#then screaming until they lose their voice for someone to know they’re down there

[xveenusx]

You

Paring(s): JJ maybank x fem!reader

Summary: Request- John b's little sister grew up with JJ. Both boys are protective of her but when John B and Sarah leave on the boat, she only has JJ. She realizes she has feelings for him, not knowing he feels the same.

Authors note: I decided I could give you guys a sprinkle of fluff and slight smut after the last two pieces! This takes place at the beginning of season 2 where they believe Sarah and John b are dead.

Also, someone complained about the length of my pieces. I know they’re long but it’s just my writing style. I like for the readers to feel what the main character is feeling. If the length bothers you, then don’t read it!

_______________

Angry.

That’s how I felt.

At myself. At my dad. At John B.

When we first lost our dad, it didn’t feel real. I waited outside on the steps of the chateu hoping to see him come back on his boat. Suddenly, hours turned to days which turned into months and the hope that filled my chest shrank bit by bit until I no longer sat outside.

Instead, John B and I did what we could. After successfully evading CPS, we decided it was best to lay low. That was the thing about us, we always managed to make the best out of a shitty situation because let’s face it, being born on the cut was shitty situation after shitty situation.

Unfortunately, it felt like the stress had finally caught up to me. Being surrounded by unfamiliar people caused a bitter sense of panic to fill my very core. My anxiety had amplified tenfold as the once out going girl became completely sheltered.

It was safer that way. At least, if I isolated myself, losing someone else won’t hurt as bad as this. Because as long as I had my brother, everything else was manageable.

Losing my dad was tough, almost impossible but at least I had John B.

Until, I didn’t.

It didn’t hit me until I saw the boat capsize with my brother and Sarah in it. I was truly an orphan, in every sense of the word.

My knees had given out as every emotion crashed into my body like a violent tsunami. A silent scream leaving my body as I could no longer hold myself up.

Familiar arms caught me just as I was about to hit the floor, the rain pounded into my skin like thousands of needles. As I drew in a sharp breath, my voice impossible to find, a delicate smell of sex wax and salt filled my nose.

JJ.

“Please breathe. I need you to take a b-breath,” He pleaded, his voice shook in obvious grief. He had just lost his brother too.

I couldn’t seem to do what he was asking. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing for this nightmare to end, but thought after thought slammed into my head repeatedly. My chest squeezed tightly, so tight that I began to claw at it, desperate to relieve the tension.

Yet, nothing seemed to work. I could see him now, his image blurred due to the tears falling from my eyes. His mouth was moving but I couldn’t hear anything.

My fingers slowly started to cramp due to the lack of oxygen from my inability to calm down. The tidal wave known as anxiety pulled me deep, my vision slowly becoming black before my unconscious body falls limp in the arms of my brother’s best friend.

_________

I hated this sign.

My eyes glared at the makeshift headstone my friends made for Sarah and John B that was carved into the tree.

It served as another reminder that my brother left me.

I’ve become close friends with anger and sadness.

Our friends tried to give me a sense of stability and normalcy, one that I’ve been lacking since the moment our dad died. Kie always stopped by bringing left overs from her parent’s restaurant. Pope would help me with my homework and go over scholarship options. I knew he was trying to help me plan for the future, but we both knew he was the only one that could really get out. I welcomed the distraction and tried to enjoy the small bubble I’ve created for myself.

And then, there was JJ.

JJ was special.

He all but moved in to the chateau, never leaving me alone in my thoughts for too long. He took up a serving job at some kook club to feed us and always brought me with him. I would sit in a small corner throughout, his shifts and enjoy his company.

In a way, I think it was for him just as much as it was for me. We had both bonded over the loss of my brother and it caused an invisible string to tether us together in a way that almost felt intimate.

I blew out a breath.

Standing up, I wiped off the dirt from my thighs and flexed my hands. JJ was on his way to pick me up and take me to the annual bonfire here on the island.

When he asked me, my first reaction was an immediate no. I had avoided going near large groups of people since they believed my brother to be a murder, therefore, making me guilty by association. Just the thought of surrounding myself around those people made my skin itch.

But I also knew that we were both desperate to feel the closest thing to normal that we could find.

What he didn’t know was that feeling of normalcy could only be achieved when he was with me. Breathing was easier when he was with me, living was easier.

The familiar sound of a bike engine caused my stomach to flutter with nerves.

“You ready?”

Inhaling deeply, I turned around to see JJ leaning against his bike looking every bit as handsome as the first time I laid eyes on him. He was grinning, something he reserved just for me, with a toothpick on one side.

If he was here, then I’d be able to do anything.

“I go where you go.”

JJ’s blue eyes shined at my words. He shot me his infamous smirk that nearly caused the butterflies in my stomach to erupt.

“You got that right. Get on the bike, let’s get the fuck out of here.”

My brain was my biggest enemy. It had a tendency to disrupt whatever sense of peace I had and destroy it with every self sabotaging thought I’ve ever had.

In this case, my brain wanted to know just how many girls sat there before me.

Noticing my hesitation, JJ raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. “What’s up?”

“I just don’t want to get cooties from all the girls you let on this thing.”

He rolled his eyes. “Get your ass on the bike.”

My feet moved towards the bike as I mumbled under my breath. Stopping in front of him, JJ brushes some loose strands of my hair out of my face before grabbing the helmet that was on the seat.

I reached for it but JJ shoved my hands away, shooting me a flat look. Huffing, I stood there as JJ placed the helmet on my head, tightening the strap under my chin.

“Why do I have to wear a helmet and you don’t?”

“Because you matter.” His response was immediate.

Speechless, I said nothing more as he continued with the unnecessary pampering before he finally let me on the bike. Revving the engine, JJ kicks up the stand before reaching behind and grabbing my arm, settling it around his waist. He tapped my thigh twice to signal we were going and we took off.

I clung to his body, watching as the greenery blurred into one large mass, my thoughts doing the same.

You matter.

You matter.

You matter.

But what did that mean? What did it mean to him? What did I mean to him?

Because, I knew exactly what he meant to me.

There were small moments we shared. Our eye contact would stay on each other for a beat too long or his hands would linger just a minute longer than normal.

I knew, at least for me, our friendship had reached a very blurred line. My feelings for him seemed to consume me but I couldn’t tell how he felt. No one ever could, JJ didn’t let them.

He would say things like this that would completely throw me out of the loop. So we settled into a routine, one that resembled a relationship yet we weren’t in one.

The familiar cackle of the fire and shouts of excitement signaled that we were close to the party. Unease leaked into my bloodstream as I flexed my fingers into JJ’s shirt, the nerves sky rocketing.

JJ parked next to some truck but my focus was broken. My eyes jumped all over, taking in the scene all while trying to remind myself to breathe. People were shot gunning while others were playing beer pong, kooks and pouges alike.

Everyone was laughing and smiling, but it all seemed foreign to me. This was what I used to do, when things weren’t as complicated and dark as they were now. It felt almost wrong to go dancing and drinking when my life was in shambles.

A small touch to my wrist pulled me out of my thoughts as I turned to face JJ. A look of concern painted his face as he pressed his fingers against my wrist, checking my pulse.

“JJ, I’m fine.” I said exasperated but secretly, I adored how he took care of me. It made me feel like to him, I was different than all the other girls.

I just couldn’t decipher if he took care of me out of obligation to John B or because he actually cared for me.

He picked up this habit after I passed out in his arms. JJ always brushed his fingers against the inside of my wrist, just to double check that I wasn’t going to pass out again.

My anxiety was yet another monster I had to tackle after I lost John B and JJ was the only one that could calm me down. He weighed me down like an anchor.

“Look at me,” he demanded, his fingers lifting my chin causing my eyes to meet his.

His gaze ran over every inch of my face before a small satisfied smile played his lips.

“Do you believe me now?”

JJ shot me a wink, before cupping my face gently. “I’ll be back with tequila, don’t move.”

A small laugh left my mouth. “JJ, I don’t hang out with anyone else.”

“I’m all you can handle anyways, baby.”

My stomach dipped at the term of endearment. Laughing it off, I shooed him away and within seconds people were calling out his name, tugging him into their groups.

He seemed relax—happy even—to be surrounded by familiar people that I’m sure made him feel normal. I wanted him to have that, god, did I want him to have that.

So I ignored the nausea that nipped at my throat and spent the next five minutes looking around, hoping to spot Pope or Kie with no luck.

JJ deserved some time that didn’t involve watching me.

Only, I didn’t expect him to disappear for the rest of the night.

Hours later, I pushed passed the sweaty, overheated bodies as the bass of the music trembled through the air rattling my chest. The mass of bodies caused a layer of sweat to cover my body the further I went into the crowd. Intense rap music was being blasted instantly getting a reaction by the drug induced people around me.

Just by a simple sweep of the overcrowded property, I gave it a solid half hour before the cops showed up.

A large figure stumbled into me, beer sloshing onto my top. I gasped, stepping back slightly wincing at the cold liquid dripping down my stomach.

"Sorry," He slurred before stumbling back into the mosh pit of raging teens.

A familiar laugh rang out and almost immediately my body reacted to it. It was odd. After years of hearing his voice and his laugh, you would think I'd have gotten used to it by now, but no.

The effect he had on my body left me stunned.

My eyes were drawn to him instantly. I blocked everything else out.

His head was tilted back as he belted out another laugh. JJ was leaning against a wall with a hand holding a beer bottle loosely and the other moving as he spoke animatedly to the group that surrounded him.

His sun touched skin complimented his bright blue orbs that shined with a child-like wonder. JJ’s golden colored locks were thick and fell into a messy heap on his head, loose strands brushing against his forehead.

The black cut muscle tee he wore displayed every muscle as he continued to move his arms to accompany his storytelling.

JJ Maybank was a sight for sore eyes.

He was still talking rapidly when he glanced up and locked eyes with mine. JJ’s ocean eyes shined as he shot me a megawatt smile nearly sending me to my knees. He stopped mid-conversation and motioned for me to come over, his eyes once again gleaming with a unspoken level of affection.

I remained frozen. Sometimes this happened. I got overwhelmed by just how much I needed him.

JJ managed to knock me off my feet a solid five times a day. Each time welcomed even more than the last.

He bit his lip, stopping a smile as he bid his friends goodbye and began walking over to where I stood, running a hand through his hair messily.

I opened my mouth, not knowing what to say when a manicured hand rested itself on his stomach, stopping him in his tracks.

“Haven’t see you in awhile. Where ya been?”

Stacey Williams had this thing about her.

What it was, I couldn’t say, but it was enough for JJ to keep going back for more. She was the only other girl in his life that he gave a fraction of his attention to.

That fact alone made me nervous.

Just walk away, JJ. Please just walk away.

Instead, he took a seat next to her and shot her smile that was reserved for me.

People stumble between us, blocking my view but I could still hear them conversing.

“You know me, Steis. I’m here, I’m there. Just doin’ me.”

She let out a giggle causing me to roll my eyes. He’s really not that funny.

“You haven’t been answering my calls. I figured, tonight you could come over and we could talk.”

My stomach tied itself in knots at the silence on his end. It was almost like he was contemplating going.

“I -I can’t tonight. I came with John b’s sister.”

I winced. That’s all I was to him?

I could see Stacey lean forward and slip her hand along the open slit of his muscle tee. “She follows you around like a lost puppy, JJ. It’s almost sad if it wasn’t so weird.”

I saw him shake his head. “It’s not like that, we’re both just dealing with everything the best way we can.”

Stacey rolled her eyes before she took a sip of her drink, “JJ, your hot but please tell me you’re not that blind. The girl is basically in love with you.”

Judging by the way JJ froze, I now knew that I misjudged every interaction we’ve had to this point. He didn’t even notice how I felt.

“What-I mean-no. She’s just a girl that needs help. I mean, come on. She’s just John B’s sister.”

The only thing more humiliating than finding out the person you want doesn’t want you, is finding out they were only there for you because of an obligation.

I wasn’t special to him. I was just John B’s little sister.

I think another part of me died right there, because yet again, I have lost another person I loved.

But this time, he wasn’t gone, no—he was right in front of me, but he might as well have been a million miles away or six feet under.

Eavesdropping is the quickest way to a broken heart. Words not meant for your ears strike your heart in a brutal assault until nothing remained.

Finally, the crowd that separated us moved and I stood there stupidly staring at him.

Feeling the weight of my gaze, JJ turned his head and his eyes widened before settling into a look of guilt.

I tore my gaze off of him and looked at her. The smug smile she wore told me she intended for me to hear what he had said.

My face heated, and I glanced down at the drink in my hand. How could I be so fucking stupid?

Ignoring the sickening twists in my stomach, I tossed back the strong liquor in my cup. The burning trail the tequila left is the feeling I decided to focus on.

Spinning around, my eyes searched for another cooler, desperate to keep the burning feeling going.

“Shit-Wait,” I could hear JJ shouting for me but I kept moving.

Finding a handle of tequila, I flicked the top off and took a pull. The bitter burn fell over my body with a fuzzy warmth.

JJ knocks the bottle out of my hand.

“What the fuck is your problem?”

“Since when do you drink like that?” He asked.

“Go away, JJ. I don’t need you to babysit me anymore.”

“Listen, if this is about what I said-“

“You’re free, JJ,” my voice trembled with pain,” You don’t need to waste any more of your time on me.”

I grabbed a red solo cup, sniffing the contents, and just as I was about to chug it back, his hand slaps it out of my own.

“Will you stop fucking drinking that-“ JJ’s baby blues narrowed as he growled at me.

“What are you, my dad? You’re taking this baby sitting gig a little too seriously.”

It was, then I noticed how many eyes were on us. The music was still blasting, but no one was dancing.

My breathing picked up at the sudden attention. I dug my nails into the palm of my hand to distract my body from the ever growing panic that plagued my body.

JJ’s eye clock in on my nervous tic causing his glare to soften. A figure approaching pulled my focus off of him.

Topper strides over with a drink in his hand and a lazy smile. “Hey man-“

“Top, your wearing sandals bro. Step off.”

“I’m just saying man, she doesn’t want to talk to you.”

JJ’s eyes darkened as a threatening smile slowly graced his lips. “Wanna run that by me again?”

“I forgot that you pouges are missing a couple brain cells,” Topper lolled his head to the side and shot me a wink, “Since you’re clearly a bit slow, I’ll spell it out for you. She. Doesn’t. Want. To. Talk. To. You.”

“I dont remember you being this cocky with a gun to your head.” The words were spoken softly but the threat was clear.

A storm brewed in JJ’s eyes as the bright blue was replaced by something much darker.

My heart jumped at his tone and the look in his eyes made me swallow hard. Disgust filled me as heat began to build between my legs forcing me to press my thighs together.

Hands up on surrender, Topper shot me a look before heading back to his friends. JJ’s eyes stayed on him for a beat ensuring that he wouldn’t come back.

When he was satisfied, JJ moved towards me in quick strides making me yelp in surprise.

His ring covered hand grasped my upper arm and tugged me back to his bike. I shrugged out of his hold and crossed my arms across my chest, hoping it’ll keep a safe distance between the two of us.

I couldn’t think clearly when he was close.

“Listen-“

“No thanks.”

“If you would just-“

“Go away.”

“Can you please stop acting-“

“Why don’t you go back to Stacy? I’m sure she’d find this conversation enlightening.” I spat, shoving his reaching hands away.

“I dont want to talk to Sta-“

“Are you sure? You seemed to have a lot to say be-“

“Jesus Christ, would you just shut up?” JJ shouted with his hands in his hair.

My mouth opened and closed in shock.

“You’re the most frustrating person on this fucking island.” He growled, shaking his head in false amusement.

“Then why are you still talking to me?”

“Because it’s you.”

Throwing my hands up in defeat, I let out a bleak laugh. “What does that even mean? Stop pretending you care. Stop pretending to be my-“

“I wasn’t pretending.” He shook his head, the blue orbs pleading for me to understand,”Stacey was just saying shit to get a reaction-“

“She wasn’t wrong.”

He stopped talking and stared at me, almost confused.

My body trembled slightly with nerves as I prepared to finally expose every bit of my heart to the blue eyed boy in front of me.

“What she said—about how I feel about you. She was right. Anybody with two fucking eyes can see how I feel about you, except for you.”

I furiously wiped my eyes stop the tears from falling. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry.

“But now I know you only see me as John B’s little sister. It’s just humiliating that you chose to say that to Stacey instead of me.”

I was going to throw up. My stomach churned and swayed but I swallowed down the urge.

JJ let out a harsh sound, “I feel fucking guilty, okay? I feel guilty that I don’t see you the way I should. John B was my best friend and now I’m falling for his sister? It’s eating at me.”

“Then leave-“

“Shut up,” He snapped. “You’ve already got to say what you wanted. It’s my turn.”

My throat tightened as I braced myself for his confession.

“I look at you and I have to stop myself from kissing you even though it’s all I can think about.”

His eye contact seared into my very soul. I could feel it pierce my pounding heart.

“So you aren’t the only one that feels something.”

My heart was in my throat as I processed his words.

“But you said-“

“I lied.” He cut me off with a shrug and advanced towards me, clearly fed up with the distance I placed between us.

In a last ditched effort, I put up my hands to stop him in his tracks. I needed to think. I needed to breathe.

“Don’t touch me.” The plea itself was weak at best.

At the sound of my sob, JJ ignores my demand, and shoves my hands away, despite my weak attempt to keep him out of my space.

Instantly, his fingers curl themselves along my wrist and take note of my pulse. He let out a distressed sound from what I can only assume is the pounding of my pulse and whispers soothing words.

Taking in gulps of air, he slowly counts me down to a manageable pace of breathing. My shaking slowly begins to subside and my very focus is just on him.

Resting his forehead on mine, JJ whispers pleadingly, “Please stop crying.”

Another kiss lands on my nose. “I’m sorry.”

His request along with his sweet pleadings, causes my defenses to crumble down. Another sob tears from my chest as I relax into his embrace.

“I didn’t mean it.” He muttered, brushing my tears away with his thumb.

“Then why did you say it?” My words were soft, barely a whisper.

“Because she’s not important enough to know how I feel.”

Our eyes were glued to each other, a deep unknown longing singeing us together.

“You said I was just some girl.”

JJ tilted my head up, his fingers trailing softly along my bottom lip, “I meant my girl.”

“I have a lot of baggage,” I gave him one more shot at leaving.

“Good thing I have a truck.”

“But she-“

He shook his head, leaning down so there’s just a sliver of space between our lips, so close that we were inhaling each others breaths.

“You’re the only one I want.”

JJ bent down, his arms circling themselves directly below my ass, and picked me up causing me to shout out in surprise.

My hands curled onto each of his arms, my stomach fluttering at the flex of his muscles. He set me on the seat of the bike, his large calloused hands gripped my upper thighs tightly sending a wave of heat right to my core.

JJ’s half lidded eyes dart between my gaze and my lips. “Tell me to stop.”

The words never crossed my lips.

He let out a sound of satisfaction, tugging my legs open to stand in between them.

His ring covered fingers danced along the strands of my hair before nesting themselves at the root, gripping the nape tightly, "You’re mine.”

Heat instantly swarmed my belly as I drastically tried to collect my thoughts. My lips trembled as he hovered over me, his figure towering over my small frame.

JJ swiped his tongue along my parted lips before biting gently. Instantly, my body jolted forward and we were chest to chest, perfectly aligned.

My grip on his biceps tightened as I tremble with anticipation.

Finally, he pressed his lips to mine, slowly guiding our kiss. Gripping my hair tighter, he tilts my head sliding his tongue inside.

A small whimper escaped my lips causing a groan to erupt from him. Almost lazily, he pulled back slightly and pulled my bottom lip into his, sucking softly.

White hot lust seared itself into my blood. I let out a whine and pushed myself up, pressing my lips to his, desperate for another taste of JJ.

My blood was pounding in my ears as I tugged him closer. Almost lazily, I teased his mouth open and slid my tongue inside. Humming with desire, I gently sucked on his tongue causing him to flex his grip on my thighs.

JJ pulled back giving me the opportunity to catch my breath. His fingertips left a heated trail along my face as he caressed every inch.

He shook his head, laughing to himself softly,” It’s you. It’s always been you.”

______________

I love sassy JJ. Sorry for the delayed upload, I got into a car accident and am just now starting to get better:)

Please let me know what you think!! Next piece will be yummy smut with Rafe

[satuguro]

⠀ཾ ༚ MORE FUN WITH THREE!

chad meeks martin x ethan landry x reader

#SYNOPSIS— nsfw/sfw head canons about dating ethan and chad <3

#CONTAINS— (sfw) domesticity!!, slight angst, comfort, overall fluff ; (nsfw) daddy/mommy kink, degradation, praise, and a lot more but those are the mains!

#AUTHORSNOTE— there isn’t enough domestic chad/ethan/reader stuff so i wrote this xx

#SFW

— you guys pined for each other for a while until any of you made a move. lots of longing looks and deep talk nights and sleepovers that felt more intimate than ‘just friend’ activities.

— but surprisingly, it was ethan who confessed first. the three of you were sharing a blunt around a pool during a party, and he suddenly started rambling about how much he liked you both romatically.

“it’s just like,” ethan breathes, leaning his head on your shoulder and absentmindedly fidgeting with chad’s fingers. “i talk a lot, right? i ramble and i talk and can’t ever seem to shut up— at least i’m self aware, y/n! —but when i look at the two of you.. it’s like my words just can’t come out. and i become quiet because i don’t know how you two exist.”

— ever since that night, you guys began dating!

— now this is not gonna be one of those head-cannons about how everything went smoothly because trust me it didn’t for a while.

— it was really up and down for the first year. chad has a bad habit of being jealous, which is nice if he wasn’t so in denial when you or ethan point it out.

— ethan has a tendency to space out/disassociate when things get too stressful (a result of his history with his family), which takes a lot of work and patience to work through. thankfully, you and chad have all the patience in the world for him.

— and you wouldn’t open up to them for a while, oftentimes running how you really felt and the bad parts of your past through a filter to make it seem not as bad (even though chad and ethan could read you like a book).

— there’s a lot more, but i will say that i don’t think ethan or chad is the type to really raise their voice during an argument. disagreements are resolved through firm talking between the three of you, and even when someone wants to scream or yell at the other person, they know that you all hate the sound of angry yelling, so you find others ways to cool off.

— anyways! you guys moved in together a year and a half into your relationship.

— chad’s the clean one and ethan’s the messy one (mainly bc he gets distracted by other stuff and forgets ro clean up after himself).

— both boys love sitting/joining you when you’re doing your hobbies. sometimes they even wanna learn from you! chad is a very quick learner while ethan is very eager to learn

— movie nights, video game nights, study nights, etc. are a very common thing bc all of you procrastinate college shit (except for chad, who is somehow more on top of it than you and ethan).

— chad can cook, ethan can bake, and you can do both! so meals are usually made by you and chad while ethan makes dessert.

— ethan also stress bakes.

the lack of a third body in your bed made you sit up groggily from your bed. “chad? chad,” you mumbled, shaking chad’s shoulder next to you, making him grumble a weak response. “where’s ethan?”

and as the two of you walked out, you still wrapped in your comforter, you were shocked to find your boyfriend making his third batch of cake pops over the counter. his hair was tousled and eye bags hung under his brown eyes, but ethan looked more awake than ever. his spider-man shirt was stained with flour and his pajama pants hung loosely around his waist. “ethan,” chad said with a sigh, “babes, it’s 3 am.”

“yeah but,” ethan began, whisking from frosting. “i have an exam in like two days and i needed to relax so i’m baking!”

“ethan, baby, come back to bed.”

— chad and ethan are sore losers!! every time the three of you play video games and you win they both sulk for like 10 minutes. but if you lose and one of them wins, they’re so cocky and they’re teasing you about it (assholes).

"guys, please talk to me," you said, watching as ethan stubbornly sat next to chad on the other side of the couch, pulling the blanket tight over the both of them and not around you."

"no," chad stated, putting an arm over ethan's shoulders and pulling him close. "this is what happens when you cheat at mario kart."

you huffed in annoyance before standing up, grabbing the blanket and forcing yourself in with them, ignoring their protests.

"y/n, you already won!" ethan groaned, still making room for you regardless of how much of a sore loser he was.

— you guys sleep on a king bed in a shared room and take turns being in the middle. usually chad likes being in the middle because that means he gets to feel both you and ethan sleeping on his chest.

— chad sleeps earlier than the both of you so sometimes he has to listen to you and ethan talk about basically nothing 30 minutes before going to bed.

“yeah, sex is great, but have you ever yawned so hard you felt tears?” ethan said, his face turned to yours as the three of you laid in bed.

chad heard you chuckle softly before saying, “it’s kind of like stretching so hard you cough. wait— does that mean you’d rather yawn with tears over having sex with us?”

“what? no!”

— sometimes when one of you is coming home late, you have nights with only one of them.

— when ethan is coming home late, you and chad both prepare a meal together. light music is playing in the background while you both prepare three plates (another for ethan when he gets home). chad has a habit of wrapping his arms around your waist and leaning his head on your shoulder while you cook. then after dinner you both watch a horror movie with popcorn (chad knows all the best horror movies thanks to mindy.) and take a shower together.

— when chad is coming home late, ethan helps you make dinner (he just chops vegetables and sometimes meat. poor boy can’t cook) and is constantly snacking on the food before it’s even prepared. you both save chad a plate before having a little ‘spa day.’ you both take a bath and put on face masks and (mildly) catch each other up on gossip.

— when you’re coming home late, either chad makes dinner and ethan helps or he does the work and ethan sits on the counter and tells him about all the drama (chad likes to say he doesn’t like listening, but you and ethan know he does). sometimes ethan makes him do a face mask with him and then they go play video games for the rest of the night until you come home.

— your apartment has a loveseat on the side that you all like to cuddle on while your friends are over.

— folding clothes together in the living room while watching shows like bob’s burgers.

— you guys definitely have a cat that’s named ‘kelp’ or something weird like that. when you first got the cat chad was def a little disappointed (he wanted a dog) but now he’s your cat’s favorite (much to you and ethan’s chagrin).

— whenever you say ‘i love you,’ there’s always two responses of ‘i love you more,’ back. and that phrase is something really important to the three of you.

— you like to say it during the times when you really mean it. you always love them, but there’s random times where you’re just watching them talk to each other at the dinner table and you’ll just say ‘i love you,’ because how nice is it that you can always have dinner with them?

— ethan incorporates it into his daily phrases, stuff like, “i’m gonna go now, i love you!” and “good night, i love you.” he also says it a lot while he’s drunk (he’s a sucker for you and chad, what can he say).

— chad says it during random times. sometimes he’ll just walk by you or ethan in the kitchen, pressing brief kisses to your shoulders and murmuring, “i love you.” or he’ll taste something you or ethan made and say, “oh my god, i love you. this is incredible.”

— ethan talks a lot and you and chad listen.

— sometimes chad and ethan both ramble to you about something that you know nothing about but do you care? no, because you do the exact same thing and they are always so interested

— chad and ethan go on gym dates and chad always makes ethan his pre workout for him in the morning before they leave <3

— you guys also have a shared groupchat! ethan uses it to send photos throughout his day of random things with cute little comments like ‘look at this dog i saw ◡̈’ or ‘i ordered what y/n usually gets at starbucks! i think it’s actually pretty good!’

—you use it to send photos of when you see him or chad across campus. honestly you do it cause you think it’s funny how most of the photos you take look like they’re from a stalker.

— chad uses it to send photos of the sky whenever he thinks it’s pretty (because it reminds him of the both of you). he also uses it to get yours or ethan’s opinion on something, whether it’s clothes, what he’s buying from the store, etc.

— whenever one of you is stressed/sad you have two people giving you comfort immediately. of course chad is always the one who asks, “do you want comfort or advice?” just because he wants to make sure he’s doing the right thing. but regardless the three of you have learned how to take care of each other.

#NSFW

— there was definitely a moment before you all began dating where ethan said, “wait, does that mean i’m gonna die a virgin?” and you and chad caught each other staring at ethan as though you were willing to change that for him.

chad noticed you stare at ethan, eyes set on him as though you were weighing the consequences of fucking your best friend in your head (not that chad could say anything; he was doing the same thing). your eyes noticed chad’s look, making you raise a brow at him.

“what’re you looking at, chad?”

“what’re you looking at, y/n?”

— ethan has the biggest sex drive out of the three of you. he was really inexperienced when you all started dating but after you and chad taught him the ropes he’s literally always horny.

— chad definitely prefers to be in charge in the bedroom (daddy kink for the win) but he’s actually a switch. you and ethan are only people he’s ever been submissive for.

— you’re a switch for the most part, but you do enjoy domming both chad and ethan (because who wouldn’t?) especially when they both start teasing you out in public/throughout the day (which happens a lot).

— ethan’s definitely a switch but he does prefer to be submissive to you and chad because he has a raging daddy/mommy kink oops

— you and ethan are pretty vocal in bed, but chad isn’t. a lot of the noises he makes is groans and dirty talk (which is literally filthy).

— but one time you and ethan were teasing him and chad let out a whine. when i tell you the tables changed so quickly..

— chad also does this lazy smile/smirk when one of you is riding him/sucking him off that makes him look so cocky and he knows it.

— chad’s cockiness also def shows through in his degradation/praise.

“that’s it, suck my cock,” chad murmured, one of his arms behind his head as ethan took his cock into his mouth. you were right next to him, licking at chad’s balls as ethan began bobbing his head. the poor boy was a mess of saliva and tears dripping down his chin, his head of curls gripped tightly by chad as his hips thrusted his fat cock deeper into ethan’s mouth.

a needy whine left your lips as ethan pulled off of chad’s cock, gasping in a breath before continuing to stroke it in his hands. then you both leaned in, eyes set on chad and the lazy smile on his face, before your tongues met at chad’s tip. with his tip in between your mouths, you and ethan made out with each other, whimpers and low moans falling from your mouths. licking into ethan’s mouth and tonguing at chad’s fat tip, you moaned at the sloppiness of it all, feeling yours and ethan’s saliva drip down your chins.

the lewd sight alone made chad moan, head falling back briefly. “god, you’re both so needy. you love sucking my dick that much that you both wanna share?”

“mm.. yes daddy.”

— sex is serious for the most part but sleepy sex/morning sex is always so giggly for you guys. especially when ethan and chad want to eat you out together.

“chad— dude, you gotta move to the side,” ethan groaned, trying to move himself next to the taller man. your legs were spread wide, both of them held open by chad’s hand and ethan’s, and feeling their two eyes on you, you suddenly felt exposed.

“how do we—” chad began leaning his head in at the same time as ethan’s and bumping their heads, making them both laugh. carding your hands through their hair, you couldn’t help but giggle before it turned into a moan.

chad and ethan’s tongue met in the middle as they spread your legs wider. leaning over, chad went to suck on your clit while ethan leaned down to fuck your sopping hole with his tongue, making your back arch. “there you go,” chad murmured, breath fanning over your cunt as he massages the inside of your thighs.

“mm, you taste so good, y/n,” ethan said, eyes hazy as he slipped a finger into you.

— sometimes ethan wakes the both of you up by giving you both head. he gets really needy! and if you wake up before him that’s how you wake chad up

— you love teasing them. sometimes you grind your ass against them a little too much while passing by them in the kitchen or you wear shorts around the apartment that you know chad loves, along with a tank top without a bra (so ethan’s practically drooling at your breasts)

— it usually ends with them being in charge that night. especially if your little teasing game goes on for the entire day and you pretend you know nothing about it; both of them want to punish you <3

“fuck— daddy, ‘m close,” ethan whined, throwing his head back as his cock slipped into your lips again. you peered up at him through heavy lashes, his length stifling your whimpers as chad’s cock sank deeper inside of you.

“go ahead, baby boy. cum all over y/n’s face,” chad said with a groan, watching shamelessly as your cunt took every inch of his thick cock. “fuck, you really love taking dick, huh?” he said with a breathless laugh, thrusting his hips into you harshly and reveling in the cry you let out. “too bad you won’t get to cum just yet. not until we’re finished.”

ethan let out a whine as he came all over your face, eyes set on how your tongue stuck out for him and the way it caught only some of his cum. the rest painted your face so beautifully that ethan couldn’t help but grab some with his thumb and put it into your mouth. obediently, your lips wrapped around his thumb and sucked off the rest of the cum.

— sorry not sorry ethan loves his ass ate idc. he becomes such a slit the second he feels you or chad’s tongue on his hole, arching his back and babbling, “mommy/daddy, more. please— oh fuck me.”

— chad also has an obsession with eating you out. when i tell you that man knows how to eat pussy i mean it. sit on his face, suffocate him— he wants it all as long as he’s between your thighs.

— that being said he also loves eating ethan out. primarily because ethan ends up crying and he’s just so pretty when he cries.

— chad’s sadistic/masochistic (he’s def a service top) and ethan’s the same way. but ethan’s sadism and masochism can go extreme; he loves denying you and chad of your orgasms over and over, but if you were to deny him of his over and over he’d love it more.

— chad sometimes just leans back and lets you and ethan do whatever you want to him. you could use his dick like a toy and ethan could ride his face and chad could die a happy man right there, knowing that he’s pleasuring the both of you.

— ethan has an oral fixation to the max. he always needs something in his mouth, whether it’s your tits, yours or chad’s fingers, chad’s cock, or your pussy, he just loves having his mouth full.

— whenever you’re domming, ethan is always so good while chad is nothing but a brat. but there are some rare occasions when ethan is being bratty and you and chad have to punish him.

“daddy— daddy slow down—!” ethan cried out, his hips automatically snapping against you as a result of chad’s pounding. he was crying at this point, fat tears streaming down his cheeks as he was stuck between chad’s thick cock and your tight pussy. his own cock was so hard, but the cock ring around it made it impossible for him to fuck a load into you. not that you or chad seemed to care.

“you wanted to act like such a brat earlier, ethan,” you said with faux pity, teeth digging into your bottom lip as ethan’s cock thrusted inside of you repeatedly.

“which means,” chad said, slapping ethan’s ass and making the boy moan, “you can’t give us fucking orders.” he thrusted deeper into his boyfriend, listening to the ‘uh, uh, uhs’ ethan let out as his cock fucked him harder.

“i wanna cum,” ethan sniffled, ignoring your scolding as he took your hips and thrusted into you, making your head fall back as you moaned deliciously. “daddy, p—please— mm, mm— let me cum, mommy.”

chad only chuckled darkly at that, letting out a low moan as he came inside ethan’s ass, filling him with cum— his first load of the night. “brats don’t get to cum.”

— i will say this rn; the aftercare is soso good.

— chad basically has all of your needs memorized by heart. bath? he already had it ready. food? there’s snacks on the bedside table. alone time? the guest room has its bed made and the t.v on. cuddles? of course, just let him clean you up and get you some water. don’t wanna get up? good, chad would rather you lay there while he gets everything ready.

— it kind of goes for all of you as well. you and chad are usually giving the aftercare while ethan’s receiving. but ethan knows the aftercare you both need too!

— especially after pretty hard scenes, ethan knows to reassure you both that he’s okay. it doesn’t happen often, but when you and chad feel horrible for talking to ethan in such a way, he goes out of his way to take care of you just like you both take care of him <3

[nocoastposts]

Happy Friday! This rec list is lengthy, kinky, and explicit. I'll have an additional list up soon, but this one is dedicated to some excellent E-rated gems.

Please remember to mind the tags - especially for these recs! - and kindly skip anything that doesn't suit you.

If you enjoy these, make sure to leave kudos and check out the authors additional works. Fic links and summaries below the cut.

in the dead of night | @littlemisskittentoes | E | 3.8k

“Hm, am I still dreaming, or is there a very pretty boy playing with me under the covers?” Alex’s voice is gruff. Its edges are coated in lingering sleep, and the drowsy-slow pull of the words slows them to a deeper accent than he usually lets slip through. The syrupy drawl skitters the length of Henry’s spine.

or, Henry knows he can always rely on Alex to tire him out when sleep is far off.

If We're Caught in a Wave (I Will Carry You Over) | @sparklepocalypse | E | 5.9k

There it is, up ahead – the small island just offshore, with Alex’s favorite broad, flat stone outcropping, perfect for sunning himself in seclusion. He splashes into the shallows and dives in when the water’s up to his knees, and it’s a matter of maybe a minute’s swim to reach the island. Alex finds his footing among the sand and pebbles, pulls himself upright, and shakes the water out of his hair, then pushes it back from his face. He can practically hear the outcropping calling to him -- you know, if inanimate rock could speak.

Alex stretches, his mid-back satisfyingly popping, and then skirts his way between some larger rocks until his sunning rock is in view. Except – there’s someone already on the outcropping, their short blond hair shimmering in the sunshine, the upper slant of their shoulders visible from where Alex is standing.

(Movie or Bookverse AU; Alex rents a remote beach house and Henry is a cecaelia.)

What I Need Tonight | @sparklepocalypse (again, always, etc.) | E | 3.5k

It’s two in the morning on a Tuesday when the clatter of something hitting the bathroom floor startles Henry awake. At first, his groggy mind assumes it’s Alex – but then Alex snuffles in his sleep behind him and tightens his arms around Henry’s waist.

There’s another clatter, and then a shuffling noise, and Henry’s eyes widen. He reaches back and grabs Alex’s thigh, shaking him.

(A temporal folding M/M/M AU that takes place post-canon but pre-bonus chapter.)

It's Called Tact, Fuck-Rag! | largepeachicedtea | E | 12.8k

Texas had been an odd choice, some might say. Henry thinks it's perfect. College is a time to go crazy, after all. A Scream AU

when he walks in (i am loved) | @kill8a | E | 10.3k

Henry has chores. They’re chores he’s allocated to himself, ones he loves to do in his free time, when he’s home alone. But he can’t keep thinking about Alex, what he did to him this morning, and it proves to be a distraction.

or, henry gets well fucked and well loved.

[ My final rec is for the four-part series please, please have me by @everwitch-magiks; the total word count is 29.7k. I really love the summaries for each installment, so I've included 'em all.]

Hope and Glory | E | 3.5k

Any moment now, that door will open again and another man will enter, another stranger will bare himself and quietly slot himself into the hole in the wooden panel. And Henry will swallow him down, willingly, greedily. He will use his mouth and his tongue and both of his hands, and he will lose himself in every little sound, every low groan and trembling whimper, every sharp intake of breath. He will bring the stranger to the brink and then over it, will smile faintly as feels the man pulsing in between his hands, will brush a chaste kiss against the tip before he lets go.

Henry joins an exclusive, members only sex club and lives out an impossible fantasy. Along the way, he forms a connection with an enigmatic lover.

Everything I Never Thought I'd Ever Find | E | 5.3k

The man is rubbing his length alongside Alex's as promised, his breathing heavy as Alex engages him in a series of wild, open-mouthed kisses, all teeth and tongue, give and take. Alex is shaking with want as he struggles to keep his arms still, to keep kissing, to keep himself from losing control entirely, to be good. God, he wants to be good.

Alex had never dared to hope that his sexual escapades with an irresistible stranger could turn into so much more.

That Look In Your Eyes | E | 4.7k

They’re trying something new. It’s a bit of an indulgence on Henry’s part. Earlier that night, he had walked into the now familiar room to find Alex as utterly irresistible as always: naked and blindfolded and so impossibly willing, so wonderfully eager. In that exact moment, Henry had decided that it was time for something a little bit different.

One brief but intriguing conversation later, Henry had been very pleased to pull the silk scarf from his own neck. Clearly, they'd just found a better use for it.

When The Time Is Right | E | 16.1k

“Maybe I could challenge you more,” Henry suggests, his eyes carefully trained on Alex. “And hold you accountable for longer. How does that sound?” “That sounds fucking amazing,” Alex tells him, the words coming out in a rush. “Yes. That. Please.” “Alright, then.” Henry offers him a sly grin. “Alex, love. You just gave me a wonderful idea.” It’s really something, how quickly Alex’s heartbeat picks up. “Oh? Do tell.” Henry’s grin widens. He looks alarmingly pleased with himself. “How would you feel about a staycation?”

When Alex asks Henry for something a little more intense in the bedroom, they end up taking more than just their sex life to the next level.

I've got another post in the works with some longer fics that are a mixture of all types of themes, ratings, and so on.

Feel free to request fic recs anytime!

XOXO,

Amy | NoCoastPosts

[spadesolace]

polaroid love - bonus chapter. the shade

spade speaks: ANOTHER LATE POST BUT HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANNI! MY WIFE FR, I DON'T MAKE THE RULES.

while y/n waits for her flight from korea to japan to leave, scrolling on her phone, she stumbled upon a video about her and hanni. it wasn’t like the public didn’t know they’re close, after the mama performance everyone sort of assumed that the groups that participated became close.

10 minutes of nmixx y/n and newjeans hanni acting like a married couple

clip 1: mama behind the scenes

in the somewhat back of the dance practice, a very blurry clip of y/n and hanni can be seen talking to each other. hanni is holding something somewhat clutching it in fear of possibly losing it while y/n is taking pics of her. with the pictures of hanni holding onto her koala plushie and y/n with her miffy plush can be seen being next to each other.

the scene was then changed to the pair still in the mama practice room talking, some may consider a bit too close for comfort as y/n hands her an onigiri.

these two acting like a married couple in front of my kimchi

clip 2: hanni’s vlog in LA

it starts off with hanni holding the camera close to her face, she’s inside a car, a bit unfamiliar as it is not the usual car bunnies see on their contents.

“you think if i played some songs the company would be mad?” hanni looked at the owner of the voice with a teasing smile, as if she knows what they’ll do even if she tells them off.

“don’t even try.” a somewhat familiar chuckle is heard but it could be easily mistaken for someone else.

ok, it might be a stretch that this is y/n.

“what if i played the songs i’ve written and produced?” hanni looked like she was thinking it through and she nodded.

as the familiar beat of love countdown starts to play, hanni is heard screaming and stopping the radio. which quickly revealed y/n laughing while driving.

“maybe not that.”

“alright, how about this?”

polaroid love lowly plays in the background.

confirmed that it was indeed y/n driving!!!

clip 3: hanni’s vlog in LA, GUCCI campaign

hanni starts off the vlog with her in the outfit chosen for her, showing her entire fit on camera, with little to no idea that someone had entered the frame. wearing a blue checkered coat with a bit of leather padding and pocket covers, with her hair a bit slicked back and a few strands of bangs popping out.

hanni shouted upon seeing y/n, who only laughed at her [girlfriend].

“you look stunning.” y/n was in awe, seeing hanni despite having somewhat similar fits for the campaign, she is just left standing there admiring the girl.

“thank you, you look amazing as well.” hanni opened her arms as y/n hugged her looking at the camera with a teasing smile.

i’m surprised the company kept the clip

it was then cut to hanni and y/n in different outfits, a part of the campaign just to get the ambassadors close. some of which are being directed that they get a bit touchy as the pair are known to be somewhat best friends already. y/n being the playful person that she is, as the wave goodbye to the end of the content being filmed, she kissed hanni’s hand that was holding onto hers.

THAT’S SUSPICIOUS!

clip 4: y/n gucci campaign behind the scenes

“hello nswers, i’m currently at LA, just finished doing the campaign and i’m about to head out to get dinner with someone.”

y/n is showing her fit in front of the full body mirror in her hotel room, strutting like a model until she almost tripped.

“probably should have looked where i was going. ANYWAYS! nswers, i’m trying to match my fit with my uh-” y/n paused placing the camera down and sitting in front of it, thinking of the right term for it.

“ah yes, my date. you’ve probably seen some clips but i’m with newjeans’ hanni.”

with like… together in a relationship or together like just within the same vicinity?

“we’ll go sightseeing, just hang out and take a few pics here and there. our managers are with us so we’ll be safe, no need to worry nswers.”

the clip showed the pair from a fan’s point of view where the two are holding their cameras with managers a bit behind and holding each other’s hand. followed by another clip of the pair without cameras and just the two of them still holding hands and laughing.

maybe they’re just really… really… really close friends.

hanni had seen an octopus hat with y/n and joked about buying it just to have matching hats. the faint “why not?” turned out that one has to win in the fair in order to win the hats which they both said no as to not waste any money.

i swear these two are the most practical and chaotic pair.

clip 5: nmixx midsummer dream behind

y/n is seen beside hanni as she teaches the choreography to super shy, while lily and danielle are conversing on one side with kyujin and haerin. although the camera focuses on haewon talking about the challenge being done by the two aussies and the 06 liners, one could see the two messing with each other.

“for someone who produced the song, you sure can’t keep up with the fast choreo.” y/n could only give hanni the side eye as the group settled and prepared for the challenge.

“with the amount of things i have to do, han, this is the least of my worries.”

“stop bantering like a married couple, we get it.”

just kyujin’s comment alone says a lot about the pair’s dynamic.

the behind the scenes showed y/n wrapping her arm around hanni’s waist as they watched kyujin and haerin do the challenge with cat paw gloves. looking like a married couple and adoring their children who are having fun and playing around.

married couple for real, i don’t make the rules

clip 6: last one, gucci milan fashion week

blonde hanni has made her appearance during milan fashion week, with that many cameras, it was no surprise that many would capture y/n’s reaction to it. as hanni made her entrance before y/n, walking inside the venue being followed by the nmixx member who didn’t recognize the girl right away.

“y/n! have you seen hanni?” the idol smiled as she gave the signed cd back to its rightful owner and shook her head as a response.

“sadly, i haven’t seen her.”

“Y/N!”

the nmixx member turned around to see hanni walking towards her along with her bodyguards behind. y/n seemed frozen in the clip, touching hanni’s hair and jaw dropped being aware that it’s the real deal. putting hanni’s hair behind her ear as y/n admired the girl, forgetting they’re in a public area and people are taking videos of the interaction.

“wow…”

“you like what you see?” y/n nodded as hanni hugged her and the fans were losing it. the two continued on with their interaction with fans, even taking pics.

if these two aren’t dating, i’ve lost all faith in the world.

bonus clip: y/n’s birthday live

y/nbunny: unnie, did any of your friends greet you?

y/n is seen looking at her manager if she can talk about it. her smile got brighter as if she got approval to talk about idols that weren’t under the same company.

“yeah, quite a lot greeted me but you know that feeling when you’re waiting for a specific person to greet you?”

the chat flooded with agreement, some were talking about their experience and y/n could only laugh at the comments.

“i’m waiti-” y/n looked down on her phone where she read comments and fell quiet. looking at her manager for confirmation, sliding her phone towards them.

yoothebest: what do you think she got?

hae_stressed_won: im worried for y/n

bae_stie: maybe its a surprise???

lily.potter: lmao imagine if it’s the person she’s waiting for

tricksterynn: IMAGINE ITS AN IDOL COMING OVER

“sorry about that, just had some technical difficulties. going back, yeah i’m wai-” the lights turned off and y/n looked up and out. “i can’t even finish my statement without something interrupting me.”

the abrupt singing of happy birthday from the staff startled y/n but what surprised her more was the person holding the cake and placing it on the table. her mouth moving with now a brighter smile on her face.

anyone who can’t lipread, y/n just said what are you doing here. han?

“i- uh- wow. there’s a note.” y/n showed the camera the two notes, one from newjeans and the other from nmixx. her smile brighter than before and looking at the staff.

there’s no confirmation whether it actually is hanni, but just the cake and a brighter smile after that. they’re my parents, i want them to stay that way.

END.

the video ended just at the right time as the plane was about to leave. y/n put her headphones on as watched the scenery change from her seat, patiently waiting to see and greet hanni for her birthday, just to surprise the girl.

taglist: [CLOSED]

@lesbianslovesminji @sserajeans @trsrina @invusblog @haerinstolemyhrt @txtbrainrot @ddenoudepression @cfvgbhndun-new-blog @lcv3lies @rd0265667 @somsomishy @dream-chasers-things @captivq @limbforalimb @dmndtears @buuhsworld @oshyci @ksnu @falling-intoo-deep @sserafimez @hyukasverse @forever-in-the-sky2 @cixl-writes @wolfimini @j-wyoung @jisooftme @justme-idle @myahwritesss @paranoxic @edamboon @iluvhanni1

[rory-multifandom-mess]

My Thad Headcanons

Because I'm so totally autism about him, you have no IDEA

.

.

.

I took this from a fic I read, but Thad runs warm. By this I mean his cooling system likes to malfunction every now and then and he has to throw himself into a bunch of icepacks until it works again. If he overheats, he’ll shut down so it systems can cool down much like a phone would

He's self conscious about his sharp canines, but not in the sense that he’s constantly thinking about it. It’s more like a “if i look at myself in the mirror and see my smile, I’m going to remember they’re there and be like ‘oh. that’s not right.’” Because of his insecurity with his sharp teeth, he refuses to go to the dentist

The fact Uzi had a crush on him before meeting N absolutely flew over his head (he’s stupid)

He likes girls AND boys

Ever since the fight with J and V in the pilot, he coughs up oil on occasion. Basically; Worker Drones are stupid and don’t know anything about their own anatomy, so instead of trying to fix the internal damage, they just welded his wounds closed, so now he’s just perpetually internally bleeding

He heals pretty quickly and has a high pain tolerance (entirely because he’s a sports player, and also he heals quick because of the fact he runs warm)

Sometimes he’ll get nightmares about the attack with V and J and also when Solver yonk’d his ass in episode 2. These fucked him up for a little while after and he couldn’t sleep very well, but they’re not as big of a problem anymore

His room is usually surprisingly neat and full of trophies and medals and other various sports memorabilia

Gets really competitive during football matches, but has really good sportsmanship <3 like he’ll be screaming shit during the match and then he’ll lose and to the other team he’s like “good job guys you absolutely rocked it out there, but we’ll beat you next time i’m sure of it >:)” he likes a lil friendly competition

Thad and Lizzy are twins but he’s younger than her by like 2 minutes. She teases him for this. In retaliation, he teases her because he’s taller (by 1 inch)

Sometimes they get in trouble for ‘bullying” each other, but every time they do, Lizzy just says “Siblings are fair game!” and Thad nods

I think he says “no problemo” a lot. He also says other silly phrases like "Okie Dokie Artichokie" and calling things "Rad" and ironically saying" tubular." Lizzy says "This isn't the 80's" and then he responds with "Well the 80s were sick as heck dude so I don't care"

He's a morning person

Listens to highly energetic songs without paying attention to the lyrics, so he’ll listen to the most like. Innapropriate songs without even realizing it just because they’re bops

Gets dating advice from Ron (the drone at the door from episode 2 for those who forget the bg characters)

Yk how people will throw food like popcorn into the air and then catch it in their mouths? yeah he’s really good at that

Sometimes when he can’t sleep he goes out and plays basketball by himself. tires him out so he can eep

Has a nice singing voice, but he doesn’t think he does (i’m projecting)

He doesn’t like to swear, but sometimes jokingly says “I will swear word at you” to his friends

If he’s holding something, he’ll start idly just flip it in the air and catch it over and over. subconsciously too, he just does that

He also plays Soccer and Basketball

Sometimes when someone grabs him unexpectedly, he’ll flinch a little (thanks solver). This usually only happens if he’s been spacing out or doesn’t see the person who grabbed him at first

Chill until someone messes with Lizzy. Then he will fight. Though she’s one of the popular girls so it doesn’t happen often

Weak to flirting; he gets flustered easily. Yet he’s a total flirt when he likes someone and is comfortable enough around them

I like to think Thad gets hurt a lot because he’s a fucking football player and usually he doesn’t get it fixed because it’s normal, but Lizzy and/or Uzi will yell at him to get it fixed because it could fuck with the strength of his casing

One time Thad said “Bite me” to Uzi and she just looked at him like a smug cat while he had a moment

Sometimes he’ll try to hide in his collar when he’s flustered (it never works)

He, Lizzy, and Doll were a trio of best friends (Until Doll's Solver infection started getting really bad and began distancing herself from the other two)

[99hook]

Risky Business | Part One

Your family’s restaurant is on the verge of shutting down, so you make a dangerous deal with the loan sharks in town and find yourself in some sticky situations

Warnings: angst, violence, one non explicit death (mob!au so it may not be for everyone)

this will be a series

You heard your parents bickering like usual, but once you entered the kitchen, they both went mute. You already knew what it was all about. The restaurant had been on the verge of collapse for nearly a month now and despite every attempt in the book to pick business back up, you were still struggling to keep it afloat.

You awkwardly avoided their eyes as you slipped past your dad and grabbed a stack of foam cups to stock out front. The tensions were thick enough to cut with a knife, but you had a plan to save the restaurant that they didn’t know about, and you weren’t going to tell them until you pulled it off.

You just hoped it didn’t mean you’d be putting your life on the line in the process.

You quickly left the kitchen and heard the echos of their voices pick up again. All you heard for the last month was them screaming at each other over the bills they couldn’t pay, the inventory they’re losing because they simply can’t afford to keep the restaurant stocked, and now your dad is ready to up and sell the place, even though it was supposed to stay in the family for generations to come.

You couldn’t stand seeing your family fall apart over this. Your mom and dad put their blood, sweat and tears into getting the place up and running and you left college to help them out. There was too much invested to simply let it slip right through your fingers, so you came up with a plan that you were putting into action as soon as you clock out.

You quickly stocked the cups and and silverware over by the drink station and headed back into the kitchen. Once again, when your parents heard your footsteps, they went mute but you already knew the second you leave they’d be right back at it.

You peeked through the door and said, “I’m heading out. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Have a good day, sweetie.” Your mom called out to you.

“Love you.” Your dad added.

You hurriedly clocked out, noticing that it was already two and you needed to be on the other side of town in less than half an hour, and you knew if you showed up late you wouldn’t even be considered by Mr. Senerchia.

You felt your stomach twisting into tight knots and had to force yourself to take a few deep breaths once you got on the road. The gps was telling you where to go but your heart beating in your ears was making it hard to hear.

You never thought you’d be doing something like this, but you didn’t think you had another choice. You knew the reputation this man upholds and wouldn’t dare crossing paths with him under any other circumstances.

You pulled up in front of a brick apartment complex twenty-two minutes later with only eight minutes to spare and took a second to look in the mirror, attempting to make yourself presentable despite the fact that you looked like you hadn’t slept in days.

You remembered the instructions given to you by Mr. Senerchia over the phone. Go into the complex, take the first set of stairs to the second floor and wait. He’ll send someone to come get you.

You took a deep breath before sliding out the car and heading in. Your knees felt like they were going to give out from under you each step you took but you tried to push past that.

You walked through the door and the staircase was right in front of it, so you did as you remembered and headed up to the second floor.

There were four doors, two on each side and another set of stairs. You could hear distant conversations being had behind one of those closed doors and rock music behind another.

You glanced down at your phone and had only two minutes left before you were supposed to be meeting with the loan shark and debated whether or not you should call him so he knows you’re there, but before you had to think about it too much, you heard some footsteps descending the stairs and looked up from your phone to see a tall, messy haired guy coming down.

You took a step to the side to let him pass you, but he stopped on the last step.

“Y/N?” He asks in a low, almost hushed tone.

You nodded back and slid your phone in your pocket. He tilted his head to the side slightly and eyed you with a look that left you feeling a bit judged.

You felt nervous under his gaze but tried to hide it. He simply nodded his head towards the stairs and started making his way back up, and you followed behind him.

He lead you to a door off to the right and pulled some keys out of his hoodie pocket to open it. You waited for him to step inside and wave you in. You felt like any wrong move could be detrimental.

He silently started heading through the apartment. You could easily tell that it wasn’t anyone’s home. There was no couches or tvs, the only source of furniture were a few fold out chairs aligned along the walls.

You followed him down a short hall until he stopped at a door and knocked in a specific pattern. You heard a deep voice on the other side call him in and felt your stomach twist into those tight knots all over again.

He opened the door and walked in, catching it with the tips of his fingers to hold it for you and you took that as your invite.

You stepped into a small office that you never would’ve expected would be in that bare apartment, but you supposed with the things this man does, it has to be as low-key as possible.

You knew the man behind the desk wearing a sharp black suit and orange tie had to be Mr. Senerchia. The guy in the hoodie stepped around the desk, standing off to the side with his hand clasped over his wrist, watching you.

Mr. Senerchia lifted his eyes from something he was writing down, his shades so dark you couldn’t even see the formation of his eyes behind them. He dropped his pen and stood up, shooting a warm smile but it didn’t make you feel any less anxious.

“Ah, Y/N, glad you could make it.” He greets you, extending his hand for you to shake. “Please, have a seat.”

You tried to hide your nervousness as you sat down in one of the two chairs in front of his desk. You took a deep breath and forced a smile.

“So, if I remember our conversation correctly, you’re here about your family’s restaurant, no?” He asked, clasping his hands together atop the desk.

“Yes sir.” You nod.

“And what’s going on with that?” He asks.

“We’re struggling to stay afloat.” You answered honestly, trying not to show the sadness that admitting it caused you. “We’ve tried a lot of things but we just can’t… we can’t afford it anymore.”

“I see.” His voice lowered. “That’s a shame. I used to go to that restaurant back in the day. Your dad made the best philly in town.” He half-smiles.

You nodded back and looked down at your thumbs nervously twiddling in your lap.

“That’s the thing, Mr. Senerchia. My parents put everything into that place and I just can’t sit by and watch it fall apart. My dad’s considering selling it to the Mercado’s and… That’s just something I can’t stand to let happen. It was supposed to be passed down to me, and my kids if I ever have them. It’s supposed to stay in the family.”

He rubbed his hand over his beard as he processed your words. The warm smile on his face was wiped away and a straight frown was left in its place.

“I see.” He taps his fingers against the desk. “Let me ask you this. Say you had the funds to keep the business going. How would you sustain it? Money doesn’t last forever, it runs out fast if you don’t have a way to keep rejuvenating it.”

“We lost most of our customers because we couldn’t afford inventory. We had to tell people that we were out of almost everything except sandwiches at one point. If we can start keeping the place stocked up again, we’ll have our business back on track.”

He nodded once before he leaned back in his seat and clasped his hands behind his head, slightly swiveling his chair.

“What caused the tight funds in the first place?” He asked, and you felt the sudden guilt in the pit of your stomach.

“I wanted to go to college.” You lowly said, dropping your eyes down to the desk. “I didn’t want to run the business at one point. I wanted to be a nurse instead, so they used their savings to put me through school… but I left when the business started failing to help them try to keep it afloat. Since it was my fault they were struggling in the first place.”

You looked back up at him, seeing your poor reflection in his glasses once again. He didn’t speak for a moment, and you nervously anticipated his next words while you waited on his response.

He leaned back up and folded his arms over the desk, looking down at the pen he set aside earlier.

Your eyes wandered over to the guy standing beside the desk, but instantly looked away when you noticed his eyes were still trained on you.

“I tell you what.” Mr. Senerchia says as he taps the pen against the wooden desktop. “I admire your loyalty to your family. I tell my son all the time that a family business can’t run without that.” He points over at the guy and you collect the new information.

“And since I can see that you’re being genuine about this… I’ll grant you the funds to get the joint back on its feet. Now, before you get too excited, I have some stipulations to that-“ He holds up his hand and you quickly feel your hopes shattering.

“I don’t expect this money back immediately. Truthfully, I’m a bit nervous about this deal, given the fact that the restaurant industry is always a gamble. I won’t add interest to this loan, if-“ he points, capitalizing on the stipulation, “once the business is in your name, you give us ten percent of the profits. That’s it. Pay me back weekly as you’re able to, and give me a cut for my leniency.”

You weren’t sure how that would ever work out. The business wouldn’t be in your name until your parents retire from it, and you weren’t even sure how long that was going to be. On top of that, with the shakiness of it right now, you knew it wasn’t guaranteed that the restaurant would even be running in the next ten years.

“I- Mr. Senerchia as much as I want to accept your offer, I have a couple concerns.” Your voice trembled slightly.

“Voice them.” He nodded, leaning back in the seat and crossing his arms.

“For one, this business won’t be in my name for a while. My parents are signing it over when they retire and Im not sure when that’s gonna be. And with the way things have been, I don’t even know if there will be a business a couple years down the road. I know I can pay you back regardless whether or not we sustain for a long time, but I don’t know if I can shake hands on giving you a cut when I don’t even truly know if we’ll still be in business.”

“That’s the thing about making a big deal. You gotta be willing to do whatever it is you need to do to uphold your end of the bargain.” He says. “Your family’s restaurant has the potential to be one of the best on that side of town. If I can see the opportunity for growth, then I don’t see a reason why it won’t happen.”

You nodded back, pondering his words.

“How about this.” He reasons, “I loan you the money and get the word out about the joint. I bring the business to you. You give me twenty percent once it’s in your name.”

You blinked twice and calculated in your head how much that would be.

“If I can assure you that business will start booming quickly, and your family won’t be troubled with this no more, do we have a deal?”

He extends his hand with another grin, and you didn’t feel like you had much time to think on it before you were shaking it.

He stood up and you stood up with him, letting his hand go after a moment.

“I’ll let Hook go over everything with you.” He says as he picks up a folder and steps around his desk.

“Thank you, Mr. Senerchia.” You say, hoping you didn’t sound as nervous as you were feeling.

“Please, call me Taz from now on. Looking forward to doing business with you, kid.”

He exits the room and leaves you with the guy who’d been silently staring at you the entire time, who you now knew the name of. Or the street name most likely.

He sits down in his dad’s chair and opens a drawer off to the side, pulling out a stack of papers.

You watched him read some things and write his signature on a couple dotted lines as you sat there in the awkward silence.

He slid some papers off to the side and stacked them neatly in his hands, then he looked up at you with that same, perplexed expression he had since you encountered him on the second floor.

“You sure you know what you’re getting yourself into?” He surprised you when he asked, nearly making a chill run down your spine.

“I- yes.” You stammered, internally kicking yourself for it.

His dark eyes stayed trained on you for another moment before he glanced down at the papers in his hand.

“I’m not sure you do.” He muttered. “We don’t usually make deals with people like you. I’m surprised my dad didn’t tell you to leave the second he saw you, honestly.”

You felt offended by that, knitting your brows back at him, but too nervous to ask him what meant by that. Your reaction made him further explain, anyway.

“This is a serious business we run. We deal with shit that you probably wouldn’t even know the first thing about. Not family restaurants on the verge of foreclosure type shit.”

You stared back at him, a bit appalled to say the very least. He placed the stack of papers down and leaned up in the seat, zoning in on you.

“I’m only telling you this because serious shit requires serious repercussions if you can’t keep your word. My dad might have cut you a sweet deal but there’s always fine print when you read between the lines. You might be biting off more than you can chew and if that’s the case” he slides his tongue between his lips and raises his brows back at you, “you’re gonna put yourself and your family in jeopardy.”

His words turned your blood to ice, swallowing thickly as you stared back into his cold, dark eyes.

“So ima ask you one last time. You sure about this?” it was almost as if it were a fatal warning, but you nodded back at him, watching as his lips folded in and he shook his head slightly.

He took one of those sheets and slid it across to desk, spinning it to face you and placing the pen down on top of it.

His finger landed on the first paragraph and he went on to explain what you were signing.

“This is stating that you won’t use our name in any of your statements. If you’re ever asked, cops of anybody, you got the money from anywhere else.” He says, then points to the dotted line that required your signature, and you nodded as you signed it.

“This is stating that you will pay the full amount back in the timeframe that you and my dad discussed.” He points, and you sign there too.

“Sign here and here.” He adds.

He slid the pages off to the side as you signed them and then you came to the last page underneath the stack.

“This is stating that you understand the… consequences if you fail to uphold your end of the deal.” He slowly speaks, and you look back at him.

“We didn’t go over the consequences.” You were scared to say.

He eyed you for a second before he leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms tightly over his chest.

“It’s clear you’re not familiar with how this works. That’s why I asked if you even know what you’re doing right now.”

“I’m just trying to save my family’s business.” You snapped, even though catching a slight attitude with the shark’s son was probably the stupidest thing you could’ve done.

“You won’t have a family business if you fuck up. Or a fucking family. I’m just trying to make sure you get that.” his voice was stronger, more rough than it was before.

You sat there staring back at him, failing to process the words that he just spoke. You were pretty sure he just admitted that they kill people, but that was something you already somewhat figured thanks to the fact that multiple murders seem to somehow get tied to this family, yet they always go down as cold cases.

He composed himself a bit and leaned forward, holding that strong stare on you as he spoke.

“Look. You can back out right now. I’ll tell my dad you changed your mind before the papers were signed and take all the heat for it. No ties to this whatsoever.”

You were on the verge of accepting that offer, but you knew this was your only hope for your family. You hesitated, but shook your head and signed along the last dotted line before sliding the paper back to him, feeling like you’d just signed your soul to the devil.

“You and your dad have my word and my signature on that. I might not look like someone who can keep my word, but I assure you I am.”

He pursed his lips before he stacked the pages up and opened the drawer off to the side, filing them away.

“But I want my family left out of this, please.” You pipe back up, causing him to still with his hands in the drawer. “They don’t know I’m doing this and they never would’ve let me come here if I told them. They have nothing to do with this. I don’t want them having any part of it.”

He slowly sat back up and shook his head at you, balling his fist over his lips as he ran out of patience.

“You don’t get to call the shots here, Y/N. That’s what you’re not understanding. If you fuck up, that’s it. It’s done. My dad might seem like a nice guy, but the man doesn’t play about his money. He’s not gonna care about you or your family if you fuck him over. This isn’t small business shit. This is your debt to my family’s company.”

You took in his every word with complete and utter fear sinking into your heart, but by this point you felt so deep in that you couldn’t change your mind.

You were so close to having exactly what you needed to save your family’s business and you weren’t going to let that slip, even if it meant doing drastic things to make it happen.

“I understand.” You quietly say, staring just as intently into his eyes as he was yours.

He didn’t break eye contact for a couple seconds, and you held your breath until he finally dropped his eyes down to the desk.

He silently got up from the seat and walked out the door, coming back a couple moments later with a briefcase in hand.

He placed it down in front of you and put the code in.

“It’s 0504” he muttered, “don’t change it. i’ll be coming to get this back when I collect your first payment.”

He opens the top and reveals the neat stacks of hundreds before you.

“30K” he says. “Count it if you want to.”

You took his word for it though, and inside he was checking off another reason on the list as to why you weren’t cut out for doing business like this. You always count the fucking money.

He eyed you for a moment before he closed the top and reset the code, then walked back around to sit in the seat.

“Ill let you know before I come to collect. We’ll arrange to meet somewhere next week. You can see yourself out.” he quickly excused you, nodding towards the door.

Again, you were unsure how to respond so you simply grabbed the briefcase and stood up, but that’s when he stood up too.

“Actually, i’ll walk you out. You’re carrying a briefcase full of money. let me see it.” He holds out his hand and you pass it to him.

He heads for the door and you follow behind him, letting him lead you out the apartment as he keeps the briefcase close to his side.

He stops when he steps out onto the sidewalk and looks at your car parked out front.

“Next time park in the back.” He mutters before he heads towards it.

You fumble with your keys to click the unlock button and pop the trunk, and he places the briefcase down before he slams it shut.

He steps back onto the sidewalk and looks you over one last time, and again, you couldn’t quite tell what the hell he was thinking, and he wasn’t willing to give you any clues either.

He silently made his way back to the complex, looking to both sides of him to make sure nobody had wandering eyes.

“Next week.” He reminds you when he reaches the door, keeping his back turned to you.

“I know.” You say before you make your way around the the drivers side door.

————

Later that night after he got back from a couple collects, Hook stopped by his dad’s office to deliver the money, and to also have a discussion about the girl he signed a deal with earlier.

He knocked in a code and his dad called him in. He pulled a wad of cash out of his hoodie pocket and tossed it on the desk before sitting down in the seat in front of it.

“That Michael dude didn’t have the full amount. Told him i’ll be back for the rest tomorrow.” He tells his dad, who stops writing to look at the cash set in front of him.

“How much did he have this time?” He asks with clear aggravation.

“Three fifty”

Taz wipes his hand down his face and grabs the cash, slipping the rubberband off and tossing it to the side as he fans out the money.

“This is the second time, Tyler.” He cuts his eyes at his son. “You know I don’t let shit slide twice.”

“He said his kid needed new clothes for school. He gets paid tomorrow and we’ll get the rest.”

“And if we don’t?” Taz was running out of patience. He had no sympathy for the excuses.

“Then i’ll handle him.” Tyler keeps his eyes held on his dad, ensuring that he’ll keep his word.

“You should’ve handled him today.” He gravely speaks. “if that money isn’t sitting on my desk by six o’clock tomorrow, i don’t want to hear no more excuses for the man. get rid of him.”

Tyler swallowed thickly, but nodded back. Taz went back to filling out a form until his son asked him a question that he wasn’t expecting.

“Do you think making that deal with the restaurant girl was a good idea?”

Taz looks up, and Tyler can see his tense jaw reflecting in his shades.

“Why do you ask?”

“We don’t usually do shit like that. It’s a small business on the verge of shutting down.” He explains.

“If it does, it does.” Taz shrugs his shoulder. “I’m gonna bring what I can to the table, if it succeeds then great. If it doesn’t, you’ll deal with that.”

But that’s what Tyler was secretly concerned about. He knew that if all else failed and y/n couldn’t uphold her end of the deal, it wasn’t Taz who was going to be making her face the consequences. It was him.

“I don’t think she knew what she was doing.” He blurts out. “I don’t see that restaurant going anywhere. She basically signed her life away and she doesn’t know it.”

Taz removed his glasses and set them down, staring back at his son.

“What are you getting at, son?” his aggravation was getting stronger by the minute.

“I’m just saying I don’t think it was the right choice.” Tyler admitted, even though he hardly ever went against his dad’s decisions.

Taz’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Maybe it wasn’t, maybe it was. She signed the contract and took the money, did she not? Too late to go back now.”

“I still don’t think she should’ve even been considered.” Tyler argues, and it was then that Taz lost all patience.

“Well it’s not your choice to make, Tyler.” His voice deepens, “When I sign this business over to you, then you can call all the shots. Right now, you’re here to learn the way I expect this company to run when I can no longer keep it going. You’re not here to tell me how to run it.”

Tyler clamped his mouth shut, gritting his teeth behind his lips.

“We done here?” Taz asked, and Tyler wordlessly nodded tightly before he got up from his chair and left the room.

He went back down to his apartment on the second floor where his boys were waiting.

The blunt Andretti rolled just started getting passed between the three of them when Tyler walked in.

“Yo” Darius called out to him, and Tyler walked over to the couch and took a seat next to Anthony.

“You good?” Andretti asked when he picked up on his energy.

Tyler leaned back against the cushions and pulled the collar of his hoodie up some, nodding, but not saying anything back.

They all knew when he was in a bad mood it was best to leave him alone about whatever it was that pissed him off, so nobody asked questions, and simply passed him the blunt out of rotation.

He took a couple hits and held the smoke in his lungs until he felt the burn in his chest, then exhaled it above his head.

Anthony and Darius started talking about the cars they had their eyes on and debated which vehicle models were better, but Tyler couldn’t pay any attention to the conversation.

He took two more hits and passed the blunt to his left, then stared down at the coffee table littered with cigar packs, weed crumbs and empty plastic bags while he pondered his dad’s words echoing through his mind.

————

Taz wasted no time getting the word out about the restaurant. Within just a span of five days, every table in the building was full.

Your dad walked in a little after eight, and you’d already been serving and preparing orders since six. He took one look at how packed it was and his eyes widened.

“What? Where did all these people come from?” He asks, “How are they all eating? We don’t have nearly enough inventory to feed them.”

You finished writing down a couple reminders for table six on your notepad while you conjured up something you could say.

Your mom walked through the door a couple seconds later and had the same astonishment on her face. They hadn’t had business that steady in months.

“Where did these customers come from?” She asks, and her and your dad both waited on your reply.

“They just came in out of nowhere. I don’t know, but isn’t it great?” You sent a smile, but they didn’t know what to think.

“Well… Yeah, it’s amazing but how are they all- how did you manage to-“

“Dad, Mom, I’m just gonna be honest. I used some of my savings to replenish this place, okay? I don’t want to hear anything else about it. The business is steady and we’ve made more money this morning than we’ve made in the last week.”

You tried to leave it at that in the case that they’d be able to call your bullshit, but they followed you back to the kitchen.

“Y/n, what do you mean you spent your savings on this? You know we never want you to use your own money to clean up mine and your dad’s mess.”

You could see the pain behind your mom’s eyes and it killed you inside.

“This is my business one day too.” You remind them, making sure to look both of them in the eyes. “Dad was talking about selling it to the Mercado’s and I couldn’t just sit here and let that happen. I love this place just as much as you do. I did this for our family.”

You could see that they had no idea what to say, but the gratitude in their eyes spoke volumes.

At least that part wasn’t a lie. You did do this for the family, but they just didn’t know the half of what you had done.

“We will talk about this later.” Your dad gruffly states before he wraps his arm around your shoulder and pulls you into his side. It was a silent thank you and you knew that.

“Love you dad.” You muttered, “And you, mom.”

Your mom joined in on the quick group hug before it was time to tackle the task at hand. You headed back out to check on some tables and they both headed towards the grill to start cooking the orders you had pinned to the board.

By the time seven o’clock rolled around, business only just started slowing down.

You counted the register down and calculated how much you made in just over twelve hours.

You figured if you could keep this up, you’d have Taz paid off in no time.

————

Tyler’s gloved grip around the steering wheel was tight as he sped away from the bridge.

He kept glancing in the rear view, paranoid that he was being followed even though he made sure nobody was around when the act took place.

He ground his teeth as he took a few backroads back to the complex to make double sure that he was covering his tracks.

The sound of the splash when the body hit the water was echoing in his mind and he couldn’t put a stop to it. He could feel it eating him alive from the inside out and made a note to get as drunk as fucking possible when he gets back to his apartment.

He pulled around back and stayed in the car for another few minutes just trying to recollect himself, but he failed at doing so.

There was a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach, something along the lines of gut wrenching guilt and hatred towards himself but he knew just like all the other times he’s felt it before, he couldn’t let it get to him.

This was just business, as his dad always says.

He slowly made his way in through the back door and up to Taz’s office. He knocked in code again and didn’t bother stepping in when his dad said to.

“It’s done.” He muttered, about to shut the door and head down to his apartment but Taz stopped him.

“Tyler” he made him pause before the door fully shut, hanging his head. “Let’s uh.. Let’s talk, son.”

He didn’t want to and that much was clear to Taz, but he knew how Tyler gets when he has to handle people. He always tries to avoid it, but that only leads to the business losing money and sometimes the consequences have to be faced for that.

Tyler sunk down in the chair and kept his eyes trained on his mud stained shoes. Taz walked over to one of the cabinets on the far side of the room and pulled out a bottle of Bourbon along with two glasses.

Tyler glanced up when he heard the clink of the glass against the wooden desktop and watched his dad pour his to the brim before sliding it over.

He hesitated for a moment but he knew that was the one thing he needed above all else tonight, and wasted no time downing that entire glass and sliding it back for another round.

“I know these things are tough on you-“ Taz says as he fills the glass. “It’ll get easier with time.”

But Tyler wasn’t entirely sure about that. He couldn’t imagine being cold and ruthless like his dad. As much as he wished he could flip a switch turn his humanity off, he couldn’t. He’s tried and failed miserably.

“You got your mother’s heart.” He chuckles. “That’s not a bad thing, but it’s not gonna work if you plan to take over this business one day. You know that already though.”

Tyler silently listens, but the sound of the splash keeps washing over his dad’s words every time it comes back to haunt him.

“You didn’t kill the guy.” Taz shrugs. “If he’s lucky enough he’ll regain consciousness before he drowns. You just… you just knocked him out and… well, he lost his footing and fell over the bridge.”

Tyler felt sick at those words. He knew that wasn’t true and couldn’t ever understand how his dad could falsify the events like that.

Michael wasn’t coming up for air. He was knocked out cold with the brass knuckles stuffed in Tyler’s back pocket. He watched him sink. He was dead and there was no justifiable way around that.

But he didn’t argue with his dad. He simply sat there and downed another shot until he felt his body start to buzz.

“Just business son.” Taz reminded him for the millionth time. “Don’t take it to heart.”

————

You woke up bright and early, ready to tackle another day at the restaurant. You knew that at some point Hook would be getting in contact with you and something about that made you feel a little nervous, but you tried to avoid it.

You had a good bit of money ready for him that you kept stashed away in his briefcase in your trunk. After deducting everything for inventory and bills for the next few months and hoping you were calculating everything accurately, you managed to have a good chunk left over to go towards your debt to them.

Your parents were already at the restaurant preparing breakfast orders. For the first time in a while, they had smiles on their faces when they talked to each other.

They noticed you when you walked in and waved you into the kitchen.

“We’re going to pay you back every penny.” Your mom says. “How much did it take to make this happen? Your dad is going keep track of how much we owe you.”

You shook your head though, already knowing that you were the one who handled the profits and you were already taking cuts to pay Taz back in the first place. The last thing you needed was for them to figure that out.

“I don’t need the money back. It wasn’t much, and I don’t care. I’ll make it back working here.” You offered a convincing smile but your dad shook his head.

“Absolutely not.” He says. “You used money that should’ve been put towards a new car or house, anything else but here. We are paying you back. Just give us a price and we’ll take it out of the monthly profits.”

“No.” You quickly blurted, but tried to recompose yourself. “I’ll just.. If you’re not gonna budge on this, i’ll take out a couple hundred each month until I get the money back. Sound good?”

They both eyed each other but then shrugged, accepting it. You felt a little bit of relief, but not much. Lying to them was never something that you were good at. Nine times out of ten your mom always found out everything without even trying to. But this wasn’t something you could let them get into and you knew that.

A few hours later, you felt your phone buzz in your pocket while you were pouring some glasses of tea and nearly dropped the entire pitcher.

“Shit” you muttered under your breath as you scrambled to take the phone out.

On the screen was a message from an unknown number that had an off the wall area code but you knew exactly who it was.

106 clarkson drive. 3pm.

You didn’t know whether or not you were supposed to say anything back so you left the message on read and pulled the address up on the gps.

It was nothing but trees it looked like, and nearly forty minutes away from you. You were unsure how to feel about that. Part of you kind of wanted to be sick, but there was no reason, right? You had the money ready.

It was already almost two and you had to think fast for a reason why you needed to leave early. It was the dead middle of lunch rush and you weren’t sure how your parents were going to react, but you didn’t have a choice.

“Hey” you called over to your dad. “I’m gonna leave in about fifteen minutes, but i’ll be back. I just- Skye called and she’s having some issues with Kyle and really needs me.”

“Awe” Your mom comes up from behind. “I love those two together. I hope they work it out.”

“I’m sure they will.” You sent a smile. “But you know, I just need to be there for her. I won’t be out all day and when I get back, I’ll stay late and close so you guys can go and do something. Maybe go on a date?”

Your dad laughed at that as he prepared a philly.

“Don’t worry about it.” Your mom tells you. “You’ve been showing up at the crack of dawn every morning. Go take the rest of the day off. Your dad and I will be fine.”

You felt relief at the success of yet another lie, and thanked them before you stocked the front and clocked out.

You were getting that familiar twist in your stomach again once you pulled out of the parking lot. Your hands were clammy, smearing sweat against the steering wheel as you headed towards a location you were unfamiliar with, to meet a man you may or may not have feared a little.

You tried to keep reminding yourself that everything was fine. You had the money you needed to give him and there was no reason for anything horrible to happen to you.

But Hook gave you the feeling that he could be unpredictable at the same time. He wasn’t someone you wanted to piss off, and you knew that.

You turned on a beaten down dirt road and noticed that there was nothing but thick woods around for miles when you checked the gps.

You were only two minutes away from this destination and wished you could simply just drop that briefcase off in the middle of the road and tell him to come pick it up after you bolt out of there, but obviously that wasn’t an option.

A sleek black car was parked off to side in a sandy spot and you recognized Hook when he stepped out with his hood over his head.

You felt your heart race and pulled off the dirt road, parking behind him before you popped the trunk and opened your door.

He was slowly walking towards your car with his hands tucked in his pocket. His hair was falling over his eyes, so you couldn’t see them.

You tried to keep your hands from trembling as you pulled the briefcase out of the trunk, and he looked both ways to make sure nobody was around, even though you were out in the middle of nowhere.

You closed the trunk and set the briefcase on top, about to put in the code he told you a week ago, but his hand slammed on top of it.

You jumped back from him, and he silently grabbed the case and spun it towards him, putting the code in himself.

“I doubt you would have a gun in here, but I don’t know you like that.” He mutters, explaining his previous actions as he opens the top and looks down at the cash stacked.

“Two thousand.” You inform him, and see his eyes glance over at you before he takes the first stack out and starts counting for himself.

You watched nervously. You know you counted and recounted that money at least ten times but what if you made a mistake? Then you lied to the shark’s son.

He could hear your uneven breathing and as he reached down to grab a second stack, he asked, “You nervous?”

You felt your chest tighten, holding your breath until your blood rushed to your head. He didn’t look back over at you, continuing to count the money in hand.

He placed another stack down and moved on to the next one, tilting his head to the side as he quickly counted that one too, but slowed down when he reached the last bill.

You felt your body stiffen, wishing you would’ve counted one more time to make sure it was all there. He went back through that stack once again and pulled out one of the bills, placing it in the last stack.

You watched with confusion as he counted that one too, and again one more time before he took another single hundred out of the combined and passed it over to you.

You looked down at it, then up at him.

“A little over.” He muttered. “unless you want me to add this to it.”

You nodded back and he eyed you for a second before he tossed the bill lazily in the briefcase and closed it.

You felt a slight bit of relief but knew you wouldn’t be fully in the clear until you left him and that dirt road all together.

“Count more carefully next time.” He tells you. “If my dad was the one collecting he probably wouldn’t have told you it was over. But you would’ve known if you were short.”

Your blood ran cold at those words and all you could do was nod back, hoping that this encounter was about to be over.

He grabs the case and tucks it under his arm before he turns around and leans against the side of your car.

You can see his face better when he pushes his hair out of it, and from the looks of the dark circles you didn’t recall seeing before, he must not have been sleeping very well.

You stood there awkwardly, hiding your trembling hands by crossing your arms over your chest, but he already knew you were a nervous wreck.

“Is it the location or just me?” He asks, tilting his head slightly.

“…what?” You weakly asked, and he turned to fully face you, taking one step closer but not getting too close.

“The reason why you’re so scared right now.” He clarified, “Is it the woods, or is it me?”

“it’s- I don’t- I’m not-“

He narrowed his eyes in on you when he watched you fail miserably to produce the words. He didn’t like the affect he was having on you but he wasn’t gonna let you know that.

“You kept your word this week. My dad will be happy, so I’m happy. We’re all happy here.” He says with a dead tone. You didn’t see a single trace of happiness on that man’s face. You weren’t sure he knew what happiness even was.

His eyes were lifeless as they could be. Cold and bone chilling. He had a stern yet somehow emotionless expression each time you looked at him, and you couldn’t ever imagine a smile on his face, either.

“Okay” you whispered simply because you didn’t know what else to say, and he nodded tightly before he took a step back and spun around.

“Next week.” He calls out without glancing back at you.

“Okay.” You shakily say back before you’re finally able to get in your car and drive off.

—————

Taz wasn’t in the office and Tyler knew he wasn’t permitted to be in there without the permission, so he took the briefcase to his apartment and waited for his dad to return the text he sent, letting him know he’s got money waiting.

He slung the case down on the couch and collapsed onto it himself, leaning back against the cushions, staring blankly at the fan spinning on the ceiling.

He kept thinking about how nervous he was when he had to meet up with that restaurant girl earlier. He was worried she wouldn’t have the money, like he expected, and he didn’t know how he’d have to handle that.

It relieved him to no end when he opened up that briefcase and saw that she had more than enough to suffice for the week.

He thought there’d be about two or three hundred dollars at most and even though his dad told her to pay back what she could each week, Tyler knew himself that his dad was not a patient man and wouldn’t be too fond of getting paid in little increments at a time.

That’s why it confused him when he offered that part of the deal in the first place, but he knows what happens when he questions his dad’s decisions.

He waited around for about an hour, then got a text. He grabbed the briefcase and headed up to his dad’s office almost immediately.

He almost wished he could’ve taken a picture of the look that crossed Taz’s face when he saw the stacks of cash.

“Restaurant girl’s collect.” Tyler says as he sits down in the chair. “Twenty-one hundred.”

Taz glanced at his son and nodded, clearly satisfied with the weekly pay.

“Looks like business started booming.” He says as he takes the cash out. “That’s what I appreciate about having connections. Pretty soon they’re gonna have to open a bigger restaurant, and that means more profit for us when it’s signed over to her. if they know how to sustain it.”

Tyler pursed his lips and looked down at the floor. He didn’t know much about that restaurant in the first place and that alone told him that it obviously wasn’t anything special. He didn’t care to have a cut when y/n takes it over but maybe that’ll be so far in the future that his dad won’t even care about it anymore either.

“You know, I was thinking about what you said the other day.” Taz says as he skims through the bills. “About how you didn’t agree with me making a deal on a small family business. You remember.”

“Yeah” Tyler nodded.

“It wasn’t so much the business as it was the girl herself.” Taz tells him. “She really cares about her family. Seems to me like you were wrong when you said she didn’t know what she was doing. I think she did, but her loyalty to her family was more important to her.”

Tyler’s eyes drop down to the desk. He already knew his dad was right about that stubborn girl who just wanted to keep the family’s business afloat, but that didn’t change the fact that she was treading on dangerous territory trying to make it happen.

“I kind of admired that, I won’t lie to you. I really hope she’s able to keep this up.” Taz says as he finishes counting the cash.

Tyler had already pondered all the scenarios that would come if she wasn’t able to, though. Truthfully that was the first thing he thought about the second he saw her.

He knew a girl like her had no business getting involved in anything such as this, but he was pretty sure she didn’t understand that, and for that reason he just didn’t want to bring her up to his dad’s office at all to begin with.

But he realized that she was stubborn as hell when he tried to get her to come to her senses. It wasn’t solely for her, but for him as well, because he didn’t want to have to deal with her after she fails to keep her word.

That’s something that he thinks about quite a bit now, but he won’t tell his dad that. It’ll just be another one of those, you can’t take it to heart lectures that he’ll receive and he’s sick of hearing that shit.

He hopes that everything works out the way restaurant girl and taz agreed on, but he can’t deny the fact that he doesn’t have a lot of faith in that.

————

You were about six hours in to your eight hour shift, feeling the ache in the soles of your feet from constantly being on them all day but you appreciated it nonetheless.

Business was still steady even though it was storming outside and each day that passes, the restaurant doubles it’s money.

You weren’t sure how Taz managed to bring in so many customers but you were thankful for it.

Skye dropped by around seven that evening to grab something to eat to take home to Kyle, but the second you saw her you knew your mom would ask about the problems they’re not even having and had to come up with yet another lie to tell another person.

“Hey” you grabbed her wrist, pulling her off to the side. She looked at you with a concerned look.

“So I had to leave early the other day and I used you as an excuse to my parents” you quickly rambled, “I told them you and Kyle were arguing so you needed me to come hang out with you. Just, if they ask, I was with you all day last Friday.”

Skye’s brows knitted together. “Okay” she draws out. “But where did you have to go that you couldn’t be honest with them?”

You couldn’t be honest with her either though. It was clearly stated in the contract.

“I just had to run some errands and didn’t want them, like, asking where I was at and whatever. Nothing big.” You blurt out, but it was clear as day that she didn’t buy it.

“Do I know these errands?” She smirks.

God you hoped not.

“It was nothing like that.” You rolled your eyes. “Literally just simple shit like getting my car washed and running to the store. I just didn’t tell them cause… I don’t know why. I just didn’t.”

She pursed her lips, eyeing you skeptically and you did your best not to show how nervous that made you feel.

“Hm.” He hums. “If you say so.”

She grabs the bag with her and Kyle’s to go boxes and was just about to turn and leave before your mom just had to walk out from the back last minute.

“Skye!” She greeted her. “It’s been a minute since we saw you. Look at this place, it’s finally picking up huh?”

Your mom flashed her proud smile at you and it left an aching feeling in your heart.

“Yes ma’am, it definitely is.” Skye smiles back. “You guys deserve this so much! Everyone in town should be coming here, honestly. My favorite place to get lunch any day of the week.”

“Awe, you’re sweet.” Your mom says. “You know you don’t have to pay here though. I don’t know why you keep insisting.”

“Doesn’t feel right if I don’t.” Skye shrugs.

Just then, you heard your dad call your mom back into the kitchen and felt an ounce of relief.

“Well I hope we see you again soon honey.” She says, then looks down at you. “You can go ahead and clock out if you want to, also. Your dad and I can take it from here. Go out and do something tonight. You deserve it.”

There was that pain in your heart again. All the pride your mom had for you just extended the guilt you felt, but you knew there was nothing you could do about it. You just had to try to force it away and keep doing what you had to do.

“I think i’ll stay. I don’t have anything to do anyway.” You say before you look back at table nine, who were getting low on their drinks. “Gonna go check on my tables.” You quickly blurted before you walked around the counter.

Skye left right after that, bidding a quick goodbye to your mom before she headed out.

You were over by the drink station refilling some glasses when you caught a glimpse as someone fairly recognizable, even from the back came in and took a seat at the last table.

How you knew it was him before you even got a good look at his face was something you didn’t understand, but you assumed it was the black hoodie you only ever seen him wear.

You tried to avoid making eye contact so maybe he wouldn’t know you noticed him come in until you served drinks to your tables and checked up on some customers, basically just buying yourself time while you wondered why he was even there in the first place.

He was watching you, you could feel it. His stare was burning a hole right through you, and you couldn’t help but to struggle just trying to do your ordinary tasks.

You wrote down one last order and it came out a little bit hard to read, but you turned it in to your dad anyway before you had no other choice but to go approach the last table.

His arms were folded on top of it while he looked around the restaurant, observing. He didn’t look back at you until you slowly approached him, standing a bit at a distance and he noticed that.

“What can I get you to drink?” You asked. It was always the way you start off. You placed a menu down in front of him but he pushed it back towards you, bringing his eyes up to look into yours.

“I’m good.” He gruffly mutters.

You awkwardly picked the menu back up and let the confusion you were feeling wash over your face. You kept your voice to a minimum as you leaned towards him slightly, ensuring that nobody else around would be able to hear you.

“Do I owe you something?”

He simply shook his head, remaining silent.

“Then why are you here?” You managed to ask, but felt like you shouldn’t be asking this man any questions in the first place.

You saw the way his lips pulled slightly to the side. “I’m just seeing what this place is about.” He tells you.

Something about that didn’t sit right with you, but you knew you wouldn’t ask him to leave anyway. He locked his eyes on your dad when he called out a table’s order for you to come pick up.

When you did, he just watched you. Watched how you talked to the customers and how you were clearly unable to focus on anything after talking to him. He watched the people filing out when a party of nine left, and he watched you clean up all the empty plates and cups afterwards.

You felt those eyes on you the entire time, but you didn’t look back at him. You were so nervous under his gaze you couldn’t even keep your hands from shaking until you were out of his sights completely.

You stayed in the back for a while doing some dishes, stalling for time basically.

You were wondering why Hook was even there, and if something bad was meant to happen for some reason. Any time you’re around him you just have this strange feeling of impending doom that you can’t shake.

You knew he was keeping an eye on you, probably to make sure you were doing everything you needed to do to keep the business booming. Considering that you were well over your head in debt to his dad, you could understand that. Still didn’t change the fact that you disliked him even stepping foot in the restaurant, though.

“Go ahead and start closing out front. I’ll handle the rest.” Your mom broke you from your thoughts as she grabbed a plate from your hand that you were barely even washing.

You were reluctant but you knew you couldn’t tell her why, so you stiffly nodded before you grabbed a washcloth and spray and headed back out front.

By this point, the restaurant had cleared out significantly, and the only two tables left were a family of three on one side and Hook on the other.

You wiped down all the tables around the two that were occupied and tried your best not to acknowledge his stare when you were finishing cleaning the table in front of his.

There was only a few things to do before you were able to start breaking down the drink station and officially call it a night, but you weren’t sure if he knew what time you closed or not, considering he was just sitting there pointlessly.

You grabbed a few empty plates from the family of three and took them to the back, dropping them in the sink where your mom was finishing up the last of the dishes.

“What did that guy in the back order?” Your mom asks. You felt your stomach knot up at the mention of him, but kept it as cool as you could on the outside.

“Just a drink.” You lied.

“He’s cute.” She says, like she usually does when an attractive guy who looks to be around your age comes in to the restaurant. She always tries to get you to talk to them, but you don’t know how many times you have to tell her you’re not trying to be in a relationship with anybody right now.

On top of that, Hook wasn’t cute. He definitely wasn’t the sweet, charming guy that she would love for you to bring home for her to meet. He was the one she’d certainly tell you to stay far away from, if she knew the first thing about him.

“Not really.” You tell her before you leave that conversation all together.

When you walked back out front, the heaviness lingering in the air had disappeared, and so did he. It was crazy how his mere presence brought on a shift in the atmosphere that you could immediately feel the weight being lifted when he was gone.

The family of three was just getting up from their table and heading out. You told them to have a great night before you grabbed that washcloth and spray bottle you set down earlier and cleaned off the last table of the night, all the while staring over at the empty seat Hook was sitting in before.

————

Tyler knocked on his dad’s office door around midnight. He was dead tired, but that was usual.

When he was called in, his dad was expectantly waiting, waving him in. He sat down in the chair and tried to keep his eyes from crossing, but he was nearly on the verge of passing out from pure exhaustion, thanks to some things keeping him up at night.

“I stopped by the restaurant.” He mutters.

“And?” Taz urges.

“It’s on the right track.”

Taz nods as he files some papers away in his drawer.

“I expected as much. Gonna have you check in a few times here and there to make sure everything’s straight.” he tells him.

“Don’t you have people doing that already?” Tyler asked. He couldn’t help the aggravation in his tone. He was dragging and grouchy and his dad could see it.

“Yes, but what’s one more?” Taz shrugs. “I prefer all eyes I can get when my money is involved.”

Tyler wanted to roll his eyes but he didn’t. He truthfully wanted no part in any of this when it came to the restaurant girl and the deal his dad had with her. But he knew it wasn’t working that way.

“Still distraught over the other guy?” Taz asked, noting his son’s rather poor condition. The dark bags under his bloodshot eyes were a dead giveaway of the state he was in.

Tyler shook his head dishonestly, and Taz eyed him, choosing not to call his bluff.

“Go get some sleep. Need you in better shape than that in the morning. We got a run to make to the east side of town around nine.”

Tyler was more than just a little displeased to hear that.

“To do what?”

“Starks has an issue we need to help him out with.” Taz informs. “Someone’s been caught snooping around his property.”

Tyler knew what that meant. Another body to get rid of. He didn’t mind it as much since he wasn’t the one taking the life. If anything, it was somehow refreshing. At least he wasn’t being sent to catch the person lurking around.

“Alright.” He lowly speaks as he stands up from his seat. “I’ll be up.”

Taz watches as his son drags his feet across the floor, making his way towards the door.

“Tyler” he calls out to him right before he leaves. He glances over his shoulder back at his dad.

“Business is business.” He reminds him yet again. “You didn’t do anything wrong. The guy knew the deal when he signed the papers. Stop letting it eat you up inside and go get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”

But Tyler couldn’t help but to think about it. It was haunting his dreams, so he didn’t sleep.

Another bottle of liquor was downed and two blunts were faced after he got back to his apartment, just in an attempt to turn the shit off that was eating away at him piece by piece.

————

You knew today was the day you were supposed to meet Hook with another payment, but last time he texted you to meet him around three, and it was already six-thirty and you still hadn’t heard anything from him.

You were getting ready to clock out as you counted down the drawer. You had another two grand to go towards your debt and counted it six times to make sure it was the exact amount.

You had plans to go out with Skye, Willow and Anna later on and were starting to get anxious. You knew you probably weren’t supposed to text him first, but when you clocked out around seven-fifteen, that’s exactly what you did.

Instead of saying anything about the money, you simply sent him a question mark. At least you knew you made the attempt even if he never texts back, but that alone made you incredibly nervous. That would mean you were late on the second payment, even if it is his fault. Right?

You went back to your apartment to start getting ready, and had a couple texts come through as you were doing your hair. You rushed to grab your phone but a bit of disappointment sunk in when it was Anna, already a little tipsy asking where you were at.

You sighed, stressed to the point where you could feel your stomach twisting up in those knots you’ve been getting a lot lately, as you sent back your reply.

You made pretty quick work of getting yourself ready before you headed out to the bar, but made sure you kept your phone volume up so you wouldn’t miss the text if Hook ever does decide to send one. You had the money stuffed in a purse you never used in your trunk, so it was ready.

You were still anxious but hoped a couple drinks with the girls would take your mind off of it. You didn’t intend to get too drunk but every time the four of you get together, it seems like that’s always inevitable.

“Hey!” They all greet you in unison when you finally get to the bar. They were sitting at the round table in the middle, with one seat left open for you.

“Hey” You smiled as you took that seat, hoping they wouldn’t be able to tell that you were internally more anxious than you’ve probably ever been in your life.

“We ordered you crown and coke” Willow tells you, sliding the first shot your way and you were so thankful for it when you downed that glass.

“Congrats on the restaurant” Anna says, “Skye was just telling us how much it’s been thriving lately!”

You had that weird sensation of guilt hit you, but you forced it away and feigned a proud smile.

“Thank you.” You say, tapping your fingers anxiously over the table. “Yeah it’s- it’s really been doing great lately. We got lucky.”

“We’re all gonna stop by Sunday and eat.” Willow adds. “Tell your dad we missed his phillys”

You smiled at that, then Anna turned around to order another round of shots.

“Kyle said if it keeps going at this rate, you guys are gonna have to hire some extra help around there.” Skye says, “And he has a little cousin who’s looking for a job. She’s nineteen and never had one before but if it’s something your parents would consider, you can tell them about her.”

That was something you thought about already too. You definitely felt like you needed to hire extra employees with the way business picked up but under the circumstances, you didn’t want to add anyone else to the mix. In the case that everything ends up backfiring. You didn’t even want your parents there anymore. You would’ve carried the whole restaurant on your back if you could.

“Yeah, i’ll talk to them.” You lied.

“Guess who texted me the other day.” Anna says as she pulls out her phone.

“Who?” Skye asks, “Wait, don’t tell me… Jack?”

You watched the smile spread on Anna’s face and a bit of a blush creep to her cheeks.

“Just hook up already.” Willow rolls her eyes. “You’re like two lovesick teenagers too scared to tell each other how you really feel.”

Anna rolls her eyes back and continues typing, and that reminds you to check your phone too, but there was still no message from Hook.

“I’m tired of hearing you talk about him honestly.” Skye teases. “All you need to do is tell him you want him and he’s all yours. It’s really that simple. How do you think I got with Kyle? He didn’t confess his feelings for me, I did. Men need you to do that in order to make a bold move, trust me.”

“Agreed.” Willow chimes in.

Just then, another round of shots was delivered by a guy with warm brown eyes and a bright smile. You noticed him when he reached the table and immediately felt yourself smiling back when he shot that grin your way.

Skye and Willow both watched the way you were grinning, blushing, the whole nine, and when he dropped the drinks off and walked back over to the bar, they both had the same idea.

“Go get his number.” Skye was the first to say it, causing Anna to snap back into the conversation. She was too caught up texting Jack to realize the guy was even there in the first place.

“Who?” She asks, glancing between you, Skye and Willow.

“The cute bartender guy. Y/n was eyeing him pretty hard.” Willow adds in, but you rolled your eyes at that.

“I was not eyeing him. He’s cute, I was just appreciating his attractiveness.” You shrugged, grabbing your drink and taking a few sips.

“Go appreciate it some more. Looked like he was doing the same thing.” Skye tries to encourage you, but you really didn’t have the desire to.

“Nah, no guys tonight. I’m here with you three for a reason. It’s girl’s night.” You held up your glass up and they all cheers it.

“Still think you should do it.” Skye mutters before she takes a sip of her drink.

“Agreed.” Willow adds. “It’s about time you start putting yourself out there again. I know you said you never wanted to after what happened with…” You shot her a look and she avoided your exes name all together.

“I’m just saying, not every guy is gonna fuck you over. You won’t know that until you see for yourself, and you won’t see it unless you try.”

You shrugged your shoulder and downed the rest of your drink. You didn’t want to think about any of that stuff. It’s been two years since you got your heart completely shattered by a man you had all intentions to marry, and the wound still burned when you thought about it.

“She’ll do it when she’s ready.” Anna adds, sending you a soft smile. “You can’t rush these things. We all know one day Y/n is gonna be the one to find a man and fall hopelessly in love with him, get married, have a ton of babies and live happily ever after while we’re still sitting here wondering why we don’t have rings on our fingers yet.”

Skye laughed at that, a little louder than she normally would which meant she was definitely starting to feel the alcohol.

“You’re probably right.” Willow shakes her head.

“Yeah, Kyle and I talk about getting married all the time but he never fucking asks me!” She dramatically shrugs her shoulders.

“He’s just nervous babe.” Anna says. “You probably have to be the one to ask him.” She jokes.

“At this point, most likely.” Skye shakes her head.

It was then that you felt your phone buzzing in your pocket and quickly went for it. On the screen was finally a text from Hook.

behind the apartment. soon.

“What?” Skye called you out when she caught your reaction. You quickly locked your phone and stuffed it back in your pocket.

“Nothing” you shake your head. “Just my mom wondering where I went.”

“You moved back in with your parents?” Willow asked. “since when?”

“I didn’t” you blurt. “She just stopped by my apartment to drop off some stuff and saw that I wasn’t there. You know how she is.”

It was insane how easily you were beginning to come up with these lies. It didn’t make you feel good about yourself. You’d never had to lie to your best friends about anything before, but this was just something out of your control and you knew that.

Another round of shots was delivered by the same bartender and Skye and Willow both sent you knowing smirks when he set yours down in front of you and sent that warm smile your way again.

“Thank you” You beamed, and he nodded before he passed the other drinks around the table.

“Um, excuse me, sir-“ Skye called out to him before he got the chance to leave. You instantly felt your cheeks burn and kicked her under the table, but she acted like she didn’t feel it.

“Do you have a girlfriend?” She asks, and clearly the guy was a little taken back by that question, but he answered it anyway.

“I don’t.” He smiled back at her.

“Interesting.” Skye taps her fingers against the table, letting her eyes purposely wander over to you, and the bartender clearly picked up on that.

“Sorry about her” You blurt out when his eyes land back on you. “She’s drunk. Don’t pay her any attention.”

“I’m a little tipsy, not drunk, and my friend thinks you’re really hot.” She laid it all out on the table and your mouth dropped.

The bartender’s smile widened, cheeks flushing a bit.

“This is y/n” Skye points at you, and he turns his head to look at you again.

“Nice to meet you, y/n” he holds out his hand, and you take it despite the way you were nearly imploding from Skye calling you out and putting you on the spot like that.

“Nice to meet you too. And sorry about her, again. We’re not trying to bother you.” You managed to chuckle, but he shakes his head.

“Not a bother at all. Just let me know if you need anything.” He smirks before he lets your hand go, and you only nod back before he heads back to the bar.

“Wow” Willow gapes. “Skye, I can’t believe you just did that.”

“What? Broke the ice? She clearly wasn’t going to.”

“Because I didn’t want to.” You cut in, “You know I’m not trying to get with anybody right now. Why would you do that?”

“Because I know what you need.” Skye retorts. “You have got to stop avoiding guys all together just because of what Friedman did to you years ago.”

You rolled your eyes and the tensions at the table escalated when she mentioned Max’s name. They never did that.

“Sorry.” She huffed. “I was just trying to help you out. I want you to be happy. That’s it.”

————

Tyler shot up straight out of bed after he finally woke up from a serious crash. After him and his dad got back from handling Ricky’s little problem, he hit the bed and didn’t wake up until almost nine at night.

“Fuck!” He shouts when he notices the time and the message on his screen from the restaurant girl. “Fuck, Fuck, Fuck.”

He quickly typed back before he headed up to Taz’s office, rushing to it, more so.

He knocked on the door and when his dad called him in, he could see the clear aggravation on his face.

“If you don’t have money in your pocket I don’t know why you’re standing in my office right now, son.”

“I’m getting it.” He says.

“It’s late already. This is only the second week.”

“It was my fault. I passed out when we got back from Starks’ place. She’s coming to drop it off.”

Taz tapped his fingers against the table and pulled the glasses off his face.

“No more of this.” He demands. “These excuses and the slacking you’re doing lately. It’s really starting to piss me off!”

“It’s not an excuse.” Tyler’s voice raises, making his dad shoot him a look. “She already has the money. I just didn’t text her letting her know where to meet cause I crashed. I’ll bring it to you as soon as I get it tonight.”

“I understand that.” Taz says. “Maybe she’s not late, but you are. That’s still just as bad to me. You need to be on top of this shit, son.”

Tyler’s mouth clamped shut, grinding his teeth against each other.

“What about Callis.” He tacked on. “You gonna remember to collect from him tomorrow, or are you gonna be too busy sleeping?”

“I’m meeting him at noon.” Tyler said, balling his fists inside his hoodie pocket. “You’ll have the money around one.”

“I better, son. I wanna see you straighten up. All this moping around you’re doing and forgetting your collects isn’t gonna work around here. Don’t let this happen again.”

Tyler tightly nodded and turned back to the door, rolling his eyes when his dad wasn’t looking. He headed back down to his apartment and felt the weight of the whole fucking world bearing down on him.

All the pressure he felt to keep his dad’s business in line was something he knew he would never escape from. The fact that one simple mistake on his part could be detrimental to anyone involved was never something he could fully accept without feeling like the devil himself.

He waited around until ten minutes to eleven, then got a text that said almost there, and headed out his apartment and down to the back.

He stood off in the corner, covered by the shadows and waited until he saw headlights slowly turning in. He only pushed himself off the wall when he was sure it was her car.

She stepped out with a bit of a stumble and stood there awkwardly. Clearly she was nervous again, but something else about her was a little off too.

He eyed her for a moment while she didn’t move, standing still as stone in front of her door.

“You got the money?” He asked, and she quickly nodded before leaning down to push the button to pop the trunk, and bumping her head on the inside of the car when she stood back up.

She stumbled back a little and he just watched her, knitting his brows.

He walked over to her trunk and lifted the top, finding a black purse laying inside. He grabbed it, shaking his head.

“Should really invest in a briefcase with a lock.” He muttered as he slung the purse on top of the trunk. “Anyone could steal this shit.”

“Nobody knows it’s in there.” She slurred her words and he noticed. He paused with his hand in the bag and glanced over at her.

“Are you drunk?” He asks, and she simply stares up at him like she’s done something wrong. Wide, round eyes filled with all kinds of worry.

He shakes his head again before he starts counting the money, but gets interrupted when she can’t help but to say something that’s been on her mind all night long.

“Taz knows i’m not late, right?” She blurted, and he eyed her again, seeing the genuine concern on her face.

“He knows.” He muttered before he goes back to counting. She felt a little relief, but not much.

She wondered how he managed to accurately count the cash when it was nearly pitch dark outside. The only source of light was the dim streetlight off a little ways.

He skimmed through the cash and stacked them accordingly off to the side, and she just watched as he did it.

She wasn’t as nervous as before and maybe that was just because of the shots she had at the bar, but she appreciated it. She wasn’t scared to really look at him this time.

He felt her staring though, but he didn’t acknowledge it. He kept his eyes trained on the money while she was observing the way his lips moved when he silently counted.

She also noticed that he had some tattoos peeking out from under the sleeve of his hoodie and wondered what they were, but of course she wasn’t going to ask him.

“Two K.” He nods, stuffing the cash back in the purse. “wait here.” He says before he walks past her and through the door of the complex.

She leans against the car and stares at that door, waiting for him to come back. she didn’t know why he told her to wait, until he came back with that empty purse about five minutes later.

She grabbed it from him and tossed it in the trunk, then stood there aimlessly because she wasn’t sure if she was excused to leave yet.

He stood a little distance from her, wondering why she showed up so drunk in the first place, but that wasn’t his business, and he didn’t know why he was thinking about it in the first place.

“So everything’s okay?” She asked, and he knitted his brows back at that.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Like, Taz knows I had the money and… Everything’s okay?”

He could tell that she was scared, she wasn’t good at hiding it even with who knows how much alcohol in her system.

“Yeah.” He nods. “He just got it. Told him it was me that was late, not you. Its all good.”

“Okay.” She breathes out a breath of relief and he could tell that immediately. It just reminded him of the fear he puts in everyone’s hearts, but that’s what he’s supposed to do. It’s not like he has a choice.

“Next week, restaurant girl.” He says before trying to turn back and go inside, but her voice stops him.

“Restaurant girl?”

He pauses with his hand on the door knob and glances over his shoulder at her. “Yeah?” he shrugs.

“You don’t know your client’s names?” She asks, and he turns back around to face her, crossing his arms.

“Restaurant girl.” He shrugs again. “and you’re not my client. You’re my dad’s. I’m just doing the work for him.”

“But I still have a name and it’s not restaurant girl.” She shuffles on her feet, looking at the ground. She wouldn’t have said anything if she wasn’t so damn drunk.

“It’s y/n.” She says as she picks her eyes up to look at him again.

His lips form into a tight line and brows knit together again, wondering why he’s even standing there listening to this wasted restaurant girl in the first place when he could be inside smoking a blunt like he wants to.

He didn’t even know what to say back to her, so he just stared at her until she started feeling nervous all over again, ten times worse, like she’d overstepped and pissed the shark’s son off.

“I just- i’m gonna go.” She quickly excused herself, and he watched as she stumbled to her car.

“You’re gonna drive like that?” He calls out before she got the chance to open up the door. “Cause my dad’s not gonna be happy if something happens to you and he can’t get the rest of his money. Kind of a stupid choice you’re making.”

She pauses, slowly turning back to face him.

“I’m just gonna go home. It’s not that far.” her voice was a barely there whisper, but he rolls his eyes and pulls his phone out his pocket.

He types something up and she just watches, until he lifts his eyes to her again.

“Uber’s on the way. You can pick up your car tomorrow morning before my dad wakes up and sees it out here. So be here before six.”

“I don’t need an uber, I’ll be fine.” She adamantly refuses, about to open up her door, but his strong voice stops her in her tracks.

“Y/n, don’t get behind the wheel like that. That’s fucking stupid. Just wait for this uber and come get your car in the morning.”

She turned back around slowly, taking her hand off the door handle in defeat. She leaned against the car and crossed her arms over her chest, and he leaned back against the wall and did the same.

There was a moment of tense silence between them. She stared down at the pavement and he stared at her.

“Make sure you’re here before six.” He reminds her, knowing she was drunk off her ass. “I don’t want to have to explain to my dad why your car is out here. That’s bad for business.”

She looked back up at him and nodded, pulling out her phone and already setting a five o’clock, five-fifteen and five-thirty alarm so she’ll make sure she’s up.

He watched as she stuffed the phone back in her pocket and stared back down at the ground, clearly avoiding eye contact with him.

He glanced down the alleyway and then back at his phone, noting that the uber was only a few minutes out and pushed himself off the wall.

“Come on.” he muttered, heading out from behind the complex, towards the sidewalk.

She followed him, and stopped when he stopped out in front of the apartments. He looked to both sides of him, and there were a few people on the street but none of them paid any attention to him and her.

He silently leaned against the wall and she awkwardly stood next to him, anxiously rubbing her hands together as she waited on the car to come and pick her up.

They heard two gunshots ringing in the distance. She jumped, he didn’t flinch.

She looked up at him with worried eyes, and he didn’t look back down at her when he said, “Happens all the time.”

She was more than ready to get the hell out of that side of town, so when the uber pulled up, she was more than just relieved.

He pushed off the wall and stepped up to the driver’s window, leaning down to say something to him but she didn’t hear what it was.

He tapped the hood twice before he looked back at her, then proceeded to open the back door.

She was a bit surprised by that action, but she didn’t say anything about it except a quick, “Thank you” before she slipped inside.

Before he closed the door behind her she heard him say, “Tomorrow morning, don’t forget.” But before she could respond, he slammed the door.

————

The next morning, just fifteen minutes before six, the uber dropped you off in front of the complex, and when you went to pay, he denied it.

“Covered.” He simply said before he unlocked the door. You looked at him confused for a second before thanking him and getting out of the backseat.

Your car was still parked where you vaguely remember leaving it, and you were thankful nobody stole it in the middle of the night.

You weren’t smart about leaving the keys in it, but that’s something that happens when you get drunk off your ass, you assumed.

You went to open the door, but it was locked. You tried again, and then moved onto all the other doors, and they were locked too.

You paused for a moment, trying to remember if you actually did have your keys when the uber picked you up last night, but you were sure you didn’t.

You leaned down and looked into the window, but there were no keys in sight.

“Fuck” You breathed out, pulling out your phone to see that it was getting real close to six and Hook was pretty adamant about you getting your car out of there before then.

You debated whether or not you should text him and tell him what was going on. He probably wouldn’t care in the first place, and if anything you’d probably just piss him off.

You tried to come up with a plan and realized the only thing you could really do was call your mom, since she had a spare… so basically, you couldn’t do anything.

You were starting to panic a little. Your thumb hovered over the keyboard, just about to type a message when you heard the door click behind you.

You spun around and saw Hook standing in the doorway shirtless with sweatpants sitting low on his hips. Your eyes slightly widened and he noticed that, wasn’t quite sure what that reaction was for but he didn’t ask questions.

“Here.” He steps out, tossing your keys. You looked down at them after the initial surprise of seeing him in the state he was in wore off.

“Went to make sure your doors were locked and realized you left your keys in the ignition last night.” He raspily mutters, “Would’ve either had a dead battery or no car today.”

You looked down at the keys, simply because looking at him was making you feel some strange sort of feelings.

You noticed that he had tattoos littering his skin. His chest, torso, arms and probably many more from what you assumed. Not to mention the sculpted abdomen he clearly put a lot of work into.

It was strange considering you only ever saw him in that black hoodie, and even stranger that you were feeling your heart race when he was standing so close, but not from fear like usual.

He tilted his head to the side, brown eyes staring down at you. He wasn’t stupid. He knew the effect he had on women, but didn’t expect you to be one of them.

You fumbled with your keys and dropped them like an idiot, and he stared at them on the ground before you bent down to pick them up.

It was funny to him, but he didn’t crack a smile.

“Well” you tried to play it all off, successfully looking back up at him and trying your best not to let your eyes wander elsewhere. “Thanks for not letting anyone take my car.”

“Mhm” he hummed, crossing his muscular arms over his chest. “Should be more careful about that. Maybe don’t drive drunk next time and you won’t have that problem.”

You vaguely recalled him basically scolding you the night before when you tried to leave. It was a distant memory thanks to the haze of the alcohol, but you know it happened.

“Yeah, I won’t.” You tell him, and he tilts his head back, peering his eyes at you for reasons you didn’t understand.

“We won’t tell my dad about this.” He says, and you nodded back.

If Taz would’ve known that he hit up one of the getaway drivers to take a drunk girl home, he would’ve lost his shit.

He already made sure Hobbs knew not to say a word about it, but he needed to make sure you knew not to as well.

“I mean it.” He sternly states, making sure you’re looking him in the eyes when he expresses how serious he is about that.

“Okay.” You tell him. “I won’t say anything. I wasn’t going to in the first place.”

He eyes you for a little longer before his gaze drops down to your keys that your nervously fidgeting with. The sound is annoying to him but he doesn’t say anything about it.

“My dad’s about to be up.” He tells you, and you take that as your time to get in the car and leave.

“Alright.” You say. “Uh- next week i’ll have more money. So, just let me know when to bring it to you.”

He nods before he spins around and makes his way back towards the door, and it’s then that you noticed another tattoo at the top of his spine.

You tore your eyes away when he glanced over his shoulder, watching as you unlocked your car door and got inside. He said nothing more before he went back into the complex, and you pulled out of the alleyway.

That whole Saturday was spent nursing a serious hangover, but by the time Sunday rolled around, you were back at work.

Skye, Anna and Willow all came in for lunch like they told you they would and since it wasn’t too busy, you were able to sit down and talk with them for a little while.

“So” you said as you took a seat. “That guy from the other night-“

“Cute bartender guy?” Skye asks.

“Yeah, him. He found me on instagram and followed, so thanks for that.” You said sarcastically.

“Did you follow him back at least?” Anna chimed in.

“Nope.” You shook your head, earning Skye’s eyes to narrow.

“Why not?” She asked.

“Cause I don’t even know him like that.” You retorted.

Skye’s eyes rolled. “You can still follow him back. He clearly was into you. Why else would he look you up and follow?”

“I get that, but I’m not trying to get with anyone right now. I told you that the other night.”

“It’s a fucking follow on instagram. It’s not like you’re jumping on his dick behind the bar.”

You were a little taken back at her sudden irritation and choice of words, to say the very least.

“Damn Skye.” Willow comments.

“I’m just saying.” She shrugs her shoulders before she plops a fry in her mouth.

“She’s just not ready yet.” Anna softly spoke up.

“She’s not doing shit if she just follows him back-“

“Why are you so concerned about this?” You interjected. Skye looked across the table at you when you interrupted her.

“Because I’m sick and tired of waiting for you to be happy again, y/n. Ever since Max you have literally been lifeless. I just want you to find someone who brings your smile back. That’s it.”

You dropped your eyes down to your phone and Anna and Willow both eyed you, waiting for a response. The tensions at the table were escalating and the silence was speaking volumes.

“Max isn’t the reason why i’m like this.” You spoke up after a moment. “Think what you want, but i’ve got more to worry about right now than a man. That’s the last thing on my mind. This restaurant is my biggest priority right now.”

Skye’s shoulders sunk. “I get that, but-“

“But you don’t, Skye.” You shook your head at her. “Because if you did understand, you wouldn’t even be worried about me having a boyfriend right now either. You’d be more concerned about the weight on my shoulders trying to keep this place up and running.”

Your snappiness made everyone drop their heads and you immediately felt bad for it, but you didn’t take your words back.

It wasn’t entirely Skye’s fault. Truthfully you knew you’d been on edge for the last few weeks thanks to having to keep so many secrets and lie to everyone you cared about. You constantly feared that your deal with the Senerchia’s would be found out and that led you into a spiral just contemplating what would happen next.

“I’m sorry.” Skye says, her voice barely audible and you thought you felt your heart crack when you heard it.

“It’s okay, Skye.” You softened up. “I just have a lot going on right now and I don’t want to add anything on top of it all. I love you, and I appreciate you just wanting me to be happy, but right now a man isn’t in the cards for me.”

————

Tyler walked into the bar late Tuesday night. He needed to take his mind off things and the liquor stores were closed, so he assumed he’d pay a visit to that old place he used to frequent before life got complicated.

Dante was tending so he took a seat in one of the barstools and waited for his friend to finish serving drinks.

He noticed him when he walked back from the other end and immediately started making his signature. He passed it to Tyler who wasted no time downing it and sliding the glass back for another round.

“Everything cool?” he asks, and Tyler stiffly nods. He fills another glass and passes it back, and it was just another one that Tyler tipped back and downed in half a second.

Dante leaned against the bar and pulled out his phone, scrolling through his feed on instagram, which reminded him about the girl he followed not too long ago.

After checking his notifications, he saw that she still hadn’t followed back.

Tyler was staring at the glass in between his hands, waiting for his friend to get off the phone so he could get it filled again.

“Hey” he decides to turn to Tyler for some advice. “I met this girl the other night and her friend was… I don’t know, I think she was trying to get us to talk or something.”

Tyler’s eyes cut over to Dante, brows knitting under locks of messy hair.

“Anyway I found her on instagram and followed her but she never followed me back.” He says. “Think I should send her a message or something?”

Tyler blinked twice. It wasn’t common for him to be the one his boys turn to for any type of advice whatsoever. It felt weird to him.

“I’ll show you a picture of her.” Dante adds as he goes to the girl’s page.

He clicks on one of her at the beach over a summer. The picture was a year old but it was the most recent one on her account. He turns the phone to Tyler and when his eyes dropped down to that photo of restaurant girl in a bikini, he had to do a double take.

“She’s hot as hell.” Dante says before he turns the phone back. Tyler looks back down at his glass and thinks for a minute. He was debating whether or not he should tell him to shoot his shot or not. Leaning more towards not.

“Apparently she went to college too. Or maybe she’s in college still.” He says as he turns the phone to show Tyler another picture of her standing with two other girls in front of the university.

He thought back to when she told his dad she had to drop out to keep the family restaurant running. But he didn’t say anything.

“What do you think?” he asks before locking his phone and setting it down on the counter. “Should I message her or just take her not following me back as my answer.”

Tyler wordlessly slid his glass over to him, then tapped his knuckles against the countertop when there was nothing to occupy his hands.

Dante made another drink and passed it back, and that’s when Tyler finally spoke up.

“Up to you.” He shrugs. “I wouldn’t chase after her, but you’re not me.”

Dante picked up on Tyler’s vibe. His attitude was emitted stronger than it usually was. He just assumed he had another bad day. It wasn’t unusual for Tyler to be grouchy six days out the week. He didn’t take it personal.

“I mean, I don’t wanna seem pushy but this girl was something else, man.” he says. “I couldn’t take my eyes off her.”

Tyler thinks back to something that struck him the moment he remembered it. The gears start turning in his mind, and a question amounts from it all.

“What night?” He asks, trying to make it seem like he was just keeping the conversation going, but he was curious.

“Friday.” Dante tells him, and it all made sense when restaurant girl showed up drunk off her ass.

“Mm.” Tyler hums before he downs the glass he was holding. “Did you uh.. hook up with her?”

“Nah” He shook his head. “Would’ve if she wanted to, but I didn’t get that vibe from her. It was her friend who was trying to start stuff. She acted like she was too nervous to talk to me.”

Too nervous. Made sense. That girl was always nervous.

“So what happened?” Tyler asks as he coolly passes the glass back, silently requesting yet another shot. Now that the liquor was working through his system he was forgetting about the horrible day he had and focusing more on the interesting conversation instead.

“I served them their drinks and her friend started asking me a bunch of questions. She was hot too. They all were, actually.” He chuckles as he slides another shot to Tyler’s waiting hand.

“But she asked if I was single. Stuff like that. Then she pointed at the girl and was like, this is y/n and she thinks you’re hot.”

Hearing Dante say restaurant girl’s name was kind of weird to him, but he didn’t really know why. Hearing him say she thought he was hot wasn’t exactly weird, but it made him feel something he was unfamiliar with.

“So I just introduced myself to her. She kept apologizing for her friend and looked so embarrassed.”

Tyler pictured it all playing out in his head. The liquor was starting to go down a little too smooth at this point and even with that, it left a bitter taste on his tongue.

“So what happened after?”

“Nothing.” he sighed. “She left not long after that. Her friends stayed until the bar closed but when I served them more drinks they didn’t say anything else about her. I wanted to ask if I could get her number but she was gone before I got the chance. Found her on Instagram though, but, y’know, she never followed back.”

He nodded tightly, knowing exactly where she went and not bothering to inform Dante about it either. He tapped his fingertips against the glass three times before he took a slower sip.

“Sounds like she’s not into you.” Tyler decided on. Voicing it out loud, he sounded kind of harsh, but it was better than telling his friend to send her a message.

Dante had no idea the kind of shit Tyler does or the people he knows. All he knew was that he worked for his dad and was under the impression that Taz was a bondsman and he just took phone calls for him. He told all his friends that three years ago and the lie somehow stuck.

There would be too much explaining to do and things could get pretty messy.

“Think so?” his hopes were clearly let down, but Tyler nodded back.

“There’s other girls.” Tyler added. “You work at the most popular bar in this town. Could have a new one every night of the week if you wanted to. Don’t worry about that one.”

Dante nodded back before he picked up a washcloth and started wiping down the counter.

Tyler was thinking about everything he’d just learned, and concluded that it was just the liquor sinking in when he got a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach over it.

At least that’s what he was hoping.

————

taglist: @madhatterbri @730hook @multi-fandom-things730 @willowgreens @shawtys-things @justdamnpeachy @wickedval l @730bliss @theworldofotps @madds-97 @gethooked @benjaminka @5secondsofmoxley @cypherpart15 @legit9thlunaticwarrior @littlemissbliss06 @m-jay-f

let me know if you wanna be added/removed

[atsoomi]

When you first see Sakusa, it’s at a regular coffee shop.

He stands tall, intimidatingly towering over other people as he reads the menu with a disgruntled expression. You take notice of him while you wait for your usual drink, and you can tell you’re going to think about the attractive stranger at your favorite coffee shop for weeks.

His mask conceals most of his face, but his eyes catch your attention. The striking pools of onyx scan the menu rapidly as he seems to lose patience, his frown growing more by the second.

You don’t stare at him for longer than five minutes, knowing that you wouldn’t be able to overcome the embarrassment of being caught. But the outline of his figure burns in your mind as you turn to follow the worker who’s making your drink, a Mari who you’ve befriended during the frequent visits to this shop.

You think about whether he’s just having a bad day or if he’s always like this, whether he’s going to order from here or not, whether he’s ordering for just himself or others as well— friends or a girlfriend. Or someone he just likes, no tags.

You don’t hear the sound of someone approaching you over the sound of your own thoughts; in fact, you don’t even notice his presence over your shoulder until he clears his throat.

Turning to face him, you feel caught. Your cheeks warm in embarrassment, as if he could hear all the obsessive thoughts you were having about him. He stares at you blankly, and you realize his eyes are not only nicer up close, but also sharper. Being close to him also allows you to take notice of his other features— like his moles, the curve of his eyebrows, his cupid’s bow.

He leans down to your level, still keeping a safe distance like you’re carrying an infectious disease. Must be a germaphobe, you think. Getting the hint, you turn your ear to him.

“Do they add nuts to every drink on the menu?”

His voice is pleasantly deep and the whisper-tone makes him insanely attractive to you, but he asks the question with such genuine distress that you have to suppress a giggle. You turn your head back slightly to face him with a smile.

“Yeah, they’re big on the nuts thing. If you’re not a fan, you can ask them to not add nuts to your order, that’s what I do.”

He nods, still seemingly unsure, and you reflexively continue talking.

“But the coffee is really good, trust me, it makes up for the nut craze.” He stares at you with a blank expression, “trust you?”

You pale slightly, feeling like you’ve overstepped with the friendliness. But thankfully, Mari comes up to the counter, chiming in with your drink. “Here’s your usual,” she chirps as she hands you the straw.

You smile thankfully at her and she gives you a questioning look as her eyes shift between you and the tall stranger. She smiles slyly at you and you ignore her as you grab your cup.

“Well, uh, it’s up to you really.” You turn to him one more time, “You’d be the one missing out after all.”

And then you’re out the door as fast as you can. When Mari calls you that night, she’s disappointed to say the least, but she provides you with crucial information: he ended up asking for whatever you had.

The second time you see him, it’s on the court.

You learn that the guy you crushed on in a coffee shop is actually the outside hitter for MSBY Black Jackals, Sakusa Kiyoomi. Mari, who sits next to you during the game, nearly screams when she recognizes him.

She jokes about how you could’ve asked for his autograph or became a micro celebrity by dating him if you had a single romantic bone in your body; you tell her you have plenty of romantic bones in your body but he was just too intimidating.

The teasing goes on throughout the game as you both continue to be completely oblivious to the volleyball game around you. The tickets to this game weren’t cheap, and if Mari didn’t beg you to accompany her because her cousin plays for one of the teams and bought her tickets, you would’ve never found yourself seated at the front row of a volleyball game.

Granted, it’s one of the least violent sports and it’s entertaining to watch for a while. But you just couldn’t be any less interested in adult men throwing a ball around.

This game, however, seems to be much more interesting to you. Whether that’s because Sakusa is unreasonably gorgeous on court, or because Mari makes really entertaining comments on the game, you couldn’t really be sure. But watching Sakusa play was a life altering experience, you’d think about him in those shorts for months to come.

Your eyes follow him the whole time; you take notice of all his physical assets and find yourself giggling like a schoolgirl with Mari about all the athletes’ physical builds by the end of the game. She teases you about having a favorite and you can’t find anything to say in denial.

When the game ends, you’re almost disappointed that you can’t watch Sakusa in action anymore.

Later, when you’re standing outside the huge stadium as Mari talks to her cousin, you spot Sakusa’s team celebrating their win, circulating around him like a tornado. He stands in the middle of the chaos rigidly, and his ability to not crack a single smile around such cheery people astonishes you. You smile to yourself at the thought of how practice goes for the team if this is how it was when they won.

While MSBY’s blond setter (you were too focused on Sakusa during the game to catch anybody else's name) is aggressively throwing an arm around him, speaking loudly over the others, his eyes fleetingly meet yours. Your throat constricts at the brief eye contact and you reflexively stand up straight. When his teammate has moved on from annoying him, he looks back at you, and this time, the stare lingers.

He’s so intimidating and yet so breathtaking to you— standing in the middle of his friends, he seems to stick out like a sore thumb. You wonder if there’s any emotion behind his stare, if he’s judging you or if he thinks that you’re hideous and that you coming to his game is an insult— or if he finds you pretty and intriguing the way you do him.

You wonder about his dating history and his type of woman.

Before you’re too far gone in the land of delusion, Mari is back with a wide grin and mischief written all over her face.

“You should really talk to mr.loverboy at one point. I’d like to attend a wedding once in my life.”

You laugh at her as you both walk to your car. Turns out both of you are already too far gone in the land of delusion.

The third time you see him, you’re not doing too well.

The walls of Onigiri Miya are terribly familiar to you because you find yourself in the same spot every few weeks. In your mid-twenties, you’ve discovered that one of the few things that lighten the burden of existence is food— good food, something that the gracious Osamu Miya always offers at his shop.

While the world constricts around you, the place offers you the kind of comfort that only a warm meal could. Your stomach is full even if your heart feels empty, and that makes you feel a bit better.

Your monthly breakdowns at the onigiri restaurant aren’t new to you.

What you didn’t plan for, however, is the unfamiliar voice that calls your name.

You push your head off the table with a grunt to look at the caller and you’re, once more, facing the beautiful stranger that you stumbled across in a coffee shop— Sakusa Kiyoomi.

His eyes widen slightly at your face and you suddenly feel self-conscious, you don’t particularly look your best on a night like this. Out of all the times to actually meet him. The surprise on your face must have offended him because his expression reverts to his usual frown.

He stands rigidly with his hands in the pockets of his coat. His mask is pulled down for a change and you finally see the rest of his face at a closer distance; if you weren’t in emotional shambles, you’d be much more thrilled right now.

His frown is heavy as he looks at you, almost like frowning helps him think.

But before either of you have the time to think, the blond setter from the game you went to barges in on your moment and casually swings an arm around Sakusa’s shoulder. Sakusa shoots him a deathly glare but he doesn’t waver. Must be pretty good friends, you think.

“Hey omi-kun, who’s your little friend?” he asks, eyeing you with growing interest, a crooked grin on his face.

“She’s not my friend miya, get your arm off my shoulder.” Sakusa grumbles as he attempts to shake the blond’s arm off, but it stays planted on his shoulder firmly as they begin to bicker like an old married couple. Yeah, definitely good friends, you smile to yourself despite the gloomy cloud hanging over your head.

You realize that the guy Sakusa not-so-affectionately called Miya looked similar to Osamu, and you vaguely remember Osamu mentioning a brother before— a twin to be exact. The puzzle pieces come together and you’re amazed at the way fate connects people. The restaurant you visit frequently is owned by the twin brother of Sakusa’s teammate.

How many times did you come close to meeting?

Osamu comes out of the kitchen and the bickering evolves into sibling arguments as you zone out in the corner. The familial scene with Sakusa in the middle makes you bite back a smile, who thought that something so silly could be so entertaining? And entertaining enough to distract you from the things weighing you down.

The blond twin suddenly turns to you and you instinctively flinch, realizing you’re about to become part of the conversation unwillingly.

“Are we annoying you, doll?” he asks.

You hesitantly shake your head and the blond jumps to grab a paper bag out of Osamu’s hands, “See?” Osamu gives him a blank look, “you literally pressured her.”

“Did not. Now come on Omi-kun, we’ve got places to be. Everyone must be starving.” You turn to look at Sakusa (Omi-kun, as you know him now), only just realizing that he’s standing closer to you than before.

He gives the blond a stare that you’re oblivious to, and they share a moment of silent communication. Osamu looks between them and momentarily at you, seeming to understand something you don’t.

The blond twin, whose name you still haven’t discovered , slowly smirks at you with recognition. “Oh yes, I’ll go ahead. Don’t take too long now Omi.”

Then he’s out of the door, and Osamu retires to the kitchen with a knowing smile. You wonder what secret they were sharing in front of you.

Now that it’s just you and Sakusa in a nearly empty restaurant so late at night, the realness of the situation hits you like a cold gust of wind. You slowly turn your face towards him only to find him already looking at you.

Unsurely, you smile politely at him. He doesn’t return it, but he doesn’t seem like the kind to anyways. Instead, he drags the chair across from you back and plops down in front of you. The fact that you’re sitting across from the mysterious attractive guy you saw in that coffee shop is surreal.

His face finally relaxes and you notice how much prettier he looks when he’s not frowning. In this state, you don’t find it in yourself to look away from him. The dim lights of the shop illuminate his face and he’s almost god-like with his pushy brows and sharp eyes.

He seems okay with the attention you’re giving him, and you’re not sure if it’s the midnight paranoia but you swear his cheeks go pink at one point.

You’re too engrossed in admiring his physical features to notice how he hesitates to talk.

“You’re.. are.. are you okay?” His question brings you out of your lavender haze and you don’t process the question at first.

“Am I okay?” you retort in confusion.

He nods reluctantly.

Your hand comes up to cup your cheek when you realize that they’re wet, and suddenly you realize what he’s asking about. Your cheeks grow hot in embarrassment.

“Oh yeah yeah, I’m fine. Or I will be.” That explains why he was surprised when you lifted your head.

He observes you with interest and it’s your turn to feel embarrassed at the attention.

The intimacy of the scene isn’t lost on you. You sit like old lovers who never fell out of love, admiring each other in a public place that feels like it only contains the two of you. You sit together like you’ve known each other for years. You want to salvage the intimacy of the moment but a burning question comes to the front of your mind.

“How’d you know my name?”

He blinks at you, seemingly confused by the question.

“When you got here, you called out to me.” You continue unsurely. “We’ve never spoken before, how do you know my name?”

He blinks at you again as the gears in his head turn. When he realizes that he did in fact call out your name despite never asking you about it, the tips of his ears turn red. You observe the changes in his face with a slowly growing smile; you’ve noticed something he hoped you wouldn’t.

“It was on the cup. Caught it when you were leaving.”

The cup. The cup of coffee you ordered at the coffee shop you first met at. When you ran away from him. You raise your eyebrows in amusement, how did he manage to catch that? Moreover, how did he manage to remember it for weeks when you’d barely talked.

The thought of Sakusa having an interest in you since the first meeting makes you feel like a teenager getting asked out for the first time.

You look at him across the table, observing his face and everything you’ve grown to like about it. Suddenly, you think about meeting him like this more often, about getting to see him much closer than this, about being the kind of woman he’d date, and about tracing his lips with something other than your eyes.

When you notice his eyes traveling across your face, you wonder if he possesses any similar thoughts, any burning urges to reach across and touch you and set off the reaction that's been brewing for weeks.

It's so close you can almost taste it.

You lock eyes and you slowly realize that neither of you are ready to jump straight into anything. He's as hesitant as you are, maybe even more. But, if you've got to start somewhere, you know exactly where to take him.

“Sakusa," you start, already smiling, “would you like to get coffee with me sometime?"

[mandos-mind-trick]

Kinktober Day 4 - Teratophilia

Summary: He saves you. You offer him your thanks. 

Pairing: Krrsantan x reader

Warnings: NSFW, 18+, Reader is a stripper essentially, attempted assault, brief blood and gore, minor character death, interspecies sex, size difference, biting, licking, fingering, size kink, scratching, squirting. 

A/N: If you're here, you know. 😏 As usual, heed the warnings. If it's not for you, moving on to something else is literally the easiest thing in the world.

MASTERLIST

Walking home late is always a risk. Even with the new Daimyo’s attempts to clean up the streets of Mos Espa, walking alone at night is dangerous. Especially for someone like you. You’re good at keeping alert, good at watching your back. 

Sometimes it’s not enough. 

You notice the figure following you from the moment you leave the cantina. You should have gone back in, should have waited for someone else to walk with you, or waited until daylight. You were tired, though, and ready to get home. You decided to risk it, weaving through the streets in an attempt to lose the man following you. He’s probably just a drunk patron, hoping to get lucky now that you weren’t under the constraints of the cantina’s rules. 

Well, you weren’t wrong. 

You know you’ve messed up when you turn the corner into the alley and an arm shoots out, pinning you against the side of the building. Your breath is knocked from your lungs at the force of the hit, effectively stunning you. 

There’s two of them. They reek of cheap alcohol as they crowd you in. 

“Don’t tell me you were trying to escape us, pretty thing.” One says, gently stroking your cheek as you struggle to regain your breath. 

“We just wanted to chat.” The other says, leaning his arm next to your head. “We liked your show so much, we wanted an encore. A...private show if you will.” 

You attempt to swallow the fear welling up in your throat. “I don’t do private shows.” You curse how badly your voice shakes. “You’ll be luckier in a brothel.” 

“No,” The first one says, pushing you back against the wall as you attempt to slip out between them. “You misunderstand us.” He drags his hand down the front of your body. “We’re not asking.” 

You manage a strangled sounding scream before your cheek erupts in burning pain, your head snapping to the side from the force of the hit. A hand wraps around your throat, pinning you against the wall. You kick your legs out, trying to hit them, to fight back but they’re too strong. Tears leak out from your eyes, mixing with the rivulet of blood trailing down your chin from your split lip. 

You’ve accepted your inevitable fate when suddenly one pair of hands disappears from you. The second man shouts as his feet leave the ground, his body hefted high in the air. A deep growl reaches your ears, the dim light from the street catching on a piece of armor. The pressure leaves your throat as the first man releases you, your body crumpling to the ground. 

You squeeze your eyes closed as a pained yelp sounds through the alley before the unmistakable crunch of bone. Something warm and wet splatters you. You keep your eyes closed as a blood-chilling roar echoes through the alley seconds before another sickening crunch and the sound of something hitting the ground. 

You’re shaking as the alley falls silent, waiting for the new attacker to turn their attention on you. You should have run, but you’ve lost control over your body. Shuffling footsteps approach you before they stop. You wait for the blow but it doesn’t come, the figure standing still over you. 

You finally crack your eyes open, and you’re staring at a pair of furry legs. You drag your eyes up the hulking form to see a Wookiee staring down at you. Krrsantan, you think, the one that works for the Daimyo. He's a regular in your workplace. You've spotted him in the crowd many times during your performances. 

He slowly holds out a hand to you, letting out a quiet huff. He’d just killed two men easily, yet you don’t feel threatened, or in danger. He had done it to save you. You lift your trembling hand, placing it in his. His hand makes yours seem comically small as he wraps his fingers around it, gently helping you onto shaking legs. Your stomach churns with anxiety, the reality of your situation and what had almost just happened hitting you. 

“Thank you. Y-You saved my life.” You say, looking up at him. 

He reaches up, the pad of a massive finger swiping so gently against your split lip. He lets out a low growl, his warm breath fanning your face. It’s such a gentle touch compared to the brutality he had just dealt. 

It was your fault for not being smart, for not taking the safest route and waiting at the cantina. You shudder to think of what could have happened had he not shown up. 

“Would you...walk me the rest of the way home?” You tighten your grip on your bag. “If you’re not busy.” 

He blinks down at you before nodding once. 

“Thank you.” You say. “This way.” 

You lead him the rest of the way down the alley, ignoring the bodies left behind. Your legs feel numb, steps slightly shuffling as you try to breathe through the anxiety coursing through your veins. Krrsantan moves surprisingly silently for his size, though you suppose a well-trained fighter would. 

It’s a short walk back to your small home, you and Krrsantan walking silently the entire way. Your mind is racing far too much to think of any small talk, and of course, you don’t understand Wookiee Speak. 

“This is me.” You say, pausing outside the door. You turn to him, looking up at him. 

He makes a soft noise down at you, a reluctant look in his eyes. You wish you understood Wookiee speak. You’ve never had a reason to learn before. You’re hesitant to let him go. After everything he's done for you tonight, you want to repay him in some way. 

“Would you...like to come in?” You ask. 

He lets out a louder sound, nodding once. You unlock the door, and he has to bend down to step in. You’re glad for the high ceilings, though the small space only seems smaller with him in it. You set your bag in its usual spot, turning on the lights.

“Make yourself at home.” You say. “I’m going to change.” 

You slip into your room, hastily wiping the blood and sweat from your skin, pushing back the memories threatening to come back up. Your cheek is tender and will likely be sporting a bruise by morning. You steady your nerves as you finish changing into more comfortable clothing, reminding yourself the Wookiee in your home has seen you in far less before. 

You head back out to the living room, finding Krrsantan looking comically large on your small couch. You can’t help but smile at him. 

“Would you like something to drink?” You ask. 

He shakes his head once in answer. 

You head to the kitchen to get yourself a stiff drink, needing something to steady your nerves after the eventful evening. Your hands shake a little as you pour the drink into the glass. You let out a shaky exhale as you hear the creak of the couch, and the quiet footsteps approaching your position. 

You turn around, downing the liquid in the glass before tilting your head to stare up at Krrsantan. Despite the danger you knew he could pose, the twisting of your stomach isn’t out of fear. His hand slowly lifts, brushing your bruised cheek. The touch is so gentle, so tender. He could smash your head in so easily, and yet, his touch is hardly more than a ghosting against your skin. 

His hand slides down your cheek to rest on the back of your neck. His palm is warm and rough, the tips of his claws pressing into your delicate skin. His knuckle-dusters are gone, sitting on your small table in the living room. You relax back into his touch, reaching out with your free hand to tangle your fingers in the fur of his arm. 

“I see you in the crowd sometimes.” You say, carding your fingers through the rough fur. “Watching me. You like watching me dance?” 

Something deep rumbles through his chest, his lips parting to bare his teeth at you. 

Your lips lift in a small smile. “You did me a big favor tonight, saving me from those men.” You trail your hand up his thick arm to his shoulder plate, letting your fingers slide against the metal that crosses his chest. “Will you let me repay you?” 

He lets out a roar, hands dropping to your hips. He lifts you onto the counter, your drink long forgotten as he presses forward between your knees. His hands grip the hem of your top, tugging it over your head. Your face warms despite the fact he’s seen you practically naked before. That was different, though. This feels far more intimate than you dancing on a stage for anyone to see. 

His hands trail your sides, fur tickling your skin as he cups your breasts. You whine under his touch, back arching to press your breasts further into his big hands. He lets out a low noise, leaning his face down into your neck. You tilt your head for him, his fangs scraping against the delicate skin. 

You yelp as his teeth sink into your shoulder, not hard enough to break the skin, but enough you’ll have to cover a mark tomorrow. A rush of wetness floods your panties as he pulls away, licking at the indented skin. 

He lifts you easily with one arm to slide your pants down your legs. You kick them off to the floor, adding to the pile. He parts your thighs as wide as they can, his big hand slipping between them. You let out a breathy moan as the rough pads of his fingers drag through your wet folds. You clench in anticipation at the idea of taking one of his big, thick fingers. 

“Please, Krrsantan.” You whine, pressing your hips against his hand. 

He lets out a low grumble before a claw-tipped finger is prodding at your entrance. Your back arches as he presses a finger into you, stretching your pussy with just one thick digit. You cling to his fur, grinding your hips against his hand as he fucks you with his finger. 

“Kriff!” You curse, eyes rolling back at the pleasure. “Feels so good.” 

His chest rumbles with a growl as he curls his finger inside you, your eyes rolling back as you’re suddenly thrust into an orgasm. Your legs clamp around his hand, body trembling as you gush around his finger. 

You stare up into his eyes as you come down from your high, still clinging to his fur. “The couch.” You gasp out, brain trying to figure out how to function again. 

He seems to understand what you’re trying to say as he scoops you up, carrying you to the couch. He sets you down on shaky legs and you try to steady yourself as he removes his cuirass and belt. They drop to the floor with heavy thuds before he sinks down into the cushions once more. You kneel between his thighs, watching as he moves the protective flap of skin to the side, freeing his large cock. 

It’s long and thick, roughly the length of your forearm and a deep red, almost purple color. It tapers at the bottom, so thick you’re not sure you could fit one hand around it completely. 

“I’ve never had a Wookiee before.” You say, staring at his cock in awe. 

He lets out a sound almost like a laugh as he reaches down for you, lifting you easily onto his lap. His cock prods at your ass as you kneel over him, legs stretched wide around him. You’re still wet and slick after your orgasm, pussy clenching at the prospect of taking such a huge cock. 

You brace yourself on his thick shoulders as the head of his cock brushes your pussy. You wonder how many humans he’s had before, since he seems to be well versed in what he’s doing. You lower your hips as he presses the head of his cock against your entrance, breath catching as the head stretches your pussy. Even after being stretched by his finger, his cock is almost painful as you slip the head inside. 

His hands engulf your hips, but he lets you take control, sinking onto his cock slowly. The painful burn slowly begins to ebb as you sink lower and lower onto his cock. Your legs are shaking by the time you’ve taken as much as you can, the tapering at the bottom of his cock threatening to split you open. 

“Kriff,” You breathe, staring down at the bulge in your stomach. You press your hand against it, your head falling back as it pushes his cock harder against that spot inside you. 

You begin to rock your hips, sliding his cock in and out of you. It bumps against your cervix every time you sink down onto it. It’s slightly painful, but not entirely unpleasant. You use his arms as leverage to bounce on his cock, his claws digging into the skin of your back but you don’t care. He grunts and growls as you fuck yourself on his cock, teeth bared as he watches you intently. 

“Kriff, Krrsantan!” You cry, body practically convulsing as you’re suddenly thrown into an intense orgasm, your juices soaking his fur. 

Krrsantan lets out a loud roar as you squeeze his cock, his hands tightening around your hips almost painfully as he thrusts up into you, hot spurts of cum flooding your walls. It’s almost too much, stretching you more as he keeps cumming, filling you full.

You lift yourself off his cock, unable to take anymore. You fall against his chest, burying your face in his fur as his cum gushes from your pussy. You breathe out a curse, chest heaving against his. You’re still shaking from your orgasm, one of the most intense you’ve ever had. 

Krrsantan wraps his arms around you, letting out a low rumbling noise that vibrates through your entire body. You attempt to catch your breath, wrapping your arms around his neck. 

“I think...you’ve ruined me...for literally anyone else.” You laugh. 

He lets out a roar, nuzzling his face in your hair. 

“We should do that again sometime.” You tease, earning a playful nip at your jaw.

Ye ole Ragu list:

@kaminocasey @rosechi @mxkyrie @bobaprint @star-trekker-0013 @padawancat97 @bamfahsoka @rain-on-kamino @thrawnspetgoose @lune-de-miel-au-paradis @wolffegirlsunite @dukeoftheblackstar @starrylothcat @sev-on-kamino @freesia-writes @anxiouspineapple99 @wings-and-beskar @dystopicjumpsuit @littlemissmanga @madameminor @eris-k @clio3kantarella @moonlightwarriorqueen @sleepingsun501 @originalcollectionartistry @maddiedrmr @idontgetanysleep @clonemedickix @523rdrebel @deejadabbles @starqueensthings @multi-fan-dom-madness @wizardofrozz @mythical-illustrator @sunshinesdaydream @mooncommlink @lickylickylicky @sweetheartsnips

[multi-fan-dom-madness]

Howdy! @wings-and-beskar here, calling in with a little kiss prompt request!

The “desperate kiss as if they are convinced they’ll slip through each other’s fingers” immediately made me think of Hunter, but so did “a kiss where they’re both covered in blood” and now I can’t decide….

One has great angst potential, but the other one is could be great for Spooky season 🤔

I’ll let you decide because I can’t 😅 but as always, absolutely no pressure to do this!

Thank yoooou 💜

hiiii friend, I absolutely loved both of these prompts so I included them both! there's just something about Hunter that lends to incredibly angsty yet incredibly passionate encounters. thanks for this ask! <3

Endure and Survive

Summary: You're forced into the worst situation, and Hunter finds you in the aftermath.

Warnings: gn!reader; lots of blood, semi-graphic violence, (justified) murder/killing in self-defense, more blood, kissing while covered in blood, desperation. did i mention the blood? this little blurb low-key inspired by Joel finding Ellie after she killed David.

Word Count: 510

You’re trembling. Adrenaline pulses through you, vibrating in every cell. Yet you can’t make yourself stop—the wet crunch of bone and brain does little to slake the deep, primal need to survive. The heft of the blunt weapon in your slick hands continues to swing down, over and over and over. 

Someone is screaming. You realize belatedly that it’s you, your throat catching, voice cracking. 

He was going to kill you. Or worse. Your only option was to kill him first.

Tears stream down your face, mixing with the splattering of blood with each blow of the weapon. Your chest is tight with sobs, desperation clawing you from the inside out. Or maybe that’s just the smoke choking your breath.

Dimly, you’re aware of someone calling your name. The club comes down again, again, again, until—

A warm pair of hands gently covers your own. You jerk in surprise, spinning, ready to attack the new threat. Instead, you come face-to-face with familiar gray eyes. 

Hunter’s face is streaked with blood, too. It drips from his chin—it slicks his fingers where he works to pry the club from your aching hands. His eyes are wide and glassy, but his lips move as he murmurs your name. 

“Sweetheart,” he rumbles. His voice is smoky like the fire around you, warming you, burning you. “I’m here. You’re safe. Give me the club, baby.” 

“B-Bu-But—” You can’t string together thoughts, let alone words. He was going to kill me. I killed him. I killed him. 

“I know,” Hunter says, and later, you’ll realize he does know exactly the fear coursing through you. Your hands are suddenly empty and weightless. The club thunks where he tosses it, leaving a red trail behind it. 

And then his arms are around you. He’s solid. Warm. Strong. Safe. You wrap shaking arms around his neck and bury your face in his neck. Sobs wrack your body. 

“I’ve got you, sweetheart.” 

“He- He—” 

“Shhh.” Hunter gently pulls back, cradling your face in his hands. Blood meets blood. “It’s over. You’re safe now.” 

You don’t know what comes over you. All you know is Hunter is safe, and his embrace is where you feel safest. Surging forward, you press your lips to his. Fear continues to pump through you—a new fear. Of losing him. Losing yourself. 

Groaning against you, Hunter tilts your head for better access, his tongue desperately licking into your mouth as if to memorize every inch, every curve, ridge, and slope. You taste salt and copper, tears and blood, and whine. You can’t get him close enough—the hard plastoid armor protecting his body keeps you out, even as you scrabble and claw at the edges to tug him impossibly close. 

Judging by how hard he grips your hip, the back of your neck, your entire soul, he’s just as afraid of the alternate outcome of this mission gone terribly awry.

When you pull away, panting for breath, his mouth is smeared red. You don’t stop shaking for a long, long time, bright crimson splattered across your vision.

Pasta: @dystopicjumpsuit @clonemedickix @freesia-writes @littlemissmanga @wolffegirlsunite @anxiouspineapple99 @wings-and-beskar @sinfulsalutations @523rdrebel @sunshinesdaydream @moonlightwarriorqueen @sev-on-kamino @starrylothcat @deejadabbles @starqueensthings @mandos-mind-trick @idontgetanysleep @eyeluvmusic21 @wizardofrozz @mythical-illustrator @sleepycreativewriter @bobaprint @thorsterstrudle @droids-you-are-looking-for @goblininawig @cw80831 @dreamie411 @jedi-hawkins @lune-de-miel-au-paradis @9902sgirl

[matchmadeinsevenhells]

HotD Ep. 10 AU—Luke

Luke doesn’t want to die. He makes a different choice.

CW: mild gore, eye trauma

“A fight would pose little challenge. No, I want you to put out an eye, as payment for mine.”

Luke is scared. He wants to run, get to Arrax and go, but Vhagar is also here, and she’s the scariest of all—

He stares at the knife on the floor.

“One will serve.”

He’s older than Aemond was. Part of him feels like he’s been running his entire life, ever since he picked up that other knife, all those years back. It makes him wonder if maybe Aemond has also been running since then, in his own way.

And now it has led them to this.

“I plan to make a gift of it to my mother.”

Luke doesn’t want to die. He promised Mother he wouldn’t fight, that he would make it back. And Mother has just lost Visenya, too. If he doesn’t come home…

Luke keeps staring at the knife. He sheathes his sword and starts walking towards it as in trance.

The Hall falls silent. Even Uncle Aemond stops spitting vitriol when Luke bends down to pick up the blade.

It’s a good, sharp knife. Well kept. It will cut deep and easy. Know what you’re aiming for, Daemon always told him, but Luke thinks that’s a bit difficult since he won’t be able to see. He probably should start shallow, at the corner.

“Very well, Uncle,” he says, willing grim determination onto his face and into his voice as he looks back at Aemond. The sapphire in his empty eye socket seems to glow in the dim lighting, drawing his attention. It doesn’t even look that horrible at all. The rest of Aemond’s expression has gone slack.

He probably wants Luke’s left eye, to make them even.

Before he can lose his nerves, he plunges the knife into his eye. Half his world goes dark.

It hurts. It hurts so much, and all Luke can think of is Daemon saying that it doesn’t matter if you cry or throw up, all that matters is that you do defeat your opponent, and this is almost like a fight, yes, so Luke stops trying to suppress the screams crawling up his throat and focuses on holding on to the knife instead.

His knees have hit the cold stone floor at some point. Someone is whispering “Dear Gods.” nearby. Luke keeps looking at Aemond, who has taken half a step towards him, his face is full of rapt attention, staring back at Luke like Luke has just given him the most unexpected yet wonderful present. Perhaps he has.

Someone is shouting for the Maester, he thinks as he changes the angle of the knife and then reaches up with his other hand to feel at the edges of the wound. His shoulders are heaving, his own sobs interrupting the knife every few seconds. Gods, it hurts so much. But he always leaves things half done, and he can’t this time, he can’t. He’s glad he’s wearing gloves.

He’s collapsed on the floor now, the knife slipped from his grasp. But his left hand is still carefully curled around something small and lumpy—where’s Aemond? He hastily cranes his head until he can look at his Uncle again. They’re matching now, a hysterical part of him thinks as he holds out his left hand to him like a peace offering.

[crybaby-bkg]

sᴄᴏʀɴᴇᴅ | ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 1

Bakugou x f!reader Warnings/Tags: threats of violence, fear, graphic imagination of violence, chasing, guns, gun violence, blood, gunshot wounds, mention of sexism, PTSD flashbacks, unmentioned men harming reader in the past (not graphic), sexist language, mentions of you bleeding Word Count: 3.2k Notes: first chapter already woooo!! this is more of an intro to how everyone gets to meet each other. I hope you all enjoy!! <3 Minors/blank/ageless blogs DNI

Main Masterlist AO3

Medusa [meh-doo-za] noun - guardian; protectress; an evil meant to protect others from evil; a threat; a victim

***

Your heart races as your feet pound against the rough pavement, cutting sharp corners with every quick turn. You’re too afraid to look over your shoulder, afraid that you’ll find faces that will haunt your every dream for years to come, sneering at you. Afraid you’ll lose your footing, that you’ll stumble, fall prey to the monsters hunting you for sport. 

You can’t breathe. Your chest hurts, tight, your lungs squeezing with every shaking gasp you inhale. They’re getting closer—they’re right on your heels—they’re gonna get you—you’ll be dead come morning, unrecognizable. 

There’s a sudden whooshing sound not too far off, and you think that it must be one of their quirks, that its truly the end for you. Instead, you hear the sounds of scuffling, of punched out breaths, of bodies hitting the pavement, of pained groans. 

You still don’t slow down, don’t stop, not until you’re safe, until you know that they can’t catch you anymore. But you’re stopped suddenly, by a burly chest too wide for any normal human. 

Your feet come skidding to a halt, barely managing to stop yourself before running into this wall of a person. Your eyes frantically search their face, and you’re even more afraid now. Is he with them? Is he apart of all of this? He’s no better than the men chasing you, after the videos of his son proclaiming abuse went viral all those years ago. 

“There’s no need to run now, the Pro’s are here.” Endeavor’s voice is booming in the echoing alleyway, and it only unnerves you even more. You can feel your knees wobbling, knocking against each other. You hadn’t even realized that there were tears until they muddled your vision, hadn’t realized you were shaking until the chatter of your teeth is audible. 

“Please, let me go.” You whisper, meek, voice barely understandable from the clacking of your jaw. Endeavor looks down at you confused, eyebrows furrowing as his lip grits. He reaches a hand out, and you jerk yourself back so hard that you stumble, tripping over a bottle left in the alleyway. 

You land hard on your back, but you never take your eyes off of the man in front of you. He tries to reassure you, tries to help you but—but his hands are too big, and those hands have hurt those closest to him, and they’re too wide, too familiar, remind you too much of the men behind you. 

Where are the men, anyway? Have they hidden somewhere, ready to plot their attack with the number one hero? Are they all in on this? Are they all going to hurt you, maim you, assault you? 

Your panicked breaths echo loudly, your hands shielding you from the too large form that still stands above you. He doesn’t try to reach out for you anymore, only glances off to the side as he speaks seemingly to nobody before his eyes dart behind you. You’re too afraid to look, think it might be a trick for you to lower your guard so he can rip out your trachea with his bare hands. 

You scream when someone gently touches your shoulder, feels like they’ve dropped hot coal onto your skin, feels like the flesh drips down your tattered clothing. But as you whip your head around, you come face to face with something—someone, softer. It’s the bunny hero, and she smiles gentler than you have ever seen her do on TV. She’s saying something to you, but your ears feel like they’re stuffed with cotton. All you focus on is the fact that, finally, you might be safe now. 

Her knuckles are bloody, and you see her nudge her head back behind her, get a glimpse of a stack of bodies trailing oh so fuckin’ close to you. It makes you flinch at the sight, at the leader with his hands still outstretched toward you, nails barely skimming your ratty shirt. You gasp, sobbing, inching and inching away from him, find yourself comforted in muscular but such soft arms. 

Miruko holds you gently, shushing you and cradling you under her chin. She sits on her knees, dragging you closer to her, shielding you from the men who were so close to ruining you, from hurting your further. Your own voice doesn’t even sound familiar once the fuzziness in your head clears as it bounces off the grimy walls with every hallowed sob that racks your entire body. She tries to get you to breathe, to calm down, but you’ve checked out since you crawled into the safety of her arms. 

As the ambulance arrives and more pro heroes show up, you sit in Miruko’s lap, shaking, thinking to yourself, promising, that this will be the last time you ever need saving. 

…

It takes months to rebuild yourself. Months of healing, of therapy appointments, of physical rehab, of integrating yourself back into society again. 

And even then—its not enough to heal you. 

Your therapist tells you that you need to move on, and you tell her that she must be a fucking quack. The next one tells you that you need to forgive the men that hurt you, and you tell him that he must’ve faked his shitty degree. And the next one is the same, and so is the one after that, until they all just start running together with the same advice. 

Do not give power to the men who hurt you. Its bullshit, you think. They don’t have any fuckin power because they were smashed to fuckin smithereens by Miruko’s heel. But apparently, your “kill all men who hurt others” ideology is “dangerous” and “directed at the wrong people.” You think you’re justified, and you don’t need anyone with a stupid fucking degree to be a yes man and agree with you. 

You don’t need anyone to agree with you—well, except for your fans online who praise you. 

Almost a year after being attacked, you became a hero for the people in your community who were oftentimes overlooked by pro heroes—male pro’s, especially. If women weren’t doling out their bodies in exchange for saving, then they might not be saved at all. 

That’s where you come in at. You trained your body to become stronger, more flexible, more agile, pushed yourself in such little time you’re surprised your body hasn’t clonked out on you yet. But its not your time to give up, to roll belly up and let the cruelness of the world swallow you whole. It almost did once—you weren’t letting that happen again. 

The public dubbed you as “The Red Medusa” because of your crimson stained outfits and the medusa tattoo visible on the center of your chest you always wore proudly. It was fitting, especially since you always seemed to exclusively fight men who were witnessed hurting a woman, or child. You didn’t have a quirk, but it wasn’t needed when you had a multitude of guns and the ability to lay someone out cold. 

Many men had tried to retaliate against you, especially the pro heroes whose egos were shattered whenever you publicly called them out online for their gross negligence and misogyny. But none had ever managed to catch up with you or leave without at least two extra holes in their body. 

Dynamight was one of them. 

…

He was cocky at first, with his too big grin and flashy quirk. You couldn’t stand the up and coming hero, with his shitty sexist comments made a couple months ago. He tried to backpedal, claim that his words were taken out of context, that it was all to just make him look bad. 

You didn’t believe it. You didn’t believe any of them, ever. 

“Getting tired, aren’t cha?” Dynamight calls out to you, aims another explosion where you stood only seconds ago. You can see the frustration in his face when he realizes that he missed you, that you’re quicker than you should be to just be a quirkless vigilante, as the media likes to call you. 

“Looks like you’re the one slowing down, shit head.” You shout back at him, sneering at his scowl. You two have been at it for only a few minutes now, and you know that in any second, more heroes are going to arrive and that they’ll outnumber you. You don’t work well with multiple attacks at once, and you’re damn sure not gonna go down yet. You’ll have to make this quick. 

As Dynamight soars through the air again, he aims another explosion at you, and you hold your breath as you wait for the right moment to strike. One second too late and he’ll have blasted your entire right side straight off of your body. You refuse to die by this sexist pigs hands. 

You inhale when you feel the heat of the blast, launching your body back just in time, don’t even wait for the smoke to clear from his explosion as you fire off two rounds into the orange hued air. Its silent for a split second before you hear it—a pained holler. But, you don’t expect for him to aim another blast at you. 

That one sends you reeling back, gasping sharply, as you dodge the brunt of it, but still feel the bottom half of your mask and neck catch licks of flame. You sit up quickly, ripping the mask off, eyes darting all around you in the isolated parking lot, wonder where his body has landed. You catch a glimpse of his boot retracting behind a blue sedan slowly, and you wonder how badly you must’ve hurt him. 

You hope its fatal. 

You should leave. You know you should leave, especially since gunshots were fired, the pro’s are definitely on their way now, and you’re face is exposed. But Dynamight just can’t let you bow out gracefully. 

“That was a cheap fuckin’ shot, you know.” He calls out to you from behind the car, taunting you. You know you shouldn’t fall for it, but you’re not gonna let this asshat discredit the move you had been honing in on for him specifically. 

“Nah, you’re just predictable.” You answer him, hissing at the sting of your jaw and chin from where his explosion grazed you. You pat at your face, finding specks of blood on your fingertips, eyes widening at the sight. None of the other men you had faced had made you bleed, never had enough close contact to let them. And yet—and yet your fingertips are stained crimson and you’re taken back to them. 

A group of faceless men stand around you, laughing at the pained moans emitting from your throat…one slaps you across the face…your hair is being tugged in every which way…you’re worthless, they keep repeating…condemned to rot away like the worthless bitch you are…

Before you know it, your legs are carrying you behind the blue sedan, and in hindsight, its a terrible fucking thing to do, exposing your identity like this. But Dynamight has become those faceless men to torture you all over again, and you think…you think he needs to pay the price for making you bleed. 

“Apologize.” You whisper, standing above him, barrel pointed right in the middle of his forehead. He looks like shit, with dust in his ash blond hair, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth, a hole in his shoulder, another in his abdomen. His eyes cross to look at the gun before focusing his gaze on you, eyebrows pulled taut in confusion. He’s never seen you before without your mask, but you can’t focus on that right now. Its not like he’ll live to tell everyone who you are and what you look like after this. 

“Whaddya say?” He grunts, hissing through his teeth when he puts more pressure on his shoulder. It doesn’t phase you, his pain, no. The only thing you can focus on is the familiar throbbing in your jaw that has ached one too many times at the hands of…of…

“You heard me.” You snap, voice shaking. You wipe away the onslaught of tears with a quick swipe on your shoulder, sniffing quickly, as if he wouldn’t be able to see the pain muddying your face. 

“I got bad hearing ‘cause of my quirk. Ya gotta speak up, sweetheart.” Dynamight mutters, eyes fluttering shut as the pain gets to him. But its not enough, makes your teeth grit at his nonchalance. He doesn’t even fuckin’ respect you as a vigilante, the only protector of women in this society. You scream through your teeth in frustration, pressing the muzzle of the gun against his forehead directly until the cool metal stings, cocking it quickly. 

“Don’t fuckin’ call me sweetheart, you sexist piece of shit.” You snap at him, opening your mouth to tell him to apologize again, before he cuts you off with a confused grunt. 

“Sexist?” Dynamight asks, looking around the gun at you. “I’m a lotta things, but sexist ain’t one of ‘em.” He scoffs, gritting his teeth when you press the gun harder until the back of his head rests on the car behind him. 

“Don’t try to pull that shit with me. I heard your gross fuckin’ comments about Creati.” You snap at him, hands shaking, finger ready to pull the trigger. But Dynamight stops you again, with a dramatic groan as he rolls his eyes into his head. 

“I dunno how many times I gotta fuckin’ explain that that was taken out of context.” He says it like you’re the bother, the nuisance that annoys him, like a fly that just won’t go away. “That video was edited, I would never say some pig shit like that. ’S fuckin’ gross and shitty, and that ain’t me.” 

Most of the times, whenever you’ve confronted men for the shitty things that they had done, they either bragged about it to your face before having their teeth kicked in. Or, they denied it, up until your gun was cocked and aimed on their forehead—then they confessed. 

So why isn’t Dynamight confessing? You stare at him for a long while, at his paling face, how he coughs and groans every few seconds. He stares back at you, like he’s trying to get a good look at you, remember every detail that is the Red Medusa. He breaks the mutual silence with his stupid big mouth. 

“What, ya got cold feet? Nervous about your first Pro Hero kill, huh?” He smiles at you, teeth bloody, grin sharp. It makes you sneer at him, closing one eye as you focus your aim, trying to figure out why the fuck you’re hesitating—you never hesitate. 

“Get it the fuck over with already!” Dynamight roars at you, pressing his head against the gun, using his good arm to hold the barrel of it, jabbing himself with it. You clench your teeth, trying to fight off his hold, when there’s a sudden cracking sound in the distance. 

Instantly, your head snaps over to the sound, find big blocks of ice heading your way, a green flash quick beside it. Your heart drops to your ass—you won’t be able to fight both of them at the same time, and you needed more bullets. You look over to Dynamight, whose eyes are still locked on yours, ripping your gun out of his hands. 

“This isn’t over, asshole.” You bite at him. You dart off without another second, ducking to avoid the ice thrown at you, jumping over the cold obstacle thrown at your feet. You disappear into the woods behind the parking lot, staying low to the ground, as you hear the sounds of shouting bellow out behind you. 

Nobody chases you, though, and the thought of that both calms you and unnerves you. Being chased brings back a torrid of memories, but it feels good being able to cleanly escape without having to shoot someone from over your shoulder. 

***

“What do you mean we shouldn’t go after her?” Deku asks frantically, pulling out gauze from his utility belt as he tries pressing it to Dynamight’s shoulder. But the explosion hero only snatches it away from him with a grunt, holding it to his stomach, grumbling. He lets Deku hold the gauze to his shoulder, but not without a petty snarl. 

“Kacchan!” Deku shouts at him when his eyes close for too long. 

“What?” Dynamight shouts back, lids fluttering open and inflamed, but they don’t carry the same heat they usually do. Deku thinks he might be hurt—bad. 

“Why did you tell Todoroki to not follow her? That was the vigilante who’s been attacking people lately.”

“Men.” Dynamight corrects, hissing through his teeth when the bleeding won’t stop. “She’s been attacking men.” 

“As if that makes it any better.” Shouto replies back sullenly, eyes darting into the woods you disappeared into, but holds himself in place. He doesn’t know why he’s following Bakugou’s barked directions, but something about the urgency in his friends tone makes him stay rooted in his spot. 

“It explains why she’s doing what she’s doing. Just let her go, for now—I’ll catch her later.” Dynamight dismisses, head lolling back against the car as Shouto dials in for the paramedics to put a rush on the ambulance. 

“When?” Deku barks at him, eyebrows furrowed in worry as he holds his friends injured shoulder. “When will that be, Kacchan? When she kills another man?”

“Another rapist.” Dynamight spits. He doesn’t know why he’s going to bats for you when you just put a goddamn hole in his shoulder and stomach. But, it was something about the look on your face, the horror, when you held your bleeding fingertips inches away from your jaw. The empty look in your eyes, like he wasn’t the one you were talking to, like he was only a ghastly figure of every person that’s ever hurt you. 

“No matter a persons crime, it doesn’t give her the right to kill them. It’s against the law.” Deku states matter of factly, his voice low, eyes zeroed in on the blood now seeping out onto his own fingers. Dynamight is quiet for a long while, jaw tight, before he spits out,

“Well maybe the law should change.”

“And then what?” Deku answers him with a snap, eyes set ablaze. “We have civilians killing each other in the streets, create their own judicial system right in the comfort of their own homes?” Deku asks exasperatedly, nose scrunching in irritation when Dynamight leans forward, despite the hissed groan emitting from his throat. 

“It’s better than letting those fuckers—”

“Guys!” Todoroki snaps, looking over his shoulder as the two heroes bicker. “We can hash this out later. The ambulance is here.” Sure enough, there’s red and white lights flashing in the near distance, the sound off to keep from tipping off the press and scaring the civilians in the area. 

At that, Dynamight finally relaxes, body slumping against the car. Deku calls out his name, but he’s too tired to answer the broccoli looking fucker. He just wants to take a long nap before he can find the energy to contact a sketch artist when he awakes. He wonders if the artist in the precinct near his agency would be able to capture the likeness of you on paper. He wonders.

Chapter two — found here

please do not repost anywhere or rec on tik tok!

tag list: @endlessfreaky

[ambyandony]

heres the limbo fusions with the rest of the vento aureo main protags

Limbo + Mista

Mimbo - any pronouns

"Are u lost bbygrl? :)"

(They give a weird stare if asked for a full name. They only use Mimbo, even though it’s a combination of Limbo’s forename and Mista’s surname.)

most stable Limbo fusion merely by virtue of Mista’s simple ability to just not give a fuck.

GET YOUR GUN OUT OF YOUR CLEAVAGE!

bitch gon step on my fuckin toe bitch with them fuckin cowgirl fuckin boots

VITALLY important that you know that despite being easily mistaken as fem on first glance, Mimbo also has the deepest voice of any Limbo fusion for literally no reason other than it’s funny to me. They also have sideburns

Stand: Mighty Wings - Redirects Signals. Still a colony Stand, looks like tiny little pastel fighter jets!

Limbo + Abbacchio

Lio Adkio - they/them

“Don’t say SHIT about my mascara or my eyeliner.”

“In fact, don’t fucking look at me or I’ll have to kill you or myselves.”

stable only because when Limbo started panicking in the mindspace, Abbacchio simply pointed and snapped at her to CALM THE FUCK DOWN. and she did so immediately.

nicer than Abbacchio. not by that much, though… but weirdly apologetic about it.

the eyeliner doesn’t appear to be due to crying, it seems that it just looks like that.

bazongas?

Stand: Keeping The Faith? Never Too Late? Shawty like a melody-

“rewinds” signals to previous states or connections and/or can do a “replay” of those signals’ succeeded actions (i.e. having a phone replay a prior conversation) Unfortunately, it’s pretty useless in combat.

Limbo + Giorno

Glimbo Giovadkins - she(?)/they/them

“Wouldn’t you like to hear one of my 765 fun facts about aerodynamics, animals or Air Bud?”

“I also have a few facts about botany, blood and birds.”

stable, until they’re not. they’re incredibly calm and delightful, but when they think someone’s mad at them they panic and start excessively apologising.

genuinely the softest cutest sweetest lil bitch you’ve ever seen. also traumatised with a guilty conscience and can flip on a dime in a terrifying way.

shortest Limbo fusion for no clear reason? shorter than both Limbo and Giorno.

Squalo’s worst fear.

sounds pretty much how you would expect.

Stand: Crystal Dolphin - can transform signals into life—by taking the signals out of something, typically disabling it, they can create life like Gold Experience can. The more complex the device, the bigger its potential creation.

Limbo + Buccellati

Bimbo Luno Adkellati - they/them

"...I've lost the conversation. I'm gonna go make pizza!"

Megan Thee Stallion?!

has no idea what’s going on for some reason? always looks a little confused and loses track of conversations very quickly.

very good with kids! practically unable to have a coherent conversation with Abbacchio. They don’t seem too distressed, but they just stop making much sense and seem to confuse themselves.

Stand: When Doves Cry? Perhaps Freewill? Uhm… I don’t know? Maybe it can sort of, ‘zip’ signals together, combining two or more functions into one sent signal? Bruno's ability is just so specific... I can't think of many ideas.

Limbo + Fugo

Fimbo (Pannalimbo Adkigo) - they/them

"STOP TALKING ABOUT FREUD BEFORE I KILL YOU WITH MY FUCKING BRACELETS!!!"

( Note: all currently depicted instances of Fimbo seem to be post-PHF, as Fimbo is almost always seen with the mouth scars hidden by the tattoo.)

enemy of the state. punches fascists. lovecore punk goth. in terms of authority figures they only respect Buccellati and Limbo’s dad.

AuDHD trauma poster child. Short fuse but very friendly until something sets them off and they start screaming and or burst into fucking tears.

Self-love in the sense that the fusionmates care about each other deeply and both sides are trying to look out for the other knowing the other won't look out for themself.

Stand: Cabin Fever - Terrifying deathly virus that, rather than being airborne like Purple Haze, is passed though signal transmission. Fimbo doesn’t know if the virus is the same as Purple Haze, a different strain of it, or something entirely different. It spreads most quickly through vocal communication between two people.

Limbo + Narancia

Nimbus Ghirgins - he/they/she

"tummyache... :("

Libby why does my stomach feel like it’s going to fucking collapse in on itself and why are my knuckles torn? aren’t they supposed to bruise when you punch?

bad relationship with food. Hanahaki disease, what are you doing here? (/ij)

sometimes they find Mista sitting around, sit next to him and fall asleep on him immediately

incredibly bad with emotions and doesn’t even get angry they just get overwhelmed instantly at any presence of significant emotion

Stand: Falling in Love/Hard on the Knees - who the fuck let this kid control CO2 emissions?? They can barely control themselves???

[l0serloki]

Dangers

Val Agents reacting to their S/O in danger!

(Chamber, Sova, Fade, Reyna)

CW : GN!Reader, Death & Killing, Battle anxiety, cussing

Chamber : 

This man has EVERYTHING calculated. Even the risk of you getting hurt! 

You are struggling with a double on your back? No issue. You’re drained of your abilities? No problem, Chamber still has his!

He will always keep an eye on you. One word and he’s got your back. 

He dotes on you after, making sure you’re okay! If you need anything he is more than willing to get it. He knows how it feels to have a shitty mission.

“My love, let’s watch out? We should plan next time for you to have more backup.”

You struggled as the KAYO knife hit you. You knew that if you peeked the corner he would end you. You had no abilities and no place to turn. This mission was a failure.. Or so you thought. Taking a last deep breath, you jumped across the chokehold. The KAYO’s bullet grazed your cheek, drawing blood. The loud noise of a gun shot, KAYO falling to the ground. 

Turning, you met eyes with Chamber. He was further away, set up in his nest. You released the anxious breath you were holding, glad that your boyfriend took notice of the predicament. His suave voice came through the comms.

 “My love, let’s try to avoid that situation. We will plan ahead next time.”

You snorted, expecting such a response.

“No, darling. I just love being on the verge of death! It’s my favorite thing.” Sarcasm dripped off your tongue as you took KAYO’s gun, suiting up for the next battle. You knew Vincent always had your back.. And for that you were grateful.

Sova : 

Sova ALWAYS worries. He will never admit this though!

“My dove, I have your back. They will not take my happiness.” 

One scream and he has a shock dart flying to your location. If you are hurt then the enemy is in for it.

Sova has one hand on you all the way back to base. It calms his heart to know you are still with him.

“Don’t leave me. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Please! Help!” You screamed into your comms, hoping one of your allies was near. The enemy Reyna was closing in on you. It was mere seconds before she turned this corner and ended your life. 

“They’re approaching! I can’t defend this myself.” You whispered, coming to terms with the situation. You were not excited for the Sage rez coming in your future.

“Calm down. I am on my way. Stay exactly where you are.” Your boyfriends voice cut through, out of breath from running.

“Sova, I don’t think I have that time-” You started until Reyna peeked the corner. You began shooting and then it hit. A dart falling from the sky landed on her body, ending the battle. There was no way he was that good of a shot.. Right?

“Holy shit, Sova. You did it.” You shook out, running to another corner. Sova’s figure appeared and gave you a light kiss before getting back to work.

“They will not take my star. You bring me so much light. Let’s keep the momentum going.”

Fade : 

If you are in trouble.. The enemies are screwed.

She will release any and all her nightmares in attempts to get you back.

Once you are safe she will just hold you. She already has dreams about losing you.. Best not to make them a reality!

The rest of the day she is angry. Not at you though! Just at others who think they could EVER put a hand on what’s hers.

“Let’s get you home. I’m not looking to rack up anymore deaths for the day.”

You struggled, body tired from running. The whole team was on your ass and your comms were broken. There was no easy way around this. You kept screaming as you made your way through site, praying that someone would come to the rescue. 

“Please! Fade, Sage? Where are you?!” Your yells fell on deaft ears, body turning to shoot at Raze. There was no time to wait for your allies. You sprayed down the halls and got behind cover. 

The ground began to change tones, and a voice echoed across the building.

“Nightmare, take them!” 

Your eyes widened. Fade heard your calls! You jumped into action, taking advantage of your deafened enemies. You shot them down with ease and finally relaxed. Thank god for Fade.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes. Let’s get you home, yeah?” Hazal’s arms wrapped around your torso, pulling you in for a hug. You could only hum in response, glad for that to be over.

Reyna : 

PLEASE.

We all know Reyna will lose control if you need help. Her baby is in danger? No worries, she will take every soul in the room.

She activates empress and zooms through the enemies. All you can hear is cackling and the sound of bodies hitting the floor.

Before you know it you’re being carried. Reyna threw you over her shoulder and she’s mumbling insults in Spanish.

Once you two are on the way home she will clean up your wounds! Either she will bandage you up and give you small kisses or get Sage to heal you. She’s also very demanding on you not moving a muscle. You were so hurt! 

“If they think they will get past me.. Ahaha. The queen will never die.”

“Fucks sake. Get off me!” You screeched, pushing another corpse off you. They seemed to endlessly push you. It was more than tiring and somehow your team was still dealing with ONE enemy on another site.

“Guys, really?I need back up. I have four on me and you can’t kill Neon?” You groaned, more shots firing at your location. You shot back, throwing your last utility in hopes of slowing them down. You had taken a bullet to the leg, the battle looking not too hot.

“How dare they! Don’t worry dear, I’ve arrived.” Reyna’s voice spoke up as she ascended from the tower. She looked you over and shook her head, empress activating. Her warm hand patted your cheek, lips leaving a light kiss.

“Leave this to me. They have no chance against the Queen.”

You could only watch in horror as your girlfriend went in, ending the battle swiftly. You had to agree - they really didn’t stand a chance.

[ell0ra-br3kk3r-writes]

The Phoenix and the Crow

part eighteen

pairing: kaz brekker x fem!reader

genre: neutral

el's thoughts: part eighteen!! ahhh enjoy :)

series masterlist

“Nina.” Matthias gritted out. The girls pinned to the floor clawed at his hands as they grasped her throat tighter. “Witch,” he hissed, leaning over her. “Be me for your life.”

Y/N turned to Kaz, her eyes wide in desperation for him to do something, but as the seconds ticked on he stood there unmoving. The inferni rubbed two fingers together and created a burning flame on her index finger. She slid forward, falling to her knees beside the Fjerdan and held her flame to his neck, close enough for him to feel the heat. “Hands off her.” Matthias slowly released Nina and sat up. Y/N reached a hand out to the girl at her elbow and brought her to stand behind her. Both grish women moved to stand, while the one in front muffled her flame.

The Hellgate prisoner watched the inferni with a flame of his own in his eyes. His glare burned into her. How dare she refuse his chance at revenge. Without a second thought he rose to his feet and lunged at her. He heard a metallic click, and once again someone stood in his way. “Stay down, Helvar.” Kaz had moved to stand inbetween the inferni and Fjerdan with a gun held in his hand. The Bastard had been subtle when he moved his other arm to gently push Y/N further behind him.

“Go ahead and shoot me.”

Y/N could feel Kaz rolling his eyes as he spoke. “If you’ve actually lost your mind, this is going to be a lot tougher than I thought.”

Within seconds, Kaz had swung the grip of his gun into Matthias’ shoulder. He grunted as he fell forward, his left arm had gone entirely numb.

“Get hold of yourself, Helvar. We’re here to break you out. I can do to your leg what I did to your arm, and we can drag you out of here, or you can leave like a man, on two feet.”

“No one gets out of Hellgate,” Matthias said. 

“Tonight they do.”

Matthias sat forward, trying to get his bearings, clutching his dead arm. “You can’t just walk me out of here. The guards will recognize me,” he snarled. “I’m not losing fighting privileges to be carted off, Djel knows where with you.”

“You’ll be masked.”

“If the guards check-”

“They’re going to be too busy to check,” Kaz said. And then the screaming started. 

A gasp escaped Nina, “You opened the cages.” Her voice was shaky with disbelief. Y/N noticed Matthias eye the heartrender as if puzzling out in his head if it was all an act.

“Jesper was supposed to wait until three bells.” Kaz muttered.

“It is three bells, Kaz.” Y/N muttered back.

“Since when is Jesper punctual?” the man complained with a glance at his watch. “On your feet, Helvar.”

~

The rush of waves were finally heard over all the chaos from inside the prison. In the distance, a guard could be seen sitting on a stray boat swaying with the tide. The guard stood up and waved them over, the groupd followed and walked to the boat.

“You were early, Jesper,” Kaz said as he nudged Matthias into the rocking boat.

“I was on time.”

“For you, that’s early. Next time you plan on impressing me, give me some warning.”

“The animals are out, and I found you a boat. This is when a thank you would be in order.”

“Thank you, Jesper.” Y/N smiled at the zemmini while she took Kaz’s hand and allowed him to help her in.

Jesper eyed the pair teasingly, “You’re very welcome, gorgeous. See, Kaz? That’s how the civilized folk do.”

Y/N felt Matthias’ eyes on the side of her face. She shifted uncomfortably, but held herself together as she waited for Jesper to push the boat off the rocks. She turned her head just enough to get a better view of Helvar, she noticed his eyes scanning over everyone around them. She knew his next move before he did, so the moment he stepped up and tried to lunge at her again, she stepped to the side and watched as he tumbled out of the boat. 

Kaz stared at Y/N and waited for her to make eye contact. Once she did and nodded, he turned to Nina. “Put him under,” he commanded. 

“Don’t,” Matthias protested. 

“You’re dumb enough to capsize the boat. And this should teach you not to go after one of my crows again.”

“Stay away from me, you witch.” Matthias growled at Nina. 

Nina gave him a tight nod, “With pleasure.” She lifted her hands. And Matthias’ eye started to slip close. “Kill you,” he mumbled.

“Sleep well.

~

In a windowless room draped in black and crimson, Y/N sat down on the floor with her legs stretched out in front of her. Kaz Brekker was a man who spent too much time in the dark, and the low lighting in the room didn’t help his complexion, but he was still the most strikingly handsome man she had set eyes on. 

The inferni cursed to herself and brought her attention back to what Kaz was saying. Explaining everything he knew about the drug outbreak once again. Y/N shook her head to rid herself of the memory of Nikolai’s coronation. 

The beautifully decorated hall was silent but completely full of guests from all over the world. People gathered to see Nikolai Lantsov crowned king of Ravka. Y/N sat next to Zoya and Genya in the front row to the right of the room and smiled up at Alina as she stood beside Nikolai.

Nikolai had stepped forward and knelt in front of the people, the priest walked to him and placed the crown atop of his blonde locks. The greasy priest took the diamond encrusted staff and tapped each shoulder before handing him the scepter and orb to hold in each hand. Nikolai had slowly risen to his feet and a few silent moments later the rest of the room rose to their feet and broke out into applause. 

No one had paid attention to the lady in red standing in the middle of the aisle till she started shouting in Fjerdan. Everyone had turned to face the disruptance of the ceremony and an unsettling feeling clawed its way up Y/N’s chest. 

With the rise of the lady’s hands the whole room was covered in pain. The people closest to her hand fell forward, spitting blood from their mouths as their knees hit the floor. Her red and gold dress trailed behind her as he walked closer to the king, and with each step more people fell to the floor. Blood spluttered out of people’s mouth and ran down the side of their faces from their ears. 

Zoya had clutched her heart and screamed in agony while Genya slid down her seat, the veins in her neck had a visible strain. Y/N looked to both Alina and Nikolai, hopelessness settled in her eyes as she gasped in pain, trying her hardest to steel herself. 

Alina had hunched forward and pulled her arms to one side of her body before throwing her hands out in front of her, effectively releasing the cut. A shadow cut. 

The lady in red let out a final gasp before the top half on her body slid to the floor, the rest of her crumpled in a heap of blood and silk fabric. 

It was after that that Nikolai had requested Y/N make the journey back to Ketterdam to seek the help of the Crows. The crows whom she had grown personally attached to. Y/N had almost begged Nikolai to send someone else, but he claimed he trusted no one else with a mission like this. And with that she reminded herself of her job and duty to her country. She had no right to let personal feelings and issues get in the way of serving the throne. 

But maybe it couldn’t hurt to indulge a little… “Grisha always live far longer than any otkazat’sya and you know that. You’re setting yourself up for heartbreak all over again.” She turned her head sharply to the side and gritted her teeth. ‘Get out.’ 

“No.” Matthias’ voice startled her out of her thoughts and brought her back to the moment. 

“Believe me when I say this, Helvar: I know getting knocked out and waking up in strange surroundings isn’t the friendliest way to start a partnership, but you didn’t give us many options, so try to open your mind to possibilities.”

“You could have come to me on your knees, and my answer would be the same.”

“You understand I can have you back at Hellgate in a matter of hours? Once poor Muzzen is in the infirmary, the switch will be easy.”

“Do it. I can’t wait to tell the warden your ridiculous plans.”

Kaz smirked, “What makes you think you'll be going back with a tongue?”

“Kaz-” Y/N protested, only earning her a sharp glare, silencing her instantly.

“Do what you want,” Matthias said.

“I told you,” said Nina.

“Don’t pretend you know me, witch,” he snarled, his eyes trained on Brekker.

Jesper unfolded himself from the cornner he occupied. “Without him, there is no job. We can’t break into the Ice Court blind.”

Matthias let out a harsh laugh, “You can’t break into the Ice Court at all.” 

Y/N had learned all about the Ice Court back in Ravka, and she knew it was no ordinary building. It was a compound, Fjerda’s ancient stronghold, home to an unbroken succession of kings and queens, repository of their greatest treasures and most sacred religious relics. It was impenetrable. But if Kaz believed he could find a way in… Then Y/N could only hope he really knew what he was getting them all into. 

“Come now, Helvar,” said Kaz. “Surely there’s something you want. The cause is righteous enough for a zealot like you. Fjerda may think they’ve caught a dragon by the tail, but they won’t be able to hold on. Once Bo Yul-Bayur replicates his process, jurda parem will enter the market, and it’s only a matter of time before the others learn to manufacture it, too.”

“It will never happen. Yul-Bayur will stand trial, and if he is found guilty he will be put to death.”

“Found guilty of what?” Y/N asked.

“Crimes against people.”

“Which people?”

Everyone in the room could hear the barely leashed anger that dripped over Y/N’s voice. “Natural people,” Matthias replied. “People who live in harmony with the laws of this world instead of twisting them for their own gain.”

Nina made a kind of exasperated snorting sound. The others just looked amused, smirking at the poor, backward Fjerdan. 

“You’re being shortsided about this, Helvar,” said Kaz. “Another team could get to Yul-Bayur first. The Shu. Maybe the Ravkans.” Y/N threw him a glare but he ignored her. “All with their own agendas. Border disputes and old rivalries don’t matter to the Kerch. All the Merchant Council cares about is trade, and want to make sure jurda parem remains a rumor and nothing more.”

“So leading criminals into the heart of Fjerda to steal a valued prisoner is a patriotic act?” Matthias asked scornfully. 

“I don’t suppose the promise of four million kruge will sway you, either.” 

Matthias spat. “You can keep your money. Choke on it.” 

Y/N’s mind ran a million miles per hour over the words Kaz had said. Four million kruge. They had never talked about Nikolai’s payment yet, and that fact alone should’ve rung a few alarms. Who was paying him the four million? She knew nothing about payment and she was in a way Ravka’s ambassador in thie situation. Nikolai had sent her to strike a deal with Kaz. This was to be between Ravka and the crows. No one else.

“I’ll make a deal with you.” Matthias spoke.

“I’m listening.”

“I won’t go with you, but I’ll give you a plan for the layout of the Court. That should at least get you past the first checkpoint.”

“And what will this valuable information cost me?” Kaz eyed him sharply.

“I don’t want your money. I’ll give you the plans for nothing.” Matthias hesitated for a split second before his eyes darkened as he spoke his next words. “If you let me kill Nina Zenik.”

[azrielgreen]

Touched 🦇CH8🦇 Preview

Steve’s shoulder hurts, his arm is tingling and painful but it’s much better, so much better in fact he literally couldn’t care less about it.

All he cares about is…

‘Eddie,’ he groans pathetically, trying to get into Eddie’s lap, needs kisses, needs love, needs that aching cavern inside to be filled until he thinks it’ll split him in half, he needs everything. ‘Alpha.’

‘Oh my god, are you fucking serious?’ Nancy hisses, trying to pull Steve away. ‘This is not the time!’

‘Is it the Thing?’ Jonathan asks in a low whisper.

Eddie grunts with the effort of dodging Steve’s kisses, in the end has to flip Steve around and imprison him in a wall of muscle, wrap him in tight arms with Steve’s back against Eddie’s chest.

‘Stop it, you have to be quiet.’

Steve can’t, he’s writhing with it. Doesn’t know if it’s the adrenaline, or the pain or what, but he’s… he feels like he is mid heat and Jesus Christ, he doesn’t care who sees it, but he’s gonna have to beg Eddie to fuck him right here, on the dead soil of this dead world.

‘Can’t,’ he whines, scrabbling for freedom. ‘Eddie, can’t control it. Use the voice, please.’

Eddie doesn’t hear him though and Steve’s facing away, so he dips into the bond, finds it scalding hot to the touch and fever-bright.

Use the voice to calm me down, please.

I can’t do that.

If you don’t I’m gonna lose it and get us killed. Use it carefully, I know you can. I love you. Please.

When he opens his eyes, he’s wet between the legs, he’s throbbing and desperate, his blood thick with itch and his body screaming to be filled, fucked, bred.

Eddie’s cheek is against Steve’s, holding him from behind when he drops his voice to that rope burn baritone, and says, ‘Be calm and quiet for me, Omega. Slow, deep breaths. Calm. Relaxed. You’re OK. Just for a few minutes then it’ll pass.’

Steve feels like someone cut his strings.

His whole body sags, his brain drops into bliss and he exhales a breathy sigh, feels so much better.

Everything’s fine.

He just has to breathe.

‘That’s it,’ Eddie says, kissing him, holding him tight and his voice cracks beneath the weight of a guilt that Steve doesn’t understand because everything is fine, it’s OK, it’s perfect. ‘That’s it, so good for me.’

‘Fucking hell,’ Jonathan utters, but it’s not about Steve. Everyone is looking up at the shadow passing overhead.

Everyone except Steve, who just needs to breathe.

‘What the fuck are they?’ Jason whispers.

‘Never seen those before,’ Hopper states grimly. 

‘They’re like bats.’

‘Owens said everything has a hive mind, so let’s make sure to stay out of sight.’

Eddie muses, ‘Like the Crebain?’

‘What the hell is a Crebain?’

‘He still can’t hear you,’ Chrissy reminds Nancy.

‘I can hear you through Steve,’ Eddie points out, sounds deeply unhappy about it though. ‘When he’s like this… he’s mindless. There’s no interference. I can hear through him.’

‘My god,’ Robin mutters.

Hopper turns to watch the last of them fly on. ‘They’re passing by.’

Steve is so relaxed.

So calm.

He could nap.

‘You’re doing so great, Little Fox,’ Eddie tells him, kissing his neck. ‘Just a few more seconds and then you’ll be back to normal.’

‘Are you controlling him?’ Jason demands.

‘Stay the fuck out of it, Carver.’

‘That’s gross, that’s like mind control.’

‘You don’t know shit, so shut your mouth!’

‘Guess you really are a monster.’

‘Hey,’ Hopper warns sharply. ‘Enough. Carver, don’t make me regret bringing you. Munson, sack up, I mean it. No bullshit in here, it’s too dangerous.’

Steve feels like he’s waking up, even with his eyes open. He can hear other sounds, he’s noticing things. It comes in a massive rush of pure overwhelm.

And the death right with it.

The smile in the dark.

The dead eyes.

I see you. I taste you. I know you, Steven James Harrington. I will find you.

[jasntodds]

Caving In [4]

Pairing: Gar Logan x Fem!Powered!Reader, Jason Todd x Fem!Powered!Reader

Words: 7,625

Chapter Warnings: Swearing, a nightmare, fluff, hurt/comfort, some paranoia, mention of torture, mention of abuse, Dick tries to kind of have “the talk”, Jason and reader argue (we all know sometimes Jason is an asshole, this is the only time this kind of argument happens btw), mentions of bruising and swelling, a mention of drug addiction, mentions of death

Summary: ❝Tell me Atlas: What is heavier, The world or its people’s hearts?❞ You never expected your life to end up this way, turned upside down by an infamous Gotham villain. It’s been a living hell, every single day, until Dick Grayson brings you to Titans tower where you meet Gar Logan and Jason Todd.

A/N: I’m really excited to post chapter 7 just so you guys know lol This feels kind of like a filler but this is the only one that feels like it I think?? I might try to post chapter 5 this weekend because of that lol I am easily motivated to post more often when I get feedback 😂 The first few chapters take place between season 2 episode 1 and season 2 episode 2. You can add yourself the tag list below, ask me to be tagged, or you can follow my library blog @jasntoddslibrary​ and turn on notifications if you prefer that!!

series masterlist | masterlist | tag list

Nightmares are a funny thing. They’re rarely anything realistic once you’re able to be calm enough to think about them. But they always contain some type of fear or traumatic event someone has experienced. Sometimes, it’s not rational or there is some deep hidden meaning behind the nightmare but other times, it’s just from trauma left unhandled. Those nightmares are the worst.

They make you revise the worst times of your life over and over and over like a broken record. No matter what you do, you lose in the nightmare. Years later, you might be happy and healthy but the nightmare comes back and you feel like you’re right back where you were. Trapped in the never-ending agony. Trapped inside a tilt-a-whirl made of panic attacks and broken hearts. And every single night, it’s a living hell.

And that’s where you are now, living your own personal hell with screaming so loud your throat is raw and ragged breaths beg your chest to finally cave in. The flashes of your “foster dad” scar the back of your eyes with every blink, like Freddy Krueger clawing his way to the surface. You might have escaped him physically, but mentally you’re trapped like a bear at a circus. Your hands shake as tears well behind your eyes and as the panic rages through your veins, the anger sets in. And you’re so mad that you’re allowing this piece of shit to haunt you even in your sleep, somewhere you might just feel safe. How are you ever supposed to be safe from him if you can’t even sleep? What if he finds you? What if, somehow, your nightmares are just a sign he’s coming after you? What are you supposed to do then? What if he has powers and that’s why he’s coming to finish you off?

A million what-ifs scramble through your brain as you sit in your bed, the bedside lamp still on. You get out of bed and it’s not even like you’re walking. With every worst-case scenario running through your head at once, you’re just moving through motions to exit your room. You need to make sure he isn’t here, need to make sure everyone here is safe from him, that you’re safe from him.

Your hands go up, right in front of you, slightly outstretched as if waiting for you to run into him. The palms of your hands glow green, ready for any type of attack you might come across in the secure tower while you tiptoe your way out of your room.

“Y/n?” A groggy voice from the right pulls your attention as you were just about to walk down the hallways. You jump and spin quickly, the glow of your hands intensifying in the dim light of the hallway. “It’s me.” Gar defends quickly, putting his hands up. “Gar?” His voice is still groggy but full of fear as he glances between your hands and your face.

You could see him with the dim lights of the hallway and the green glow of your hands but it still didn’t click, not until he said his name. You aren’t sure where your head was but a part of you is scared because of it. You were so lost in a state of fear and urgency to make sure everything was safe, you were blinded. It’s a bit terrifying. 

You lets out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding, dropping your hands as the green fades. “Fuck, what’re you doing?” You whisper-yell at him.

Gar takes a few steps towards you. “You were screaming.” He whispers back to you. “I heard you so I came to see if you were okay.”

The walls aren’t thin but Gar is pretty sure your scream could have woken up anyone. It was loud and pained, etched in terror. But, that’s a thing that happens here from time-to-time. Everyone has a habit of occasionally waking up screaming. It’s either childhood trauma haunting them or new trauma from Trigon. Gar figures that’s why no one else got up. They’re conditioned to be used to it.

You watch him carefully as the panic starts to cloud with feelings of regret and guilt. You didn’t realize you had screamed loud enough to wake anyone up. That’s not fair to anyone, to be woken by someone who can’t handle their own shit. And then to be standing out in the middle of a hallway at the crack of dawn with sleep still in their eyes talking about it. You look to the floor, shifting your weight on your feet and chewing on the inside of your cheek.

“Are you….okay?” Gar asks, coming a little closer.

When you fell asleep on him earlier, you looked peaceful. Normally, you kind of always have this look of fear. Your eyes always seem a little distant and you look behind whoever you’re talking to a lot. You don’t make eye contact for longer than a few seconds. But while you slept, you looked at ease and peaceful and calm, like you didn’t need to look over your shoulder anymore but then you shot up out of nowhere. Gar knew it had to have been a nightmare. He reacts the same way when he has one, maybe everyone does but he knows the signs. Wide eyes, ragged breathing, distant but sleep-filled eyes. And now, you’re awake again from a nightmare and it doesn’t sit right with the kind boy with green hair.

You nod. “Y-yeah.” You offer a fake smile. “You, uh, you can go back to bed.”

“Are you going to go back to bed?” Gar asks with a pointed look and he doesn’t want you to be alone. The shadows are a bit more haunting when you’re alone.

“Uh….I mean….eventually.” You answer softly, dropping your head slightly.

“I can stay with you until you fall asleep if you want.” Gar shrugs his shoulders, putting his hands in the pockets of his pajama pants.

You raise a brow at him, not looking pleased with the idea. You don’t want to inconvenience him or seem weak. You’re in a tower full of heroes and you can’t even sleep through the night. The last thing you want is for any of them to see you as the weak link. What happens if you can’t pull it together? Will they just drop you because you’re not strong enough?

“It-it’s okay.” You  don’t smile this time, you just keep chewing your lip, pulling your sleeves over your hands, something Gar has been noticing you do.

“What were you doing out here?” Gar asks, his voice kind and not accusing but you shake your head, knowing it sounds ridiculous. “I won’t tell anyone.” He offers and there’s this sweet but subtle smile pulling at his lips.

Jason, a few hours ago, told you to talk to him. He said maybe it would help and the only way he’d know that, is if Gar knows Jason’s baggage, too. Jason doesn’t seem the type to wave the white flag and spill all of his secrets. Maybe Gar just cares about everyone and maybe it will help.

You sigh and cave. “I-I-I was….was just making sure….uh….he wasn’t….here.” You stutter but eventually get everything out and a part of Gar’s heart breaks at hearing it. 

You aren’t looking at him, a sense of shame consuming you and Gar is not about to have you feeling bad for worrying that the person who tortured you is seeking you out in the one place you feel safe. It’s not fair and it’s not right. Gar knows whatever you went through was horrible but the fact you’re so worried that the person is in the tower? It’s unfathomable.

Gar starts walking past you, stopping a few steps ahead of you and offering you his hand. “We’ll look together.”

You look at his hand and then up at him with his words and you can feel your nose getting warm while your eyes burn. Your entire face softens and there’s something about the offer that makes you feel like everything in you is being warmed by a fireplace, warmed by a place one can only describe as home. He didn’t think you were crazy or that it was ridiculous or stupid. He just…offered to help.

So, you put your hand in his, following him through the tower.

As you walk, you hold his hand tightly noticing the soft callouses. His grip is tight but in a comforting type of way and he glances at you every few seconds as if making sure you’re okay. You walk from room to room, turning on the lights and verifying there isn’t anyone around before you end up in the comms room with the supercomputer. Gar takes a seat and shows you that everything is still secure and there hasn’t been a break-in. Everyone still needs their fingerprints to get in and the front door is done by facial recognition. According to the logs, no one has been in or out of the tower since nine the night before.

“I’m sorry.” You say quietly, standing to the side of Gar with arms crossed and eyes on the large screen in front of you. “I know this was stupid.”

Gar spins in the chair to face you but your eyes don’t move. “It’s okay, ya know? You’re scared and this is a new place. It’s not stupid.”

“It feels like it though, I-i-i….I see him anytime I close my eyes.” Your voice is so small.

You think maybe you should take Jason’s advice fully. Gar is awake with you anyway and you woke him up. He could have gone back to bed but he walked with you instead, knowing full well there wasn’t an intruder in the tower. It’s like you owe him some type of explanation.

“Foster dad.” You clarify. “He’s originally from Gotham, too, ya know? So him being a complete psychopath kind of tracks.” There’s a sharp bitterness in your voice but you keep your stare off of Gar, afraid that if you can see the look on his face you know he’s giving you, you’ll just shut down and go to bed.

“He just…did that to you?” Gar asks with furrowed brows and pain in his voice.

“Yep, he wanted powers. Some weird thing against Batman and Robin so he used me because ya know, the system doesn’t actually give a fuck about most foster kids.” You grit your teeth, your fists balling in your arms. “Then thought I was concealing my powers from him because he was certain his experiments were working so he’d try to literally beat them out of me.” You shrug a shoulder. “Guess he was right.”

Gar pauses, piecing it together. He was sure you would have tried to use your powers, but you didn’t? “Wait so….you never used your powers around him and—“

“Let him beat me until he thought I was dead?” You ask, just glancing at Gar long enough to see him nod. “Yep. If he knew it worked, he’d have killed me anyway. Letting him think he failed was…” You tilt your head side to side slightly. “Vindicating in a way. I, uh, I know it sounds so stupid but I was desperate to try and get out. Desperate people do stupid things."

“I’m so sorry that happened.” Gar’s eyes are glued to you, hating the idea of living through that.

He was tortured before and it haunts him every single day. He wasn’t even tortured for very long and it’s still hell. You were tortured for a lot longer. He gets your hesitance and your paranoia. He’d be paranoid, too if he were you.

“Yeah….” You sigh. “So, I might have escaped physically but the piece of shit really isn’t leaving my dreams alone, I guess.”

Gar sits on it for a few seconds. While he was kind of this weird experiment in a way, Dr. Caulder knew it would work and it would save him. He never had to fear for his life around him. He feared speaking up and being himself because sometimes the doctor wasn’t very nice. He didn’t really like other people being their own people, not if it contradicted what he believed or wanted. So, he can’t even fathom want horrors haunt your mind even in safety.

“I can check the tower for you every night if you want.” Gar offers. You jerk your head in his direction, surprise etched across every crease of your face. “And uh, if you have a nightmare, you can wake me up. I leave my door unlocked anyway…if it’ll make you feel better.”

“Y-y-you’d do that?”

Gar gains a sheepish smile as he shrugs. “Yeah, of course.”

You will never tell Jason, but maybe he was right about telling Gar. You feel a little better about it and he’s so nice. He’s offering to lose sleep when you have a nightmare which could be every night. You wonder how he’s chosen to be so kind despite whatever he’s been through.

“Thank you.” You look to the ground and then finally look at Gar. “Can you not tell anyone? Please?”

He chuckles softly. “Your secret is safe with me.”

“Thanks, it means a lot.” You suck in a breath. “Well, now that I know my delusions are just delusions, I’m gonna try and get some more sleep.” You give him a genuine smile this time.

“I’ll be up if you need anything.” Gar says, turning back to the computer to exit out of the security system.

“I’m so sorry.” You apologize again. “I didn’t mean to keep you from sleeping or anything.”

“It’s okay.” Gar assures you. “I should be getting up early anyway.”

“Okay.” You nod, offering him a closed and small smile.

It’s six now so Gar’s alarm would be going off in an hour anyway. But, you’re still going to go to bed. He didn’t hear you go to bed the night before and it was pretty late when you woke up from the first nightmare.

“What, uh what time did you go to bed anyway?”

“Uh….” You squint an eye, trying to remember the last time you looked at your phone. “Four? I think?”

“Wow, okay.” Gar’s brows raise quickly as he chuckles softly.

“I-I got talking with Jason last night so…” Your words fall off. “Couldn’t sleep and I ran into him.”

Gar nods slowly, ignoring the tint of a burn in his chest. You talked to Jason but not him? He’s been so nice to you and he feels like you trust him. All you do with Jason is this weird banter thing that Gar is slowly realizing maybe it’s flirting. Not that he’s actively trying to pursue anything because that doesn’t feel right either. But something about you talking to Jason, hurts. He’s always deemed himself a trustworthy person who’s a pretty good listener but you went to probably the worst listener on the face of the planet. He doesn’t really get it and he knows he has not right to assume you would tell him anything. Above everything else, he’s just surprised you got talking to Jason.

“What’d ya talk about?” Gar plays it cool, not digging but just asking.

“Uh….nothing really, I guess.” You lie and it’s at that moment you realize you lie a lot. Not that you intend to, it just feels like an instinct now either to protect yourself or other people. “I mean…not nothing.” You correct yourself. “Some of what happened in a very unserious manner.”

Gar nods his head again and you might be a little dense but you’re not so dense that you missed the way he stiffed in his chair. “Did it help?” He asked.

“Well, I, uh, I felt better after but then I had a nightmare so….not sure how much talking about it really helped.” You scoff as you roll your shoulders.

“Is it because it was unserious?” Gar asks, quoting your direct word.

You shake your head. “Nah, always been better with unserious ways of talking about trauma. When it gets too….emotional I don’t….” You look to the floor, tugging your sleeves over your hands. “I don’t like it very much, like it less than I usually do, I suppose.”

“You can talk to me.” Gar offers, looking back over to you.

“I know.” You smile at him softly, it’s almost a smirk that forms. “Can you get a little snarky and nasty about it?”

“Would it help?” Gar chuckles, his position loosening with the question and the burning sensation in his chest starting to dissipate.

“Yeah, you can’t give that look you do. With the big eyes and sad expression, makes me feel weird.” You scrunch the left side of your mouth upwards.

Gar laughs softly, putting his hands up. “Okay, I’ll try my best.”

“Thanks.” You look around the room and then back to him. “I do like talking to you and hanging around you. You make me feel comfortable here.” You admit and then realize you’re saying way too much. “Okay well, that’s enough for today. I’m actually going to bed.” You smile at him and it almost feels like you should hug him or something but that also feels like it might just get awkward so you opt for a small wave as if that wasn’t just as awkward.

“Sleep well.” Gar laughs softly, matching the wave with burning cheeks.

You finally get some much-needed rest, without a nightmare. It wasn't a lot of sleep by any means but it was a lot more than you’ve gotten in a long time and for the first time, you actually feel well-rested. You aren't sure if it's because you talked with Gar about what happened a little bit or if it's because you knew he was awake and wouldn't let anyone in your room if they tried. Or that he helped you look around the tower for Jerry like two crazy people. Maybe it's a combination of everything but you feel a lot better.

You find yourself walking into the kitchen once you’re fully awake, still dressed in pajamas. Your thing has always been you shouldn't need to get properly dressed if you aren't actively doing something or going somewhere. Why bother dirtying clothes?

When you walk into the kitchen, Gar and Jason are sat on the barstools while Dick is making some type of shake, Rachel is just coming in from the opposite hall. The boys look a little sweaty, devouring their food like they haven’t eaten in days. You assume they’d just gotten done with a training session and, apparently, were too hungry to shower first.

"Good morning." Dick chimes, bits of sarcasm in his words given it just being past noon.

You pause, glaring at him. "You're one of those aren't you?"

"What?" Dick chuckles, confusion in his face.

"Thinking the early bird gets the worm or whatever." Your voice is flat and you might be well-rested and it might be the afternoon, but you’re not a morning person.

Dick shrugs. "It's true."

"But the mouse gets the cheese, my guy." You give him a thumbs up, moving to the seat between Jason and Gar and sitting down. Gar gives you this gentle smile while Jason has this proud smirk pulling at his lips. "What?" You look at Dick who looks somewhere between amused and contentment.

Dick is looking at you with a sense of ease and accomplishment. He thought you’d be more...closed off longer. This is a new place, you’re traumatized and hurt. But, you seem comfortable, using sarcasm with him that isn’t hurtful and plopping down right between the boys whose expressions did not go unnoticed by Dick. Dick feels like he might be doing something really good here.

"Nothing." Dick's face settles with amusement. "Settling okay?"

"Mhm." You hum.

"Since she doesn't shut the fuck up, I'm sure she's fine." Jason states, his voice trying to sound menacing.

Gar and you look to Jason with annoyance. "You have not shut up for a single second I have been here and this is day three. You had no complaints last night." You look away, Dick looking between the two of you with his cup held to his mouth. He doesn’t even wanna know.

"You were whining, I wanted you to shut up and it worked." Jason mumbles and  you let out a laugh. What is his issue?

"I don't whine, I complain. There's a difference." You hold your pointer finger up to correct him and Jason cracks a smile, Gar chuckles into his water bottle.

"Same shit." Jason fires back. "You could stop."

You roll your eyes and that's when the idea sparks. Jason isn’t winning this, this is your game to win. "Hey, Dick, question: What's your rule on dating? Ya know in the tower?"

Jason and Gar both stiffen in their seats, you catching it out of the corner of your eyes and it takes everything in you not to burst out laughing or break the stare you have with Dick. Gar is choking on his water and Jason's cheeks are turning red while Dick is stuck looking at all three of you wondering how the hell he got here. The last thing Dick wants to do is discuss this. Of course, he knew there was a chance of something going on, but he kind of assumed it would just happen. He didn’t think he’d get dragged into it, not like this at least.

"She's screwing with you." Rachel says from the other side of Gar. You give Dick a wide smirk, Gar and Jason looking a little displeased, Jason more than Gar who almost looks disappointed.

"Of course she is." Dick lets out a breath, his expression unamused. 

"Sorry, you were a necessary casualty in getting Jason to shut up for a few seconds." You hold an apologetic smile.

Jason flirts a lot and in your experience, if you bring up dating out of the blue, it’ll shut someone like Jason up faster than anything because it’s out of left field. He’s caught off guard and it gets his brain going on if there’s something going on. You think it’s funny, you’ve won this bit.

"Well, since you wanted to bring it up..." Dick starts and all four of you suddenly look like you need seatbelts.

"No, not the talk, please." Gar begs with a groan.

Dick grimaces. "No, of course not. I trust you all know about that." Even if you didn’t, Dick isn’t sure he’d be able to give the talk. He’d call Donna and Dawn. They’re the responsible ones.

"Some of us more than others." Jason quips with a smirk.

"Gross." Rachel mutters.

"Dude." Gar looks past you and at Jason, shaking his head at Jason.

"Anyway, uh..." Dick fumbles for words, realizing he never had any intention of this conversation which was his fault given the Titans past of relationship in the tower. "Just make sure everyone is consenting and be safe?"

"You sound so uncertain about that." You raise a brow as your words are slow.

"I don't know how to have this conversation." Dick defends.

"We don't have to." Gar is grimacing in his seat. "We know, safety and consent, got it." It’s not that Gar is a prude, it’s just awkward and he’s not much of a fan of awkward conversations. If it were just him and Dick, it wouldn’t be awkward, but it's everyone.

"Don't bring drama into the training room or while we're out."

"Obviously." Rachel says, already tired of the conversation.

"That won't be a problem." Jason mutters.

You rolls your eyes at him before looking back to Dick. "You're doing great, bud." You give Dick a thumbs up.

"That's it. I don't care, don't do anything.....graphic..."

"God." Gar groans, making you laugh. But, everyone has gathered this look of disgust on their faces with Dick’s choice of words. "Please, stop talking." Gar pleads.

"In a public area of the tower." Dick continues.

All of your faces contort into a grimace, even Jason’s. That is such an odd and specific request. You did not think this is where that joke would go. You didn’t think it’d go anywhere, let alone here.

"I feel like there's a very specific reason you said that and I don't wanna know." You laugh. "I'm sorry, I didn't think he'd decide to have this conversation." You apologize to the room.

"And what did you learn today?" Dick asks, not too happy about feeling like he had to have the talk with the new Titans.

"You want me today something like pick my words more carefully next time but...I think I just learned not bring up interpersonal relations with you in front of other people." You scrunch your nose.

Dick lets out a sigh. "Well, are we clear then?"

"YES." Gar yells, dramatically. "Can we stop now? This is awkward."

"Come on, Gar. Surely this isn't new territory for you." You kick Jason under the counter. "Ow! What the fuck?"

"Shut the fuck up." You snip at him.

"Yeah? And What are you gonna do about it?" Jason looks you up and down.

You narrow your eyes and for a second you think about what you could do. You could give him a burn, something equivalent to a rug burn. But, that’s not right and you’d never actually try to hurt him, not like this. And you can’t punch him because that also seems a bit extreme. He’d probably see it coming anyway, block you, then hit you back.

"That's what I thought." Jason scoffs with a look of pride as he’s won.

You shove him with your hand, Jason falling off of his chair. He hits the floor with a thud, looking at up at you with a twisted face filled of anger and shock. For someone who can't fight and who's injured, you’re ballsy. Jason could fight you right now and you'd basically be defenseless but Jason wouldn't do that. He knows where the lines are when it comes to physical contact and he doesn't cross them. He crosses a lot of lines, but fighting people who can't fight back isn't one of those. So, he's even more pissed about it.

Jason gets back to his feet, closing the distance between him and you. "What the fuck is your problem, huh?" Jason yells in your face, Gar adjusting in his seat, ready to get up at any point and Dick is ready to step in if he needs to.

"You are, apparently. Why do you have to be such a fucking asshole? For no reason? Aren't you friends?"

"He doesn't need you to come to his fucking defense. I was fucking joking." Jason snarls, looking just past you at Gar before looking back at you.

"Right." You mutter. "Except it's obvious the whole conversation has made him uncomfortable so why don't you go cool the fuck off. You obviously need to." You sit straight in your seat, your face close to Jason's and you’re not backing down.

"You shoved me!" Jason flings his arm out in frustration.

"You asked me what I was gonna do about it! So I showed you!" You bark at him. "What are you gonna do about it?"

A dry laugh escapes Jason's throat and he doesn't want to actually fight you, but you’re making it a little tempting right about now. "Is that all you fucking have?" He taunts you instead.

"Wanna test me?" You open your palms, holding them just in front of your shoulders as they glow. Jason looks at the green and he doesn't get how people with powers are so willing to use them. He doesn't need powers. He's got his fists and those are plenty.

"Because you're just another freak, right?"

Gar gets off his seat at that comment, pushing Jason slightly and standing in between you and Jason. "Dude, go calm down. It's not that serious." Gar keeps his voice level, trying to diffuse the situation.

"You a team now, huh?" Jason looks in between you.

"Jason, come on. Cool off for a few minutes." Dick keeps his stance, choosing not to crowd the already heated area.

"Fuck you guys!" Jason yells, pushing past Gar and heading down the right hallway.

Gar sits down again and Dick's position relaxes with Jason out of the room. Gar's just surprised it went as far as it did but it's also Jason. He has buttons and pushing them sometimes leads to blow-ups. Jason is still his friend but sometimes, he really does not make it easy and this is one of those times. He doesn't understand why Rachel and now you are freaks but somehow Gar is never a freak. He has powers, too and as far as he's concerned, turning into a tiger is far more freakish than whatever you have going on. And he always acts like it's your fault, somehow. Rachel was just born like that, no one gets to pick their biological parents. And Gar and you were injected. How is that right? It hurts a little because Gar knows that if they weren't friends, he'd be the target one of Jason's freak rants.

"Is that what everyone meant by I'd get used to Jason?" You ask the room.

"Yeah." Gar answers and Dick nods. "He does that sometimes."

"Interesting." You hum quietly, your hands shaking slightly, Gar taking notice.

"Are you okay?" He asks, looking between your hands and your eyes.

"Oh..." You quickly move your hands under the countertop and tug your sleeves down. "I'm, uh I'm fine." You fake a smile at him.

It's not that you really thought Jason might hit you, him hitting you over a shove didn’t even cross your mind. You don't really know if he's the type that gets mad and hits people, you don't really know him at all. But, you'd think that would have been a warning from someone if that were the case. It was more that you don't like getting yelled at apparently. It wasn’t an issue before Jerry but, now it seems to be another trigger.

"He wouldn't have hurt you." Dick assures you, as if reading your mind.

"Jason doesn't hit people here when he gets mad, just yells a lot." Gar assures you, following Dick's lead.

"I didn't think he'd hit me." You tell them with ease. "Got that throbbing thing in the back of my head when someone's going to." You remind them. "And I just...I'm not scared of him. Guess I just don't like being yelled at when someone is in my face." You look to the counter. "I'm fine, honest."

"Are you sure?" Gar asks.

"Yeah." You give him a soft smile. "Thanks though. I'm gonna eat." You get down and find a bowl in a cabinet, moving around Dick.

"Okay, I'm gonna go check on Jason then, make sure he's cooling down." Dick gives Gar a look and a nod toward you. Gar nods in response while Dick leaves to find Jason.

You make your cereal while Gar watches you. Your hands are still shaking and he feels bad. It's not his fault that Jason blew up because it's Jason. He blows up at everything but Gar could have defended himself. It's nice that you did. He's never had someone defend him like that but it got you yelled at by Jason and after you had, what Gar assumed to be, a pretty nice conversation the night before. He just worries about you.

"Hey," Gar starts as you take your seat back next to him. "Wanna do something today?" Gar asks.

You furrow your brows at him, before taking a bite of your cereal. "Like what?"

"What'd you wanna do?" Gar shrugs, figuring maybe you should be the one to decide. He just wants to hang out with you.

"Mmmm." You hum and think for a second. "Dye my hair." You chuckle softly.

"That's what you wanna do?" Gar asks.

"Mhm." You hums. "Always wanted to and you have green hair, Rachel's hair is purple." You shrug.

You just want a change. This is a big change, being at the tower but that doesn’t have anything to do with your appearance. You like how you look but you want something different. Your mom never let you dye your hair even though you really wanted to. This place, this place allows you to do that and to change something about yourself. It’s a way to take control of something. The way you see it, with all the bruising and swelling, you don’t look much like yourself anyway. Might as well change the hair, too.

"Okay." Gar beams at you. "We can go get whatever dye you want today and I can help. I'm not sure how much help I'll be but maybe we can get Rachel to help if you want." Gar rambles off and he seems so energetic and happy about it.

"Uh..." You stutter. "Okay, yeah that'd be fun. Thank you." The smile you give him is wide and filled of joy.

"What color?"

You tell him your favorite color, beaming at him. "Always thought that hair was cool." You smirk at him.

"We'll go when you're done eating." Gar gets up from his chair. "I'm gonna shower first."

"Have a blast." You grin to yourself, going back to your cereal. "Meet me in my room after?" You look back to him and he nods with a cheery smile before turning on his feet, and quickly heading down the hallway. "He's so cute." You say to yourself, going back to your cereal.

After Gar's shower, he met with you in your room. You were already dressed and ready to go, you even asked Rachel for help when you got back which Rachel was more than happy to help. Once Gar was ready, he was the one that asked Dick for some money before you left and off you went with Rachel, you feeling more comfortable having both Gar and Rachel with you. You realize how great it is that Rachel was willing to help because you never would have gotten something everything you needed.

When you got back, Gar and you met with Rachel in a bathroom. Rachel got everything together and get to work with your hair. You explained to Rachel that you still wanted some of your natural hair color but the majority of it to be dyed. Rachel understood what you were explaining while Gar seemed a little confused.

As Rachel helped with your hair, the three of you got talking about past lives. You all avoided all talk about trauma and tragic backstories and instead talked about your favorite movies and shows, music. If you'd ever been to a concert, the best places you've ever eaten, random stories about family and friends you had before everything. And while these conversations are going on, there's warmth and comfort that consumes you.

This is the longest you’ve gone without thinking about how your face looks or how your body is sore or Jerry. It's just the three of you and you feel so at home because Gar and Rachel make it so easy. And you wonder if this is what real friendship feels like.

Sure, you had friends before your mom died. But that was then and this is now. You had a small circle of friends but only one that you really relied on and could tell anything to. But then your mom died and it all got so messy and heavy. You couldn't inconvenience even your best friend with your problems over it. Your best friend never really understood the person you started to become after. Vengeful and spiteful and angry. And desperate and cold and detached. It struck like a hurricane right through your friendship.

You couldn't handle anything and you were always running from CPS. What kind of friend would you be if you endangered your best friend's mom by getting in trouble with CPS? You knew it was only a matter of time before they threatened to take your best friend away if they didn't give you up. At least, that's how you always saw it. It was always such a big fear and you couldn't put them through that, on the chance it did happen so you just left one day and never came back. But you weren't a very good friend then either.

You had all these plans of hunting down the Joker and even though you'd probably die, too, hunting him down would have made it worth it to you. To look him in the eyes and just try to hit him or shoot him, if you had a gun anyway. You knew you would never make it out alive and that was something you deemed to be okay because you didn't have anything worth living for anymore. Your dad went off to choose drugs over you, your mom died, your best friend not knowing how to handle anything. A suicide mission seemed like a pretty sweet deal at the time. But, now you’re here with Gar and Rachel, in this bathroom getting the hair you’ve wanted to try and maybe you have more worth living for.

"Okay, what do you think?" Rachel asks, shutting the blow-dryer off, proud of the dye job she's done.

You look in the mirror and your face lights up. Stripes of the color consume the majority of your head and you could not be happier in this moment. "I love it!" You squeal before turning around. "Thank you!" You hug Rachel quickly before turning back around and there's a sweet and amused smile on Gar's face.

"It looks really good on you." Gar's smile turns shy as you look to him.

"Y-you think so?" You asks, your stomach swirling with his words.

Gar nods. "Yeah, I like the color." Gar’s smile is the softest thing in the world.

"How cute." Rachel giggles before cutting it short as Gar looks at her with wide eyes. "It looks good, yeah." Rachel agrees.

"Thank you." You look at yourself again and you’ve never had this hair before, but it makes you feel more like yourself. It's probably the self-expression it's allowing you to have but you really like it. "And hey, now people will have something else to look at that's not my face." You laugh softly.

"You're face looks good, too." Gar says so quickly, you and Rachel barely catch it, but you do and you both look at him with raised brows. Rachel looks in between you and Gar, waiting for something to happen. This is the most entertainment she's had since they got to San Francisco. "I mean..." Gar stutters. "The, uh, the bruises and stuff, they're healing."

"Mhm." You hum with burning cheeks. "Thank you, Gar."

Gar feels the embarrassment wanting to eat him alive. He can't believe he said that out loud. Now Rachel is looking at him with knowing eyes and he can't help it. Sometimes, things just come out and then he feels like he has to backtrack and now he's embarrassed even though you didn't seem bothered by it. Which then makes him think he didn't need to add in the last comment about the bruises. Surely, you know he didn't mean just the bruises are looking fine now and the meant your whole face but now he doesn't know and he has got to get his brain to shut up for five seconds.

"There you are." Dick says, looking into the bathroom, the door wide open.

"Yes?" Rachel asks.

"Training room." Dick says.

Gar checks the time on his phone, seeing they were in fact late for their last training session. Shopping with you took a little longer than expected since you stopped for food and were having fun together. Then dying your hair took a while but Dick doesn't seem mad about it.

The three of you follow Dick to the training room where Jason is already waiting, as if he hadn't left the room since this morning. You sit on a bench and watch as you’re not allowed to train yet. Dick mostly supervises after giving them some instructions on what to do and then gives pointers. You mostly watch Gar and Jason.

It's interesting watching them. Jason is clearly the aggressor. You can't tell if it's all his pent-up aggression or if it's just his experience as Robin that makes him the aggressor but you find it interesting nonetheless. Gar and Rachel seem to work together to go against Jason even though they're all supposed to be working against each other. Gar works more on a defensive tactic, going for Jason after Jason comes for him or while Rachel has him distracted and that's when Gar gets a hit it. They're being trained by the same person but they fight differently and it seems to match their personalities.

Dick walks over to you as the other three continue to spar. "Like the new hair." Dick compliments you.

"Thanks, Rachel did it for me." You beam up at him.

"Feeling more comfortable?"

"Yeah..." You sigh. "I give you shit 'cause it's fun but I think I'm gonna like it here. Thank you again for taking me in." You say candidly. You make a mental note to thank him regularly for it.

It warms Dick's heart to know his efforts mean something. He just wants to be the mentor he wishes Bruce was and he just wants to help. It seems to be working, with you and Rachel and Gar, jury is still out on Jason. But Dick knows Jason will not be an overnight success.

"Good, I'm glad." Dick offers you a smile before walking back to where he previously was.

The rest of the training session goes by, Gar and Rachel going to you when they had a water break and talking. Jason opted to be by himself, Gar noticing the concern on your face and assuring you that he'll be calm and be over it the next day. But it doesn't quite sit right for you. You don't want him mad at you, you do like to mess with him in a fun banter way, not him being pissed at you.

You like to push people's buttons but you’re not too fond of people being actively mad at you. If there's a line you aren't supposed to cross, all someone has to do is tell you and you'll respect the line. You aren't about making people unnecessarily uncomfortable or mad. But you nod along with Gar anyway and eventually training ends. You stay behind with Jason, Gar hovers a little more than he would given the events of the afternoon but he does eventually leave the two of you alone.

"So, you gonna stay mad at me forever?" You ask as you walk over to Jason who's seated on a bench, getting a drink and ignoring you. "Come on," You groan. "Can you not handle a shove from me?"

Jason glares up at you. "Just shut up." He groans.

"Nope." You sit next to him, your leg touching his. "I'm sorry I shoved you." Jason's brows furrow at you and he doesn't think anyone has apologized to him since he's been here, for anything. "Honest, I should have left it alone but I provoked you further than I should have." You are sorry for it. Sure, Jason owes you an apology, too but you can apologize first. 

"Sorry for what I said." Jason mumbles, swallowing his pride.

He never wants to hurt someone's feelings, not really. In the moment, absolutely but then after he feels horrible about it. He hates when other people make him feel weak. You shoving him from his seat, it made him feel weak and he hates it. It’s how he’s felt his entire life. Weak. So, when he feels weak or when someone pushes the wrong bottom, he just starts talking and going off. It just flows out of his mouth before he can even think about it. It's not an excuse, he just can't help it and he is sorry.

"To you and Gar." Jason lets out a sigh.

The corner of your smile pulls up. "I forgive you."

Jason glances at you and he can’t stay mad at you. Normally, he’s very good at holding grudges. He still has a grudge against a kid who pushed him down a slide when he was seven. He’s very good at holding grudges but you’ve got this smirk that says you’re up to no good and this look in your eyes that sends this electricity through his blood. He can’t explain it but he can’t stay mad at you.

"Did you still wanna train tonight when everyone goes to bed?" Jason turns his head towards you, twitching his brows up and the grin starts pull at his lips. 

"If you're still willing."

"Someone's gotta show you how to do more than fucking shove someone." Jason scoffs but a smile pulls at his lips as he chuckles softly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, got powers now and never had issues on the streets, okay? People happen to like my quick wit and quips.” You lightly nudge him with your shoulder. 

"Yeah," Jason chortles. "That's why no one fucked with you.” Jason nods his head and lightly nudges you back, not believing you.

"I'd like to think so, yes.” You hold your head up with pride and Jason has this genuinely kind smile on his face. “What time, boss?”

Jason shakes his head. “Midnight. Everyone is usually in their rooms or asleep.”

“Okay, I'll meet you here then." You smirk at him as you get up and lick your lips. He knows deep down he doesn't have a shot with you but his stomach burns with the thought of you. You get under his skin like no one else and he hates to admit it but he really likes it.

"Don't be late." Jason quips, his voice taunting.

You shake your head, turning around to face him again. “Shut the fuck up.” You laugh softly. “I’ll meet you here at midnight, on the dot.” You widen your eyes, mocking him before exiting the room.

prev. chapter | next chapter 

series masterlist | masterlist | tag list

Tag list: @fairyofshampoo // @italiana-20 // @jasontoddsmentaldisorders // @purplerose291 // @lovelessamai  // @makaelaseresin // @lenidaslenchen // @thatfangirl42​