#then i get like one (1) day off before i have to hit the decks runnning again and its all oh i make my own schedule i can take breaks??

[ditch-lily]

just a little sad noises post which may get deleted but

i'm in wanting to trying to but can't really write moment. and it ssucks cause I wanna! but also im just soooo tired. work is a lot (more markets, more creative deadlines) so having a weekend where i can do nothing and not create is so valuable yet here i am beating myself up about it lol. anyway idk why i feel so upset and guilty abt this? but welp . im just really exhausted and near tears over it

[thoughtssvt]

domestic nanami kento x reader headcanons pt. 2

one day you opened up about your physical insecurities was the day he signed up for art classes. he wanted to paint you so you could see how beautiful you were through his eyes.

-`♡´-

that small smile that makes the corners of his mouth twitch for a split second whenever you try making something for him as a surprise, but you can't help consulting him since he's the bread maker of the household. "no, no, darling, i'm sure they taste amazing. you're right, it doesn't sound appetizing to boil bagels" he appeases you with a chuckle before offering to help you when he gets home which ends up much more fun for the both of you, though he does appreciate the sentiment.

-`♡´-

on the rare days he has a day off and you don't he rolls onto your side of the bed when you get up to get ready. he breathes in your scent, melts into your warmth. "i can't believe i'll have all this free time and work is taking you from me," he laments softly, face buried in your pillow.

-`♡´-

he loves seeing you in adam sandler core. he loves you in anything you wear but there's just something about seeing you so free and comfortable in baggy clothes that don't really go together.

-`♡´-

when you feel brave enough to try something new at a restaurant he orders what he knows you'd like for himself. "how's your drink, darling?" he'd ask, saving face as he watches your momentary hesitation as soon as the new flavor hits your tongue.

"it's good..." you squeak probably a little too quickly.

"really? can i have a taste?" his backup plan ensues, handing over his drink to you for you to try even though he knows you've had it countless times in the past. he hums as he takes a swig of your drink, raising his eyebrows as your eyes light up. "that is quite good. could i have this one instead?" he asks though he's already setting your tried and trusted drink down on your coaster, the new drink on his.

-`♡´-

you don't talk about it. it's the mutually agreed upon rule. you keep your eyes forward when you hear the cricks in kento's back as he rises up from his chair, leaning forward to shift his center of gravity into a more favorable spot. in solidarity he doesn't comment on the sharp pops that crack in the air when you squat down to pick something up.

-`♡´-

you stir awake one night by the sound of his voice, thinking that something was wrong. "please update the deck," he murmured, arm tight around your waist. you furrowed your brows in confusion. "it's due end of day for the committee meeting on thursday." he continued slurring, still heavy with sleep. you chuckled softly, the pieces beginning to click together. he was dreaming of his office job days.

"ken," you whispered softly, not enough to wake him up, just enough to reassure him. "you're a sorcerer now. don't worry about the deck," you reminded, rubbing away the wrinkles between his brows.

"ugh, sorcery is shit." he grumbled for the last time before relaxing against you, finally getting a good night sleep.

-`♡´-

A/N: this took months for me to compile because my head is always empty these days, i fear. what was your favorite headcanon?

nanami kento x reader masterlist | sweet headcanons pt. 1

heart and sparkle divider by @/adornedwithlight

[shy-writer-999]

hey friend! can i request a capital F FILTHY zoro x f!reader where they two of them are rivals/borderline enemies who fight all the time but after they both get a lil tipsy they end up hate fucking in the roughest most desperate way possible…

Ohhhh yes yes yes. YOUR WISH IS MY COMMAND, ANON. anything filthy and with zoro i’m down. brace yourself because this is nasty. you told me capital F FILTHY and i gave you FILTHIER. this turned into a ~2.9k word monstrosity. i read it through like twice so plz excuse any overused words or typos...

everyone say it with me, now: "hate sex! hate sex! hate sex!!!!"

---

You and Zoro butted heads since the day you got on the ship. Zoro thought his tiffs with Sanji were super fucking annoying—but Sanji had nothing on you. Not only did you have an annoying quip in response to everything he said, but he heard you actively shit talking him in front of his face multiple times. He despised you—everything about you. He hated how you mocked him, hated how cocky you were around him, hated the way you fought, your morals, the way you spoke to everyone BUT him; he couldn’t stand you.

The pair of you had almost gotten to blows multiple times, but he just couldn’t bring himself to hit you. He’d threaten you with his sword but never use it, even though he thought about it more than he would like to admit.

Your asinine remarks would replay in his head sometimes. “Zoro, the amount of effort you put into working out and being stoic is fucking pathetic. Lighten up for once. You’re fucking draining to be around.” Your tone was vile and pitiful. He saw red any time you said stuff like that.

“Zoro, another bottle of sake? Like you haven’t had enough to drink for a whole year? Fucking alcoholic.” You would smirk and condescend, and he’d try to send it back your way but he felt like the couldn’t twist the dagger the same way that you could.

“Shut up,” he would respond, agitated and cold. “Mind your fucking business and go nag someone else, woman. You’re insufferable.”

What was the most agitating thing about you being an asshole to him was that you did it while looking so good. He hated that. He would actively mull the fact over—you were gorgeous, but you had such a rotten personality, it couldn’t be helped. You fought like shit, treated him like a child, mocked him, derided him… And he did the same to you. But he felt his cock twinge any time you got close and nasty with him.

“Yeah, Zoro? Going to go sneak back to your hideout and drown yourself with sake before swinging your swords around? Fucking weirdo.”

Sometimes he would get really intense about it. He’d seethe with hatred and respond with such loathing that it was a wonder he didn’t do anything about it. “If you don’t leave me alone, I swear I’ll slit your throat.”

“Yeah, jackass? I’m sure you like to dream about that, but you’ll never be able to do it because you’re 1: a pussy and 2: I’m your crewmate, idiot.” Sometimes you’d tease him for having the hots for you (which you thought was false), and he’d get so flushed and angry that you thought he would light on fire.

One night, a group of the crew was drinking on deck. You, Zoro, Sanji, Nami, Robin, and Usopp. Everyone was a few cups (or bottles) deep, and what started in raucous laughter ended with people splitting up into small groups or going inside for some snacks.

You and Zoro were unfortunately sitting next to each other, much to your mutual dislike. An offhand comment from Zoro (he was speaking to Usopp) vaguely alluded to you being bad at wielding a sword. It set you off. Your head whipped in his direction. He must have been sitting a few feet away.

“What the fuck did you just say, Zoro?”

He rolled his eyes and waved his hand. “What’s it to you? Can’t you mind your own damn business?”

You bit your lip and shoved the crude and despicable rebuttal back in your throat—it wasn’t worth fighting with him again. You already had a spat earlier that day, which left you both livid. Sometimes you’d goad him into it for fun and games. The added benefit was that he would get even hotter when he was angry. Sure, his personality was shit, but when he sneered and snarled at you he looked damn good. You were in denial about how much his scowls turned you on, but you ignored it because you couldn’t stand the man. He was just an atrocious person all around, and you let him know that every second that you could.

After you heard the comment, you huffed, snatched your bottle up and stormed inside. You were about to smack the shit out of him. When you stood up, the alcohol hit you—you were definitely tipsy, perhaps that was contributing to how enraged you were.

You went into the galley and you were about to grab another bottle when the door opened. Those familiar, maddeningly heavy, swaggering footsteps padded towards you. Presumably, Zoro was coming to grab another bottle of sake. Like he fucking needs one, you scoffed to yourself.

“Oh, great.” He was scornful and sarcastic. “You gettin’ more? Can’t wait to see how annoying you get after this bottle.”

“Zoro, you’re on my last fucking nerve.” You turned around and he was a couple feet away, arms crossed. Something in his eyes looked different.

“Is that so? When am I not on your last nerve? You’re so fuckin’ sensitive, get a grip.”

You bit your tongue, trying to not say something foul. You failed.

“Zoro, I’m so sick of you. Your presence is literally unbearable. I can’t stand you, seriously, not right now. And oh, by the way, you’re a shit swordsman.”

You knew that last part would infuriate him. You wanted to get him riled up. It was a sick form of entertainment for you. And anytime you told him he was a shit swordsman he went ballistic.

“Do you ever shut your damn mouth!?” He stepped forward, his voice angry. He was uncomfortably close. You were leaning back on the counter, trying to create any distance you could between your face and his, but he had you caged in. He put a hand on the counter behind you.

“Always looking to start a fight, huh?” His tone was contemptuous and belittling. “You’re about to bite off more than you can chew.”

The closer he got, the hotter he looked. You hated him, but fuck, he was a sight for sore eyes. When he was up this close, you felt even more intoxicated than you already were.

“And what would that mean?” You stared into his eyes, deadpan and annoyed. You placed it now, you could see what about his eyes looked different—his eyes were ravenous. He looked like he was starving for something. More liquor? You hoped he was hungry for something else.

“You’ve got such a big mouth and you never stop running it.” He was practically growling.

Your heartbeat grew faster, and heat started to bloom between your legs. He was so hot when he was angry. That was part of the fun. Especially when his voice got like that.

“And what are you going to do about it?” You raised an eyebrow at him, and your eyes were deadly.

“Might have to shut you up somehow. Maybe you’ll shut the fuck up if my cock is shoved down your throat.”

You actually laughed. “Oh, what is it? Like three inches?”

He drew his face closer to yours. The hand that wasn’t bracing himself on the counter came to squeeze one of your hips so hard that it hurt.

“I’m about to fuck you so hard I break you. You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Fucking slut.” He murmured, his voice deep and hushed.

Your eyes were locked, eye contact blistering. He was staring into you so hard you thought he’d leave a burn mark on your irises.

“You’re an idiot, Zoro. Are you being serious? You’d cum all over yourself before you even got close to fucking me.”

“Mmmm, we’ll see about that.” He purred. You were speechless, your brain trying and failing to come up with something to throw back at him. It was short circuiting because he just said he wanted to fuck you.

In the moment that you were searching for an answer, his lips crashed into yours. His grip on your hip tightened; it was going to leave a bruise. As your bodies pressed together, you noticed his hard on rutting into you slowly.

The kisses were haphazard and sloppy, teeth knocking. He bit your lip so hard you almost yelped. A hand snuck up to grab a fistful of your hair and he pulled it so tight it’s a wonder he didn’t rip out a huge clump of it.

“You’re fucking useless.” He pulled away from you, murmuring in a husky tone centimeters away from your lips. “You talk all that shit but I know you want me to fuck you. Probably wanted it the whole time.”

“Shut up, Zoro.” You would have enjoyed every second of this if he just shut his trap.

He pushed you up so you were sitting on the counter. Sucking harshly on your neck, he bit it so hard you thought it would bleed. You let out a muffled whine in surprise.

“Are you already getting worked up and I’ve barely touched you?” His voice was poisonous.

“Holy shit, shut up, Zoro.”

“Say that one more time and I’ll put my cock in you.”

You doubled down. You hoped he was serious. “I said, shut the fuck up, Zoro.”

He let go of your hair and hips and proceeded to rip your pants and panties off in one go. He almost shredded the seams. He took in the sight for a moment.

Your eyes were bathed in lust, your breaths shallow and quick already. Your shirt rode up and your nipples were hard.

His fingers wandered to your now bare cunt and he let out a chuckle.

“You’re so fucking wet already. I know you’re going to take it all for me because you’re fucking desperate. Is that right?”

Your mouth went dry and you did the most miniscule of nods. You didn’t want him to know how badly you needed him.

He slid two thick fingers into your entrance then started to finger fuck you. Your walls tightened and pulsed around him, getting adjusted. Pushing them apart, his fingers roamed and prodded. It felt so good that you had to bite your lip to keep the moans back. You didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.

“You’ve been craving my cock this whole time like a depraved, touch-starved slut, haven’t you?”

His other hand grabbed a painful fist of your ass and then crept up to squeeze your throat. You let out a barely audible whimper and he felt his cock twitch.

You tried to squeak out words and you were barely successful. “You’re—the one—who’s hard—right now, Zoro.”

It was a lame comeback, but it drove him crazy. “Use your fucking mouth one more time and I’m going to stuff you so full you can’t talk.”

His fingers found your g-spot and pressed on it forcefully. You choked out a breathy “fuck you, Zoro,” and he went still.

“What was that?” His hand around your throat tightened. “Did you not hear what I just said, or are you fucking stupid?”

His fingers started to move twice as fast, and you squirmed. When he could tell you were about to orgasm, he pulled them out.  

He freed his cock from his pants and fisted it lazily for a moment before lining it up with your entrance. “You want this, don’t you? You ran your fat mouth too much, now I’m going to fuck the attitude out of you. Say I’m a shit swordsman one more time and I’ll choke the air out of you until you see stars, then I’ll stuff you full of my cock. But you’d probably like that. Fucking slut.”

“You’re—a fucking—shit—swordsman” you tried to get the words out as his fist squeezed your throat. You couldn’t breathe and you were so aroused that it was hard to focus.

He pushed his cock into your folds and through your slit, entering you inches at a time. You started seeing stars, as promised, and you could only focus on his vice grip around your throat and the sensation of his huge girthy cock stretching you out. He let go of your throat for a moment before bottoming out, and when his tip kissed your cervix he groaned.

“Just look at you. Drooling for my cock, you’re worthless.”

He leaned in so your foreheads touched and pulled out of you agonizingly slow.

“You want more? You want me to fuck you?”

You just looked at him, pouting. You didn’t want to admit it. But you wanted it, and you wanted it BAD. You nodded again and he plunged back into you forcefully. A wet squelching noise sounded into the room when he bottomed out again.

Zoro grinded his hips just enough so he could fuck you deep inside.

“What, the back talk stops the second I put my cock in you?”

You hissed air in through your teeth. “Fuck you, Zoro.”

His jaw dropped for a second and he lost composure, but he kept moving his hips all the same. “What was that?”

“I said fuck you.” You were glaring up at him petulantly.

He pulled his cock out completely and you gasped at the feeling of emptiness.

“Okay, if you hate me so much then I’ll just stop. Is that what you want?”

You could only shit talk for so long before the pleasure started to take over your mind in a haze. All that you knew now was that Zoro was saying dirty things to you and he just took his cock out. That was unacceptable, at this point.

“Zoro.” You whined. “Put it back.”

“Awh, you want me to put it back in?” He feigned pity while you nodded eagerly, throwing all dignity out of the window.

“If you want it that bad, then you need to beg for it like the pathetic little slut you are.”

Your cheeks smarted with blush. You couldn’t believe that you were about to beg for his dick, but you needed it so fucking bad you couldn’t hold back.

“Fuck. Please Zoro. Please keep fucking me.”

Now that he was getting carried away, he wanted to be cruel. You did have a habit of running your mouth, and he wanted to punish you for it.

“Hmm. That’s not quite good enough. If you really want it, say my name. Say my name and I’ll fuck you.”

“Zoro.” You pleaded, your voice strained. He snuck a hand back in your hair and pulled your hair so hard it hurt.

“No. I said, say my name.”

“Roronoa Zoro. Please. I need it.”

“Louder.”

“Roronoa Zoro. P-please.”

“That’s what I thought.”

He pressed his cock into you again with a groan. One hand was gripping your hip, and he moved the other down to rub circles over your clit. Your hips bucked.

You started to let out moans with reckless abandon—you needed it harder, faster, deeper, anything that he could possibly do with his cock, you needed it. The noises melted in his ear, but he was worried that someone would hear, so he kissed you. It actually felt tender at times—if you weren’t lost in pleasure, you’d have been able to feel his thumb rubbing a circle on your cheek. What was up with that?

Between his kisses, he said something filthier with each thrust. “Tell me how good it feels.”

“Fuck, Zoro. Feels so good. Your cock—feels so fucking good.”

His shaft and tip dragged over your g-spot countless times. Each time your moans got louder and the mess you were making on Zoro’s cock got juicier.

“Zoro, ‘m gonna cum.” You were at your wits end.

“That’s it, baby, cum on my cock. Cum for me. Just for me.”

That was all you needed to hear before you started to squirm and writhe with pleasure. Your fingers dug into his shoulders and your eyes rolled back in your head—it was that good. He fucked you through your orgasm and then pulled out to cum on your stomach. He wanted to cum inside, but he figured he’d save that for next time (if you were nice enough to let him).

Moments later, while he got you cleaned up, he admired how flushed you were and how lidded your eyes were with satisfaction.

“Baby, huh?” You giggled.

“What?” Zoro was puzzled.

“You called me baby.”

He turned crimson. “You heard me wrong, blockhead.”

“Mmmhmmm, sure. Now help me put my pants on. There’s no way I can walk after that, baby.”

He was speechless. He knew you were teasing him, but he liked it. Enemies to lovers, much?

You found out later that no one walked into the kitchen while you were fucking because Sanji almost went inside and got quite the eyeful through the mini window on the door. He almost puked at the sight then promptly told everyone “no one go in the galley because the two boneheads are doing something disgusting.”

[candycandy00]

The Maiden’s Voyage - A Sukuna x Reader Fanfic Part 4 (Final)

You’re a passenger on a ship attacked by pirates. The pirate captain Sukuna chooses you to be his entertainment for the voyage.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Smut. 18+. Fem Reader. AU. Sukuna as a Pirate Captain. Very rough sex! Violence. Blood. Sukuna is a cruel, sadistic monster here! You’ve been warned!

Part of CandyCandy’s 2k Followers Event! There will be multiple parts because I got really attached to this idea and it was getting too long. Any feedback, comments, reblogs, etc. will make my day sunny and bright! 💖 Dividers by @benkeibear!

“Sukuna!”

Your voice doesn’t sound like it belongs to you as you cry out his name. You’re behind him, unable to see where he was stabbed, but blood is pooling at your feet. 

The man who attacked you is suddenly thrown back, his body slamming into the deck. Sukuna turns to face you, and you see that the dagger has stabbed completely through his forearm. It frightens you, but you can’t help being relieved that he hasn’t been hit in a vital spot. 

Several other pirates run over and grab the attacker, holding him down. His face is shoved down against the deck. 

“He must have stowed away at the port,” one of them says to Sukuna. 

The captain walks over to the man, seeming completely unfazed by the knife stuck in his arm. “You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that. But your plan was weak.”

The man grunts in frustration, trying in vain to break free. “Murderer! You’ll burn in hell for what you’ve done!”

Sukuna grins down at him. “Maybe I’ll fuck your fiancé when I get there. Oh wait, you said her body was found on the ship. She must have been an ugly, worthless cunt if I didn’t bother bringing her to my ship for my men to fuck.”

The man’s face twists in rage and despair, and he screams. No words, just a guttural howl of fury. And mid scream, Sukuna brings his boot down on the man’s head, cracking it open like watermelon. You turn your face away. You’ve seen bloodshed before, on your own ship, but it doesn’t make this any less gruesome. And even though the man tried to kill you, you can’t help feeling sorry for him. He lost someone precious to him in a horrific way. That would drive anyone to madness. 

Sukuna turns to you. “Let’s go back to my quarters.”

You look at his arm and then back to his face. “But, the dagger! You need to-“

“I need a strong drink!” he says, grinning to his men. They cheer their captain, and one of them hurries off to get that drink.

Sukuna takes you by the hand and pulls you along with him. On the way back to his cabin, one of the pirates hands him a full bottle of rum. 

Once inside, he shuts the door and heads over to his bed to sit down. He opens the bottle of rum and takes a long drink. 

“Don’t you have a doctor on this ship?” you ask, moving over to him. 

“I do, but I’m not going to him.”

“What?! Why not? You’ve got a dagger in your arm! When you pull it out, you’ll bleed to-“

“I’m the captain of this ship,” he says firmly. “I can’t show weakness in front of my men. It would be better to die from an injury than to be killed in a mutiny and have my legacy tarnished.”

“That’s ridiculous!” you shout, realizing a second later that it’s the first time you’ve raised your voice to him outside of your screams during sex. 

He puts one hand on the hilt of the dagger. “It’ll be fine. I’ve had worse wounds.”

“Wait!” you yell, then hurry over to the dresser to pull out a fresh sheet. You rip it into strips. “You’ll need to bandage it quickly!”

He takes another drink of the rum, then jerks the dagger out and drops it to the floor. Blood begins pouring out of the wound at an alarming rate. He pours some of the rum over it, not even wincing at the burn, then reaches for the strips of cloth. 

You rush over and grab them, holding his arm out and beginning to wrap it up. Sukuna pulls his arm free. “I can do it myself! I’m not depending on a woman to-“

“Twice now!” you suddenly say, cutting him off. “Twice now you’ve told me to touch you as I please! This is how I please! Will you go back on your words, Captain?”

He stares at you for a moment, then laughs. “You’re right. Do as you wish then.”

He holds still from then on and lets you bandage his arm tightly. It takes more cloth than you expected, forcing you to tear up more strips, and Sukuna finishes off the rum. When finished, you sigh and sit on the bed beside him. “We’ll have to change it every couple days or so, and watch out for infection. But I think this has stopped the bleeding.”

He looks at you, his eyes slightly glazed from the rum and the blood loss. “Why are you doing this? You should be trying to kill me yourself.”

“You only got stabbed because you stood in front of me,” you tell him. “Why did you do that?”

He scoffs, looking away from you. “I told you before. I’m not done playing with you yet. I intend to enjoy you thoroughly before the end of this voyage.”

It strikes you then that this is the most vulnerable you’ve ever seen him. Injured and weakened, while still maintaining his smug persona. But there’s something in his demeanor, in his eyes, that feels different. He leans just slightly against you, the shoulder of his injured arm touching yours. 

You reach one hand over and place it carefully on his bandages. His body feels warm next to you. “Thank you for protecting me,” you say quietly. 

He meets your gaze, wearing a mysterious expression. “I’m an injured man. Are you going to comfort me, woman?”

You suddenly feel hot, almost feverish. You realize there’s a part of you that’s been wanting to touch him all evening. You stand up from the bed and move to stand in front of him. As he watches, you slowly pull off the lovely new dress and drape it over a nearby chair, then you step closer until you’re standing between his legs. 

His uninjured arm circles around you, pulling you so that your body is pressed firmly against him. You wrap your arms around his neck and he tilts his head up slightly. You kiss him, deeply and passionately, your lips smashed into his, your tongue slipping into his hot, rum coated mouth. 

You feel a hand softly squeezing your breast, and look down to see that he’s using his bandaged arm. You wonder absently if flexing his fingers like this hurts his wound. But then his mouth moves down, trailing kisses down your neck and collarbone before  closing around your hardened nipple, his wet tongue flicking at it. 

Your breathing gets faster as you snake your hands down to open his pants. Unsurprisingly, he’s already hard, his huge cock standing up straight and proud. You position yourself above it, then slowly sink down, wincing slightly at how he stretches you. 

He’s staring at your face, his expression calm, as if he hasn’t just been stabbed, as if there’s not a naked woman currently in his lap, struggling to take his entire cock. You want to make him react, to see his handsome face display the pleasure you give him, so you lower yourself further down, gasping when you feel that he’s all the way in. 

You sit there for a moment, your arms wrapped around him, face pressed into his shirt, giving yourself time to adjust to his massive size. It’s a luxury you don’t normally get. Strangely, he doesn’t rush you to begin moving, or thrust up into you. His good arm simply remains wound around your back.  

Once you’re ready, you pull back slightly to look him in the eyes as you gradually begin moving up and down. Your hands slip down and begin unbuttoning his shirt. You’re struck by the urge to feel his muscled torso against your skin, to see those alluring tattoos. Once his shirt is open, your fingers slide beneath it, your palms rubbing over his chest. 

You know you’re playing a dangerous game. These feelings you’re experiencing will only bring you pain. Another pirate sneeringly told you that Captain Sukuna never keeps or releases his women. Without exception he always either kills them or hands them over to his men once he’s done playing with them. The pirate seemed to think it would be the latter, and you cringed when his eyes roved over you. 

How will you feel when he decides he’s tired of you? When he’s stabbing you to death? When he’s laughing and watching his men take turns with you? 

You can’t imagine it, but you also can’t fight what you’re feeling right now as you sink down to the base of his cock again, taking quick shuddering breaths as you maintain eye contact with him. 

***********************

Sukuna still doesn’t know exactly why he protected her. He tells himself it’s probably because he didn’t want to lose his plaything for the rest of the voyage. But the truth is, he moved without thinking, as if it were a reflex. 

And now, that beautiful, delicate flower he protected is riding him so well. His instinct is to throw her onto the bed and fuck her violently, but there’s something appealing about watching her take the lead, watching her take his cock so very deep of her own accord. Her motions are slow, but deliberate, intimate. She clenches him tightly, her eyes full of lust, her lips plump and swollen from their kiss. 

She leans her head down, and he feels her wet little tongue on his chest, licking along the black lines of ink. Ah, such a sweet maiden. He could stay buried inside her forever. 

What is he going to do with her? The thought of any of his men touching her, experiencing her tight, velvety pussy for themselves, fills him with intense anger. And he can’t bring himself to snuff out her existence. 

He pushes these thoughts to the back of his mind. No use thinking about it now, while she’s wrapped around him so pleasingly. She pushes down again, taking him all the way in, and her soft hands tremble as her breaths hitch. Her face looks blissful, her expression rapturous. 

“You’re… so deep… inside me,” she says, now gripping his shoulders for dear life. “Feels… so good!”

Sukuna has never done this before, never allowed a woman to climb onto him and fuck herself on his cock as she pleases, going so slowly and carefully. He’s always only cared for his own pleasure, which he got from pounding into women as roughly as possible, enjoying their screams and the friction of fucking them so hard. 

But looking at the unbelievably beautiful woman before him, he’s beginning to understand the appeal of fucking this way. Watching such a pure, innocent maiden’s face glow with pleasure just from having his cock inside her is making him feel heated in a way he’s never experienced before. 

Her eyes are locked onto his, and she suddenly appears shy. Funny, considering she’s completely naked, breasts bouncing in front of his face as her slick pussy moves up and down his shaft. “Does it… feel good… for you?” she asks as she continues moving, clearly craving validation from him. 

He grins at her. “Feels so good, I’m going to completely fill your womb with my cum.”

She sighs, closing her eyes as if she’s content. Then her arms are around him again, her body pressed to his, and he can feel her heartbeat through her skin. It’s beating so fast as she moves her hips in a circular motion, moaning when his cock hits the right spot inside her. 

When she cums, she clamps down on him, and he can feel her shuddering as her heart races. Sukuna has never truly felt another human being so deeply before, been so connected to another person, and for a brief moment, even he is overwhelmed. A throaty moan escapes his lips, and she immediately looks at his face, her eyes wide. In the heat of the moment, he only wants to feel more of her, so he pulls her into a kiss, their tongues mingling, until he reaches release.

As promised, he fully coats her insides with his seed, wanting to dye her in his colors completely. 

The pain in his arm is all but forgotten as they stay there on the bed, melded into each other. 

******************************

For the next several days, things are back to what you call normal on this ship. Sukuna goes back to being rough with you, but your body has slowly begun to enjoy it, to a certain degree. 

For as long as you live, you’ll never forget the sheer intimacy of that night, when he was gentle with you for the first time. You felt like the two of you became one, if only for a few moments. You long to experience that again, but Sukuna has shown no inclination towards repeating that night.

The end of the two weeks is quickly approaching, and you feel dread building in the pit of your stomach. Your only plan is to beg Sukuna to kill you swiftly, because dying by his hands would be preferable to being handed over like a piece of meat, discarded and unwanted. 

So on the eve before your last day, before the ship will dock at their destination, you feel extremely anxious as you wait in Sukuna’s quarters. When he walks in, you stand up from the bed, holding your hands in front of you nervously. 

“We’ll reach land in the morning,” Sukuna tells you. “We’re just spending a few days there to resupply and rest.”

You nod, wondering why he’s bothering to tell you. 

He looks at your worried face, and he’s silent for a moment. You have your plea prepared in your mind. You’ll as him to give you a quick and painless death. But he sighs and sits in his chair. “When we dock, you’ll leave the ship. I’ll give you enough gold to buy passage to wherever you were going.”

You feel like you’ve been slapped. “What?”

“I’m letting you go,” he says. “You can return to whatever life you were living.”

Your fists are now balled at your sides. Your whole body is shaking as tears sting your eyes. “How dare you!” you suddenly shout. 

Sukuna blinks, surprised by your outburst. 

“You kidnap me,” you begin, “have your way with me, make me fall in love with you, then send me away?! How could you?!”

His eyes widen slightly, then that smug grin you’ve grown to love spreads over his face. “So you’ve actually fallen for me?”

You feel your cheeks burning. You didn’t intend to confess your feelings this way. But the cat’s out of the bag now. “Yes, I have. And I won’t be thrown off the ship like a stowaway!”

Sukuna stands up and steps over to you. “If you stay, I can’t guarantee anything. I might end up doing something truly heinous to you.”

You look up at him. “I understand.”

He puts one hand on your face, his thumb grazing your lips. “I won’t go easy on you just because you love me. I’ll still fuck you whenever I want, as hard as I want.”

You swallow, then slowly nod. “I can accept that.”

His eyes seem to soften. “But I suppose… fucking you gently every now and then wouldn’t be so bad.”

He leans in and kisses you softly. When he pulls away, you steel your resolve and say, “I have a request.”

There’s a hint of surprise on his face as he says, “Oh? And what would that be? More dresses? We can get some when we dock.”

“No more women,” you say. 

He laughs. “Jealous already? I don’t intend to take a woman for myself while I already have one who pleases me.”

“No, I mean… no taking any women. At all.”

“The men will hate you,” he says, though he’s still smiling. 

“I was thinking about this. There should be women willing to come aboard and… entertain the crew if they’re paid or perhaps given free passage to somewhere they’d like to go.”

“You mean whores.”

That’s not a word you’re comfortable using, but you nod. “Yes. And wouldn’t the men be better served by women who choose to be here, who have experience pleasuring men?”

“I’ll consider it,” he says, then he suddenly jerks your body to him and wraps his arms around you. His wound seems to be healing well. “Now take off this dress before I rip it off. You’ll need something to wear when we disembark tomorrow.”

You slide the dress up and over your head. “Will you be gentle with me tonight?” you ask. 

His hands are already exploring your body. “Not when you ask me so sweetly. It only makes me want to ravage you more.”

Your fingers are tracing his tattoos. “But I wanted to feel you tonight, all the way to my core, while I ride you.”

He pauses, looking into your eyes. “You’ve bewitched me, woman.”

You smile at him as he takes your hand and leads you to the bed. Your true voyage has only just begun. 

[theresattrpgforthat]

Hi folks, it’s Mint.

I’m on a mini-vacation this week so I’m going to be releasing some recommendation posts for things that aren’t related to requests (easy to queue), and I’ll be back to doing regular rec posts when I get back!

THEME: TTRPGs For Palestine.

This is going to be a list of recommendations of games that you can get in the TTRPGs for Palestine Bundle. There’s plenty of games in the bundle that I’ve recommended before, so I’m going to try and focus on games I haven’t talked much about before. You can look at the bottom of this post for some of the greatest hits!

The bundle is on until June 29, so make sure to pick it up before it's too late!

LORDSWORN, by Mareensmusings.

You rode to war at the call of your God, swore yourself to Their divinity as the drums of war beat from every corner of the Pantheon. Standing beside your divinity, Their purpose so clear and noble, you felt immortal. Beside your fellow Lordsworns, you felt your victory a certainty, battle but a trivial formality.

Now They lay dead before you, Their Godblood flowing into the dirt. Already the world lurches in distress, twisting at the loss of a God, one of many to die this day. Your Captain, too, lies broken, entrusting the survivors of your Company to the you. Of the thousands who rode out, you are all that remains of your Company.

Your God is dead. You only have each other now.

LORDSWORN is a GMless TTRPG for 1-4 players of tragic, fragile stories of desperate survival and comradery at the end of the world. In LORDSWORN each player takes on the role of three soldiers who swore themselves to a (now dead) God during the Cataclysm, an apocalyptical battle that saw all the Gods of the Pantheon go to war. With their God dead and the world churning and reeling from the death of the Pantheon, you and a handful of survivors must make the trek back to the only place that makes sense anymore – Home. 

LORDSWORN is a collaborative game that guides your group into the story of a company, of which each player will control 3 Lordsworns. Your characters can be chosen from a list, or drawn randomly using a deck of cards. You navigate the game over four stages: world-building, company creation, the journey home, and the epilogue. The game is designed to be tragic, even if your company makes it all the way home. The core rules are built off of Caltrop Core, which means that you will rely mostly on d4s anytime you have to roll dice, but unlike many other Caltrop Core games that I’ve seen, the system is less focused on chance and more focused on oracles. If you want a game of tragedy that focuses on the story rather than the characters, you might want to check out Lordsworn.

Lamplighter’s Festival, by ira prince.

The lamps have been there for as long as we can remember. The lamps have never been there, and only appear for tonight. The lamps are strange and new — we’re still getting used to them, making space for them in our lives. We know exactly what the lamps mean, and we’ve committed their history to heart. We’ve forgotten what the lamps mean, even if the gravity of it still hums and shimmers around them. We’re deciding what the lamps mean, weaving their purpose in more tightly every year, every season, every eclipse. Tonight, we light the lamps, and we tell our stories about them.

Lamplighter’s Festival is a map-drawing game about a nighttime festival, and the things it can illuminate about the place in which it’s celebrated. It can be played alone, or collaboratively if you like.

Lamplighter’s Festival uses the random placement of dice to draw out a location, at whatever scale you like. You use the pattern that ensues to create locations on the map called Lamp Locations, which you will elaborate on as you play. At the end of the game, you will have not only a festival, but details about the different elements that are required for it to happen properly, and possibly the cultural meanings behind the festival. If you want a game that helps you build a place and a culture around one specific event, this might be the game for you.

A Labyrinth Like Us, by z.w. garth.

The minotaur city of Ut sits in the center of an endless labyrinth. The labyrinth twists and turns, it folds and rearranges. And from its dark halls pour forth monsters, which tear and smash and destroy.

You are a minotaur in your district's Guard. You respond to the waves of beasts that wreck havoc and mayhem—repelling the danger and protecting the afflicted. You carry with you your hopes for Ut's future, and your fears for its present. Rally with your neighbors to protect one another. Carve a home in the labyrinth.

A Labyrinth Like Us is a 2-page roleplaying game in the OSR/sword dream tradition. It requires 3-5 players, including one Keeper, 2d20 and 2d6, and these rules. 

This game is reminiscent of, but not a direct replication of any specific myth. You play as minotaurs in a labyrinthine city, plagued by horrors that they can only face when working together. Your minotaurs use emotions to empower special abilities, which are mainly combat-focused.

The game is only two pages, with one page introducing you to the setting, character creation, and how to play, while the other provides roll tables and advice for the Games Master in order to make the labyrinth feel dangerous and dark. If you want a game that presents you with a challenge but doesn’t overwhelm you with rules, you might want to take a look at A Labyrinth Like Us.

HYPERMALL: Unlimited Violence, by Rat Bastard Games.

Do you hate your boss? Like, REALLY hate your boss? 

HYPERMALL: UNLIMITED VIOLENCE is a mission-based corpo murder TTRPG about assassinating the rich and famous. Enter the consumerist hellscape of THE HYPERMALL where death is cheap and life is cheaper. HM:UV is an unhinged gonzo meatpunk sci-fi dystopia buzzword game for financial geniuses. 

You're a CONTRACTOR for SLAUGHTR™ - The Assassination App - and your job is to Murder Your Target Without Dying. You're already in debt. You can't afford unnecessary Resurrections when rent is due, and you absolutely do not have health insurance. GET TO WORK. 

Become a mutated killing machine, a psychic murderer, or a cold blooded cyber criminal. Try your best to make ends meet. Die a lot. Kill cops. Get paid.

This is a game of cathartic violence, with random roll tables to help you build a unique character quickly, pulling from d66 backgrounds and meshing together rules from games like Troika and PbtA. Combat isn’t just physical in this game: you can also fight your opponents in the finacial and social spheres, allowing you to take down someone three different ways.

The really difficult part is figuring out how to kills someone permanently, since there’s a resurrection matrix inside the Hypermall that makes death kind of hard to stick. If you want to unleash your fury in increasingly creative ways, you might want to check out HYPERMALL: Unlimited Violence.

Heaven / Hell, by Joel Happyhill.

Hell, The Underworld, Hades, Yomi, no matter what you call it seems like everyone’s ended up here. No one has any memory of their life before, if such a thing even exists. But one thing rings true, none of you want to stick around.

Heaven / Hell, otherwise known as 2H, is a competitive 1 VS 1 tabletop game set in the underworld. It’s meant to recreate the systems and strategies created by traditional fighting video games, allowing you to mix and mach a number of recognizable fighting game archetypes and optional rules to play your dream fighter through the medium of pen and paper.

Heaven/Hell is more like a competitive board-game than it is a tabletop roleplaying game. Your characters will travel across a board as they do battle with each-other, with distance and positioning being crucial in developing a strategy.

One mechanic that seems to help emulate fighting games is the use of the Underdog Token, which is granted to your character whenever you take a Wound in a round of combat. This Token can be spent in the following round to reveal a new Technique or do something called Flash Parry for a second time. You use this ability to halt another player’s move in its tracks, culminating in a scene that you might see in a dramatic fight where two opponents are holding each-other off with their weapons, possibly snarling at each-other as their faces draw close.

If you want the tactical complexity of a board-game combined with the dramatic moments of high-action tv shows, you might want to check out Heaven / Hell.

Hexfall, by Titanomachy RPG.

Stratus Cay is a floating city in the Rift, a digital quantum dimension at the intersection of the smallest black hole in the multiverse and the concept of becoming. The city is made of countless islands, a hyperreal archipelago adrift in flashing interdimensional lights. An infinite smattering of lives, as varied and precious as the stars themselves.

You are a hyperpowered being who came into larger-than-life abilities because of a profound cataclysm. Heartbreak. Grief. The depths. Physical, emotional, multidimensional–something unlocked incredible power in you. People like you have many names across Stratus Cay, but the most common is “Diver,” a nickname derived from their affinity for falling through the Rift, either on dangerous jobs or just for fun. 

Divers’ abilities run the gamut of even the wildest imaginations, and their extreme power and durability makes many of them reckless thrillseekers. The pay is too good and the thrills too extraordinary to turn down the opportunity to go on a dive.

Hexfall takes the tried-and-true method of hexcrawling and turns it on its side, by making your travel vertical; you’re diving from the edge of a floating island and falling into the Rift, retrieving artifacts, harvesting resources, and enjoying the thrills of free-fall. Hexfall has combat, puzzles, and mysteries for you to solve, but it also gives you space to roleplay and get to know each-other’s characters, using a token system for actions like helping out your fellow divers, and signifying when you want to role-play a narratively significant moment between you and another person.

What really stands out in this game though, is the character playbooks. Do you have wings made out of swords? Do you carry the blessing of a giant? Have you embraced the fungal form of decay and rebirth? All of these are possibilities within various playbooks of Hexfall. If you want a game about thrill-seeking and finding meaning in a world that, as fantastical as it is, still demands you work out why you want to live, you might want to try out Hexfall.

Abominations, by Elliot Davis.

They tried to tell you to stop playing God.  You replied, “Who’s playing?” and spliced in another gene. 

What is an Abomination?

A living amalgamation of various forms of flesh, machinery, and whatever you can stick it together with. Some slimy, some hairy, some are covered in eyes. Others are a knot of tongues and fingers. An Abomination is whatever you can imagine it to be, tossed in a blender and put back together.

ABOMINATIONS is a tactile, GM-less TTRPG for 2-6 players. Using a set of letter tiles and some 10-sided dice, you will create one-of-a-kind monsters of your own design. Then take them into the ring for a fight to the last scraps.

This is a game that feels kind of like a biological version of Robot Wars. Instead of constructing robots and pitting them against each-other, you’re creating monstrous mutating piles of flesh and throwing them in the ring. Your characters are to an extent, somewhat pre-defined: each player chooses a vowel, which represents something of your character’s personality, as well as the secret mutation only they have access to. You play using Scrabble tiles, with each letter granting access to specific mutations, from Guns for Arms, to X-Ray Vision, to a Zipper Down the Middle!

If you want a goofy game of slapstick and body horror, I recommend Abominations.

Greatest Hits

Wanderhome, by Possum Creek Games.

FIST, by Claymore.

Apocalypse Frame, by Binary Star Games.

Bump in the Dark, by Jex J Thomas.

[callsignseagull]

all you had to do was stay ✪ part 1

Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin x fem!reader

Summary: Six years ago Jake hit your life like a hurricane. In and out in a matter of weeks. You thought after you get over the disappointment of him leaving without saying a word you’d never think of him again. But then two pink lines change your life forever. Now he’s back and still has no idea that the little girl by your side is his daughter. 

Words: 2.1k

Warnings: Not much, honestly. maybe just a little angsty 

A/N: Here’s part one!! I hope you like it! It's a little on the short side but hopefully there'll be more soon :))

feedback is always appreciated :)

series masterlist

You’re sitting at the dining table, scrolling through your emails with one hand while holding your toast in the other. You’ve become a pro at multitasking.

“Mommy? Do you think they have churros at that market Penny is taking me?” Your daughter is munching on a toast of her own, crumbs sticking to her cheeks. 

“I’m sure.” You smile. “And I’m sure if you ask nicely, Penny will get some for you.” 

She grins before taking another bite of her toast and you can’t help but reach over and give her a kiss. You can’t believe how fast she’s growing up. At now five years old, Josie is your entire world. As shocked and scared as you were when you found out about her, she’s the best thing that ever happened to you.   

Turning back to your laptop, you flag the most important mails so you don’t forget to follow up on them later. The time before one of your books releases is always the most stressful, but you wouldn’t change it for the world. You got so lucky. 

You wrote and illustrated your first children’s book while being pregnant with Josie, it gave you something to distract yourself from all the changes you were going through. And then you posted about it online, it went sort of viral and then a publisher reached out to you. The book was an immediate success. It’s been translated in several different languages and they even make stuffed toys and board games based on your characters now.

And now you’re about to release the fifth book in the series. It’s hard to churn one out every year, but you’re scared that if you drop the ball, all you’ve worked for will be ripped from you. You want to give Josie the best life possible, so you work your ass off. 

When both of you are finished with breakfast, you clean up the table and tell Josie to put her shoes on. As you slip into your own shoes, you whistle for Muffin, the four year old poodle mix you adopted from a rescue last year, and he comes trotting around the corner moments later. 

After checking you’ve got everything you lock the front for behind you, hold your free hand out for Josie to take, the other holding Muffin’s leash. Then, the three of you take on the short walk towards the Hard Deck. 

Penny Benjamin has been a life saver these last few years, throughout your pregnancy and beyond. She’s been there for you whenever you needed her, day or night. You don’t know what you would’ve done without her. And now she’s somewhat of a grandma figure for Josie, and she’s probably the hottest grandma ever. Her and Amelia are the closest thing you and Josie have to a family, besides each other.

Today, Penny is taking Josie to a Food Market while you look after the bar for a couple hours. It’s still early and not many people will be there, but you’re glad you can help Penny out while still getting some work done for yourself.

“There’s my favourite little family!” Penny greets, as you enter the Hard Deck, her arms wide and Josie immediately runs towards her and into her arms. 

“Hi Penny! I’m so excited! Are you excited? Do you think they’ll have churros?” Josie rambles with glistening eyes, her dimples on show and for a moment you’re reminded of how much she looks like her father. You manage to push thoughts of him to the back of your mind most days but sometimes you just look at her and all you can see is him. 

You haven’t tried reaching out to him again. You know you should’ve. But it felt wrong sending him a text telling him he’ll be a father. And you doubted that he even wanted to be a father. So you decided you’d spare yourself, and your daughter, the heartache. Josie hasn’t asked about her father much, but when she did you told her that he’s a pilot in the Navy and that he loves her. You never want her to feel like she’s not wanted.  

✩̿✪̿✩̿

Jake knew he’d come back eventually. He just didn’t know it would take him so long. But if he was being honest with himself he knew that if it wasn’t for him being called back to Top Gun for some top secret mission he still wouldn’t have had the guts to come back here. Hell, he’s been living only a few hours north from here for the past couple of years. He easily could’ve made the drive down. But he’d always been good at coming up with excuses. But now he couldn’t. Not when he’s in the same city for the next few months. He’d constantly be looking for you. Seeing you in every face that just slightly resembled yours. He didn’t even know if you still lived in San Diego, though. But going to the Hard Deck seemed like the logical thing to do. Even if you weren’t working there anymore, Penny Benjamin might know where to find you.

As soon as he enters the bar he’s hit with nostalgia. Nothing has changed. He takes a look around and pretends he’s the six years younger version of himself, still naive enough to think that nothing will ever rattle him.

Since it’s still the early afternoon it’s not busy and there seems to be no one behind the bar right now. With a deep sigh he sits down in one of the barstools, then notices someone crouched down behind the bar, looking for something in a cabinet. 

His breath catches in his throat. It can’t be.

He hasn’t seen you in six years, and even though he can’t see your face right now, he knows it’s you. He can feel it. 

Now he really feels like he’s been transported back six years in time. You haven’t noticed him yet and he can’t hold back the words that are going through his head.

“Can you pinch me? Because I can’t believe you’re real. I thought I was dreaming.” He knows it’s a bit of a dick move, throwing his first thing he ever said to you at you now. But maybe you’re not as mad at him as he thinks? What if you don’t even remember him? He hadn’t thought about that. Fuck. 

✩̿✪̿✩̿

You almost hit your head when you spin around towards him.  This can’t be real.

“What are you doing here?” You must look like you’ve seen a ghost, but it honestly feels like that. He looks the same but he doesn’t. He’s filled out more, even though you never thought it possible. And he just looks overall more mature. It suits him. 

“What am I doing here in San Diego or what am I doing here at the Hard Deck?” He tilts his head, a small smile on his face. You don’t grace that with an answer, he knows what you mean. The smile slowly drops from his face, and there’s a seriousness in his eyes that makes it impossible for you to look away. “I was hoping to find you here.”

“Why?”

“I want to apologise.” 

That makes you straighten up. Apologise? After six years? 

“I was an absolute asshole to you and you didn’t deserve that. I was going through a rough time and I took all that out on you. I’m sorry. And I’m sorry I just left without saying goodbye. I got called on a mission right after graduation and when I got back I figured you didn’t wanna talk to me ever again.”

His words take your breath away for a moment. Never in a million years did you think you’d get an apology from Jake. 

“I-,” you stop, wringing your hands together. At a loss for words.

“You don’t have to say anything.” He smiles softly. “I’m in town for a while. Maybe we could … I don’t know … hang out sometime? Catch up?”

As much as you want to protect your heart and tell him no, you know you have to catch him up on what happened after he left. It’s not right to keep him in the dark now that he’s here. You know that.

“You don’t have to answer me now. Take some time to think about it. I’m sure you’re busy, with your books being such a success. And you’re still working at the bar?” He looks curious and you’re a little shocked.

“I’m just helping Penny out for a couple hours. You know about my books?”

“My nieces love them.” He grins. “I have to read them to them before bed every time I’ve got time to visit them down in Texas.”

“You’ve got nieces?” 

“Yeah, they’re two and four. Love them to death. My Mom’s been begging for grandkids for years and she’s so happy to dote on them every chance she gets.”

Your heart constricts. Two and four. They’re younger than Josie. Not only does she have cousins somewhere in Texas, she’s also the first grandchild to a woman who’s never met her. Who doesn’t even know about her. But you don’t know much about Jake’s parents. Maybe she wouldn’t be the biggest fan of a child out of wedlock. 

You glance at Jakes hand. No ring. 

You muster up the courage to your next question. You know the answer might hurt, but you have to ask him.

“Any kids of your own?” 

Jake shakes his head with a laugh, “No, not that I know of.” 

It’s just a joke but you feel like it makes your heart stop before it starts beating rapidly in your chest. This is it. There’s no better moment than now. Just get it over with.

“Jake, I-“ 

“Mommy!” Josie comes barreling through the door, Penny a few steps behind her. “Penny let me have Churros and they were delicious!” She wraps her arms around you and looks up at you with her sparkling green eyes.

Maybe you don’t even have to tell him. You glance at Jake and he looks a bit taken aback.

“Yeah, honey? Did you have fun?”

“So much fun!” She grins, showing off her deep dimples, and you run a hand over her head before giving her a kiss. You manage to look at Penny, who’s glaring at Jake. It takes all your courage to look at him. He doesn’t even seem to notice Penny, his eyes focused on the girl in your arms. You can’t read the expression on his face, has he already realised how much she looks like him? 

“Well, I guess I don’t have to ask you if you have any.” He smiles, his lips tight, then looks at your daughter and his smile turns more genuine. “What’s your name, sweetheart?” Hearing the term of endearment again makes goosebumps raise on your skin. 

“Josie.” She’s not a shy kid, so you’re not surprised when she looks at him curiously and asks, “Who are you?” 

Your grip tightens around her but before you can say anything he replies, “I’m an old friend of your Mom.” 

You shoot him a really? look but he just shrugs his shoulders. Well, you guess it is inappropriate to tell your five-year-old daughter that he used to fuck your brains out. 

“Thanks for helping out.” Penny says, “Both of you.” She winks at Josie. 

Muffin comes trotting around the corner and Josie let’s go of you to throw her arms around the poodle mix. “I missed you!” While Muffin covers your daughter’s face in slobber, Jake huffs out a laugh. 

“A dog, too, huh?” 

You shrug your shoulders, not sure what to say to that. 

“Does the house have a picket fence?” It’s a bit of a loaded question, you think, but you don’t read too much into it and reply truthfully, thinking about the little house you put a down payment on a couple years ago. 

“It does.” 

Jake rubs his chest and gives you that tight lipped smile again. “I’m happy for you.” 

He means it, you can tell. “Thanks, Jake.”

He gets up from his seat at the bar, knocks on the wood a couple times then says. “Your husband is one lucky guy.” Another tight lipped smile.

“My wha-?” 

“I’ll see you around.” He nods then turns on his heel and before you can comprehend what just happened he’s gone.

“Mommy, why did he say your husband? You don’t have one of those.” 

“I don’t know, honey.” 

You watch him cross the parking lot to his car and it dawns on you that he thinks that all your dreams came true:  become a full time illustrator, fall in love, get married, adopt a dog, buy a little house, have kids.

Little does he know that you fell in love with him, had his kid, and did all of the rest on your own. 

taglist: @annathesillyfriend ✪ @lovebittenbyevans ✪ @heyhihellowhatsup0 ✪ @one-sweet-gubler ✪ @emorychase ✪ @wooya1224 ✪ @novagreen04 ✪ @iammirrorball ✪ @lolcaca ✪ @caitsymichelle13 ✪ @soulmates8 ✪ @soleilgrec ✪ @lilylilyyyyyy ✪ @winters-queen ✪ @i0veless ✪ @the-romanian-is-bae ✪ @mandyppp ✪ @dempy ✪ @mizuki80 ✪ @lumpypoll ✪ @averyhotchner ✪ @babyice1274 ✪ @captain-fandomwriter58 ✪ @hangmanscoming ✪ @caidi-paris ✪ @linkpk88 ✪ @djs8891 ✪ @xomrsalliej4787xo ✪ @lnmp89 ✪ @startrekfangirl2233 ✪ @gigisimsonmars ✪ @merishfit ✪ @clancycucumber230 ✪ @sky0401 ✪ @emilyoflanternhill ✪ @roostersforevergirl ✪ @celestialeviereads ✪ @blackwidownat2814 ✪ @impossiblebagelcowboyfreak ✪ @grxcisxhy-wp ✪ @atarmychick007 ✪ @dakotakazansky ✪ @fulla02 ✪ @alana4610 ✪ @callsignwidow ✪ @memoriesat30 ✪ @ebonyhogan24

[babydollmarauders]

SWEET SWEET BABY — JACK HUGHES

part of the el!hughes au

summary: in which y/n (lovie) gives birth to their baby boy

warnings: reference to porn (?), birth

notes: THIS TAKES PLACE IN APRIL 2024! (2.8k words)

not my gif

“five more days.”

Jack’s voice breaks me out of my reading trance, my eyes tearing away from my book that sits propped up on my overly large bump.

“hmm?” i hum, wincing as the baby pushes against my bladder.

Jack just smiles, he has one hand resting on my lower stomach, and the other holding our two-year-old to his chest as she naps.

“five more days,” he repeats, his sentence broken up by a yawn. “until his due date.”

“if he can stay in here that long.” i joke. it’s an ongoing worry of mine, that our baby boy is gonna come before his due-date like his sister did.

“he’ll do it.” Jack says confidently, looking down at my stomach. “right, little guy?”

our son, as though knowing his father is talking to him, kicks directly at Jack’s hand on my bump, resulting in a wide grin from Jack.

“told ya, Lovie.” he looks back at me, “he’ll wait. he just told us so.”

“go take your nap!” i laugh, pushing at his legs with my foot.

“okay, well i’m taking her with me.” he sticks his tongue out at me as he stands up, clutching Eleanor tightly to his chest with his good arm as he does so.

“that’s fine with me. peace and quiet.” i sigh, “maybe i’ll actually get to finally finish my book.”

“you mean your porn?” Jack teases, bending over to press a kiss to my forehead.

“it’s not porn! it’s romance!”

“porn with a plot!” his words are spoken with a dismissive wave of his hand in his post-surgery sling as he walks toward our bedroom.

“shut up!” Luke’s voice drifts out from his bedroom, and i can only imagine him with his pillow pressed against his ear. “i don’t wanna hear your freaky sex talk! some of us are trying to have a pregame nap!”

Jack throws his head back in laughter, the tips of my ears turning red at Luke’s assumption.

“go to sleep, before you upset my son.” i huff, waving Jack off.

“our son can’t get upset yet.” he reminds me, his brows furrowing in confusion.

“i know. i said my son.” i tell him. “Luke.”

“oh my god.” Jack groans, rolling his eyes before he turns and finally disappears down the hallway.

i hear our bedroom door click shut and let out a sigh of contentment.

Jack hasn’t given me any room to breathe for the past couple days. ever since we hit one week until the due-date, which is how early i had El, Jack has been hovering nonstop, just in case the baby decides he’s ready to make his grand entrance. but finally, it’s the last game of the regular season tonight, and with Jack, Luke, and El all taking naps, i get a couple hours to myself.

just me, my book, and the unborn child in my womb that is currently dancing on my bladder.

i heave out a sigh, bookmarking my page and shutting my book, letting it fall to the couch as i struggle to push myself up.

damnit, i should’ve had Jack help me up to pee before he went to sleep.

i finally, successfully, rise from the couch, waddling over to the bathroom and making it to the toilet just in time.

after washing my hands, i head into the kitchen and grab myself a water bottle and the tupperware of pre-cut fruit that Jack had prepared for me this morning, before making my way back to the couch.

**

my head is pounding, light pains in my stomach as i sit on the floor, waiting up for Jack and Luke to get home.

the Devils lost to the Islanders 4-1, and i know both the boys are gonna need cheering up. even though Jack sat in a suite the entire game and didn’t play, i know he feels the loss just as hard as the rest of his teammates.

El is wired from her two naps of the day, currently decked out in a princess dress with a lab coat over it as she plays doctor, checking my bump for any ‘boo-boo’s, but i don’t have the energy to fight her on going to bed.

El’s play stethoscope is pressed against my bump, her wild blonde curls falling over her eyes as she looks down.

“mama.” she whispers, standing up straight and cupping my face.

“yes, lovely?” i coo, tucking a curl behind her ear.

“baby heart!” she points to my stomach, bending back down to press her plastic stethoscope against the stretched out fabric of my shirt.

“yeah? are you listening to the babies heart?” she nods enthusiastically, the stethoscope bouncing from its connection in her ears.

she rips it out though when she hears the front door unlock, her head snapping up towards the living room entrance, waiting to see who it is.

as soon as Jack rounds the corner, her little legs take off; her feet slapping against the hardwood floor as she runs over to him.

“daddy!” Jack’s face brightens at the sight of her, a small smile playing on his lips as he bends down, allowing El to wrap her arms around his neck.

“hi, lovely.” Jack presses a kiss to her cheek as she pulls back. “what are you still doing up? how come mommy didn’t put you to bed?”

“mommy, doesn’t have a single ounce of energy left to fight her into bed.” i sigh, letting my head fall back onto the sofa.

“uncle Luke’s got it.” Luke swoops in, pulling El up into his arms. “c’mon munchkin, you wanna wear your Elsa jammie’s tonight?”

“dark vader!” El screams, making Luke wince as he starts toward the hallways to her room.

“what has uncle Quinn done to you?” he shakes his head as they retreat.

Jack sighs, looking down at me on the floor. he huffs out a chuckle and shakes his head at me as i stretch grabby hands out to him, walking over and helping me up off the floor.

“you okay?” i run a hand through his overgrown hair, staring into his ocean blue eyes.

“yeah,” he starts, pausing when he sees me flinch. “are you?”

“mhm.” i nod, gritting my teeth as a sharp pain shoots through my abdomen and back.

“are you sure?” he asks, flattening the back of his hand to my forehead as if checking my temperature. i swat it away. “Lovie, if we need to go to the hospital, just tell me. better safe than sorry.”

“we don’t-” i’m cut off by El storming into the living room in her Darth Vader onesie, Luke chasing behind her with her toothbrush in hand.

“we gotta brush your teeth Ellie-Bug!” Luke catches up to her with his long legs, but not before she can try and scramble up my body, her hands pushing against my stomach and causing me to cringe in pain.

“alright, that’s it, we’re going.” Jack announces, stepping back.

“no.” i stand my ground, crossing my arms across my chest. “i’m fine, Jack. it’s just a few pains. nothing i can’t handle.”

and my words would’ve been believable, if it weren’t for the gush of liquid that begins to trickle down my legs.

“fuck.” i curse, squeezing my eyes shut as Jack retreats to the linen closet to retrieve a towel.

“mommy! potty! go!” El screams, her little index finger pointing towards the bathroom.

“no, lovely, mommy doesn’t need to potty.” i lift a foot as Jack sets a towel down to soak up the liquid, oddly calm given the circumstances.

“hey, sunshine,” Jack’s voice is soft as he squats down in front of our toddler. “you know how mommy and daddy have been telling you baby brother is in mommy’s tummy?”

“baby!” El squeals, making to come and rub my bump like she usually does, but Jack holds her back.

“yeah, a baby!” Jack grins, “well now baby brother is ready to come and meet you, doesn’t that sound fun?”

my eyes water at the calm and gentle approach he has to explaining the situation to our sweet girl, and how excited she seems to get as she nods her head.

“okay, so mommy and daddy are gonna go to the doctor’s, and uncle Luke is gonna stay here with you. is that okay?”

“yuke!” she shouts, her head whipping around to find Luke, who’s currently attending to me as i waddle towards my bedroom to get changed.

“i’m right here, munchkin.” Luke switches places with my husband, probably the better choice, as i’ll need someone to help me peel these leggings off and put new ones on, and i think Luke and i would both rather he not be the one to do it.

Jack makes quick work of helping me sit on our bed, peeling my leggings and underwear off before he helps me into new ones.

“you ready, love?” i question, suspiciously eyeing him and his strangely serene demeanor.

“shouldn’t i be asking you that question?” he smiles, helping me off the bed.

“oh, i know i’m not. but are you?” he guides me back out to the living room, past El’s bedroom, where i can hear Luke reading her a bedtime story, and towards the front door.

“yeah.” he nods as he opens the door. “i’m ready.”

“oh good. then, can you push him out for me?” Jack laughs loudly, helping me into the car.

“unfortunately, i can’t do that.” he reminds me, my lips turning down in a frown. “but i’ll tell you what i can do.”

he pauses to round the car, sliding into the drivers seat. his hand slips into mine, lacing our fingers together as he looks into my eyes.

“i can hold your hand, and remind you that at the end of all that pushing, we’re gonna have our baby boy.” his forehead rests against mine, dipping down to kiss my lips before he pulls away and begins driving to the hospital.

“fuck you and your sweet words.” i sigh, gripping the car door and squeezing his hand as another contraction comes along. “shit!”

**

sweat drips down my forehead as i push. Jack stands beside me, his hand tightly clutched in mine as he whispers reassuring words in my ear.

“i want my mom!” i sob, tears streaming down my cheeks as i stop pushing, looking towards Jack, who’s eyes are welled up with tears.

“i’m sorry,-” he pushes my hair back from sticking to my forehead.

“i want Ellen!” i clarify, squeezing my eyes shut as another contraction hits and i’m forced to begin pushing again.

“oh lovie,” my husband coos, resting his forehead against the side of my head. “mom is on her way. i promise.”

we were lucky in the sense that Ellen and Jim had already flew into town yesterday to attend the boys game tonight and wait for baby boy to arrive. but my labor happened so fast, that he had just gotten ahold of Ellen before i was told it was time to push.

“okay, take a breath, y/n.” the doctor speaks, “i can see his head crowning so this next push should be it.”

i take three deep breaths before i feel another contraction, pushing one last time before the sound of infant cries fill the room.

Jack squeezes my hand as i fall back on the hospital bed, after labor chills making my body shake.

“good job, mom!” the doctor cheers, “you have a seemingly healthy baby boy!”

the nurse rests him against my chest, handing him over to me, and i let out another sob at the sight of him.

“oh-” i stare down at his sweet face, running a finger along his cheek. “Jacky, he has your nose.”

i glance up at my husband, who looks at our baby with so much love; as if he’s the greatest thing in the world. his tears have finally spilled over, his hand reaching out to hold the back of our son’s head.

“he’s perfect, lovie.” his voice breaks, catching in his throat mid-sentence.

“our perfect baby boy.”

**

“he’s an angel.” Ellen coos, staring down at the baby in her arms.

“isn’t he perfect?” i smile softly, still waking up from my nap.

its now eight in the morning, and after the four a.m. birth and then first feeding an hour later, i only got three hours of sleep before Jack woke me up and told me his mother was getting restless to see her grandson and he knew i wanted to witness the meeting.

Luke and El should be arriving any moment, so we’re letting Jim and Ellen meet him before they get here.

“absolutely perfect.” Ellen smiles, looking back at Jack and i. my husband lays beside me in the hospital bed, his head resting on my shoulder as he snores.

i can’t imagine how tired he must be. he stayed awake the entire time i napped, just admiring our baby boy and attempting to do some one armed skin-on-skin with the help of a nurse; who advised better of my husband than to use his other arm, which is still in a sling after his shoulder surgery just six days prior.

“he has Jack’s nose.” Jim chuckles as his wife hands the baby off to him.

“that’s what i said.” i grin, turning my head to look down at my sleeping soulmate. i crane my neck, pecking a kiss to his nose, which makes him scrunch it in his sleep.

the room door swings open, Luke stepping through with El clutched in his arms, and i carefully shake Jack awake.

“hmm?” he groans, his eyes fluttering open before he sits up.

“El is here.” i whisper, just before our daughter squeals.

“mommy! daddy!” Luke sets her on the hospital bed and she clambers up our legs, gingerly settling down on Jack’s lap and wrapping her arms around his neck.

“hi, lovely. did you have a good night with uncle Luke?” Jack asks, huffing out a laugh at the sight of her messily done ponytail. she nods, her curls bouncing on top of her head.

“her hair is wild, don’t blame me.” Luke huffs, taking the baby from his father’s arms.

“oh my god, he’s precious.” Luke smiles softly at the baby in his arms as he walks toward the bed.

“you see your baby brother, El?” i question, and her eyes widen as Luke hands my son back to me.

my daughter’s lips part, her hand reaching out to touch the babies foot.

“baby?” she whispers, looking up at Jack and he nods.

“yeah, lovely. that’s the baby that was in mommy’s tummy.” her eyes flicker between the baby and my stomach at his words, and i giggle.

“yeah, there’s nothing in there anymore, lovebug.” i tell her.

“baby.” she repeats, her touch raising to his tiny hands.

“hey, mom?” Jack calls out, Ellen looking over at him with raised brows. “you mind facetiming Quinny?”

“yeah, of course.” she nods, digging her phone out of her purse.

i feel a slight twinge of guilt as i hear the facetime ring, feeling a little bad to be waking Quinn up at five in the morning on a game day, but i know he’ll be excited to see the baby.

“mom? what’s up?” Quinn’s voice is groggy when the call connects, and instead of answering, Ellen just hands the phone to Jack.

“hey, Quinny.” my husband grins, letting El wave hello to her uncle.

“hey Jacky, hi El-Bell.” Quinn rubs his eyes, sitting up in his bed. “what’s going on? i have a game tonight, bro.”

“i know. but, i thought you might wanna meet someone.” Jack flips the phone around, pointing it to me and i hold the baby up better so that Quinn can see.

“oh my god.” Quinn’s seemingly more awake now, bringing the phone closer to his face. “you had him.”

tears well in my eyes, an overwhelming sense of longing for my big brother figure’s presence creeping up on me as i nod.

“i had him.” i confirm.

“he’s beautiful, guys.” Quinn smiles as Jack slots himself and El into the frame, showing off all four of us. “what’s his name?”

i share a glance with Jack and he nods, giving me permission.

“Elio Quintin Hughes.” i smile softly, my tears spilling over my waterline as Quinn gapes.

i hear Ellen let out a little sob, and i glance over to find Jim pulling her in for a hug.

“you named him after… me?” Quinn asks, and even through the phone screen, i can see tears glistening in his eyes.

Jack nods.

“it only seemed right.” i explain. “if it weren’t for you, Jack and i wouldn’t have met. you guys are the family that i desperately wished for growing up, and if it weren’t for you, i wouldn’t have it now either.”

tears stain Quinn’s cheeks, “i love you, y/n. and you too, i guess, Jack.”

Jack laughs, huffing out a “we love you too.”

we stay on the call for another hour, letting El talk to her uncle, and us telling him how the birth went, before he excuses himself, telling us he should probably get a bit more sleep before morning skate.

Jack hands the phone back to Ellen, who snaps a picture of the four of us squished together in the hospital bed.

my little family.

[tip-top-cloud-surfer]

Endings and Beginnings (Part 2) - Rooster

Pairing: Rooster / Fem!Reader (Wife!Reader)

Word Count: 2.6k

Warnings: Pregnancy, Labor and Delivery (Nothing Explicit, Fade-to-Black Magic), Hospitals, Stressful Situations, Use of "You" (Second Person POV), No Y/N, No Physical Description of Reader

This work, all of my other works, and my entire blog are 18+ Only.

Summary: Rooster gets you to the hospital to welcome Baby Bradshaw into the world.

A.N. Thank you so much for all of your support with the last one! I had no idea that it would get so much attention, so thank you and please enjoy Part 2!

Here's Part 1 if you missed it.

Master List

“Babe!?”

“What?” you called back, reaching the top of the stairs.

Rooster rushed up the stairs behind you, acting like a chicken with his head cut off, and followed you as you waddled into your shared bedroom.

“You’re in labor!?” Rooster asked, failing at not freaking out.

“It seems like it,” you replied, pulling out some new underwear from the drawer.

“We have to get you to the hospital!”

“I know,” you assured him, turning towards your closet.

“Let’s get you to the car,” Rooster insisted, following right behind you. “I left the go bag in the trunk, so all we have to do is call the hospital. And your parents. And Mav. And probably Phoenix and everyone else and—”

“—Bradley, honey,” you interjected, holding a hand to his mouth to get him to stop talking. “Can you just help me shower first? I’ve got stuff all over me right now.”

Rooster hurriedly nodded before leading you to your shared bathroom. He quickly undressed you and turned the shower on to a mild temperature. You stepped inside and started to wash away any of the residual fluid and leftovers from a long day at the beach and Hard Deck. Rooster washed your ruined clothes and hung them up to dry before quickly calling the hospital and your doctor.

“Okay, okay, the hospital said that they have a room available for you, so all we have to do is get you there. I called your parents and they said that they were going to try and move up their tickets. And I called Penny and she said that she would take care of everything at the Hard Deck,” Rooster listed off in quick succession as he strode back into the bathroom. “How are you doing?”

“Fine,” you grunted out as a contraction hit you. “Just peachy.”

You leaned on the shower wall a bit and let out a groan, which instantly had Rooster concerned. Shutting off the water, he quickly grabbed a towel and stepped into the shower with you. Carefully drying you off, Rooster got you to rest your weight on him.

“It’s okay, just breathe,” he coached, just like you practiced.

You rocked your hips a bit as Rooster supported your weight and dried you off. When the contraction passed, you let out a breath and slowly straightened up.

“I’m fine,” you repeated, like you weren’t just doubled over in pain.

“Are you sure?” Rooster asked, helping you out of the shower.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” you assured your husband as he grabbed your new clothes. “Just a contraction.”

“You’re in labor,” Rooster reminded you, helping you into a new pair of underwear. “It’s okay if you’re in pain and you’re not fine.”

“Just the early stages. We’ve still got time.”

Rooster got you dressed and brushed your damp hair before you two headed down the stairs. You held the railing and Rooster was suction cupped to your other side with his arm wrapped around your waist and his hand holding your free one.

“Bradley, I’m not dainty. I can walk down the stairs,” you reminded him gently.  

“You’re in labor.”

“Yeah, I’m aware,” you replied dryly. When he started to pull you towards the car, you pulled against him. “Wait, we need to clean up the kitchen.”

Bradley stared at you like you had grown two heads in the span of three seconds. He blinked rapidly and was very clearly trying to pick out his words carefully before responding to you.

“Honey,” he began softly, “the kitchen floor will be fine. We need to get you to the hospital.”

“But it’ll stain and get all gross if we leave it.”

“Then I’ll call someone to stop by and clean it up. While we’re at the hospital.”

“Oh, Bradley, the baby isn’t going to fall out of me. We have some time.”

You swore that Bradley twitched in place, but he acquiesced to your ‘ridiculous’ request. Leaving you by the stairs, Bradley hurried to clean up the fluid on the ground. He mopped furiously with the Swiffer, reminding you of Olympic curlers. You thought about taking a video of it for shits and giggles when you felt another contraction hit you.

Checking your phone for the time, you sucked in a breath when you realized the proximity of the contractions to each other. You let out a grunt and leaned heavily on the railing, rocking your hips again. Rooster, noticing your distress, practically tossed the Swiffer into the closet and sprinted over to you. Resting a hand on your back, he transferred your weight from the railing to him.

“We need to get you to the hospital, okay?”

You nodded, leaning against your husband as a soft whimper escaped your lips. After your contraction passed, Rooster led you down to the car and rushed back to lock up the house.

This wasn’t a drill. He was going to graduate from father-to-be to dad today. Tonight. Whenever the baby decided to actually join the world properly. There would be a little baby with you two for the rest of your lives.

And part of him was scared. No, absolutely terrified at that realization. But he couldn’t focus on that. He needed to be a rock, a pillar of strength for you right now. Even if you denied the fact that you were in need of support, he needed to be there for you. So, Rooster quickly locked up the house and hurried back to the car where you were rubbing your bump.

“How are you doing?” he asked, starting up the car.

“I’m fine,” you breathed out, cradling your large bump. “I’m fine, really.”

“Okay,” Rooster replied, even though he didn’t believe you. “I’m going to get you to the hospital. And if you need anything or want to hold my hand to squeeze, you just let me know. I’m here for you and the baby and I’m going to get you to the hospital as quick as I can. Okay?”

“Yes, okay,” you agreed, nodding along as you sunk a bit in your seat.

The drive to the hospital was not supposed to be too long but given the fact that you were driving at a rather traffic-heavy time, it took longer than it should have. Rooster was torn between driving erratically and thereby getting you to the hospital faster or driving safely and making sure that he didn’t get the both of you in the hospital for another reason.

“Oh, fuck,” you groaned, curling in on yourself.

“I know, honey, I know,” Bradley stated, clearly frazzled. You were sitting at the fifth red light of the drive and Rooster was really starting to lose his patience with it. “Just breathe. We’ll be there in about five minutes.”

“I’m. Fine,” you grunted out, squeezing the life out of his hand. You let out a half-scream that absolutely terrified Rooster to his core.

“Breathe. Just breathe,” Rooster coached, driving through the intersection. “We’re almost there.”

“It’s okay,” you whimpered out, taking a shaky breath. “I’m fine.”

As soon as you reached the hospital, Rooster got you into a wheel chair and hurried towards the labor and delivery wing. You were immediately admitted to the wing and Rooster could not hide the fact that he was relieved that a doctor was looking over you.

“Alright, Mrs. Bradshaw, you’re moving along quickly here,” the obstetrician stated, pulling off her gloves. “Your cervix is already dilated five centimeters and based on the current rate of progression of your contractions it looks like your baby is very eager to join us.”

“What?” you replied, somewhat dumbly. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, quite sure,” the obstetrician replied calmly.

“But this is my first pregnancy. Shouldn’t it go slower than that?” you insisted, wrapping your arms around your bump.

“That’s a general rule, yes, but every mother, baby, and labor is different. You’re just progressing quicker than most.”

“Oh . . .” you trailed off, anxiety clear in your features.

“I’ll come back to check on you in a little bit, but press the button if you need anything.”

“Thank you,” Rooster stated on your behalf when you simply stared into space. The obstetrician left the room and Rooster immediately turned back to you. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine,” you replied quietly, slowly stroking your bump.

“It’s okay to not be fine,” Rooster assured you softly, stroking the back of your hand with his thumb. “Don’t feel like you can’t be honest with me. Or the medical staff.”

“I’m fine,” you insisted, though you looked on the edge of tears.

“Babe,” Rooster called, causing you to turn to face him.

You kept up a brave face—mask, really—so far during this process. But when Rooster gave you that look that screamed that he knew that you weren’t actually okay, you finally broke down a little bit. And by a little bit, you really meant a lot.

Rooster quickly sat up and gathered you in his arms, rubbing your back soothingly as you let out a tide of emotions that you held back. Pressing a kiss to the top of your head, Rooster quietly took a moment to compose himself before turning back to you.

“I’m here,” Rooster assured you, resting his head on top of your own. “I’m here and I love you and I love our baby so much and it’s okay if you’re not fine or you’re scared or anything like that. I’m here to help you. Just tell me what you need or what you feel and I’ll help you.”

“I just thought that we would have more time,” you croaked out, burying your face into his neck. “Why are they coming so fast?”

“Because they’re just so eager to meet you.”

You let out a half-laugh before latching onto your husband again. Rooster pressed a kiss to the top of your head once again and drew circles on your hip with his thumb.

“I just thought that we had more time,” you repeated quietly. “I’m not ready, Roo.”

“That’s okay,” Rooster stated softly. “It’s okay to not be ready.”

“We didn’t even pick a name.”

“I know, but maybe we’ll think up a perfect one once the baby’s here, okay?”

“Yeah . . . that’s a good idea,” you conceded, sniffling a bit.

“Thank you, I thought of it myself.”

“You’re going to be the worst with dad humor, aren’t you?” you sighed, shaking your head.

Rooster smiled down at you and pressed a series of kisses to your face. Pressing one final kiss to your lips, he rested his forehead against your own.

“You’re going to be okay. The baby is going to be okay. And I’m right here.”

“I know. Just . . . don’t leave me . . . please,” you requested, still clinging to your husband.

“I wouldn’t dare,” he assured you, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. “I’m here. I’m here. And I love you and I love our baby so much.”

“I love you too,” you returned softly.

And just as the obstetrician predicted, you delivered Baby Bradshaw a few short hours later. Baby Bradshaw weighed in at eight pounds and six ounces, with ten fingers and ten toes, and a large set of working lungs. After checking you and your baby over, the medical staff gave the three of you some personal space to bond with your baby.

“I can’t believe that I was wrong,” you murmured quietly.

You stroked your daughter’s head carefully with your finger. She laid against your bare chest for some skin-to-skin contact and was peacefully sleeping. For now, anyway. You leaned back against Bradley, who climbed up into the hospital bed with you and held the both of you in his arms as you sat in between his ridiculously long legs.

“Just blame Hangman for it,” Rooster replied, pressing a kiss to your shoulder.

“I like that option,” you agreed, chuckling softly to not wake up your baby.

Rubbing her back soothingly, you leaned back against your husband’s chest. He pressed a kiss to your cheek and rested his head against your own as the two of you watched your daughter peacefully sleep against your chest.

“Thank you,” Rooster whispered to you, causing you to turn to him.

“For what?”

“For her,” Rooster stated, pressing a soft, loving kiss to your forehead. “For all of it. For giving me a family of my own.”

“Thank you for not passing out on me,” you mused, earning a chuckle from Rooster.

“I also won us fifty bucks with that.”

“What?”

“There was a bet that I would pass out during your delivery,” Rooster explained to you. “So, how about I treat you to some good takeout when we get home?”

“Sounds good to me,” you mused, leaning back against him.

Though you tried to fight it, the exhaustion of your last day was quickly catching up with you. And Rooster, the attentive husband and father that he was, quickly picked up on it. Carefully sliding out for behind you, Rooster settled you back against the pillows and gently took your daughter into his arms. Pressing a kiss to your lips, Rooster adjusted your blanket.

“Get some rest, honey. I’ve got her.”

“You sure?” you whispered out, already half-asleep.

“I’m sure. Get some sleep. I love you.”

“I love you too,” you murmured out, falling asleep about thirty seconds later.

Rooster walked over to the coach that he planned to sleep on for the night. He temporarily placed your daughter down in her hospital bed before pulling off his shirt to get some skin-to-skin contact of his own with her. Laying down with your daughter carefully resting against his chest, Rooster smiled down at her as he stroked her back.

“You really scared your mama back there. And you sure as heck tired her out,” Rooster mused quietly, glancing over at where you were sleeping. “But we’re really happy that you’re here, sweetheart. And we love you so much.”

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head before leaning back to simply observe the perfect little baby that you and him made together.

~~~~~

The next morning, your recovery room was flooded with visitors, since your daughter was conveniently born after visitor hours the day previous.

“Ha, I was right. You were wrong,” Phoenix whisper yelled at Hangman, who rolled his eyes in response.

“She’s so precious,” Maverick breathed out, cradling your daughter in his arms.

“Just make sure that you support her head,” Rooster reminded Maverick softly.

Bradley held his hand against your daughter’s head to make sure that it was properly supported. And maybe they should have made his callsign ‘Hawk’ based on the way that he was watching over your daughter. He was overprotective over you, especially when you were pregnant. But now that your daughter was born, he was overprotective over her as well.

“He’s holding just her fine, Brad,” you assured your husband supportively.

“Here we go,” Hangman huffed, shaking his head. “Mother Hen is here to stay.”

“And don’t you forget it,” Rooster warned him, half-joking, but really deadly serious.

“I think that she looks more like her mom,” Penny commented, standing to Maverick’s right.

“That’s why she’s so beautiful,” Rooster replied softly, keeping a close eye on your daughter.

“Aw, thanks Roo,” you called back.

“Kiss up,” Hangman coughed under his breath, earning a smack to his arm from Phoenix.

A.N. I decided to leave the baby's name up to you guys to avoid repeating anyone's name. I hope that you enjoyed this little sequel! I don't think that there will be a Part 3 to this little series, but if there is, I'll tag from the replies on this one. Thanks!

Tags: @cherrycola27

[wolfvmin]

House of Cards: The Last Dance

pairing: chishiya shuntarou x fem!reader genre: angst, unrequited love (but is it really), pining, fluff (can u believe it) wc: 15.7k (uhm) warnings: badly written action scenes, implied abuse, more flashbacks, unedited </3 summary: in which after leaving chishiya, you were forced back into the games of borderland. a/n: this is all i can do i'm sorry song used: when i fall in love - nat king cole PART 1 > FINAL

Death doesn’t discriminate between sinners or saints.

As you lay there on the ground with the smell of cinder filling your nose and the heat of the scorching fire warming your skin, your mind brings you back to the means you had to go through to live another day in Borderland. You’ve lied, beaten, betrayed, and killed to survive. You hadn’t expected the ten of hearts game to appear just as you leave Chishiya. You also hadn’t expected the massacre of the Beach through a witch hunt. Everything about this is unexpected, just like everything that has happened so far in this world you didn’t ask to be in.

Niragi missed anything vital or permanently life-altering, you know that much given your medical background. He missed the femoral artery, you were pretty sure about it. Well, not that he was aiming for it when he started his reckless free-shooting. You were one of the bodies thrown off to the ground and was shot in the leg. 

Arisu and Usagi scream for you as you hit the ground with a thud, your arms stopping your head from the impact. With a groan, you lie your head on the ground in defeat. 

Usagi starts moving instead of checking on you, maneuvering and avoiding the distraught running bodies and bullets. 

You didn’t feel it at first, and then it started to hurt like a bitch that you wanted to die right there and then. How do you survive this? You immediately start thinking. The bleeding has to be stopped, for sure. How deep is the wound? That’s the first thing you have to check. But why can’t you move? You’re so tired. 

You turn your head to your left, Usagi has jumped on Niragi’s back, distracting him from his shooting rampage. Arisu comes to her aid, trying to take the gun from Niragi. In return, he gets repeatedly hit in the back by the gunned man in the process. 

Arisu couldn’t do it. He had too much injury and was weakened by the constant beating. 

Niragi was able to overpower him and kick him to the floor. He spins with his strength, sending Usagi’s body away from his back and flying to the floor with a loud impact. 

“Usagi!” you scream, despair not hidden in your voice. 

You attempt to sit up, adrenaline rush filling your senses to be able to save your friends. This was game over for you. You have no one to go back to in the real world. Chishiya is safe, you’re sure of it. Kuina is still here so he might be here too. He had to get the last card of the deck, of course. But he’ll be fine. 

With a shot leg, you won’t be able to get far anyway. 

Arisu quickly crawls in front of Usagi in a useless attempt to protect her from Niragi as he aims his gun at the both of them. They’re both weak and tired, there was no escaping from Niragi as they were his sole target. 

“You…” Niragi mutters. “I’ll kill all of you!” 

Your body was moving before you even knew it. As if you hadn’t had your thigh injured, you sprint over as a head start and jump to where the perverted asshole is. Your heart raced faster than your feet did as you shouted with all your might, raising your uninjured leg as you flew in the air. You succeed in getting Niragi’s attention as he looks up at you with wide eyes. Unlike Usagi, you don't jump to his back, instead your foot slams into his head, sending him flying across the floor. 

This attack had you rolling on the ground and then on your stomach when you land. Coughs sputter out of your mouth as the burning building’s smoke begins to affect your lungs. 

Arisu and Usagi could only look at you with stunned wide opened eyes and raised brows as you landed a few feet away from them.

“Run!” You scream at them with tight fists as you attempt to get back up again. It seems the adrenaline rush was no longer there to help you as you struggle to support yourself again. 

Niragi was getting up again. This makes you furrow your brows and groan, tears forming in your eyes in frustration as you slam your fists on the ground. There was no time. If the two try to run away in their bad state, they’ll be shot dead by Niragi. 

You’re fucked. 

Why can’t this motherfucker just die? you grimaced.

You drag your body with whatever strength you have, barely sitting up as you stare down at the man who had just gotten up to his feet with difficulty and a hand on his bleeding head. 

Just as Niragi raises his weapon, like a raging bull, Aguni rushes in and attacks him, pushing himself and Niragi into the spreading fire deeper inside the building. You could no longer see their bodies but shots were heard. 

“Three minutes remaining,” the game reminded the players.

As your body collapses on the floor in relief, all the people of the Beach rush to carry Momoka’s body to the Fire of Judgement. 

Arisu and Usagi try to help you stand but you wave them off when they successfully make you sit. “No. No. Clear the game first.” You laughed in between coughs. “I need to catch a breath.” 

Usagi tries to argue with you but you glare at her. “I’ll be out as soon as the phone dings,” you assure them.

“Can you walk?” Arisu asks as he looks at your leg.

You nod and roll your eyes. “I was a med student, Arisu. I can handle it.” 

The pair looked at each other as if communicating with their eyes and then they nod, lifting each and limping out of the building to head over to the Fire of Judgement. You watch their retreating figures, relieved that the two are safe. 

You look back down at your wounded thigh and laugh. You were probably overreacting a bit. It seems that your presumptions were correct. It didn’t hit anything bad and the bullet did enter you but exited you as well. But you do have to stop the bleeding as soon as possible. 

Great, now you’re going to have ugly scars on your thigh. So it’s bye-bye bikinis? 

You scoff and take off the white cover-up you had over yourself, leaving you in the two-piece black bikini you’ve been wearing since you arrived at the beach. You began to wrap it around your thigh skillfully just as you were taught. Blood began to seep through the cloth and you knew that soon enough, you have to replace it with a real bandage and sew the open wound.

The phone for the game dinged and you sigh in relief. They were able to burn Momoka’s body, after all. 

Definitely not with ease, you were able to push yourself back up. If it wasn’t for your determination to keep your promise to Usagi and Arisu, you would’ve just laid there for a little longer.

So much for Utopia, you thought.

As you were about to exit the building, your feet stopped on their own accord when something crossed your mind, making the corner of your lips turn up into a smirk. 

You sat on the small round marble table with your legs dangling and fingers playing with the ten of hearts card. Flames are eating up the building around you but you know you don’t have to be around here any longer. As if on cue, you see the familiar white jacket from your peripheral, bringing a sad smile to your face. 

“I saved it for you, Chishiya.”

There was no greeting needed. You turn your head to your right and give him a happier, faker smile. His eyes stray down to your injured thigh for a second but back to your face in no time. He approaches you with no caution and no clue of emotion on his face.

You don’t doubt he saw the whole ordeal back there. He probably saw you and your friends struggle as he sat back and watched the scene unfold like a movie. He watched you almost die. It was so like him, quiet and scheming as he does whatever is best for him. 

Now, he was here to steal the last remaining card too. 

“It’s no longer Shuntarou, huh?” 

He doesn’t receive any answer from you but he knows the answer why. You were still mad at him. How could you not? He practically sent your comrades to their deathbeds if it wasn’t for the unexpected game venue. 

“To be honest, I don’t think it’s even important if we collect all the cards,” you confessed as you stare at the single card in your hand, flipping to its front and back. You finally turn your whole body to face him, stretching your arm to offer the card to him. “But here, just so you have it all.” 

He raises a brow, staring at you with a smirk. Goddamn, is he attractive. It’s so unfair. 

His mouth opens, about to say something but another person walks in. He realizes this when your eyes stray from his and shift to the tall woman in a blue swimsuit. You smile at her, uncaring of the interruption. 

“You two are quite persistent, aren’t you?” Kuina asks with a smirk. Chishiya turns to look at her for a second before facing you again. 

She nods over to your still wrapped-up thigh. “That was cool–what you did to Niragi. Where did you learn that?”

“It was just luck,” you tell her, earning a scoff from the man in front of you. 

He takes the card from your hand. “Don’t believe her. She’s a spades player and was an athlete.” 

Among other things, sports were one of the few things you had to give up on when you were forced to pursue medicine. But you never told Chishiya that you would still make time to compete in underground fights. It was the only way you could keep doing it with your parents not knowing. So yes, you were a retired mixed martial arts athlete that eventually became skilled in street fights. 

Chishiya knew, of course. You would disappear and not bother him for weeks, healing any injuries that you incurred during the fights. Most of the time, you’ll be gone for a week. Until, there was one time in particular when you had not bothered him for almost two weeks and even canceled the date you were so excited to be on. Curiosity got the best of him, leading him to your apartment where he found you tending to your wounds alone. It was when you finally told him what you have been doing. 

“So this is what you have been up to.” 

Chishiya was leaning against the doorway with an unamused face, holding a flier of the underground fight in his hand.

You had been applying ointment on your wounds. The fight was worse than usual and your opponent decided to destroy your face. Of course, you won because you were so pissed off that you were going to have to cancel a date with Chishiya so he wouldn’t notice the black eye and your wounded nose. 

You drop the cotton bud with wide eyes and a gasp, scrambling to hide your face in your hands. 

It was kind of funny—you in your underwear, exposing all the healing bruises all over your body and face. Chishiya doesn’t react seeing you almost naked. It was like the nonchalant man doesn’t see you as a woman. 

You lower your hands from your eyes so you could see him but still enough to cover your face from the eyes down. “Are you going to tell dad?” you ask like a kid being caught shattering a vase. 

He sighs, walking over to your bed and sitting down with his hands inside his jacket’s pocket. “What would I gain from that?” It was rhetorical. You know he’ll gain nothing from saying anything. Instead, you know he’d rather keep his mouth shut and use it against you. 

In front of the mirror, you watch his reflection fixate on your body’s bruises. Suddenly feeling a bit insecure, you purse your bruised lips and head over to your closet to grab a silk robe to wrap around your half-naked self. 

“Why are you here, Shuntarou?” you ask with folded arms.

He shrugs and looks away from you. “‘Was curious.”

Silence filled your room, only the ticking of your wall clock being heard. You sigh. “I won’t stop doing it,” you tell him firmly. 

“I know,” he responds as if he expected you to say that. “But tell me, how long do you plan to keep on doing this?” He raises the flier in his hand again as if mocking you with it. 

You understand. You used to fight in arenas with media, judges, journalists, and opponents who are trained the same way as you. Underground fighting—it was different. It’s illegal, messier, and deadlier. Often, there are no rules. It’s quite literally beat your opponent to death or be beaten to death. Sometimes, weapons are even snuck in and nobody cares if it’s against the rules. 

It was dangerous for you but more dangerous for your family name. 

But you couldn’t help it, the rush it gives you—it made you feel alive more than championships ever did. 

To hide the bruises from your father, you would over-accessorize and constantly shop for new clothes. During the day, you were the rich and elegant daughter he wanted. But at night, you were a fighter under a different name and a mask.

When you don’t answer, Chishiya dismisses the question and looks over the medicine you got for yourself on your vanity table. “There’s better ointment than that.” 

You roll your eyes. Of course, he has to be smarter about that. “It’s the only brand the nearest drugstore had.” 

Then you grin, a thought coming into your mind. “Maybe you can help me apply it?” 

“No,” he stands up from your bed. “I’m leaving.” 

But he didn’t and he spent the night treating your wounds like a doctor should.

“Well, I have to go back to my friends,” you brought yourself to your feet, a hand hovering over your injured thigh. Kuina reached over to help you but you rejected her attempt with a smile. There’s a struggle but you were able to walk away from them even with the pain. 

You would kill for crutches right now. 

“Wait!” Kuina stops you. You turn around, confused as she approaches you. She removes the sword sheath from her shoulder and hands it over to you. You quickly recognize this as The Last Boss’, the militant always around Niragi, sword. “You can use this to steady yourself.”

You smile and take it from her. “Thank you,” you accept it with genuine gratitude, looking over to Chishiya who was watching the exchange quietly on the side.

“I’ll see you around, Kuina.” 

Arisu, Usagi, and you found a place to stay along with the others from the Beach. There, you tended to your wounds and recovered. There were no games. Those whose visas were about to expire tried to go to previous game venues but nothing happened.

It’s as if Borderlands completely stopped.

Some assume that the games are over since all the numbered cards were completed but you know that’s hardly the case. This is the silence before the storm—a grace period if you will. 

“Where’s Usagi?” you ask Arisu when you wake up and the pretty climber was nowhere to be found. He was looking better and his injuries were mostly healed.

“She went and looked for supplies with the others,” he answered with a yawn. 

Even if the three of you only spent a few days at the Beach, everyone began to miss the luxury of hotel beds, warm breakfast, hot showers, and electricity. Following the ten of hearts game, the survivors camped together. Eventually, it began to be suffocating as the same people reminded them of the Witch Hunt massacre. Most militants were eaten by their guilt and left, while those who had their comrades killed by militants still felt disgusted by them and chose to separate from the group. Wounds heal but they can’t be rushed. 

The three of you stayed with Ann and Tatta, hopping from one place to another for a few nights. 

Last night, you stayed at a small house with two bedrooms which were occupied by the girls and boys each. It didn’t have much supply hence why Usagi must’ve gone with Tatta and Ann. 

You were pretty much useless because of your injury and one of your three companions always had to stay with you even if you try to assure them you’ll be fine. It was mostly Arisu who was being overprotective. You had a hunch that it was mostly because it was a leg injury. It must’ve hit close to home, you think. 

Nevertheless, you were thankful for their care. Plus, it was a good thing that the games have somehow stopped for a while because you surely wouldn’t have survived with a leg you could barely walk on. The bullet missed your muscle or any artery, what it hit was mostly fat. 

You raised your leg on the coffee table while you sat on the couch. You could walk better now and maybe even run. You haven’t pushed it though, opting to do exercises that would help you recover faster. You were a spades player, after all. It wouldn’t do you any good when the games finally start.

“It’s a good thing you were in med school,” Arisu points to your leg. You gave him a wide grin, taking in the compliment.

“What a shame it was so boring,” you say. 

Arisu smiles, handing you the cup of instant ramen. You thanked him quietly and began to eat. He sits down beside you and eats his cup too. For a minute, the only thing that could be heard in the living room was the sound of your slurps and chewing. 

“So,” Arisu started, “I’m sorry about Chishiya.” 

You shrug, trying not to show how the C-word affects you. “I’m sorry too. Y’know, because he basically tried to kill you and Usagi. I know that you mostly trusted him because of my feelings for him.” 

“That’s what I’m sorry for,” he explains, “I didn’t think he’d betray you too. I thought he really cared for you. Especially when he said those things about you.” 

His words make you pause from your meal, looking at the shaggy-haired boy in curiosity and confusion. “What things?” you ask and begin to chew again, this time slowly, waiting for your friend’s answer. 

“He told me we shouldn’t include you in our plans because…” He set down his cup on his lap and chewed away the fullness of his mouth before continuing. “Because he doesn’t want you in any danger. He said ‘I’m sure you understand. If you were in my place, you wouldn’t want the only person you like in this life to be in any danger.’” 

Your breath catches in your throat. You know it wasn’t real. But to hear that Chishiya Shuntarou said those words about you even if they were lies? You wish you would’ve heard it yourself. In fact, you would give an arm and a leg for him to say that to you.

Arisu sighed, slumping his back on the couch. “He said it was still my choice if I’ll ask you and it was just his simple request. I was an idiot. I didn’t know he was doing it because he knows you’ll figure out his real plans if you knew our plan.” 

You stayed silent for a few seconds and then replied in a low voice. “You’re not an idiot.” A frown paints on your face. “He’s a manipulative motherfucker, that’s what he is.” 

“What made you like him so much, then?” Arisu lets his curiosity free with the question.

His question was valid. It’s no doubt that the asshole was attractive and cool. These are traits he had in common with millions of men in the world so why Chishiya of all people? Is it because you had no option? But you do. In fact, you hated the idea of your parents saying you’ll marry one of their friends’ sons. 

But heck, do your parents know you. They’re clever, you’ll admit. They really got you where they wanted you. 

“I’m sorry, I’m late!” 

The door opens with a loud thud, revealing you with your hands on your knees, in your messily worn high school uniform, and catching your breath from the running. You came from morning training for the Karate team but lost track of time. All your classmates had their eyes on you, some snickering and laughing at you. 

“Miss L/N, that’s the third time this month,” your teacher deadpans while still writing on the board. 

“I know, sir! I’ll try my very very very best not to do it again this month, sir!” You shout, grinning from ear to ear as you stand up straight with your left arm on your sides and your other hand in a salute. Your teacher sighs, muttering “this month” and shaking his head, making the class laugh. 

“Just get back to your seat, L/N,” he replies in defeat. 

“Yes, sir!” you agree and set down your salute back into a military stance. Your class laughs once again and you laugh along with them. You head to your seat at the back of the class, a few of your classmates giving you a high-five greeting as you pass by them. 

Your steps halt when you notice you finally have a seatmate. He had mid-length blonde hair, half of it tied up with a few strands on the sides of his face. He wasn’t even looking at you, focusing on the writing on the blackboard instead. The stranger intrigued you so you raise a brow and look at your side where your nearest classmate sat. 

“The new student,” he whispers. “His name is Chishiya Shuntarou.” 

You smirk, thanking your classmate and heading over to your designated seat. You set down your backpack on the floor and sat down, facing the new student who was still not acknowledging you with his stare. 

“Hi. I’m Y/N L/N,” you introduce yourself and hold out your hand. “Let’s be friends, yeah?”

The stranger stops writing his notes and finally looks at you straight in the face and then back to your hand. 

He just ignores you and continues writing his notes again. 

You stare at him dumbfounded with your held-out hand, frozen and in disbelief. ‘What an asshole,’ you think. You shrug anyway and retract your hand, sitting properly to face the board. 

“Chishiya, right?” you start a conversation even if you sense that he won’t bother answering. “Why would you transfer in the middle of the semester?” You were bringing out your notebook when a thought passed by you.

Then it clicks. “Chishiya, that sounds familiar.” You say to yourself particularly when you flip open the pages of your notebook to a blank page. 

“Idiot.” It was him mumbling but you hear it all too well.

Your mouth drops at his voice and it finally hits you. It was him. Chishiya Shuntarou, son of most of your hospitals’ directors. You see him during events your parents drag you to ever since you were children. He was always reserved and quiet but you always admired him, even harboring a little crush on him. You’ve been so deep into your sports for years that you actually forgot what your life was like before you found something that really excited you. 

A smile unconsciously spreads on your face in recalling the memory. 

“Shuntarou,” you pause. “He grounds me down.”

Do you think Chishiya was a good person? Definitely not. You weren’t perfect, either. People are neither good nor bad. There’s no such simple person as that. Chishiya is a troubled person. He’s struggling with how to connect with himself and others. This is something you find in common with him. 

When you are in trouble, Chishiya always finds a way to be there for you in his own way. You used to think that he cares about you and you liked to think that way still. But for now, you two have different priorities. You are at war. 

And no one comes out the same person they were before the battle started.

“You sure about this, Y/N?” 

Usagi was asking you for the nth time. You nod. “I’m all healed,” you reply. That was partly true. You’re sure you can run now but there’s still a limit to what you can do specifically in terms of fighting. But you were stubborn enough not to leave Arisu and Usagi to investigate the Minami-Aoyama station alone.

The three of you traced the steps of Asahi and Momoka from the video that Arisu found on the phone she left behind. You walked in the dark train tracks just like they did until you found a door. 

It was opened so Arisu cautiously heads in while the two of you trail behind him, ready for any attack to come but there was nothing. You continued to walk the empty hallway, searching for the place in the video.

Arisu halts his step and you realize you were here. The three of you entered the dark room, Arisu pointing his flashlights around it. 

The lively room filled with monitors and people cheering in the video was now a dark lifeless room with multiple dead people slumped over monitors and evidence of being shot by a laser. They seemed to be players in Borderland too but unlike you, they were well-groomed and well-fed. 

“Holy shit,” you mumbled.

“You actually found this place.”

A voice startles the three of you and Arisu immediately points the flashlight in the direction of the voice. From another entrance of the room, Chishiya and Kuina strut in. You put on your guard. Why was he here? Are they one of the dealers? It’s unlikely the case but why?

“As expected from someone I have high hopes for,” the blonde continued.

“We meet again,” Kuina speaks. 

Usagi doesn’t hide the disgust in her tone and countenance. “It’s you,” she says with furrowed brows, no doubt still mad over the pair’s betrayal. Kuina looks away in slight guilt, looking over at Chishiya.

You follow her gaze and notice he no longer wears the jacket you gave him. Instead, he wore a blue and white gradient cardigan over his shirt. You feel a tad of disappointment in your heart at the thought that he has thrown it away or lost it. 

“Thanks to you, I have all the numbered playing cards with me.” He held up the deck of cards as he says it, a condescending smirk painted on his face. He truly is a despicable human being. 

Arisu glares at him and flatly asks, “How did you find this place?”

Chishiya brings out a small folded piece of paper and unfolds it to show you its contents. “It took me a while to realize that this is actually the route map of a subway station.” From afar, the drawing really did look like random scribbles. It’s a good thing that the man is observant. You don’t know where he got it but Arisu may have had a clue as you see the expression on his face. They have both participated in a game, after all.

“What happens when we collect all the cards?” He saunters closer to you with his hands in his pockets. “I thought I’d find the answer if I come here.” His eyes explore the room. “But there’s only one thing I discovered.”

“They’re not game masters,” Arisu cuts him off, finishing his sentence. 

“Right,” Chishiya agrees. “Judging from the fact that they were all killed after our victory. They’re humans like us and on top of that, there’s someone above them.” 

You scoff. “What? Like a God?” 

“Just who could they be?” Usagi asks no one in particular as she looks at Chishiya.

“Who knows? They might be aliens,” he pauses and shifts his eyes to you with a smug and mocking face, “or as your friend said, even God himself.” It was the first time he acknowledged you in the room. You raise a brow, slightly offended. His bitter tone doesn’t pass by you and the fact that he called you ‘your friend’ instead of your name, vexed you.

Not that you planned to give him a reaction but if you did, you wouldn’t be given the chance because the lights of the room turned on, followed by the wall of multiple television and computer screens circling the room accompanied by heightened ceremonial music. 

The screens reveal a familiar face—the executive specializing in the hearts game, Mira, sitting on a chair in a black gown. A vicious smile is plastered on her face. It sets an eerie feeling in your heart. What kind of fucked up shit is happening here?

“Congratulations to all players,” her voice sent chills down your spine. “With the exception of the face card games, all of you have cleared all thus far and emerged as victors by sacrificing numerous lives.” 

Her head tilts to the side, feigning innocence and wonder. “I wonder how many of your comrades have died?” 

She stands up, raising an arm. “Try to remember those that were shot dead with a gun.” She walks around as the screen shows recorded videos of the games. “That girl that you burned alive, those struck with the lasers, those that drowned, those whose heads were blown off, those comrades of yours.” You feel Arisu flinch beside you at the mention of the last sentence. 

“The despair you’ve felt so far and those dying moments that you can never forget.” 

One particular screen catches your eye but not because of a man’s head being blown off. It was because standing near that man was a familiar shaggy-haired boy. Your gaze flits to the man’s face beside you and you see the flash of horror in his eyes as the screams of people from the games fill your ears. 

“I’m extremely touched!” Mira exclaims. “All of you players, we would like to give you a present.” Her movements were odd as if she was really excited about this. One thing’s for sure, whatever’s Mira’s role is in this world, she isn’t being forced to do it. 

“Are you returning us to the original world?” Kuina thinks out loud. You purse your lips, doubting that that’s the case. 

Mira gasps, eyes widening as her body shakes in excitement. “There will be new games!” She exclaims happily like the words don’t mean death and destruction on a whole new level. “Let’s play games together. You’ll fight for face cards.” 

“Wow,” you react with a flat tone. “She’s fucked in the head.”

There’s disbelief in Kuina’s voice when she asks, “New games?” 

“I don’t dislike the idea,” Chishiya says, the smirk not being wiped off his face. Your fists clench at his words. You don’t understand him. How could he like these games? Death, betrayal, being played around like lab rats—were those entertaining to him? You always thought Chishiya was a little bit different than most and he was just doing his most to survive but is this a side to him that you’ve blinded yourself to? 

“We’ve still got many more wonderful games prepared for all of you, so look forward to it!” Mira ends her ridiculous speech. 

“This woman…” Usagi finally speaks.”Is she the game master?” 

“I’d rather see an alien appear on the screen.” Kuina thinks out loud. 

“The next stage will commence tomorrow at noon,” the camera zooms in on Mira’s face. “Let’s have some fun together!” 

“So we have to fight again,” Usagi says, feeling defeated.

“Yes,” Arisu replies. “But something is different... we’re finally seeing our target.” He says with his eyes focused on Mira, glaring and determined. 

“You’re mad again,” Chishiya states the obvious in the dark of the room you’ve entered.

You slam yourself on the nearest display bed, looking around the furniture store you’ve sheltered in from the King of Spades. By not answering Chishiya, you clearly agree with his suspicion. Of course, you were pissed off. If he ran with urgency as a normal person does, maybe you would’ve been able to jump inside that car with your friends. 

“It’s not like we would’ve fit. I’m sure you’ll find them again,” he assures you, unconvincingly with a bitter tone in his voice.

He looks at the sky through the glass window of the store. “The blimp is gone,” he observes out loud. “We can rest here if you want and then we can go.” 

“If his whole Arena is Tokyo, then that means we have no choice but to join the other games,” you think out loud. There are 12 face cards, meaning there’d be 11 games out there and one game where a single overpowered man aims to shoot down every player out here. Even if you were a spades player, your combat skills, no matter how great, are no match with his unending ammo. You can’t exactly kick or punch those bullets away. 

“That’s the point,” he replies flatly. 

You glare at him, scoffing and lying down on the bed fully with your head resting on your arm. “You should get me food,” you tell him and ignore his sarcastic remark. You don’t really expect him to comply, you were just doing it to get on his nerves like usual. 

“Do it yourself,” he says with a sigh. 

“As you can see, I’m injured…” You point to your thigh wound that was still wrapped and can be seen clearly from the ends of your gym shorts. Obviously, that was a lie and you can move freely now. “And hungry.” 

He scoffs, sitting on the mattress next to you. Deafening silence began to fill the room and you almost forget that Chishiya is in the same room as you. His presence begins to make you uncomfortable, not because you hated him but because you don’t like him seeing you vulnerable. So, you turn to your side with your back facing him. 

The king of spades, he just destroyed everyone out there. These next games, they’re much crueler than the numbered ones. You barely made it out alive and now you have to participate in harder games? And when they’re all over, who’s to say that you could actually go back?

Do you even want to go back?

If you were to die here, it wouldn’t be much loss to the real world, anyway. Things haven’t changed despite the circumstances—your priority was still to get Chishiya out of here if he can. You’re sure you will see Usagi and Arisu again. They’ll be fine. They even got Kuina, Ann, and Tatta by their side. Maybe you were separated from them so you can protect Chishiya somehow. 

You don’t doubt that he’d want to join the diamond games. In fact, maybe he’s even excited about it. If it came down to you joining him in one, you’ll try your best to help him win. But if you two somehow find yourself in a game where he will need your strength, you’d be glad to be there with him. 

The thing is, you know you would sacrifice yourself for him but the question is, would he willingly sacrifice you to win?

As you drown in your thoughts, your body shuts down to sleep, suddenly exhausted from all the running. 

The dress you wore flowed freely, the ends dragging on the floor. Even if you find yourself more at home with gym clothes, dressing up did excite you too. It just wasn’t as convenient as gym clothes where you can move freely. 

Tonight, you were ecstatic as the lavender gown you had a famous designer made sculpted your upper body perfectly as you fit it the night before the dance. Giggling, you think back to the blonde’s acceptance of your invitation to the school event. 

“So, Shuntarou, have you asked someone to the dance yet? or maybe been asked by someone?” you ask as you sat beside him in the classroom during break time.

“If you wouldn’t glare at any girl that would approach me, maybe someone would’ve.” He replies in a monotone voice as he eats his cookies. It was his favorite brand. 

“I do not glare,” you reply, glaring. “And if you want to go with someone, just tell me who and I’ll help you.” 

He raises a brow, finally looking at you but with full judgment. He knows you’re bluffing. “At least try.” 

You lose your facade. “Ok, then. Will you go with me to the dance?”

“I don’t really have a choice, do I?” he replies, dull as always.

You skip around your room, heart fluttering at the thought of slow dancing with the nonchalant blonde boy. You imagine the jealous stares of the girls who have a crush on him. You couldn’t help it. You were in high school and in love. 

Afraid to accidentally damage the dress in any way, you remove it and keep it in a safe place. Tomorrow, you’ll have a team to help you get ready. Then, Chishiya will fetch you and you will go to the dance together. 

In your excitement, you forgot to drink water or even eat dinner. You were only reminded when you feel your throat get parched. With that realization, you head to the kitchen to get something to eat. 

As you were munching on some leftover pasta you found, you hear your father’s voice in the living room. Since when was he home? You become more cautious of your actions, careful not to make any noise as you eat. It’s better to not encounter him at all.

“Ah, he’s taking her to some school dance? That’s good.” School dance? What is he talking about? 

Due to curiosity, you leave your food and tiptoe closer to eavesdrop on the conversation. It seems that he’s on the phone. 

“She’s still a kid, wasting her time on stupid matters. It’s good that Shuntarou is already thinking about a future in medicine.” Shuntarou? You now realize that he’s talking to Shuntarou’s dad and with the tone of his voice at the mention of ‘her,’ it’s safe to assume that he’s talking about you. Your father hated the numerous extracurriculars you were doing, especially those of sports. He always believed they were a waste of time and that if you wanted to do extracurriculars, you should’ve just joined the student council. 

“They’ve been getting along well, I’ve heard. As soon as Shuntarou finishes his residency and gains a little experience, we can have them married,” your father speaks to his phone. 

You froze at hearing the word ‘married.’ What did he mean by that? Could it be… Chishiya and you were being arranged to be married? And then it hit you. It’s all planned. The reason why Chishiya was transferred to your school in the middle of the semester after some unknown reason is because of your father. He was transferred there for you. 

Your father says more to his friend on the phone. It was all about you and Chishiya and some for the hospital. From what you’ve gathered, it was so Chishiya can inherit the position of chairman. 

You can practically hear your heart shatter as it sinks to the ground. At such a young age, your father doesn’t believe in you. It’s always been like this. He just believed from the get-go that you didn’t have it in you to win. You weren’t gifted like him. 

Chishiya is the child he wants, not you. 

“Tell Chishiya to keep up the good work. I’ll give him a reward for taking my daughter to the dance.”

And it seems that Chishiya knows all about it too. 

Your eyes fluttered open, lids feeling a bit heavy because of the unexpected sleep. As you sat up, your throat immediately felt parched from thirst. You really needed water. 

Looking around, you find no sign of your companion. You felt a funny feeling in your stomach, wondering where he had gone. Has he already gone and joined a game? It seemed like something he would do here in Borderland, leave you in the middle of nowhere alone and unguarded. 

You were about to stand up to actually look for the blonde man when you noticed something new on the display side table of the bed you slept on. It was unopened canned food and a bottle of water. There was no note or anything but it could only be from the blonde-haired guy himself. Has he really gone out alone and looted food for you?

You decide to quench your thirst first before dealing with him, grabbing the plastic bottle in a swift motion and opening the cap hastily before drinking in chugs. 

���Slow down.” 

As if on cue, Chishiya enters the furniture shop, now in the white jacket you gave him. Where did he hide that? Did he go back to where he left it when you were asleep?

You brought the bottle from your lips, staring at him like a puzzle. “Where did you go?” 

“Outside,” he answers flatly. You glare at him. “Just say thank you for the food and water.”

You don’t answer right away, watching silently as the man sits down again on the bed next to you, laying down some things he probably found around. It’s weird how it oddly felt domestic. If you were to disregard the numerous pieces of furniture around you, you could imagine yourself in a place in the real world where you two have your own home, happily married, and are in possession of what you two always wanted. 

You shake off the thought. Not only is that impossible in Borderland, but it’s also impossible in the real world. 

You open the canned food. It was mixed fruits. After you thanked him softly, you began to eat quietly, chewing slowly as he said to.

“Have you eaten?” you ask as he stares at you. He gives you a nod before taking his eyes off you and back to his tinkering. 

“Are you joining a game soon?” you attempt a conversation again. 

“I think we have to,” he answers.

He was right. “Yeah.” You bit your lip, afraid to ask what’s been lingering in your mind. “Do… do you want to join a game together?” 

He stills, “no.” 

“Why not? I’m strong. I can protect you,” you point at the sword you laid on the ground. 

“That’s not enough,” Chishiya answers in a heartbeat. 

“Would you rather I die alone?” It was a tough question. Not for him but for you. If you were going to be asked, you’d rather have your last moments with him. 

He audibly tsks, standing up from the bed and putting his hands in his pockets. He walks away from you and the conversation. Disappointment creeps into your skin. You knew he wouldn’t care about your sentiments. 

His hand stays on the door, not opening it yet. “Tomorrow,” he speaks, not even turning around to look at you. “We’ll join a game together.”

It sent a chill down your spine. You didn’t know what his motives are. Did he decide to go on a game with you because of what you asked… or did it give him an idea to finally end you?

It’s a good thing that the next stage shows you what game you will be entering through the blimps. The game you enter varies on one’s strengths and risks. You know that you wouldn’t willingly enter a Hearts game with the people you care about and you would try to enter a game you specialize in. 

“No heart games,” Chishiya tells you. 

You’ve found yourself inside a small home to spend the night in. It was safer than the furniture store with glass windows. You thought it’d be nice to decide on what game to choose.

You felt the mattress dip beside you, indicating Chishiya sat down. 

The house was small and cozy. It was a one-bedroom and looked like it belonged to a couple simply because it had everything by pair. What made you stay though, is that Chishiya has found their secret stash of food that was hidden inside the bedroom and under the floors of the closet.

The supply could last you maybe about a week.

You turn your head to Chishiya. It was already night time and you only had a candlelight lamp lighting up the room. He has taken off his jacket, leaving him in his shirt and pants. 

It was not the first time you’d shared a bed. When your families would go on trips together, they’d make you share a room. If you didn’t know about your father’s plans, you would find it odd how they were too willing for you two to get along that they were putting their young adult child inside a bedroom with a guy her age. 

During those trips, you would fall asleep on his bed while telling him stories. At first, Chishiya would leave you be and sleep on your bed. Until one night, when it became too frequent, he just slept beside you. And then the rest was history. 

As he lies down beside you, you hear his gentle breathing, see the rise and fall of his chest, and the way he inhales and exhales. It seemed that he was in deep thought. Could it be that he was worried about the games too?

“How about a Diamonds game?” you suggest. You think that you were pretty smart and you could handle it more with him by your side.

Chishiya doesn’t answer, looking like he’s in deep thought. 

“Kuina and the others probably joined a Clubs game.” you continue. “Maybe we should join one too.”

The thought brings you back to your comrades. It’s possible that they joined a game together—a Clubs game is the safest bet if they all want to live. Maybe it’s what you and Chishiya can do too. 

“We’ll join the Queen of Clubs. It’s the nearest clubs game.” The man beside you finally speaks, his voice a little tired. 

You agree, nodding lightly. You spun to your side with your back facing him as he lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. 

“Goodnight, Chishiya,” you mumble, still not being able to call him by his first name. He doesn’t answer but you hear him subtly hum in response. 

The sun was setting when you and Chishiya reach the arena. 

After a bit of walking, your mouth drops as you realize that the Queen of Clubs blimp is hovering over a high school building. Specifically, the prestigious high school you and Chishiya attended. 

“How fitting,” Chishiya reacts with a bored tone.

Sometimes, you feel like the games are catered to the players. Like they know all your life stories. This high school being the game arena, is it to your advantage or disadvantage? Whatever it is, you have no choice but to find out. This is your first game in the second stage, and it’s a Clubs game. If the two of you work with other players well, the chance of survival is high. 

That should be the mindset for the numbered games but right now, you weren’t sure because these are face card games. If the numbered games were difficult as it is, you should be terrified and ready for the face cards. 

“I can go in alone,” you suddenly say, afraid to go in there together with him. 

“You’re kidding,” he scoffs and walks closer to the entrance. “After all that talk about dying alone?” 

The anxiety that was creeping into your skin would put you at a disadvantage. You know that Chishiya could handle himself but you couldn’t help but be worried for him. Sighing, you shake off the worry and decide to push through with joining the game with him.

You enter the arena first and look back. Chishiya stares at you for a few seconds, as if contemplating or memorizing your face. And then he follows you inside. What was that?

The other players were gathered in front of the building, right on the grass field. There were about six people there already. Chishiya followed you inside but didn’t walk beside you or near you. It was probably to not make people assume you know each other. On top of a table were metal cuffs that had a screen, looking like a smartwatch. From the looks of it, it seems that it was the same material as the collars they make you wear in the other games only this time, they were bracelets.

1 PER PERSON

There were two left when Chishiya and you took yours. You clasp it around your non-dominant hand’s wrist and watch as the game confirms your registration. Looking around, you found the other players looking at you. It made you feel a bit insecure but you’ve been in enough games to know that you shouldn’t let them get to you. It should be the other way around. 

Another hand reaches for a phone on the table and you look up at her. She looks a bit like a high schooler, wearing a skirt from a uniform and a white tank top. She had a bow and arrow on her back. 

Her stare turns into a glare and you frown. It was she who broke eye contact first and stepped away from the table. As she turns around, it was hard not to notice that she was missing a foot, replaced with some kind of metal. She looks interesting to you. 

REGISTRATION HAS CLOSED. THE GAME WILL NOW COMMENCE. 

The familiar AI voice of a woman is heard through the campus speakers.

Chishiya crosses his arms, waiting for something to happen next. You look up at the screen that was stationed there. As if on cue, the screen lights up, flashing some kind of silhouette of a woman’s head with a crown. 

DIFFICULTY

Queen of Clubs

GAME

Prom Queen

Rules:

Each classroom has votes for players to collect or challenges for players to complete. 

The players must collect enough points to enter the gym, where the Queen of Clubs will give them one last challenge. 

The votes are transferable to another player but physical assault and force transfer of votes to another player is not allowed. 

If the player does not complete the challenge in the room, the room takes their votes. 

No weapons allowed inside the building.

CLEAR CONDITION

The players must have more votes than the Queen of Clubs and complete her last challenge.

GAME OVER

Players do not gather enough votes to dethrone the Queen of Clubs.

Players do not complete the last challenge. 

TIME LIMIT

02:00:00 HRS

You scoff and remove the Katana from your shoulder, putting it on the table. The other players began to gather around it, putting their weapons with yours. 

GAME START

You look around at the other players. You give them a nod. 

“Alright. Let’s meet by the gym doors after we collect all points,” a man who has glasses said. He wore stripe shirts and was fairly tall. He seemed smart and gave the impression of a leader. It doesn’t look like he’s physically fit, though. 

The other players do not waste time, scurrying into the building with determination and a little bit of fear. You stayed behind for a few seconds, looking at Chishiya. He stares back at you with no expression on his face and heads into the building.

There was the girl who had a bow and arrow, still looking at you. You give her a nod. It didn’t look like she could be trusted but this is a Clubs game, after all. You have to work together to survive. She doesn’t give you the same attitude as earlier. Instead, she approaches you, giving you a nod back. 

“Akane Heiya,” she introduces herself to you.

“Y/N L/N,” you reply with your name. 

The two of you enter the building together, cautious of the darkness that plagues it. You pick up the small flashlight from your belt bag. You can hear the scrambling of the foot of the other players, no doubt racing to get to the classrooms faster.  “The rules didn’t say how much we need, so maybe we can go and check the gym and see if there’s a clue?” you ask her. 

“I’ll go check,” she tells you.

“You sure?” you ask her, wanting to know if she doesn’t need a companion. 

She nods. “One of us should help collect votes.” 

As soon as you nod, she was already on her way to look for the gym. You decide to head to the nearest classroom without a player in it already. 

You stand before a classroom door that has a red light on it. You assume that if the votes in this classroom haven’t been collected, its red light is still on. 

It wasn’t dark inside the classroom, the sun has almost set all the way but there was still a bit of light seeping through the windows of the room. As you step in, the door shuts behind you. You panic for a bit, checking the door knob if it still works. You groan when you realize that you’re shut in. 

The lights of the classroom turned on and a tv screen that was in the middle of the chalkboard flashes a question. 

In printing, it’s the color black. In chemistry, it’s potassium. In baseball, it’s a strikeout. Which letter is it?

It was an easy question but there were about maybe forty classrooms in this school. There are nine players. If your hunch was right, there should be a difficulty level or random variation of the difficulty of the challenges on each floor, there are eight classrooms. You were on the first floor. 

“K,” you answer confidently. 

The room speakers gave out a ‘ding’ sound and some kind of button on the teacher’s desk lights up a green color and you walk towards it. You hesitantly press it and your wrists light up with a green color. 

+ 50 votes

You hear the lock of the door click open and you step out. You look up at the light on the door and see that the previous red light has been shut off. 

Walking down the hallway, some girl who looked like she was in her thirties, wearing office attire approaches you. “How many votes did you get?” she asks, pointing at her wrist. 

“50,” you reply. 

Another man completes his room and hears what you were talking about, approaching you two.  “It was hidden in one of the lockers at the back. I got 50 too.” 

You nod at them. “It seems that this floor is just full of 50 votes per room.”

Not wasting any more time, you and the others who have completed your rooms head to the second floor. Chishiya was already on the second floor, stepping outside one of the rooms. You approach him. “How many votes in this one?” you ask. 

He shows his wrist, flashing the number on his band. 75. Just as you thought.

“So the floors are kind of the levels, huh?” The man in the striped shirt asks you. You nod. 

“There isn’t a goal of votes by the gym.” 

All of you turn your heads to the source of the voice. Heiya stood there, her chest heaving from the running. You don’t doubt that she was tired—the gym was a bit of a walk from the classrooms. You probably should’ve told her that.

“That must mean we should clear all the rooms.” A woman with a crossbody bag spoke up, joining all of you. 

“Then let’s do that,” the man in the striped shirt speaks again. 

You and the other players moved as quick as you can. You learned that when you don’t succeed with their mini games inside the classrooms, you’re lasered down and another player has to go to that classroom to finish the task.

In the end, it was six of you who lasted. 

The first floor has eight rooms opened with 50 votes each. The second has eight rooms and 75 votes each. The third floor has three rooms with 100 votes each. The fourth floor has two rooms with 150 votes each. Lastly, the fifth floor had one room with 400 votes. 

Together, you accumulated 2000 votes. However, it was separated from your wrists. When you reached the gym, whenever you tried, it would show ‘error’ on the electronic lock. 

It had to be 2000 on one wrist.

“That means… only one of us gets to go inside?” A girl with a headband says, her eyes looking scared. 

You furrow your brows, thinking. “The game said we only need to dethrone her with more votes. Only one needs to do her challenge and then the game should clear.”

“Right,” a man in a plain white shirt replies. “This is a Clubs game. That should be the case.” 

“Okay, so who will go?” The woman in office attire asks, her voice trembling a bit.

Each one of you stares at each other, feeling each other out like teenagers afraid of a graded recitation in class. You don’t blame them, you don’t know what exactly the challenge would ask of you. 

“I’ll go,” Heiya rolls her eyes impatiently, holding out her wrist as she waits for the other players to move. 

“No. Most of the rooms’ challenges are about intellect. It should be me,” stripe shirt complained. Now you know what irks you about this man, he was controlling and stupidly wants to be seen as somewhat of a main character. 

Heiya glares at him. “So what? You think you’re the smartest in the room?” She bites, raising her brows. You try your best not to laugh at her accusation and lightly strike your elbows to her side, telling her to tone it down.

“That’s not what I meant,” the man replies, offended and furrowing his brows.

“The challenge wouldn’t be about intelligence,” For the first time in the game, Chishiya finally speaks, making all the other players’ heads turn to him. 

He shows everyone a piece of paper in his hands. 

The Ivy Award 2020 — Yamada Asaki

No way, could it be?

“After the rooms were cleared per floor, the lights turned on but kept flickering. It made up a morse code. The first floor is I, the second floor is V, and the third floor is Y.” He makes his way near the circle, showing everyone the paper that turned out to be a certificate. “And then I found this on the fourth floor, confirming the morse code.”

“What is this supposed to be?” The man in stripe asks, a bit irritated. 

Chishiya stares at him, giving him all his focus with dark eyes. “In the classrooms of the fifth floor, there were shelves containing the awards of this awardee. The Ivy Award was a special award this high school gave to those who excelled in all athletics in the school while maintaining top grades.” 

Chishiya pauses, now shifting his eyes to yours. You look away and avoid his gaze. “There are only two people who received that award in this school.” 

“Yamada Asaki,” he looks down at the paper in his hand. “And Y/N L/N.” His gaze goes back to you, communicating a million words in one simple stare.

You froze at the mention of your name. Heiya, in her tall stature, looks down at you. “You?” she asks in disbelief and a smirk. 

You glare at Chishiya, not understanding why he dropped your name and history out of nowhere. Then you look at Heiya who was waiting for your response.

“That’s true,” you admit, looking down at your feet. 

“In fact, she was the first awardee—the reason why the award was made in the first place.” Chishiya gives you a smirk. 

You still remember when you were awarded that day. The school made the award for you for the sole reason that universities around the world were contacting them to take you in as their athlete on full scholarship. They were scrambling for your hand in college.

Your father rejected all of them. He used all his power to stop you from going.

Up till now, the award was a topic you don’t like talking about. It was hard for you to remember how much you were controlled and manipulated into staying in Japan. 

“The person you’ll be facing,” He puts his eyes back on the man in the striped shirt. “Is a master of all sports and martial arts. Do you think you could handle that?” 

The man in the striped shirt couldn’t answer. 

Just like that, the other players began giving you their votes. You stand there quietly as they hover their cuffs on yours. This would mean… everyone’s life here is depending on you. 

Chishiya took the last turn in giving you his votes. He grabs your limp wrist with his right hand and hovers his cuff on yours. Your eyes are shaking in anxiety as you’re still staring at the floor. You've fought wildly when only your life is in your hands. That’s because you know that you have nothing to lose. You’ll gladly die if it’s your time to die. But right now, you have to live for these people.

“What?” he whispers. 

You finally look up into his eyes, meeting his deep stare. 

The other players watch as Chishiya leans in, whispering something in your ear. This causes you to freeze, looking up at him with awe. 

He spins you around, making you face the door. His hands are still on your shoulder when he leans in. 

He whispers in your ear again, sending shivers down your spine. For some reason, it sounded genuine. He wasn’t trying to manipulate you into going. He was motivating you, maybe even pleading. 

You turn your head to look at him, his face inches away from yours. From here, his eyes burned with something you don’t understand. There was a slight crease on his forehead that relaxed when you gave him a smile.

“Wait for me, will you, Shuntarou?” 

It was the first time you saw Chishiya smile in Borderland—and actually smile and not smirk in a condescending manner.

“You can do it,” Akane nods at you, her arms crossed. You look at her, smirking. You’ve only known the girl for an hour but you already like her. 

The other players began motivating you and you gave them all a glance before hovering your cuff on the lock of the door.

The lock dings and the door unlocks by itself. You twist the knob open, revealing the darkness of the room. 

You give one last glance to Chishiya whose eyes never left yours. You walk inside, your eyes never leaving his. He has long abandoned the smile on his face, replacing it with his famous poker face. His eyes, however, stayed expressive as if telling you’ll be fine in his own way.

The night should’ve been everything you dreamed about. 

Chishiya fetched you, wearing his suit and tie that matched your dress. The hotel venue that the school rented turned out to be designed beautifully. Everything was perfect.

If it weren’t for what you learned last night.

You acted like everything is fine, dancing with your friends as Chishiya sat on the side. To get him to come, he made a deal that he wouldn’t dance until the last. You agreed, only wanting to dance the last slow dance with him. 

Chishiya must’ve already realized something is wrong because you haven’t looked at him for more than five seconds all night. It was weird. You really wanted to be here with him yet you can’t even ask him what he thought about the food. You know that it wasn’t his fault. You were the one who approached him first and began pursuing him. He wasn’t exactly actively trying to manipulate you as your father wanted. 

But he knew. He knew what your parents wanted. 

And you, you were left in the dark again. 

The doors of the gym shut with a loud thud, leaving you in blinding darkness. 

“I hoped you would come,” it was a girl’s voice from the end of the room. 

The lights turn on and you squint your eyes as the sudden change blinds you for a second. When your eyes adjust to the brightness, you see a girl not older than a high school kid. She was wearing a black bodysuit and a crown, sitting on what looks to be like a throne on the stage. 

“You’re Yamada Asaki?” you ask, raising a brow. 

“and you’re Y/N L/N,” she replies, a smirk plastered on her face.

She stands from her throne, crossing her arms as she walks down the stage. “You know, when I heard that you’re here, I had this game designed just for you.” 

“Designed?” your eyes never leave her as you frown. These games are designed by people? 

You were curious but she ignores your question. “I wanted to see what’s so great about you.” The bitter tone of her voice doesn’t pass by you. It was clear that this girl doesn’t like you.

“Do you…” Her voice was deadly like it could cut like a sharp knife. Her eyes were focused on you like a target. “Do you know how miserable you made me feel?”

“Obviously not,” you replied with sarcasm, not giving into her sentiments. It would be better not to waste time, you only had 10 minutes left to clear the game. 

The girl audibly scoffs so you continue. “I don’t know the reason nor do I care. Tell me the challenge and we can get this over with.” 

Asaki’s gaze burn through yours as she removes the crown on her head and throws it on the ground. “The crown is worth 50 votes,” she says, eyes not leaving yours and showing you the cuff on her wrist, 2020 votes, the year she won her award. “You get it if you beat me in a fight.” She puts herself into a stance, getting ready to fight. 

“Fine,” you answer, throwing your belt bag across the floor and cracking a few bones of your knuckles. “Are there any rules?” 

It’s all bullshit. You know there are no rules in a fight for your life. This is a fight. But still, you ask. It wouldn’t hurt to know if there are. 

You read her stance. She’s good, guarded and ready. From her built, it’s clear that she’s experienced. She must be an athlete from her younger years like you. It’s a no brainer, if she’s a receiver of the Ivy Award, then she has been trained like you. 

“Rules? There are no rules. No stopping until one of us dies.” Her arrogance was something you take note of. It seems that her confidence is one of her biggest traits. For now, you need to see what she can do. 

She attacks first, swinging a fist at your face. You block it and attack with a fist, to which she follows up with a guarding technique of her arms. You move away but she follows that technique with a kick. You dodge her foot by crouching, all while staring at her with burning eyes.

Kickboxing. 

It’s the closest to modern-day MMA. From what you saw, this girl is a striker. 

You launch forward, heading for her middle. It was fast but she was able to raise her knee which you avoid. Good. She’s good. But what about her footwork? 

Pivoting your front foot, you shot your rear leg out and aim at her middle again. She quickly steps away, leaving your foot hitting nothing but the air. Great. Her footwork is good too. You jump back to your feet, raising your fists and moving away from her in a quick motion. 

“Taekwondo?” She smirks, her eyes giving you a condescending look as if she’s about to laugh. “It was your favorite, wasn’t it?”

How did she know that? This girl… just who was she and what have you done for her to know you like this?

“So you’ve studied me?” you ask with a smirk, feigning your curiosity.

“Day and night,” she replies. “I watched all your tournaments,” she jabs, you avoid. “Your championships,” she kicks, you block. “Your training,” she swings, you move away. “All because they wanted me to be like you!” She lunges forward and you let her, she grasps the back of your head and gives you a knee strike, hitting you right in the stomach.

You free yourself from her hold, stumbling and landing a few steps from her when she lets go. She laughs like a maniac. 

“You’ve become rusty,” she spats. 

“Come on,” you raise your fists into a stance once again. “I haven’t even started,” you say and give her a grin. 

Her forehead creases as she furrowed her brows, eyes blazing. So her favorite’s kickboxing. You know what to do. Her footwork’s great, her kicks and punches are strong too, it would be dangerous if she attacks you like she did last time. Front kicks are one of their best attacks. 

You attack diagonally, catching her off guard. You throw a punch and it lands straight to her face. A kickboxers’ weakness is defending an attack coming diagonally. You have to get close to her. 

You attempt to throw punches hastily, making her dodge away again and again until you corner her to a wall. She takes this as a chance to hold the back of your neck again with both hands, catching you in a Thai Clinch. Just like before, you know she’d throw you a knee strike. 

Before she could raise her knee, you put both her arms in your hold tightly, preventing her to move. Using your elbow, you give her a strike to her jaw with the single intent to create the worst damage possible. Your jab connected with a crack and you know you broke her jaw. Once the move made her lose focus, you repeatedly take a jab at her, one punch after another. 

Blood sputters out of her mouth and she spits as you move away again. You were pretty sure you saw a tooth fall out. 

“Forfeit,” you order and her bloodshot eyes gave nothing to you but hatred. You match her threatening gaze. “Before I kill you.” 

“Are you kidding?” There’s blood in the corners of her mouth from your punches yet she stands strong. 

“Seven years,” she looks up to the ceiling, tears lining up her eyes. “For seven fucking years, I was told that I should be like you.” You’ve known since she greeted you that there’s something that lies here deeper. But who cares? So she’s been forced to work hard for the award, how is that your fault?

“And you failed,” you bluntly state, eyes devoid of emotion. 

Her eyes widened in disbelief of your words. She scoffs, tears threatening to spill as she glares at you with resentment. “Failed? I won your award. I did it all!”  

An ill feeling fills your stomach as she bares herself. She had become too emotional. One thing you learned about fighting is that your opponent doesn’t care. A real opponent goes straight for the kill. This… is nothing but a sparring session. 

“So? After that, what did you do?” you ask, titling your head. 

You rush forward, spinning around and straightening your legs to kick her head mid-air. Asaki was pulled of her feet violently and thrown across the floor. She slides along the gym floor, halting just a few inches away from the wall. 

“Stand up and tell me,” you instruct her as you land. You wait for her to recover, her forehead bleeding from the impact of your kick. 

Rage colored Asaki’s vision red as she uses her arms to push herself back up. “I…” It was a weak attempt, she couldn’t even sputter out the words. Her chest heaves up and down as she stands to her feet, for a moment, you thought she was gonna puke but she recovers. “I died.”

She snarled and rushes towards you and you await her attack, ready to counter it. Mid-air she raises her fist and you raise your hand, catching her burning fists in yours. However, she uses this misdirect to knee the wound of your thigh. You grunt, taking in the pain and trying not to let it falter you. 

“You haven’t…” you grit through your teeth and use your free hand in attempt to smash it to her face. Asaki manages to block this, locking your arm and jabbing your stomach repeatedly. Using her strong hold from locking you, you jump and use both of your free legs to kick a blow to her stomach, sending you both flying away from each other and hitting the floor. 

You don’t waste any time, jumping to your feet and launching yourself to her body on the ground. You put her in a chokehold, jabbing at her face repeatedly as you sit on her stomach.  “Dying? That’s your reason?” You say to her ear. She spins, making you land on her back. You lock her with your legs, grabbing her hair to raise her head. “Give me something better.” 

You free her from your hold, jumping away from her range. 

When she fully stands up, you throw a kick as the same time as her. Her left leg hits your outer right thigh and you hit her inner right thigh. She staggers because of this and you use the opportunity to jab three heavy hits to her head. Right. Left. Right. Her head has been hit enough for it to be fatal and she falls to her back. 

Cleverly, she uses her legs and feet to block your attacks. You push through, using your body weight to receive the attacks from her legs. She locks you in with her legs on either side of your torso. You let her. If you try to escape, she’ll just lock your head. 

In the underground, you’ve fought men and women of different weights. It was often that you were underestimated because of your height and weight. So, you let them think you were weak. But what they don’t know is you got them right where you wanted them—close enough for you to kill.

You use both your hands to block hers, smashing her wrists on the floor. Then, you smash your head against hers. That doesn’t stop you. You use your elbows once again, landing one blow after another. You don’t stop even after you see her face covered in blood. 

When her hands lay limp with no force, you take a hand off and use this to grip her neck. 

She struggles to breathe from your hold but you don’t let her. If you were inside a stage, a referee would’ve stopped you by now. But that’s not the case for you. Not for a long time. 

“Where did you go last night?” 

Chishiya asks as soon as you sit down beside him in the room. You ignore him, pretending you don’t hear him because of your earphones. He’s talking about the last dance. When he wasn’t looking, you slipped away from the venue and escaped. You left your bag with him and he only noticed when he couldn’t find you in the crowd anymore. You couldn’t help it, you were overwhelmed by your father and Chishiya. Not only is he controlling your career but he’s controlling your relationships too? 

You took a cab ride away from the hotel, still wearing your gown. You told the driver to just drive around and he did. In the ride, you spot a neon signage. It was a club you always see. It had an interesting name; Sarutahiko.

You’ve seen cars come and go there. What you’ve noticed is they all seemed to be very wealthy. You asked for the car to stop by near and without thinking, you made your way into the club, clutching a wealthy man’s arm and pretending to be his date. 

That night, instead of being in Chishiya’s arms for the last dance, you won your first fight in the underground. The beloved dress you had made for thousands of dollars, they were ripped and worn when you came home, dirt and scratches running along your skin. 

It was the first time you felt it—the euphoria.

When you fought with no rules and no holding back, nothing mattered. You weren’t the beloved athlete that has a bright future ahead of her as an heir of the L/N family. You were just Y/N, or as the underground calls you, 極真 王女 (Kyokushin Ojo; trans: Ultimate Truth Princess; “Kyokushin” is a type of Karate)

Like a princess, you entered the arena in your sparkling gown and destroyed your opponent in five minutes. It was then and there that you decided, you will no longer fight your father’s opposition to your sports. This will be your life and your death. 

A life with Chishiya, it’ll be a privilege. You like him… and with his and your father’s deal, you’ll be able to live your other life in peace. Fine, you’ll play the part of the pretty spoiled princess. 

Chishiya doesn’t press further but from your lack of luster in your eyes, he understood that something died inside you that day. From then on, you dropped all your sports and didn’t fight your father’s refusal to all the universities that wanted to scout you even if they offered medical studies in exchange for your athletic participation.

If there was one thing you regret, it was you and Chishiya never had your last dance. 

You feel it again. The euphoria running through your veins. Don’t stop. Don’t stop. Even if you hear the taps, don’t stop. 

Asaki gasps for air, her face reddening as her wide eyes scream for help. You don’t notice this, darkened eyes not even showing mercy or any emotion. You’ve been completely shut off and in auto pilot as you throw one punch and another.

Why should you? Your father never stopped. 

“N-no!” 

Asaki pushes you off with all her strength, sending off her body. You’re quickly on your feet again, ready to attack as your opponent catches her breath. Asaki sprang of her hands, throwing herself in to a spin that showed off a gymnast’ skill. Like a whirling tornado, she was too fast for you to block or counter-attack. 

She doesn’t kick your head and instead kicks your side. You were thrown across the floor, skiddling and tumbling. A groan escapes your lips at the pain that shot through your ribs, adding to the pain of your thigh.. Yeah, your ribs are definitely cracked. 

“You said you’ll protect me,” Chishiya whispers in a low voice, you were sure only you could hear it. You did say it back there in the furniture shop.

He spins you around, making you face the door. His hands are still on your shoulder when he leans in. 

“Protect me,” he whispers in your ear, sending shivers down your spine. For some reason, it sounded genuine. He wasn’t trying to manipulate you into going. He was motivating you, maybe even pleading. 

I’m sorry, Asaki. 

You sprang to your feet, ignoring the screaming pain of your ribs. You face your opponent once again, the same distance from when you started. But this time, something was different. In your opponent’s hands, was a butterfly knife. 

She was smirking at you like she finally got you. She’s an idiot. 

“Fine,” you huff, giving her an equally sinister grin. “You studied all my moves in high school.” You put yourself in a fighting stance again. “I’ll give it to you. You’re a great fighter. You know all the moves, techniques, and all that shit.” 

“You did all that research about me… yet you didn’t ask why I stopped?” You don’t even glance once at her weapon again. “Pathetic.” 

She lunges with a scream, swinging the knife at you. 

You stepped in, closing the gap between you and Asaki, dodging her weapon and striking her upper and lower arm. As your strike clashes with hers, the force makes her arm holding the weapon go limp. You grab her arm, twisting it until her hand is pointed towards the ceiling. 

With Asaki’s chest unprotected, you pivot and strike her with your elbow and then your foot to her leg. She loses balance and you use this to take the weapon from her hand. 

In a swift motion, you swing the weapon, slashing her across the face. Crimson red drips from her already blooded cheek, adding to the wound on her forehead. She puts a hand to her face, finally executing fright for the first time in the fight.

And then you understand.

The career she wanted instead of the Ivy Award—it was beauty. 

Instead of the Ivy Award, she wanted to be prom queen. Life wasn’t for her but she was thrusted into it too. It was so simple and yet you were blinded by the game to notice. You understood. A slash to the face was hard to cover especially if it scars. You were very careful about your face when you fought in the underground. 

You feel bad but who were you to be a saint? 

You strike a blow to her stomach with your foot, sending her staggering a few steps back. Her focus is still on the wound on her face. She has completely dropped her guard and looked like a simple high school girl who was attacked out of nowhere. 

“You were right,” you say as you throw the knife away. “Taekwondo was my favorite. I still use ITF from time to time.” 

She was not even guarded yet you continue. One straight powerful jab to the center of her chest. She accepts the attack but doesn’t fall down, eyes widened and coughing at the force of the attack. 

“The reason why I stopped competing… was because I found something better.”

Asaki backs away, feeling an unexplained fright. She knows something has shifted as you stride towards her with blazing eyes. Even your walk seemed powerful, exerting an aura of strength and power. 

Kyokushin Karate… is the strongest martial art in the world.

Its sole goal is defeating its opponent. Different from Taekwondo at its very core, it’s focused on real fights. There’s no protective gear, just pure hand-to-hand combat. 

Those who practice Kyokushin as a martial art, they’re unfamiliar with attacks aimed at the head. But not you. The only reason attacks aimed at the head are banned in Kyokushin Karate is because…

There were too many casualties. 

You send a straight punch to Asaki’s face, her head receiving the full force impact of your fist. 

You swing your right arm, hitting her across the jaw. Asaki tries to kick your side as a counter attack but you dodge. 

If your right arm’s not enough, use your left.

You swing your left arm this time, hitting her cheek and you actually feel her teeth through your fist. Even as you hit her, Asaki uses her hand to slap you across the cheek. You’re thrown off, so you spin and kicked off your legs.

If your left arm isn't enough, use your legs. 

The heel of your feet strikes the junction of her neck and shoulder, sending her kneeling on the floor with a loud thud. 

You tackle her down like you did before, with your legs on either side of her torso, she could only watch as you repeat your move from before.

And if your legs don’t cut it, use your head. 

You smash your head with hers with a loud thud and she goes into shock, eyes wide open as she could no longer move. Her body stills underneath you as she stares up at nothingness. 

The spirit of Kyokushin Karate… is a person’s strong will that is never broken.

2 MINUTES LEFT

“That’s…” Her eyes remained unmoving. “Karate.”

Tired, you stand up as she still lays still on the ground, broken bones and wounded face. 

“You’ve done well,” you mumble but you’re sure she can hear. You wipe the blood on her face but it does nothing but spread it. You see her face clearly even with the blood. She was pretty with an innocent face now that she’s put down her guard and hatred.  “You can rest now, beautiful.” 

And finally, the tears spill out of her eyes and she cries. She cries and cries until they turn into sobs. She cried like the kid that she is, hungry for love—hungry for someone to listen to her. It was all too familiar. You know the feeling all too well. 

Walking away from her cries, you pick up the plastic piece of crown. It was silver and had pink stones all around it. 

Limping to the stage, you make your way to the prop throne. You sit down on it and groan at the feeling of resting your beat up body.

1 MINUTE

You place the crown on your head and place your bloodied fists on either sides of the arm rests. The cuff on your wrists flash with a sound and a green light.

+ 50 votes

It was followed by a ding and the girl’s automated voice.

CONGRATULATIONS

GAME CLEAR

And then you see it, the laser coming down from the sky and onto Asaki’s skull. 

Stepping out of the gym, you find the other players waiting for you silently. They seemed to be looking up at something so you follow their gaze. 

There was a camera. All that happened back there, they saw it.

You stood there in silence, waiting for something to happen next. Their gaze falls on you with your burnt knuckles and the plastic crown on your head. These people, they looked at you with fright in their eyes. It was a familiar look—the audience’s disbelief when you don’t hold yourself back. 

“Great job,” Heiya was the first one to approach you with a smirk, putting a hand on your shoulder. It was her and Chishiya who didn’t look scared of you.

You smile, giving her a nod. 

Just like that, the other players began giving you their thanks. Out of nine people, six of you survived. They all thanked you, the girl in the headband even hugging you. 

All six of you walk out of the game, looking up as the Queen of Clubs’ blimp self-destructs with explosion. Beside you, Chishiya is also looking up, smirking. He was properly beautiful. 

Arisu asked you what made you like this man so much and you told him it was because Chishiya grounds you. You never really knew how to explain it until now. 

When you were fighting in the underground, it was brutal. It was your way of feeling pain–to feel alive. If you didn’t have Chishiya in your life, you would’ve stayed in the underground forever. But Shuntaro, he gives you a reason to come back to your life. 

So you can annoy him. 

You were back in the apartment with Chishiya after you searched for some medical supplies for your injury. As always, he was silent. 

“You can shower if you want,” Chishiya breaks the silence, pulling you off your thoughts while you sat on the couch. You nod and leave him alone in the living room. 

After you shower, you wore a plain white shirt  and some lounge shorts you found in one of the drawers. When you step out of the room, Chishiya still wore the clothes he had outside but he stood over portable stove, stirring what smelled to be like instant noodles. 

He sees you and carries the pot over to the table. The table is already set. 

You never thought you’d see the day, Domestic Chishiya. A malewife. You place a hand over your mouth, preventing the smile on your face from forming. Instead, your face contorts into a funny face, earning a glare from Chishiya. 

“Are you just going to stand there or eat?” He deadpans. 

You bite your lips, shutting yourself up and made your way to the table. “Thank you for the food,” you said, sincerely. He scoffs, sitting across from you.

The two of you ate quietly, you slurp the ramen noodles like its your last meal. It wouldn’t be so bad. Instant Ramen by Chishiya. You giggle in your head, a smile spreading on your face. 

When you finish your food, you opted to wash the dishes while Chishiya showers. Looking around, the apartment, you found something really cool—a record player. You inspect it and it looks like it’s the kind that doesn’t need electricity. Your heart swells with excitement, searching for vinyls around the place. You found a box inside the room filled with it and you clap to yourself happily.

“No way,” you react when you turn a knob and found it actually works. 

“What’s that?” Chishiya walks in the living room, his jacket long abandoned and wearing a shirt and lounge shorts. Did he match what you were wearing? 

“It’s the only thing he has,” he defends himself even when you haven’t said anything.

You pause, thinking if you should say anything but you ignore it, remembering your brilliant discovery. “Look! It’s a record player!” 

He sighs. “You’ll only attract others with the sound.” 

Your face fell. “Then I’ll beat them up.” You ignore his protests, going over to him and grabbing his hand to pull him over to the record player. He follows you limply, bored and annoyed as always. 

You’re not very familiar with the vinyls so you just grab one with a familiar name, Nat King Cole. You placed it on the record player, figuring out how it plays. It began playing but it was too fast. You look up at Chishiya with wide eyes, wondering what you did wrong. He sighs, reaching over to some tiny lever on the turntable and pushing it to number 33. 

“It’s the wrong speed,” he tells you.

The song began playing at a normal speed and you grin widely. 

It was a slow love song and an idea pops into your mind. 

“You know, something popped into my mind back there,” you face your friend, placing a hand on his shoulder. He stills but doesn’t remove your hand. 

When I fall in love, it will be forever Or I’ll never fall in love

“We never got to finish our last dance back in high school,” you say with a smirk. “And you promised.” 

Surprisingly, Chishiya doesn’t argue. So, you place your other hand around his neck, connecting it with your other hand. You pull him closer, his face inches away from yours. From here, you can see his face clearly. His eyelashes that flutter as he blinks, the creases of his forehead when he scrunches his brows slightly, his lips that were ever so slightly parted. He stays quiet, eyes on your face as if memorizing it like what you were doing to his. 

You brought down your hands to place his on your waist and again, he surprisingly doesn’t remove them. You place your hands back to where they belong, pulling him in again. You started to sway with the music, willing Chishiya to do the same. 

“I’m sorry.” The words come out of his mouth like air. If you weren’t close enough, you wouldn’t have heard it. Heat rushes to your face as your eyes widen. Did you really just hear Chishiya apologize to you?

Your shock melts into a tightlipped smile. “You’re just going to have to make it up to me by loving me forever.” It was a reference to the song that was playing. 

He scoffs at your cheesy words. “Don’t be ridiculous.” 

Love. It’s a privilege. You know that you two aren’t children made by love. It’s the reason why you two find it so hard to believe that love exists. Chishiya no doubt finds it harder to believe. He doesn’t understand the sentiment–the romance. 

“Fine. Tell me,” he mumbled. You stare back at him, unsure of what he means. His eyes were steady, focused on you and begging in his own way. It takes years of experience to notice the subtle changes of emotion his face makes and your heart swells at the slight tremble of his lips. “Tell me what to do instead.” 

Your brows slightly furrow, cheeks reddening and eyes glossy. When he’s not showcasing his intelligence and mischief, Chishiya is a man of few words. As your eyes are locked on each other, you bare yourself open into nothingness. Nothing mattered, not the games, not even the meaning of life. It was neither warm nor cold. Looking into Chishiya’s eyes was like looking into a mirror you cannot escape and yet you’d like to drown in them. 

“Worship me,” you proposed in a commanding manner, finding confidence in yourself and what you feel for him.

“Worship?” he asks with a confused and amused tone in his voice. 

“Love is overrated. Worship me instead.” 

And he smirks, pulling your waist closer. His lips touch yours and your world exploded. There weren’t fireworks, no sparks… it’s just felt like summer day. A bright sky, lighting up the road as the breeze hits your skin. His hand is heavy on your waist, your body fully aware of all of him. Your mouth melted into his, everything else is forgotten. The tip of your tongue brushes his and he parts his lips, welcoming you in. You cling unto him, longing more of him. 

And the moment I can feel that You feel that way too Is when I fall in love with you

© wolfvmin. please do not copy, translate, claim any of my works. my works are cross-posted only in ao3 under the name vantantae. thank you.

[bigtreefest]

Chapter 1: Fix Your Shoelaces

From: The Rainmaker Series

Pairing: Mob! Steve x Forensic Scientist! Reader

Summary: Two simple pleasures in life include sleep and chocolate milk. You just never thought they’d both be ruined in one weekend.

Word count: 3,862

Content/warnings: Swears, curdled milk, riding a horse, alcohol consumption, suspicion, dancing

Author’s Note: This takes place at the same time as chapters 5 and 6 of YCMBWH.

This is the first installment of The Rainmaker storyline in the Outta Nowhere AU. This is also a very different environment from where we will usually see this pairing, but that’s the fun in it.

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Outta Nowhere AU | Series Masterlist | Next >

You were awoken from your deep sleep to someone pounding on your door. As you put on your robe and shuffled through the living room, you caught a glance at the clock on the stove. 10:43pm. Who in their right mind would be at your door this late? A better question: why were you on your way to answer it? You didn’t even answer calls from unknown numbers.

You opened the door and immediately squinted at the bright fluorescent light of the hallway as it hit you in the face. Standing there in a full suit was a man with tall, broad shoulders and kind blue eyes under a tuft of blonde hair you assumed had lost its styling from a long day. If you asked your best friend, her evaluation would be ‘totally your type.’ He was a gorgeous, pretty boy….yeah….pretty seemed like a fitting description. Good looks or not, though, he woke you up hardly two hours into your sleep schedule.

“What do you want?”

“Um, good evening. You’re…” he looked down at a sticky note in his hand. “…Decks, right? I’m here to talk to you about a matter concerning Honeybee-I mean-“

You cut him off, grabbing his arm to drag the handsome man into your apartment and out of the hallway so you wouldn’t get another noise complaint from the old lady next door. Although, it was probably already too late for that since he had been banging on your door for who knows how long. “Yeah, yeah, that’s me. I know what you’re talking about, come in.”

Steve gently closed the door behind him as you moved to turn on a lamp by the couch. You flopped down in an arm chair while he perched himself on the couch cushion closest to you. Even with your messy hair in the dim light, there was something intriguing about you to him.

You leaned back and squinted at him. “So what’s going on? Are you Bucket? I’ve been told about you.”

Steve straightened in his seat. Bucky was going to love that he was the topic of one of Bee’s conversations outside the farm.

He smiled and shook his head. “No, actually. I’m Steve. I work very closely with Bucky, though. I was sent here to take you over to the farm. There’s been an emergency and we need all the closest people there to help out.”

You looked at him skeptically. “Why didn’t anyone call first? Why were you sent here?”

“Well, from what I’ve heard, you probably wouldn’t have picked up if I called, and time is of the essence. I can explain more on the way there.” He shrugged.

You looked at him with confusion. “Listen, I love my friend and all, and I’m willing to be there for her, but I’ve got work tomorrow. What am I supposed to do about that?”

Steve waved his hand and closed his eyes in reassurance before speaking softly. “It’s already been taken care of. Just, if you could go ahead and pack a bag, grab only essentials because we need to get going.”

You groaned. At least you’d heard of Steve before, your bestie had described him as pretty decent, and you hated that she was right, in more ways than one. You grabbed a bag off the back of your door and tossed it at Steve. “Okay, fine. Pack some snacks, it’s a long way to go at this time of night.”

He simply nodded and walked to your pantry, packing up everything that could easily be eaten on the road, along with a few bottles of water.

You emerged from your room with a duffel on your shoulder to see him waiting for you on the couch, food bag in his lap.

When Steve saw you, he was captivated. You’d changed into an old college sweatshirt and sweatpants, hair in a messy bun, but your face looked like it was ready to take on the world, despite the premature rise from sleep.

He got up and followed you to the door, turning off the lamp on the way over. As you locked your apartment, you whispered over to him. “What did you bring here? Let me see your keys.”

Steve dug into his pocket, pulling out the keychain with a jingle. “Range Rover.”

You grabbed them out of his hands. “Perfect. I’m driving.”

It had been awhile since you’d been all the way out to the farm. You used to come and help out over the summers during college, mostly baling hay and feeding animals. It was fun, but it wasn’t your life. Your degree and passion had drawn you to the city and kept you there for all these years.

You explained that to Steve on the drive over, in between the times you made him feed you the snacks. You noted that you were proud you could still drive this route by heart, too. Steve told you a little bit about how he did business in the city and how he knew Bucky, along with a story about why Bucky was out here in the first place. You had already heard the story from your roommate, so it wasn’t a surprise, but you were confused as to why they hadn’t called some sort of law enforcement to help. Something didn’t quite add up, but if someone you trusted so much trusted these men, that was good enough for now.

As you were nearing the end of the drive, Steve continued in his attempts to make conversation. “So how did you get the nickname ‘Decks?’”

You laughed dryly. “It’s a-“ you cut yourself off. “Hold on, I need to make sure I make this turn. It’s kind of hard to see at this time of night.”

You heard the wheels hit gravel as you pulled into the driveway and in front of the house, the headlights briefly lighting up Curtis leading a couple horses and tying their reins to the posts of the front porch in the darkness of the moonlit night.

Your eyes adjusted as you moved to get out of the car and watched Curtis jog over to the passenger side of the vehicle where Steve had just stood up, sticking out his hand.

“Hey, I’m Curtis, you must be Steve. Buck hasn’t left her side yet, so I’m gonna take you on back.”

Steve shook his hand “Yeah, good to meet you.”

Curtis gave him a slight nod and patted his shoulder, then ran around the other side of the vehicle to greet you by the driver’s side door. He reached his arms around your shoulders to give you a big hug with a tight squeeze. “Good to see you, Decks.”

“Yeah, you too, Curtis. Steve told me what’s going on. We should probably get back there.”

You rubbed his back before Curtis freed you from the hug and nodded in response, then looked back at Steve.

“You know how to ride?”

Steve couldn’t help the scoff that came from his lips. “Not one bit.”

Curtis sighed and looked between the two of you. “Okay, no worries. You’re with Decks, then. I’ll help you up. We’ll talk over all the details on the way there.”

Curtis led you over to the porch and helped you up onto the bigger of the two horses, then helped to prop Steve up behind you before getting onto his own horse and leading you toward the mines.

As your hips swayed back and forth with the horse’s footsteps, you could feel Steve clinging onto you for dear life. “You can ease up your grip a little, ya know. We’re not even going that fast. And you’re like, five feet off the ground. I promise you won’t get hurt.”

You could feel Steve nod in acknowledgment, his head resting against your shoulder, but nothing changed. If anything, his hold tightened. You laughed through the vice of his arms that was squeezing your diaphragm and continued on to the caves in the distance.

“So Steve told me one of the caves collapsed, and I’m not surprised because I know how old these things are, but why were you guys even back there? How did it fall so suddenly?”

You looked over at Curtis and he met your eye. “I want so badly to say it’s Bucket’s fault, but I know it’s really not. Your dear bestie insisted we go for a walk to show him the mines, and when he kicked one of the supports, the whole thing came crashing down. Could’ve happened to anyone at any time, though.”

You nodded. “Well, I’m glad she’s okay at least, but being trapped in there must suck. Either way, we’re happy to help with whatever’s needed.” Steve hummed against your shoulder in agreement.

You stopped the horses at the mouth of the cave and yawned from the early hour, stretching as Curtis helped Steve, then you, down from the horse. A man with brown hair and broad shoulders sauntered over to the three of you, greeting Steve with a hug and you and Curtis with a handshake. He wore a hard look on his face, but you could see the lace of concern through his forehead and eyes. Ah, this was Bucket.

“I’d take you guys in, but it’s sort of unstable right now. I’ve got direct orders from Honeybee, though, as to what we’re all supposed to do.”

He went through the plan, but in your tiredness, you barely caught his words. “I’ll go back over it in the morning, but the general gist is that we need to keep everything running smoothly and draw as little suspicion as possible.”

You looked between the men. None of them had caught on to one important detail. “I’ve still got Steve’s keys, but Buck, you’ve gotta tell your guys to move their cars, then. I’ve never seen that many in the driveway. People will notice. Move them into the hay barn. It should be empty enough this time of year before the next round of bales gets made. Can probably fit most of them.”

You all looked at Curtis and he nodded in agreement. “Yep, just as she said.” Bucky snapped his fingers and a young kid in a suit came running over to him, ready to take the command. What an odd interaction. You shrugged it off, though. Your brain hardly had any power at this point. It was just enough to ride back to the house and move the Range Rover into the pool barn behind the garage before flopping down into one of the guest bedrooms.

You woke up with a jolt to one of the roosters crowing. You forgot how loud those little bastards were, but something about it was comforting. You got dressed and brushed your teeth before making sure your hair was out of your face. You could smell breakfast and followed Curtis down the stairs to see Bucky making plates already.

That was surprising. As far as you knew from your conversation last week, he was struggling to get out of bed, and now he was up early enough to gather eggs and cook for everyone? Weird.

The steps creaked behind you as Steve matched them with his own groan, flopping into a chair. He wore a set of farm clothes you believe he’d borrowed from Curtis and his hair was a floofy mess. It was kind of cute, and you’d be lying if you said you didn’t enjoy the casual wear in juxtaposition to his suit from the night before.

Bucky pulled out a sheet of paper and explained your tasks again. You were so excited to be put on animal feed duty. You loved petting the little goats and sheep, they were so adorable.

As Bucky explained Steve’s tasks to him, you watched an almost unreadable expression grow on his face. He looked almost scared, daunted, intimidated? Maybe it was just dread? Eh, he’d probably be fine.

You finished up your plate and set it in the dishwasher before getting on with your day.

At mid-morning, you rolled up to the farmers market to help run sales with Bucky. You caught the sight of Steve carrying in his last wagon load of produce crates. His biceps bulged as he placed them all in the right places, and you couldn’t help but drool a little. Not only did he look good while being put to work, but he didn’t complain while doing it. Sure, you knew Bucky was technically his boss, but something about his willingness to help out did you in. Made you feel warm.

You watched as Bucky gave him a final set of instructions, and Steve walked back into the field. Man, did his ass look good in those jeans.

Hours passed by running the market with Bucky. You could see that a few repeat customers were happy to see him, some even trying to go in for hugs and offer him free drinks. You could see the charm you’d been told about.

As things began to slow, you found yourself standing next to Bucky, the both of you watching an older customer leave with some produce and a small jar of honey.

“Mrs. Jensen is definitely a talker. I think she needs someone else around.” He leaned towards you to say it lowly.

You laughed in response. He demeanor now was the same as when he was dealing with her, but somehow she was still so happy with their interaction.

Bucky continued. “Maybe I’ll let Jake see his mom later if he’s good.”

That caught your attention. “Wait, Jake is here? Why? Like, the Jake that broke my best friend’s heart? I thought they haven’t talked since before college.”

You could see Bucky trying to avoid eye contact with you. He was hiding something. Why would Jake be here?

“He’s done a lot lately that has made business difficult for both me and Bee. Since we are business partners after all. My people reached out and he came to apologize. Also happens he’s able to run some pretty complex calculations on his computer. He was more than happy to help out down at the mine when he heard she was in danger.”

You looked at him skeptically. “Okay…”

After you and Bucky had finished cleaning up the farmers market, you headed back to the house to relax some. You slipped off your boots and laid down on the couch, pulling a blanket up to your chin.

You were shaken awake and opened your eyes to see a pair of blue ones before you. It was Steve. He smiled.

“Hey, Decks. It’s time for dinner. You want some?” You nodded, stretching to sit up, seeing Curtis and his cousin, your best friend, bringing food to the table. You scrambled to toss the blanket off of you and ran over. You’d never hugged her so tight.

“You’re not dead! I’m so happy to see you.” Was muffled into her hair.

She laughed and rubbed your back. “It’s good to see you, too, Decks. Now let’s get some food. I’m starving.”

You nodded your head, still not letting go, as she waddled you to your chair next to Steve. He looked at the two of you, noticing you felt for each other the same way he felt for Bucky. There was a deep trust and appreciation that could rarely be matched.

As you were eating, you hardly realized Bucky wasn’t at the table until it was brought up in conversation. After a long day, and frankly, a long week, you all went upstairs and straight to bed.

You woke up to the sunshine, somehow sleeping through the roosters, probably from sheer exhaustion, and changed into your college hoodie and sweats. You walked downstairs to search through the fridge and find something decent to eat. As you were making toast, Steve came down and pulled out the pitcher of milk along with chocolate syrup.

“Ooh! Can you make me one, too? It’s been forever since I’ve had chocolate milk.”

He leaned up into the cabinet above you, abs brushing your back to grab another glass. You shivered slightly at the touch. You weren’t around people much, let alone people who looked like that.

“Sure thing, Decks, as long as you promise to make me toast.”

Your eyes narrowed, looking at him for a second. “Deal.”

After eating, you sat on the couch with Steve, sipping your chocolate milk and making small talk. He stayed vague about his everyday business dealings, and you felt like you didn’t have much to add since a lot of your work was confidential, and you didn’t have much time to do things outside of it.

You watched Bucky run down the steps and peek his head in the office before closing the door behind him.

You were about to offer to play a card game to pass the time with Steve since Curtis was due to be done any minute and could join, but there was a knock on the door.

You opened it up to see a ridiculously large vase of hydrangeas and a delivery driver already retreating back up the driveway. Oh great, what sorry guy sent these? She’s gonna hate them.

You picked up the vase to bring it inside, not expecting the sour smell that came off of it. You held it at arm’s length, fast walking to the office before knocking on the door with your foot. You held the vase in one arm to quickly open the door, showing the flowerpot, your face blocked by the large bouquet.

“Ugh! Decks, get that out of here. Where the hell did those come from?”

You ran back towards the front door, where Steve was holding it open, to set them on the porch. “Just got delivered. Don’t worry, I’ve smelled worse. There’s a card here.”

It’s true, you had smelled worse at work before, but it still didn’t mean it was very tolerable after some time. Everyone else stood back, hands covering their airways as you plucked the small piece of paper from the petals and read it out loud.

“Peach, can’t wait to milk our deal together. -Cole”

Everyone exchanged glances, disgusted by the weirdly suggestive statement, as you pulled the hydrangeas out of the vase and tossed them into the yard. You peered into the vase and gave it a sniff. In the bottom was a white goop, which you assumed had once been a liquid before a chemical reaction took place.

“He put the flowers in milk…and,” you sniffed again, “lemon juice?”

You fought a gag while you carried the vase out into the yard and did your best to get all the chunks out of it, eventually opting to spray it out with the garden hose. It still was a nice vase.

In your attempts to clean it, though, you knew some of the spoiled milk had splattered back on you and you’d need to get it off as soon as possible. So much for enjoying chocolate milk with Steve, because you were going to remember that smell for months.

You turned off the hose and grabbed the vase, stomping back into the house and slipping off your shoes.

Now frustrated with the situation, even though the mess was partially your fault, you were done. Most of it was probably due to the fact you couldn’t finish sipping the delicious beverage Steve had made for you. You shoved the vase into Steve’s chest and he cradled it with an oof.

“Finish cleaning that. And dump out my glass. I won’t be able to drink milk again for months.” You grumbled, moving towards the steps.

“Where are you going?” You heard behind you.

“To take a shower.” Your head whipped back around.

You continued to stomp up the stairs before gesturing aggressively with your arms above your head. “WHY DO GUYS ALWAYS SEND YOU WEIRD SHIT LIKE THAT!?”

You could hear Steve as you reached the bathroom. “I think I’m gonna need a shower, too, after this.”

Steve and Curtis chatted while they waited for you. “So like, what’s the deal with the trucks?”

Curtis shrugged as he opened the back door for Steve to get in, seeing you coming from the house. “Good for hauling stuff. You’re not gonna see many people out here without trucks, so it’s a good thing your fancy SUV is hidden away.”

Steve nodded, thankful you were on your way to end his awkward conversation-making skills that were not working very well on Curtis. Well, either that, or Curtis wasn’t very talkative, however, he never saw that same issue when you were around.

After a nice long, hot shower to remove the scent, you were relaxed and ready to go. Steve could smell your perfume, causing him to smile to himself.

Curtis opened the passenger door for you to hop in, and the two of you talked in the front seat on the way over as Steve sat in the back, watching and listening.

After spending hours at the bar, you were standing near the edge of the dance floor, chatting with Bee.

“So what do you think of him?” She tilted her head to gesture toward the blonde, wearing a hat that looked entirely too good on him.

You thought for a second before answering. “He’s a charmer, alright, in a really weird, awkward way. Kinda reserved, but very helpful. I respect it.”

“Yeah, I thought so.” She nudged your shoulder with her own.

“Well hold your horses, there, Honeybee. Some of us need a little more time to see what’s going on under the surface. Not everyone seems to fold so fast like your tall, dark, and handsome Bucket. Steve’s got something to him I just can’t figure out.”

“You will. I’m sure of it. That’s why you’ve got your job and I’ve got mine. You’re meant to be a scientist. An investigator.”

You laughed and rolled your eyes. “Yeah, okay.”

The music began to blare up above your conversation. Well, that’s a familiar tune.

“Oh! You love this one! You remember the dance I showed you in college? I think you’ve got some new guests to teach!”

You looked over to the pool tables to be greeted by Steve’s gaze directed right back at you with a dopey grin. Must be the alcohol, you thought to yourself. Bee had already left your side to go get Bucky.

“Do you want to dance?” You mouthed to him across the bar. He shrugged and mouthed back “I don’t know how.”

You gestured your arm for him to come towards you “I’ll teach you. Come on.”

Steve set down his cue and made his way through the crowd, only able to see your hat through the sea of people. He crouched down to reach your ear so you could hear him in the loud bar. “Don’t make fun of me if it’s bad.”

You laughed and shook your head at him as you set him up to stand in front of you. “No promises,” you yelled back.

Next >

Bonus A/N: Thank you for reading! Comments, likes, reblogs, and asks are soooo appreciated.

What do you guys think of Decks? I love imagining her take the vase out to the yard, so fed up with the shenanigans that always happen around Bee.

Series Taglist:

@evie-119

[raya-hunter01]

Cruising Love Pt. 1

Two Shot Request

Jey Uso x Black Female OC! (Kayla)

Jimmy Uso x Trin

Roman x Black Female OC! (Robin)

Sefa x Black Female OC! (Cameron)

Montez Ford x Bianca Belair

Rating: 18+

Warning: Smut,

Thank you for the request and for trusting me once again @royalkay23

Jey has planned a five-day cruise to the Bahamas and Puerto Rico for his girlfriend Kayla’s birthday. Jey is determined to make sure the trip goes smoothly as he’s enlisted his family and friends to help him plan the perfect wedding proposal.

His plans are in danger of going up in smoke as his toxic ex is also on the cruise and is desperate to rekindle their toxic burning flame.

Will Jey give in, or will he stand strong in his love and devotion to Kayla and leave the past in the past?

Jacksonville, FL

Regen Seven Seas Cruises

Jey's POV

Damn it’s crowded and I wish we had got here earlier, but we were running behind schedule, but we made it. It really is a lot that goes into this cruising thing, but I’ll do anything for my lady.

“Will you stop looking at Kayla like she’s going to disappear,” Jimmy said as I looked at my girlfriend talking to Trin, Carmen, and Bianca.

“I’m waiting on Bianca to answer my text,” I said as I saw her looking at her phone, typing away with a smile on her face. “

“Stop worrying, you know Bianca got you. We all got you,” Sefa said looking at his girlfriend who game us a thumbs up.

“See Carmen is on it,” Jimmy said as I let out the breath I was holding.

The girls helped me plan this cruise for Kayla’s birthday and I want everything to go according to plan. WWE gave us thanksgiving week off this year and that made planning this trip much easier.

“Jey, everything is going to be beautiful, and Kayla will love everything you have planned, because she loves you. Then on top of that you know she’s going to say yes to your proposal so stop trippin’,” Robin reassured me as Joe kissed her on the temple.

“Keep him in line mama, we’re here to have fun and enjoy this break,” Joe whispered as I rolled my eyes.

“We are going to have fun-” I started but closed my mouth as I saw Kayla heading back over.

“What are ya’ll talking about?” Kayla asked coming to stand beside me checking her phone.

“Nothing baby, we just ready to get on the ship,” I said as she smiled brightly at me.

“I’m ready to get my birthday week started myself. Trin wants us to hit one of the clubs on the ship tonight,” she said I looked at Trin strangely as she shrugged her shoulders.

“Hey, ya’ll can do a boys night out too, ain’t nobody stoppin’ ya’ll,” she said as Kayla laughed at Jimmy shaking his head.

“A guys night out could be fun, maybe we could play pool,” Sefa added seeing how antsy I was.

“Uh, yea that’s cool I’m on board with it,” I said as the line finally began moving and thankfully, they were on a roll now. It took us about thirty minutes to finally get on and another twenty to find our rooms.

Kayla’s POV

“Oh, shit! Babe this is too much,” I gasped looking around our suite before going out onto the balcony.

“It’s your birthday week, nothing is too much baby,” he whispered gently kissing my neck as I blushed profusely.  “Thank you it’s really beautiful, everything is,” I whispered as I felt his smile against my neck.

“Not as beautiful as you, but just know before this week is over, I’m making love to you out here on this balcony in that shower,” he said pointing to the overhead shower against the wall.

“Oh, my now what will the neighbors have to say about that?” I asked turning around in his arms as we shared a brief kiss. 

“Don’t know and don’t care, but I know one thing they definitely gon’ know my fuckin’ name before this trip is over. Every night yo fine ass gon’ be screamin’ it,” Jey whispered before tasting my lips again.

“Oh, is that right?” I asked truly turned on as his eyes sparkled with mischief.

 “Damn right now go put on that pretty sundress for me that you bought. We gotta meet everyone on the deck in a few minutes, the dance party you girls wanted to check out starts soon,” he said as I felt even more giddy inside, my man was on it.

“Thanks again for all of this,” I whispered before heading inside to freshen up and change. This trip was definitely starting off right and hope it continues.

----

Deck Dance Party

Jey’s POV

I have to say, so far, the trip is going off without a hitch as we watched the girls on the middle deck dancing with fellow passengers without a care in the world. I still had one thing on my mind though.

“How bout Danielle texted me the other day talking about we needed closure,” I said to myself as I Joe raised his eyebrows at me.

“Damn, it’s like she has ESPN when your happy and tries to sneak in and fuck it up with that toxic shit,” he said as Jimmy scoffed, taking a sip of his beer.

“Uce, you and Kayla been rockin’ for three years. She’s loyal and held you down through a lot of shit. Don’t let nobody come in and fuck that up. The closure was done when you put her ass out and broke up with her,” Jimmy said as Joe nodded in agreement.

“I should have ended it better, I was so cold to her,” I said as Montez looked at me like I had grown three heads.

"Well if thirty thousand disappeared from my savings I'd be cold as fuck too. You went through that toxic shit for so long you feel undeserving of love and normalcy, but you are deserving. Let Kayla love you, just be happy man," Montez said as i nodded trying to truly digest his words.

“Kayla loves you and has held you down. Being a wrestler’s girlfriend or wife ain’t for the weak. Hell, she helped you build your brand,” Joe said as I smiled taking a swig of my beer.

“You should have seen her in the studio while I was remixing our old song. Do it again babe and yell louder, Iet’em know you feelin’ ucey,” I said mocking her as the guys laughed.

Danielle never understood my passion for wrestling but, when I met Kayla, I was thrown off by how supportive she was. I thought she was too good to be true and tried to close off my feelings.

Through it all Kayla never stopped being herself and each time I was in her presence another barrier would crumble and the deeper I fell in love with her.

The countless nights she sat up late letting me cut promos on her and giving advice. Like she actually cares and loves to come on the road to visit me and enjoy the shows.

“What’s got you over there in deep thought, Uce?” Joe asked as I smiled.

 “Just thinking bout Kay, and how much I love that woman. You know she’s already got her schedule mapped out to come on the road with me next month for a week to help out with my meetings with the WWEShop executives and Paul. She did me a couple of sketches of some new merchandise ideas I had.”

 “See that’s what I’m talkin’ bout, you deserve somebody like that on your team. Ya’ll grindin’ together, Uce.  Not somebody that has nothing to offer but sex, manipulation and don’t even get me started on the money she stole from you,” Jimmy said as Sefa watched me intently.

“Go ahead Uce, add your two cents in I can take it,” I said, his stoic expression even more judging than it normally is on TV.

 “Jey, you deserve happiness, and you need to stop thinking that you don’t. Danielle is the past, don’t let her spoil your future with Kayla,” he said as I smiled at him stealing a glance at Kayla out on the dance floor.

“Man, you better get yo’ shit together, all this stuff Bianca and I had to order and get shipped to Puerto Rico. If you fuck this up, she will kill you,” Montez said as we all laughed.

“I got it together man, I’m just thankful ya’ll agreed to help me get everything set up,” I said as he smiled.

“You know she loves to decorate and drags me along to help, but I love it too. I think that is going to be the business move for us when we decide to retire,” Montez said as I almost felt envious of him. He’s thinking about life after wrestling and is coming up with a plan.

“I’m going to order me another drink, anybody want anything?” I asked, getting up as Joe held up his beer.

“Get me a refill this gon’ be a long day,” he said looking back down at the girls dancing on the deck.

“Shit, you know it, I’ll go wit you,” Jimmy said getting up following me to the bar as I stopped in my tracks spotting a familiar figure from afar.

“I know this isn’t happening to me,” I whispered as Jimmy collided with my back. “Damn, why did you stop?” he asked as I tried to play it off as I saw my ex-girlfriend with her sister leaving the bar and heading towards the deck.

“Uh, I tripped over these damn slides,” I said as he laughed. “Man, come one let’s get these drinks and get back to the deck, we missing the show,” he said as I smiled but underneath my smile I was shook.

This was all I needed was Danielle lurking around and I knew if she saw any of us it would be a disaster.

“Aye, snap outta it Uce, we need to order,” Jimmy said going around me and heading to the bar.

“Just, avoid her ass at all costs and enjoy your trip,” I muttered to myself in denial. Deep down I knew at some point in time we were going to run into each other.

Yea, this definitely was going to be a long five days on this fuckin’ ship.

----

Four years earlier

“I do support you!” Danielle cried as the anger in me continued to boil.

“I begged yo ass to come on the road with me, you never have time even though you have no job. You just want to shop, max out my damn credit cards and flex on Instagram.”

“You told me I could get what I needed! Don’t make it seem like I just did it without your knowledge!” Danielle yelled as I growled.

How does me telling her that she can use my credit card when she needs something turn into you spending three grand a week.

 “That ain’t what I meant, and you know it. I’mma let you have that shit and move on. I want you to explain the newest most deceitful shit you’ve done to me,” I said as her eyes widened in shock.  “Yea, the jig us up, I can’t believe you didn’t think I would find out,” I hissed as she cried.

“Jey, I’m not feeling well,” she whimpered as I scoffed in anger.  “Cut the bullshit, explain to me how thirty thousand is missing from my savings,” I said pulling out my bank statement showing her the evidence in black and white as she continued to cry.

Yea, poor Joshua finally got some damn sense.

“Uh, I—I-Joshua,” Danielle stuttered as I slammed the paper down on the counter.

“Don’t call me that! Only my family can call me that and you ain’t my family, you never were!

“Yes, I am your family I-“she started as I bitterly cutting her off.

“You been stealing from me! Stealing from the person you say you love! Shit, who needs enemies when snakes like you are surrounding me!” I hissed as her crocodile tears made me even more pissed off.

“I’m sorry Jey, I didn’t want to hurt you, I can give it back,” she whispered as I shook my head in disgust.

“Danielle, all I want is for you to get out and stay out. You got an hour to pack what you can and get the fuck out.”

“Jey, we can work this out! I know I fucked up,” Danielle cried as I tried to keep my cool, but it wasn’t working.

“Yea, you fucked up big time and I’m done! When I get back you better be gone. Also, all my accounts have been switched so your cards won’t work anymore.”

“What am I supposed to do?” she whispered as Trin came into the kitchen where we were.

“Use that thirty grand you stole to start over,” I said as she cringed at my words.

“Hey, your door was open, is everything ok?” Trin asked taking in the tense scene. I can’t even imagine how we looked to her right now.

"Yea, thanks for coming sis. I just needed you and Cameron to look after the house while she packs her shit,” I said as Trin looked at Danielle shaking her head.

“Cameron is in the car talking to Sefa on the phone, his flight is delayed but she’ll be in shortly,” Trin said as I gave her a hug.

“Thanks, I just need to get outta here,” I whispered as she nodded tightening her arms around me.

“Go, we’ll call you when she’s gone,” she said as I felt a heavy load lifted off of my shoulders.

“Jey, you can’t just discard me!” Danielle screamed as Trin ushered me towards the door as Cameron walked inside.

“Jey you can’t do this!” Danielle cried as Cameron stopped me from turning around and answering.

“Ignore her, Jimmy is waiting at the house,” Cameron said grabbing my hand, giving a comforting squeeze as I felt my eyes burning. Yea, I needed to leave now.

“We’ll call you when it’s done,” Trin said as Carmen rolled her eyes looking at Danielle moving in slow motion around the living room.

“Girl, hurry up and get started packin’ your shit. We ain’t got all day and run them keys too because we don’t need you snooping around when Jey isn’t here.”

“A locksmith is on the way to change the locks; I don’t want to chance her having copies. I will get ya’ll a copy before I leave tomorrow night,” I said walking away, not really wanting to talk anymore to anybody.

Six years down the drain and right up under my nose. I’ll never let anybody close to me ever again.

---

Sefa and Cameron’s Suite

“I don’t think you saw Danielle; it can’t be,” Sefa said as I rolled my eyes. “I know what I saw and what I saw was that barracuda. Last thing we need is her trying to run up on Jey trying to reconnect, painting a perfect picture as to how she has changed,” I said as he groaned in frustration.

“Damn, why shit can’t be simple for once,” he said as I sighed.

“Because your brother can’t stay mad at nobody and that’s the problem.”

“Jey loves Kayla, and he wouldn’t jeopardize that, I just know it,” he said as I sat beside him on the bed.

“I know he loves her, but I also remember the hold Danielle used to have on him and it scares me,” I said as Sefa laced our fingers together.

“Jey knows what he has in Kayla and he ain’t messing that up for nobody, you’re worrying for nothing,” Sefa whispered as I tried to see his positive outlook but I knew that bitch.

If she ever saw Jey, she definitely would try to seduce him. Yea, this trip just went to shit.

--

Jey & Kayla’s Suite

Kayla’s POV

“Mmhm right there,” I moaned as Jey’s smiled against my neck gently biting as I rocked my hips against his fingers.

“Yea, you like dat shit don’t you?” he moaned as I whimpered in pleasure as he curved his fingers against my G spot. His thumb gently and urgently caressing my clit.

“Answer me princess,” Jey moaned using his other hand to grasp my chin bringing my mouth to his.

“Yes! I love it,” I whimpered grinding on his lap as he growled. “Fuck, you trying to make daddy cum too ain’t you?” Jey asked as I smirked. “Mmhm, I want you to come wit me,” I whispered as our moans and gasps of pleasure filled the room. “How long has it been since I made you cum?” Jey gasped as I continued to grind against him as his fingers and mouth sent shivers down my spine.

“This morning!” I yelped against his lips as he smiled. “Too long, cum wit me beautiful,” he groaned. “Mmm, I love you,” I whispered as Jey smiled. “I love you too princess,” he whispered as our lips met again in a passionate kiss as we fell over the edge together.

 Something so innocent got us both so hot. It’s purely ridiculous what this man does to me should be against the damn law.

“Damn, all I said was help me put on my necklace,” I gasped trying to catch my breath as Jey laughed. “Shit, you looked amazing in the dress, I couldn’t help it,” he said letting me go as I stood up.

“Yea, now I gotta change because you messed up my dress,” I said looking at the back in the mirror. “Aye, that was all you grinding up on this dick, dry humping like we teenagers,” he said with a sexy smirk as I blushed.

“There wasn’t nothin’ dry bout that humpin’ sir, and I didn’t hear you complaining a minute ago,” I said as he shrugged his shoulders.

 “And never will, I was just trying to give you a lil quick nut before your night out and you turn it into a two for one special,” he said as I laughed going over to the closet to find something else to wear.

“Now I gotta clean up and try this again, you stay your ass right there,” I said going into the bathroom as his laughter filled the room.

Yea, I really loved that man.

___

Club Tide

Trin’s Pov

The club was jumping but i was too focused on the information Cameron shared earlier about seeing Danielle.

“Ladies, the gentleman at the bar ordered you all another round,” the waiter said as we all looked to see a tall handsome guy at the bar smiling raising his glass.

“Aww that was sweet,” Kayla said raising her glass before throwing back her shot.

“Kay, you need to pace yourself,” Carmeron said as Kayla smiled. “Girl, it’s my birthday week. We turnin’ up all damn week,” she said as we danced in our VIP section.

“Yea, Kayla can handle her liquor, don’t worry Cam,” I said as I spotted Danielle by the bar looking over at us.

“Is that who I think it is?” Bianca asked as I nodded not wanting to draw attention. We both watched her smirk at us before she disappeared into the crowd.

“That bitch itchin’ for a beat down, I swear,” I whispered as Bianca sucked on her teeth. “I can already see, somebody gon’ beat that bitch ass before we dock back in Florida,” she said as I laughed.

“Let’s not give her that type of energy, this is Kayla’s week. Aye, let’s dance Kay,” I said grabbing her arm leading her to the floor as she smiled brightly at me.

“Girl, we gotta leave soon to meet guys,” she said as we began dancing.

“Come on, we’ll leave soon, let’s just have some fun and unwind,” Cameron said joining us on the floor as I saw Robin and Binaca scanning the room.

No doubt they were trying to watch for Danielle, but that bitch ain’t stupid enough to approach any of us.

---

Ocean Bar

Jey’s POV

This was supposed to be a fun guy’s night out, but all I’ve heard is how I need to avoid Danielle. Damn Cameron for blabbing. They talking’ to me like I’m a damn child, almost like they don’t trust me.

“Aye, I’ma head out if ya’ll keep nagging,” I said as Jimmy smirked. “You the only motherfucker I know that can ends up in situations like these. Your current and ex-girlfriend on the same fuckin’ ship,” Jimmy said as I frowned.

“Stop aggravating him Jimmy, he’s got enough on his plate,” Sefa said as Joe checked phone.

“The girls should be back over here soon, Robin just text me,” he said as I nodded trying to tune out Jimmy with his drunk ass.

“Man, don’t you fuck this up, Kayla deserves more than being second fiddle to somebody like Danielle. You don’t deserve her if you gon’ do that,” Jimmy said as Joe reached over and punched him in the shoulder.

“Shut yo’ drunk ass up-” Joe started as I interrupted him. “What you trying to say I don’t deserve her?” I asked, the alcohol clouding my judgement.

“Aye, go chill for a minute, you know he’s drunk and didn’t mean it Jey,” Joe said as I downed my shot and left the table.

“You talk too fuckin’ much,” I heard Sefa hissed to Jimmy.

“Uce, I’m sorry man, come back!” Jimmy yelled as I ignored heading out of the bar and heading up to the deck.

“Drunk ass just doesn’t know when to shut up,” I muttered not paying attention as to where I was going and collided with someone.

“You’re still clumsy as ever I see,” Danielle said as I jumped back in shock as she smiled brightly at me.

I didn’t know what to say standing before me was my past and internally I’m trippin’.

“Hey, Jey,” she whispered giving me a hug as I hesitated before returning the gesture.

“Hey Danielle,” I said as she rubbed my back before pulling away.

“It’s really good to see you, “she said as I nodded. “You want a drink, you look like you could use one,” she said as I looked at her like she was crazy.

 “I don’t think that’s a good idea, I’m here with my lady,” I said as she smiled. “Look, we made peace with the past, I mean you texted me back and told me we were cool,” Danielle said as I sighed at my words coming back to bite me in the ass.

“I did tell her it was cool and water under the bridge but is this really a good idea.

“Come on, I won’t bite. I know you have a lady and I have a boyfriend. Just have a seat and I’ll go grab us a bottle of Tequilla, I owe you,” she said as I contemplated her offer.

“Uh, I guess taking a shot for old times sake can’t hurt,” I said taking a seat as she went back into the bar.

The longer I sat, the more guilty I felt. “What the fuck am I doing?” I muttered out loud truly feeling like I was asking for trouble.

Just as I got up Danielle came back over with the bottle of Tequilla.

“Let’s toast,” she said pouring us a shot.

“Um, what we are toasting?” I asked as she smiled. “New beginnings,” she whispered as we shared a toast and drank.

The sly look on her face should have made me run for the hills but I stayed and took another shot.

“Let me find us music,” she said pulling out her phone.

“That ain’t necessary, I’m bout to head back inside,” I said as Get Up On it by Kut Klose began playing.

If you really, really want it

All you gotta do is get up on it If you really, really want it

“Do you remember this?” Danielle asked as I nodded. “Yea, I remember Dani,” I said as she smiled. It was the first song we ever danced to on our first date.

“How bout one more dance for old time sakes?” she asked as I went blank on what to next.

What the fuck had I got myself into.

The time has come for us, ooh, baby

To get real busy, baby

“Danielle this ain’t a good idea,” I said as she began dancing up on me.

“Come on, it’s just a dance,” she whispered wrapping my arms around her waist.

Oh, yes, it has, mm

And you don't have to be afraid of our love, oh, no

'Cause it won't hurt you, sugar

Oh, no, it won't, ooh, yeah, baby

Her hips rubbing against mine as I tried to keep it PG. I get myself in the most shit. Her mouth was dangerously close to my neck as I slightly pulled back.

“Danielle stop playin’” I warned as she smirked. “You know you can’t say no to me,” she whispered moving my hand to her ass as I groaned moving them back to her lower back.

---

Sefa’s Pov

“I’mma go find Jey, something ain’t right,” I said as Joe stood up to go with me.

“Nah, I got it Uce, keep an eye on Jimmy, Montez still out there dancing,” I said pointing at Jimmy who was nursing his beer.

“Alright, I’ll round him up and we’ll meet you on the deck,” Joe said as I shook my head at Jimmy before heading to find Jey.

“Let me find his ass before the girls get here,” I muttered hoping he ain’t did nothing stupid.

Going out onto the deck and around the corner, my eyes weren’t prepared for the scene before me as I saw Danielle wrapped up in Jey’s arms as they danced.

“What the fuck is he doing?” I hissed, not believing my eyes.

I like it girl, when we

Get real freaky, baby

Ooh, yes, I do, baby

And I'm on my hands and knees

“Hey, Sefa why are you out here?” Trin asked as I bout jumped out of my skin turning around trying to act unfazed and began walking back towards the girls.

“I was waiting for ya’ll, let’s go,” I said wrapping my arm around Kayla and Cameron steering them towards the club.

If you really, really want it (if you really want it, baby)

All you gotta do is get up on it (all you gotta do, girl)

Get up on this love of mine

“You sure everything is, ok? You look pretty spooked right now,” Kayla said as I nodded my head. “Yea, right as rain,where is Bianca?” I asked nervously as Cameron looked at me strangely. "She already went inside," Cameron said as I breathed a sigh of relief.

As I reached for the door, almost home free, I heard Jey laugh as Cameron cut her eyes at me.  I pleaded with my eyes for her not to say anything.

Wait, was that Jey laughing,” Kayla asked stopping in her tracks as I panicked. “Uh, I think it’s just some folks walking the deck,” I said as Kayla scoffed.

“You really think I’m stupid, and don’t know your brothers laugh after being with him for three years,” she asked moving my arm and heading back over to where I had been, with Trin and Robin following her closely.

“Stop her babe, Jey is over there with Danielle,” I said as Cameron’s eyes got wider. “No fuckin’ way,” she whispered as I nodded.

“Kayla, wait please!” Cameron yelled as we ran over to catch up her.

 “No, I wanna see what’s so funny, him and Jimmy must be out here doin’ something crazy,” she said, her smile instantly dropping.

There stood Jey and Danielle, still wrapped up in an embrace, their faces dangerously close.

I know he isn’t going to kiss her; snap out of it you fool.

Jey’s POV

“Jey, come on I won’t tell. Just one kiss,” Danielle begged as I finally came back to reality. “Look, I’m in love with someone, and I can’t do this. This ain’t right.”

 Pushing her away, my heart almost stopped as I saw Kayla staring at me in disbelief a few feet away.

“Shit, baby I can explain, it’s not what it looks like,” I said as she began walking towards us.

“How could it not be what I’m thinking, Jey? You out here hugged up with her, dancing and shit like you single,” Kayla said her eyes betraying her cool exterior. I had hurt her beyond belief.

“You need to leave Danielle,” I said as she rolled her eyes. “No, I’m staying right here,” she said as Kayla stepped between us ignoring Danielle.

“Babe, I can explain,” I said as Kayla slapped me. Ok, I more than deserved that.

“Oh, you bet yo’ ass you gon’ explain and it better be good,” Kayla said as I looked over and Sefa and the girls for some help. But by the looks on their faces I knew I was going to have to get myself out of this one.

“Uce, can ya’ll leave us alone?” I asked my brother as the girls looked hesitant to leave.

“We ain’t leaving Kayla,” Robin said as Kayla shook her head. “I’m ok ya’ll, I’ll catch up wit you,” Kayla whispered as I saw Danielle smirking.

“You better wipe that smirk off your face bitch,” Trin said as Kayla turned back towards Danielle.

“What are you looking at me for, take it up with your man. I can’t help he wants me," she boasts as Kayla laughed.

Kayla’s POV

This bitch really thinks this is a game, I’ll throw him and her ass overboard keep trying me.

“Look, I ain’t talking to you, I’m dealing with my man so you can take your irrelevant ass on,” I said as she got bold and started talking louder.

“I’m grown bitch! You can’t tell me what to do!” She said as I tried to keep my anger under control but failed.

“Bitch, I’m grown too! You got the right one today, keep fuckin around you gon’ be sleeping with the fishes! Now take yo’ ass on somewhere!” I yelled as Jey wrapped his arms around my waist.

 “Aye, baby, let’s go over here and talk, she ain’t even worth it,” Jey said trying to pull me away as I snatched away from him.

 “Let me go! If she ain’t worth it, why was you hugged up with her!” I yelled slapping Jey again as he staggered from the force.

“Ok, I deserve all of that and probably some more," he said as fought to get my emotions in check. I can’t believe he did this.  

“Can we please just leave and talk,” Jey pleaded rubbing his face looking sad and defeated and that in turn made me want to slap his ass again because he caused this.

“Danielle, you’ve done enough, let’s go,” Sefa said as I felt even more insulted catching on to the name he just said.

Danielle, I know this ain’t the dumb bitch that had his ass crossed up before I met him.

“Danielle, as in your ex- Danielle …Daneille that stole thirty grand from you?” I asked, as Jey nodded, looking like he wanted the world to open up and swallow him whole.

“Baby, let’s go talk, I can tell you what happened. You know I love you, it isn't what you think,” Jey said as I looked at him in disbelief.

“You so motherfuckin’ stupid!” I yelled truly frustrated as Jey ran his hands over his face.

“Jey what you begging that bitch for? “You know you still love me,” Danielle said as Trin and Cameron started towards her.

“Nah, I got it ya’ll,” I said finally turning around, giving her what she wanted, which was my undivided attention.

“This is my last warning or your ass gon’ come up missing. I suggest you get the fuck outta here,” I said pointing at her as she rolled her eyes.

“You better stop pointing that finger, or I’ll bite that motherfucka off!” Danielle screamed as I walked right up in her face, pointing my finger once again and mushing her head back in the process.

“Do it bitch!” I hissed as she gasped in shock, mumbling under her breath before making a dramatic exit as Jey pulled me against his chest to stop me from going after her.

“That’s what I thought bitch, you ain’t bout that life. Find you somebody else to play wit,” I said as Trin and Robin looked at me in disbelief.

“Let’s go now damn it!” Jey hissed dragging me off further down the deck away from everyone.

“We’ll make sure she doesn’t come back,” Sefa said as Jey sighed. “Thanks, we’ll be inside in a minute,” Jey said as I moved away from him.

“We will be right here,” Trin said as Robin was talking on her phone to Joe, I’m sure.

Jey’s POV

“Kay, I know it looks bad, but I didn’t kiss her.”  I could feel Kayla shutting down and I felt helpless. I should have just stayed in the bar or took my ass back to the room and none of this shit would have happened.

“Jey, she should have never been in your arms to begin with you put yourself in that position,” Kayla said avoiding eye contact with me.

“I know that now, and I’m sorry,” I whispered truly feeling like a fool. “Jey, is our relationship real?” Kayla asked as I felt like she slapped me in the face again.

“What the hell does that mean? You know our relationship is real, I love you Kay,” I said without hesitation.

“It can’t be, because if it was you wouldn’t have been out her Boo’d up with your ex,” she whispered her voice breaking as I felt my heart stop.

“Baby, it’s not like that, I promise.”

My own heart breaking seeing the tears flowing down her beautiful face. She had to listen to me, I can’t lose her.

“I’m done talking about it, I’m just going to follow your lead,” Kayla said as I felt the bile rising in my throat. “What are you talking bout Kay? “I asked afraid of her answer.

“Maybe I should go find me somebody to grind up on and almost kiss them,” she said as I growled.

 “Kayla, let’s go to our room and work this shit out,” I pleaded as she wiped her tears and smoothed down her leather pants.

“Good night don’t wait up, I’m going to have me some fun now since you’ve already had yours,” she whispered before walking away.

 She wouldn’t…Would she?

“Let’s talk Kayla! I shouted at her retreating form as Trin and Robin looked at me with disappointment in their eyes. “Kay come back!” I yelled as she continued to ignore me.

“You’ve done enough for one night. Go to your room and sleep it off Jey,” Trin said as I sighed.

“I gotta talk to her and tell her it wasn’t what she thought,” I said as Robin came over and gave me a hug.

“Give her some time, she’s hurt, Jey.”

 I knew I had made a mistake, but I prayed she was on her way back to our suite and not heading to do something she could never take back.

“I’mma go wait for her in the room,” I said as Trin rolled her eyes. “I could beat yo’ ass right now,” she muttered as I nodded my head in agreement too ashamed to speak.

I made the long journey to our suite with hope in my heart that Kayla would be there so we could talk. Opening the door, I was met with silence as I looked around the room.

Going out onto the balcony I sat down staring into the pitch-black darkness as my Montez’s words echoed in my head from earlier.

“You went through that toxic shit for so long you feel underserving of love and normalcy, but you are deserving. Let Kayla love you, just be happy man.”

 “Yea, way to go idiot,” I whispered alone in my own personal hell as I tried not to imagine Kayla with someone else.

---

The next morning

Kayla’s POV

I got up and left before Joe and Robin woke up. I needed to shower and get ready before we dock in the Bahamas. It’s still my birthday weekend and I planned to enjoy it.

I hope Jey is still asleep, I don’t feel like talking this morning. Opening the door quietly and going inside I was met with a worried remorseful stare from Jey as he sat on the edge of the bed facing the door.

“Where you been all night?” he asked as I ignored him going over to the closet to get my outfit out.

“Damn it Kay, where have you been?” he asked as I continued to ignore him.

 “Can we at least talk after your shower?” Jey asked as I sighed.

“Look, I crashed with Joe and Robin because I’m not built like you. I can’t forget I’m in an actual relationship and do something I know would hurt you no matter how pissed I am,” I said as Jey sighed in relief.

“Thank god,” he whispered as I rolled my eyes. “Look, I need to shower and get changed can you go?” I asked, not wanting to see his face at the moment. 

“What you mean go? We need to talk Kayla.”

“I don’t feel comfortable undressing in front of you so could you please leave,” I said as I felt the shock rolling off of Jey in waves, but I was hurting too.

“You don’t feel comfortable undressing in front of me? Your man of three years, really Kayla?” he asked in disbelief as I felt my chest tighten.

“Are you my man, Jey? Because you seemed to have forgot that you were last night when you were cozied up with your ex,” I said not backing down.  I know he didn’t kiss her; I know I may be overreacting but needed some space to process this shit. Jey sighed in defeat grabbing his shoes and heading towards the door. 

“I’ll leave, but this ain’t over Kayla. You gon’ have to talk to me sometime because I ain’t givin’ up. I love you, and I ain’t about to lose you now,” he whispered before walking out the door as I broke down in tears.

Some fucking birthday..........

@reci24 @southerngirl41 @vebner37 @jeyusos-girl

@melaninsugababy @romanreignkisser @bebesobrielo

@arination99 @2-muchsauce @bakugoumarianawrites

@empressdede @alyyaanna @christinabae @anonandwannakeepitthatway @venusesworld @jeyusosgirl  @theninthwonder @mya2real  @justazzi

[scalingsvt8thusiast]

Skin-Deep Chapter 5

summary: The one where you fall for Seungcheol amongst all the protests and insecurities. The one where you don't know that he's fallen for you too.

a/n: Last chapter for part 1!!!! Thanks for all the love so far!!! I hope to start releasing part 2 soon.

Finally, Mingyu’s plans came to fruition. A movie night! He’d sent the invite into the group chat and made sure nobody told Soonyoung until 5 minutes before everybody was due to arrive. 

Mingyu rubbed his hands in satisfaction, admiring his work. He had let his staff leave early after helping him set up. A massive projector screen stood on one side of his pool while on the other side were deck chairs and tables lined with throws and plates full of marshmallows and snacks spread out. He made sure everything was warm and cosy with a fire going, he just had to prepare the hot chocolate and he would be done.

Just then he heard the loud engine of someone’s car, he jogged into the house and to the front door thinking it would be Joshua who liked to come early to help set up. He was sorely disappointed to come face to face with Seungcheol.

Mingyu stood at the door with his fist clenched, watching the older man come up the steps. He was still pissed after the day you and him saw Seungcheol on his little date. Mingyu found it ridiculous that he dared to show up at his house and was currently slipping off his shoes like nothing was wrong in the world.

“Hey man, are we early?” Seungcheol said, walking towards the door. Then he felt contact on his face. 

Mingyu punched Seungcheol square in the jaw. 

Hold on, ‘we’ ?

“OH MY GOD, GYU!” Your voice came from Seungcheol’s car, and Mingyu’s head snapped to the direction of you running up the steps. 

You had stayed by the car for a moment as you dropped the candles that you had brought at Mingyu’s request. Seungcheol wanted to help you but you had motioned for him to go and greet Mingyu. 

Seungcheol stumbled a little from the force, not processing what just happened. 

Mingyu wrung his fists. He didn’t hit Seungcheol hard enough to knock him out, but he’d hoped it hurt at the very least.  

You came running over to look at Seungcheol’s face. Seungcheol was blinking rapidly, he was definitely not expecting to be punched today, and by Mingyu of all people. His hand on the side of his face where he was struck, moving his jaw experimentally to check if anything was dislocated or broken.

“What the fuck, Gyu?” You said, you placed your palm on Seungcheol’s to examine any damaged that Mingyu could have caused. 

“Y/n,” Mingyu was confused, what were you doing here, with him? “Why are you with him?“

Mingyu kept his glare on Seungcheol who was currently occupied by you fussing over his face. Once you were sure Seungcheol’s face wasn’t swelling and his jaw wasn’t broken. You turn to face Mingyu. 

“Mingyu, what is wrong with you?” You say, trying your best to stay calm.  

“Did you forget what we saw the other day?” He paused fuming, “Cause I sure as hell didn’t.”

“No, I didn’t. But that doesn’t give you the right to go around punching people!” You said.

“Why are you defending him? He’s a dickhead!”

“Not the point, Gyu!”

“Wait, sorry, what are you two talking about?” Seungcheol finally had enough of his girlfriend and friend arguing and getting nowhere with said argument. 

“Look! He’s pretending he doesn’t know!” Mingyu cried. “Maybe I should’ve aimed for his head instead, might jog his memory.” 

“Ok, woah, relax.” Seungcheol said, holding his hand up in surrender, “I swear, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

You sigh and Mingyu continued to fume at his door step. 

“Mingyu, let’s just drop it.” You said, tired of the whole situation. 

“No, I’m not dropping this, can’t you see he’s just playing you?” 

“How am I playing her?” Seungcheol voice raised a few pitches, he was getting more and more confused by the second.

“Come on, Cheol! Don’t play dumb. We saw you with Candy or Minjun or Aiko or whatever the fuck her name was at a cafe the other day!” Mingyu’s shouted and you were starting to worry that one of the other boys would pull up and join the mess.

Seungcheol’s eyes narrowed before he realised that Mingyu was talking about his sit down ‘talk’ with  the girl who bullied you. 

“Oh hell,” Seungcheol shut his eyes, massaging the bridge of his nose.

“Mingyu, let’s not, please.” You were begging, not wanting this to go on any longer. You didn’t want Seungcheol changing his mind right after you just got together. Your heart wouldn’t be able to survive Seungcheol leaving you.

“I was talking to her because of you.” Seungcheol finally said. He turned to you. Mingyu wasn’t his concern right now, you were.

“What?” You said. 

“Hoshi told me about what happened when you were at work.”

“Oh my god.”

“I told her not to bother you anymore.” He said, omitting the other parts of the conversation. You didn’t have to know the whole story. 

“I should have done it earlier, I know. I didn’t know it was so bad until Hoshi told me.” Seungcheol admitted, he laced his fingers with yours. 

“I hadn't planned on telling you,” Seungcheol turned to glance at Mingyu, “or you. But I guess if I want to leave with my face intact today, you two should know. 

You were speechless for the second time today. Knowing that Seungcheol would stand up for you and take a punch for you made your heart full. 

Seungcheol looked embarrassed with a pink tinge on his cheeks, like a child caught with his arm in a cookie jar.

“I’m sorry sweetheart.” He said, “If that’s what you were so upset about, I’m so sorry. I should have explained myself to you.”

“It’s fine, Cheol. I should have just talked to you about it.” You said, brushing hair out of his face. 

Mingyu watched the two of you, he felt himself relax. Even a blind man could tell from the way Seungcheol was looking at you that he was head over heels for you.

So he wasn’t wrong after all, Seungcheol was good enough for you. 

The loud whirr of Jeonghan’s Mclaren Speedtail could be heard coming up Mingyu’s driveway. 

“Oh, just in time.” Jeonghan said, emerging from the drivers seat, oblivious to what just happened. 

Joshua popped out from the passenger’s seat, holding up two bottles of wine with a excited grin.

“I brought wine!”

a/n: once again, thanks for reading, much love ❤️

[starzblvd]

Somethin’ Stupid |pt.1

Ellie wasn’t one to do sports but she sure as hell was when you started cheering for a certain blonde soccer captain

AN; To preface reader isn’t a cheerleader, more like someone who goes to a game with those huge signs, decked out in the teams merch. Sorry for being gone so long, but I’ve been sitting on this idea for a while so hopefully I executed this well, and thanks to everyone who’s been reading/reblogging my work I love it knowing other people enjoy what I make 💕 bsf!ellie, modernau, soccercaptain!abby, Nora!abby!bsfs

Assignments this semester were laying it thick with the load, so much so you’d been missing time you could’ve spent with your best friends specifically, Ellie. You knew she would’ve been understanding just like she typically is with you, yet you undeniably failed to ignore the sting of guilt when you had to excuse yourself from meeting up with her through the week. Tonight your time and attention was dedicated to solely her, before arriving at her dorm you prepped up a “sorry I was so busy” snack basket. Usually Ellie’d be stuck to you even in the most mundane tasks, you felt homesick from her presence after the first couple days of being separated.

Had you known each other before uni you’d choose a dorm haul closer, walking across campus every time got bothersome fast, but the process you followed before seeing her was fun. It was fun picking a cute outfit to see Ellie, wearing that one shirt she likes so much since the fabric hugged you so right. No matter how long Ellie’s known you or how comfortable it’s gotten around her it never hurt to try dressing up a bit for her. The sickeningly sweet feelings when she’d do anything were always there, present, sincere, and bitterly inducing thoughts of it being just that, feelings sickening the relationship you cherished with her.

The walk wasn’t so bad when the sky became tinted with the pink and orange hues of sunset, until you took a forceful nudge to the shoulder by someone in a rush, some of the snacks even pooled out from the edge. Are you fucking serious, immediately the girl spun around lifting her hands up apologetically.

It was her, Abby Anderson. You’d recognize her from Instagram stories of other peoples posts from going to the soccer games. She was always deemed the star of the team, being phenomenal at the way she played and looking the way she did made it understandable why she had such a fan base.

“shit, sorry, let me help you,”

Not taking another second to wait Abby picked the snacks from the ground, it was noticeable she was anxiously in a rush, seeing you burned her paced down a bit.

“Thanks, I guess.”

She’d already ruined the perfect alignment you placed the snacks into for Ellie so you weren’t waiting around to have a chat with her.

“Wait, let me make it up to you.”

“It’s alright, you didn’t do anything that bad”

Abby’s face hesitated on letting you go or choking the words out she was fumbling to find through her mind.

“No it’s just, it would make me feel less guilty about hitting you so suddenly.” Abby looked right at your blatantly confused look and she wanted so badly to curse herself for not rehearsing this better.

“look I really need to get somewhere,”

“at least take my number, wouldn’t hurt right?”

Even if you weren’t crazy for her or the soccer team Abby was undeniably good looking, so spending some time with her wouldn’t be unbearable. After all she did seem nice and she helped you after shoving you to the side, her making it up to you would be a small free gesture.

“Fine, just please hurry,” the small smile you handed to her along with your phone was a relief to Abby’s anxious heart, once it sunk in that you were insinuating for her to save her number into your contacts she quickly complied. You didn’t want to come off too harsh so the smile was more a polite gesture. She memorized your number to put into her own phone after you left.

꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱

Standing outside of Ellie’s door was nerve racking each time, the way her eyes strike contact with yours instantly after opening the door. Even then it was always comforting sharing the bed coddled by the star quilt on nights you stayed over.

The doorknob rattled opening the door, leaning on the door, wearing her tank top with no bra noticeable by the way her nipples are lightly lined through the fabric, you loved when she wore her tank tops.

“you didn’t have to” Ellie’s eyes soften taking you in and the basket you made, she missed you, clearly. She opens her arms to take the load of the basket from your hands, slightly grazing on the tips of your fingers,

“I wanted to, missed you,” the grin your lips formed into couldn’t be helped with her.

god stop being delusional she’s just being nice.

Ellie trailed right behind you into her dorm, smelling the remnants of your perfume wafting back at her, she always loved the way you smelt even when she doesn’t admit it. Thinking it might be weird to comment on your scent.

You had called her prior to coming so she cleaned up and set up the same quilt on her bed facing the TV, situating the basket wedged between her legs after sitting down.

“I have the perfect movie for tonight”

“you say that everytime then fall asleep els,”

“Trust me, it’s gonna knock your socks off.” Ellie was always so cocky when it came to her interests, she sounded a bit like a dork but in an endearing way.

Ellie patted the spot next to her inviting you right next to her, wrapping you in with her the moment you do. Loving the way the heat radiating from you touched her cold skin. There was a line drawn out as friends but it never stopped you from indulging in moments like these. Ellie right beside you and nobody else, at times it felt like the line had disappeared, never too sure what this was. Chalking up every longing stare out to normal staring was all you could do with the doubt that clouded over you constantly.

“if you fall asleep during this one im so choosing next time.”

Ellie scoffed acting offended flipping through the selection with the remote, her other hand was busy playing with the hem of the blue cotton shorts she wore. Right above her desk she’d pinned the photo of you with the familiar tattooed forearm slung across your shoulders, the photo was placed right next to the photo Ellie, Dina, and Jesse had taken at the fall fair last year. Knowing Ellie kept your face so close to somewhere she’d devote so much time to, somewhere she’s around so often, felt nice.

Following your trail of gaze she’d figured you’d been staring at the newly added photo, a soft pink frosted the tips of her ears as the words of her explanation spoke, “I put that up couple days ago, because, you know.” The you know was suggesting itself to be friendship, friends are supposed to have photos of each other. Regardless, a small tinge of hope stood for the idea that you meant as much as you did to Ellie as much as she did to you.

Just like the prediction you warned her about, Ellie was out. The side of her head had found its way onto your shoulder, happening in the middle of the movie while still awake, leaving quick little comments on different scenes.

“no way they actually fell for that.”

“see, if that was me I would’ve seen it coming.” Every small remark began having a longer gap between them reflecting how sleep slowly lulled her away from her dorm. Eyelids gently blanketing the eyes that wore such an alluring shade of green, always reeling you into her deeper. Ellie was in such tranquil sleeping propped up against you, you’d hate to wake her up, but you’d hate for her to wake up with neck pains. Holding in your breath while handling and making it so Ellie’s situated to be laying down on her back was probably being overly safe, she slept through multiple alarms, she can sleep through being plopped onto her pillow.

Right when you were free a ping came from your phone, it was obvious who it was. Had she not been so insistent you’d ignore Abby and continued walking to Ellie’s. You never payed much attention to Abby, it was so hard to come across her at campus let alone get to know her. Most you knew she was good at what she did and stayed on top of everything, and her last name carried some weight with higher ups.

She totally dodged my question

Disregarding that, you felt slightly nervous now with a set official meet up. Not clear as to what exactly has you stirred up, maybe it’s the fact she’s pretty or the fact that a girl so prominent was practically begging to spend time with you. Nevertheless you were currently more focused by the sleepiness hitting you as well. Right next to Ellie. You were equally nervous with Ellie possibly even more, but with her there was sense of security, homey feeling when you were together. That made up for any sentiment of the chance this is as far as you’d ever go with Ellie.

꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱

5:00pm on the dot, Abby was standing against the wall hesitantly looking around knowingly for you. She had beat you there by showing up 10 minutes earlier, clearly dressed up a bit. Seemingly not a single fly away separating itself from her braid except a few loose strands in the front. The moment your eyes locked with hers she walked right over to you, almost speed walking.

“Hey.” The smile Abby gave looked so genuine upon seeing you.

“Hey.” You were unsure how to initiate the outing so the both of stood staring the other down until Abby got the hint.

“Let’s go inside yeah? I preordered our drinks so there’s no wait. Pretty sure you’ll like what I got you.”

The question she dodged yesterday night, did she see you here so often she memorized your drink too? Obligingly you follow right behind her, reluctant on the decision to ask the question again or not. Abby seemed happy doing this for you so at most you knew this outing wouldn’t be so bad.

She picked a table next to a window, pulling the chair out for you. After waking up in Ellie’s dorm you briefly mentioned meeting with Abby, Ellie’s response was a cold look and “Are you seriously going?”

Why she sounded so bothered by Abby’s insistency to makeup for a simple accident was something you were clueless too, a little too clueless. Pulling you back to the girl in front of you Abby puts a straw in your drink for you. Working out of your reluctancy you shoot your looming question.

“How’d you know I go here?”

Abby’s face was stricken with slight surprise, she chuckled a bit before giving a proper response this time.

“I walk by here a bunch, and you just, stood out, you know?” No, you didn’t know, but you went on either way seeing how the confidence she wore so heavy was being melted right in front of you.

“What about me stood out?”

“Nothing in particular,” there was something in particular, but her eye contact with you was becoming scarce under your further instigation, not wanting to bring down the mood you move on for now.

“You play soccer right? I’ve seen some posts of you here and there.” Taking the straw into your mouth and letting the drinks taste hit you, it became apparent she did memorize your drink, down to even the milk you preferred for lattes.

“Yeah, I’m team captain, never seen you in the crowd but If you wanted to go I could help you with that.” Talking about something she was good at made her slip back into her confident state. She knew she was good, anyone detesting that clearly hadn’t seen her play.

“Pull some strings? What do you have special privileges as captain?” The conversation was easier to jab at, now teasing her both of you grinning subtly leaning into each other over the table.

“Course I do, front row seats, just for you.” In all honesty as soccer captain she could’ve allowed a couple of your friends to come to a game for free especially as an Anderson, but she didn’t want to see your friends there, she wanted to see you.

“give me a time and date, I’ll be there. Waving a sign cheering for you and all.” Giggling you were invested in this now, setting aside the fact that you didn’t really care for sports, soccer not being an exception. On the other hand you weren’t watching soccer, you were watching her.

When you’d hit the bottom of your drink after conversing with her longer about more mundane things you got up to toss your cup. Talking with Abby was easier when you discovered how much her personality was refreshing to be around, conversation full of laughter and lengthy discussions.

Abby sprung up alongside you, “If you’re walking back to your dorm I can take you back.”

“Are you sure? We’ve spent like 2 hours here just talking already.”

“My dorms close to yours anyways,” she held the door open for you, so nice to you since the beginning of meeting you. Visibly content with the smile that wouldn’t leave her face for practically the entire time.

The walk was quieter than the 2 hours spent at the cafe, enjoying each others company in a more relaxed atmosphere.

Abby’s voice interrupts the silence abruptly, “Hey that girl you’re always with isn’t your girlfriend right?”

The question was simple but you continued a few steps further before answering, Ellie as your girlfriend? Replayed in your mind before you did, the thought alone had you thrown off.

“No we’re just uh, friends.” You shoot Abby another reassuring grin similar to when you passed your phone to her the first time. Trying to evade the tinge of unsureness of the ‘uh’ mixed into your reply.

Abby’s shoulder dropped to relax from the subconscious stiffening they did in the few seconds it took you to give a response.

“Always saw you two together just assumed, anyways I look forward to seeing you again.” Reaching the door to the halls entrance you turn back to look at her one last time.

“Not coming in?”

“My dorms somewhere else but it’s, close”

“Well thanks for walking me here and for the drinks, had fun hanging out with you today.” You were genuine telling her this, Abby’s smile only grew wider with her rosy cheeks making an appearance at your words.

“I did too, see you.”

꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱

After showering you open your phone up to an absolute slew of messages from Ellie, forgot I had my phone on silent, shit.

30 minutes pass by and no reply, did she really fall asleep so early? Early for her anyways, looking at how much she’d sent you couldn’t help the creeping feeling of guilt. Tomorrow you’d make it up to her, again. Missing Ellie’s texts stung more than you’d like it to, missing her in general always did this to you. It was unavoidable.

On the other side is campus a brunette stared at the texts Dina had sent her, eyebrows hugging closer to her eyes on her face she wore anger and jealousy. Jealousy over her friend. Dina passed by The Firefly and filled Ellie in on how you and Abby were connecting so well. Ellie hated it, hated it completely. What could she do, you’d ignored her texts to talk with Abby of all people, what did she have that Ellie didn’t, was she lacking something so bad you had to go to Abby for it? She was just concerned for you, not jealousy, yeah that’s what it is, is what she convinced herself to draw up her emotions to. Dina was even able to eavesdrop a bit, enough to know you’d agreed to a soccer game, now Ellie knew too. You didn’t even like soccer and she knew that. At some points Ellie knew more about you than you did yourself.

if you were going to see a soccer match she was set on making it so you didn’t only focus on her at the game. Ellie was prepared to do something to distract you away from Abby. After all, how could she let her best friend let herself associate with the obnoxious blonde soccer captain.

꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱

[pizzaboerr]

From nothing to something.

(Sanji x reader, part 4)

Part 1 , part 2 , part 3

Summary: After ‘defeating’ Zoro in a fight, Luffy’s crew made it into the Grand Line. Everyone was happy, you had a great night but the storm kept you awake. Lucky for you, you weren’t the only one who was awake.

Word count: 2.2K words

Content warnings: Use of curse words, fluff, slight teasing.

Authors Note: I’m so sorry that I didn’t post anything in the last two weeks. I was really busy with helping my best friend move houses. I’m back now and I’ll try to get 1 or 2 post per week, depending on how big of a chapter I’ll write. Hope you all enjoy!

P.S.: Sorry if there are sentences that are grammatically incorrect, English isn’t my first language, so my apologies in advance.

~~—~~—~~—~~

It’s been a few days since you started your training with Sanji. Each day you improved a lot. When you didn’t train with Sanji, you took it upon yourself to get stronger.

“Slow down Tiger.” Nami said, causing you to jump. You quickly turned around and smiled sheepishly. “Nami, you scared the shit out of me. What’s up?” You looked at her, dropped your weights and grabbed a towel, wiping away all the sweat. “I just came to see how you were doing. You’ve been training all day!-“ Nami started. She looked around and saw Zoro sleeping on the other side of the deck. “Even Zoro doesn’t train all day.” She looked back to you. “Maybe you should take some rest.” You smiled but politely declined. “I’m all right. I need to be ready if something happens Nami. Everyone can defend themselves but I can’t, yet.” You grabbed your weights and started where you left off.

Nami went to the upper deck and looked in your direction, seeing the determination on your face. Sanji had seen Nami looking at you and decided to join her. He greeted Nami quickly and smiled while looking at you.

While this happened on the upper deck, you dropped your weights and one of them rolled into the direction of Zoro, who was still sound asleep. The weight hit his ankle which caused him to grunt. He stood up, grabbed one of his swords and stomped into your direction, only stopping just in time. “Watch it y/l/n.” He said angrily while holding the sword up to your neck. You knew Zoro wouldn’t hurt you, But you also knew not to fuck with him while he was asleep (even if it was on accident).

You sneakily grabbed one of his other swords and grinned cockily. “I’m not scared of you Zoro, you are all big talk and nothing more.” You said smiling, taking a few steps back. Zoro laughed loudly. “Sure, Let’s see how good you are.” He said wiping a tear away from laughing.

You had ben training with bamboo swords, just to see how it was, so you knew a little. You also watched Zoro when he was training, writing down tactics.

He charged at you and you quickly blocked him. You only knew how to kick and punch so you just tried to block every attack. After maybe 10 minutes, you were panting, Zoro was really strong and you didn’t want to admit your defeat. Zoro saw this and laughed, causing you to get a chance to maybe disarm him.

Because you charged at him, you made him hesitate which move he was going to pull, to not hurt you, You wuickly got behind him with the sword on his throat, barely touching him. He put away his sword and looked down. He cleared his throat before grabbing the sword from your hand and turned around, avoiding your gaze.

“I let you win.-“ He mumbled, looking at you. “Didn’t want to hurt you.” He quickly added while putting away his last sword, now trying to exit the deck. “Zoro!” You yelled before he could completely disappear from your sight. He turned around and looked at you. “I take back what I said, you had me until the last second. I have enough to learn from you.” You said softly towards him. He nodded and walked away.

Nami and Sanji both laughed and you turned around. “I think i’ll take the rest of the day off, just like you said Nami.” You said, gathering your stuff. Nami laughed and nodded. “That’s a good idea y/n.”

~~—~~—~~—~~

“Everyone get ready!” Nami yelled. “This is it! The way into the grand line.”

Everyone jumped around each other, trying to get to their spots. Luffy was on the sheep head, looking at each of his crew members. “Usopp, Zoro! take care of the masts!, Nami please make sure we don’t hit those pillars, Sanji prepare some food!” Luffy commanded everyone. You stood next to Nami, making sure if she needed you, you were there.

You got closer and closer and before you knew it, the ship was going upwards. You all cheered and smiled. Soon enough you were on the other side of the mountain, now in the grand line. The waters were really smooth here, and Nami looked back at her compass, trying to figure out the next steps.

You excused yourself and went to your shared room. You had this special compass, that someone gave to you back when you were still working in Loguetown. You decided that you were going to gift this to Nami, not only because she was the navigator but also because she became your best friend in a short time period. You got back to Nami and saw that she was looking confused at why her compass wasn’t working.

You looked at Nami and smiled. “Nami?” You started. She sighed. “The compass doen’t work y/n! I’m supposed to be the navigator but I can’t even tell which way’s which!” You chucked and she looked at you slightly angry. Before she could say anything you looked at the ground. “Nami I have a present for you, close your eyes and put your hands out.” Nami looked at you, now annoyed. “This isn’t the time for presents.” She said, still doing what you said. You gave her the compass and smiled widely. “Ta-da!”

Nami opened her eyes as she smiled slightly. “What is this?” She asked while she examined the little compass. “This is what you need in the Grand line. Someone gave it to me as a present but I know you will appreciate it more. It’s now located to the closest Island. It’s supposed to be one maybe one and a half days away!” You said jumping excitedly.

Nami looked back at you as her eyes started to swell with tears. She gave you a really big hug and thanked you multiple times. You smiled and looked at everyone. For the first time in a long long time, you felt important.

~~—~~—~~—~~

After finishing what Sanji called ‘The celebration feast’, you all decided to have a few drinks together, to celebrate entering the Grand Line. You told a few stories that other people told you while you still worked at the restaurant. Luffy asked a few stupid questions, which made you laugh.

Everyone was enjoying the time together. You decided to play a few card games, Usopp teaching everyone a new game. Everyone was so infested with the game that everyone lost track of time. Before you knew it, it was almost 1AM. You yawned and excused yourself. “I’m going to bed guys, i’m really tired. See ya’ll tomorrow.” You said yawning once again and waving everyone goodbye.

You opened the door to your room and grabbed your pyjama. After you changed, you quickly brushed your teeth, combed your hair and got into bed.

You kept turning in your bed and after not being able to sleep you sat up and looked at the clock. “2;54AM.” You mumbled before grabbing your robe and making your way to the kitchen for some water and maybe a snack.

As you walked through the hallways, you could see that the kitchen light was still on. You once again sighed. “I should’ve known he would still be awake.” You said to yourself before knocking on the door to make yourself known. You leaned against the doorframe, not wanting to invade his space.

Sanji looked up and smiled. “Didn’t expect to see you at this time mademoiselle, couldn’t sleep?” You smiled softly back at him. “Well I tried to sleep, but the waves hitting the windows kept me awake. I’m still not really used to the heavy waves and storms that sometimes happen.”

He smiled and nodded understandably. He put everything away and started to gather everything to make some hot chocolate. He grabbed a pan and put it on the fire. He poured in the milk and started to heat it up. “I’m going to make some hot chocolate, want some Amore?” He asked you softly.

You smiled widely. “Hot chocolate, how could I say no to that!” He chuckled, while he chopped up the chocolate and quickly whisked some heavy cream with sugar to make the whipping cream. He grabbed a few vanilla pods and put some fresh vanilla seeds in there as well.

Once the hot chocolate was done he gently poured it into two cups and topped it off with with the cream. He smiled at his creation and grabbed a piece of chocolate before grating it on top, to make it look extra pretty. “Here you go love, be careful, it’s still hot.” He smiled while he placed it in front of you. You grabbed the mug eagerly and touched his hand on accident.

You blushed heavily while pulling your hand away quickly. He laughed softly and grabbed his mug. He sat down next to you and looked at you.

The heavy waves turned into a terrible storm which sent chills throughout your spine. You absolutely hated storms and now on the ship it only seemed worse. Sanji noticed that you were slightly on edge and smiled barely. He grabbed your hand and placed it on his lap, intertwining his finger in yours.

At this point you were blushing heavily. “I don’t like stormy weather. The boat moves to much and it keeps me awake sometimes. The rain is calming though, when you lay comfortably in a hammock, or a bed-“ He said looking at you, trying to distract you. “-You just close your eyes and focus on the raindrops hitting the window and the wooden walls.”

You silently took a sip from your mug with your one free hand and nodded. “Storms aren’t my favorite.” You chuckled slightly. “You know-“ You started, placing down your mug. You completely turned towards him and smiled softly. “-When I was little, I used to be shit scared of storms, not able to sleep at all. I normally would wake my mum up and beg her to make me some hot chocolate. After that she would drag me back to bed and join me. She used to keep me safe from the storms. Maybe that’s the reason I never got over them. I didn’t want to lose that feeling.”

He smiled sadly. He looked away while he mumbled something. You couldn’t hear what he was saying, which made you curious. “Speak up, pretty boy.” You teased before taking a few sips from your hot chocolate. He turned around with a light shade of pink on his cheeks. “What I said was, you could always look for me in those scenario’s. Most of the time I’ll be awake anyways.”

You were taken aback my this. You kinda thought he didn’t like you. “And thank you sweetheart for the compliment, although you are the pretty one here.” He looked down at his mug and took a sip.

The tention between you two was really tight and you both definitely noticed this. You sat in silence for what felt like forever. Sanji never let go of your hand though. Eventually you started a conversation and before you knew it, the storm was over. It was still really early in the night and you let out a yawn. Sanji laughed and looked at you. “Mademoiselle, I really like the company, but you need your sleep. Are you okay now?” He slowly asked you while letting go of your hand.

You nodded and stood up. Sanji followed you and opened up the door. “I’ll walk you to your room, that’s the least I could do.” You smiled and started walking. The walk was silent but not awkward.

Once you stood in front of your door you turned around. This startled Sanji who was standing right behind you. You stood on your toes gave him a soft kiss on his cheek. “Thank you Sanji.” You smiled as you turned back around. He touched his cheek where you kissed him and he blushed heavily. You were about time to close the door before he whispered. “The offer still stands, remember that. Sweet dreams love.”

He quickly walked away, to the upper deck. He lit up a cigarette and smiled widely. He knew he wasn’t going to sleep after this. You had him all worked up and he let out a sigh.

~~—~~—~~—~~

You got back in bed and smiled to yourself. You closed your eyes and let out a big sigh. You thought about everything that just had happened and got comfortable in your bed.

As you drifted to sleep, you smiled again, finally able to have a good night rest, all thanks to the sweet and loving cook.

[indybob]

As I begin finalizing my current long fic, Maybe We Were Always Meant To Be I have come to the realization that I have 20 one-shot/significantly shorter story ideas for Hangster. I know which one I’ll write first, but after that I have no idea. I’m going to list the top 10 I’m most excited to write below with a brief synopsis and you can vote in the poll for which one you’d like to read the most!

(I may or may not follow this, but it’ll give me an idea of what people would like to read and a starting point😄)

Story Ideas:

The Ball’s in Your Court: A few years pre-canon, Bradley and Jake hook up every year at the Navy Ball. They spend the night making each other jealous with other people, even though they know they’re going to fall into bed together when it’s all said and done.

Chasin’ That Desire: Set immediately post-mission, Bradley undergoes a minor surgery for a dislocated shoulder from ejecting. He and Jake patch things up, and Jake helps him through his rehab as their feelings for each other grow stronger.

Forever’s in Your Eyes: After an outdoor barbecue party in their backyard, Jake and Bradley lay in their hammock sipping the left over wine. Bradley realizes he can’t wait another second before asking this man to be his forever.

Bubbles and Bubbly: a smutty story that is essentially just Bradley throwing Jake a surprise anniversary dinner and a night of romance at home.

Hey Stranger, This is Your Stop: After being stood up on a date, Finance Worker!Bradley and Business Executive!Jake meet when Bradley falls asleep on his shoulder while on the subway in NYC. They hit it off and Jake asks Bradley out on a date. (Part of a series of AUs set in New York City).

Through a New Lens: Photographer!Bradley meets Model!Jake at an underwear shoot for a fashion brand. Jake inquires about a private photo shoot with Bradley one-on-one once the underwear shoot is over. Potentially smutty, I’m not sure yet.

It’s a Date: Author!Bradley meets Journalist!Jake at a coffee shop while dodging a stalker. Jake buys Bradley a latte, and they hit it off. (Part of a series of AUs set in New York City).

Sparks Fly: Based on “Sparks Fly” by Taylor Swift, Bradley has been trying to figure out how to tell Jake how he’s been feeling for a long time. Bradley decides the best way he knows how to be sincere is through music, so he plays a song dedicated to Jake one night at the Hard Deck.

No title for this one yet, but a sickfic where Jake gets sick for the first time in years and refuses to accept help. Thankfully Bradley is too stubborn to let Jake handle it all alone.

Everything Gets Hotter (When the Sun Goes Down): A fic about Jake and Bradley’s honeymoon, featuring some of their activities during the day, and their time in the bedroom at night.

[sunshinepanic]

Overbearing

Pairing: John B x LittleSister!Reader

Summary: Request is for John b: Reader is John b's little sister and she decides to surf the surge when there is a storm without telling John b. She gets a little injured while surfing and hides it from John b. John b finds out she is hurt and scolds her for going surfing in the storm and hiding her injury. I went ahead and made reader surf the storm from season 1 and just made it like John B and Pope never did it.

Warning: Angst, Fluff, reader gets hurt

Notes: I’ve never written for John B before so this is my first attempt.

Not beta read we die like men

WC: 1,370

John B Masterlist - OBX Masterlist

Your older brother had always been ridiculously overprotective of you, even more so now that your dad was missing at sea and DCS was threatening foster care. You needed a way to blow off some steam because John B’s helicopter mom routine was driving you insane. When Hurricane Agatha hit, you saw your opportunity for some fun, and you ran with it. Grabbing your surfboard, you snuck out of the chateau while everyone was storm-prepping and made your way to the beach.

 The swells were massive, but JJ had taught you everything he knew about surfing, and he was the best; even John B said so. As you raced out into the raging water, your excitement only grew. This is exactly what you needed. An adrenaline rush that nothing else could give you. Surfing the waves and getting tossed around in the storm, you were having the time of your life. You decided to go for one last run before you packed it in and made your way home. A massive wave headed your way, and you caught it easily, but the waves were unpredictable, especially in a storm, and you got rolled. When you went under the water, your leg hit something sharp, and the pain was immediate. You struggled to the surface, finding your board broken and having to fight your way back to shore. John B. was going to kill you if he found out.

 As you made your way back to the chateau, you hoped that the pogues would be asleep or at least distracted enough not to notice you limping into the house and bleeding everywhere. Luck seemed to be on your side when you found everyone asleep. You managed to make it to the bathroom past everyone’s sleeping forms and locked the door. The gash on your leg didn’t seem to be too deep, but it was definitely going to leave a nasty scar and hurt for a while. You patched yourself up as best as you could and managed to make it into your bedroom, where you collapsed and promptly passed out.

 You woke up to your brother smacking you over the head with a pillow. “Get up! We got a lot of shit to clean up, and we need all hands on deck!” Grumbling that he was an ass, you rolled over as he laughed while making his way outside. Slowly, you got up, but your leg was throbbing, and you had already started to bleed through the bandage you had put on last night. You hobbled into the bathroom to change out your bandage and take some pain killers. When you made it back to your room to get dressed, you realized you were going to have to wear long pants if you were going to have any chance of hiding what had happened.

 After getting dressed, you made your way outside to the rest of the pogues to start helping with the storm clean-up. You forced yourself not to limp, as you didn’t want to give any indication that something was wrong. As the day went on, your leg was getting worse, and it was getting harder to hide the fact that you were hurt. JJ and Kie had already started giving you weird looks, and you knew they were starting to suspect something was wrong. Everyone else was busy, so Pope asked for your help moving a particularly large branch that was blocking the twinkie. Begrudgingly, you sighed and made your way over to help, but as the two of you lifted the branch, your leg gave out, and you screamed as you fell to the ground. Pope panicked, managing to drop the branch away from you as the others came running over, hearing your scream.

 John B crouched next to you, frantically looking for any sign of injury but not seeing anything. “What’s wrong!?!? What happened? Are you hurt?” You tried to shrug him off, insisting that you were fine, but when you tried to stand up, your leg gave out again, causing you to fall. Your brother managed to catch you, stating that you are clearly not fine. He helped you over to the porch, setting you down. He glared down at you. “I swear to God, you need to tell me what is wrong, and don’t you dare say nothing because clearly you can’t walk.” You rolled your eyes and opened your mouth to respond when JJ piped up. "Dude, her leg is bleeding.” John B’s eyes snapped down to your leg, where a clearly visible patch of blood had started to form on your gray sweatpants.

 He crouched down, gently grabbing your leg, and lifted your pants leg to get a better look at what was going on. He thought you had cut yourself on a branch when you fell, but he wasn’t expecting to find an already bandaged wound that was clearly not from today. His head snapped up, making eye contact with you that you were trying to avoid. “What in the hell is this? What happened?” You rolled your eyes at his overly protective behavior. “It’s nothing, B. I’m fine.” “You are bleeding, and you can barely walk! Clearly, you are not fine! Now tell me what in the hell happened!”

 Sighing, you looked away from him, wrapping your arms around yourself. “I got hurt surfing yesterday.” A look of confusion passed over John B’s face. “When did you go surfing yesterday?” You looked up, accidentally making eye contact with JJ. A look of shock crossed JJ’s face, and before he could think, he shouted. “No way! You actually surfed the surge!?!?” Everyone’s heads snapped towards him, and he quickly held his hands up. “I’m just learning about this for the first time too.” John B quickly looked back at you, and you refused to look at him. “Is that true? Did you surf the surge? Do you know how dangerous that is? You could have seriously been hurt! You could have died!” He was going off on a rant, and you were already fed up. You finally looked at him and yelled. “This is why I didn’t tell you! You are so overprotective, and I knew you wouldn’t let me go! I just wanted to have some fun, and guess what? It was amazing! It was so much fun, and yes, I got hurt, but it was a fluke accident, and I didn’t tell you because I knew you would freak out and act like this! I know things are different now that dad is gone, but you are not my father; you are my brother!” You got up and limped your way into the house, leaving John B. stunned.

 You made your way to your bedroom, collapsing backward onto the bed. You sighed when you heard a knock at the door, but before you could say anything, John B walked in with a first-aid kit. He sat on your bed, pulling your leg into his lap, so he could change out the bandage and clean the wound. He worked silently, and when he was done, he finally looked at you. “I’m sorry. I know I’m not dad, and I know I have been a little overbearing lately, but I just can’t lose you. You’re all I have left, and even though you’re my pain in the ass, little sister, I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you.” Without saying anything, you sit up and wrap your arms around your brother. “I get it, B. I don’t know what I would do if I lost you either, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I got hurt.” Just then, your stomach started to grumble, causing John B to laugh. “Kie should be here any minute with some sandwiches. Let’s go eat.” As you made your way outside, everyone was already gathered on the front porch eating. You sat down next to Kie, who handed you your favorite sandwich. As you took your first bite, you heard JJ pipe up from where he was sitting in the hammock. “So for real, how bad ass was surfing the surge?” John B. smacked him across the chest as you laughed.

Tags: @mirellef2001