#there will be separate posts/roll tables for each zone

[sinnohlunarfestival]

8 PM and the gates are open.

People are wading in to the large entertainment dome created by Macro Cosmos for a fun night partying.

Street art style painting, paintball fights, loud music and more! Everyone's wanting to have a huge party before the Lunar year officially rolled over. This was a party for the youths as much as the dance in Oreburgh the other day was for the older generation to enjoy.

Staffers are handing out loot bags filled with goodies for visitors. Glow sticks, bracelets and even bunny ears. Some would be luck to scor special vouchers for some of the activities available to them at the entertainment Macrodome. Divided into four distinct zones, there should be something for everybody at this massive party.

Tomorrow would be the next leg of the race, but tonight?

Tonight it was party time!

[norgetalia]

Inspired by this post by @nordickies! I love writing SuNor… mmmm stoic old men exes who are secretly in love >:)

Length: ~900 words

Character names used:

Norway = Sigurd

Sweden = Axel

Iceland = Emil

Denmark = Mathias

“I need friends.”

“Same here.”

Sigurd sighed at that, glancing over at Axel with tired eyes, before standing from the sofa. “Well, no use in just sittin’ here. I’ll go get some coffee done up.”

Sweden couldn’t argue with that idea. Even with it being later in the afternoon, they both needed a pick me up.

===

“Ain’t too surprisin’ Emil said no. Y’know how he is,” Axel mumbled over the edge of his coffee mug, glancing up to watch as Sigurd’s eyes glinted with dismay, the Norwegian huffing and reaching for one of the hveteboller he had baked that morning. He took a bite to keep himself from saying something snappy in response to Axel’s comment. His own brother—his own brother!—had spoken to him as if it were a chore, as if he couldn’t have been bothered to even entertain the idea of seeing each other.

“Ungrateful,” Sigurd muttered, garnering a snort from Axel.

“‘Least we got each other,” the Swede spoke half-jokingly, to which he received an unamused stare from his companion. The Norwegian went back to eating his pastry, tearing pieces off and dipping them into his coffee. Axel had to wonder why he even agreed to this. He’d been Norway’s last choice for company, after all.

“Y’like the buns?” Sigurd asked, gesturing to the plate full of rolls before them. Axel raised an eyebrow as he looked across the table.

“I always like your buns.”

For a few moments they just looked at one another, expressions unwavering before Sweden’s lips twitched a little with a threatening grin. Norway snickered.

“Ja, I’m sure ya do,” he responded, before sighing, “Like a child you are, with that sense of humour.”

Reaching forward and taking a hveteboller, Sweden quietly chuckled. It was a sound that would seem foreign to anyone else, but to Sigurd it was familiar and warm and, in all honesty, just what he needed. As the Swede took a bite of his pastry, crumbs scattered into his beard. In a motion born out of old habits, Sigurd leaned forward over the table to brush them away.

“And yer a mess, too,” Norway chided, though it was not serious in the slightest. The glint in his eyes was one of amusement. His hand lingered just a moment, before he sank back into his seat.

They fell into a comfortable silence, as was the usual for them, Sigurd seemingly zoning out as he stared out the back window of his kitchen, through a thicket of trees at the sun approaching the horizon. The rays of the sun had painted the room golden. Sweden took one look at the view outside, and quickly decided that Sigurd made for a much better sight, glowing despite the loneliness and isolation that seemed to linger like a shadow around him—beautiful, despite the fact that he clearly hadn’t shaved in days and was wearing a hoodie that had seen better days. Axel could never wrap his head around how the Norwegian did it, how he so effortlessly—

“Sverige.”

Sigurd’s voice cut through his thoughts, Axel giving little more than a somewhat puzzled ‘hm?’ in response.

“And Mathias insists I have a problem gettin’ my head stuck in the clouds,'' Norway breathed out, fingers tapping against the surface of the table as he studied the man before him. “Thought maybe y’were having a stroke,” he jabbed.

“Just lookin’ at ya, is all,” Sweden explained, “Don’t get the chance t’do it much anymore, seein’ as we’re both busy. I don’t get to see you.”

Sigurd looked confused. “Sure you do. We have meetings all the time.”

Axel could have sworn that Norway’s cheeks were pink. Then again, it could have been a trick of the light.

“Y’know that ain’t what I mean,” Axel mumbled, “It’s different when we’re workin’.”

Sigurd couldn’t exactly argue with that. Obligations being as they were, he preferred to keep Norway and Sigurd as separate as possible—boardrooms and conferences weren’t exactly the place to rehash several centuries of on again, off again with Sweden.

But here, here they had time. To his surprise, Sigurd found a deep comfort in that. Here, with just the two of them, he had no role to play and no expectations to meet.

“Can I get that for you?” Sigurd asked, pointing to the plate and empty coffee mug sitting before Axel. The Swede nodded, and offered a ‘thank you’ as Sigurd stood from his chair, gathering their plates and cups and stacking them in his hands, careful to not drop anything. Before he went to the sink, he lingered just beside the Swede, before leaning down to kiss him.

Sweden’s eyes widened momentarily, then slid closed as he took in Norway’s familiar warmth and gentleness, something he’d missed more than he’d care to admit. When they pulled away, Sigurd’s eyes were inviting against a placid expression.

“Next time ya miss me,” he murmured, joining his free hand with one of Axel’s and offering an assuring squeeze, “all y’have to do is say so.”

The Swede brought the other man’s hand to his lips, kissing the slight roughness of his knuckles.

“I’ve missed you,” Axel sighed, and to his satisfaction was met with another kiss.

When Sigurd drew away, it was easy for his companion to tell that he was well and truly flushed, complemented by the small smile on his face.

“I’ve missed you, too.”

[sanccharine]

00:21 | hd + gh

pairing: handong and gahyeon x gn!reader 

genre: fluff

word count: 0.8k 

warnings: mentions of alcohol

a/n: this was inspired by handong’s recent instagram post, also i did write this in the last hour,,,so it is probably filled to the brim with mistakes sorry :D

It’s not often you meet your friends. So when you do, it seems unreal. 

You lost count of the hours you’ve spent at this bar, underneath the darkening sky and only warmed by candle fire. Having not finished even half the glass of wine, you were already losing focus, although you’d blame the company instead of the alcohol. 

That’s not to say the present company was bad. 

You couldn’t remember the last time you saw Gahyeon and Handong in person. 

Clashes with work and missed opportunities, struggling with large time zones and packed schedules, and mostly the fact that all three of you were scattered across the world. After spending every second with them during your college years, depending on them after every misfortune… it was strange to separate, to go different paths. To go from texting every day to failed attempts at video calls to quick updates every few months. 

It was isolating and disheartening. 

Yet here you are, in front of them, as if not a single second passed. Able to pick up right where you left off, many years' worth of conversations and secrets and anecdotes came flowing endlessly. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted, you couldn’t stop sharing or listening.

This is why you weren’t sure when you stopped paying attention to Gahyeon’s tale but instead focused on just soaking the pair in. Watching Handong’s little smirks before her gentle sips of wine when Gahyeon has to place her glass down to talk animatedly, eyes wide and gestures expressive. They were slightly turned to each other, all in their own little world. 

At the beginning of your friendship, you often found yourself far away from the two, unincluded in a moment such as this. The thought seems so ridiculous now, you had been so naive and insecure because at this moment, all you wanted was to observe them… just exist alongside them.

Body reacting to your thoughts, your hand was already in your pocket, searching for your phone. 

Like you’ve done a million times before, you opened the camera, switched off the flash, focused on the pair and caught them mid-conservation. As always, they will be none the wiser. You have so many more moments like these, of the two of them, none of which they are privy to because they’re for you to admire. 

You studied the picture on your phone when Gahyeon suddenly asked. “Is everything okay?”��

The moment those words were uttered your neck snapped up, worried that something was wrong. Instead, you found both Handong and Gahyeon sharing concerned looks trained on you. Glimpsing at your phone, a smile forms on your lips when you see the candid moment you captured; Gahyeon was grinning widely with her hand covering her mouth, while she shared a glass of red wine with Handong, who wore a similar warm smile. 

“Hmm, no, everything is fine—let me take photos!” In an instant, their concern was replaced by exaggerated groans, you chuckled while steadying your phone. 

“Do we have to?” Handong whined, although her actions seemed to disagree as she was straightening herself. 

Shaking your head, you waited for them to get ready. Or at least, you pretended to. 

Double-checking that the flash was turned off, you snapped multiple pictures of the pair, some with them fixing their hair, wine glasses placed on the table before being taken back, most with them deciding on how to pose. Would they complain your ears off if they found out that you took these pictures? Yes, absolutely, but again, these were for you to laugh at. 

“Are you guys done?” You asked with a sigh, but still lighthearted. 

Handong only rolled her eyes in response as she posed with her wine glass in hand, looking away from the camera, Gahyeon followed her. Then they placed their glasses down, deciding to lay on each other as they stared right at you through your phone screen. Gahyeon seemed like she was pouting while Handong had a soft smile. Even under the starless night sky with only candlelight to illuminate them and the grainy texture of the camera, they still managed to look beautiful. 

Just as you were about to lower your phone, the pair shifted again, grabbing their wine glasses and posing as if they were asked for a picture while drinking. Scoffing, you took one last picture before bringing your phone closer to examine the photos. 

“Send those to me right away, I want to post them,” Handong demanded before taking a sip of her wine. 

“Hey, are we not taking a photo with you in it as well?” Gahyeon asked. 

“Nah, my wine glass is in it, that's enough of me.” You said, grinning at the photos as you waited for them to deliver to Handong’s phone. 

Gahyeon mumbled something before fishing for her phone, making a clear display of taking photos of you—a better display would be that she was very tipsy. 

Pretty soon, the previous dynamic returned, and Gahyeon had begun telling her adventures again. Though this time, she was slightly turned towards you, mostly so you couldn’t catch her by surprise again. Handong had finished her glass of wine and had brought her legs to her chest so she could have her chin on her knees. She was wearing a proud smile, intently listening to Gahyeon while occasionally sharing knowing glances with you. 

It could be months or it could be years before another moment like this occurs. You could never really tell what might happen, so you decided to focus on the present. After taking one last look at Gahyeon and Handong’s very first picture of the night, you pocketed your phone and paid your full attention to them. 

any feedback is much appreciated.

tagging: @someone-who-likes-broccoli

[lysol1201]

💖Valentine's Day in the Safe Zone💖Lawrence x GN!Reader

THIS TAKES PLACE AFTER THE TRUE ENDING SO IT WILL INCLUDE SPOILERS!!!! READ AT OWN RISK!! THANK XX

wrote this for Valentine's Day but never ended up posting, besides on the Dangerous Fellows discord server (can ask for link) and on Amino. enjoy ayooo

this was also one of my first attempts at a GN!Reader which really isn't a very hard thing to do, I just struggled with valentines day Korean traditions and fitting it together with the game. sorry if it's not the greatest!

Word Count: 1888

++++

A cure was finally taking place, but due to the severity of this virus and how it would spread day by day, it was taking a while for things to improve. Still, things were looking up for everyone. Everyone was nothing but happy for the turn of events.

It was Valentine’s Day and MC was getting prepared to give gifts to all of their friends. Ethan, Zion, Eugene, Harry, and Jay. They wanted to wait until White Day for them and the other girls to get gifts from the boys, which everyone expected, and already prepared their arguments if they didn’t receive anything.

At this point, it was pretty known of Lawrence’s plan and his mental state. Which, wasn’t stable. He was very good at lying and manipulation but due to the group and MC putting everything together and what he did to attract the zombies, it was known that he wasn’t one to trust. So, he didn’t hang out with them anymore. Plus, he was also in a different area of the safe zone to be watched and away from others as he was known to be of possible harm to the zone.

The group hadn’t talked to him in a long while. Occasionally they’d talk to each other about Lawrence and think about maybe visiting him, but in the end, they never do. It wasn’t until Lawrence was finally given some kind of freedom around the Safe Zone. He still wore a tracker around his ankle as if he was on some kind of house arrest. He would sometimes try to reach out but it was always difficult for everyone to not be awkward or try to be there for him when they knew he wanted to get them all killed. That he did attempt to get them killed but failed. They were afraid to get close and possibly trust him again when he has proven that he cannot be trusted in a very severe way.

Every time MC went out to find some zombies to give them the cure, they would secretly look around for gifts like stuffed animals or goofy watches as well as chocolates and candies. Hailey, Sue, Judy, and even Scarlett did the same.

Finally, when Valentine’s Day rolled around, the girls and MC put their gifts together. MC made separate little baskets for each boy with an even amount of gifts and candies. Yet, they had an uneven amount left over so they decided to just keep it on the side and keep it for themselves as a small gift. They did have somewhat of a sweet tooth.

Though, they turned to the side and saw one teddy bear they had grabbed. They knew why they did, their heart ached because of it, but they decided to just keep it by their bedside table.

MC smiled at the thought of sharing chocolate bars with Ethan at the school and continued to smile knowing that they all made it. They’re all alive and they’re happy.

Well, all were happy but one.

MC and the group all met up at their usual gathering spot which was near a field in the safe zone. Ethan, Harry, Zion, Eugene, and Jay all sat down unsure as to why the rest of the group brought them there, but when the others pulled out little baskets of treats the boys all smiled remembering the day. It was Valentine’s Day.

When this first began the group of ladies and MC did a bit of rock paper scissors to see who got who to get gifts for. After some arguing, slaps, and some compromising, they figured out who was giving out gifts to each person. Scarlett got a gift for Zion, because why wouldn’t she. Sue got a gift for Harry. Hailey got a gift for Ethan. And Judy got a gift for Eugene. MC got Jay but also took the initiative to get a gift for everyone else as well. They loved them all dearly, they didn’t want to leave out a single person.

“What d’ya think?” Judy cheered and clapped, excited for Eugene’s reaction while the others were opening their gifts and thanking the other girls.

He rummaged through the gift that both Judy and MC got him and found two small chicken plushies, one from MC’s basket and the other from Judy’s. “Why the chickens?”

“Because you look like one.” MC and Judy spoke in unison. Eugene tried to retaliate but no words came out, only gibberish which caused the entire group of friends to laugh.

The other boys thanked MC for their gifts. Especially since MC got a plush for each boy that reminded them of the boys. Zion got a red little fluffy bear, Harry got a white bunny, and Ethan got a little baseball plush that MC was lucky enough to find. Lastly, Jay got a chihuahua. “Why did you get me this?” He asked.

MC chuckled. “Because they’re annoying.” They smiled.

“Dude, what the fuck!” Jay spoke with offense, yet laughed along as well. Over time Jay happened to get used to the all of them and turned out to be a really fun person. Weirdly enough, he spent the most time with Zion and Eugene.

They all expressed their happiness to MC, Harry with physical affection, Ethan with comfortable silence, a nod, and a small smile, and Zion with pretending he didn’t like it as much as he really did.

They were all giggling together, happy at that moment. Scarlett was arguing with Zion because he didn’t give her the reaction she wanted, Hailey and Ethan were silent as usual but chuckled along, Sue was trying to inch away from Harry as he tried to hug her, and Eugene continued to try and defend himself saying he looked nothing like a chicken. Jay just accepted the fact that he indeed was, a chihuahua.

All seemed to be fun and games for the group until one more voice spoke.

“Okay,” The voice called out catching the attention of the others. “This is the part where I get a gift too, right?” He let out an apologetic smile and a small chuckle trying to lighten his appearance with a joke.

Lawrence.

Everything went silent as everyone’s heads turned to the source of the voice. As soon as he saw their faces or confusion, awkwardness, and even a hint of fear, the corners of his lips quickly fell.

Lawrence sighed. “I’ll see myself out.” He went to turn around but before he could fully make the spin, MC spoke.

“Wait,” MC called out, causing Lawrence to turn around and face them, his eyebrows furrowing. “I got a gift for you.”

Lawrence looked shocked and confused while the others looked at MC with the same expression with almost betrayal as well. At least, from some. Ethan’s face seemed more forgiving, along with Judy and Harry.

“Wait here,” MC instructed, running away from that field and heading back over to their tent.

They gathered the leftover candies and chocolates they had and put them in a small box that was laying around. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a pretty basket like the others, but it was all that they had. To make it look better though, they added a bow on the top of it. Then MC let out a breath they didn’t even know they were holding in to turn to the teddy bear that laid on their bedside table. They quickly grabbed it with the box and ran back out to the field in which everyone seemed to be in awkward silence.

They found Lawrence seeming sad and forgotten, Ethan, Judy, and Harry seeming apologetic and forgiving, Zion, Eugene, Sue, and Scarlett looking almost furious. Jay and Hailey just sat there indifferent.

MC quickly went over to Lawrence and stuck out their arms with both the box and the bear sitting on top. Lawrence passed a bright smile with seeing the items. Especially the teddy bear on top.

A brown bear with silver round glasses. Even if they were cheap plastic, he couldn’t feel any happier with the sight of it.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” MC spoke, heart, beating fast with nervousness. Not only with the fact that this was their longest interaction with Lawrence since the school, but they also had to deal with the looks that they were receiving from the rest of the group who was standing and sitting next to them just staring at what was going on in front of them.

Lawrence grabbed the two, stuffing the bear to the spot in between his arm and chest to hold it, and opened the box. What laid in there were chocolates and candies, the same as the others. Nothing special, but nothing different. The same. Treated the same as the others. He liked that.

Lawrence smiled down at the box. When he looked back up he adjusted his glasses with an empty hand and just let out a small chuckle. “I know you didn’t plan to have this for me,” He spoke, making MC feel guilty. “But thank you for this. And the bear. That, I wasn’t expecting.”

MC smiled once again at his words. They leaked of genuinity, a different kind than what she heard at the school. They sounded like they were genuine at the school, and now they are genuine.

“I thought of you when I saw it,” MC confessed. “So I took it.”

“Thank you,” Lawrence thanked again and then turned his head to give his attention to the others. “I know you guys didn’t exactly enjoy my appearance, but thank you for not screaming at me either.”

Ethan nodded in response, which caused Judy to hum with a joyous tone to agree. The rest slowly nodded as well, with a quiet “Of course” coming from Harry.

“I’ll let you guys be now,” Lawrence spoke. “I overstayed my welcome.” Lawrence nodded for his goodbye due to full hands and went to turn around. Yet, the unexpected spoke.

“Wait,” Hailey piped up, everyone looking at the shy and quiet girl in shock. “Do you want to stay?”

The rest wasn’t sure of why she asked, some wished she didn’t but others appreciated her gesture.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to bug anyone,” He responded.

Hailey looked at the others with a small frown and some great puppy dog eyes. Everyone softened at her expression and all turned back to Lawrence nodding. “Stay.” The other quiet one in the group spoke, speaking a small bit louder than he usually did to make sure what he said was clearly heard.

MC smiled at the scene of the accepting friends, whether they had forgiven him or not, they were letting him stay.

Lawrence smiled brightly and went to sit down with the others as everyone sat down in different spots, almost in a circle to be able to view each other. MC sat down next to Lawrence as they were the most comfortable with him, while Ethan sat on the other side of Lawrence since before the Safe Zone he was the closest with him.

The awkwardness soon faded away and the group returned to the giggling and smiles they once had before.

[madam-wakefield]

OPEN WHEN… CHAPTER 19

A03 Link 

Summary:

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13  Chapter 14  Chapter 15  Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 When a few years into their relationship Bernie is asked to go back to the army and deploy Serena isn’t sure how she’s going to get through the nine months without her girlfriend. What she doesn’t expect is for it to be her girlfriend who has the perfect set of surprises to get her through both the best and the worst days. Canon divergent - Elinor lives (well actually the accident never happens), Raf lives, and Cameron isn’t a total ass! The staff of AAU also probably didn’t all work on there at the same time in canon but do in this! The fic is already fully written with the first few chapters having already been Beta’d. 27 chapters including the epilogue. Hoping to post every Monday and Friday!

Open when it’s Valentine’s Day…

Serena has hated Valentine’s Day for as long as she can remember, she has to think it’s probably due to the fact that it was on Valentine’s Day many years ago that she first found out Edward was cheating on her, and what an idiot she’d been to ever trust him after that.

She’s sat at pulses, had needed to grab a quick coffee mid shift, Jason had had one of those wobbly days last yesterday, one where he’d struggled to cope with the fact Bernie isn’t around and had needed Serena to be his rock. She’d spent the evening until almost midnight sat with him watching telly, knowing she’d be tired at work today but not being able to bring herself to say no to what Jason had needed. She feels like she’s walked into a movie, the coffee shop is covered in pink and red hearts and love quotes, and she can’t help but roll her eyes, does everyone really need to go so over the top, don’t they love each other every day anyway?

She watches as a couple sit and exchange kisses over the table and shakes her own head at how cynical she is being. Everyone needs something to look forward to she supposes and if Valentine’s Day means there is a bit more love in the world, then maybe it’s not so bad after all. There is definitely far too much hate in the world. The fact that her morning has already consisted of a stab victim and a hit and run victim should tell her that.

She listens to the love song playing in the background, giving her an excuse to let her mind wander from work just a little, even she needs a break after all she’s only human. Her mind thinks of Bernie at the lyrics, sappy really but she can’t help but be reminded of her lover, and maybe she’s just a little jealous that she isn’t here with her like so many of the couples she’s currently surrounded by.

At the thought of Bernie, she also can’t help but laugh because she’d be lucky if Bernie even knows this song, let alone the title, lyrics or the artist. She’s tried and tried to educate Bernie musically but it’s always useless. Bernie always uses the excuse that she’s spent so much of her life on deployment that she just never had the space for the specific knowledge even if she can appreciate the music itself and Serena guesses she does have a point in some ways.

She sips her coffee, flinching slightly when she realises it’s still too hot to drink. Has to guess she really is being far too pessimistic, here she is surrounded by love, romance and joy and her partner is in a war zone, where apart from the valentines packages that arrives with the soldiers, Serena’s one for Bernie included, there won’t be much if any love and romance. It’s times like this where she feels like there is a chasm between them, like they’re in two different worlds rather than separated by just three thousand miles.

She reminds herself then that Bernie has told her so many times that her feelings are valid. That their situations are different, and they will have different feelings and emotions but the fact that in Serena’s opinion Bernie is in a much worse position than she herself is right now doesn’t invalidate her feelings. That she’s still able to feel like she misses Bernie so much she’s not sure how she’s going to get through the last few months, or that maybe she is jealous and even more cynical of Valentine’s Day this year because she doesn’t have her lover to enjoy it with. None of those feelings make her ungrateful or mean they just make her human.

She loves that about Bernie, the way she understands her and her needs in a way no one else does. The way she keeps looking out for her even when she’s three thousand miles away. Then she remembers what has been helping to keep her going from three thousand miles away and wonders if she’ll get an envelope today. Knows there isn’t one in her special box, but also knows that Bernie had entrusted Morven with at least a small selection of letters and gifts for her. And if she hasn’t, she’ll use today as an excuse to open a different envelope anyway.

She tries her coffee again then, realising it’s now the perfect temperature and that she should probably finish it on the way back to the ward, she’d have an F1s guts if they couldn’t get through a shift without coffee, maybe she’s a little harsh on them sometimes, or maybe it’s a perk of being clinical lead.

All thought of Valentine’s Day is driven from her mind as she arrives back to the ward just as the red phone rings, she answers it as she’s closest, she situates the phone under her ear, holding it with her shoulder. Grabbing the necessary paperwork to jot down all the relevant information, while ensuring she finishes her coffee, has a feeling she’s going to be in surgery a while when this case gets brought in. They are guessing at an angulated tib and fib fracture but with added vascular complications as the foot currently has a very limited pulse despite the best effort. It’s a trauma injury really, and Bernie would have been the most perfect person, but she guesses the fact she is a vascular specialist should do her well.

AAU becomes a hive of activity as the patient is brought in, tests and X-rays and all sorts of other things needed before they can get into theatre, but at the same time knowing that this is most certainly time sensitive. It’s times like this when she’s glad they have the trauma bay, that it allows her to demand priority over so many other areas of the hospital.

The surgery is complicated, she has to get Fletcher to ring Jason to tell him she’ll be late home. She wants to do it herself but even with her and Raf working on the patient it’s tough and they don’t have the time it’ll take her to scrub in an out. Can’t help but worry about him especially after yesterday, tells Fletch to tell Jason to ring the ward if he needs anything at all, even if strictly it’s against hospital policy. She’s working extra hours to ensure this patient survives and keep their leg and while she wouldn’t do anything less if that means she has to break policy to allow Jason to ring the ward then that’s what she’ll do.

It’s gone 11pm when they finally send the patient off to recovery, Serena rolls her shoulders and yawns, tries to work out if there is even any point going home, she’s due on shift at 6am in the morning, believes the on call room is free and wonders if she should save herself the that is drive home and back to the hospital in the morning.

“Thanks, Raf,” she says as they wash down in the sink, water just slightly on the hot side really.

He smiles at her, “No worries, not like either of us had anyone to spend Valentines with anyway, me perfectly single and you definitely not single but separated by thousands of miles! Maybe we’ll both have more luck next year.” It should make her a little sad that Bernie isn’t here, but it doesn’t, AAU always used to be a sex free zone after all!

She yawns again as she walks to her office, decides it’s definitely safer for her to sleep in the on-call room for the night but that she needs to ring Jason. He assures her that he’s okay, that he was just heading to bed and is due in work at 10am tomorrow anyway, that he’ll pop down and see if she’s free on his break, his break is at least a little more guaranteed than her own.

It’s only as she gets off the phone that Morven pokes her head round the door, envelope in front of her face and messily wrapped gift in hand. She chuckles and tells Morven to come in.

“I was hoping to give you these at hand over but failed seeing as you and Raf were stuck in theatre, and I’m not sure Bernie planned on you opening them in the on-call room, but I suppose to you you just appreciate something to feel close to her right now.” Serena smiles as that’s exactly it, the situation might not be perfect, but she knows the letter will be.

Not even ten minutes later she’s sat in her “work pyjamas” as she calls them, the ones she keeps in the cupboard in her office just in case a situation like this where she has to stay ever arises. Bernie’s letter and gift in hand. She opens the gift first, always wants to leave Bernie’s letter until last especially tonight so it can be the last thing she thinks of before bed.

Inside her gift is a beautiful wine stopper set, a stopper for when she does decide that just one glass is enough, she is a professional after all and knows her limits. The other is a stopper that still allows the wine to breathe, perfect for use when she’s cooking a meal and knows that the perfect bottle just needs to breathe a little beforehand, they are beautiful but there is definitely no need for them tonight, so she puts them in her handbag and turns to the letter as she settles down in the rather uncomfortable on call bed.

Serena – open on Valentine’s Day…

She smiles maybe Bernie isn’t quite so cynical about Valentine’s Day as she is.

My Dearest Serena,

Happy Valentine’s Day to the love of my life. I may not be with you today, but I am honoured to be able to say that you are my girlfriend. I’d say you have no idea how much I am missing you right now after over six months apart, but I guess you do because I can only assume you are missing me just as much. My thoughts so often revolve around you when I have any free moment to think. I can't wait to be able to be graced with your physical presence again but until then you have this letter to help get you through.

What I want to tell you in this letter is that I’ve never been so happy as I am with you. You’ve been the greatest blessing in my life since I laid my eyes on you. You never fail to excite me and always find new ways to surprise me. You are honestly the best girlfriend anyone could ask for and I’m lucky that it’s me you choose to spend your life with.

You are so exceptionally kind too; all of those moments are engraved permanently into my heart, and I’ll always be eternally grateful for them. I would say I’d never find another woman as caring, sweet and emotional as you but even if I could, I wouldn’t want to because you are perfect for me. I love the way you always accept my feelings and understand when I struggle to show them because that’s one of my biggest flaws. No matter the obstacle I throw at you you always stand there strong and give me what I need waiting for me to be ready and able to share with you, and only with you because you are the only one I trust.

No matter how low I’m feeling or stressed out I am the thought of you always lifts my spirits. You’ve improved my self-confidence no end with your compliments. All I can do right now is say thank you for your endless devotion to our relationship and to me. I love you endlessly.

All My Love Bernie,

Your Big Macho Army Medic x

She only just registers the x on the end before her eyes close and the letter flutters gently to the floor.

[ramp-it-up]

What That Boat Do?

Pairing: Rafael Casal x Reader

Word Count: 2K

Warnings: 18+ Only, Minors DNI. RPF. VERY EXPLICIT. Bathroom sex, oral (m/f receiving), creampie, light choking, a little bit of fluff at the end. Not proofread, errors my own.

A/N: This is based on the following ask from a wonderful Nonnie:

Post premiere smut with Rafa 😏 some red carpet teasing maybe?

Sorry it took me so long. We're on episode three! Anywho, I hope you like it Nonnie!

----------

The weekend was wild.

Rafael seemed sure of himself, but you knew the real story. He had never worked so hard to get something created. His soul was bound up in this work. And he was full of chaotic energy just finally getting to show the world what he and his friends created.

It was a hella busy weekend, flying coast to coast, grabbing sleep when you could. You just stored up your thots for later, knowing he needed this nervous energy to push through.

You loved how your man looked, and this premier tour was giving you ample opportunity to ogle him, along with everyone else.

Rafa in that blue suit did something to you. Black shirt, white shoes. Buzz cut and beard. Holy hell he was hot.

You were asleep as soon as you got in the car that night though, and Rafa just put you in bed in the hotel suite as he got busy playing hype man on social media.

And of course, you got a spanking the last time you wore that Green A’s jacket, sneaking it out of his trailer without him knowing.

Seeing him in it made you soaking wet with the memory of that night. The way he smirked at you while walking around in it told you he knew just what you were thinking.

You got so blasted that night because you were with the homies, so you were in no condition to be taken advantage of.

The final night of the premier weekend finally came, and you could tell that Rafa was exhaling. He was going to really celebrate tonight. And you were right by his side.

Tonight he was wearing the two-tone Comme des Garçons suit. It was just delectable.

Your gown matched his fly, and the only undergarment you were wearing was a black silk thong. You thought Rafael wasn’t paying attention as he fussed in the mirror getting ready, but you were wrong.

Rafa held your hand as he advanced toward the red carpet. You looked up at him and squeezed his hand before you got separated at the press and the step and repeat.

You watched him pose, and answer questions, smiling, laughing, and joking. He was in the zone, using his charm to hype up his project.

Damn. What a man. You were turned on just looking at him.

He and the cast went backstage to get ready to host the screening and answer questions. You were used to watching from afar.

You wandered around the venue, talking to the usual suspects and inspecting all of the liquor bottles on the top shelf from your perch at the bar.

Rafa texted you.

Bored?

You looked around and did not see him anywhere.

Where are you?

I’m stage left, waiting to go on, I see you counting bottles. Are you bored?

You peered at the spot he indicated and saw him leaning against the wall. Fuck, he looked good. You straightened up as your heart started beating faster.

I was, but not anymore.

Rafael smirked at you, and then down at his phone

Oh yea, well, why don’t you go take off that thong?

You looked up at Rafa. He had his evil grin on. Your eyes grew wide and you hurriedly typed in your phone.

WHAT?!?!?

You looked back up at him when you sent the message.

“Off,” he mouthed at you, then he held up his phone and started typing again.

Scared?

You loved a challenge. You looked him straight in the eye, got your purse, and asked the bartender where the bathroom was. You left and came back in three minutes.

You chose at a table near the stage when you sat down again. Rafa was there with the cast, staring at you, watching you, and waiting to be introduced.

You blew him a kiss. He subtly caught it underhanded, winked, and motioned as if he were putting it in his pocket.

You were transfixed as Rafael hyped the show. Watching him work and listening to his voice was such a turn on. You were more than ready to go, sitting up and paying attention with your whole body.

You crossed your legs, flashing the stage, and you caught Rafael lowkey checking to see if anyone else saw. You saw the flash in his eye and a little delicious shiver of fear ran through you. He did not miss a beat however, as he was staring right at the apex of your thighs, and he didn’t even pause as he spoke.

You kept moving in your seat because it was getting unbearable. Finally, you stood up, crossed your legs, and leaned against the wall for support, still staring at Rafael. You had no idea what anyone else in the room was doing; it was like you were the only two people there.

When Rafael left the stage again, he texted you almost immediately.

I saw you squirming. Meet me in the restroom on the left side of the house in 10 minutes.

Your pussy clenched as you read the text. You looked up and around the room. No one seemed to have any idea of what was about to happen. You watched the clock on your phone, the 10 minutes seeming to take forever.

It was like you had super senses. You heard people laughing, phones dinging with notifications, and Rafa’s body calling you.

When the time came, you picked up your bag and casually walked down the hall to your destination. You tried the knob and it was locked.

“Rafa, it’s me.”

The door opened and Rafael pulled you in quickly, and you laughed nervously at the sudden movement. He pinned you against the wall and kissed you well. He took his time to addle your senses with a kiss. That mouth did a lot.

You took control, kissing him, and unbuttoning his shirt, liking his nipple and kissing down his chest and abs as you got on your knees to un button and unfasten his pants.

His dick was not totally hard, but thick and waiting on his thigh. You deep throated it while looking up in his eyes.

Rafael’s sea blues gazed down at you and he smiled while you pulled off and stroked him, spitting on his cock for lubrication.

You were dripping as you sucked him a few more times for good measure, palming and rolling his balls. He moaned deep in his throat and placed his hand on your head.

He started tugging you upwards and you pulled his dick with you as you stood back up. You pulled your dress up and sat on the vanity, pussy directly over the sink.

You spread your legs as Rafa grasped your nipple through the slick fabric of your dress, then slid his hand down your belly to your cunt, using all four fingers to play in your pussy, dipping into your slick and coming up to circle, then brush your clit.

You could feel him releasing his frenetic pent up energy on you; all of the tension leading up to tonight was going to benefit you greatly.

Rafa surprised you by getting on his knees himself to taste you a little, licking your cunt, his nose in the center of your mound. He stood suddenly to take his jacket and shirt off, then got back on his knees, opening your legs wide and holding on to them, as your ass was falling into the bowl of the sink.

He started eating seriously then, diving in and bringing you to the edge of heaven, over and over again, but never quite letting you come. You bit your lip, moaned and wiggled in his clutch, and he smiled up at you, eyes sparkling at your vexation.

He brought his hand up and dipped his fingers in again, gathering some of your slick, and used it to lubricate his cock as he jacked off a bit. Rafael immersed himself in you, lapping you up and turning his head as he made out with your pussy.

You were so wet that by the time that he stood up to line himself up, he slid in easily and started pumping into you with no hands. He held them up like he was doing a trick on a bicycle, and the cocky muthafucka smirked at you as you looked up at him, mouth open and panting for more.

You reached for his ass as you wanted him to quit teasing you and ram you fully. Instead, he grabbed your hips, and you leaned back into the mirror, running your hands up his arms and down his torso again.

He gathered your knees in his arms, brought you closer and started pounding you harder, just as you wished. You moaned, your eyes rolling as your head lolled back against the mirror, and Rafa clapped his hand over your mouth.

He kissed your forehead as you continued to shake and moan in his arms, then he picked you fully up by your thighs and started bouncing you up and down his dick before depositing you back down on the vanity.

He pulled out and turned you around, pounding you and reaching around you to finger your clit until you came, his hand firmly muffling your noises.

But Rafael wasn’t finished. He leaned against the wall, and pulled you with him, his arm clutching your neck and holding your back flush against his chest, spearing his rock hard dick inside you.

The first time either of you spoke was for you to protest to him.

“Rafa… no… I - I can’t… not again.”

Rafa pulled you tighter against him and whispered in your ear.

“Yes you can, beautiful. And you will.”

He started moving again, squeezing your neck and flicking your over sensitive clit with his other hand. You quivered with overstimulation, but couldn’t help but fuck yourself back on his cock until you were close to coming again.

You put your hand over your mouth to stop the noise, but the slapping of your bodies was almost as loud as your noises.

You came and then Rafael stilled to stave off his orgasm. He bent his head toward you, forehead at the top of your spine as he breathed and tried to calm down. You slipped off his cock, the slippery wetness of you resonating in the room.

You wanted to celebrate him and his accomplishments, show Rafael how special he was. He was still hard, so you pushed him back, got on your knees again and sucked him off, tasting yourself on him, Rafa watching you in the mirror as he massaged your scalp.

You looked up at him as you stroked him off and sucked him, going deeper each time he moaned. He was staring at you with those eyes. That and his sounds kept you going and you felt his ball tighten.

“Shhhhhitttttt! You are so fucking good at this. You ready for it babe?”

Rafa was trying to stay cool, but he was making that cum face that you loved. You smiled and nodded up at him, opening your mouth as he took over and spurted streams of cum at you.

“Now swallow like the Good Girl you are.”

You did as you were told and then leaned forward to clean him up, hollowing your cheeks again and causing his knees to get weak.

“Damn, girl. You are a fucking big brain geniusssss. Shit!”

Rafa slumped against the wall as you rose from your knees, a pro still in your heels. You got cleaned up at the sink, and he opened his eyes and smacked your ass as you fixed your face and pulled down your dress.

He put his clothes back on, made sure he was still fly and then pulled you to him, kissing your forehead again, sweetly now.

“Thank you for being my ride or die. I couldn't have done any of this without you.”

You shook your head and began to protest.

“Shhh. I’m dead serious. You are my rock, my calm in the storm. I love you girl.”

You melted on the inside, but were still very aware that he was technically still working.

“I love you too, but before you sail out back into them rocky producing waters, give me back my panties.”

You held out your hand and smirked at him.

“Nah girl. You go out here with me commando, and remember just what that boat do.”

And Rafael pulled you laughing back out into the premier event, happy to be riding the waves with him.

---------

My first fic in a while (for me). Let me know what you think.

Tag List:

@braidedchallah @theatrenerd86 @sebastianabucknettastan @imatyoursurrvicesurr @riiyy @lonelydance @jbrizzywrites @honeysucklechocolatedrippin @anh1020 @sillyteecup @ohsoverykeri @theselilwonders @biafbunny @summerofsnowflakes @honeysucklechocolatedrippin @wreakhavoconmacroissantdiggs @janthonybitch

[es-kay-zee]

Lust | Lee Know x Reader

I had plans to make this kinky as all hell, but I somehow ended up going the opposite direction with this. oh well, it was still pretty fun to write. I’m also sorry if there’s parts of it (or all of it?) that don’t make any sense. I didn’t proofread it at all and my head was just empty while writing it.

I was kinda liking it at one point, then I overthought about it and now I think I hate it but I put in all this time so it’s getting posted. I just feel like it kinda went all over the place

 Warnings: officemate! au, sexual tension (maybe? Idk, i tried), fem! reader, fingering, oral sex (fem receiving), protected sex (yay!) there’s like a split second of softdom! Minho, but other than that moment there’s not really any dynamics.

Requested: Yip

Word count: 4.6k

 _______________________

It didn’t take a genius amongst your co-workers to be able to tell what was going on between you and Minho. Everyone could see the way you looked at each other. They could see the way you took extra time at the printer, considering it was right next to his desk. You would stand there for longer than necessary, just watching him work. How his fingers would type away on his keyboard, the sleeves of his button-down rolled up to his elbows. God, what you would do to have his fingers inside you.

No, you can’t think like that. He’s just your co-worker. He may be hot as all hell, but this is a professional environment, right?

It was also painfully obvious to everyone how Minho looked at you the same way. Just as you would spend extra time at the printer, he would spend extra time at your desk whenever he had to hand you some files. He would try to make some idle chit-chat with you, but really, he was just staring at your lips the whole time. While you would admire his hands and arms, he would admire your lips. He often found himself wondering just what your mouth was capable of.

Don’t get him wrong, he didn’t only see you as some pretty thing around the office. He also admired your dedication and work ethic. He loved how much effort you put into your job to ensure you produce the pest quality of work. But he wasn’t stupid, he could see just how hot you are.

But he’s not allowed to think of you in that way. He’s not allowed to spend many a night imagining your hand, your mouth wrapped around his cock instead of his hand. After all, you’re just co-workers. And it’s all professional, right?

That’s what you both keep telling yourselves. 

It’s a normal Friday, not long before midday, and you’re zoning out at your desk, trying to figure out what the hell you were going to do over the weekend. You’d originally had plans to meet up with a few friends, but they all cancelled on you, leaving you with nothing to do on the approaching Saturday and Sunday.

You’re dragged out of your thoughts by someone waving a small folder in front of your face.

“Hey, earth to y/n?” You snap your attention onto the figure in front of you, quickly realising that it is, in fact, Lee Minho who’s standing at your desk. You hurriedly fix your posture, sitting up straighter and clearing you throat quietly before responding.

“A-are those some more files that need doing?” The way you stutter over your words has you internally cringing, hoping he can’t tell the effect he has over your body.

“Yeah, they’re the latest invoices that have come in. These ones need to be paid by Tuesday and then these ones need to be paid by Thursday,” he explains to you, holding up the two separate folders in his hands.

Reaching out your hand for the folders, you feel your fingertips brush against his once you grab them. You withdraw your hands as quickly as possible, feeling your heartbeat pick up slightly as the subtle contact. Your gaze lingered on his arms for a moment, his sleeves rolled up just the way you liked. Minho is so effortlessly attractive that it’s unfair.

You pry your eyes away from his forearms, away from the veins you can see running along his arms, instead looking at his face. The moment you look him in the eyes, however, you can’t help but think that maybe staring at his arms would have been the better option. His eyes were just as pretty as the rest of him, but the way he was looking at you right now, the way he was staring so intently at you, had you cowering slightly under his gaze.

“So, you had lunch yet?” he asks, breaking the silence that had fallen between the two of you, resting his hands in his pockets.

“Not yet, was just about to head up to the cafeteria shortly,” you reply, your eye focus being caught by his stance. You can picture it, him standing over you just the way he is now, hands in pockets, forearms visible, smirk on his face. Just imagining him standing there like that, looking down at you like you’re some sort of prey while you’re on your knees for him. Slowly undoing his belt and-

“Well, I was gonna head up now. Wanna join me?” you are once again pulled from your wandering thoughts by Minho, but the damage had already been done. You could feel your neediness throbbing in your pussy, your slickness slightly coating your underwear.

“Uh, sure,” you say, quickly locking your computer and grabbing your lunch.

You walk with Minho back towards his own desk so that he can pick up his own food before making your way up stairs to the third floor. Once you both make it to the cafeteria for the shelves. You grab your mug before making yourself a coffee, Minho doing the same next to you.

You both head towards a back corner of the large room, finding two seats at a small coffee table. A small conversation begins between the two of you, somewhat awkward, but not uncomfortably so. The occasional silences weren’t left empty, instead being filled with lingering glances at one another.

You make it through all your food and just over half of your coffee before it happens. Disaster. Minho has looked away from you for just a moment and the sunlight cascading through the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows hit him in just the right way. It made him glow in the light, distracting you while you took a drink from your mug. You weren’t focusing on anything but how delicious he looked in front of you, ending up with you tipping your mug up to far and spilling it all down your front and onto your lap.

Your small yelp snaps his attention back to you and you both just stare down at your soiled clothes. Heat rushes to your face when you realise the exact repercussions of what’s just happened, and the heat spreads when you notice that Minho has also realised it. Your white blouse drenched in coffee; the material becoming see through. Minho’s gaze lingers on your chest for a moment too long for between normal co-workers, your bra entirely visible through the now coffee-coloured fabric.

Minho clears his throat before speaking. “Uh- I’ll g-get something to help clean that up,” he stutters out, standing up as quickly as possible before rushing off to grab some napkins. It’s not long before he returns, a whole stack in his grip.

He places them on the table, taking his seat again. Picking a couple napkins back up he turns his whole body towards you. Your breathing stutters when he leans in close to you, your eyes looking deep into his as he freezes in place.

He’s torn. Torn between wanting to help you for your sake, wanting to help you for the sake of being able to touch you, and not wanting to overstep any boundaries. He can hear his heart hammering in his ears, and he wonders if you can hear it too. Especially with how close the proximity currently is between you two.

He takes a deep breath before making a decision about whether or not to help you clean up. He reaches his hand out, carefully beginning to dab at the spilled drink on your lap, fully expecting to be told to stop.

You tense under his touch, but not out of discomfort. It’s the way his hand moves along your thigh that has you frozen. Your thigh. One of the more sensitive parts of your body, and his hand is rubbing back and forth along it. The contact causing your brain to short circuit as you feel the heat begin to pool in your core.

“Um… Make sure to soak these clothes before you wash them. That should help get any stains out,” Minho says, trying to ease the tension.

“Oh, yeah, thanks. I’ll be sure to do that,” you reply, his voice snapping you out of your stupor. You pull your bottom lip between your teeth, trying to ignore your growing arousal.

Minho has to fight back his own increasing need at the sight of you nibbling on your lower lip, wanting little more than for it to be his own teeth tugging at the soft flesh. But what really gets him, is you taking a few napkins and beginning to dab at the coffee on your shirt, unintentionally pulling his gaze back down to your chest. Now he was fighting back groans, trying desperately to let the sounds die in his throat before you get the chance to hear them. That would be too embarrassing for him to handle.

It’s not long before you sigh a heavy sigh, giving up the hopes of being able to save your outfit and keep your presentability for the workplace, accepting it as a lost cause. Minho stops his own wiping at the sound, looking at you instead, waiting for you to speak.

“You know what, this is a mess. I might as well just head home for the rest of the day. There’s no point sitting here at my desk all day like this,” you say, looking down at your clothes. “Besides, most of my work is done for the day anyway.”

It’s only when you lift your head up when you finish speaking that you realise just how close Minho’s face is to your own. Close enough for you to feel his breaths against your cheek. Your eyes dart down to his lips, but only for a split second, not wanting to make your arousal so obvious. Minho, however, notices. But luckily for you, he decides not to say anything about it. Yet.

“That sounds like a good idea. Uh… here,” he says, removing his blazer jacket and holding it out to you.

You reach out and grab it, your fingers once again momentarily connecting with his as you take the item he’s passing you. You both rise to your feet and you give him a confused look, wondering why he’s handing you his blazer.

“I figured you wouldn’t want to walk around with a see-through shirt,” he explains in response to your unspoken question.

The heat returns to your cheeks at his statement, quickly pulling the clothing item on and buttoning it up, making an attempt to cover yourself.

“Thanks,” you say. There’s some part of you that doesn’t really want to cover yourself, that wants Minho to see you. But you push that part aside. After all, you’ve got to maintain some sort of professionalism. “We should probably head back down now.”

“Yeah.”

You both gather your belongings, taking your mugs over to the dirty dishes rack and placing them in along with all the other dishes. Yet another silence befalls the two of you as you make your way back down the stairs to your floor, the quietness neither comfortable nor awkward. Something in between.

Finally reaching your floor, you make a beeline for your desk, aiming to grab your bag and get out of here as quickly as possible. But before you grab your things and head into your boss’s office to say that you’re leaving early, you pause, turning back to Minho again, stopping him before he gets too far away.

“I’ll get your jacket back to you on Monday if you want. I’ll even get it cleaned to make sure there’s no coffee on it.”

He takes a moment to think, once again torn between options. One being just saying okay and letting you just bring it to work with you on Monday. And the other option… Well, if the way you were almost whining when he was touching your thigh earlier is anything to go by, then the second option might just work out for him. Fuck it.

“Or you could bring it over to my place? Tonight? I-if you want to,” he says, making sure to keep his voice only loud enough for you to hear, not wanting any nosy co-workers listening in.

Your entire body feels like it’s on fire as you think of the possible outcomes of you going over to his house, albeit under the guise of simply returning his blazer. You can already feel yourself growing wetter at the thoughts running through your mind. You blink rapidly, shaking your head slightly to yourself, remembering that you have to answer him instead of just standing there daydreaming all day.

“You’re in luck. I was gonna go out for a few drinks tonight, but my friends all cancelled on me. So, it turns out that I’m available,” you say, fighting hard to keep your voice steady and to not let on just how needy you were.

“Well, you could always have those drinks with me while you’re over,” he offers, stepping closer to your desk.

“I could.”

You both smirk at each other, knowing exactly what the outcome of tonight will be. Minho searches around your desk for a moment, eventually finding and grabbing a sticky note and a pen. He scribbles something down before handing it to you.

“That’s my address. See you at 7?”

“Sure thing, see you then.”

He smirks at you again before finally heading back to his own desk and you finally head off home, being sure to stop in and let your boss know you’re leaving.

______________________

Before long, 7 o’clock rolls around and you’re sitting in your car, parked on the road-side, opposite Minho’s house. Checking yourself in your rear-view mirror quickly, you make sure you look presentable before getting out of your car, his blazer draped over your arm. You’re somewhat nervous as you approach his front door, reaching up and knocking. It only takes a short moment before the door swings open, revealing Minho. He steps backwards, holding the door open as he gestures for you to enter. You step past him and into the house, taking in his appearance while he closes the door behind you.

His outfit is simple, a plain t-shirt and a pair of jeans, but to you he looks damn fine. His jeans are tight enough to show off his thighs while not being too tight that it would create any struggle to remove quickly. That’s handy. And his shirt leaves his delicious arms on display. You look up at his face just to see him staring at you in the same way you were just starting at him. Like you’re the single best thing he’s ever laid his eyes on.

“Hi,” you say, bringing his attention back to the current moment. He blinks a few times, taking a moment to recollect his thoughts.

“Hey, you look really good.” He gestures towards your dress. You chose one that was simple, yet effective at its job. You wanted to wear something that showed off your legs, something that would get his attention. And judging by the way he kept looking you up and down, it was working.

“Here’s you blazer,” you say, holding it out for him.

“Oh yeah, thanks,” he replies, having already forgotten that he’d even let you borrow it in the first place. “I’ll just go put that away. Feel free to make yourself at home.”

He dashes off down the hallway, presumedly towards his bedroom. To take the moment alone to take in your surroundings, noting how Minho’s house had a very homely feel to it.

You take a seat on the couch while you wait for him to return. And it doesn’t take him long to do just that, already walking back up the hallway towards where you are. He heads to the kitchen first, grabbing a couple of glasses.

“I have some wine here. Want some?” he offers.

“Sure,” you say, knowing that soon enough the drinks will be abandoned in favour of other activities.

It’s not long before Minho approaches you, two glasses of wine in his hands. He hands one to you before taking a seat in the spot next to you on the couch. Directly next to you. He’s so close that the side of his leg rests against yours, but you’re not complaining.

“Try not to get too distracted by me again,” he says, a cheeky grin plastered on his face. “We wouldn’t want you to spill another drink.”

You both laugh at his teasing statement, but your mind focuses on the word again and you realise that he did know the causing of today’s earlier mishap. Well, that’s a bit embarrassing.

The next short while is filled with more idle chit-chat, a measly attempt at wasting time before getting down to business. The entire time you’re talking, Minho’s arm is resting along the back of the couch behind your head and he’s very shamelessly eye fucking you. In his defence though, you’re doing the exact same thing to him.

“Do you want another glass?” Minho asks when you finish your wine, placing his hand that’s not currently resting on the back of the couch on your thigh. You let out an audible breath as his hand softly caresses the flesh, the feeling sending pools of arousal directly to your heat. As his fingers slowly trail further up, beginning to disappear under the skirt of your dress, you know that he’s not really offering you another drink. It’s his way of moving the conversation along, of asking you if you’re ready to do what you truly came here for.

And you’d be damned if you weren’t ready.

His fingers continue to travel higher, skimming along your inner thigh, avoiding where you desperately need him. You bite your lip, trying to stifle a whimper. It doesn’t work, and it instead draws Minho’s focus to your mouth. And he’s back to thinking about your mouth, how your lips would feel wrapped around his cock. The idea alone has him growing painfully hard in his jeans. Hell, he’d do anything to have your lips on him, in any way.

“M-Minho, please,” you whisper, wanting him to stop his teasing caresses and finally touch you the way you want. The way you need.

“Please what?”

“Please t-touch me.”

“Touch you? I am touching you,” he says, stopping his hand’s movements and instead just resting it in place.

“No, please touch my p-pussy,” you say, your hands coming up to cover your face, embarrassment coursing through your body, causing your face to heat up.

Normally, Minho smirked at you, getting a kick out of how flustered you are.

“Ah, I see. Well, if you want that to happen then you have to prove to me how much you want it.”

And that has you whining.

You quickly manoeuvre yourself so that you’re straddling Minho’s lap, tired of waiting for him to provide you with some much needed friction. Your hands rest on his shoulders, his own flying to your hips when you slowly, experimentally grind down on him. Your actions get the best reward, in the form on a shaky moan from Minho, and that’s the moment you can tell that this whole thing is affecting him just as much as it’s affecting you.

When he told you to prove it, he was expecting you to just get more flustered. He certainly wasn’t expecting you to make such a bold move. You roll your hips against him again, this time drawing a moan from yourself. One of his hands slides up your back, grabbing the zipper for your dress and slowly sliding it down. Once he has it undone, he pulls the dress up and off your body, revealing your lack of bra underneath. Shit, he hadn’t even noticed earlier that you weren’t wearing one, he was too distracted by your legs. He looks up at you, his own lust-filled eyes meeting yours, watching you lean in closer to him. Closer, and closer.

And then your lips – those oh so pretty lips – were on his own, moving together in a rush of adrenaline and lust. There was no delicacy in the kiss, only pure wanton desire as your hands roamed each other’s bodies. You’d both been waiting for this for so long. Craving it.

His hands slide down to your ass, kneading the flesh. He’s quick to stand up, keeping you held up, your legs wrapping around his torso. He carries you down the hallway, only breaking the kiss for a split second at a time to make sure he didn’t bump into anything, before he would dive back into your lips. Your kisses were intoxicating, addicting. Minho just couldn’t get enough. Even when he finally made it to his bedroom, dropping you down onto the bed, he still doesn’t pull away. It’s only when you pull away for breath that he stops, you both panting deeply from the lack of oxygen for so long.

Your hands glide across his linen-clad chest, the fabric warmed from his hot skin. He groans lowly at your touch, desperately wanting more. One of his own hands finds it’s way to your breast, his thumb rubbing over the hardened nipple.

His touch is soft, gentle. He’s testing the waters, wanting to figure out what you like, what touches really get you going. He knows he’s on the right track when your back arches slightly at the contact, and he grazes his thumbs over the nub again, harder this time.

You can feel how soaked you are, your underwear beginning to stick to you uncomfortably. You buck your hips upwards, trying desperately to get some sort of solid friction going, the aching between your legs bordering on painful. Sensing just how strong your need is, Minho pulls away from you, moving down the bed until he’s laying between your thighs, his fingers already dipping into the waistband of your underwear.

He wastes little time in pulling the fabric down your legs and tossing them off to the side. And now, finally, after so long of wanting it, he’s able to gaze upon your pussy, glistening with your juices.

“Holy shit, you’re so wet you’re dripping,” he exclaims, looking up and making eye contact with you. And it makes you clench around nothing when you look at the man that’s remained on your mind with his head between your thighs.

“Only for you,” you reply, even your voice dripping with need. Minho looks back down at your soaked cunt and, in the split seconds before his touch, every nerve in your body and mind comes alive with electricity.  He licks one long stripe along your entrance, and the moan you let out is obscene. And he loves it.

Minho is filled with a new determination, a determination to make you moan over and over again. To have you feeling so good that you’re screaming his name.

He circles his lips around your clit, working the nerve bundle with his mouth while he brings a hand down to work your entrance. He slides a digit it, immediately curling it in search of your special spot. He quickly adds a second finger, continuing his search for your g-spot. He knows he’s finally found it when your hands go flying to his head, threading into his hair, tugging hard. He groans at the sensation, loving the way your hands feel in his hair. God, everything you do just turns him on, and he begins to unconsciously rut his hips into the mattress. He continues working your core while you moan uncontrollably.

“F-fuck, Minho. I’m s-so close,” you manage to whimper out, but he already knows. The way your walls tighten around his fingers over and over tells him everything he needs to know.

“Do it, baby. Cum for me,” he says, and you don’t have to be told twice, your orgasm washing over you with more force than you expected. He finger-fucks you through your high, only stopping when your body stops convulsing in waves of pleasure. He pulls his hand away from your core, a whine escaping you at the empty feeling. If he could make you cum that hard with just his fingers and mouth, how on earth are you going to survive cumming on his cock?

He crawls back up your body, placing his arousal-coated fingers at your lips. You open your mouth with no hesitation, immediately sucking the digits in, swirling your tongue over them as you sucked. The sight alone almost had Minho cumming in his jeans. For so long, all he’s wanted is your lips around some part of him, and while he also wanted to be graces with the visual of you sucking on his cock like your life depended on it, he was more desperate to just fuck you.

He wastes no more time in ridding himself of his clothes until he’s completely bare, reaching into his bedside table draw for a condom. positioning himself above you once again. He’s about to open the condom packet before you stop him, taking it from his hands opening it yourself. He moans when you slide the condom down his length, your hands feeling better on his cock than his own ever could.

The moment you lie back down, he lines himself up with your entrance, not wanting to go another moment without being inside you. He pushes into you, not stopping until his hips rest against yours, the room filling with moans as your bodies finally connect. His cock stretches your walls so perfectly, like two puzzle pieces made for each other.  

After a brief pause, he slowly pulls back you, only to thrust back into you. He repeats the motions, gradually settling into a solid pace, not to fast and not too slow, a perfect balance of the two.

He drags his lips up the soft skin of your neck placing sloppy kisses as over, being sure not to leave any marks. As much as he wanted to mark you where it was visible, he couldn’t. He didn’t want you to have to go through the hassle of covering them each day at work while you wait for them do disappear. Instead, he opted for sucking bruises into your collarbones and along your chest.

Your brain felt like static, unable to string together a single coherent thought as Minho continues to thrust into you, pleasure radiating throughout your entire body. The knot in your stomach grows tighter for the second time during the night, and from the way Minho’s thrusts are getting sloppier, you can tell that he’s close to his own end as well.

He slides his free hand in between the two of you, fingers finding your clit. He rubs circles into the bundle of nerves, and you feel yourself unravel, his fingers being the final to push you over the edge. And it’s your fluttering walls that has the same effect on Minho. You both ride out your highs together, him spilling into the condom and you around his cock. Your loud moans are music to his ears, while his are the same to yours.

Once you both come back down from your highs, Minho pulls himself away from you, quickly disposing of the condom before coming back to lay next to you.

Your body feels heavy, your brain foggy and distant, a tiredness falling over your entire being, exhausted from your orgasms. You groggily roll onto your side, curling your body up into Minho’s and almost instantly drifting off into sleep. He wraps an arm around you in return, feeling sleep approach for him as well. He rests his face against the top of your sleeping head, placing a chaste kiss to your hair. And just before he let himself fall asleep, he made sure plan out in his mind what he was gonna cook you for breakfast in the morning; pancakes.

[mackeydoodledoo]

Café Food and Tattoos

Pairing: Daniela Dimitrescu x (Fem!)Reader

Summary: One small glance at each other from across the way, has Daniela Dimitrescu enticed. One post-work encounter has her walking R home and visiting R during R’s work hours. Turns out that Daniela is not only there for the café food.

Warning: None, fluff all the way :)

A/N: So, this original idea is from @su-lilly-reblogs​ and I really love the idea of Daniela being a tattoo artist and I just love this entire idea in general! It’s a little short but I hope this entry is a good one! 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

As you were cleaning a table out on the patio, you heard a door from over next door open. Being the person to always want to see who was coming out of the tattoo place next door, you saw a strawberry-blonde woman step out. You attempt to snap your focus back on bussing tables out on the patio but when you look up at the same woman that had stepped outside, she had noticed you staring at her. The world stopped for you. She looked so enticing to you. You just wanted to drop everything and walk over to her. However, you were snapped back to reality when your elbow made contact with a glass cup. Your instincts had caught the glass just before it could make contact with the ground. You sigh when you looked back up to the tattoo place and the woman was no longer there. 

When you stopped at a crosswalk, you shiver at the slight breeze of the cool evening. You regretted not bringing a jacket of some sort. However, you felt a jacket being placed upon your shoulders. You could feel the presence of another person standing next to you. You use your peripherals and from the corner of your eye, you saw a familiar strawberry-blonde hair. 

"Warm now?" She asks 

"Yeah," you slightly smile, "Thanks." 

"Daniela Dimitrescu," she answers 

"Y/n Y/l/n," you reply 

When the crosswalk light had allowed you to cross you noticed that Daniela was walking alongside you. 

"So," you break the silence, "How long have you've been tattooing?" 

"Since my apprenticeship at 18," she answers, "I mostly tattoo in black and white. Majority of my works are botanical and anatomical." 

"Has any client requested a tattoo that was out of your comfort zone?" You ask 

"A couple of times," she answers you, "But, the clients loved the end products. So if one would specifically request for something I don't normally do I'll do it." 

"Maybe I'll have to get a tattoo done by you one of these days," you smile 

From the corner of your eye, you could see that Daniela smiled at your suggestion. What you didn't notice was how she was still be your side long after the both of you met at the crosswalk. 

"Did you want someone accompanying you home?" She asks, realizing your silence 

"That would be nice," you say, "We're pretty much here already." 

You walk up the steps to your house and turn around. You notice that Daniela is no longer in sight.... You sighed as you were going to offer her a cup of coffee to go. Even give her jacket back to her as it was still placed on your shoulders. You couldn't help but take in the scent of herbs and citrus that lingers on her jacket. Maybe she'll stop by tomorrow... I'll give her jacket back then.

The following morning was a mess. Table after table you barely could keep yourself steady trying to wait tables, clean the tables etc. You weren't the only one on the floor however, nearly everyone requested for your presence specifically. It was hell. 

"Y/n, a table is requesting for you," your coworker says 

Great... Just when you were able to breathe. You compose yourself and head back out onto the floor but you freeze. 

"Daniela?" You call out, walking toward her with a menu in your hands 

"Hi y/n," she smiles 

"Fancy seeing you here," you smile back, "What can I get you to drink?" 

"Water," she says, looking up at you 

When you return to her table with a glass of water, you go on to check on your other tables with the assistance of your coworker. 

"Sorry about that, its been a mess all morning," you sigh, seating yourself across from Daniela 

"That’s okay love," she says 

"You know what you want to eat yet?" You ask, taking out your notepad 

"Are you on the menu?" She flirts 

Your heart skips a beat, your cheeks flush red, you look at her surprised. Daniela giggles as she watches your face. 

"What’s wrong love? Cat got your tongue?" She asks, smiling menacingly 

The only thing you could do was nearly choke on your own spit before Daniela actually tells you what she wants. With haste you make your way back into the kitchen to give the chef Dani's order and catch your breath. 

"One of the best tattoo artists in town, enticed by the awkward café waitress," your coworker laughs 

"Shut it Clarice," you sigh, "We only met last night." 

"She apparently dedicates her life to tattooing," she explains, "No one to get attached to. But, you can change that, I think it's time for you to get out there. With her. Maybe even get a tattoo done by her." 

"Are you crazy?!" You ask, "She's so out there and I'm me. So who am I kidding??" 

"Just look through your cameral roll for some inspiration for a tattoo, I’m sure the two of you can negotiate something in the next couple of weeks," Clarice suggests, "You got your tips, hourly pay you've been saving for this tattoo haven't you?" 

You nod. You only have one tattoo. You've been dreaming about getting another one but you haven't really looked into it. You didn't plan to until you had enough money to have it done. You hear the chef calling out Daniela's order and you begin reaching for it. 

"I'll check on your other tables," your coworker says, "Just book that appointment with Daniela." 

You nod, because your coworker will make sure you do so if she found out you chickened out. 

"Took you long enough," Daniela teases 

You smile as you place the plate of food in front of her and seat yourself across from her once more. 

"Do you have any tattoos?" Daniela asks 

You roll up your left sleeve to reveal an arrow tattoo with a color in one of the three triangles. 

"I got this when I turned 18 with my older sister," you say, "I've been saving up for another tattoo. But I don't think I have saved enough yet nor have I done research on artists to do it on me." 

"Hit me with the design," Daniela suggests

You open your phone to reveal a botanical anatomy piece. 

Daniela looks at your phone in awe, "I'll do it." 

"What?" You ask, putting your phone away 

"I'll do that tattoo on you," she says 

"R-really?" You ask, your mood changing 

She nods happily. You sigh in relief. 

"How much do you normally charge?" You ask 

"For you my dear, I'll discount it," she answers, "Normally, that kind of piece would be $600-$700." 

You, again almost choke on your own spit. However, re-composing yourself. 

"I'll do it for $400," Daniela says 

You've saved up at least $300 as of your last paycheck. However, since the tips are really piling and you look pay is tomorrow, you have hope. 

"When are you free?" She asks 

"I'm pretty much free Mondays and Tuesdays," you say 

Daniela pulls out her phone and supposedly looks through her calendar. 

"How does Tuesday at 3pm sound to you?" She asks 

"Works for me," you smile brightly 

You leave to get Daniela's check and pay for her food. It was the least you could do for her. She practically got to book your dream tattoo. You go on and check on your other tables, running their checks, your coworker bussing the tables for you. 

"Where were we?" You ask 

"My check?" Daniela asks 

"Don't worry about that," you say, "It's the least I can do for you." 

"Thank you y/n," she smiles, "I gotta run. Work is about to open." 

She stands from her seat and walks by you. However, before she leaves she leans down to your face and places a kiss on your cheek and then walks out. You just remembered about her jacket. Damnit...

Tuesday couldn't come soon enough. You've been working your arse off at the café. Daniela would pop in during her breaks to come say hi or order some food to go. You had long sent the image you had shown Daniela on Thursday to her. She’s talked about how excited she is to do that big of a piece. You told her that you had wanted it on your right outer forearm. 

"So you didn't even HAVE to ask Daniela to do that tattoo?! Man, that's golden! She's definitely into you if she had cut down the price by THAT much," your coworker states 

"Is she?" You ask, blushing 

"Oh come on, if I didn't see how she looks at you when you talk to her, I wouldn't be saying that she's definitely into you," she says 

"You have a point," you say 

"Did you get her number?" She asks 

"No," you say, "We've barely had time as is. She heads straight home to work on the piece for me and I'm busy here. Only chance I get is Tuesday." 

"You better girl," she says before walking off to a table

When Tuesday had finally come, you tuck the tattoo fee in one pocket and her tip mixed with your phone number in the other. You take a deep breath before opening the door to the tattoo shop next to your own work. 

"Y/n!" Daniela smiles as she comes walking over to you to give you a hug 

"So I just finished up your tattoo and I just wanted to run through it with you," She says 

"Dani, didn't we both agree on whatever you do is fine with me?" You smile and jokingly sigh 

"Yes but I just want to have your approval anyway," she smiles 

She takes her iPad and opens up to her editing app and shows you. You noticed that Daniela edited the work a lot to her style of work. And you loved it. 

"Lets get that bad boy tattooed on me Dani," you smile 

She has you fill out paperwork as the stencil begins printing itself out. You hand back the paperwork to her and she leads you to the back of the shop, leading you into a separate room, presumably her studio. 

"Welcome to my humble studio," she smiles, "Just sit your little cute butt in the big chair and give me a hot minute." 

You watch her cut out the stencil and watch her concentrate on applying the stencil to your arm. You try to keep yourself as steady as possible so she wouldn't have to reapply the stencil. 

"Relax love," Daniela says, as if she could feel your tension 

"I don't want to accidentally move my arm," you say 

Once she removes the stencil, she backs away, "Check that out and see if you like the placement." 

"I love it," you almost squeal 

You again watch her prep her tattoo machine and begin concentrating on you.

The pain was unbearable but it was a pretty big tattoo that you had picked out. Daniela barely talked though. But, you assumed it was because she was concentrated on your piece. 

“Hey, I have your jacket and-”

“Keep it love,” She says without looking up at you

“Are-are you sure?” You ask

“You look good in it y/n,” She finally looks up at you, smiling

You smile back at her.

Once she removes the excess tattoo ink she guides you to step outside with her for her to take a picture. After the fact, you two go back into her studio to have her put saniderm on your arm. 

"Now keep that on for a couple of days for me okay?" She smiles 

You nod. You reach into one pocket and pull out the $400 Daniela requested for the piece and then reach into the other and hand it to her. 

"Why thank you love," she smiles 

"That's not all," you say 

You lean forward and give her a kiss on the cheek. She somewhat gives you the same face you did when she did the same to you. 

"Will I see you at the café tomorrow?" She asks 

"You will," you wink at her before making your leave 

She opens the piece a paper: a $40 tip and a note. 

"If you want to get together sometime outside of having café food and tattoos," Daniela read aloud 

At the bottom of the note, was your phone number.

[kaistarus]

Haikyuu Among Us

Pairs: Nishinoya X Reader

Words: 2.8K

Summary: You're playing Among Us with the Karasuno gang. When you get selected to be the Imposter you're not above doing what it takes to win.

Notes: This is a completely self-indulgent fic for Nishinoya's b-day

Masterlist

"There are too many options. What do you think?”

Nishinoya’s yellow character stood motionless beside the lobby’s computer as he selected between several hats. Your animated crewmate ran circles around him while waiting for him to finish his customizations and for the rest of your friends to load into the game.

“I think the post-it is the most accurate, but the egg is the cutest.” You said mindlessly, smiling when Hinata’s bright orange character hopped off one of the benches at the top of the screen. You left Nishinoya so you could chase around Hinata instead, running circles around each other in excitement over your matching stemmed helmets.

Nishinoya grumbled as he selected the raw-egg to cover his helmet. “Should I buy a child?”

“Are you ready for that?” You asked as more people finally started loading onto the ship. “It’s a lot of responsibility and what if we both die?”

“Oh, you’re right. I’m not ready to be a single father.” Nishinoya left the computer and came to run in the circle with you and Hinata in the center of the lobby.

“You guys are disgusting,” Tsukishima’s condescending voice filtered into your headset. You rolled your eyes and glared at his black spacesuit with the devil horns. So rude.

“Let people be happy, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi said while his dark green character joined your dance circle. You couldn’t explain it, but the wet floor sign felt extremely fitting for his character.

“I’ll help you raise your child if (Y/N) dies Noya!” Hinata said brightly into your headset.

“Thanks, Shoyo!”

“No, I want to help him raise the child!” Tanaka yelled into the mic causing you to jump in your chair. You quickly opened your audio settings to turn his volume down. “I deserve it. I’ve known them the longest.”

“No way, I already called dibs!”

“Guys, you can both help me! The more parents the better!”

“There is no child.” You said, pinching the bridge of your nose,” and stop planning for me to die.”

“Sorry.” They all said in unison.

“But one day…” Hinata added ominously. You blinked at the screen confused and opened your mouth to respond before deciding it better to write that off entirely.

“All right, I’m starting the game,” Yachi said before the countdown appeared at the bottom of the screen.

“Wait, is Kageyama AFK? He hasn’t said anything.” Hinata asked, concerned.

“I just don’t want to talk to you, idiot.”

“Ouch.” Nishinoya snorted.

You muted your mic after a small giggle. The red crewmate appeared to shush everyone and you couldn’t help the wicked grin that crossed your face when ‘Imposter’ appeared in red letters afterward. Beside your character stood your partner in crime, Hinata, his name also bled red for the violence to ensue. You nodded to yourself confidently. Hinata wasn’t the best imposter, but you two were pretty in sync so you weren’t too concerned.

The airship loaded and everyone appeared around the center lunch table in cafeteria. You debated what you should do… maybe hang out with Hinata and attempt a double kill? You two could pull that off. Maybe just try some fun vent kills like you’d seen streamers do recently. Too bad Nishinoya ran over to you and began dancing beside you, clearly trying to get you to follow him to the right side of the map. It would probably be cruel if you slowly garnered his trust to use him as an alibi…

You followed him out of cafeteria. He began a wire task so you pretended to watch the bar go up until he excitedly danced beside you when he was finished, happy he’d cleared himself as an innocent crewmate-not that you hadn’t known that already. You went to fake asteroids, standing beside the chair while hoping to all that was good the green bar would move on time, when it did you leaned your forehead on your desk with a heavy sigh. Nishinoya’s character ran circles around you, likely thrilled that you were both crewmates, before continuing down the gray halls to the oxygen room. You took a moment to feel guilty before shaking it off.

While Nishinoya went to do another task in O2 you noticed Tsukishima running down the hall, alone, so you briefly separated and went to follow him. Unfortunately, Tsukishima decided to go to navigation all alone which left you with absolutely no choice. You strolled up to him and pressed the lit up ‘KILL’ button in the bottom corner of your screen. The animation had you snapping his character in half which you were a little too satisfied with-you could practically hear him raging from across town.

Once complete, his little half body flopped over and you snickered to yourself in your room. Then you remembered Nishinoya probably heading this way and you quickly self-reported the body.

“Naviga--.”

“Somebody killed Tsukki!?” Yamaguchi yelled so loud you had to lift your headphones up.

“Oh no,” Kageyama said, sarcastically. “What a loss.”

“You don’t sound upset…” Yachi pointed out.

“Should I?”

“Yes! He’s our friend and he’s dead!” Yamaguchi yelled.

“He’s not actually dead Yams.” You smirked, propping your elbow onto your desk and leaning into the palm of your hand.

“Sometimes I still hear his voice…” Nishinoya sniffled into his mic and you rolled your eyes fondly.

“Where was it?” Hinata asked.

“Navigation.” You said calmly. “Me and Nishinoya were doing tasks. I saw him go down to nav and I wanted to see if he died in the murder zone and he did.”

“Makes sense,” Nishinoya said casually. “So, who else is there that killed him?”

“Makes sense? She literally said she followed him to the murder zone.” Tanaka pointed out. You purse your lips because you did kind of say that, yeah. You should probably phrase things better.

“I saw her do asteroids though and she saw me do other tasks so we’re good.” Nishinoya scoffed at Tanaka’s accusation. “She couldn’t possibly have murdered Tsukishima if she did asteroids.”

“Okay… but what if she faked it?” Tanaka suggested.

“Are you suggesting my girlfriend would lie to me?” Noya said, gasping dramatically. “How could you dude?”

“The absolute disrespect.��� You said, narrowing your eyes at Tanaka’s brown character. He knew too much.

“What if they’re both the imposter?” Yachi suggested.

“No way. If Noya was imposter half of us would be dead already.” Hinata said, with a chorus of agreeance following him.

“Well, who else is around here?” You asked.

“I’m almost there,” Kageyama said.

“Almost there or running from the crime?” You asked, excited to bring someone new into suspicion.

“Dun dun dun,” Hinata shouted.

“I don’t know if this means anything, but Hinata was at card swipe for a really long time…” Yachi added quietly.

“I just failed it like ten times, okay?” Hinata said sadly.

“Yeah, that checks out.” Kageyama snorted. “This idiot would fail a card swipe.”

“Let’s just skip, but Kageyama and (Y/N) I’m watching you,” Tanaka said.

“Good,” Kageyama responded.

The round ended with no one being ejected, thankfully, but you were a little concerned about the amount of suspicion being thrown at you. Hopefully, Hinata would keep Kageyama alive, and if the opportunity presents itself Tanaka would be your next target. Until then, you ran around the table to Nishinoya and danced beside him until he was ready to move. It was most important that Nishinoya believed you were innocent. You needed a strong ally, especially now.

As you waited patiently for him to complete another download task you kept the sabotage map open contemplatively before Hinata decided to shut off the lights for you. You tried to stay close enough to Nishinoya that he would see you in his limited visual area while you run to electrical, that is, until you saw Yamaguchi trailing behind you. Once you all entered cafeteria you pulled a quick u-turn under the cover of darkness and stabbed Yamaguchi’s poor unsuspecting crewmate body several times in the back before returning to Nishinoya and helping fix the lights. As if nothing had ever happened.

After fixing lights like the innocent, fake crewmate you were an air horn went off in your ear to signal Yamaguchi’s body being reported. You fell back in your chair with a whine before unmuting your mic.

“All right, this is good,” Tanaka said, a few muffled smacks heard as he excitedly smacked his desk.

“Disrespectful, dude. What did Yams or Yachi ever do to you?” Nishinoya asked. You raised an eyebrow because you hadn’t even noticed Yachi’s crossed off character. “They’re the two nicest people on earth.”

“Yeah, that’s sus.” You said with a smirk.

“Super sus.” Nishinoya agreed.

“What? No. I mean, I was on my way to the button because I literally watched Hinata jump into a vent when I found Yam’s body. Which means we have two pieces of evidence now.”

You cursed internally and glared at Hinata’s bright orange character. He would get caught venting.

“Dude, seriously?” Nishinoya laughed.

“What? I didn’t vent.”

“I watched you.”

“Oh yeah? How can I vent when I’m not even the imposter?” Hinata said confidently. You rolled your eyes.

“Damn, he’s got you there dude.” Nishinoya snorted. “Solid defense Shoyo.”

“Thanks, man!”

“Don’t defend him!” Tanaka yelled. “Unless you really are the second imposter!”

“What? No! Where’s your evidence? Give me proof!”

“Yeah, give him the proof!” Hinata added.

“Where were you when Yamaguchi was killed?”

“How the fuck would I know?” Nishinoya asked, astonished. “We were only in cafeteria when the lights were off and I didn’t see a body.”

“We?” Tanaka sounded deep in thought. “When the lights were off…”

“Are we just forgetting about mister thank god Tsukishima is dead?” You said, pulling attention toward Kageyama. “And last I checked only Noya and I fixed the lights.”

“Oh yeah, where were you, Kageyama?” Nishinoya asked.

“I’m where the boxes are.”

“You gotta learn the room names, man.” Hinata sighed.

“Maybe this is a tactic!” Tanaka shouted.

“Oh, and self-reporting isn’t Tanaka?” You asked.

“I don’t know. Tell me about the last round?” He responded confidently. Oh shit.

“Hang on, we gotta vote. We have like 15 seconds.” Nishinoya pointed out.

“Vote Hinata. He vented.” Tanaka said, repeatedly.

Everyone voted quickly and Nishinoya even apologized to Hinata, so you sighed before going with the majority. You had officially lost your partner. On the bright side, if you could take out Tanaka you could probably convince Nishinoya that Kageyama was the last imposter. You just had to play this last bit safe.

You waited a bit before going in the direction Tanaka had run after, but your last few rounds backfired when Nishinoya trailed after you. You needed to get away from him long enough so you could kill Tanaka without him seeing. You broke away from him for a moment and hopped into the nearest vent, jumping around until you found an area close to where you thought Tanaka had last been running around. When you popped out fear immediately shot into your heart when Kageyama’s dark blue character peaked into the top of the screen.

You weren't sure if he saw you or not, but you couldn’t risk it. He had to die.

You chased after him toward cafeteria and just barely got close enough to hit the kill button when he entered the room. You let out a breath of relief when the kill animation popped onto your screen and you watched your character repeatedly stab Kageyama in the back. You thought you were safe, so when the air horn for a meeting played you shot up in your chair. Apparently, in your tunnel vision, you hadn’t noticed Tanaka lurking nearby.

“It was Tanaka. I watched him kill Kageyama!” You shouted the moment your mic unmuted.

“Wait, what the fuck?” Nishinoya’s voice was filled with genuine confusion and you almost felt guilty. Almost. Maybe after you won.

“No. She chased him down, sawed him in half, then tossed him away like it was nothing. I saw it all.” Tanaka shouted.

“You can’t even saw people.” You rolled your eyes.

“I’m so confused,” Nishinoya whined. “It’s not Kageyama? But (Y/N) was with me like the entire game.”

“Exactly, so how could I have killed anyone?” You said excitedly. Nishinoya had no suspicion of you which was perfect. You could definitely win this.

“You were at every place where the bodies were found.” Tanaka pointed out. “She couldn’t have been with you the entire time. Like when she self-reported the first body?”

“I didn’t self-report.”

“Or when the lights went out?”

“I guess not.” Nishinoya said. You hit your desk lightly in stress. “She also wasn’t with me this whole last round...”

“Exactly!” Tanaka shouted. “And she was really adamant about putting suspicion on Kageyama.”

“Cause he was suspicious!” You threw your hands up. Since when was Tanaka so good at this game?

The line was quiet for a moment. “(Y/N) he’s making a lot of sense.”

“Okay, but he also reported Yams' body,” you countered. “Easily could’ve been a self-report there too.”

“That’s true…”

“Dude, why would I have tried so hard to get Hinata out if I was an imposter?” Tanaka asked, exasperated. “It makes no sense. It has to be her.”

“He could’ve lied about seeing Hinata vent!” You shouted, deciding to throw hail mary’s in your moment of demise.

“Why would I do that?”

“My head hurts,” Nishinoya whined. “(Y/N) I don’t know...”

“Okay. You should vote for Tanaka because...” You said while racking your brain for a solid defense. “I… love you.”

Nishinoya blew air into the mic. “Fuck dude, that’s a good defense.”

“No it’s not you--” Tanaka groaned. “Dude, for like five seconds I need you to stop being a simp and just big brain with me here.”

“But she’s saying nice things to me,” Nishinoya whined.

“Dude, c’mon you know who it is.”

Nishinoya groaned into the mic. “Okay, (Y/N) you’d never lie to me, right?”

“Never.”

“Are you imposter?”

“...I love you so much and I’m so happy you’re in my life and--”

“She just fucking admitted to it!” Tanaka screamed in the mic. “Don’t let her get into your brain. You’re better than this.”

After a brief silence, Nishinoya finally voted and you stood out of your chair when it revealed Nishinoya and you beneath Tanaka’s brown character. The mixed shouting in your headset went completely ignored by your own excitement while you celebrated, thanking Nishinoya with loving words.

“You fucking simp!” Tanaka yelled. “I can’t believe you. I trusted you!”

“I’m sorry,” Nishinoya’s groan came muffled in your ears. “I just couldn’t do it.”

“Good job (Y/N)!” Hinata cheered. “I never win as an imposter.”

“Cause you vent in front of people,” Tsukishima said.

“It was an accident! I meant to sabotage doors and I misclicked.”

“Oh well, we still got a victory.” You said proudly while spinning in your chair.

“You used me,” Nishinoya said, disappointed. “For personal gain.”

“I’m sorry, Noya,” you smirked as your characters all slowly hopped off the chairs in the main lobby. You danced around his yellow character as everyone loaded in. “I’ll make it up to you, promise.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

When the second game began, you let out a sigh of relief when the light blue confirmed you as merely a crewmate. This time you could legitimately just goof off with Nishinoya and complete tasks together while hopefully avoiding death.

After the map loaded you once again made your way to navigation together, keeping guard while the other was busy, and dancing circles every time you completed a task. When you eventually had entered the murder zone you trusted him to watch your back while you did your last task on the right side of the ship. Your first mistake apparently. You audibly gasped when the kill animation appeared on the screen. Nishinoya’s yellow character snapping your poor little crewmate’s neck in plain sight, leaving its little half body lying there for all to see. It’s poor singular bone popped out and bare.

You stared blankly at the screen while Nishinoya danced around your body for a moment, knowing that your ghost was hovering over it before he went down and hopped into the vent. You flopped back into your chair watching as Tanaka’s character ran into the room, stared at your body, and ran out. You could picture him cackling at the situation from here.

When a meeting was finally called, not even for you but Kageyama, Nishinoya pretended to be upset that “someone dares to kill you” and other bull shit. You crossed your arms and glared at his stupid yellow imposter self.

You supposed you deserved being used as a cover-up from the grave.

He better at least win.

[sinnohlunarfestival]

Lopunny Rave Orange Zone

With a corridor that separates a divided area that can only be accessible to each other via the doors of the corridor or raised bridges from a variety of little forts and lookout posts, one could call the Orange Zone a real battlefield. The glass of the main corridor that connected the Yellow and Red Zones was covered in a variety of coloured paint as were the interior of the divided battlefield.

Music still blared as a holdover from the nearby Red Zone where the stage was, almost making the floor tremble under ravers who chose to have a fun and harmless outlet to enjoy their music as well. The added thrill of being caught, of ducking paintballs and getting splattered can make one's heart race.

There are booths protected from the chaos of zinging paintballs that allowed for paintball gun and equipment rentals. There were basic guns that could be picked up for free, alongside safety gear, but better tools could be rented or purchased for extra fun, such as the waterballoons filled with paint for extra collateral damage! The black lights litter the area so everyone glows with the paint they've been exposed to.

Don't worry about ruining your clothes! The paint is water based and completely washable and on-staining; there are also hot shower stalls next to the rental booths, too, if you want to wash up before exiting the Orange Zone.

ORANGE ZONE ROLL TABLE (REQUIRES 1D10)

1: Running away from someone coming at you, you slip on a pool of paint and slide into a foam barrier. 2: You got a special discount and are able to get an extra-large supersoaker that looks ridiculously huge in your hands. 3: The song Blue (by Eiffel 65) comes on just as you are pelted from all sides by blue glow paint. 4: You find out the staff have messed up a little as the water balloon someone threw was filled with REAL paint and now your clothes are ruined. 5: You get pulled into a game of Capture the Flag and get put out of the game at least three times, but with the effort of your group, you manage to win against Team Red! 6: Walking under a walkway, someone drops a water balloon on top of your head. 7: You spot a friend in the fray and decide to get them in the butt with your paintball gun! You run away giggling before they notice your silly betrayal. 8: You spot someone being some kind of insane samurai by batting away paintballs -- somehow -- by swatting them away with one of their flipflops. 9: You play so hard and so much, you are covered head to toe in a rainbow of glowing colours. You could be a glow stick all by yourself. You head to the showers laughing and feeling great. 10: You are some kind of amazing secret agent, or acrobat, or something! You have evaded practically all attacks, while lancing them back at others with equal fervor. Other than your shoes, you are immaculate!

[jpegjade]

Broken Glasses - Spencer

explination: yes, you’ve seen this idea before. i posted it like 2 weeks or so ago. i didn’t know where to go with it so i called on you guys. genius anon gave me some guidelines and i went with it, coming up with some ideas along the way. so this one is for you, anon. there were some things i added but we’ve got you to thank, really. 

warnings: none. it’s fluff

_____________________

You can blame the unsub for your current predicament. You could blame yourself for your current situation. But in all honesty? You could blame Spencer for the current issue. And that’s exactly what you chose to do.

“Step in 3, 2, 1, now.” Spencer said, guiding you down the stairs in your apartment complex. 

Your arm wrapped around his, as if you were going to a fancy night out in the 50’s, you were slowly and steadily trying to make it to the Lyft so the two of you could get to work on time. 

“Spencer, I can see it.” You said. 

“No, you can’t, which is why I’m here.” Spencer said through a blurry smirk. 

Everything was horribly blurry since you broke your glasses in a scuffle with the last unsub. You didn’t know where your back-up pair of glasses were so you were stuck not being able to see anything clearly unless you shoved it close enough to your face that your nose was touching it. Even then, things weren’t clear enough to make use of anything. 

Immediately after Spencer realized that you needed help moving around, he came to your aid. He treated you with such kindness and a gentle touch that you didn’t mind having your best friend around. He knew your schedule best since his schedule was basically the same thing. He had been sleeping over at your house for the past 3 days, which almost reminded you of being a kid again. 

“I have your badge. I’ll scan it.” Spencer said as the two of you entered the building. 

“Spencer, you know you’re doing the absolute most, right?” You sighed, stepping into the elevator. 

“I am not doing the most. I feel like I could be doing more for you.” Spencer said, pressing the button in the elevator. 

He removed his arm from the current position, your arm wrapped around his, and you began to feel sad about it until you noticed him slipping his hand in yours. You tried to keep a smile from your face but it was a struggle. 

The problem was you had the biggest crush on Spencer. He was everything you wanted in a guy and he treated you with the highest level of kindness and respect but then again, everyone else got the same treatment. He was just that kind of person. Maybe this was just Spencer being a friend. Did friends hold hands? 

“Y/N?” Spencer said, sitting across the aisle from you at his desk. 

“Hmm?” You turned your head towards Spencer, squinting but that didn’t make it any better. 

You were completely zoned out, thinking about your best friend. It wasn’t like you could see anything anyway so you might as well just think while you sat at your desk working on cases. Being inside your head like that was quite common but at least you could see things when you decided to zone out. 

“You were staring off into space. Do you need help with your file? I should help you with your file.” Spencer said, rolling himself over to your desk. 

“Spencer you have your own case files.” You protested as he struggled to scoot into a comfortable position at your desk. 

“It will only take me about an hour to go through them.” Spencer said as he opened the first folder on the top of your stack, quickly reading over everything. 

“You don't have to do this, Spence.” You said, grateful for his help. 

“Okay then tell me what this says.” Spencer was trying to prove a point. 

Everything on the page semi blended together into one continuous blur. You were grateful that you didn’t have to see the gruesome crime scene photos from the case but you wished that Spencer’s point was wrong. He was smug for a while whenever he was right about something. 

“Fine, you can help.” You said, crossing your arms. “But you can only read to me. You can’t solve anything for me unless I ask for a consult.” 

“Deal.” Spencer said. You just knew he was smiling. 

3 hours and one case later, you were beyond tired. You haven’t been getting a lot of sleep lately although you’ve never felt safer in your apartment. 

“You need coffee?” You asked Spencer, who was about to read the next line of the case file. 

“Sure. I’ll get it for you.” Spencer shot up and the same time you got on your feet, sending the case file toppling to the ground. 

“I got it, Spence.” You said, smiling at his blunder. 

Walking to the kitchen area, you almost tripped on Morgan’s foot, practically ran into Garcia because you couldn’t really see if she was walking towards you or around you, and you couldn’t tell how far away the coffee brewer was so you looked like an idiot while you waved your arm around the counter. 

“You okay there?” Rossi came by, grabbing a food box from the newly cleaned fridge. 

“I’m fine. I got this.” You squinted harder. Had it not been for his voice, you would’ve definitely not been able to tell who that was. 

You had to stretch to get a cup from the cabinet because whoever washed them put your halloween themed cup somewhere you can’t reach. You knew it was yours by the colors. Garcia’s cups were much more vibrant and magical, in a way. 

Standing on the very tips of your toes, leaning against the counter for support, you were almost there. Just a little bit more and…

“I got it.” Spencer said, coming up behind you. 

He didn’t want you to fall off balance so he slipped his arm around your waist and kept it there for a while. The butterflies you felt in your stomach were incredible. His touch was so soft yet firm and you easily imagined his hips holding you in place in other situations, which you would later, but right now you crossed your arms and angry squinted at Spencer. 

“I could’ve gotten it on my own.” You said, pouting. 

“If you looked at the probability that you would get the cup, it was low. The probability that you would break another cup in the process was excessively high so I did what made the most sense, statistically.” Spencer looked blankly at you, which didn’t matter because you couldn’t really make out his expression anyway. 

“Okay, nerd.” You said, taking the cup from him. 

You ghosted your hand around the counter before you felt Spencer put the coffee brewer in your hand. You let out a small huff before trying to navigate a way to pour coffee without Spencer’s help. You almost got it when you felt his hand around your hand, holding the barrel of the mug, while you poured coffee into it. His hand was so soft and warm and you couldn’t believe it was wrapped around yours again. 

“Y/n, I think that’s enough.” Spencer chuckled. 

You didn’t even notice that your coffee cup was about to spill over. You sighed and shakily put the coffee brewer back on the base. It was a hard process but you did it while Spencer whispered whether you were hot or cold in your ear. 

“Reid. Y/l/n. We’ve got a case.” Emily said, walking past the two of you. 

You gently carried your cup of coffee to the bullpen, Spencer holding your hand the whole way. You didn’t even notice until Spencer pushed open the door and everyone’s talking ceased. Garcia was beaming at the two of you while you separated, taking seats next to each other at the table. JJ’s normal seat to your left was open so Spencer slid in, dropping your hand. You missed the soft, warm feeling of his hand in yours. It was a special feeling that you didn’t know you needed so much.  

“You’ve got me next to you, Prentiss to your right, Morgan to her right, Hotch walking through the door, and Garcia standing right in front of the screen, and JJ standing next to her.” Spencer said, pointing out everyone who was in the room. 

“Spencer if you don’t cut it out and quit babying me, I will shove this coffee cup up your-” 

“Y/L/N.” Hotch said, sitting down. “Garcia, the case?” 

“Today, my sweet children, is another grizzly case and not the cute bear kind.” Garcia said, turning towards the screen and clicking the button on the remote extra hard because it got stuck sometimes. This was one of those times, causing a weird silence as she tried to figure it out for a moment. 

You sipped your coffee, eyes darting between Spencer and the screen. You weren’t a fan of the images so you typically tried to spend as little time as possible looking at crime scene photos and more time reading the reports. The reports detailed everything for you so you didn’t have to look at the images all the time. The only problem was you couldn’t see anything in the file but that was fine because you didn’t have to see detailed images of the murders.  

Going around the table, everyone said their thoughts about the case, you being the last person to chime in about how it might be a woman before Hotch called wheels up in an hour. Not sure why it was so long but you were thankful because you needed to talk to Spencer before take off. 

Quickly, everyone filed out of the room to get their bags and you grabbed Spencer’s hand this time. 

“Spencer.” You said, watching his body turn to you. From what you could see, his body language was different. Not as open as before. 

“You don’t want to be babied, I get it. I hate when the team treats me like a baby too. So I won’t do that.” Spencer said, letting go of your hand. 

“No, I was going to apologize. I’m sorry I snapped at you earlier. I was just a bit frustrated. I do need the help, especially since we’re going into the field and my new glasses won’t be ready until we get back, basically.” You said. 

“Right.” Spencer said. 

“Do you think you could read the case file to me again? I want to be up to date before you guide me to the jet.” You grinned sheepishly. 

“I thought you wouldn’t ask.” Spencer said, happy to be able to help.

[basically-i-write-shit]

PLEASE tell me about the hq dnd au. I’m intrigued

I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE

ok but like genuinely I wrote a little oneshot of how I think it would go for tskym week like...three years ago and I'm disappointed it didn't get as much interest as i thought it would. I got really into D&D when I started listening to The Adventure Zone in 2018 (which, I think it's absolutely crazy that was 4 years ago btw) and I've been obsessed with the idea of the hq gang playing dnd for a while.

The premise of the fic is that the reader is experiencing the campaign, not the process of making it, but through a unique lens: we're watching the PCs instead of the characters playing at the table. Each character's PC is of course created with a class, race, and backstory that is different than their own with unique names- but, because it's still a Haikyuu fic, we're still watching the characters go through these situations.

So like, in my example fic, we read and comprehend that "Tsukishima" and "Yamaguchi" are the ones controlling the narrative, but their characters are the ones experiencing the sensations.

Ex:

The way I would work this is by essentially writing a fantasy Haikyuu fic that loosely follows D&D 5e rules/my small knowledge of how D&D works, and include cut scenes like provided in the example to show the "playing" D&D aspect of the fic. This would also be able to excuse any acts that the "Characters" (PCs with their names changed to reflect the person playing them) do that may seem OOC or weird choices for them to make by blaming it on a "bad roll" or "failed check." Essentially bailing the author out if people complain about a character's actions being "totally OOC for him" lol.

"But 12 people is a lot of people for a D&D party, isn't it?" The answer to that is yes. Having all of one team or multiple teams in one campaign together would be near impossible for an IRL game. Like, not gonna lie there. I would probably have the team split into two separate campaigns that occasionally overlap, with other characters from other teams simply being NPCs that the audience, looking at the story from an outsider's perspective, could potentially identify as another character. Great example would be, if the campaign follows Karasuno, seeing a childhood friend duo could imply either Kuroo and Kenma or Oikawa and Iwaizumi or one of the Miya twins and Aran, depending on the relationship of the duo.

I have a lot of feelings about potentially writing this one day, and the ideas are probably confusing if you haven't read the oneshot I did with the concept, but year. D&D AU.

Additionally:

In a Karasuno-centric version of this, Ennoshita is of course the DM.

They host at Tanaka or Daichi or Yamaguchi's houses the most, because they have a lot of space and their parents aren't home often enough for such a large group meet in.

Another way to shrink the group is to just have Narita and Kinoshita have their own separate campaign that Enno DMs on the side, but I like the idea of an even split for players.

Tanaka has played a dragonborn in every campaign he's ever played and has a custom dice set that looks like a dragon's hoard.

Akiteru DMed a mini campaign for Yamaguchi and Tsukki when they were in middle school, and Enno discovering their minis while studying at Yamaguchi's house is how they get their team campaign going.

Hinata, like everything else, is a complete newbie but somehow manages to rock everyone's shit still. Like, everyone's convinced his dice are loaded even after doing multiple float tests, but he just had great rolls. That is, until he needs to have a good roll in the middle of some important combat and he gets a 3 with a -2 add on and nearly beefs it.

Tsukki has healing spells, which he absolutely should not be allowed to have bc he refuses to use them on anyone anyway.

Tsukki and Daichi are very anti-roleplay. Meanwhile, Suga, Tanaka, and Hinata absolutely love it. Everyone else is neutral with a positive lean.

Yamaguchi is surprisingly the one that romances everyone he sees- surprising because of his general demeanor, but also because I genuinely think he either plays paladin, cleric, or monk. Very non-flirtatious beings, usually.

Yachi and Kiyoko are definitely in this somewhere. I can't decide if I want them actually playing or as NPCs somewhere in the story, but they're definitely there.

I like to think that the other teams also have their own campaigns going on, and sometimes they run into one another at a post-session dinner or something.

This could honestly fit into the highschool canon or in like a college AU.

[sarcastically-defensive17]

Forget me? Forget us. - B. Hargrove

Inspired by ‘Forget me too’ by MGK and Halsey. I love this song and it has been stuck in my head all day and I couldn’t think of anything but a toxic relationship with billy. This isn’t a happy story, but it is a sad reality of some relationships. Some people are so bad for each other yet their love is too intense. “I love you so much that I hate you” describes this perfectly.

Gif is not mine, nor are the lyrics used within the song or Billy Hargrove. Hope you enjoy!

Let me know if you want to join the Billy taglist, or my general tag list!

Original story by sarcastically-defensive17

TW: This story contains an intense description of a very toxic relationship. In no way do I condone this kind of relationship and I recommend seeking help if you are in a relationship like this and you fear for your safety or that of another.

Billy was dangerous. So was Y/N. She was cold, he was burning hot. They were powerful separate, a raging storm together.

They were made to love one another, but not made to be in love with one another. They were furious, passionate, loving, angry, fearful, high on possibility.

They were inseparable, but couldn’t bare to be with one another.

They were purely paradoxical, and they loved every heart aching second of it.

They had broken up once again, their love blowing up in a fury of broken objects and obscenities. One of their distant friends from high school decided to throw a party, despite her status as post-high school adults. Billy was in attendance, obviously.

Y/N had yet to show up. Her absence elated him, and disappointed him. He loved her. He loved her so much that he couldn’t stand to be around her, for he was too scared to lose it.

Their love was temporary, yet the temporary was permanent.

They were always going to fall apart. They were always going to become one again. They would fall apart soon after. It was a viscous cycle of heartbreak and hopeless love.

He waited for her, drink in hand, clad in tight jeans and a white tank top. His staple denim jacket was missing.

Another woman - Bethany, Billy thought her name was - stood awfully close to him, her bony hand resting on his arm as she spoke. He had no idea what she was saying, he had zoned out almost as soon as she approached him. He had little care to listen to her prattle on. His mind was waiting for one person.

Bethany kept chattering and Billy fought the urge to roll his eyes. He was showing zero interest, yet the woman would not shut up.

Well, she hadn’t, until a hand grabbed her hair and yanked her entire body backwards, until she fell flat on her behind.

Y/N stood behind her, Billy’s jacket draped over her shoulders and a look of pure fury in her eyes.

I saw you walk in the room and I tried my best
Not to panic while I'm lookin' for the back door,

I smelled the perfume and it's obvious, i'm gonna stay and put my key in the bag more.

She wasn’t directing it towards Bethany, no. She was locked and loaded right on Billy.

Flight or fight kicked in, and Billy panicked, but only for a minute.

She looked divine. Wearing his jacket, marks on her neck from their last positive encounter on show for everybody to see.

She smelled like perfection, her chocolate scented perfume drawing him in, filling his senses with her.

She drove him crazy, made him more furious than he could comprehend. They would fight, they would love, they would fall apart.

Her hand connected with his face, yet he wasn’t angry. No. He connected his lips with hers, feeling her fingers slide through his hair. All eyes were on them, yet everybody had seen this scene before.

They were possessive, they were horrible to one another and others, but god help anybody who messed with their relationship. Only they could crumble the walls that they build.

She pulled back from him, smirking, watching as he bit his lip with temptation.

“Missed me baby?” She winked at him, allowing his body to pull hers along as he grabbed her hand and started leading her outside.

She may be the reason that his small apartment had a broken window and multiple holes in the wall, but he sure as hell didn’t hesitate to follow her to wherever she led.

The alcohol wore off by the time he woke, his head pounding and his vision spinning.

Her leg was stung over his own, both of them as bare as the day they were born. He rose carefully, moving her body from his as gently as he could.

However, in his efforts to make it out without waking her, he dropped his belt, and the clatter of the buckle on the hardwood floor caused her to snap awake.

It escalated quickly.

You want me to forget you? Okay, forget me too.

You tell me you hate me, baby, yeah, I bet you do

“You’re such a fucking asshole, Hargrove!” She shoved at his shoulder, trying to get past him so she could get to the bathroom. He was blocking her way.

“Oh, of course. I’m the asshole.” He snarled, a smile on his face. You’re the one who starts screaming at me, but I’m the one in the wrong!”

“You’re in the wrong because you ducking broke up with me, then tried to skip out before I woke up.” Her hands were in her hair, grasping at the roots. “You’re so fucking selfish. I’m waiting around constantly for you, but I make you wait one fucking time and you’re throwing a tantrum!”

“You left me waiting for an hour, Y/N! What, were you out with Tommy? What about Stevie? You always had a soft spot for him.” They were malicious. They knew how to hurt one another and they both knew it.

“God, you’re such a joke.” She laughed in his face, shoving her shoulder against his so she could grab her stuff from the bathroom. “Sometimes I wish I could forget I ever fucking met you, Billy.”

“You wouldn’t survive without me holding your hand, princess.” He snarled, perfect lips turning up to show perfect teeth.

They connected once again, pulling at one another, crashing into the wall, the door frame, the bed.

“I hate your fucking guts,” she growled, pulling his shirt over his head.

“I know you do, baby.” He flipped them over so his body was covering her own and connecting his lips to hers once again.

I've wasted so much time waitin' around for your phone calls every night

She would sit by the phone every night, waiting for his call. She would excuse some night, knowing if his terrible home life, but when he got his own place, he rarely called, rarely picked up the phone.

She spent so many days, so many nights, waiting up on him.

She got her own back at him.

He was taking her to see a new movie, planning to meet her at the arcade next to the theatre at 6 o’clock. He had to drop the bratty step-sister off, so he figured two birds.

He waited there until an hour later, the movie already beginning. He was seething. He hated being stood up, and she knew it.

Y/N arrived at the theatre 15 minutes later, but there was no Billy in sight, nor his sleek camaro.

She drove to his apartment, furious yet also proud. She gave him a taste of his own medicine, and she couldn’t wait to see how frustrated he was. She hated hurting him, but he hurt her just as bad.

We'd both be better off alone.

Still think I'd get you on the phone with one last breath in me.

I'd die before I let you leave

He had already downed five beers by the time she got there. It was rare for her to see him sober, and it was rare for him to see her while he was sober.

It escalated as soon as she walked in the door, slamming the heavy wood behind her.

“I was waiting for you and you didn’t bother to fucking show up!” He took a drag of his cigarette, blowing the smoke in her direction. She hated when he smoked, she despised the smell of nicotine on his breath but found the sight of him smoking to be incredibly attractive.

She fell for his bad boy side, and found home in his caring heart and troubled personality. It was a broken home but she couldn’t bare to leave.

The argument grew more and more, she threw a phone book at him, sending it through the window in his living room.

“I’m done. I’m sick of the bullshit, Y/N. We’re fucking better off alone!” He slammed his hand on the table, silencing her shouts of obscenities at him.

She laughed, slumping down onto the beat up couch. They had been saving money every paycheck to get him some new furniture. Y/N had also been putting money away to get her own apartment, despite Billy’s offer for her to live with him.

Such a volatile and temporary relationship couldn’t withstand constantly being in the presence of one another.

“We would die before we ever give up on one another, Billy.”

Tell me why you do the things that make me hate you,

It's an emotional kaleidoscope when I face you,

Permanent calligraphy, I just tattooed your name on me forever, fuck

Y/N and Billy love each other intensely, but they also know exactly how to make the other hate them.

It was a horrible cycle, yet nobody could make them happier than the person they hated the most.

Even if they wanted to forget one another, they could never forget the love they shared.

Tag List: @snookiebrookie (because you’re always so kind)

Let me know if you want to join the billy taglist!

[theworldbrewery]

manual monday!

TCoE and the magic of the “Supernatural Regions” tables

This post is focused on Ch. 4, pages 150-163, of Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything.

Okay, folks, I gotta admit, I’m biased as hell on this one. But my party of level 7 adventurers have spent the last 2 sessions in a dungeon affected by the Unraveling Magic Effects table, including a Wild Magic Sorcerer, and so I’ve been using that table to its fullest extent. Recently, that included a combat in which 2 separate zones of reverse gravity opened up, and before that, the gang had to face unknown enemies while in an Antimagic Field.

If this sounds rad as hell, this is certainly the set of rules for you.

TCoE covers seven different varieties of “Supernatural Regions,” a type of Environmental Hazard described as “permeated by a preternatural force in an area.” These varieties are Blessed Radiance, Far Realm, Haunted, Infested, Mirror Zone, Psychic Resonance, and Unraveling Magic. These varieties roughly correspond to different themes, which I’ll get into later.

Per the rulebook, you can make the region cover as much or as little space as you like. Similarly, the DM can set whatever triggers they like for the effects of the region--which is why for my players, using their Bag of Holding or Wild Magic Surges cause a side-effect of Unraveling Magic. That being said, TCoE offers a few examples of triggers so you have an idea of the themes with each region.

The Blessed Radiance region is influenced by the Upper Planes in some way. Generally speaking, the Blessed Radiance table effects benefit the PCs, unless you’re playing in an evil campaign. These effects buff good-aligned characters and debuff fiends, undead, etc. Perhaps most batshit is the highest roll, which grants one character (presumably at random) a single use of Divine Intervention, which auto-succeeds.

The Far Realm region is influenced by the darkness beyond the Outer Planes in D&D cosmology; it’s basically where the most fucked-up creatures are created and dwell. This region’s effects follow a Cthulu-esque, eldritch influence. Buildings whisper, the landscape melts into writhing flesh and mouths, time and distance warps, and eldritch knowledge bends creatures into unwilling vessels. Using this table will guarantee paranoia and unsettling descriptions.

The Haunted region is pretty self-explanatory: something truly horrifying happened here, and the echoes of the past remain to influence the living. Lights weaken; a spirit possesses a weapon, a ghostly cat stalks the party--my personal favorite is that a sleeping creature in the region vanishes and reappears a foot down, under dirt or floorboards, during the night. Use this table when you want some extra eerie flavor without the mindfuckery of the Far Realm.

The Infested region is affected by the presence of insects empowered by magic, eldritch hiveminds, etc., “driv[ing] out all competing life.” Effects include intense buzzing, disease, webbing, and bug-infested equipment. Very likely to give all your players--and perhaps even the DM--the phantom itch of bugs on your skin. Extremely gross and skin-crawling, in my opinion.

The Mirror Zone region occurs “where planar and magical energies converge” and affect mirrors and reflective surfaces. You might find that evil duplicates of yourself emerge from mirrors while in the region, or develop magical teleportation abilities. This one, while somewhat spooky, has effects that can help or hinder, and introduce an element of randomness and confusion more than outright terror or paranoia.

The Psychic Resonance region comes with the influence of psionic creatures, strong emotional energies, and magic. Think of it like psychic echoes reverberating through the region. Memories might become more clear and painful; creatures could gain limited telepathy. This region variant can help or hinder, but it is best used as role-play leverage, as the effects feed off the thoughts and feelings of the party.

Last but certainly not least, the Unraveling Magic region is a place where the source of magic is corrupted, the weave damaged, and spellwork goes awry. Creatures are suddenly encased in a sphere of force; spellcasters gain temporary access to wizard spells. This table throws a wrench into battle and is ideal for adding the unexpected in a combat or even a social encounter.

Now, TCoE has even more flavorful environmental hazards and effects, but this post is getting long so i’m capping it here.

But folks, I gotta tell you, these tables are spicy as hell. They shouldn’t be overused, as that can ruin their novelty, but peppering in a supernatural region here and there can amp up the coolness-factor like you would not believe. As a DM, I have been having so much fun running combats in a region where not even I know what might happen next--and my players get to enjoy the anxious thrill of rolling a d100 to determine their fate...

[utterlyinevitable]

Doctor D’Ora

Pairing: Bryce Lahela x MC (Becca Lao) x Ethan Ramsey x OC  Word Count: 2.3k Warning: angst angst angst  Summary: Becca spots Ethan with a new lady friend. This takes place in OHSY about a month after Ethan returns from the Amazon.  

A/N: This was meant to be a chapter in the Trials & Tribulations series but I didn’t think it fit anymore and wanted to post this fic as-is before I destroy it. 

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He met her on location. The long brown hair, inquisitive green eyes, long legs that held her frame in perfect posture, and a faint minimalistic dove tattoo on her wrist. In another life Dr. Alessandra D’Ora could have been a model. She was brilliant and supportive - a great companion in the lonely Amazonian nights. Just like him she was in her late-thirties, and worked at a private practice in Ontario, Canada. Ethan Ramsey was grateful for her company every one of those sixty lonely nights on location - Alessandra was the perfect distraction from his thoughts. 

And now here she was in Boston. 

Two weeks after the end of their mission with the World Health Organization she was sat at the table across from him, describing her newest adventure; She’s spending a month guest lecturing on socialized medicine at Harvard Medical. 

Dr. Rebecca Lao passed by the window of Alessandro’s and saw the two - her boss and sometimes lover sharing a meal with a stunning woman over delightful conversation two tables away. She stopped in her tracks. They looked so comfortable together. At ease, even. Becca noticed the way his shoulders curved in relaxation much like when they were alone together all those times ago. 

There in the damp August evening her heart broke. Ethan was smiling, the crows feet around his eyes on display for everyone to see. Ethan rarely smiled. If she didn’t know him better, she’d be convinced he didn’t have any cracks in his features and his life was devoid from any sort of happiness. But there he was in that navy sports coat, its only purpose to compliment his gleaming eyes, smiling with someone else, laughing at her jokes. He was happy with someone else. 

How long have they known each other? Is this new?

Becca ripped her gaze from the deceiving window and pushed the thoughts away just as quickly as they infiltrated her mind. Ethan had abandoned her without a trace all those weeks ago, she didn’t owe him another thought. He made the executive decision to sever their intimate relationship, so she made the decision to keep him away from her life outside the hospital. 

Becca headed home, abandoning her takeout mission. If he had moved on so could - should she. She pulled out her phone and rang the second most used number in her contacts recently. 

He picked up on the second ring. 

“Have you eaten?” Becca asked without pleasantries.  

“I could go for some dessert,” she could hear the megawatt smile through Bryce’s playful remark.   

“I’ll be over in ten.” 

*** 

Becca started spending more time with Bryce outside of his apartment. They weren’t necessarily hiding their relationship, they just didn’t know what to call it. They were casual. They were friends. Friends who had intimate benefits at the drop of a dime. It wasn’t a secret, but also no one bothered to ask about their title. Bryce hated labels anyway, they didn’t fit with his go-with-the-flow demeanor. 

They started spending more time outside of the bedroom and the comfort of the walls around them that let them simply be. With every passing day Becca and Bryce grew closer and bolder in their advances. They’ve played footsies in the cafeteria, kissed for hours on the grass in the park, shared plates at Don Luigi’s, and intertwined their hands at the coffee shops by the hospital. 

Today they were sitting in the corner of Derry Roasters, Becca’s go-to for a caffeine fix. Cuddled close together on a half-booth with their backs to the wall and shoulders touching. They were specifically sat right under the overhead speaker which drowned out the world around them and made Bryce’s whispers even more erotic. He’d gotten cocky in the last few days, slipping his hand up her thigh, whispering all the ways he wanted her with hundreds of passersby around. 

This time his whisper brought a chill up her spine, it wasn’t what she expected to hear during their brief coffee break. 

“Hey, look. Dr. Grumpy’s on a date,” Bryce called her attention to the attending sauntering in. 

Becca’s deep brown eyes watched his every step carefully, silently hoping he’d look over to her deep in Bryce’s embrace.

He never did. His eyes were solely fixated on his companion. 

Dr. Ethan Ramsey glided over to the table Dr. Alessandra D’Ora had been sat at. She rose when she felt his familiar presence not too many footfalls away. He gave her a hug and Becca unnaturally stiffened under Bryce’s arm at the sight. 

“They look friendly,” Becca whispered. 

Bryce’s eyes were still dissecting their movements. It was a sight to behold - strict and lone Ramsey was joined by someone and not just anyone, an absolutely stunning woman. “Do you think they’re friends or friends?” 

“Et- Dr. Ramsey doesn’t have friends.” 

“Hm… looks more intimate than just a business lunch. Wanna find out?” 

Bryce rapidly stood up, grabbing Becca’s hand and dragging her briskly through the seating area. They were moving so quickly Becca couldn’t keep her shorter legs in pace with him, when her hand slipped from Bryce’s she felt off balance and collided into the corner of an empty table with a thunk! Bryce spun on his heels to make sure she was okay and backed right into Dr. D’Ora waiting for her order. 

Once he was positive Becca wasn’t in any imminent danger he turned back to Dr. D’Ora. “So sorry about that,” he apologized as he steadied himself and the unknown doctor. “You okay?” 

Alessandra expertly took in his green scrubs and badge as Bryce flashed her his most flirty smile. “Quite alright, Doctor…?” 

“Lahela. Bryce Lahela.” Bryce ran a hand through his hair, a move he was well aware most women couldn’t resist. Becca came over to the pair and he winked at his favorite accomplice, “Should really watch where you’re going, Becks.” 

Becca rolled her eyes. 

With a sparkle in his kaleidoscope eyes Bryce sent his most charming of smiles to the stranger, “I didn’t catch your name?” 

“Dr. Alessandra D’Ora,” she placed her wallet under her arm to free up her hand to shake his outstretched and waiting one.  

“Pleasure to meet you, Dr. D’Ora.” He gave her hand two good shakes before letting go and pointing to the awkward doctor beside him. “This is my girlfriend Dr. Rebecca -” 

He didn’t get to finish the introduction.  

Ethan’s deep authoritative baritone voice rang like warning sirens in her ears. “Rookie. Dr. Lahela. Don’t you have patients to attend to?” Her cheeks began to flush in mortification.

“Just on a break, Dr. Ramsey,” Bryce smiled, “Who’s your friend?” 

Alessandra looked between the three of them, noticing the unaddressed new tension between her friend and the doctor he’s spoken about on many occasions. “You must be Dr. Lao,” she outstretched her delicate and manicured hand to Becca. Out of courtesy Becca obliged. “Ethan told me about your excellent diagnosis of Dr. Banerji. Well done, you must be very proud.” 

“I’m just happy Naveen’s alive and well,” Becca smiled before tugging on the back of Bryce’s scrubs, “We should get back.”  

“Bye, Doctors. Enjoy your date!” Bryce called over his shoulder as Becca all but dragged him away. 

Once they were safely out of the eatery Becca let herself relax and her freckles break free of the blush. “I can’t believe you,” she laughed uncomfortably.  

Bryce laced his fingers with hers and tugged her closer. “Hey - we learned that Dr. Ramsey has a hot lady friend and he talks about you.”  

“And that I’m your girlfriend?” She thought they had an arrangement, they were meant to be a carefree and no-commitment zone. Introducing her as his girlfriend was a shock.  

“Well, yeah,” he shrugged. “You’re a girl and you’re my friend. If you were a man you’d be my manfriend.”  

Becca rolled her eyes, “Uhuh.” 

“Take it however you want, Becks. I’m just happy you choose to spend your free time with me,” he pecked her temple before they entered back into Edenbrook and went their separate ways. 

***

Later that day as she was packing up her things to leave the office after the mid-week diagnostics briefing, Ethan called behind her; 

“Lao, a word.” 

Becca’s eyes went wide. Her and Ethan really haven’t been on the best of terms since he pushed her away the last time they kissed. The closest they’ve gotten to their past level of normalcy was when they were doing a house search for the Lamar Stevenson Case - he held her when she slipped and then with both their knowledge and a bit of banter they solved the case. 

With arms folded and a critical eye he inquired, “What was that back there?” 

Becca decided then and there that the best way to avoid this awkward conversation was to play coy,  “I don’t know what -” 

“Whatever you and Scalpel Jockey were doing, don’t,” he defensively interrupted her lame excuse. “My personal relationship with Dr. D’Ora is not hospital gossip.” 

The way his shoulders were squared, all his walls were on display and the way he was talking down to her burned a fire deep in her core. “Who is she?” she mimicked his stance and tone.  

“A friend.” 

“You don’t have friends,” she challenged, folding her arms over her chest. 

Ethan let out a long sigh, knowing he’d have to give her something. He didn’t want to fight with Becca anymore. He owed Becca some sort of explanation. He didn’t know why but he felt he needed to tell her. 

He rubbed his hand down his face as he said, “We met on mission. Friendships happen when there aren’t any bars around.” 

Becca took a second for his words to settle, piecing the puzzle together out loud. “You met her in the Amazon... When you were trying to forget your feelings for me...” she tried to mask the betrayal forming in her throat and creeping up into her features as best as she could. “Did it work? Did she help you move on?”

The tension was built up so high around them that neither could move from their positions only four footfalls away from one another. 

“What are you doing with Lahela? Don’t think I haven’t noticed your… closeness,” he spat back. “Are you his girlfriend?” Ethan’s brow was raised high to the sky and blue eyes clouded over with a storm of regret.  

“Whatever we are isn’t of your concern. You made that decision for us. You pushed me away.” 

“I sure as hell didn’t push you into his arms!” 

“No. But you made it explicitly clear I can’t find solace in your arms,” she bit back. Becca’s chest began to heave. Her mind was telling her she needed to pace to muster up the courage to say all that needed to be said, however her feet were stuck there in that spot. His intense gaze paralyzed her, and just looking at his face she adored so much arguing back at her, Becca internally screamed at herself. She assembled every ounce of courage in her frame to retort, “I can’t believe you. You’re meant to be holier than thou, the epitome of a moral compass. Why are you such an ass?” 

Ethan’s nose flared and eyes hooded at her words. 

They stood in bitter silence staring one another down. He was a statue boring down at her shaking and rageful form. The world of emotions coursing through her veins evident in the way she balled her fists, callusing the skin of her palms with her fingernails. Her brown eyes squinting trying to keep tears from falling and giving her a much-needed release. The loose strands of hair at the crown of her head are the only thing moving with the natural rotation of the earth. 

Ethan broke the trance first going to sit down on the couch. 

Hunched over with his head cradled in his hands he breathed ever so softly, “She has a private urgent care practice in Canada.” Tugging at the roots of his hair he tried to keep his voice level and calm. “We were on mission together. She’s guest lecturing at Harvard Medical. We’re just colleagues.”  

Becca was rightly skeptical, “Like we’re just colleagues?”  

“No. Strictly professional.” Ethan finally looked over at her. If Becca stood closer she could see the faintest marks of red in the whites of his picturesque eyes. “Her wife is really supportive of her work.”

Becca’s mouth dropped. 

Ethan watched as the woman ten years his junior slumped into the seat next to him, letting her knee brush against his as her hands followed suit to cover her face in embarrassment. 

“God. I’m an ass,” she sighed.  

Ethan’s shoulders loosened as he involuntarily let a small chuckle slip through his lips. “Yes, yes you are,” he agreed with a smile and shake of his head, placing his hand on her thigh and giving it a reassuring squeeze. 

“Sorry,” Becca mumbled. 

He was mesmerized by the feeling of her heat under him, taking him back to all those times he held dear. “I’m sorry… for everything.” 

Her hand found his. “I know…”  

They couldn’t catch a break. Everything between them was always so complicated. For another moment they let themselves sit in silence, a more comfortable silence where they could simply be Ethan and Becca, not attending and fellow. Just two people finally being honest. 

Ethan was the one to shatter the comfortable bubble they’ve found themselves in.

“Are you dating Lahela?”  

Becca shook her head to herself. “We’re friends. Really good friends.” It was the truth. Bryce was her best friend, they did everything together. “I should get going,” she gave Ethan’s hand a squeeze before removing it to rise up from her position. 

She was halfway towards the door when Ethan spoke, “I’m going to Evelyn’s art exhibit tonight. Do you want to come along?”  

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[wylanvnneck]

Rating: G for Giganotosaurus

Summary: Based on a TFOTA headcanon which I posted on Tumblr about Cardan and Jude visiting the Mortal world and Cardan getting introduced to pick-up lines. That he uses. Frequently. Which, of course completely irritates Jude.

Originally posted on AO3 | Previous Chapter | Masterlist

Chapter 2

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The next morning Jude wakes to the late morning sunlight streaming through the window onto the bed where Cardan still slept. Quietly, so as not to disturb him, she untangles herself from his grasp and heads to the bathroom to freshen up, having fallen asleep in her traveling clothes from earlier in the morning.

Cardan is sitting up with a lazy grin curving his lips when she comes back, his eyes trained on her.

“Good morning, wife.”

“Husband,” she returns.

He looks around the room in the daylight and his expression turns thoughtful, dark eyes deepening. “Did you...think of me when you were here?” He asks her, sounding uncharacteristically cautious

She looks straight at his face, remembering the pain she’d been in during her first days here, all those months ago. She’d spent her first few days in exile moping around and not thinking about her treacherous husband. With a little help from Vivi and many tubs of mint and chocolate chip ice cream she’d finally gotten out of her pajamas and returned to her training routines, all the more vicious as she thought up ways to get her revenge on the High King of Faerie.

“I did. I used to stay up late into the night with Vivi once Oak was asleep and we would plot ways to kill you.”

Cardan smiles a wry smile at her admission, “I’d expect nothing less from you, my sweet nemesis.”

“I know you thought of me, you’ve told me about your letters.” Letters that she would never get to see, thanks to Lady Asha.

He shifts in the bed, tail swishing in the air. “I did. I thought of you incessantly. My anger at you over Balekin didn’t last long and soon I found myself wondering why you hadn’t returned yet. I worried that you’d found the Mortal world more pleasurable than Elfhame. That you preferred your life here. In my darkest moments I’d imagine you with another. I’d imagine never seeing you again.”

His voice is racked with pain and sincerity, the anguish he’d felt written clearly on his features. “So many times, I thought of coming here. To see you, even if just from a distance. But I couldn’t leave our Kingdom, I couldn’t forsake the duties you’d entrusted  me with when you crowned me, even if you were meant to be by my side always. That throne that you’d worked so hard to save, I couldn’t risk leaving it when the threat of Madoc loomed so near. Jude, believe me when I say that my thoughts were always, always of you, my brave villain.”

His confession touches her very soul. She takes in the sight of him, broken and exposed and her heart quickens. The High King of Elfhame, her husband, who would only ever be this open and unguarded in front of her, his queen. She comes closer to him on the bed and bends down, stroking his messy black curls away from his face as she gently lowers her lips to his.

* * *

They’ve arrived on a Saturday so Oak is scarfing down a bowl of sugary cereal when she and Cardan enter the kitchen. He looks up with excitement and rushes to give his sister a bear hug, squeezing her as tightly as his 8 year old hands can. “Jude you’re finally here, I missed you!”

She playfully ruffles his nut brown hair and squeezes him back, pulling away to give him a once over, “I missed you too, Oak.”

He goes to hug Cardan while Jude finally spots Heather, Vivi’s pink-haired girlfriend who was currently by the kitchen table, making her way over to say Hi. “Good to see you again, Jude. Vivi’s just popped off to grab some groceries. Hopefully she uses actual money this time,” she rolls her eyes, smiling.

“Nice to see you too, Heather,” Jude smiles in response.

Once they’re all sat around the dining room table and Cardan and Jude are equipped with their own bowls of cereal, the multi-coloured loops of which had captured Cardan’s initial fascination and Jude now watches out of the corner of her eye as he sits stirring his breakfast, entranced, as the colours slowly bleed into the milk, turning it slightly muddy. She finds him quite adorable with that expression on his face. Maybe even charming. Not that she’d ever say it out loud.

She tunes in to what Heather is saying at the moment, “So, what do you guys wanna do today?” She looks expectantly at them and Jude tries to think of an answer but is thankfully interrupted by her brother.

“Ooh ooh, can we go to the mall today? And have pizza for lunch?” he jumps in his seat.

“Tell me, what is a ‘maul’? And what type of a food is this, ‘Pizza’?” Cardan interjects. Oak slowly turns to him with a look of horror on his face.

“You’ve never had pizza??” He turns to Heather, “We have to have pizza, Heather, we have to.” He faces Cardan once again and starts telling him all about pizza and all the different toppings and which combos worked and which didn’t and how eating pineapple on pizza was an unforgivable sin.

Heather laughs a little as she looks at Jude, “Well, I guess we’re having pizza today.”

“I guess we are,” Jude laughs back, watching her little brother excitedly explaining mortal customs to her husband.

They head out to the nearest shopping mall once Vivi’s back and they travel by bus which leads to another shock for Cardan who is in awe at the fact that this metal box was able to move on it’s own. Truly, mortals did have some funny ideas, he’d remarked, astonished.

His eyes are locked on the view outside the whole time, taking in the concrete and cement, in stark contrast to the raw natural surroundings of Faerie.  He is dressed in better fitting mortal clothes than last night which Vivi had gotten for him. A dark shirt and dark fitted jeans, with space for him to tuck his tail in. He glamours his face to appear more mortal, with rounded ears, accentuated by his usual gold studs and he is still inordinately attractive for a mortal and Jude knows he’ll be receiving lots of stares. Especially appreciative ones from girls. She is suddenly conscious of her concealed dagger.

Once they arrive Oak immediately drags them to the gaming zone, introducing Cardan to the wonders of playstations. He teaches  them how to play Mario Kart and the little character on the screen whose movements you could control was indeed, quite entertaining.

He is less enthusiastic when Heather and Vivi drag them to Sephora, the makeup store. Nevertheless, he tries his hardest to stay still and is justly rewarded with an achingly sweet candy floss that he graciously shares with everyone.

Cardan, for his part, is not only entranced by the fluffy pink treat but also by the cosmetics surrounding him, letting Heather draw Kohl on him with liquid black eyeliner and applying shiny silver highlighter on his high cheekbones. Vivi even forces Jude to try on a dark shade of red lipstick that Cardan later attempts to kiss off of her when they are alone in between the secluded store aisles.

Finally, they emerge from the store, shopping bags in tow as they head to the food court for lunch. The place is buzzing, with a multitude of smells permeating the air. Oak immediately makes a beeline for the blue and red themed food stall with a sign that reads ‘Domino’s’ in large lettering. The scent of pizza being baked is enticing and they quickly order a personal pizza each plus coca cola.

Thankfully their orders arrive quickly and Jude impatiently blows on the first slice of her barbeque chicken pizza. Next to her Cardan is considering his slice of pepperoni and cheese covered crust, no doubt fascinated by its odd composition. He seems to enjoy it after his first bite though, once it was explained that the pepperoni was not, indeed, supposed to be plucked off and eaten separately and soon they are all done.

Jude heads to the washroom to pee and whilst she’s walking back she sees Cardan being approached by a slim girl with blue streaks in her hair. He is alone, Heather and Vivi having gone somewhere with Oak and Jude quickens her stride.

She is just within earshot to hear the girl’s voice say, “Aside from being sexy, what do you do for a living?”

Jude’s eyes narrow as her husband smiles a sly grin and answers with an arrogant tilt of his head, “Rule the Kingdom of the Fae.”

He is being completely honest, after all he cannot tell a lie. But of course the girl does not know that and she looks confused and then lets out a giggle and lightly swats his arm, obviously thinking he is joking.

Jude has had enough of this and finally reaches her husband’s side and smiles at the girl, making sure that her ruby ring is on display as she takes Cardan’s arm. She immediately backs off, while Jude secretly pinches Cardan, hard, for messing with the girl.

“What was that about?”

“She asked a question. I answered it.” While his words were innocent, his grinning face gave away that he knew he’d been slightly wicked.

“Mhmm. You are incorrigible,” she rolls her eyes, finally letting her harsh grip on him go.

“You love it. Tell me Jude, did her question make you jealous?”

“Please, the females at court eye you on a daily basis back at home. It’s no surprise that they find you handsome here as well,” she responds truthfully. “I was more annoyed by your response. What happened to staying inconspicuous?”

He just smiles guiltily back at her. Shaking her head, she’s about to threaten him with a reduction of his beloved alcohol supply back home when she spots Vivi, Heather and Oak coming their way.

They spend the rest of the day at the mall in a similar fashion, introducing Cardan to the wonders of retail shopping and toy stores.  The day passes quickly and the exhausted party head home by early evening, satisfied with the day’s events.

A worn out Oak heads off to bed after extracting a promise from Jude that the two of them could play at the park alone together the next day.

It’s still too early for the adults to go to sleep and thanks to their sleeping in today they are all still wide awake.

“So, now that the little terror is asleep, what should we do?” Vivi questions, tucking a stray lock of her umber hair behind her furry pointed ears.

“Jude mentioned that there were places where mortals had night time revels, I should like to see them,” Cardan suggests.

Vivi trains her cat eyes on Jude, a feline smile on her face, “You told your husband about night clubs? Excellent. The High King of revelry in a mortal club is definitely something I need to see.”

The gleeful look in her eyes set Jude on edge. After all, she’s never been to one of these clubs herself, but surely they were not half as wild as Fae celebrations. How much trouble could Cardan get into?

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Hey, so we've approached pick up line territory (yayy, finally) but the real intro happens in the next chapter. So stay tuned🦕

Also, please let me know if you’d like to be tagged for further installations of this fic :))