get back over to you but ol’ girl couldn’t take a hint. Figured I’d just be polite and let her sit next to me during the movie. It’s not like it’s her I’ll be calling anyway when I get back home tonight.”

He flashes that knee weakening smile at you, his golds peeking out, and you roll your eyes, pushing at his chest.

“So what you tryna say? You got hoes now?” You joke, and he fake groans in annoyance before grabbing you up in a gentle headlock, pressing kisses to your temple as you squeal and struggle.

“You so annoying, I swear,” he grumbles, and after you calm down he releases you and cups your chin in his fingers, angling your face towards his.

“Gimme kiss,” he mumbles, and you lean up a little, pressing your lips flat against his for a soft lazy smooch.

“Mmmm,” he moans against your lips .“Mm Mm.” He detaches from you.

“Nah,” his full lips poke out in a pout. “Kiss me like you mean it.”

Blushing, you smooth your hand against the back of his head and pull him into you, lips parting to accept his full, juicy ones between yours, both your tongues poking out to taste each other.

He sighs in contentment into your mouth, and his hands latch onto your soft waist as he takes over the kiss, letting his tongue roll against yours.

Leaning into him you wrap your arms around his neck, breaking the rough kiss to give him gentle teasing pecks that make him whine from the back of his throat.

“Fuck, you’re making me miss you already,” He whispers into your skin, nudging his face down into the crook of your neck and taking a huge inhale.

It sends sparks across your skin, and when he groans hungrily at your scent you can feel the vibration in your whole body, making you clench in different places.

You both get lost in euphoria until a loud voice from a ways away grabs your attention.

“Uhh… y’all ready to go?” You rise out of your blissed state as you pull away from Erik, looking around dazedly to find the source.

You spot Rashad, Erik’s friend, looking curiously at you two from his spot across the patio, and the rest of your group behind him snickering childishly, including Clarissa.

“Yeah bro we comin!” Erik yells back, all his attention still on you.

“Well meet you there,” he mutters, not really caring if his friend heard or not, and he buries his face into your neck, growling and fake munching on your skin as your laughter fills the air.

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

Warnings: CollegeBoi!Erik, Softboi!Erik, Fluff,

#TheHomieFics #erik killmonger x black!reader #erik killmonger x reader #erik killmonger #bp #black panther #black panther fanfiction #black panther fandom #headcanon ek #vulnerable ek

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jadekitty777 · 5 years

Note

I debated so hard on what words to pick for my request but! I think I've finally settled on "Trust" and "Dance"! Tbh I know you only sent me one word, though, so if you would rather just pick one or the other and go with that, that's totally fine! Whatever tickles your fancy, honestly. I'll be happy to read any Taiqrow you write askldfm

Me: Drabble? That’s like five thousand words, right?

I’m pretty sure getting me to write something concisely is moreimpossible than finding Atlantis. But I’m so super pleased with how this oneturned out. Also, I re-wrote the summary no less than six times.

Title: Won’t Say, Don’t Say (I’m Falling in Love)

Summary: A bitter loner and a hopeless romantic walk into a bar onenight… and you all know how this joke ends, don’t you? [Modern AU]

Rating: T

Pairings: Taiqrow and Raven/Summer

AO3 Link: Right Here!

The bumping sounds of bass spilled out the door of the danceclub as it was opened and then closed with the admittance of another patron,moving the rest of those waiting in line another blissful inch. Tai steppedforward, grateful they were almost to the front. He rocked on his heels toalleviate some of the ache in his knees, looking down when he felt Summer latchonto his arm. She had probably spent an hour in front of the mirror, each bitof her make-up so immaculately placed, with glitter accents around her eyesthat would sparkle under the colored lights once they hit the floor. She wasdefinitely dressed to impress tonight.

“Ooh, I can’t wait for you to meet them!”

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It was probably thefifth time he’s heard that since he’d agreed to join her. “Don’t get tooexcited Sums. I came along to have fun, not find a date.”

“Yeah, you say that, buuuut-” She trailed off, letting therest of the sentence hang.

“Hey, I’ve been getting better!” He argued, tucking his facein his collar.

“To get better, you need to actually date someoneTai. Not avoid dating entirely. That’s called ‘ignoring the problem.’.”

“I’m not ignoring it. I’m just… taking a break!”

“Uh-huh. Sure.”

Tai sighed. He knew there really wasn’t any use in arguing.He was pretty sure there was some unwritten universal law that if you knew aperson for more than fifteen years, it was impossible to lie to them. Or maybehe just couldn’t lie to the one girl that he introduced himself to by placing acrown of dandelions on her head while declaring her as his ‘forever flowerprincess’. She responded to such an honest declaration of love in the way anyeight-year-old should: By calling him a stupid dum-dum and throwing sand in hisface.

They’d been best friends ever since.

Of course, having such an honorary place in his life alsomeant that she got to watch from a front row seat whenever he got his heartbroken. Almost like a true movie-goer, the first few times she saw the storyplay out, her heart-strings tugged at his every struggle and pain. By the tenth time,she was yelling at the screen for him to stop making the same stupid decisionsbefore the first scene was even over. Eventually, those criticisms and hisaching chest got through to him, and he decided to just stop performingaltogether.

He had a suspicion that because the screen had stayed blackfor more than a year now, his biggest fan had grown bored with the lack ofentertainment. Why else would she try to turn herself into a director?

“I’m just saying, if you meet someone you like, you shouldgive it a chance.” She jabbed her elbow into his side. “I know you miss beingsomeone’s prince.”

He nudged her back, but her smile was too infectious not tocatch. “Oh, shut up.”

“You know you love me.” She said. A buzzing drew herattention and she pulled out her phone from her handbag. Tai’s assumptions thatit was her girlfriend was proven right when Summer announced, “Raven saidthey’re at the corner of the bar when we get inside.”

Just in time too, because they were next in line. Afterbeing carded and screened, they were allowed inside. It was like walking fromnight into day, the air turning from brisk and breezy to heavy and hot withinseconds of entering the club, the ground under his feet seeming to shake withevery beat of the rhythm blasting from the speakers. Tai had to blink awayspots as he adjusted to the flashing lights.

Summer stood on her tiptoes, scoping out the room. “Oh, Isee them!” She tugged him along as she weaved around the crowd and straighttowards a pair sitting at the quieter end of the bar. His eyes were drawn tothe female of the two, impressed by the wild, black hair cascading down herback. “Rae!”

And it was she who turned to that call, giving him his firstgood look at the mysterious girlfriend he’d been hearing about for weeks. Shewas as stunning as Summer had gushed over, her facial features a perfectcontrast of sharp in the nose and chin, yet delicate in the pale moonlit whiteof her skin and eyes red like gemstones. He may have even thought herdangerous, if not for the way her lips eased into a welcoming smile.

Summer unlatched herself from him, skirting the last fewfeet forward and right into her arms. And then she leaned up and – okay yeah,he didn’t need to watch his admittedly gorgeous friend kissing an equallygorgeous woman. It probably wasn’t good for his health.

Taiyang avoided it by focusing on the second half of the pair,whom was now leaning back against the counter. As he met dusky red eyes, heswore he heard his mind screech to a halt.

For if there was ever a person that perfectly defined bothstrikingly handsome and breathtakingly beautiful, that was Qrow Branwen. It washard to pinpoint exactly what made him so, other than to say all of him. From slicked back, coal-darkhair to the hint of stubble that accented an angled jawline or the too-tightdress shirt with the top two buttons undone, revealing just enough to tease, tothe long legs that couldn’t teasetheir flexibility, every bit of him seemed to just be another something to appreciate.He was like a puzzle; the pieces alone didn’t seem like much, but when puttogether the correct way it became a work of art.

Qrow shot him an easygoing smile, tilting his half-fullglass as a greeting wave. “Hey, you must be Tai.”

Dear gods, and a voice that sounded like it was constantlywrecked by sex. That was just notfair.

He swallowed hard against his suddenly dry throat. “Yeah.And you’re Qrow. Hey.” He tacked on lamely. What a night to lose his charisma.

Thankfully, he wasn’t left to flounder long as Raven spokeup, “And I’m Raven. Charmed, really.” Her arms made a loose circle aroundSummer’s waist, tugging her close. “So, now that we’re all acquainted: Drinksor dance floor?”

Knowing there was no way in hell he was getting on the floorwithout being at least semi-drunk, Tai quickly offered, “I vote drinks” just asSummer said, “I want to dance!”

Qrow gestured to his own glass as a sign of his own opinion.

Raven shrugged, slipping off her bar stool. “Guess we’resplitting up then.” She pulled off the leather jacket, tossing it over herbrother’s head. “Be a good coat rack and hold that for me.”

He yanked it off, saying irritably, “Three songs and thenwe’re switching.”

“We’ll see.”

As they bickered, Summer turned to him, the glitter aroundher face only accenting her puppy-dog gaze as she held her girly handbag towardshim. “Please?”

Tai rolled his eyes, hooking his fingers around the strap.“Go have fun.”

“You’re the best!” She beamed, before following after Raven,walking so close they practically melded at the hip.

In the wake of their departure, the appointed coat racktipped his head towards the now empty bar stool, in which the appointed pursehook gratefully took.

Qrow swung himself around, flagging down the bartender as heasked him, “So, what’s your taste?”

It took Tai a moment to realize he meant for alcohol. “Oh,uh, Four Roses, if they have it.”

A whistle. “A bourbon man, huh? Didn’t take ya for thetype.”

“Didn’t used to be. I tried it on a dare. Just ended upliking it.”

“Wonder who that was.” The way he said that implied Qrowknew exactly who had been the instigator. He lent towards him. “Hey, can I dareyou to try another?”

Tai met his gaze, not sure what to make of the almostmischievous grin gracing those pretty features. “Uh, like?”

“What’ll ya have boys?”

Qrow winked at him, before turning to the bartender. “I’lltake another double of scotch, on the rocks. My friend here’ll have some OldCrow, nice and neat.”

Tai could immediately catch the bourbon’s scent the momentit was placed in front of him. It smelled almost sweet, more like a fancymartini, than the bitter, burning whiskey he was imagining. Entirely aware ofthe eyes watching his every movement, he lifted his glass and took the first,brave sip.

And, it was…

Huh.

He lowered the glass, mildly confused. Why did it taste likelightly buttered toast?

Beside him, Qrow had dissolved into laughter, restrained butlively. “It’s weird, right?”

“Not really what I was expecting.” He took another sip,adjusting to the flavor. He’d had better, but for a bottom shelf drink, it wasn’tbad. It had that tame, moderate sort of kick he’d grown to enjoy. “It’s fineenough to drink.”

That mischievous smile was back. “Oh good. Because you’ll bedrinking a lot of crow tonight.”

Tai choked on air. “E-Excuseme?!”

Qrow pounded at the counter, howling with laughter. “Youshould see your face! Man, that was one of my best lines!”

He sighed, setting his glass down with a decisive thud. Evenat only twenty-five, he was too old for this game. “Alright, are you flirtingwith me or messing with me?”

He held his forefinger and thumb a millimeter apart, “Lil’bit of both,” before reaching out for his drink.

Tai watched him drown it, asking, “Why?”

A second thud as another glass hit the counter, ice cubescackling together. “Did you know every time I walked into the room, you justconveniently became the hot topic of conversation?” Qrow finally looked to him,raising an eyebrow. “Summer’s not exactly subtle.”

“Oh Gods.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, wishing theground would just open up underneath him and portal him straight to Hell. “I’msorry. She means well. She’s just got it in her head that I’m lonely.”

“Bet it came with a bunch of ‘You’re not getting anyyounger’ and ‘Love is worth the risk’ speeches, right?”

He groaned. “Yep. Guess the pain’s mutual, huh?”

“Eh.” He shrugged. “Honestly, it was more a change of pace.No one has ever felt they needed to play Cupid for me. I mean, of course not.When you look this good, the romance comes to you.” He gestured grandly tohimself, and had Tai not been practically drooling at his feet not ten minutesago, he might have called him out on his ego. Qrow spared him another wink. “Tobe frank, you don’t look like you need it either.”

Oh. Tai felt hisface flame up, rubbing the back of his neck. “Thanks.”

His smile went from coy to relaxed. “To also be frank, I’mnot looking for a commitment and from your response, I don’t think you reallyare either. I am however hoping to have a good time tonightand if I can do that with a sexy guy, all the more reason. So, what say we getdrunk off our asses, make fools of ourselves on the dance floor and call it anight?”

It was amazing just how much that simple suggestion easedthe tension out of him. He grinned back at him. “I say let’s do it.”

“Alright, then. Cheers!”

The clink of their glasses sealed the promise, and as Taichugged his drink, he figured the night might just be looking up after all.

It was probably their fourth round on the dance floor and itwas practically sweltering. He could feel sweat clinging to him, head spinningwith a wonderful dizziness. Qrow was a better sight; his hair had fallen into amess at some point, bangs plastered attractively along his forehead, and he’dundone a few more buttons of his shirt, revealing a bit more of those nicelydefined pecs. Watching him move to the beat, Tai couldn’t figure out if thefloor was so hot because of how many people were around him, or if it wassimply because Qrow was on it.

Wait, that was a good one!

He caught his fingers into his dance partner’s belt loops,yanking him in close. He had to lean into his ear, just so he could hear him. “Hey,got something to tell ya!”

“Yeah?” Qrow slurred back, slinging his arms up around hisneck. The sudden closeness had broken their rhythm, just leaving them to swaytogether.

Tai searched his brain, trying to remember. What was itexactly? Oh, Right! “You’re pretty.” Henestled himself into his shoulder, hiding his goofy grin against the other’sneck. Fingers ran through his hair, petting him in soothing motions that made hiseyes flutter shut.

So nice.

Qrow was nice.

He liked him.

He wanted to dance with him forever.

“Hey. Listen.” Qrow’s lips touched against his ear, creatinghappy tingles that rushed down his spine. “This song’s for us.”

Tai did his best to focus as commanded, a few of the lyrics driftingaround them becoming startlingly clear.

“What are the chancesthat we’d end up dancing?

Like two in a million,like once in a life.”

The music lifted away, the words becoming inaudible. He liftedhis head, trying to follow their retreat, but his head was heavier then heremembered, and he had to rest it again – this time with his forehead layingagainst Qrow’s own. The magic of them staring into one another’s eyes broughtthe song back.

“Is it love? Is itfate?

Where it leads, whocan say?

Maybe you and I weremeant to be.”

Qrow laced his fingers around the back of Tai’s neck,tilting just enough that their lips brushed together. A second later, he triedagain, kissing him with more earnest.

Whoa, too fast! Toofast! His brain jittered in alarm.

The sweep of a tongue along his lips halted the warningsaltogether.

…Ah, screw it.

Tai tangled his own hands into Qrow’s hair, opening hismouth to him. Their tongues took the place of their feet, dancing together tothe music of their souls. Every breath between them harmonized, every nerve ontheir bodies sang, every beat of their hearts rose up, up, up to the crescendowithout ever needing to fall.

He really wanted to dance with him forever.

It wasn’t meant to be. Qrow broke back first with a gasp,stumbling into him despite the fact they were not moving. “Got to sit. You’regiving me a fever.”

“’Kay.” Tai obliged, tugging him along by his waist as theybumbled about the crowd. It could have been seconds or minutes before they sawthe line of the bar again.

His partner continued to cling to him, head lolling againsthis arm. “Like you. You’re built like a tree.”

The words tumbled out without thought, “Perfect for you toperch on.”

Qrow laughed loudly. He reached out to pat his shoulder,missed, and hit his collarbone instead. “Sunshine, you are so getting mynumber.”

Number of what? Taipondered as the night faded to a blur.

He woke up at home, headache pounding behind his eyes andmuscles aching from the night.

On his phone was a single text from an unknown sender, apossibility in the words:

Call me soon, Sunshine.

As Qrow added creamer to the two cups of coffee, the soundof songbirds made him look back towards the kitchen table. His phone had lit upwith a new notification, but that wasn’t his ringtone. He glanced at theobvious culprit. “Did you really?” He asked.

“Whatever do you mean, dear brother?” Raven said, lookingjust a little too smug not to be guilty.

He shook his head, trying to hide his own amusement. Hedidn’t understand how she kept figuring out his password. At least it was tamerthen the death metal she had chosen last time. He stored the creamer back intothe fridge, and as he set her cup down in front of her, said, “You know, if youever decide to use your powers for evil, you’ll be a force to be reckonedwith.”

“I’m shocked and appalled that you don’t already consider meas such.”

“Pff, whatever.” He plopped down beside her, taking a drinkof his own coffee as he reached for his phone, absently wondering if it wouldbe a joke or just a peppy hello today. Qrow didn’t usually like the clingyones, but somehow, it was hard to be annoyed with Tai about it. It was likegetting mad at a puppy.

So used to their routine that had built over the past twomonths, he was caught off guard by his disappointment when he realized it wasKimi instead.

Hey babe ;) Lookingfor a good time tonight?

He hesitated.

For a moment.

And then typed back a reply. Your place or mine?

He dropped the device back to the table, trying to drown theunexpected twisting in his stomach with half a mugful of coffee. Nothing couldsoothe the burn of Raven’s eyes on him though. “What?” He asked tersely.

“Oh, nothing.” She replied, taking a sip from her ownflower-patterned cup. He thought that would be it. “Summer told me somethinginteresting about your new boytoy.”

He really should have known better by now not to hope forthings. “Yeah? What about him?”

“He’s apparently a hopeless romantic.” She gestured betweenthem, the sudden singing birds from his phone accentuating the motion as shemimed a rainbow. “Disney-Level hopeless.”

“So? Tai knows I’m not in it for the long game.”

“Does he now?” Before he could react, Raven’s hand struckout like a viper, snatching up his phone. “Then I guess you won’t mind if I tellhim you’ll be busy hooking-up with someone else tonight.”

“What-” Qrow lurched after it, trying to wrestle it from hergrasp, spewing obscenities all the while, “Fucking – god damn – Raven cut itthe hell out!”

He got a grip on her arm, but as he made a grab for hisphone, she caught his wrist, twisting it back. As he ceded in pain, Raven spokesharply over his whimpers, “If you’re this scared about it, then why do it atall?”

He spit back in her face, “Don’t act like some fucking saintRae. You used to be worse than me.” Another hiss escaped between his teeth whenher nails dug into his skin, but it would take more than that for him to backdown. “I’m not dumb. You don’t care about me. You’re only acting like thisbecause you know if I break his heart, it could mess things up with you andSummer.”

“Well.” Her grip finally relented. “You’re half-right atleast.”

He took the opportunity to yank his phone from her. Wantingnothing more than to get as far away from her as possible, he wrenched himselffrom his seat, intent on sealing himself away in his room for a few hours.

He didn’t even get to the living room before there was ascrap of another chair being shoved back. “Qrow?” She called after him. Thetemptation to ignore her was strong, and he would have, had she not added, “Youwere half-wrong too. I do care about you.”

Qrow stopped, frowning down at the water stains that warpedthe wood floor of their cheap apartment, before finally looking back at her. Itwas odd, seeing Raven look so kind, so soft. When had she changed so much? Ormaybe he was the one who hadn’t changed enough.

“I get it you know.” She stepped towards him. “What ourparents did, it hurt me too.”

He crossed his arms, avoiding her gaze. “At least you didn’tget thrown out twice.”

Raven would sometimes still joke about how, with the waythey grew up, they could have been the poster children for television’s nextbig family drama series. Their parents argued about everything, sometimes gettingso heated they’d scream at the top of their lungs. Once, cops even showed up attheir house, having been called out by a concerned neighbor. He remembered thatnight with more clarity then he liked. What had spurred that argument had beenone about Raven.

It hadn’t been anything major – she had bit another kid atschool and got sent to the principal, who then informed their parents of theincident. Pretty typical stuff, and other than some detention, she wasn’treally in trouble. But at eight, he couldn’t understand that. He thought thepolice were there to take his sister away. They had both been so terrifiedabout losing the one person that made their home bearable, they had jumped outthe window and climbed up the oak tree in the backyard. The deputy only foundthem because they thought cawing like the birds they were named after wouldthrow him off from their hiding spot.

That night was only a precursor to what would come when, atten, their parents finally divorced and split them as if they were just anotherasset, a bunch of knickknacks to be bargained for. Not their own children. Children who begged and cried tobe allowed to stay together. Children who knew being separated would hurt in away they couldn’t bear.

They might as well never have said a word for all thenothing it changed.

Four years they spent apart, until their father decided hewas done with that title and signed away his custody rights, kicking his ownson to the curb like unwanted trash. It should have been a relief, walking backthrough the front door of his childhood home. But it was already too late. Thedamage was done. To him and Raven, they had been taught the meaning of love wasa nightmare and they wanted no part in it.

For Qrow, that meant he spent his time throwing himself intomeaningless flings and short-term relationships that eventually dead-ended.When things started to get too serious, he bolted or self-sabotaged his wayout. Because if his parents had only ever taught him how to fail, how could heever do any better?

The brush of Raven’s hand on his arm brushed away thememories. He fully turned to face her, seeing his reflection in her, but it wascracking in spots. No longer a perfect mirror. No longer the same.

“Look, I’m glad that this commitment thing is working outfor you. Proud of you, even, that you’re getting past it.” Qrow sighed. “But Ican’t. I told myself I was never going to let anyone make me feel rejected likethat again. So, I won’t.”

She shook her head. “You’re hiding behind excuses, Qrow, andyou know it.”

Chirping made them both looked down. A new message hadpopped up above Kimi’s invitation.

G’morning babe! Do you have the night off? Maybe we couldcatch a movie?

Qrow could almost laugh at how simple it would be. How hecould just lie and jump into bed with someone else. To start calling off plans,avoid messages and calls, until Tai got tired of it and walked away from arelationship that would never go anywhere. How easy it was to break someoneelse’s heart and never risk his own.

As if she could see the dilemma running through his head,Raven reached out, blocking out the screen with her hand. “Listen, I’m notgoing to stand here and tell you that if you give it a chance, it’ll all justwork out in the end. When things fall apart, it hurts. But I will tell you for all the bad that could happen, thegood that does is what makes it worth it.” She looked away, lips quirking up ina gentle smile. “You haven’t let yourself fall in love, so you don’t know, butwhen it’s real, you’ll want to fight for it with everything you have.”

Wait. She couldn’t actually mean-?

The realization hit him like a train. When had things gottenthat serious? “You’re… falling in love with Summer, aren’t you?”

That soft look was back. The immovable stone wall he used tosee his sister as was crumbling, the dust of the destruction blowing away inthe happy laugh that escaped her. “I, yeah. I am. I’m not sure where things aregoing to go for us from here, but I am sure I want to see it through with her.And I know how hard it was for me to get this far. Giving her that much ofmyself, it’s scary. I can’t ask you to do the same.” She gave his arm a solidpat. “But if I can’t ask that, then I am going to be selfish and ask you tobreak it off with Tai honestly. For me.”

He shut his eyes, heaving a sigh against the weight that hadsettled on his chest. “Okay.”

“Thank you.”

As she walked back into the kitchen, Qrow called after herthis time, “Hey, Rae?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s really that good?”

She peered at him over her shoulder, a knowing gleam in hereye. “Let me put it this way: Love and Nirvana work the same way. To find it,first you need to take a leap of faith.”

Those words stuck with him, repeating in his mind as he saton his bed, thumb hovering between the two messages.

“A leap, huh?” He whispered to himself.

He swiped across the screen and typed a reply:

Sorry, can’t tonight. Maybe another time?

Now if only he could be brave enough to jump.

Qrow walked down the sidewalk, hands stuffed in his pocketsto hide from the evening wind’s late-night chill. As he approached the frontdoor, the streetlamps combating the overhead lights from the building split hisshadow in two, one forever reaching the direction he could have gone as theother stretched before him.

He followed its guide, pulling open the door and walkinginto the warmth of the cinema. Above the noise of popping popcorn and the vibranttunes of arcade games, he heard a faint call of his name.

“Qrow!” Tai waved as he strode towards him, grinningbrightly.

He was smiling before he even realized he was, meeting Taihalfway. “Hey Sunshine.” He said, wrapping him up in an embrace and kissing himchastely. “Got the tickets?”

“Yep. We’ve still got some time to get snacks too.”

Never one to pass up an opportunity to gorge himself onsodium and cholesterol, they got some popcorn and soda before heading in to thetheater. They bantered over where the best place to sit was – all argumentssuspiciously stopping when Qrow mentioned if they sat in the back, they couldjust make-out if the movie ended up being terrible. They got settled in, mostlyignoring the pre-commercials in favor of each other, Tai telling him about theracer he was getting to build at the machine shop while Qrow made him laugh ashe recounted his run-in at the gun range with a rather stiff-lipped upperclassman whose prosthetic arm just fell off while shooting.

“And so, he turns to me, right? And says ‘Little help’? AndI was so taken aback by what had happened, I didn’t know what to do! So, Isaid: ‘Buddy, there are a lot of hands I can give you. That ain’t one of them.’And then I just walked away like a total jackass!”

Tai held his stomach, saying between his hearty guffaws,“Nooo, you didn’t! That’s terrible!”

“I know.” Qrow ran a hand over his face, embarrassmentmaking his cheeks redden. “It was the worst.”

“Nah, what’s the worst is that you missed the opportunity tomake the best joke of all,” He was grinning hard enough to clear a manure field.“‘Well, that’s one way to disarmyourself.’”

“No! That’sawful!” He cried, throwing popcorn in the blond’s face as they dissolved intolaughter. Qrow was still struggling to get ahold of himself when he felt thesolidity of a strong arm coming around his shoulders, Tai dropping anaffectionate kiss against his temple. That arm stayed there long after thelights had dimmed and the real previews got going. He snuggled back into thecomforting hold, trading off mini-reviews with Tai as each trailer ran throughuntil the last one finally came to an end and the room became completely dark.

As the movie logo started to scroll across the screen, Tailent over, murmuring, “Hey. I’m really glad you’re here.”

Qrow froze, warning sirens going off in his head. Get out! Get out now!

The brush of warm fingers along his cheek silenced themcompletely.

His heart took the chance to skip closer to the edge. Stay, stay, stay, it beat.

Qrow caught Tai’s hand with his own, pressing his lips to hisknuckles. He then turned to him, staring into eyes so deep blue he could easilyfall forever in them, and whispered back in earnest, “Glad you’re here too.”

Tai closed the distance between them. As they kissed, Qrowfound he still wasn’t quite ready to leap the rest of the way.

But he was closer then he’d ever been before.

And maybe, whether it be tomorrow or next year, he wouldn’t justleap.

He’d soar.

#taiyang xiao long #qrow branwen #Taiqrow #raven branwen #rosebird #Summer Rose #rwby #fanfiction #Chase Firekitten's Tale

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favouriteentertainer-blog · 5 years

Text

Chapter 3 - I’m Bein Straight Up

“I know fake love”

Chapter 1 Chapter 2

“You definitely did not wake up on time,” Hailee laughed as I strolled into the living room.

“I’m sorry,” I groaned as I tapped my phone to double check the time—it was noon and like I’d anticipated, I’d slept for 10 hours.

“All good.” She perked up, “should we go get some coffee?” She was eyeing me strangely, a small smile plastered on her face.

“Stop.” I rolled my eyes, “I don’t need you to play Cupid.” Friends meddling in love lives never worked out, it always made both parties involved feel uncomfortable. Not to mention that I was certainly not looking for a love life with Zayn.

“Oh cmon,” she huffed, “I’m not trying to play Cupid! You always go for a coffee when you wake up, what’s stopping you now?”

“Shut up,” I took a big gulp from my water bottle. I was always so parched when I woke up, it was ridiculous. “No coffee.”

“Yes coffee.” She pulled me up from the couch, “brush your teeth and get dressed.”

“Wow.” I stared at her vacantly, “you’re really something else today.” I looked down at my tattered football jersey, I wished I could stay in it all day. “But whatever,” I turned away to walk back to my room.

“I just want my coffee.” She shrugged as she walked with me, that stupidly suspicious smile hinting on her face.

—

“Okay.” I covered my mouth with my scarf, “it’s fucking freezing.” Was my nose about to fall off? It sure as hell felt like it.

“Quit your whining,” Hailee snapped. “I’m cold too.”

“Okay, well it’s not my fault Lily is taking 500 years to arrive.” I scanned the area hoping to see her little red face pop up.

Someone was limping down the path and I smiled knowingly “bloody, finally.” Hailee rubbed her hands together and I cheered internally.

“Took you long enough!” I shouted when she was close enough.

“Sorry ladies,” she smiled as she approached, “you know me and my bad knee.”

“Can’t invite you anywhere Lil,” Hailee joked.

“Shut up Amalfi.” Lily jabbed her in the ribs and I rolled my eyes.

“Can we please just go inside, I’m about to become a human ice lolly.”

“You’d be the tastiest looking ice lolly I’ve ever seen,” Lily complimented as I pushed open the cafe door.

“Thanks Lil,” I laughed as I took off my gloves—the heating inside was a relief, I felt human again.

“Okay, Lily, Kali has a crush on the waiter.” Hailee spoke in a hushed tone as she shimmied off her coat.

“What? Which waiter does she have a crush on?” Lily spoke loudly enough that Zayn perked up and smiled from behind the counter.

“Oh my god.” I groaned in pain, “shut up, both of you—oh my god, he’s heard.” I was dying inside and trying not to look over at the same time.

“Oh no,” Lily slapped her palm to her forehead, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.” She was genuine, I knew she was—Lily would never intentionally say or do anything to hurt anyone. She was so pure and so lovely, I couldn’t even be annoyed.

“That’s okay Lil, I’m sure he didn’t hear.” I wasn’t sure, but I was going to tell myself that anyway. “I’m gonna go up and order, shall I get yours as well?” I was biting the bullet, I really wanted my coffee as much as I was denying it.

“Yes please.” They both said in unison.

“Be right back.” I mustered up every bit of courage I had and walked confidently towards the register. “Hey,” I said casually as I rifled through my purse for my card.

“Hey,” Zayn smirked, “so do you really have a crush on one of the waiters?”

My head shot up immediately, “what?!” I tried to pretend like I didn’t know what he was talking about.

“Let me guess,” he held his index finger to his chin and scanned the room quizzically. “It’s Lauren isn’t it?”

“Fuck off.” I said in a huff, every other waiter, or rather waitress in the place—besides him—was a woman. “No I don’t have a crush on anyone, I just broke up with my boyfriend and my friends are trying to be funny.”

“I think they’re hilarious.” He was smiling at my table, where both the idiots were trying and failing to look without making it obvious. He gave them a little wave and they both snapped their heads away. “You can tell me if you like me ya know.”

“Zayn,” I rolled my eyes, “I don’t like you, can I just order my coffees now?” Trying to lie to him was so hard—i just knew he could see right through me and i fucking hated it.

“Sure thing babe, what you after?” I knew him calling me babe was just a reflex but it still made me feel stupidly giddy.

“Three medium caps please.” I spoke bluntly as I handed him my card— I was trying to hold in the emotions that were ready to bubble out of me. If I had the ability to go red I would’ve been as vibrant as a tomato—to make matters worse, our fingertips brushed and I honestly felt like my life was flashing before my eyes.

He stared at me strangely as if he were going to say something, but seemingly decided against it. “Should be ready soon,” he handed my card back to me and I nodded in response.

“What was that?!” Hailee whispered aggressively as soon as I got back to the table.

“What was what?” I asked, I was truly hot and bothered.

“That was such a strange interaction,” she seemed confused by the whole thing. I didn’t blame her, it would’ve been extremely hard to watch as a third party.

“I really couldn’t analyse anything, but you know how bad I am with stuff like this,” Lily also gave me her two cents worth.

“It is what it is.” I shrugged, “we are very weird around each other.” It was the truth, I didn’t think Zayn and I had quite gotten used to each other. The barista called out my name, I didn’t want to have to get up and go over to the counter so I made Lily go get the coffees.

—

“Do you think—“

“Oh—“ Lily interrupted me “the hot waiter is coming this way.”

“What?!” I almost choked on my coffee, not wanting to turn around to make myself obvious.

“Hello ladies.” Zayn said suavely as he pulled up a chair at our table. “What’s wrong with your leg?” He raised an eyebrow at Lily’s brace.

“Fell off a horse.” She shrugged as if it were a very normal thing. Her family owned a farm, so when she had time she was always over there.

“Ouch, doesn’t sound fun.” He shuddered as if he could feel her pain.

“It’s not, I have to sit at home all day and—“

“What do you want Zayn?” I said exhaustedly—cutting Lily off before she could go on a tangent.

“Just wanted to meet your friends.” He smiled sheepishly. He was doing it because he knew it would annoy me.

“Okay,” I wasn’t even surprised, this was so on brand for him. He always did the weirdest shit at the weirdest of times. “This is Hailee,” I nodded over at her and she responded with a little hello, “and this is our resident cripple Lily.”

“Don’t you think cripple is a little harsh?” He let out a small laugh.

“She gave herself that name, Hailee perked up. So—“ she took a sip of her coffee, “how did you two become friends?” She was digging in.

“I watched her break up with her boyfriend.” He turned to me, a sly smile plastered on his face.

“You finally broke up with that loser?” Lily’s mouth hung open.

“Lily I told you in the group chat.” In her defence it was a one liner message that had probably gotten lost amongst Hailee and I talking.

“You know I don’t check it when there’s more than 30 messages.” She defended herself and Zayn snorted.

“That is true,” I nodded knowingly. I turned back to Zayn, “shouldn’t you be working?” I questioned him. I wished he’d get lost so I wouldn’t have to deal with the discomfort of everyone prying into my personal life.

“So did all of you hate her boyfriend?” Zayn completely ignored me and looked between the two girls.

“Yes.” They said simultaneously. I really hadn’t realised that they’d all hated Dan so much. Clearly I hadn’t been listening to their opinions—or they just hadn’t been giving them.

“He was bland, really bland.” Hailee shook her head in disappointment, “he really dulled her light you know?” She stroked my hair lovingly.

“Okay, can we not,” I groaned as I gently pushed her hand away, “and you.” I turned back to Zayn, “I asked you a question.”

“It’s 2pm Kali, some of us start work at 6am. I’m done for the day.” He leaned back in his chair, revealing the waistband of his boxers—I didn’t want to look but I definitely did, my eyes travelled up his snail trail—I wondered what the rest of his chest would look like for a split second, before I shook myself out of it.

“Then go home and sleep.” I berated him, he didn’t have to make me feel bad. I worked too.

“I can’t,” he sighed, “I’ve gotta start moving my stuff into my cousins place.”

“You’re moving in with your cousin?” Lily asked, “where does he live?” She wasn’t looking at him as she spoke, she was too busy fiddling with a packet of sugar.

“Yeah,” he shrugged, “till I find a place, it’s real temporary for now. There’s an apartment complex maybe 1k north from here” he ran his fingers through his hair and I had to mentally stop myself from clenching my jaw.

“Our part of town, maybe we’ll see you round more than we do now.” Hailee nudged me under the table and I shot her a look that said to stop. I did not need her adding fuel to the fire.

“Yeah maybe,” he smiled softly, “anyway it was nice to meet you both. I don’t know how you put up with grumpy over here but I commend you for it.”

I flipped him the bird and he reached out to ruffle my hair. “Ugh.” I let out a groan of disgust as I tried to set it all back into place—I couldn’t understand why everyone was just touching my hair. “Get out.” I showed him away, part of me was relieved he was leaving, but the other part wished he would stay.

When I took the elevator to AJ’s level I was surprised to see his apartment door was already open. I didn’t think anything of it and just headed on in, sometimes his flatmates left it open so they could take the bins down.

I was so ready to unload all my feelings into him—I knew he wouldn’t care, but it needed to be done. I had so much to say and he loved hearing about men, especially really beautiful ones.

I could hear the soft sound of music coming from inside his room as I knocked on his door. I wondered if he was in one of his moods, because I could hear Jhene Aiko and he never listened to her.

When the door flung open I was ready to launch into a tirade. “Oiiiii I’ve had the—oh my fucking god.” My stomach dropped, “you are not AJ.” I stated the obvious as my eyes met with a shirtless Zayn. All that wondering I’d been doing about his chest in the cafe had very quickly been answered. His skin was littered with tattoos, they seemed to make no sense, but something told me he’d been using his body as a diary and I heavily vibed with it. He had three shirts balanced on his arm and I assumed had been unpacking. The cogs in my head finally decided to turn—AJ was his cousin, and he was the cousin AJ had warned me about.

“Are you following me?” He asked, not bothering to step aside so that I could at least enter the damn room.

I rolled my eyes at his audacity. “Am I following you?! This is MY apartment building!” I was irrationally annoyed—mainly because he’d now invaded my safe space. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t pieced it together when he’d mentioned it at the café—I’d been too busy thinking about his perfect face.

“AJ is in the shower.” He looked past me and nodded towards the bathroom door.

“Well I’m not gonna join him in there, so let me into the damn room.” I pushed past him and flung myself onto AJ’s bed. He took a seat on the office chair and stared at me for a few seconds.

“This is really weird huh?” He asked as he put his feet up beside me. I pushed them away—I hated feet.

“You’re just popping up everywhere,” I groaned into one of the pillows. “I have seen you more than I’ve seen your damn cousin this week and he’s one of my best friends.” I didn’t know what sort of sick game the universe was playing with me but I was not enjoying it. There was no escaping him, everywhere I turned, he was there.

“You need to calm down, I’m not going to eat you—“

“Eat her?” AJ strolled into the room in his towel. “You’ve only known her for two seconds Zayn.”

“You haven’t told your best friend about me?!” Zayn pretended to gasp.

I finally lifted my head from the pillow. “There’s nothing to tell, why would I tell him about a waiter I’d just met.”

“I thought we were friends?” He stared at me quizzically.

I realised that my statement might have hurt him and quickly tried to recover. “We are, but AJ does not care about that.” I looked to AJ for some support.

“I’m so confused, but also I don’t care. It’s good that you know each other—But you can both leave the room so I can get changed, thanks.” He used his eyes to signal down at the bright yellow towel that was covering his waist.

I let out another exasperated groan and trudged towards the door.

“Out,” he urged Zayn who reluctantly followed.

“I’ve seen your willy before,” Zayn reminded him.

“Don’t get me started.” AJ warned him before shutting the door.

The two of us made our way into the lounge. He made it a point to sit next to me on the couch, despite there being one with more space right next to me.

“Why are you so weird around me?” He questioned.

“I don’t know,” the question struck me, but for once I answered truthfully. “I really don’t know.” I wanted so badly to be okay around him, but for the most part I was a mess.

“At least you’re being honest.” He made sure to point that fact out. “You lie to me half the time.”

“I lie to myself half the time.” I had no idea where our conversation was going, but words were just falling out of my mouth.

“You’re so strange,” he reminded me for the millionth time.

“So you keep saying,” I sighed. My phone buzzed from inside my jacket pocket and I rushed to pull it out to save myself from the awkward encounter.

A message from Hailee popped up asking if I wanted to watch a movie. I quickly replied saying I’d be up soon—I couldn’t tell AJ what I wanted to and he was probably on his way out anyway.

“Do you wanna come up to my flat an watch a movie?” I proposed the idea to Zayn. I decided that I was going to do my best to try and be a good friend—regardless of the fact that I couldn’t stop thinking about him.

A real smile found it’s way onto his face, “yeah sure.”

“Let me ask your cousin if he wants to join.” I pushed myself off the couch and banged on AJ’s door.

“What?” He groaned.

“Do you wanna come up and watch a movie?!” I pressed my face to his door as I spoke so he could hear me clearly.

“Nah, gonna go meet a boy.” I wasn’t surprised by his answer, I’d felt it in my bones that he was going out.

“Okay, I’m stealing your cousin, promise to return him.” I turned back to Zayn and waved for him to get up and come with me. I headed towards the apartment door before turning on my heels. “Wait,” I stared at him for a second, “you should probably put a shirt on.”

—

“Kali doesn’t like scary movies,” Hailee smirked as Zayn took a seat next to me on the couch. He had no other option, she was sprawled out along the three-seater and there was no room for him to sit. I knew for a fact she was doing it on purpose. She had been pleasantly surprised when I’d brought him up to the apartment with me—and even more surprised when she’d found out he was our best friend’s cousin. She hadn’t had time to speak to me privately, but I knew I’d be hearing about it once he was gone.

“With good reason,” I shuddered as she loaded up the conjuring. “Would you mind turning off the lights Z?” He’d gotten up to get a glass of water and I was too busy making myself comfortable with my blanket. I was fully clothed in a set of flannel pyjamas, but movies called for extra warmth—especially horror movies.

“Sure,” he, backtracked a few steps and flicked the switch before continuing on his path back to the couch. “What’s the reason?” He asked curiously, the glare of the TV casting a beautifully ominous light against his skin as he got closer.

“For what?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Not liking scary movies? Do you believe in ghosts?” He plopped himself back onto the couch and took it upon himself to steal half my blanket. He was lucky it was large enough for four people.

“100% I believe in ghosts, and I’m really fucking terrified of the dark.” I hated to admit it, it felt childish, but it wasn’t irrational. We had no idea what went on in the dark, it was far too mysterious for my liking, just like the ocean.

“I’m afraid of clowns,” he leaned over and whispered it in my ear so that only I could hear.

“I won’t lie, I also am—“ I didn’t bother to move away despite his closeness, I was uncomfortable but I was trying not to be weird—we were sharing a moment and I needed to allow that to happen.

“Are we ready for me to press play?” Hailee turned around—the two of us moved apart like lightening, but I knew in my heart there was no way she didn’t see how close we were.

“Yeah go on,” Zayn urged her, picking up his glass to take an awkward sip.

She turned away, but I could see her smiling to herself from the angle I was sitting. She normally hated people getting irrationally close during movie time—she preferred everyone focused, but something told me she was extremely happy with our proximity.

—

I could feel my heart beating in my chest as the movie ran its course. I always tried my best to be vigilant when watching horror films, because there was no escaping them, especially when my friends loved them—but I knew for a fact that I wasn’t going to be able to sleep. I wished I could reach over and grab Zayn’s hand, I almost did—but he was loving it and I couldn’t interrupt. Instead, I kept them balled into fists and hid them under the blanket.

His knee brushed against mine just as a loud bang scared the shit out of me—I had to hold back a scream and managed to whither it down into a startled gasp. Zayn turned to me for a second, but then quickly turned away. I wondered if he was laughing at me on the inside, I sighed internally—I was such a loser.

I felt him move slightly and without warning he slid his hand into mine and squeezed—my poor heart began to speed up, if I didn’t know better I would’ve said that I was at risk of going into cardiac arrest. However, I held my ground, I didn’t even flinch, instead I continued to hold on for dear life—because friends could hold hands too.

We sat like that for a solid hour, our hands just entwined, not a word spoken. It was comfortable and dare I say it felt right. The movie finally ended, much to my relief and when Hailee got up to switch the light on we finally broke free from each other.

“You good?” He smiled lazily as he stretched out his back.

“Yeah,” I nodded wearily, “I don’t know why I allow myself to sit through those—on one hand I’m kinda excited, and on the other I’m absolutely shitting bricks.” I pulled the collar of my shirt up to my mouth and brought my knees to my chest, I needed to reflect about what I’d just seen on the screen.

He laughed lightly, “Yeah,” he leaned into me, “you gave my hand a workout.” He was speaking quietly enough so that Hailee, who’d scurried off into the kitchen couldn’t hear.

“Would you both like a cup of tea?” She shouted over the tap.

“Yes please—“ I never said no to a tea and I damn well needed one after the terrifying experience.

“Zayn?” She popped her head around the wall.

“I’m good thank you, I’m gonna have to get back downstairs.” He moved off of me as he pulled his phone from his pocket. “Let me see where my stupid—“ he scanned over a text and flung his head back in agony. “Here—“ he passed me the phone.

“What am I supposed to—“

“Read the message,” he prompted me.

“Not coming home tonight. Stay with Kali.” I rolled my eyes in frustration as I read the message from my stupid other half. I checked the time—if it wasn’t 1am I would’ve suggested he go down there and bang on the door till someone let him in, but it was just inappropriate at 1:45am.

“Do you mind if I crash on your couch?” He asked as I handed him back the phone.

“You can’t—“ Hailee answered for me as she set my mug down in front of me. “Our flatmate and her two friends from Italy will be home soon and they’ve got dibs on both the couches.” They were out clubbing on a Tuesday night, international students just did not know when to stop.

“Fuck—“ he muttered under his breath, “I knew I should’ve stolen his spare key.” He held his head in his hands as he contemplated what to do.

“It’s fine,” I patted him on the back, “I’ve got a blow-up mattress, but you’re gonna have to use those biceps of yours to pump it up.” I squeezed on his practically non-existent bicep. There was no way we were using the automatic pump at 1am.

“Yeah no dramas,” he turned to Hailee with an exasperated look on his face, “I don’t suppose I could get that tea?”

#favourite enteritainer #Zayn Malik #zayn malik fanfiction #zayn fanfic #zayn malik fanfic #Zayn #Zayn fic #one direction fanfiction #one direction

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imagine-lcorp · 7 years

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A Bodyguard's Job (One Shot)

Request

Anon: I loovvveee your writings so I was wondering if you could do a one shot where the reader is Lena's bodyguard and they get attacked one day on their way into L-Corp and maybe the reader gets hurt or something? Thanks love!

A/N: Hi, again! A lil reminder here, I’m gonna be trying to post imagines regularly on the blog wednesdays and saturdays. So, if I don’t publish this imediately don’t worry, I’m working on them and will be posted as soon as I can :)

As always, thank you so much for your kind messages and the requests. It’s really fun to write for you beautiful people :) Kudos to the anon that sent this one and I hope you like it! :D

Lena Luthor x Bodyguard!R//Word Count: 1,571

If there was another way to describe your job, you could call yourself a paranoid for hire. It was an essential trait to develop if someone wanted to prosper in the bodyguard business. You had to know your client, their background, their connections, the environment around them, who did they trust, and their contacts. You needed to be prepared for everything. No matter how harmless or hostile the attack, no matter how out of place or noteworthy a person was.

When someone hired you, you had to ensure their safety even if it meant putting yourself on the line of fire. But, of course, that also had to come in the contract. It was different for each client. There were low risk clients, that usually needed an escort service, and the high risk clients, the ones that needed full protection, twenty four hours a day. Like your latest employer, billionaire CEO of L-Corp and owner of CatCo Worldwide Media, Lena Luthor. You cannot say it was a surprise when she contacted your company's services. After several attempts on her life, that you had been aware of, the only surprise was that she had taken so long to get a bodyguard.

Nothing out of the normal had happened since you started working for her but you were sure this was one of the most demanding works you had ever done. Not that you complained about it. Payment was great, better than any other, and Ms. Luthor was a great person to work with. She didn't deserve a hint of the bad publicity she received. There was just a lot to take in account with her having a few powerful people after her.

It had been almost two weeks since you started to work for her and, lucky for you, she had already caught up with the whole dynamic. The constant changes in routine didn't seem to bother her. She even asked for advice and talked to you about security protocols. You hoped today went as smooth as any other day and if it didn't, you were prepared.

"Good morning, Miss Luthor." You opened the front door of the building for her. You were about to leave to L-Corp.

"Good morning, (Y/N), nice jacket." She eyed you up and down, seeing as you had opted for a business casual outfit today.

"Thank you, ma'am." You followed alongside her towards the car. Your eyes always scanning your surroundings.

"Good morning, Raphael." She said to her driver once she got in the back seat of the car.

"Good morning, Miss Luthor." He said with a smile.

Raphael knew the new routes from which you would be arriving at L-Cop. And you had trained him on the basics of vigilance and surveillance on the road. You had wanted to bring one of your partners but Miss Luthor had been adamant about keeping Raphael. He was a man you could trust. You soon discovered that, indeed, he was a man equipped for the task.

"Ms. Luthor, Jess sent today's itinerary. You have two meetings and three appointments with some investors." You had memorized these people's names and faces. All were clear. "And I'll be talking to your security director to change the schedules of this week's guards."

"Thank you, (Y/N). Anything else?" She asked. You remembered her secretary had sent you a text this morning.

"Jess mentioned your friend, Miss Danvers, will be dropping by your office for lunch." You told her, looking with attention at the streets.

"Do you think we could have lunch outside? I'll need a break from the office if I have to see these guys today." She sounded a bit tired. That made you feel a bit sorry. You also knew it wasn't easy to deal with pushy business men.

"Sure, miss. Any place in particular?" Your tone sympathetic.

"I'll ask Jess to make us a reservation in the Chinese restaurant in Linden Street."

"Alright, it all will be ready for then, Miss Luthor."

"Thank you." You saw her smile at you from the in the rearview mirror.

The rest of the way was spent on relative peace. Raphael kept driving and you kept watching until you reached the building. You parked near the entrance and took a moment to check with the bodyguards inside of the building if everything was in order. After two weeks, Miss Luthor was used to wait and move until security gave you clearance. No matter if you were outside or inside her buildings she always followed your indications. Once the team gave you the sign, you got out of the car to walk alongside her, as you usually did.

"All clear." You opened the back door and offered your other hand.

"Thank you." She rested her hand on yours, enough to step out of the car and enough for you to recognize the softness of her hand.

"You're welcome." A soft smile escaping you.

You never understood how it was possible for someone to want to harm someone like Lena Luthor. Even before you had met her, you were sure she was like any other young woman trying to make a name for herself. Her last name was a heavy name, not much people liked it, but there wasn't justifiable reason to attack her when you had seen her, in just a handful of days, try her best to help the people in National City. Whoever tried something like that was truly a mad man.

You were a few steps away from the double doors of L-Corp's lobby. Another bodyguard was near the glass doors to receive Miss Luthor and walk her to her office. After that, you would head to the department of security to revise schedules. It had been a calm morning and you were ready to make sure it stayed that way. But then, as if attracted by your thoughts, you heard a scream like a battle cry.

"Luthor!" Shouted a man behind you.

"Gun!" The bodyguard by the door came running towards you and Miss Luthor.

"Out of the way!" You reacted immediately.

You turned around, grabbing your gun from your holster, and shielding Miss Luthor with your body. You pointed at the man and saw him pointing back at you, or rather, at Lena. Neither of you thought twice before shooting nor, while he managed to shoot you in the abdomen, you managed to hit him in the right leg. A second later, the man was on the floor, with the extra help of Raphael who had managed to tackle him after he screamed from the wound. You had fallen backwards and hit one of the glass doors, the pain in your abdomen making it difficult to move. The security guards that were inside the lobby came rushing after, helping Raphael first, as you had signaled, and checking on you.

You were less than pleased with the situation. First, because it was too early and you hadn't had breakfast. Second, because the police and the paramedics had taken a bit longer to arrive at the scene. And, third, because your were hurting a lot. The bulletproof vest you were wearing, as it was mandatory, had absorbed most of the bullet's impact. And, for what you had noticed, the man's gun was lower caliber. But the pain was real and the paramedics had taken you to an ambulance to check it.

When the police arrived, they immediately put the man in custody and they were taking him in an ambulance. You were more concerned about Miss Luthor but you guessed security and the police were still with her. After a moment, the police informed you they had taken Miss Luthor's declaration and, after they took yours, they were leaving with the suspect. When the paramedics finished attending your wound, you decided to wait a bit longer inside the ambulance and called another of your guards. It was necessary to investigate the man and revise again the security protocols.

"Make sure to put this on Miss Luthor's files for future reference, and check any other connections he could have. Ok?" The guard nodded and headed to back to the building.

"I can't believe you're still working." You heard Miss Luthor's amused voice.

"A bodyguard's job never ends." You looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Unless you want to cancel our contract."

"No, I..." She laughed. "I am and feel safer having you around."

"Glad to hear it." You smiled, after all, it was part of a job well done.

"How bad is it?" She looked at your stomach.

"Oh, just a really big nasty looking bruise." You didn't think before pulling your top up to show her the bruise. You had to take your jacket, shirt and vest for them to look at the injury. "The paramedics said it should fade in a week but I should take a few days just to make sure it's nothing."

"Well then." She left her eyes wander a bit longer. When she realized she hadn't responded she cleared her throat and looked back at your face. "Also, now that you took a bullet for me, don't you think we should be on a first-name basis?"

You laughed and looked down for a second. You definitely couldn't complain with this job. "As you wish, Lena." You said.

"Get better, (Y/N)." You saw a playful smile forming on her lips as she started to walk away. "Sooner."

#lena luthor #lena luthor imagine #lena x reader #lena luthor x reader #lena luthor fic #bodyguard reader #bodyguard #a bodyguard's job #one shot #request

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atmickeywhite · 3 years

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2020 Favorite Albums

Hi friends, So each year, I put together a list of 50 or so of my favorite albums on Twitter. This year, I’m shifting that to tumblr and using words, etc.. And fortunately, I took a long enough break from playing Wu-Tang in Brittany’s car to listen to new music. So a bit on music -- staying current on new music, making playlists, sharing with friends and learning the history has always had its way of cementing my memories. It’s been a great way to recall dreary bus rides and summer walks around Portage Park, the loneliness of working nights and the utter joy is was to become adults with Desirae. 2020 cranked the existential shit to 11. In January, I had moved after a brutal 14-month situation in my last apartment. In February, my childhood friend’s little sister passed away. In March, the lockdowns happened. In April, I got fired. In May, I decided to move out of state. I spent a third of June traipsing around Chattanooga before finally moving there in mid-July. August was filled with impossibly long bike rides in the Georgia rain and summer heat. September was the heart of a frustrating job search and extensive dental work. COVID came roaring back in October. My anxiety caught up to me really hard in November and December hasn’t had the greatest start, either. That’s not to speak on what the homies went through this year, and it was a lot. But we keep it pushing. The point is that life is constantly kicking our ass and these are fifty albums that helped me get some reprieve from all of that, whether is was listening or sharing or just going back and forth with Tyler about what’s new and relevant. To that end, this year saw the cementing of Griselda is a legacy street rap act, the rise of HAUS of ALTR as a preeminent techno label and surprise turns from artists that exist in a staid major-label milieu (Dua Lipa, Lil’ Uzi Vert). Stalwarts like Sada Baby, Shinichi Atobe, Angel Marcloid and Actress stayed on repeat. Jazz, metal and folk weirdos rear their head from time to time. Acts peaked and self-destructed. I left the individual writing of the albums to people get paid to be better than me at this stuff. History, context and a feel for what the albums sound like is more useful than me painting a picture of what riding your bike around Lookout Mountain with no breaks is like. If you check any of these out and like what you hear, I highly encourage you to buy (directly from the artist’s Bandcamp page, if applicable). And remember, taste is built in cars, not in large public places. 25 Honorable Mentions: Anunaku - Stargate Anz - Loos In Twos (NRG) Arbor Labor Union - New Petal Instants Conway The Machine - From a King to a God Drive-By Truckers - The New OK Duval Timothy - Help Eartheater - Phoenix: Flames Are Dew Upon My Skin Eiko Ishibashi - Impulse of the Ribbon Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters Four Tet - Sixteen Oceans Gabriel Garzon-Montano - Aguita GB - 186.22 Ian William Craig - Red Sun Through Smoke Jerry Paper - Abracadabra Kali Uchis - Sin Miedo Lucinda Williams - Good Souls, Better Angels Machinedrum - A View of You Margo Price - That’s How Rumors Get Started Mary Lattimore - Silver Ladders MJ Guider - Sour Cherry Bell Park Hye-Jin - How can I Quelle Chris / Chris Keys - Innocent Country 2 Ringo Deathstarr - Ringo Deathstarr Soul Glo - Songs To Yeet At The Sun Trees Speak - Shadow Forms

50 - A Pregnant Light - You Cannot Pour From An Empty Vessel "These songs were written and recorded in 2017, and in a haze of... well, just imagine the bad sort of things that cause a haze over one's life. These songs were lost. In the process of cleaning out some tapes and recording sessions, these songs were found and completed in 2020. It's a bridge between where APL was three years ago, and now. It was so strange to hear these forgotten songs and go in and finish them. It was like collaborating with a person I used to know. It was an odd experience, but turned out fruitful." - A Pregnant Light Bandcamp Page 49 - Rian Treanor - File Under UK Metaplasm "We hardly need any convincing on the quality of Rian Treanor's productions as he's been completely unfuckwithable from day one, but "File Under UK Metaplasm" is still next damn level.Rian bashed out the initial demos on returning from a trip to Uganda in 2018 for Nyege Nyege Festival. Inspired by the producers he'd collaborated with in Kampala, he switched up his workflow and began jamming out ideas at higher tempos, harnessing the energy of singeli music without simply carbon copying the style. Initial sketches were eventually fleshed into proper tracks and tested on audiences (and on soundsystems) around the world where Rian could assess the power of each element.It was worth the hard work, the result is a fiery set of tunes that sound like everything at once and nothing at all. Opener 'Hypnic Jerks' is ragged kick-bubbling 200-bpm club on secondment to Tanzania; 'Vacuum Angle' is wobbly DMT-step that sounds like an attempt to use aging educational computer software to power the Stargate; 'Mirror Instant' is shuffling bassline house kicked up to 45rpm; 'Opponent Process' is EP7-era Autechre with the fun switch turned on; 'Debouncing' is double-speed grime that glides into parts unknown. By the time the album reaches a close on 'Orders From The Pausing', a melancholic gabber tune with an almost inverted, whisper-soft kick (?), Rian suddenly introduces reverb to the mix, just because he can.Peerless, unfathomably inventive electronic music from the North of England, via East Africa - fucking essential." - Boomkat Product Review 48 - Sex Swing - Type II “Fuck,” I thought when I first heard it. “This really, really rocks.” - Adam Lehrer, The Quietus

47 - Yves Tumor - Heaven to a Tortured Mind

"In that way, Heaven to a Tortured Mind is the most straightforward record in Tumor’s catalog. It’s an album with commercial, or at least mass, appeal in mind. And it seems to confirm something Tumor hinted at in a 2016 interview about their musical aspirations: “I only want to make hits. What else would I want to make?” The product of this ambition is a gratifying and intense record, one whose pleasures are viscerally immediate. Above all, it’s loads of fun to watch Tumor don the guise of a devilish rockstar. It’s not exactly a new archetype in our cultural imagination, but the ravishing delight Tumor brings to this character is what makes their music so affecting. Yves is a performer whose roles, played with the utmost rigor, always find a way to linger in the memory." - Kevin Lozano, Pitchfork

46 - DJ Taye - PYROT3K

"Pop music moves fast: new instructional-dance songs, new Drake songs, and new instructional-dance songs by Drake can bombard the zeitgeist one week and all but evaporate the next. Footwork, the lightning-fast Chicago-born house subgenre, is well suited to capture that frenetic pace. Young footwork master and Teklife member DJ Taye instinctively understands how to combine footwork’s adrenaline rush with the pop’s euphoric glee to build tracks with a distinctive energy. Last month he self-released Pyrot3k, the third entry in the Pyrotek mixtape series he launched in October. On the latest volume—also available in a deluxe version called Pyrot3k (SS)—he focuses on blissful melodies and antsy samples. On “Gang,” for example, he loops a snippet of JackBoys’ “Gang Gang” into a hypnotic koan at a speed that makes the original sound like it’s stuck in the mud. Several of Taye’s friends, including Teklife members DJ Earl and Heavee, join in on the fun, and I’m especially partial to his collaboration with Night Slugs label owner James Connolly, aka L-Vis 1990. On “Parade Float,” the two producers whimsically intertwine Morse code beeps and battering-ram gabber-style kick drum to manifest a cartoonish energy that seems to gather itself and balloon outward during the song’s tiny silences. - Leor Galil, Chicago Reader

45 - Hudson Mohawke - Poom Gems

"At the moment, nothing can stop Hudson Mohawke. After a hiatus from his solo work, the Scottish producer started his summer by releasing his first single under his HudMo title since 2016, “BENT” with JIMMY EDGAR. Since then, he’s only upped the ante, with his inexhaustible activity culminating in his first solo LP in four years, Big Booty Hiking Exhibition. Now, HudMo is back with his second album in a month’s time.

Poom Gems can be thought of as a companion album to Big Booty Hiking Exhibition, as both comprised previously unreleased tracks that Mohawke has been sitting on. Like Big Booty Hiking Exhibition, Poom Gems ranges from some of HudMo’s most off-the-wall beats yet to his classic, unreplicable, and bombastic sound, though as a whole, Poom Gems is more accessible than it’s predecessor. After almost no announcement before Poom Gems‘ release, only one question remains: how much more is to come amid Mohawke’s return?" - Mitchell Rose, Dancing Astronaut

44 - Shinichi Atobe - Yes

"The stately, melodic techno and deep house made by Shinichi Atobe—a resident of Saitama City, just north of Tokyo—puts me in mind of his country's devotion to orderly calm. One of two non-European artists to appear on Basic Channel's legendary Chain Reaction imprint, Atobe took 13 years off before the archival Butterfly Effect album arrived via DDS in 2014. His re-emergence into the dance music world has been one of the decade's most welcome surprises.

Yes is his fifth album for DDS. Demdike Stare states their communication with Atobe is limited to a CD that arrives in the post every so often, "no words except for the track titles." The first circulated photo of Atobe was included with the Yes CD-R, perhaps to quell rumors Shinichi Atobe is an alias of another Chain Reaction artist. He's never granted an interview.

He doesn't need to. Each Atobe album feels like the latest installment in a serial novel, a body of work mysterious in its ability to mix calm rhythms and atmospheres with achingly beautiful melodies. As usual, Yes will sate the small group of obsessives that smash the pre-order on each new Atobe album. He's nearly always in top form. The title track's hopeful mix of synth and house-y piano stand up to Atobe's other melodic classics "Heat 1" and "The Butterfly Effect." "Lake 3" contains Atobe's most boisterous synth theme to date, the '90s Carl Craig-esque figure mixing with Atobe's signature sad piano and, in a novel twist, hand drums.

The progression in Atobe's work is incremental. Beyond the title-track, Yes mostly does away with the classy, tech house-style snap prevalent on 2018's Heat. For an artist that emerged as a model of consistency, Atobe takes a surprising amount of left turns. The closing cut "Ocean 1" is Atobe's placid take on a synth-funk jam. The opener "Ocean 7" is beatless, with hectic arpeggios. In the background of that track, there's a peaceful drone that runs throughout. A similar tone runs in the background on the entirety of "Lake 3." These touches imbue Atobe's sonic world with its own concept of gaman, enveloping the listener in an eerie sense of calm." - Matt McDermott, Resident Advisor

43 - Various Artists - HOA 012

"Did you think we were done?

The story is not over, but only beginning. HOA012, We come together as a unit, to continue our story. A story that needs to be told. For those of you just joining us, welcome. For those of you returning, welcome back. Now fully on the path, we march toward a future of unabashed black electronic expression." - HAUS of ALTR bandcamp page

42 - Garcia Peoples - Nightcap At Wits' End

"New Jersey-based avant-jam band Garcia Peoples were a little slow to take shape, but after the release of their excitable 2018 album Cosmic Cash, they switched into overdrive. Constant live performances, residencies, concert documents, and prolifically recorded studio albums tracked a creative development that morphed from record to record. The group took cues from the open-ended improvisation of classic jam band acts like Phish and the Grateful Dead, but also incorporated dual-guitar wizardry on par with Television or, in their more Southern-fried moments, the Allmann Brothers. For their 2019 album One Step Behind, the band expanded to a six-piece lineup and added avant-jazz touches to the equation as they stretched out over the course of a half-hour-long title track. With Nightcap at Wits' End, Garcia Peoples shift gears yet again, with a set of neatly composed and relatively concise tunes that distill their wandering impulses into easily digestible forms. This can take the form of rowdy prog-lite tunes like album opener "Gliding Through" or the shadowy but mystical folk-rock of "Altered Place." In this more composed rock mode, the band recalls the shadowy mystique of early Bay Area psychedelic giants like Jefferson Airplane as much as they do obscure acts like Anonymous and Relatively Clean Rivers. After a lively start, the album shifts into mellower territory with the drifty "Fire of the Now." "Painting a Vision That Carries" is made up of delicate vocal harmonies and a dynamic structure that goes from controlled acoustic segments to blasting verses and back. As this song burns on into a vamping jam, the band's Dead-like tendencies come to the surface with noodling guitar leads and dazzling group interplay. The second half of Nightcap at Wits' End becomes a string of woozy and meandering pieces that blur into one another in clouds of hazy jamming. Themes resurface as the band shuffles through meditative riffing on "Crown of Thought," Krautrock-y interludes, and the blissfully droning Popol Vuh-esque "A Reckoning." Garcia Peoples' excellent psychedelia manages to recall moments from past masters while still offering a chemistry and composition unique to the band. Nightcap at Wits' End is the most complete articulation of their wide-reaching creative range, and stands as the their most focused and engaging work to date." - Fred Thomas, AllMusic

41 - Nonlocal Forecast - Holographic Universe(s)?

"Angel Marcloid's recordings as Nonlocal Forecast focus the trajectory of a vast catalog squarely in the realm of retro Weather Channel-inspired smooth jazz fusion, intricate prog, and expansive new age experiments. Trading off a measure of the typically overloaded compositional style found in other projects to favor lush atmospheres and relatively pared down arrangements, Marcloid populates Nonlocal Forecast pieces with progressive keyboard and synth harmonies, complex drum programming, and majestic leads performed on guitar, keyboards, and guests' saxophones. The project runs alongside the omni-combinatory works of the flagship project Fire-Toolz and many other monikers including the vapor-focused works of Mindspring Memories. Holographic Universe(s?)!, the second Nonlocal Forecast full-length and the first to be released on vinyl, follows Bubble Universe! with a cycle of songs that elevates Marcloid's grandiose compositions to previously undiscovered heights, while packing the music with dramatic shifts that allow it to journey off into dynamic new directions." - Fatbeats product summary

40 - Black Dresses - Peaceful As Hell

"The Canadian noise-pop duo’s music conjures a psychotic slumber party, or a Second Life rave, but remains grounded in the bittersweet beauty of lifelong friendship. " - Leah Mandel, Pitchfork

39 - Kelly Lee Owens - Inner Song

"Owens’ self-titled debut album played with sounds that felt spiritual, almost new age, like the tablas on “S.O.” and sitar drone on “8.” On Inner Song, that meditative quality comes less from instrumental texture and more from the actual form of the songs. Though she drifts across tempos and dabbles with a variety of drum patterns, loops—both instrumental and lyrical—provide the record’s through line. On “Wake-Up,” life’s circular patterns are made explicit: “Wake up/Repeat again/Again.” Owens writes with clarity and simplicity, using her own voice as something like a synthesizer, processing a phrase and then repeating it as she sings subtle variations in timbre and tone. Her lyrics are, in their own quiet way, a celebration of the pleasures of solitude and self-love." - Nathan Smith, Pitchfork

38 - Pink Siifu - Negro

"The core of NEGRO is defined by its antipathy for police. “DeadMeat” was inspired by a harrowing incident in New York, where a black cop threatened his life for jumping a subway turnstile. Siifu recorded “DeadMeat” the next day, reeling from the fact that someone of his race would treat him with such unmitigated hate. It begins with Siifu repeating the police officer’s threat verbatim and ends with him drawing the distinction between police officers and “pigs.” - Max Bell, Bandcamp Daily

37 - Charli XCX - How I'm Feeling Now

"Our homes have become offices, churches, mutual aid hubs, child- and eldercare centers. Every inch of space has been claimed by a corner of life, worn from multi-purpose use, yet hopefully loved and lived in. But the home — even just one room strung with cheap lights — can also be a refuge to dance through your emotion. how i'm feeling now — an album whose title says everything, and whose music has a rave intimacy that reaches beyond quarantined walls — doesn't just capture the mood, but the modes of our survival. Charli XCX collaborated remotely with trusted producers (A. G. Cook, Danny L Harle) and new ones (BJ Burton, 100 gecs' Dylan Brady), to lean harder into the buzzing-yet-glam-blammed hyper-pop that she's explored in recent years. While the aural abrasion amplifies our collective WTF, turnt up on video chats and pining for reckless nights, the core of how i'm feeling now deepens around the loving bonds forged in close quarters." - Lars Gotrich, NPR Music

36 - Armand Hammer - Shrines

"Shrines boasts a larger roster of producers and featured artists than any of the group’s past work. Many of them were already members of the duo’s tight-knit, avant-garde circle: Curly Castro, Fielded, Kenny Segal, Messiah Muzik, R.A.P. Ferreira, Quelle Chris. A woozy instrumental (“Bitter Cassava”) and verse (“Ramses II”) by Earl Sweatshirt suggest that Armand Hammer could soon extend their reach even further. In this fraught time, the camaraderie on Shrines feels intentional. In 2018, Elucid told Pitchfork that his music is about bringing like minds together, to feel like “we’re fighting against the same evil.” Shrines is a confirmation that the more people who put those sunglasses on, the better." - Christina Lee, Bandcamp Daily

35 - Bad Bunny - Yo hago lo que me de la gana

"From the moment Bad Bunny's sophomore album begins, over a synthesized interpolation of bossa nova staple "The Girl From Ipanema," the Puerto Rican superstar leans heavily on past classics to breathe new life into Latin trap. El Conejo is, for the most part, done missing his ex jeva for now — instead he's dressing up as his female alter ego to call out creeps at the club, de-stigmatizing a particular romantic pursuit on a perreo-fueled symphony, and rocking out to his own success on an emo-trap anthem. YHLQMDLG is an homage to the reggaeton bangers that raised Bunny, complete with collabs from some of the greatest vets in the game, including Daddy Yankee, Ñengo Flow and Jowell & Randy. It's an album steeped in nostalgia for the garage-party-perreo of the early-aughts, but with a modernity that forecasts a bright future for urbano — even one that may find Bad Bunny (if you believe the album title) permanently tapping out. He does what he wants, and he gets away with it, too." - Isabella Gomez Sarmiento, NPR

34 - Popcaan - FIXTAPE

"In its mix form, Fixtape is framed as an epic tale in which Popcaan shares moments along his route to dancehall’s most prominent torchbearers. Instead of starting with the self-produced “Chill,” the SoundCloud version begins with melodramatic piano strokes, almost reminiscent of the theme song to The Young and the Restless. Those key hits grow into a symphonic instrumental adaptation of Popcaan’s 2011 hit “Only Man She Want,” and soon after, the first two non-Poppy voices you hear are a drop from incarcerated icon Vybz Kartel and audio of Drake’s praise at the first Unruly Fest in December 2018. Though even novice Popcaan listeners already know these affiliations, starting the project in this way is like flexing for the mirror, a moment of self-affirmation before proving it to the world. So it makes sense that the first song on this version of the tape, “Killy Dem Crazy,” is Popcaan trying his hand at Nas and Diddy’s Trackmasters-produced classic “Hate Me Now”—the perfect “fuck whoever don’t like it” gesture." - Lawrence Burney, Pitchfork

33 - Drakeo The Ruler - Thank You For Using GTL

"Since the genre's inception, the voice in rap has been sped up, glitched out, chopped and screwed, slowed and reverbed, all to convey textures and feelings that language alone cannot. On Thank You For Using GTL, Drakeo The Ruler's was shrunk to fuzz, transmitted through a jail phone. The intent wasn't to create a mood, but to create something, to continue a career that was snatched away. At the time, Drakeo had spent most of the three years prior in Los Angeles' notorious Men's Central Jail, and nine of those months in solitary confinement, first battling a murder charge he'd be acquitted of, then a gang conspiracy charge that the prosecution built out of his lyrics and music videos. He was suddenly freed in November on a plea deal, days before L.A. county district attorney Jackie Lacey lost her seat to the more progressive George Gascón. His lawyer, John Hamasaki, told NPR that "if the case had been continued to January, it probably would have been dismissed by [Gascón's] office."

Even when transmitted across a scummy phone line, Drakeo's sneer cuts like a knife. Submerged in static and woven over JoogSZN's brooding instrumentals, his raps feel suspended in a constant denouement, transient and purgatorial, as he probes at the suits trying to end his life. "It might sound real, but it's fictional / I love that my imagination gets to you," he raps on the final track. What isn't fiction are the cruel and convoluted circumstances that shaped GTL, that cost its creators thousands of dollars to record while profiting a billion dollar telecom company, and that continue to take lifetimes away from Black men." —Mano Sundaresan, NPR

32 - Nathan Fake - Blizzards

"Blizzards has almost no breaks or meanders, just relentless club music adorned with beautiful melodies. In taking stock of his music and returning to his fundamentals, Blizzards highlights everything Fake is good at: the way his drums tend to dance in between established genres, melodies that sound like a warped Boards Of Canada record, the constant push-and-pull of dark and light. It's more of a reset than a reinvention, a return to the earnest simplicity that made him a wunderkind all those years ago." - Andrew Ryce, Resident Advisor

31 - Dj Diaki - Balani Fou

"The absorption of multiple streams of African electronic music into a western club milieu has been patchy. Where styles like kwaito and gqom have slotted into house and bass idioms, and kuduro has made an impact via diasporic scenes like the one in Lisbon, the harder and faster styles—like Shangaan electro and the emergent singeli sound from Dar Es Salaam—haven't easily found a foothold. When they do appear, they're often an anomalous peak in a DJ set from which it's hard to climb down. But with the current vogue for speedy techno and other hard dance sounds, along with the interest in singeli and other belting East African sounds, Diaki's Crazy Balani couldn't have smashed its way to the dance floor at a better time." - Chal Ravens, Resident Advisor

30 - Caribou - Suddenly

"Dan Snaith’s latest is as sly and layered as ever, but he finds ways to be more direct with his songwriting. There are no bum notes, no wasted motions, no corners of the audio spectrum left untouched. " - Phillip Sherburne, Pitchfork

29 - Deradoorian - Find The Sun

"The LP’s guitar-centric approach is a bit of a surprise, but Deradoorian isn’t a stranger to big riffs. She’s done stints in bands like Dirty Projectors and Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks; more recently, she’s been ripping it up as the vocalist of BSCBR (aka Black Sabbath Cover Band Rehearsals), filling Ozzy Osborne’s shoes alongside artists like Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner and drumming virtuoso Greg Fox. Find the Sun never reaches Paranoid levels of bombast, but it’s easily her brawniest solo record to date. Songs like “Saturnine Night” and closer “Sun” channel the psychedelic swagger of ’70s giants like the Doors and Led Zeppelin, while the rubbery bassline and surging guitar chords of album highlight “It Was Me” bring to mind the likes of Nirvana and Hole—or at least the times when those bands emulated indie pop groups like the Vaselines and Young Marble Giants.

But Find the Sun shouldn’t be mistaken for an exercise in rock worship. The influence of Can looms large, and Deradoorian’s music is still psychedelic, weird, and seemingly primed for a hallucinogenic trip to the outer recesses of the human psyche. With its motorik groove and dramatic talk-singing, “The Illuminator” sounds like a freaky, nine-minute-long outtake from Andy Warhol’s Factory, while the slinky “Devil’s Market” recalls the space-age lounge music once championed by bands like Stereolab. “Saturnine Night” does feature growling guitars, but they’re paired with an unkempt Krautrock rhythm that could have been pulled from Neu! 2, along with a dramatic, PJ Harvey-esque vocal turn from Deradoorian, who belts out brooding lines like “Innocence/In my death” and, simply, “I die.” - Shawn Reynolds, Pitchfork

28 - Thundercat - It Is What It Is

"Left savoring the tasty morsels of 2017's critically-acclaimed Drunk and 2018's Drank (its "chopped not slopped" remix album), it was an absolute pleasure to sink hungry ears into Thundercat's It Is What It Is this year. The bassist born Stephen Bruner blurs genre boundaries, dishing out dizzying acrobatics on "How Sway," beefy funk vibes on "Black Qualls" (featuring Steve Lacy, Steve Arrington and Childish Gambino) and cheeky R&B hilarity on "Dragonball Durag." Coproduced by longtime collaborator Flying Lotus, It Is What It Is drips with curtains of lush vocals. The album chronicles a broken heart's analysis of grief and its subsequent recovery by asking probing questions and finding joy where it can to survive pain, uncertainty, rejection and isolation. It's an enchanting tale of hope and growth in a year that served us heaping portions of gloom and melancholy" - Nikki Birch, NPR

27 - Against All Logic - 2017-19

"That Beyoncé is the first voice we hear on 2017 - 2019 is instructive of the bold new direction. Hers and Sean Paul's vocals are lifted from "Baby Boy" and layered over a crackling broken beat, an uncanny string-like instrument and inviting synth chords. A sample of Luther Ingram's 1972 soul song "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right" appears on track two, a degraded house cut, thus establishing a template of sorts: 2017 - 2019 is an album of stylistic leaps, radiant melodies, difficult-to-place sounds and red herrings. Back-to-back opening tracks with instantly recognisable sample flips, for example, sets up an expectation of many more to follow. Instead, there are none. That is unless you can spot the source of the hip-hop loop on "With An Addict." Jaar casually filters it into the arrangement to create a half-time contrast with the main drums, a rolling footwork/jungle-style pattern that features percussion reminiscent of the "Apache" break. The poignant, daybreak melody caps a track that bundles the album's strongest qualities." - Ryan Keeling, Resident Advisor

26 - Adrian Younge / Ali Shaheed Mohammad - Jazz Is Dead 001

"Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad both have impressive resumes as purveyors of modern soul, jazz, and hip-hop. Younge, a bassist, keyboardist, composer, and producer, has scored films such Black Dynamite and collaborated with artists ranging from Philly soul legends the Delfonics to Wu-Tang Clan's Ghostface Killah. Meanwhile, Muhammad was a member of A Tribe Called Quest and has worked on various projects outside that group. Together, Younge and Muhammad formed the Midnight Hour, a versatile band that brought a modern edge to retro soul and jazz sounds." - Rich Wilhelm, popMatters

25 - The Soft Pink Truth - Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase

"Drew Daniel's latest LP as The Soft Pink Truth, Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase, is a stunner that revels in communitas while flirting with house music and ambient tropes" - Bernie Brooks, the Quietus

24 - Jessy Lanza - All The Time

"The early days of writing All the Time, Jessy Lanza's first album since 2016's Oh No, marked a sea change for Jessy and her creative partner Jeremy Greenspan. After Oh No, Jessy left her hometown of Hamilton to go and live in New York. Written long distance for the first time, across Jessy’s new set up in New York to Jeremy’s home studio in Hamilton, and finishing in the recording studio Jeremy had been working on during this period.

Even though the move to New York and the change in remote working was tough, 'All the Time' has turned out to be the most pure set of pop songs the duo has recorded; reflective and finessed over the time and distance they allowed it. Innovative juxtapositions sound natural, such as rigid 808’s rubbing against delicate chords in 'Anyone Around', unusual underwater rushes underpin Baby Love . Jessy’s voice is treated, re-pitched and edited on songs like Ice creamy and gestural sounds seem to respond to her lyrics in songs such as Like Fire.

A lot of these sounds came from live take experiments using semi modular/modular equipment like Mother 32 and Dfam and Moog Sirin. Jessy says ‘We got all of the machines talking to one another and would run patterns through. A lot of the little burps and quacks and squiggles heard on songs like Anyone Around, Like 'Fire', 'Face', and 'Badly' are from those experiments. That’s when I’m having the most fun, making music and improvising through takes of the song and editing together all the best gurgle sounds afterwards’.

More than previously the lyrics on All The Time were an important focus for Jessy, articulating difficult feeling into her outwardly joyful music. ’Anger is a familiar and safe feeling for me. The album became a conversation with myself about why that is. Some songs refer to real and legitimate things to be angry about; 'Lick in Heaven' takes aim at what the culture expects from women. The cynicism I felt towards the people around me kept coming up and All the Time is an exploration into those feelings and a conversation with myself about other possibilities when it comes to my outlook on life.’

As the final elements of the album were being put in place, everything changed overnight. Her European tour was cut short and she flew back to New York quickly, plans for the foreseeable future dissolved. Whatsmore her lease was up on her apartment and she couldn’t find another in New York due to quarantine restrictions, so she packed what she could into her van and drove to San Francisco to be near her family, stopping on the way in increasingly empty motels as she journeyed from coast to coast.

‘Even though All the Time was written in 2019 the themes feel even more relevant now. Like a lot of people,I’m still struggling with the reality that life is hard to predict and it’s even harder not to make the same mistakes over again, trying to control what i’m able to and leave the rest.’ The cover photo of Jessy in her van was taken before these events , but it’s taken on more importance since. ‘Through many changing situations my minivan gives me comfort. It seems like such an American thing to say.m I realise it’s symbolic of a much larger existential struggle in my own life but regardless I wanted it to be a part of the album cover. Sitting in my van made me feel so comfortable and it’s rare for me to feel that.

All the time has ended up being a triumph, channeling difficult feelings into something that has whit energy and style. " - Jessy Lanza bandcamp page

23 - AceMoMA - A New Dawn

"AceMoMA connect back to their NYC forefathers (with nods to techno dons Derrick May and Jeff Mills), while also keeping a healthy disregard for the past, pushing ahead with palpable enthusiasm and energy. As Stevens explained in that same interview, “[As] brown people making dance music… we needed to create context for what we were doing. So we did.” Like the best moments of a night out, A New Dawn feels like instant history and an instant party." - Andy Beta, Pitchfork

22 - Adrianne Lenker - songs

"As a solo artist or with her band Big Thief, Adrianne Lenker has been at or near the top of my year-end lists for the past five years, more so than any other artist. The simultaneous strength and frailty in her voice attract me to her music. Earlier this year, she told NPR's All Things Considered host Mary Louise Kelly, "I was really sad, and I hit a wall — I kind of hit the bottom of myself and went to a pretty dark and sad space for a while. And the music itself, and writing these songs, was a thing that was getting me through it." The songs on songs were birthed in a one-room cabin in Western Massachusetts' mountains and recorded on an old Otari 8-track. We hear acoustic guitar, her voice, the sound of the cabin and whatever bugs and birds happen to be in the background of the poetic paintings she sings. The intimacy is magnetic" - Bob Boilen, NPR

21 - Trees Speak - Ohms

"The act of driving informs the music of Trees Speak, who take cues from the Autobahn-extolling music of classic Krautrock, specifically Kraftwerk. The roads green West Germany led Krautrock pioneers like Kraftwek to produce smooth, seamless electronic rhythms—but the rugged, dusted Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona leads Trees Speak to a more rough hewn electronic sound." - d mittleman, Aquarium Drunkard

20 - 21 Savage / Metro Boomin - Savage Mode II

"Ultimately, though, ‘Savage Mode II’ feels like a throwback: one rapper and one producer focused on a single creative project. Think Eric B and Rakim; Missy Elliot and Timbaland; Method Man and RZA. Their collaborators, such as Drake and Young Thug (the latter on ‘Rich N**ga Shit’, an anthemic rap about their lavish lifestyles), ably support, stepping in occasionally to craft the project into a more well-rounded shape.

‘Savage Mode II’ allows the Atlanta-based MC the space to make his point and cast all nonsense aside, letting his talent speak for itself. Metro Boomin, meanwhile, further showcases his generational abilities. As a whole, the album is confirmation of two young artists at the top of their game, watching the landscape unfold from the throne they earned themselves four years ago." - Dhruva Balram, NME

19 - Various Artists - HOA 010

"Ahead of the dawn, there could only be us...

HAUS of ALTR presents HOA010. Our second compilation, featuring the future of Black electronic music, and as the music as it exist in its current state. In these trying times, we come together to stake claim on the roots of techno and its potential future. Too Black, Too Strong." - HAUS of ALTR bandcamp page

18 - Emma Ruth Rundle / Thou - May Our Chambers Be Full

"Stemming out of an offer from Roadburn Festival organizer Walter Hoeijmakers, mutual acquaintances, and a shared love of each other’s output, May Our Chambers Be Full is the first recorded document of collaboration between Emma Ruth Rundle and Thou. While their solo material seems on its face to be quite disparate, both groups have spent their respective careers lurking at the outer boundaries of the heavy metal scene, the artists having more in common with DIY punk and its spiritual successor, grunge.

May Our Chambers Be Full straddles a similar, very fine line both musically and thematically. While Emma Ruth Rundle’s standard fare is a blend of post-rock-infused folk music, and Thou is typically known for its downtuned, doomy sludge, the conjoining of the two artists has created a record more in the vein of the early ’90s Seattle sound and later ’90s episodes of Alternative Nation, while still retaining much of the artists’ core identities. Likewise, the lyrical content of the album is a marriage of mental trauma, existential crises, and the ecstatic tradition of the expressionist dance movement. “Excessive sorrow laughs. Excessive joy weeps.” Melodic, melancholic, heavy, visceral." - Thou Bandcamp page

17 - Mong Tong - Mystery

"For Mystery秘神, they imagined a version of ancient Asia where all of the continent’s superstitions were real, and wrote a record based on how that world would sound. Their songs usually consist of a lolloping bassline, a snakey guitar lead, and campy synths that could perfectly soundtrack both an ‘80s crime flick and a highly stylized video game. Their sound evokes the simultaneous futurism and nostalgia of vaporwave, and the duo consider it “sample-based” because of the post-production process, in which they cut up, loop, and re-pitch their jam sessions into structured songs. All of the percussion is constructed in Ableton; there are no vocals, but they do include a few soundbites from Taiwanese films and TV shows. (“Chakra,” for example, features a bit of a dialogue about the connection between aliens and Hinduism.)" - Eli Enis, Bandcamp Daily

16 - Sada Baby - Bartier Bounty 2

"His voice is at a-near constant sneer to match the furious pacing until the surprising collaboration with Dej Loaf that showcases a smoother version of the 27-year-old rapper. Street anthems like “Trap Withdrawals” approach standard topics of growing up hustling with bombastic brilliance. “Horse Play 2” even samples Linkin Park’s “In The End” and makes it work. Bartier‘s sequel takes all of Detroit’s current hip-hop momentum and propels it to Super Saiyan-level dominance thanks to Sada Baby’s need to experiment." - Patrick Johnson, Hypebeast

15 - Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin kynsi

"Even at nearly an hour in length, the album flies by, dense and vicious and evocative as a novel, as contemplative as the featureless gore of the cover art. I've had this promo for perhaps two full months now; I've listened to it nearly every day since then, often multiple times a day. I've commented before about a spate of records that were battling it out for the number one spot for me this year, and while that number has now expanded, the number then at least was three. One of them was Spectral Lore and Mare Cognitum's incredible progressive black metal split full-length. Another was Sweven's immaculate death metal debut. The third was this.

It's hard to deny that a certain strain of the listenership is right: this isn't black metal anymore. But this is for the best for Oranssi Pazuzu. The past seven years have seen them put out record after record that was better not only than the one before it but of the whole of their work. By Värähtelijä, they were scraping Hall of Fame territory. On Mestarin kynsi, they exceed it." - Langdon Hickman, Invisible Oranges

14 - Sunwatchers - Oh Yeah?

"The album’s title “Oh Yeah?” is at once an homage to Mingus, Thee Oh Sees’ album “Help” (whose Brigid Dawson hand-sewed the tapestry adorning the album’s front cover) and (naturally) the rallying cry of KoolBrave himself - the Kool-Aid Man-as-Braveheart avatar the band adopted as their symbol. The three years since the band’s second album (and TiM debut) “II” was released, has seen the band grace stages across the USA and Europe, enlisting more comrades in their mission of solidarity (sonically speaking) with every show." - Sunwatchers Bandcamp page

13 - Fire-Toolz - Rainbow Bridge

"Rainbow Bridge was made in part as a reflection on the death of Marcloid’s cat Breakfast, which explains in part the way the record swings back and forth between beauty and cacophony. Marcloid’s work as Fire-Toolz has always been about the way that these two emotional poles can coexist, but the way we deal with death is especially complicated. Even the most intense grief is braided with moments of peace and clarity, the beautiful memories of a life well-lived. Rainbow Bridge mirrors the intensity and the confusion of these experiences and shows that even in the direst times, it’s possible to find comfort." - Colin Joyce, Pitchfork

12 - Beatrice Dillon - Workaround

"Chain Reaction meets mid-20th-century minimalism with spectacular results." - Chal Ravens, Resident Advisor

11 - Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia

At 24, Lipa has been working towards this moment for almost 10 years, and her sights are set higher still. A false start in modeling impressed the importance of going where you’re wanted; in Lipa’s case, to Warner Records, who sought a female pop icon to compete with the Rihannas and Lady Gagas of the world. She leveraged her talent as a songwriter, developing an early Dua Lipa single, “Hotter Than Hell,” in the first session with her prospective management team. Her sly swagger and fashion-plate style gave her the presence of someone who’d achieved diva status already. “I’m a bit too far down the line for anyone to try and tell me something,” she said of her creative autonomy in 2017, even before the release of her first record.

But where many of pop’s most recent stars are emphatically emotionally available, Lipa radiates blithe coolness. Her brand is style, competence, taste—this is, in a way perhaps not obvious to those who actually remember the ’80s, entirely tasteful pop music—and the sultry low voice that makes her the star of even a middling Martin Garrix collab. Future Nostalgia is nonstop, no ballads; for 10 tracks, the closest it comes to feeling vulnerable or revealing is “Pretty Please,” a plea for stress-relief sex with an ultra-thick bassline. When Lipa proclaims, “You got me losing all my cool/’Cause I’m burning up on you,” on the Tove Lo cowrite “Cool,” she rhymes it with, “In control of what I do.” - Anna Gaca, Pitchfork

10 - Jasmine Infiniti - Bxtch Slap

"It’s building on that myth of being The Queen of Hell and how as a black trans woman, often just existing in this world feels hellish. The things that I have personally had to go through and that many other black trans women endure, it’s almost as if we are existing in hell already. It’s kind of like, well if I’m already here, I might as well live it up and find the best parts of this existence that I can. It’s about embracing that hell vibe. If I’m already here then I’m gonna be debaucherous and party to all hours of the morning. I want it to reflect that, but also have a little bit of sadness, a little bit resentfulness and a little bit anger, but also happiness and joy. It’s about taking hell and having fun with it." - Jasmine Infiniti, Vice

9 - Actress - Karma & Desire

"Karma & Desire bears the sonic touchstones of his landmark full-lengths like R.I.P. and AZD, but it also represents a profound shift in Cunningham's approach. For the first time, he's invited friends to help out. "I just wanted to give Actress a voice, basically, to use vocal performances from, like, a muse perspective really," he recently told Bandcamp Daily.

Despite several rave-worthy tracks voiced by the LA artist Aura T-09, this is not Actress's vocal house album, nor is it an album of pop songs. Instead, he utilizes the considerable vocal talents of artists like Zsela and Sampha in a signature Actress style, with snatches of stream-of-consciousness vocals rearranged into dreamlike sketches. The New York artist Zsela exhales "Destiny is stuck in heaven," on the burbling "Angels Pharmacy," before reprising the same theme on the very next track, "Remembrance." Just as hazy pads and white noise form motifs in Actress's catalogue, evocative phrases surface and resurface from the murk." Matt McDermott, Resident Advisor

8 - Lil Uzi Vert - Eternal Atake

"Few make rapping sound as purely fun as Lil Uzi Vert. His second album, Eternal Atake, arrived on the heels of a nearly three-year label dispute, yet it still sounds unburdened. The songs traffic in abundant imagination — words and syllables are deconstructed and restacked to form breathless cadences that explode across beats as funky as they are futuristic. When he chants "Balenci" enough times to void it of any meaning on "POP" or when he spits out a multibar hook that skirts repetition altogether (or, really, any qualities that usually make up a hook) as on "Homecoming," it's the chutzpah, but it's also the musicality of it all, the way the melodies are both instrument and a vehicle for lyrics. One of rap's most precise technicians, Uzi has been perfecting this craft since he began his career ascent in 2015, but Eternal Atake prompted us to hear the extraterrestrial — a world within worlds that's all his own." - Briana Younger, NPR

7 - bbyMutha - Muthaland

"Across Muthaland, bbymutha reclaims several words used to jab at her pride: “baby mama,” “slut,” “hoodrat.” She says them with her chest and siphons the negative energy in order to lift herself above the competition. It’s exhilarating, which makes the prospect of her early retirement all the sadder. Rap could use several more voices like hers. If Muthaland really is the last album bbymutha plans on releasing to the public, she’s brought us into her twisted world at its creative peak." Dylan Green, Pitchfork

6 - Jeff Parker - Suite for Max Brown

"The album is a mixture of live improvisations backed by drum loops. This was inspired by Parker’s time as a DJ. “I used to DJ a lot when I lived in Chicago,” Parker recently said. “I was spinning records one night and for about ten minutes I was able to perfectly synch up a Nobukazu Takemura record with the first movement of John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme and it had this free jazz, abstract jazz thing going on with a sequenced beat underneath. It sounded so good. That’s what I’m trying to do with Suite for Max Brown. Man vs. machine.” - Nick Roseblade, The Quietus

5 - GAIKA - Seguridad

"Brixton’s GAIKA has already proven himself a heavyweight via his releases on WARP Records, where he imbues the moodier end of dancehall, R&B, and Afrobeats with the kind of apocalyptic political vision you might expect from righteous roots reggae. Here, he’s teamed up with Mexico City’s NAAFI label, and eight members of their musical family. The music ranges from a reggaetón canter (“Maria”) to an almost drum-free crawl (“Nine Lives”); GAIKA’s hoarse voice, swimming through glutenous resonant autotune, draws it all together. It draws you into a zoned-out science fiction night time world, a Black Atlantic gothic cyberpunk fever dream that will haunt you long after it’s ended." - Joe Muggs, Bandcamp Daily

4 - Nazar - Guerrilla

"The roughest rough kuduro on Guerrilla lives up to the billing. Over charging horns and erratic snare sprints, "Arms Deal"'s midrange is filled with raging, Pollocky slashes of tapehead noise. "Why"'s 8-bit Sonic synths, Terrordrome trance leads and rap fragments are also fantastic. Guerrilla can be stealthy, too. Take "Fim-92 Stinger," a carnivalesque hip swinger with shades of the slinky batida from DJ Nigga Fox's Cartas Na Magna. It's a rare gem: fun, seductive, somewhat steady. You could even call it celebratory. But when Nazar says, "The ceasefire should at least last until the duration of this song," his pessimism resurfaces. Sure enough, the next track, "Immortal," illustrates what seems like a bullet-time detachment from conflict. It's possible to make out the ambience of the Angolan bush, stray gunfire and casual bravado, but the clearest sounds in its spectral quiet are an amped-up wheeze and the continuous loading of magazines. You're hearing the itch to fight." - Ray Philp, Resident Advisor

3 - Benny The Butcher - Burden of Proof

"With the help of Hit-Boy, Rick Ross, and Freddie Gibbs, Benny has another one for us to mob out to. At one point on this album, he says, “I don’t care about haters/ I only care about what hustlers think.” The proof is in the eating of the pudding. This is not for the meek. This is not for the golf courses. Benny never dives into nihilism. He knows his purpose, but the album is called Burden of Proof because if you are going to be on the streets, you have to prove who you are. Benny has done that and then some. The Butcher is here, and he isn’t respecting old arrangements. He runs this ship now." - Jayson Buford, Consequence of Sound

2 - Yaeji - What We Drew "But while What We Drew is more internalized than past releases, it is not conflicted; rather, Yaeji finds clarity in vulnerability, in the pendulum swing of her humanity. Crucially, the mixtape doesn’t turn its back on one of Yaeji’s strongest traits as an artist: Her music has always been deeply social, and now it is more gregarious than ever in its gratitude for those around her. Some of the best tracks are valentines to the friends and artists who fill Yaeji’s world—and she has been proactive building scenes, from New York to Seoul—and her appreciation for this community feels all the sweeter balanced with her revelations of struggle" - Stacey Anderson, Pitchfork 1 - Various Artists - HOA 011

"Back once again, we assume the role of Vanguard in the war against white supremacy in electronic music. We bring part 2 in a story of black technological expression, from the perspectives of some of its most prolific, alongside much needed new perspectives. HOA010 was a call for a new path. HOA011 we embark.

Too Black, Too Strong." - HAUS of ALTR bandcamp page

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