#this is about stick n pokes and “ignorant” tattoos and practice tattoos

[ancient-reverie]

unpopular opinion: no tattoo is bad. you just have a skill issue with art and the human experience. get good.

[destructionray]

Hobie Brown/Spiderpunk Relationship HC's

spider-punk relationship hc's?? This is the first time I've shared my work so sorry if it's bad i genuinely don't know how to write stuff </3 also i tried to keep the reader gender-neutral but i might be a little biased because im transmasc (fuck fem!readers i actually hate yall/j) i also tried to keep it spoiler-free

1.3k words

warnings: none (okay maybe a tiny bit of curse words)

ALWAYS sharing earbuds. there's not a single time this man will let you sit next to him without listening to some of his jams

I KNOW THIS MAN GIVES A GOOD CUDDLE!!

hes usually the type to only give half-hugs, having just an arm around your shoulder or waist when you're just chilling

but when you ask for a real hug?? It'll literally be the most comforting thing.

pulling you in to his chest and wrapping his arms around you tightly, one hand around your shoulder and the other on your back, pressing his body up against yours tightly

and he kisses the top of ur head!!

BUT hes a little pissed that he has to take off his jacket every time because of how spiky it is

he can't count the amount of times you've tried to rest your head on his shoulder but ended up getting poked by the spikes on his jacket.

he LOVES hugging you from behind

he's not super touchy, but when he's around a lot of people he'll always be touching you in some way.

having his hand in your back pocket, having a hand on your hip, holding eachothers pinkies

i swear he has a a thing for hips or waists/j

ESPECIALLY touchy in front of authorities, he'll make out with you in front of them just to piss them off.

the hand placement when he kisses yoy oh my godddd

either a hand on your cheek and/or around your waist, or when you're making out he has his hand on the back of your head, pushing you closer to him

neck kisses <3333

there's almost no way you could be taller than him, my guy is 6'3 AND wears platforms.

prepare to be used as an armrest for him.

you like his piercings? He'll do one for you.

that man has never paid for a single piercing in his LIFE.

insisted on doing piercings for you, especially if you had never had any done before.

he'll do stick n pokes for you aswell if you're interested in getting a tattoo.

if you're an artist, he'll let you do some on him aswell.

BEGGED you to get matching tattoos and/or piercings

he's so cute, how could you say no?

calls you "love" ALL THE TIME. You're not entirely sure if it's because he loves you or if it's just a weird thing brits do

your dates are mostly going to strange or abandoned places and hanging/having a picnic/listening to music/mildly illegal stuff, or sneaking into a movie theater to watch stuff without paying.

if you're a Spider-person too, you guys definetily have had a romantic moment on top of skyscraper before.

if you're afraid of heights, he'll hold you in his arms the entire time he takes you to a place high up. he'll never let you go

he noticed that you miss him a lot, so made you your own watch to travel to his dimension or the Spider-society at any time

he totally has a ton of pictures with you in his room, printed by some cheap shitty polariod camera

When he gets injured, he immideately resorts to you instead of going to a hospital or proper medic

He doesn't like seeing you get worried about him, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't love the extra attention and care you gave him, and the time you spend together patching him up.

Shows his love instead of telling you

Only says "i love you" in special moments (which sometimes could just be spending time cuddling & relaxing together after a bad day)

Literally all over you when he's tired or after a day of being Spider-Punk

Has 100% yelled at or completely ignored Miguel for calling him on a mission while he's with you.

You play an instrument? He'll practice with you every single day.

If you don't have any motivation to, he'll be your motivation. He loves hearing you play.

If you were interested in playing guitar, he totally sat for hours and teached you chords.

Holding your hand to make it press down on the strings, and saying "good job" or other little praises whenever you got it right.

You're interested in playing drums? He asked Gwen to come over and practice with you, and he was you two's hypeman.

He loves seeing you get along well with his best friends.

If you tell him your favorite song(s), he secretly learns it on his guitar until he's perfected it and then plays it for you.

Your reactions are always so amusing to him, and he loves it.

Makes you playlists with both his and your favorite songs so you can listen to them together

Spotify playlists? Nope, he dowloaded all the music (probably illegally) and burned them on CD's.

He gave you a portable CD player so you could listen to his playlists at any time.

At his gigs, he always makes sure you're as close to the stage as possible so he can keep an eye on you

You're always invited to his shows, no matter what, and he'll always play better and show off more when he sees you in the crowd

Brings you backstage just to give you a kiss between songs

most likely wrote you a few songs (or more cough cough)

Gave you one of his studded bracelets and said it looks good on you, even if it totally clashes with your style.

He loves seeing you wear it, and it's like you're being constantly reminded of him whenever you wear it.

Ever try his stuff on? It's yours now.

Clothes? no doubt. Jewlery? Yours. Literally anything else? You can have it.

He even gives you guitar picks from his shows, even if you have no use for them

He'll totally nick some of your sweaters or accessories once in a while though.

On the topic of gifts, he always steals small things he sees you looking at for a suspiciously long time in store

He's like a crow, always stealing shiny things (jewlery)

Yeah, he's definetily a bit of a kleptomaniac.

His criminal record must be insane just bc of his stealing habit

He totally makes you custom pins or patches with your favorite bands logos

Hes a very "DIY" kind of guy

He doesn't wanna spend money on things that are overpriced simply because it's popular, so a lot of the gifts he gives you are handmade

VERY skilled at making things though

That man does EVERYTHING.

Crochet, sewing, knitting, drawing, painting, handicraft, sculpting, you name it.

He's also surprisingly good at cooking/baking. (But sadly he doesn't believe in expiration dates/j)

MATCHING NAILS!!!

he usually colors his nails in with black sharpie, but he'll 100% let you paint his nails with actual nail polish

Pulling up at your place when he's drunk isn't an uncommon occurence.

He's a very affectionate drunk.

Especially if he's tired.

He'll tell you how much he loves you, joke around, and always has at least one arm slung around your shoulder

Never uses the front door to your house/apartment.

Always climbing through your windows, because he insists it's easier than knocking on a door.

Plus, if you still live with your parents, it'll make sneaking in at night WAY easier.

He doesn't believe in marriage. Says it's a way for the government to control your relationship and a waste of money

He loves stuff like promise rings though

His accent is so thick, so you're like a translator for him whenever someone doesn't understand him/j

Not related to Hobie, but Pavitr ships you two HARD. He NEVER let you hear the end of it when he first saw you guys kiss.

Pav's always making stupid cute and petty little remarks about your relationship, but he finds you two absolutely adorable.

feel free to give advice or anything in the comments because i genuinely dont know if this is good or nah,,

[ventismacchiato]

22 just playing the part — twenty one questions !

scaramouche x g!n reader

“My wrists are still sore from earlier today,” you complain, popping the can of beer open that Scaramouche had offered that was in the cooler of his car.

He’d driven you both to a park to practice lines, sitting in the trunk and using the stars above as your light source. It would be romantic if it wasn’t Scaramouche who did it and if he wasn’t constantly correcting you when you messed up.

Scaramouche doesn’t reply, looking over to your wrist that held a mark remnant from the handcuffs. He reaches over, grabbing ahold of your left wrist and rubbing his thumb against it.

“You should ice it,” he mutters, grabbing an unopened can of beer and pressing it against your wrist, the coldness of the metal soothing your bruise.

“Have you been icing your wrist?”

“Yeah, because I’m not stupid.”

You send him a glare and pull your wrist back, icing it with your own beer instead. His warmth on your hands gave you an odd feeling.

“I think that’s enough for tonight,” you sigh, growing sick of the script that stared back at you from your lap.

“Do you want me to drive you back?”

“Not yet, being outside is nice,” you answer, “Your company is decent.”

“Just admit you enjoy my company.”

“Not a chance.”

It grows silent again, apart from the low vibrations of the car’s engine and the occasional snap of another can being opened. You were afraid of it getting awkward so you let out the first thing that came to mind.

“Wanna play twenty-one questions?”

He lets out a low chuckle, “Are you trying to find out something dirty?”

“No,” you scoff, “It’s not like you have anything juicy anyway, your first kiss was with me.”

“No need to remind me, but fine,” he answers, crushing an empty can and opening another one.

“Okay,” you hum, racking your brain for a question, “Most embarrassing thing you’ve done while drunk?”

“Other than willingly hanging out with you? Letting Childe give me a stick-and-poke tattoo.”

“Of what?”

“That’s two questions, not one,” he grins, “My turn. Most embarrassing thing you’ve done when drunk?”

“I threw up on Aether and Lumine’s father in highschool,” you answer, wincing at the look on Dainsleif’s shocked face that was still ingrained into your mind.

“I probably shouldn’t have given you beer then, no?” he teases.

“I’m good with alcohol now,” you huff, “Sort of.”

He sends you an eye roll, but for once it lacks any malice.

“Are we friends?” you question, looking down into your now empty can of cheap beer, immediately regretting the question. Maybe you weren’t that good with alcohol.

“You tell me.”

“You’re supposed to answer the question,” you point out.

“I don’t think think I’d sit at night playing a dumb game with someone who wasn’t my friend,” Scaramouche shrugs.

“So that’s a yes?” you smile, ignoring how elated that made you feel. Weird.

“It’s my turn to ask,” he counters, “Biggest fear?”

You muse at the thought, “Probably that I’m wasting my time trying to pursue my interest in acting and it won’t go anywhere.”

He lets out a snort, “Really? That’s stupid.”

You’re about to defend yourself but he continues.

“It’s stupid because you’re a good actor,” he says.

“Are you trying to comfort me?” you smile, nudging him on the shoulder.

“Trying? Did I not?”

“You did,” you reassure, holding back a laugh at how distraught he sounded.

“Whatever, you go,” he mumbles, already on his fourth can.

“Toughest pill you had to swallow?” you question, eyeing him as he drains half the can.

“That I’ll never experience a mother’s unconditional love,” he deadpans, throwing the can he was drinking behind him into the backseat.

“Oh,” you let out, not quite expecting that, “I’m sorry to hear that,” you slowly say, not expecting him to be open during the silly game you came up with.

He shrugs.

“Does she not support you?”

“That’s your fourth question,” he says, “And no, she doesn’t.”

“She’ll see what she missed out on when you prove her wrong,” you say, “When you make it big.”

He gives you a fleeting glance, “Are you trying to comfort me?”

“Trying?” you smile, “Did I not?”

“Maybe you did,” he slyly says, averting his eyes from you.

“I guess the world sucks, huh?”

“Yeah,” he agrees, dragging a long sip of what was now lukewarm beer, “But I think I’ll forgive it because at least it has you in it.”

You pause, the can of alcohol hovering in place at his words, “What?”

“Just realized I’m too drunk to drive right now,” Scaramouche mumbles instead of acknowledging your question.

“Should we call an Uber?” you ask, realizing he wasn’t sober enough for making conversation, yet alone finishing the game.

“Soon,” he mumbles, leaning his head against the side of the trunk, letting his eyes fall shut, “I need a minute.”

“Alright,” you comply, feeling your eyelids feel heavy as well, “I’ll wake you up.”

…

Spoiler, you did not wake him up.

just playing the part !

masterlist — prev | next

scaramouche secretly keeps the sticky note for safe keeping

synopsis: you and scaramouche are both drama majors and have been at each other’s throats vying for the same lead roles since high school. but when you’re both cast as each other’s love interest in your second year you’re forced to be civil with your academic rival and see him in a new light. are his feelings for you true or is he just playing the part?

comment or send an ask to be added or removed ⤵️ closing soon

taglist-OPEN: @monochromaticelliot @kaedear @stxrgxzxr @shirmxie @elakari @lacy-lady @linn-a-a @one-offmind @kithewanderingme @quepasoash @leathernourishingshoepolish @mangobee @lxry-chxn @dameofthorns @scarasaver @kythe1a @elysiasbae @hikaru-exe @tokkishouse @raiihoshii @cherrybeomgyu @kunikuzushiit @thenightsflower @lilneps @goodthingimsam @lovelyiez @euhla @beriiov @abvolat @kittycasie @b0bafl0wer @bubblyclouds @atlatcaheart @artssleepy @baelloraa @tartagli-yuh @satowaluverr @hangesextra @scaranaris-lil-niko @caffinatedcoma @wheneverthesunrise @hajimeseyo @itsyourgirlria @hyunrei @redactedhimbo @caliginous-skies @vinskyspuff @miissfortune @criminalinthemaking @scaramouches-girlfriend [1/3]

author’s note: sad that i cudnt give this title to chapter 21 😔 and yes drunk confessions 😍 cliché shit that i will always eat up! anyway sorry for the angst but pain 🥰

[333sth]

dove. (frankie morales)

chapter ii. previous. series masterlist.

pairing: frankie morales x ofc (’dove’) no use of y/n

warnings: ptsd/military service, violence, injury detail, language, angsty.

summary: santi’s hunch is no longer a hunch, but only will knows how close they are to finding frankie’s girl. 

rating: mature wc: 1.8k 

When a strong hand had clamped around her shoulder, Dove’s instinct was to break it. It wasn’t menacing; they were just waiting at the bar to be served.

A burly, middle-aged man was towering beside her, clutching a beer bottle that looked miniature in his thick grasp. His arms, still holding the shadow of what was once impressive muscle, were littered with military tattoos. Dove could spot a stick-and-poke from a mile off.

“I recognise that,” He gestures to her neck, where a small Delta Force tattoo was usually disguised by her long hair. “You ex-forces? Delta?” 

She wanted to kick herself. The sticky atmosphere had gotten the better of her and she’d thrown her hair into a ponytail without thinking.

“Yeah, but that isn’t exactly public knowledge ‘round here.” She murmurs. 

Across the room, Roni throws her head back in exaggerated laughter. A group of men, who looked barely out of their teen years, had come over to make some desperate attempts at getting laid. Dove had excused herself to buy the next round after one of them had cracked a mortifying joke about liking older women.

“That’s understandable.” The man held out his hand, which she took hesitantly. “My name’s Mark, I just retired out here. Served for twenty three years.” He chuckled gruffly, his voice thick from cigarettes. “I got jack shit to show for it, mind you.”

“Tell me about it.” She laughs, but she doesn’t offer her name. 

Mark notices as the conversation lulls. “I trained with a guy who made Delta. Santiago Garcia - we called him Pope, ‘cause he just had that way about him. You probably knew him.”

Dove swallows, chest lurching. “Sounds familiar… You know how it is though, the nicknames all blur into one eventually.”

That’s a lie, you never forget your teammates’ names. Mark knows it and so does Dove. Thankfully, he doesn’t push a conversation she clearly doesn’t want to have, and raises his bottle to her.

“Well, it was nice to meet you anyway. Enjoy yourself out here.”

“You too, Mark.” She tries to smile, but her lips press into a thin line that probably looks more like a grimace.

*

Mark had called Santiago the following day, the alcohol-blurred memory peaking his interest once he remembered his old friend’s plea a few months back. He’d asked around for any heads-up if any ex-Delta women around their age popped up. Mark had thought the man was delusional when he’d heard. If she was Delta Force, she wouldn’t be found unless she wanted to be. 

Apparently, he was wrong. Maybe even the best of the best got rusty after a while.

The town Dove had been spotted in was questionable to Santiago. It was too cosmopolitan for a woman who was starting over. However, after a onceover on a map of Mexico, Santi spotted its smaller neighbour. He’d never heard of it, which meant it must be the place. Small population, right on the coast, with enough amenities and business to get by without any trouble.

“And, man, she had a wicked scar on her throat. Sort of shit you’d only see on a Delta.” Mark had added, with a chuckle. “I can’t imagine that ain’t your girl.”

‘Dove isn’t my girl,’ Santi wanted to bite back instinctually. He bit his tongue, and instead offered, “It sounds like her. I can’t thank you enough, brother.”

*

Santiago only told Will what he knew about Dove. He had the mind to retain that information no matter what this trip threw at them. Plus, he trusted him with his life, plus a couple other lives that came to mind. Call it insurance, if things went south.

Plus, Will didn’t have Tom’s mouth, or twisted morality. Tom was more than willing to accept that Dove would miss out on their prospective fortune, that the ‘hunch’ would have to wait until Lorea was dealt with. Santiago knew his brothers well enough to know Benny would throw a hissy fit if they knew where Dove was and she wasn’t included. She’d spent enough time stitching up their war-torn skin and shoving them out of bullets to deserve a cut.

So, Pope told a little white lie. They had a stop in Mexico to meet with a contact. 

Frankie had murmured, “Better be worth it, stuck in this shitty car with you fuckers for ten hours.” 

Santiago resisted the urge to agree. God, he hoped it would be worth it too. He hoped he wasn’t driving them into a dead end, a bluff on Mark’s part. Or even worse, invading Dove’s beautiful new life without them. That would destroy everything; Dove, the boys, Frankie. What if she had settled down? What if he pulled into that idyllic beach bar she wanted and she’s there, a baby with the same brilliant eyes balanced on her hip? She was never sure about kids. A vivid mental picture of the wrong diamond, glistening on her ring finger in the afternoon sun, and the wrong man pecking her lips, made Santi physically wince. 

Fish would never forgive him. Will and Benny would never forgive him. He’d never forgive himself. 

It was a long, apprehensive drive. Santi’s eyes were drying, squinting against the headlights that occasionally glared past them. His jaw had been clenched for the last few hours as his anxiety grew, nothing but open road to stare at while he contemplated over and over as to whether it was the right decision. It didn’t help that Frankie never really slept like the others did on the move. While the other boys passed out, Frankie’s soft eyes continued scanning the scene flying past the window. It was like he stayed awake to watch Pope’s back, as if they were still in combat, or as an unspoken act of kindness to keep him company. 

Really, Frankie was a terrible sleeper. Santi remembered that from the early days, before he and Dove gave it up and became an item. He was the last to drift off and first to wake up, always restless. Once Dove started tip-toeing over to his cot in the night, he became the worst snorer in the division. Always splayed on his front, one arm tossed over Dove’s waist and the other under his pillow. She’d kick him in the night so he’d roll over and shut up, but it never lasted long. 

One night, Benny had enough, and groaned to Dove, “Put us out of our fuckin’ misery and smother him with your pillow, for the love of God.”

Dove had snapped back, “Fuck off, Benny, just ‘cause you aren’t getting any of the action doesn’t mean you have to get all bitter.”

“I’ve told you guys - I’m more than willing to join in-”

“Ben.” Frankie grumbled into her shoulder. It was gruff with sleep but still menacing enough to make the hairs on Dove’s arms stand on end.

Before a pillow smacked into his head, Benny guffawed, “Oh, so he is alive after all.”

*

Wringing a soft rag for polishing glasses between her fingertips, Dove descends the wooden steps at the entrance of the bar. The last huddle of regulars holler behind her, wrapping up their weekend drinks as the evening creeps closer to the early hours; Dove always notices the time when moths start colliding with the lanterns.

Roni rises from a crouch on the ground, dropping a paintbrush into a can with a clatter. “See, your own little touch!” 

The wooden panels that constructed the side of the bar, usually concealed by a stack of cardboard beer boxes, is decorated with little doves. Despite studying criminology, mainly for the satisfaction of her parents, Roni loved painting and insisted on brightening the exterior of their beach shack.

Dove cracks a half-smile. “It’s lovely, Ron. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” She beams, throwing the half-empty cans into the nearby bins. She pauses, glancing hesitantly at the older woman over her shoulder,  “Dove’s not your real name, right?”

“No, no. Nickname from when I was nursing overseas.” Dove chuckles, before adding, “Feels more like my real name than my Christian one nowadays.”

Roni passes Dove on the steps as she returns to the bar, “It suits you. You’re always graceful, but… you’re fucking fast.”

Dove laughs with her, ignoring the familiar clench in her chest. It’s exactly what Frankie used to say. The difference is Roni notices when she almost drops a glass, or her tray of drinks starts to wobble, and Dove is there to catch it with such fluidity Roni never saw her coming. Even the way Dove’s knife slices through fruit like each piece is a slab of melted butter. Frankie witnessed the extreme of that, the stealth and grace that usually ensured the enemy was dead before the others had even thought to raise their guns. Still, he admired her the same way Roni was right now. It was like awe.

It’s probably because he loved her effortlessly, every single aspect of her being without a glimmer of doubt or judgement. And now he wasn’t here.

The group of regulars stumbling down the steps break Dove from her thoughts, chortling and wishing her goodnight. One of the older men turns and jerks his thumb towards the road, “You might wanna tell them you’re closing, bonita.”

Before the road becomes the sand, there is a small, dusty wasteland that doubles as a makeshift car park. A vehicle is parked, glaring headlights facing towards the ocean and forming peculiar, alien-like beams in the dark. She’s definitely getting rusty; she’d barely registered the idling truck.

“I’ll sort ‘em out, Miguel, don’t you worry.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt it,” He jokes, waving to her. “Buenos noches, Dove.”

Military habits are practically impossible to shake, and immediately, Dove’s mind launches into overdrive. She raises her hand above her eyes, squinting against the blinding white LEDs in an attempt to make out a registration plate or even a recognisable model. Her mind is fine-tuned to memorise; most of the locals’ cars are already catalogued in her memory, but this isn’t one of them.

Maybe they’re tourists, ready to push their luck with the opening times. That’s the reasonable side of Dove’s mind. The irrational, dark edges whisper, ‘What if someone found you?’ By someone, it means someone bad. Someone she wronged during her service, an enemy or straggler that got away. Even a civilian that might have been caught in the crossfire. She thought about those ghosts often. Hell, some of them she could still name. When she can’t sleep, sometimes she lists them, pictures their faces if she can recall them, just in case they ever came back.

She inhales a sharp gust of ocean air through her nostrils, welcoming the clarity that spreads through her mind. Parting her lips (the lips Frankie always teased were in a permanent pout), she released the breath slowly, trying to relax the stressed scrunch in her features.

“Your face is gonna get stuck like that someday.”

The voice is familiar. A deep, breathy chuckle, barrel-toned and gravelly. It sounds like home.

taglist: @mishasminion360

[mypersonmyg]

cherry blossom | jjk

pairing: jeongguk x reader

genre: fluff

rating: pg15

wc: 2k (yes it is a drabble shut up)

warnings: swearing

summary: spring is blooming and so are you OR he loves the beanie you knitted for his round ass head

a/n: hello, hi, hey...is this good? idk, but i wrote it because im trying to do that again; this is based on the tebori tapioca couple because i really like them a lot...ALSO i said i would write about beanie boy and here he is :D

tebori tapioca

masterlist

Petals dipped in white are decorated in the jagged pink crawling from the root of thin strengthened stems fluttering like wisps from trees freshly bloomed to kiss at your cheeks, tilted upward toward a sky painted in streaks of voluminous clouds. You lift one hand to trace the expanse of day, finger a brush concentrated on the perfect mural, eyes zeroed to see the work of the blue plained aerial. You grasp a stray petal mid-air, charting the exposure of edges fragile and torn from the efflorescent cherry blossom, its trunk the perfect home for the boy whose head appears anywhere but the moment. 

You bring the petal to trace his cheeks seeking the protrusion of his nose, effectively startling the stupor that held him captive. His eyes dance the length of your arm up to your collar, landing on your own gaze in wonder, always amazed by  feelings that engulf him like licking flames. He tilts his head until the warmth of his cheek rests in the palm of your hand, cradling perfection and its questioning peep. 

“Sorry,” You murmur, thumb soothing circles into pliable skin, eyes doubled in apology despite the fondness stretching the muscles of his face, tugging at the edges of his lids. 

“Don’t be,” He hushes plucking the petal, blowing it into the subtle breeze that kicks at the skin of your ankles, traveling the length of your leg, ignorant to the tingle that already resides from the steady grip of a tattooed hand tracing the skin exposed from the ride up of your hoodie. “We came here to be together and I’m zoning out.”

You crook your arm into the grass, still damp from the press of morning dew, petals sticking to your palm as you push forward, Jeongguk cautiously tightening at your waist. The hand that still rests against his cheek sneakily climbs to tendrils peeking from beneath the beanie dressing his head, black knitted and all consuming, wrapping the strands of curls between nimble fingers and urging him to press his lips to your own. 

“I don’t mind, I’d rather sit with you in complete silence than listen to Jimin complain about whatever it is he was complaining about today.” You speak after the first heady press, foreheads gathered in collective rest, lashes just missing with each flutter. You can barely recall the words tumbling forward, but you can count on the attentive nature of your chosen lover to keep you on track, his eyes never missing the beat of your quivering lips. 

“Hmm, but i wanna give you all of my attention.” He pulls you so you’re falling, forcing you onto his lap of denim, your arms finding rest around his broad shoulders. He nestles his head into the crook of your neck, bringing light to the fabric engulfing his head of curls. 

It’s a recent niche, the adornment of the extra layer, a gift from you meant to reside on the side of winter wardrobe. It dresses him well, mirror selfies and dates spent walking the string lit streets of your cozy strip not without the attention of head-on-a-swivel passersby. You don’t mind the look or the attention that you believe present without the added statement, but you often miss the ease of a hand through thick curls and the added volume on humid occasions. 

“Now who’s zoning?” Jeongguk teases, nudging the underside of your chin, fingers retreating to avoid your gentle nip. 

“I was just thinking about you,” Your words are spoken with lips folding inward to rest between the set of your teeth, hands tugging at the top of his hat, almost pulling it free before he swats at your offending limb tugging it back into place. 

“Oh yeah?” You arch into him when a sudden gust of wind wraps around your bodies, biting at your arms left exposed by your insistence of warmth from the saturation of rays that swallow you whole, only missing direct contact by Jeongguk’s insistence that you seek refuge in the crowding branches of the beautiful earthy growth of the ascending blossom. 

“Yeah, you and your beanie. Why won’t you let me see your cute ass head, you nerd?” 

“Excuse me? I like the beanie, it was a gift you know.” 

He’s proud of his counter, head resting against the trunk of the tree before he’s suddenly guiding you from his lap to join in the jump to his feet. You’re like jello, too long spent lounging in the thick of your bubbled comfort, nearly knocking into him out of the habit of proximity and lack of control over your physical being. 

“Not only was it a gift,” He continues, clasping your hands, swinging it between you as you once more find the path riddled with abandoned flowers and the remnants of blades from grass freshly mowed, the smell still lingering with each foot forward. He brings your connected palms to press to his lips, holding them in place for a momentary hum before your nerves are tingling under the sensation and you're trying your hardest to pull away amidst  squealish giggling. “It was handmade.” 

You stutter, feet catching at the tip, threatening to eat concrete were it not for the quick reflexes and unbridled strength of Jeongguk’s arms. He drags you from the center of the path, the resounding tinkering of a child’s bike bell screaming to make way for the train of tasseled training wheels that are suddenly on your trail. It gives you time to recompose, Jeongguk far too busy waving in kind at each passing darling regarding him with various poked tongues and toothy grins. 

“Babe, you good?” He finally returns his attention, the rough pad of his thumb coming to swipe at the hairs that fall from the folded lip of the beanie, tickling at the plains of his forehead that hold just enough sheen from the day's heat to allow the dense fibers to stick to his skin. You fight the temptation to replace his hand with your own, always happy to feel him beneath you, feening for the closeness of closed doors and your head tucked beneath his chin, fingers tracing the ever defining muscles that tease through his t-shirt. 

“I’m fine...I just didn’t realize you noticed.” You shield yourself in the thick of his hoodie, tugging the sleeve to hide your eyes from his prying gaze and infectious grin. You question your own sanity when the remembrance of his attentive nature and the dreamy sigh he’d emitted upon the first snug of the thick fabric to his skull, only compliments spewing thereafter. 

“That I noticed...?” You’re dim witted to the point of ignorance, though his bait works as your face slowly unsticks from the dark material eating his chest, replacing your face with the wrap of your knuckles and the avoidance of eye contact in favor of tracking a peculiar worm inching toward fresh dirt. 

“Koo…” You whine, the nickname and high pitched yearning a new habit Jeongguk has taken in kind. His adoration for you only grows more with each day, your habits taking hold of him like the magnet that you are, an attraction unyielding and all consuming. Some would say that it’s a sickness, but the rapid pump of his love organ and the coos that ooz from him with the precision of a clock at your every utterance feels wholesome.

You’re home, a refuge after long days of piping tea and pounds of tapioca, waist deep in the give and take of the service industry. The only being that makes him feel like giving his all is no effort wasted, always looking for more ways to please even with your assurance that just  halfway makes your heart soar into a galaxy of his own making. 

So he grips you tight and reels you in, inhaling the scent of the light shampoo that laces your scalp and pretends that your whines are only an amusement, a reason for the further push of his pestering. His hands trace the peak of your shoulder blades, easing them of the tension from your bout of shyness. 

“Love, why wouldn’t I notice? Why do you think I love to wear it so much?” 

“Because you’re perfect,” You melt, shuffling on the balls of your feet, hands shoved into his pockets to hold steady in a world constantly rotating around you, dressed in whites and pinks, the songs of birds humming in the trees that arch above you. “But seriously, how did you know? I didn’t say anything because I don’t think it’s very good and I almost didn’t even give it to you because—”

“It’s perfect.” He cuts your words with his own followed by a kiss, much longer than the one previous, your face heating under the awareness that you’re no longer shielded by bud kissed branches in your own corner of the world. The same corner that started it all just months prior. 

Your palms rest against his chest, a gentle pat urging him to part from you despite your own inward cries of the opposite. He obliges, a smile of coyness splayed along his cheeks, pushing at the scar that kisses the apples of his skin. 

“What?” 

“I did notice an attempt at the stitching of initials under the lip...still need some practice I see—”

“Love, that’s so mean!” Your pats previously gentle now offer as much force as  you can muster, easily sending him staggering on his feet, too consumed by his own childish laughter at your rather rugged stitchwork, a poor attempt at further customization. “Ugh, I didn’t think you would notice.” 

He pulls the beanie from his head, hair falling in a mess of dark curl that traces the frame of his cheeks, somehow rounder today than the chiseled jaw that you often find ingrained in your memory. You ache to take him between your palms, a smattering of kisses stored for later use when you aren’t teetering the precipice of embarrassment. A feeling of routine self indulgence that is altogether useless under the watchful eyes of the dream before you.

He delicately dips his finger into the folded hem of the hat, lengthening the elastic trim that suctions around him to keep it secure around his head. He traces the thread that just barely makes out the letters initialling his name, imagining the formation of your lips as you repeat the two syllables with the puncture and withdraw of every stitch. 

It’s clear as the blue dyed sky, the vivid poke of your lips when you realize the curve of the ‘J’ is more of a divot than a definition but push on to the ‘K’. You only add the extra inches when your mind begins to overthink when in truth he’ll love anything from your hands, from your mind and the blood pumping through your veins. 

It wasn’t the accidental revelation of the stitching when he pulled it from the first wash that clued him in. The fabric unfurled from its position of origin, the letters staring back, accented with the perfect attempt at a heart stitched in white. 

No, he finds solace in the patch of thread missing from the edge of the shape meant to mimic the geometry of the organ itself.

It speaks true to the way he feels when he’s not with you, like his heart couldn’t possibly be whole when he’s not taking in the breathlessness of your laugh or the way you pout his name without warning. 

It was the tremor in your hands as you delivered the gift wrapped in faux gold, edges of the paper curled from the lack of a package and a mind too jumbled to think of a bag. Your delivery paired with the fumble of words hushed in rushed breath was clue enough of your attempt at discretion.

It’s in these moments, hat in hand and your eyes scrutinizing the thing when you’d told him how handsome it made him look just weeks prior. He gently pinches the scrunch of your nose, forcing your eyes to his own, hat pulled back over his head. 

He doesn’t miss the quirk of your lips, the hat no longer an object of disdain when it's a part of him. The day you met was the day that you made your place within him and it's in moments like these that he feels whole. 

“I can’t believe you thought for a second that I wouldn’t.”

[peaches-writes]

don’t you worry, baby

member: chan 

wc: 1.4k

genre: fluff, summer au, childhood friends to lovers au, beach day au

warning: explicit language

note: third installment to the skz cheese agenda (skcheese? lmao) + eun is the name of the mc from doll in this fic!

The occasional tourist would give you strange looks as they pass by, wondering why you and Chan would plant your tie dye mat and beach umbrella set so close to the waves crawling back and forth. The two of you have learned to ignore them over the summer years, however, too busy giggling over the way the water would tickle your bare feet on the hot sand and occasionally bring in the most random of objects. 

Especially now that an entire academic year of the two of you separated in different colleges has passed by, this being the first summer that the two of you could spend together leisurely without the worry of school requirements or part-time jobs in the city. 

As per your long-standing childhood beach tradition, the two of you compete in collecting 8 of the same things that you find under the sands or the waves bring in—this time with a carefree conversation on just about anything and everything that you’ve missed in each other’s life the past 10 months. It’s a tight battle this sunny Friday afternoon, with you guarding 6 olive shells in the space under your folded legs while Chan has a nice line of 5 cerith shells he’s worked hard in digging while ranting about one of his younger siblings hanging out with Seo Changbin. 

“Why are you being like this all of a sudden, anyway?” You chuckle in amusement as your conversation on tonight’s beach bonfire party suddenly finds its way back to Chan expressing his disapproval of the younger boy from your neighbourhood. “This is the first time I’ve heard you remotely close to being mad at someone and he’s not even some random stranger your sibling suddenly started hanging out with. It’s Seo Changbin. We literally raised that punk when we were kids.” 

“Exactly, it’s not ‘cause he’s some guy.” Chan pouts, angrily poking a random twig he found on the way to the beach into the sand and occasionally poking out a harmless crab crawling out of the little hole he’s made while picking up shells. “It’s because he’s Seo Changbin.” 

“So?” You shrug, feigning an innocent tone over your mischievous smirk as you watch him sulk next to you. Arms crossed over his bare chest and folded legs and chin resting on top of his folded free arm like a child, everything about him right now just simply looks so endearing and funny at the same time. “Isn’t that a bit better than just, say, a guy who suddenly popped up when we went to college? You know Changbin well enough and Eun definitely knows Changbin super well since they’re classmates. If he screws up, then you know where to find him. If he takes care of them, then you know how to thank them.” 

“Since I know him, I’d be more disappointed when he screws up.” Chan rolls his eyes, lazily tilting his head to the side to glance up at you waiting for the waves to come back. “Anyway, are we even talking about the same Changbin, Y/N? Even if we grew up with that punk, he also smokes, drinks, has a lot of tattoos and piercings, and scares a lot of his classmates.” 

This time, it’s you rolling your eyes as you try nudging him off-balance with your arm to his thigh. “It’s not like you didn’t smoke, drink, or got piercings with me without auntie’s permission when we were in high school. If anything, I’d like to think he got that from us.” You point out with a scoff of disbelief, eyeing the helix piercing on his right ear that now sports a safety pin earring different from your matching golden stud one. “Plus, you know Changbin only gets a bad rep in his batch because their classmates aren’t exactly the nicest people out there. He’s nice, has good grades, and he showed me his acceptance letter to my uni the other day. You’re just picking out ‘bad traits’ now because he’s dating your sibling.” 

“Ya—” 

You cut him off with a palm in front of his face immediately, sensing his pout grow bigger even with the back of your hand blocking his face. “Admit it or not, Eun’s an adult now who can date whoever they want, even a childhood friend. And Changbin’s a friend so I’m sure it’s all going to be fine.” With a giggle, you then use your other hand to pick up another olive seashell that washes up on shore as if on cue. “You have good intentions, I understand where you’re coming from, but you gotta stop worrying, you big baby. Just worry when Changbin does screw up—though if you’re asking me, I doubt he will.” 

Chan scrunches up his nose, just as another cerith shell surfaces from his mini excavation site on the sand. “Hm, I don’t know. I still can’t shake it off.” He practically whines like a child, his hold on the poor and almost broken twig loosening the more he thinks his thoughts and rants through. “How did this even happen? We literally raised Changbin and Eun ourselves when we were kids...”

You snicker at this, swiping an olive shell from his excavation site as you see it. “Now, you’re picking on him being a childhood friend? What’s your problem with that now?” 

Chan waves both of his hands up defensively in front of him, shaking his head. “It’s not like that! I don’t have problems with childhood friends dating or whatever, not at all! I’m just saying that, all of a sudden, Changbin’s taken an interest on my sibling! Doesn’t that sound a little random to you? Why now, when they’re about to leave for college?”

“Nope, it still sounds like you have a problem with childhood friends dating.” You teasingly accuse with a disapproving shake of your head before shrugging. “You know, sometimes stuff like that just happens! With people you’ve known for so long, sometimes you just fall for them out of nowhere because you start seeing them in a different light! I mean I, for one, like someone I’ve known for a really long time like Changbin but it’s only rece—”

“What?!—” 

“It’s only recent because I thought they were cute when I saw them again.” You finish your thought despite the abrupt shift in Chan’s expression. Eyes wide, posture suddenly straight and alert, and the twig branch in his hand held up like a threatening knife, you bite down your lips in between certain phrases and sentences as you hold back your laughs. “Maybe if we were like 16 again or something, I’d find it gross. But since we’ve been away from each other for a long time and have only been talking on call until lately, I miss hanging out with him and he’s super duper cuter now than before so—yeah, it just happens! It’s normal and totally not weird!” 

“Wha—you...you like someone?!” 

“That all you picked up from my long ass speech? That’s not even my point. My point was to defend Changbin and your sibling dating.” You furrow your brows and feign a frown. “I’m disappointed. You really are a big baby, barely comprehending anything in that pea brain. Oh dear...” 

But as if Chan’s thoughts are still transfixed on your previous statements, he ignores your mocking comment and repeats, “You like someone?! Do I know this guy? Also, what do you mean you’ve known him as long as Changbin and I and why don’t I know this gossip?! Ya, not you too, Y/N!” 

You tease him further with a shrug before picking up an olive shell that the wave brings in, exclaiming in victory. “Ha! I win!” You stick your tongue out at him, picking up your 8 little shells in your cupped hands. “I should make a bracelet out of this, ‘no? For cute guy I’ve known for a long time.” 

“Who is it?!” Chan pesters you even further, poking your rash guard with the twig branch. “Who’ve you been hanging out with since we were kids besides me and Changbin?!” 

“Don’t you worry about him, you big baby, he’s harmless.” You put your collected shells on the side and wave your sandy hand dismissively. “Now, I don’t think 8 shells are gonna cover your entire wrist so would you mind help me picking up more? We could walk a little and check the lagoon.” 

m.list

@skzwriternet 

[cabinofimagines]

think of me

a/n ; this is one of my favorite songs to sing ngl but i also am really bad at songfics so i figured i should practice. and also i was feeling really gay all of a sudden and yeah it’s apparent. lmk what y’all think lmao

song ; think of me by sorry, peach

pairing ; piper x mortal!reader

warning ; hella feelings, hella angst, some gay yearning if you read it that way.

“You cuff the sleeves of your t-shirts

You were never the type not to chat

You bit your nails every time you were nervous

I was so in love with that”

“I thought you told me you stopped this, Piper?” you whisper worriedly, examining her surprisingly soft hands in your own, ignoring the heat that ran to your face. She had a horrible habit of picking and biting at her nails whenever she got stressed or nervous. You’ve tried nearly everything to help her stop before she bit away the nail completely, but nothing stuck.

She sighed heavily, cutting her ever-changing eyes at you. You couldn’t tell what she was thinking, as per usual, but that didn’t stop you from clutching her hand in your own.

She smiled softly and moved to brush a stray hair from your eyes, “Don’t worry, I’m working on it!” With one swift glance at your intertwined hands beneath the lunch table, she continued to shovel food into her mouth.

You wish you had pressed her more about it after that, you really should’ve. But the warmth her hand gave, her slim fingers slowly falling between your own and resting there comfortably until the bell rang. The feeling was so intoxicating that you didn’t push the subject, choosing to just bask at the moment at present.

“You like to turn up your music

You regretted your stick poke tattoo

You held my hand every chance that you got

I was so in love with you”

You moved slowly, trying not to jerk her around or move too abruptly and drop her hand. She’d been adamant about holding onto you. She always joked it was because you’d get lost otherwise and she didn’t know how you’d survive on your own, but you kinda figured out that that wasn’t entirely true.

She wouldn’t admit it, but you knew she had abandonment anxiety. As much as she loves her dad, she was desperate for his attention, and she would do anything to get it. Though it seemed everything she did, every outrageous stunt she had pulled hadn’t done the trick. Mr. McLean was always too busy to deal with her.

From here you could see the wrinkle in her brow, way too in her head to notice what she was missing at the moment. You could hear every lyric her earbuds spat out, once again way too loud to be safe. You shook your head and stared at your hands, thumb smoothing over the small heart tattoo on her index finger. 

She swore she didn’t care what Ed tatted on her, but when she saw the shitty outline of a heart, the sigh of disappointment she let out was enough to show that she regretted it. It was cute if you squinted at a distance, but she’d never believe you.

Even though I want to let you go

I want you never to leave me behind

Let me be there in your memory

I will reside in the back of your mind

Where you’ll...

Of all the places you could’ve had your first kiss, you never thought you’d be kissed on the slide at the elementary school playground. But honestly? You can’t imagine it anywhere else

She met you at the end of the slide, watching you slide down the bright yellow plastic with a huge grin plastered on her face. You thought it was an accident at first, assuming she was leaning down to help you up and maybe lost her balance, but she pushed you back instead.

Her choppy brown hair hung freely around her face and the sunset’s golden hues washed over her features, making her skin almost shimmery. Her eyes resembled kaleidoscopes and her lips were pretty and full. You could never forget the feeling of overwhelming love that washed over you that day, at that moment.

And when she closed the gap, locking her lips with yours, you froze. You were so captured by everything that is Piper McLean. From the tickle of her hair across your cheek, her nose brushing against your own as you kissed, and the sweet citrus scent that lingered around her.

In that moment, pressed against the burning plastic of an elementary slide, you knew that Piper had captured your very being. And you weren’t going to fight back.

Think of me, think of me, think of me

Think of me, think of me

Just 

Think of me, think of me, think of me

Think of me, think me

You love my hair when I cut it

You patched up my skin when it cracked

You told me you’d always be my biggest fan

I was so in love with that

You watched her carefully as she placed to bandaid over your knee and smoothed out any creases. She looked up with a grin and moved to peck your forehead gently, calling you clumsy and helping you up off the concrete. The skateboard you’d fallen off of rolled off to the side, almost forgotten the moment you hit a rock and fell off.

It was embarrassing. You just wanted to show her how hard you’d been practicing and you managed to find the only rock at the skate park and eat shit. You scratched the back of your head, fiddling with the strands that were now shorter than before. 

Piper let out an amused hum and moved a hand to your hair and brushing it softly so she wouldn’t mess it up, “I like this,” she mumbled, trailing her lips up to your ear and kissing the corner of your cheekbone lightly, “it makes you look more grown-up.”

You inhaled sharply, too sharply. You choked suddenly, eliciting a hearty laugh from the girl in front of you. You playfully glared as you collected yourself, clearing your throat and moving away to collect your board.

“Jeez, i’m a whole ass clown today.”

“Just today?”

You groan and she chuckles, wrapping her arms around you from behind, resting her head on your shoulder.

“Why don’t you try it again?”

You shook your head, “No I’m gonna fall again and then you’ll just laugh at me again!”

She gave you a firm squeeze, “Promise that I won’t. C’mon, I’ll be cheering you on the whole time!”

“You dream like nobody’s judging

And do everything that you want to

You always wanted the most out of life

I was so in love with you”

Nobody would think it with how much trouble she puts herself in, but she’s actually very thoughtful. You could spend hours on end listening to her plan out the future, trying to push away the butterflies that appear each time she mentioned you as apart of it.

She had everything planned out in this perfect little scenario and it was so sweet... and a little sad. She spoke about how she would convince her dad to leave the fame behind so they could do things like they used to. She wanted you to meet him and have him tease you about your relationship with her. 

“Like a normal dad, y’know?”

You’d hum and scooch over to snuggle into her side, wrapping an arm around her middle and burying your face in her neck. Her sweet scent filled your nose, intoxicating you and coaxing you into a peaceful sleep.

“You’ll see, Y/n. It’s all gonna work out.” 

“Say that I happen to make you cry 

when I told you you were being unkind

Honestly, I tried to leave you be

But you reside in the back of my mind

So I want you to...”

You didn’t argue often, but when you did it was never easy. Piper has always been a really sweet girl, but she has a tendency to lash out when cornered, you knew that all too well. You tried leaving her alone to calm down but then she brought up the one thing you never expected to hear.

You turned with an icy glare, “Did you just...?”

Piper’s expression faded into a one of shock, not believing the words that came out her mouth. She stuttered, reaching out for you and flinching when you brush her off.

“Y/n I’m sorry--”

“That was really uncalled for, that’s not okay.”

A tear fell from her eyes, “I shouldn’t have said that, I wasn’t thinking. Please don’t walk away!”

You huffed and glared down at the floor, trying to stop your hands from shaking, “You never think, Piper. Whenever you get angry you just say whatever you’re thinking!” 

“Y/n I--”

You gave her one more glare before turning on your heel and marching away, ignoring the ache in your heart when you heard her breakdown behind you.

“Think of me, think of me, think of me

Think of me, think of me

Just 

Think of me, think of me, think of me

Think of me, think me”

“I want it to hurt

I want it to ache

I want you to know how it feels

To have your heartbreak

To feel all the things that you do

And everything I go through

When i”

You stared across the street, frozen in place as if you’d seen a ghost. Your eyes welled with tears, watching the girl who never left your thoughts carry on as if you never existed. She looked nearly the same, hair still choppy and braided, that mischievous glint in her kaleidoscope eyes. She looked happier.

Beside her stood two boys, one stood taller with short blonde hair and furrowed brows, the other stood shorter with a mess of curly black hair and an impish smirk on his face. By the looks of it, they were waiting for the bus to arrive, Piper and the shorter boy sharing stories and jokes while the taller one sat deep in his thoughts.

You sniffled, your heart racing and aching and you tried so hard to ignore it all. You urged your feet to move forward, begging your legs to take over and continue walking home. But you were stuck.

Funny how you were the first to walk away when you had her and now, now you were stuck in place; longing for the girl who sat a street length away.

The blonde boy looked up suddenly, tensing as he probably felt your heavy stare. He stared back with a stony look, tilting his head in confusion when you didn’t react. 

It was only when he brought it to the attention of Piper and her friend that your body began moving again. You shuffled down the street at an awkward pace, never looking back despite the gaze on your back.

Piper McLean may never see you again, but you sure do hope she thinks of you. A least a little bit.

“Think of you think of you think of you

Think of you think of you

Just

Think of me think of me think of me

Think of me think of me too”

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

taglist ; @smileitsisa , @beneaththeiceandsnow , @hermionessimp , @fangirlofanythingrickriordan , @a-taken-url , @noisyalmonddreamer , @mmmelanie​ , 

[marvelslut16]

Stick and poke

Prompt number: 7 “yes I did, what about it?”

Fandom: IT

Paring: Eddie Kaspbrak x reader (aged up to 17 or 18)

Rating: T

Word count: 1.7k

Warnings: Mentions of underage drinking. Mentions underage smoking. Mentions teens giving each other stick and pokes- I beg of you not to try at home! Swearing.

A/N: First time writing Eddie! I feel like all I write for now are Marvel and IT. Borderline punk and/or rebellious Eddie. 

You and the rest of the losers are sitting in a circle on the floor of your underground clubhouse in the barrens playing a game of truth or dare. In the middle of the circle sits a large decanter of some brown alcohol you can’t be bothered to remember the name of, each time someone calls chicken they have to take a swig of the drink. As the game progresses, the liquid starts to steadily decrease, most of the time due to Richie’s questions. 

The losers not caring if they get drunk, each one lied to their parents and said they were spending the night at one of the others houses. So none of them have to worry about stumbling home drunk in the middle of the night, instead all of them staying overnight at the clubhouse. 

“Dare,” you smirk confidently at your friend with coke bottle glasses. So far you’re the only person to pick dare with the trashmouth, the rest choosing truth and most using chickens.  

“(Y/N/N), I dare you to” Richie smiles mischievously, you regret letting the trashmouth in on your feelings for his best friend. “To kiss Eds.”

“What?” Eddie looks panicked and starts hyperventilating. He reaches for his inhaler, quickly taking two puss from it. “That’s disgusting! Do you know how many diseases you can get from a single kiss?”

Eddie continues to ramble on about how unsanitary it is and you eye the decanter, which Richie stole from his father’s alcohol cabinet, in front of you. You’ve had the least amount of alcohol so far this game and the only one not to chicken with Richie, you aren’t about to start now. You roll your eyes and turn to your left, where Eddie’s sitting beside you, you grab him by the face and pull him in for a quick peck. 

Richie’s eyes grow considerably larger behind his glasses, Bev’s cigarette almost falls from her mouth as her jaw goes slack, Ben’s giggling at what just happened, Stan’s slapping a five into Bill’s hand losing a long standing bet between the two, Mike is whooping at you two. And poor Eddie is gaping at you, clearly flustered and looking for words. 

“You kissed me!” you aren’t sure if it’s a question or an exclamation. What surprises you though, is that he doesn’t go for his inhaler again, nor does he reach into his fanny pack for one of his many pills. 

“Yes I did, what about it?” you aren’t sure how you want him to respond to that, but you know it’s not the silence that you’re met with. 

A few hours later you’re sitting in folding chairs in one corner of the clubhouse with Richie, giving him a stick and poke as he tells you about the latest prank he pulled at school. It’s a prank you witnessed, but that doesn’t seem to register in his slightly fuzzy tipsy brain. By now the few shots you had to endure our pretty much out of your system, feeling and abating completely sober unlike the rest. 

“Quit moving!” you scold Richie for what feels like the hundredth time, he’s moving his hands while telling his story. Which isn’t helpful since you're trying to do his stick and poke of a pac-man ghost on his inner wrist, and he keeps almost screwing you up. Eddie’s eyes are on you as you finally wipe Richie’s arm clean, done with the little tattoo.   

“You want one Eddie spaghetti?” you hold up the needle you just used on Richie. You reach into the fanny pack wrapped securely around Eddie’s waist, which causes the poor boy to grow flustered again, pulling a disinfecting wipe out of it to wipe the needle clean. After that you use Bev’s lighter, running the flame over the needle to make sure it’s sterilized. 

“N-no, he stutters out, eyes focused on the way your lips form your words. “My mom would kill me.”

“She doesn’t need to find out about it Eddie,” you wave the needle teasingly in front of his face. He’s as sober as you, possibly even more than you, so you trust his judgement. If he had anymore than two shots all those hours ago you never would have asked. “You just need to hide it until you move out in a couple months.”

“Okay!” you’re surprised when he agrees, so is Richie who is staring with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. 

“What do you want and where do you want it?” you ask, quickly adding the next sentence when you notice Richie about to speak. “Beep beep Richie.”

“I’m not really sure,” Eddie plays with the zipper on his fanny pack, taking a seat across from you in the chair Richie recently abandoned. “But it has to be somewhere I can hide it.”

“Hmmm,” you start mentally ticking off places you can’t do the tattoo, your mind coming up with multiple scenarios on Mrs. Kaspbrak accidentally finding the tattoo. “I could do the base of your neck, like where the collar of your shirt goes. Or I could do your side, below your ribs.”

“How about my side,” it isn’t a question so much as a statement. “I want to be able to see it.”

“Any ideas on what you want, or do I get to surprise you?” Eddie fiddles with the bottom of his shirt and you wonder if he’s going to back out. 

“Surprise me,” Eddie nods, confident in his decision. 

“Do a penis!” Richie hollers, taking a swig of the alcohol left in the decanter. 

“Shut the fuck up Richie,” Eddie snaps and you giggle at the two. 

“You need to take your shirt off Eds,” you both blush at your words, causing Richie to wolf whistle. 

“Look at the Edster stripping for (Y/N)!” Richie hollers a little too loud, not that you’re worried anyone will hear you in the middle of nowhere. 

“Beep beep Richie!” Bev calls back, leaning her head on Ben’s shoulder. 

You scoot your chair beside Eddie’s, facing his right side you put one leg going behind his chair and the other towards the front, sitting in a v-like shape. You grab another wipe from Eddie’s fanny pack, cleaning the area of skin below his ribcage, Eddie’s right hand shoots out and grabs your knee, squeezing his eyes tight before you even have the chance to dip the needle in the ink. 

“As much as I enjoy your hand on my knee,” you admit. “It’s kinda in the way.”

You pry his right hand off of your skin, placing it on the back of your chair. He reaches his left hand across his body so he’s once again holding onto your right knee. You let him stay in the position, knowing he needs it mentall, and he’s managed to not twist his side and mess up your tattooing area. 

You decide to do a larger tattoo for Eddie than you did Richie, go big or go home. Right? You contemplated doing a small little fanny pack, but you didn’t want Eddie to take your teasing as an insult. Instead you decide on a basic mountain range, three overlapping triangles, and a sun poking out from behind them, a simple circle. A simple serene tattoo that Eddie can look at and calm down to when he has a panic attack.

As you actually start to tattoo his side, his grip on your knee tightens. You don’t mind though, you’re enjoying the weight and warmth his hand provides. Eddie’s eyes are on you the entire time, committing your concentration face to memory. He tries not to shiver every time your fingers run over his exposed skin, a warm fuzzy feeling growing within him. 

You’re focusing so intently that you don’t notice when Eddie becomes slightly more adventurous and lets his hand drift up to your thigh. Finally done with the tattoo you wipe it clean a final time, leaning back to admire your work. It’s your best tattoo yet, if you do say so yourself. 

“Remember to clean it everyday,” you aren’t sure why you’re giving Eddie, of all people, hygiene advice. He isn’t Richie, he has common sense. “And if it gets infected tell your mom right away, don’t try to hide it out of fear of getting in trouble. I’ll take all the blame Eddie, say I made you get it because I wanted to practice.”

Eddie squeezes your thigh as he compliments your work, sending a bolt of electricity from your thigh to your heart. Before you know it his lips are crashing into yours, this kiss far better than the one earlier in the night. The thumping of the blood in your ears drowns out the whoops and hollers from your friends. All you can focus on is Eddie; his soft lips on yours, the softness of his hair beneath your fingers, and the feeling of his hand moving from your thigh to your hip- his free hand also going to your hip, fingers digging in. 

When you pull apart for air, he uses his grip on your hips to pull you onto his lap. Now straddling him, you comb your finger through his dark locks with blonde tips. He begged and begged Mrs. Kaspbrak to bleach them and she kept saying no. So finally Richie and Bev bought bleach from the store, and did it themselves. Needless to say she wasn’t happy, but after two doctor's appointments, with two different doctors, she finally concluded that Eddie wasn’t going to randomly fall over and die from the bleach. 

Stan slaps a hand over Richie’s mouth to keep him from ruining the moment going on in front of the group. He’ll let Richie make fun of the two afterwards, but he doesn’t want his friends to get this close to finally being together, just to have Richie’s teasing make the both of you chicken out and ignore each other. He’s not sure he can handle all that pining again, the entirety of the losers club isn’t sure they can handle that again. Your hands slide down from Eddie’s hair to his still bare shoulders, pulling him in for another searing kiss. 

Permanent tags: @crimson-knuckled-queen​ @rexorangecouny​ @mrs-malfoy-always​

[sachas]

TASK: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.

BASIC INFORMATION.

Full name: Aleksandr “Sacha” Ruslanovich Tarasov

Nickname: Sacha, Cha Cha ( taking applications for others xoxo )

Birthdate: 17th of December, 1989

Age: 32

Zodiac: Sagittarius Sun, Leo Moon, Scorpio Rising

Gender: Nonbinary

Pronouns: He/him & They/Them ( used interchangeably )

Romantic orientation: Biromantic

Sexual orientation: Bisexual

Nationality: Russian

Ethnicity: Russian

Rank: Dominion

Affiliation: Death

BACKGROUND.

Birthplace: Moscow, Russia

Hometown: Moscow, Russia

Social class: Upper class

Educational achievements: Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Psychology from The Sorbonne ( mostly paid for with daddy’s money x )

Father: Ruslan “Lana” Yevgenovich Tarasov

Mother: Alexandra “Sanya” Pashovna Tarasova

Siblings: None

Pets: None

Previous relationships: 

Though Sacha prefers to keep his relationships loose, often leaving things without labels, there are a few notable entanglements.

- Saint Warden: The two experience a brief and heady whirlwind relationship ten years ago, one Summer in Paris bringing them close together, high off the drugs and each other. While a young Saint was fast to fall in love, Sacha cuts things off quickly, rathering to keep things casual than let someone become his weakness. Over the years, they reconnect occasionally, their affairs stretching a few days or weeks before the illusion is shattered again, sending Saint off again back home to London.

- Laura Vardhamana: Who’s chasing who here? Maybe that’s half the excitement, Laura plays hard to get with ease and Sacha knows they’ve met their match. Late night hook ups meld into something more, an uncanny amount of time spent together, their relationship developing a seriousness that Sacha’s never experienced. He gets suspicious, uses connections in Death to check out Laura’s tech from a far. There it is — bank statements, withdrawals and transactions made, Sacha’s been conned and is made quite the fool. So they blackmail her, turning the same receipts into threats of prison or Death.

Arrests: Breach of the Peace ( during a Death-staged protest )

Prison time: None

OCCUPATION & INCOME.

Current occupation: Executive Producer, Pale Horse Media / Dominion, Death

Dream occupation: He doesn’t dream about working, only having power

Past jobs: Never truly worked a day in their life x 

Spending habits: As Death’s benefactor, Sacha allocates a certain amount of money from his family funds to the cause. On top of that, their personal spending could be described as excessive, spending mostly on clothes and other impulse buys.

In debt?: Hahaha

SKILLS & ABILITIES.

Physical strength: Average

Speed: Average

Intelligence: Above average

Accuracy: Above average

Agility: Above Average

Stamina: Average

Teamwork: Because he’s so good at manipulating others to bend to his will, Sacha doesn’t mind teamwork, though he would much rather work alone if possible

Talents: Persuasion, Manipulation, making playlists and mean cocktails

Shortcomings: Detached, vain, selfish, jealous 

Languages spoken: Russian, English, French

Drive?: Yes

Jumpstart a car?: No, they have people for that 

Change a flat tire?: No, they have people for that 

Ride a bicycle?: Yes

Swim?: Yes

Play an instrument?: Piano ( strict lessons from his childhood burning scales into his brain )

Play chess?: Yes

Braid hair?: No

Tie a tie?: Yes

Pick a lock?: No, they have people for that 

Cook?: hahaha 

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE & CHARACTERISTICS.

Face claim: Robert Pattinson my beloved

Eye color: Blue

Hair color: Dirty blonde

Hair type: Mostly straight with waves / 2a curl pattern

Glasses/contacts?: No

Dominant hand: Right

Height: 6’1″ / 185 cm

Build: Lean

Exercise habits: Combat training and the occasional run once or twice a week, Sacha’s definitely not passionate about exercise

Tattoos: General Tattoo Inspo ( x, x, x ) 

Highlights 

- Death Skull on his left shoulder close to collarbone, able to be seen from straight on

- “Тарасов” or Tarasov in Russian under left collarbone 

- a shitty stick n poke pansy on his thigh, given by Saint around ten years ago

- “Ignorant Style” tattooing, really vibe with @/bad.badtattoos on ig’s style ( here, here, here, here, here, here, here, )

Piercings: Earlobes 

Marks/scars: Freckles across skin, though none too pronounced. A few scars from drunken shenanigans gone wrong — Sacha really becomes reckless when he drinks.

Clothing style: Varied. Some days, they’re very casual, slouching on stupid graphic tee with jeans, other days are more like sleek designer boots and trendy, high waisted pants.

Jewelry: On dressed-up days, Sacha might swap his basic silver hoop earrings for something with shine, or might throw on a sleek watch to impress. His family has passed down two items of significance: a signet ring meant for each patriarch of the Tarasov family, and his grandfather’s pocket watch. Neither are worn or used on regular occasion, though might be broken out when Sacha is sent on official Tarasov Media Conglomerate business.

Allergies: None

PSYCHOLOGY.

MBTI type: INTJ - The Architect

Enneagram type:  Type eight - The Challenger  ( independent, stubborn, determined )

Moral alignment: Neutral Evil

Element: Fire

Emotional stability: Sacha keeps emotions hidden well beneath surface, often disguising one emotion as another, whatever is the most useful for the situation. Most of the time, people perceive him as detached and cold, making it hard for him to maintain regular relationships for long.

Introvert or extrovert?: Extroverted

Obsession: Finding people’s weaknesses

Phobias: Snakes! Egads! 

Drug use: Recreational, mainly drugs like ketamine, molly, acid

Alcohol use: Daily, mainly vodka

Prone to violence?: No, would rather use their snakey ways   

Prone to crying?: hahaha, no

Believe in love at first sight?: No

MANNERISMS.

Accent: With years of effort and practice, Sacha manages to disguise his natural Russian inflection with something closer to a Southern English accent, though it’s not perfect and you can hear it on occasion, especially if he’s been drinking

Hobbies: Binging shit TV, giving shitty stick-n-poke tattoos, making shitty tunes on the piano, listening to music, demanding aux privileges 

Habits: Drinking, smoking, lying their ass off

Nervous tics: Clenching jaw

Drives/motivations: Power, control, greed, attention 

Fears: Failure, losing control, submitting to others 

Sense of humor?: Kinda fucked up tbh

Do they curse often?: Tastefully

FAVORITES.

Animal: Bears

Beverage: Iced Coffee or Vodka

Book: Bret Eason Ellis’s American Psycho 

Colors: Green, Purple, Silver

Food: PIZZA! but a childhood comfort food is syrniki 

Flower: Orchids

Gem: Chalcedony

Mode of transportation: Land Rover

Scent: Vanilla, Oud, Tobacco

Weather: Cloudy, breezy

Vacation destination: Swiss Alps

ATTITUDES.

Greatest dream: Becoming bigger and more influential than his father ever was

Greatest fear: Missing a huge opportunity, becoming irrelevant, being controlled 

Most at ease when: exerting control 

Least at ease when: being forced into something

Biggest achievement: Making a name for himself outside of Russia / Becoming the benefactor of Death

Biggest regret: Not negotiating with Uriel to enter Death as a Seraphim x 

[sweetchup]

Three isn’t a Crowd

Request by @al-shayfield: could you please do a killua x gon x reader little picnic date? if not that’s okay :)

Type: Gon x reader x Killua

Au?: Poly Au. Normal.

Word Count: 3500+

Warnings: Polyamory, The boys are still kids but this is a kid type of date so it’s ok, Hisoka being Hisoka, bullying, cursing

“Ok! So let’s go through the list before we leave.” You mumble, putting the last of the utensils into the basket. The light from the morning sun shined through the windows and onto the backs of the two boys across the table from you. “Ok, so Sandwiches and chips?”

“Yes!!” Gon chirps in, “On the left.”

You checked that off and moved to the next Item. “Soda and cups?”

“Yeah.” Killua says, bouncing a tennis ball on the floor.

“Chocolate cake?”

“Ye—“ “Definitely!!”

Gon turns to glare at Killua causing the white hair boy to stop bouncing the ball. Oh here we go again. You just ignore them and continue on with your list.

“Hey why did you cut me off?” Gon whined at Killua, who scoffs.

“You were too slow.”

“W-well I think you are trying to impress (y/n).” Gon huffs, pouting a little. While they were arguing you had looked up and down the list and realized you were done and hadn’t forgotten anything. Throwing away the list, you put the red and white plaid picnic blanket on top and closed the basket.

“Hah?! Are you an idiot?” Killua mocks, poking the boy in the head, “If I wanna impress her I would do something like this.”

Killua jumps over the table and gives you a grin. Before you can even rebut, he lifts you easily up onto one of his arms, making it look practically effortless. With his other arm he grabs the basket.

“This is how you impress a girl,” Killua says, very proud of himself. Gon, stubborn, doesn’t back down.

“W-well I can do better!”

You sigh as Gon pulls you off of Killua. This could take a while but then again what did you expect accepting a date with these two idiots.

—————————

“How many times do I have to tell you two to be careful? Especially with (y/n).” Kurapika scolds the two boys in front of him. “You're glad Leorio and I stepped in before she got hurt.”

Killua tches, clearly over Kurapika’s Scolding. “Yeah, yeah whatever. Let’s go Gon, (Y/n).”

Killua holds one of your hands while Gon holds the other. They both drag you away from Leorio, who had previously been checking you for any injuries.

“Oh! Umm.. Bye Mr. Kurapika! Mr. Leorio! Thank you very much!” You shout. Your voice growing more and more faded as you're dragged away. The two men wave at the trio until the door shuts close. As soon as they do, Leorio turns to Kurapiks. A pout was on the man’s face.

“Aww come on Kurapika, it’s their first date. you shouldn’t be so hard on them.”

“Of course I do. I mean didn’t you see (y/n)?”

Leorio blinks and scrunches his eyebrows, thinking back. “Hmm… I don’t think I saw anything out of the ordinary about her?”

Kurapika sighs “Leorio you have to remember we are currently staying in the Yorbian Continent. It’s not illegal but it’s very uncommon for polyamory here. It’s not like we are in the Republic of Padokia or the Azian Continent where it is common.”

“Oh. So you mean...”

“Yes, not only is (Y/n) from York New, where it is uncommon, so she knows the amount of ridicule and abuse she could go through but we also have to think about the huge amount of Anti-poly people that are recorded here in this town.”

“Yeah and I’m guessing Gon and Killua probably don’t know about that?” Leorio says, leaning against the wall. He looks out the window and sees the three holding hands, walking in the direction of the busy center of town.

“Most likely” Kurapika sighs, looking at the three as well. “I just hope that no one gets hurt”

———————————

“Ok!!” You say excited. You were trying to hide your nervousness. Not only were you on your first date ever with two handsome boys and had also tried on a new dress but you were in the Yorbian Continent on a poly date; not the brightest decision but oh well. You aren’t going to let your worries stop you. You were going to have fun, “So on our way to the park I say we quickly stop by at some fun places!! Does that sound okay?”

The two boys could only nod their heads. It wasn’t them being rude, they just couldn’t talk. You looked so cute as you did a little spin at fun and by getting shy when asking them if it was ok.

You giggled, causing their hearts to jump. “Let’s go then!”

——⚡️—🌸—🥦——

“First stop, The diamond theater!!”

All three of you looked in awe as you looked around the building you just entered. It looked absolutely magical. With trees made out of actual gold and silver, colorful jeweled animals and diamond and glass mural walls.

“Oh wow Killua look at this!”

Killua looks over and sees you pointing at something in a book. “It says right here that this is the biggest location with some of the highest amounts of rare diamonds and fire opals. Even counting red diamonds.”

“Oh wow”

“Ack! Killua!” Gon shouts, sounding concerned and worried.

Killua turns away from you and soon freezes. Looking up from your manual you see three men next to Gon.

“There’s the other one. Me doesn’t recognize girl though” A short man with a skull neck cloth covering his face said. He gave off weird vibes when he looked at you.

“Hey boys! How are you doing?” A man with a long bun on top of his head said, “Oh? Who is this?”

“None of your business old man!!” Killua says, pulling you behind him as Gon moves to stand next to him. As they glared at the two men, you looked towards the third man. He seemed different from the other two especially since with no shirt on and a cross tattoo on his forehead.

Yet you also noticed his eyes were very blank and emotionless compared to the two. It kind of made you sad looking at him. You wished the stranger could be happy. Oh! you know what you would do!

“(Y/n)!!” Killua shouts, his stomach dropping as you walk up to Chrollo. He goes to grab you but is stopped by Nobunaga and Feitan.

You look up at the man. Kind of shy now that you realized he was much taller and probably much stronger than you.

“May I help you? Young lady?” Chrollo says, amused by the fact you just simply walked up to him. The leader of the phantom troupe.

“A-ah, yes! I was wondering what’s your favorite animal?” You say. Quickly, you looked back and saw Gon and Killua waving their hands frantically. Oh, maybe they are cheering you on.

“Hmmm… a spider” Chrollo says after a couple minutes of thinking.

What an interesting choice. Holding out your hands you take a breath before bubbles conjure up around the man. The bubbles slowly start to form cute little bubbly spiders of all sorts of colors which start bouncing on and about chrollo.

Chrollo lets out a small grin as he reaches out and pops one. The boys sigh in relief. Maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as they thought. Chrollo suddenly kneels down to your height and pulls out a handprint book.

“So how does your Nen work, little miss?” Chrollo asks, putting a hand on your shoulder as you look untreated at the book.

“OH HELL NO!!” Killua shouts.

Killua quickly rushes in and grabs you from Chrollo. You looked confused as the two raced away as fast as they could from the scene. Chrollo chuckles as he watches them for a couple of seconds in amusement before standing back up.

“Not going after them Feitan?”

“No, me is.” Feitan grins wickedly up at Chrollo. “Me just giving them a head start. It’s fun that way.”

“Ok, but keep the little girl alive. She interests me.”

——⚡️—🌸—🥦——

“Ok so the Diamond theater didn’t work out….But this should! Ok so we are at…” Your voice trails off at the end as you are stunned at the scene in front of you.

“L-let go of me!! Illumi!!”

“Now why would I do that Killua? As your big brother I’m giving you a sign of affection, a hug. Mother told me it could work to get those silly thoughts out of your head. Though I would pref—“

First off, Killua was currently being hugged, well more like crushed to death, by a man. According to the man’s sentence he was Killua’s older brother? It was weird since they looked so different. You knew Killua was a Zoldyck so maybe they are half or step siblings? Or maybe his family is polyamorous too? Did the man just mention putting a needle into Killua? You had so many questions.

“Oh~~~ Gon!!!”

Now second, … what even was this? A clown like man was moaning over Gon trying to fight him. You think that was the easiest way to explain it so enough is said there.

You look down at your manual. You thought going to the biggest toy store in the world would be fun but you didn’t expect this. Those two men seemed to be having a blast, well of course at the price of Gon and Killua sanity.

“Hmm~~ who’s this?”

Looking back up you see the clown man is right in front of you. You hadn’t realized it now but… but…

“Wow! You are tall sir! Are you a model?” You say, your eyes sparkling. Your favorite shows of all time to watch were ‘Yorbian Next Top Model’ or ‘The Victor Secret Fashion Show’ so you always question handsome or beautiful people if they were models. Hey, you never know when you might accidentally meet one.

The red-haired man laughs and leans down to your height. “Oh aren’t you a sweetheart~~ I’m not, but I’m something even better, a transmitter~. Did you know my Nen, bungee gum, has the properties of both rubber and gum?”

You giggle as you see him using his Nen on a magic trick. “No, I didn’t know that. I think you would make a nice model though! You are very thin and muscular!”

“Well I’m thick and muscular in another area~~ Do you wanna—“ Hisoka is cut off as you see he is suddenly electrocuted. You see Killua still in the arms of the man (though his now long black hair is all poofy) , furious, as he pulls back his yo-yo. Gon quickly picks you and brings you away from Hisoka.

“Go to hell pervert!” Killua shouts as he kicks out of his brother gold. You three run away, again, Gon sticks his tongue out at Illumi as they leave.

“Oh. I want to talk to kill more” Illumi mumbles. He blank faces, even more than usual, as Hisoka lets out a very loud moan.

“Oh~~ Gon! Killua!!”

.

.

.

“Hey Gon. Killua. What’s that bright light over—“

“Don’t ask!!”

——⚡️—🌸—🥦——

“Ah we are down to our final place!”

“I hope this one goes well.” Killua grumbles.

“I’m sorry Killua. I wi—“

Killua cuts you off and squeezes your hand which he was holding. “Don’t apologize idiot, it wasn’t your fault. We just, for some reason, keep on bumping into the wrong people today.”

You feel another squeeze and look at Gon. “Yeah don’t worry (y/n)!!”

“Ok! So our final stop before the picnic is Lucy’s Celestial Palace!” You shout, as you three stop right in front of a crazy looking old factory building.

You give a reassuring squeeze to the boys about to walk into the star filled building. You would try your best to make sure they wouldn’t get recognized by any more—

“Gon! Killua!”

…or not…

“Oh Zushi! Master!” Gon shouts. Master? Oh! You turn around and see a boy and a man with glasses. He must be Master Wing! The one they told you taught them Nen! This couldn’t go bad.

“Hello boys! Oh and who are you young lady?”

“Oh! Nice to meet you I’m—“

“She’s (y/n), our girlfriend!” Gon shouts, cutting you off. You blush a bright red as Killua hits him over the head.

“Don’t cut her off, idiot.”

“Miss (y/n)” You looked up at Mister Wing, a serious look on his face. “If you don’t mind I would like to speak with Gon and Killua for a moment?”

“Y-yes of course”

You watch as Wing drags the two boys a little ways away. You wonder what he needed them for. You are snapped out of your thoughts quickly as you see Zushi turn to look at you before bowing. “Nice to meet you (y/n), Girlfriend of Gon and Killua. My name is Zushi. Osh!”

Still flustered, you turn and bow as well. “N-Nice to meet you as well Zushi!”

You two stop bowing and turn as you hear a loud hush from Wing. Gon’s face was red while Killua had a mischievous grin on his face.

“I wonder what master wanted from Killua and Gon.”

“Y-yeah. I wonder too.”

You two watch as Wing continues talking. Slowly but surely both of the boys faces are soon red as a tomato. How odd.

“AHH! WE DON’T NEED ALL THAT INFO.” Killua shouts walking back over to you. He blushes even more as he looks at you. Looking to the ground he takes your hand and drags you away. Gon follows slightly behind you guys, his face bright red, with steam coming out his ears. You couldn’t exactly hear what Gon was saying, only little bits like ‘how would that work’ and ‘that doesn’t make sense’.

You wanted to ask what Wing told them but decided against it.

—————————

“Finally we are here!!” Killua and Gon shout in unison, plopping on the grass. You giggle at the boy's silliness and put the basket under a tree.

As the two exhausted boys get some quick rest, you kneel down and the open the basket. You might as well get started while they calm down. Deciding to set the blanket up first, you pull it out. Holding two of the edges you fluff it out, letting the wind carry it for a bit, and finally laying it lightly down on the slightly dewy green grass. As you are about to set up the other stuff you hear the rustle and crunching of grass.

“Let me help you (y/n)!” Gon says, sticking his hands into the basket. He grabs a whole pile of stuff and starts wobbling over to the blanket. Almost dropping the chocolate cake several times, Killua would be so mad if Gon destroyed it.

“A-ah be careful Gon!”

“Don’t worry I got it!”

After getting everything set up, and thankfully Gon didn’t drop or break anything, you all sit down and finally have lunch. You take small bites of your freshly made sandwich as you watch the boys wolf down their food. It was kind of amazing at how fast they were able to eat and you kind of wonder who would win if it was a competition. Unless they were having one and you didn’t know it.

“Ah that was good~~” Gon says, laying on his back and patting his stomach. You laugh while Killua just rolls his eyes. Grabbing your pudding you go to take a bite of your dessert when you get an idea.

“Killua~” You singsongly say; holding the spoon up to the boy’s face, “Say ahh~”

Killua stutters to say something as he goes bright red. Flustered, he turns his head and lets out a small ‘idiot’ as he tries to compose himself.

“Oh come on Killua!” You whine, slightly pouting.

“I’ll have it (y/n)!” Gon says, quickly sprinting over and sitting in front of you. He opens his mouth wide and points to it causing you to giggle. You were about to feed him when Killua headbuts Gon and eats the pudding instead.

“Hey! What was that for!!” Gon shouts, holding the bump on his head.

“She offered it to me first, idiot!”

Gon was about to stand up and start something with Killua but you pull the boy back down, placing his head on your lap. You sigh as you run your fingers through the blushing boy’s hair; being extra careful in the area of the injury.

“You two need to stop fighting. For crying out loud you two are best friends! This isn’t a competition”

“Sorry (y/n)” They squeak out; clearly embarrassed.

“Now sit still so I can feed you two the rest of the pudding. Gon say ahh~~”

“Man what a little whore.”

You stop dead in your tracks as you hear that. Your hand slightly clenches around the spoon. You kind of expected something like this to happen but it didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. You slightly lift your head to see a group of people, one of which had made a comment earlier.

“God how gross!”

“Poor boys, that girl is selfish and can’t pick between them.”

“Wow, only a kid and already likes two at once. What a shame.”

“(Y/n).” You shoot your head to Killua, who puts a hand on your cheek. As he pulls it away you see his hand is wet, you hadn’t realized you were crying.

“Hey!” Gon shouts; standing up and going to fight them. Killua quickly grabs Gon’s arm and stops him, Gon, angrily, spins around and tries to pull his arm away. “Let me go, Killua!! They insulted (y/n)!”

“You idiot. Look around.” Killua whisper-yells. Gon looks around at the other people at the park, who were also starring and muttering. Some of which knew Nen, had weapons or looked overall strong. “Leaving her here is bad. Taking her in the fight is also bad. You know her Nen isn’t made for close combat and she’s not exactly focused right now to do long ranged”

“Well we can’t do anything!”

“I know…,” Killua mutters. The two stand in silence for a while until Killua suddenly has an idea. “Wait... Come here, I have a plan”

As soon as Killua finishes whispering the plan in Gon’s ear the boy gives him a nod. “Understand?”

“Yeah”

The two suddenly turn to you and begin to put away the stuff. Your stomach drops, you felt bad that this day got ruined, it seemed nothing had gone right. Tears start to well up in your eyes. Man what a useless crybaby you are—

“(Y/n)” You look up from the ground at the call. Suddenly, your cheeks turn crimson as you feel something on each side of your cheek. Gon and Killua had each given you a kiss on your cheek, with Killua on your left and Gon on the right.

With you being absolutely flustered and steam coming out of your ears, you accidentally activate a Nen bubble around all three of you. Killua and Gon pull away, grinning at each as your brain is practically mush.

“Ready Gon?”

“Yeah!”

Gon and Killua jumped out of your protected bubble. Since you were practically a puddle you were unaware of the Chaos about to happen. Their plan to get back at the people who made you cry. The two fist bump before going off in opposite directions.

“Jan….Ken….Rock!!”

“Lightning Palm!!”

“RUNN!” “MY LEG!” “AHHHH!”

—————————

*pop*

You finally pop your bubble as you come to. But what in the world… happened? You must have missed a lot since the Park was practically destroyed, with trees cut down, people on the ground (some of which were twitching), and the ground uneven.

“(Y/n)!!” You look towards the sunset to see Gon and Killua running towards you, both laughing. As they stop in front of you, they turn to each other, grinning widely, giving each other a high five. This even confused you more, why in the world were they high fiving? Did they do this? Why did they destroy a perfectly good park? Wait, did they do this for—

“(Y/n)...” a voice whispers right next to your ear. You quickly turn and realize Killua had sneaked up on you while you were thinking. While frozen still, Killua leans in and gives you a kiss.

Though it was a small and light kiss, it definitely didn’t feel like one. Once your lips had locked a shock went through all the nerves of your body, causing you to shiver and clutch onto Killua’s shirt. On top of that, the kiss felt like Killua was putting in every bit of love into it. Almost like he was sharing a secret. Huh. A Transmitter’s kiss. You two slowly pull away and give each other a small smile. Killua silver hair blows in the wind under the shaded tree.

“My turn!!”

You quickly turned your head and felt lips crashing onto yours. Stumbling, you can’t hold Gon up and begin to fall back. The kiss was sudden and rushed. Definitely Gon was being impatient. Yet, it was nice. It was simple and straightforward. A very sweet and lovely kiss. Definitely a kiss from an enhancer.

As you're on your back, Gon pulls away and holds himself above you. The light from the sun shines upon him as he gives you a wide grin. You smile back at him until he is suddenly pulled off.

“You idiot!!” Killua shouts, “What did Kurapika say about not hurting her?!”

“I wasn’t!! You could've hurt her too when you sneaked up on her!!”

“I wouldn’t—“

You giggle as you watch the two argue, slightly brushing your fingers across your lips. Maybe today wasn’t so bad after all!

[aciid-eater]

“We’re Something to Look At.” Asahi Azumane x Nameless!Poc!Oc

Summary: Asahi realizes that all he needed was a little push out of his comfort zone.

Warning: none

__________________________________________

“What do you mean your sister?” Hinata asked. “Wouldn’t she live in Japan then?”

The gym air was thick, the small drum of the heater being heard in the open air as Coach addressed his team.

“That’s not my story to tell. She’s on a flight right now, I’ll be picking her up after practice today. She’s come down to live with my pops, and since volleyball runs in the family, I’ll use this as an opportunity to get in some outside training for you.” He stated.

“You’ve gotten too used to me yelling at you, so I want to see what happens when she gets all under your skin.” He laughed with a smirk.

“Should we be concerned?” Tsukishima asked.

“She’s very...... intense. But I trust her and fully respect her decisions, and you brats will do the same.”

“Will she be going to school with us tomorrow?” Suga asked.

“Yes, she will actually, She’s attending Karasano, a third year. She sticks out, you’ll know it when you see her.” Was all Ukai said as he picked one of the practice balls off the rack and ushered the team to their feet.

———————————————————————

“And this is gonna be your advanced class hall.” Kiyoko said softly, shifting her gaze to the girl at her side. The students around them ogled and stared, watching as Kiyoko spoke to someone finally with interest.

“Do you take these classes too?” The girl asked, ignoring the mass of whispering around her.

“I do, as your escort I’ll be meeting you on this hall before lunch, just to show you around a bit more.” Kiyoko paused, flicking her gaze between the students lingering around the two, and the new student at her side.

“You’re really pretty, y/n. They seem to think so too.” She said, a small smile gracing her lips. Y/n laughed.

“Thank you.”

“We should get to class a bit early, it’s this way.” Kiyoko stated, beginning to walk to the edge of the hallway. Y/n followed close after her, enjoying the scenery of the school.

As they turned the corner, she noticed another student. A tall guy with long brown hair. His head was down, his gaze pointed to the floor while the people he passed sent side eyed gazes and whispered.

“What’s his deal?” Y/n asked, poking Kiyoko’s sleeve.

“That’s Asahi.” She stated.

The brown haired boy looked up, his eyes unexpectedly meeting something you didn’t see a lot of at Karasano. Dark skin.

His eyes trailed up her legs, they were covered in spots of a light flesh color. He remembered reading something about a skin condition called vitiligo in a book somewhere.

There were several things he noticed about her upper half. 1, the spots continued there. 2, she had a septum ring. 3, the right side of her head of coilly hair was blonde. 4, both her eyebrows were split at the edge of the arch. 5, just above the collar of her black blazer, he could see the edge of what seemed to be a tattoo.

He was startled when he realized she was staring back now. He staggered a bit, knocking into someone behind him. Y/n watched with a bit of a scowl as he turned and shakingly apologized to the frustrated person.

“Why’s he so timid?” Y/n asked.

Asahi found his footing and looked back at her. Then realized something else, the teeth on her bottom row were made of.....metal?

“He’s always been that way. He also has a reputation of being quite the delinquent here.” Kiyoko replied.

The male watched as y/n rolled her eyes, following Kiyoko away. Then he realized something else.

She was really pretty.

[readyplayerhobi]

Flower | 06

; Hoseok x Reader

; Genre: Fluff, slight angst

; Word Count: 2.7k

; Synopsis: You finally decide to take a dip into the world of online dating and find the Flower dating app. One of the top matches for you proves to be a guy who looks to be your complete opposite; tattooed, pierced, a metalhead and oh…incredibly handsome. What happens when you throw caution to the wind and reach out to him?

; A/N: Another part :D please let me know what you think and all that jazz. If you enjoyed it, please consider reblogging to let others find it too! :)

; Flower Masterpost

-

You don’t get very long to swoon over the date to yourself, for the very next morning you wake up to an abundance of texts from your two very impatient best friends. It’s a wonder your phone has any battery left given how many messages they’d sent into the group chat you all shared and it’s with more than a little bemusement that you respond to them both by asking if they’d sent enough.

That had only inspired a barrage of even more messages, leading to you simply telling them both to come over. They would have done that anyway, you knew that, but the official invitation at least gave them the excuse that they were wanted.

Which they were, because of course you wanted to gush and squeal to them along with analyse every bit of the previous nights date. It had been too late when you came home for them to come over and you’d felt tired, bone-weary even. Unlike your effervescent friends, you often liked to say that you had a social battery.

You were happy to socialise with people you got on with and understood until that battery depleted, upon which you simply wanted to go home and recharge. People took a lot out of you, and events like last night were particularly draining for you due to your nerves.

As such, you’d gone to sleep at 11pm and ended up sleeping straight through till 10am, completely oblivious to the impatience of your best friends. But now they were here, in the living room of your small apartment and practically sitting on you in their desperation to hear all about your night of debauchery.

That was a joke, they knew you well enough to know that would never happen.

Though they had been thoroughly entertained by his dick vomit story. Poor guy. He hadn’t even met them and now he was forever associated with a story like...that. You’d apologise whenever you saw him again, or at least before they ever got to introduce themselves.

Still, it was fun though as you retold the events of the night to them. They were charmed by the fact he’d taken you to an escape room and you knew that it meant a lot to them that he’d been so careful and sweet regarding your shy personality. The fact that you were talking about him with such enthusiasm and that tiny smile that said you were trying to hold back a grin told them everything and you sensed their overwhelming happiness for you.

“I can’t believe you went on a rant about to milk an almond.” Chungha groans, dainty hand slapping at her forehead before she runs her fingers through her long, ice-blonde hair. Her face was completely empty of makeup but you’d already promised her that you’d do it for her later. She had a date herself tonight, which you and Soyeon were pleased about.

Unlike you though, she’d met this guy through her work. You hoped it would be good for her though, even if boyfriends did often take your friends away from you for a while. 

“Well he started it. Or did I? I don’t remember. Either way, he completely agreed with me. The first people to do things must have been truly wild. I mean, think about it. Who was the first person to look at a cow’s udder and go ‘...I’m gonna have me some of that!’” You point out, eyes wide as you tried to convince them of your point.

Both of them just stared at you before Soyeon sighed deeply, flopping back onto the couch and shifting until her fluffy sock covered feet were in your lap. You pushed at them lightly, nose turning up but she ignored you completely, just letting out a deep groan.

“I mean...you’re not wrong. It is weird. But that is so not first date conversation!” She lets out another groan that sounds almost like it comes from her stomach and you feel your body heat up in embarrassment.

“Well he didn’t complain. If anything, he encouraged it. Asked me how do you milk an oat?” Your voice is defensive, lips pursed in a petulant pout and there’s silence from them both for a minute. And then Chungha is running her fingers down your arm with a defeated smile, shaking her head.

“It sounds like you’ve got a winner there girl.” Everything goes quiet for a few minutes after that and you feel the stirring of anxiety and panic in your stomach that you’d done something wrong. It only takes the tiniest signal from your brain before your body goes into overdrive, muscles tightening while everything feels like a livewire and your mind begins to run over the date obsessively, picking over anything that you think you were too forward or stupid on.

Anything to prove that you’d made an idiot out of yourself and that you would never hear from Jung Hoseok again.

“Do you think I messed up?” The words are so soft, every syllable laced tightly with fear and worry as you stare down at the fuzzy pink socks Soyeon is wearing. They have prancing unicorns on them and pretty rainbows. You’d bought her them for Christmas last year and had a matching pair of your own in your extensive sock drawer.

The two of them don’t need to be experts to hear the vulnerability in your voice and they’ve both known you long enough to know that your mind is compulsively finding ways to convince you that everything went wrong. That Hoseok had been weirded out by you and didn’t want to see you again, despite his commitment to texting you.

Guys did that, didn’t they? Said they’d text or call and never did.

Maybe it was a stereotype or something. Who knows. But the sickness in your stomach tells you that it’s probably true here.

“Hey, hey no. Don’t do this. Don’t do it sweetie, don’t you dare take a good and fun date like that and twist it negative in that pretty head of yours. It genuinely sounds like you both had a great time. And you said yourself that he didn’t complain about your conversations, he even encouraged them and went along with you! He sounds like a great guy!” Chungha says earnestly, grasping your hand tightly between her own and squeezing with an encouraging smile.

Soyeon pokes at your stomach with a toe, giving you her own smile from where her head rests on the large Pusheen pillow that sits with pride on your couch. You hate touching feet so you don’t do anything, simply give her a glare that just causes her to smile prettily.

Unlike Chungha, she has nothing this afternoon so has decreed that she will be spending her time with you instead. You both had a ton of true crime documentaries to watch on Netflix!

“He does. And he walked you to your car. Besides all that, you sound into him. Don’t talk yourself out of it.” Chewing on your lip, you let out a quiet hum and shrug your shoulders. As much as you love your best friends, it was sometimes frustrating when all you wanted to do was vent and be negative when they were so persistent on cheering you up.

You knew why they were doing it, and you appreciated it. But getting out of your slumps had always been hard. And your mind found it far easier to destroy happy moments than to let go of the negative.

“Yeah but…” Chungha places her hand over your mouth gently, pressing just hard enough that you can’t say anything before raising her brows with a soothing smile. 

“No but’s. They’re not allowed in this conversation. Not unless you want to tell us what his butt was like. I mean...did you see it? Not naked obviously, but like...you know...in his jeans. Some guys have amazing asses.” And with that, you chuckle, the looming aura of sadness still prevalent inside you but momentarily pushed aside as you recall her ex. He had indeed been blessed with an ass.

“Ahh...unfortunately not. He looks like one of those guys who’s...moderately blessed in that department. Not that I was looking. Well I was totally looking. But he fills his jeans nicely, so there’s that.”

“Yeah but he has tattoos and piercings. That makes up for any lack of bubble butt. Besides, you don’t wanna date a guy with a better ass than you. That’s just depressing. Think of the squat envy you’d have.” That comes from your splayed out friend, slapping her own thighs with a pout and you roll your eyes at her, thoroughly amused.

“Please, you don’t have to worry about any butt envy or anything. Your ass is fine. My ass has too much going on anyway, maybe I should give some to him.” You lightly pinch Soyeon’s leg, laughing as she yelped and then pouted at you, rubbing at the place before waving her feet in your face.

Immediately you’re recoiling away, landing almost on top of Chungha who just watches you both playfight with exasperation.

“Maybe so, but it’s nice to have something to grip you know? Both male and female.” Soyeon says with a grin, wiggling her brows at you suggestively and you heat up at the idea of grabbing Hoseok’s ass like that. And then you think about him grabbing yours and you can practically feel the ghost of his hands on you.

It makes you shudder in delight, the fantasy a wonderful image and Soyeon giggles as she feels the movement from you.

“Oooh, you like that. You wanna touch Hoseok’s ass?” She teases and you stick your tongue out at her childishly.

“Okay...in the interest of honesty...I want to lick every tattoo he has until I’ve committed them all to memory and then just...bite him. Anywhere. I don’t even care where. Oh god, his neck. Guys...his neck is just so freaking...urgh. And his fingers! Argh, they’re just...long and perfect and all I could think was…” You break off then, body heating as you squirm at the thought of everything you’d just said while you press your hands to your hot cheeks, embarrassed at what you’d blurted out.

Everything was the truth and you knew that they could tell. What you most certainly were not telling them was that you’d imagined tracing along his tattoos with your tongue. Which had then led on to a delightful fantasy of him pleasuring you with his own tongue, that delightful ball piercing combining with those long fingers in your mind until his name had been a gasped prayer of satisfaction and pleasure in the quietness of the night.

And then suddenly your phone vibrates, the sound loud on the table in front of you and all three of you jump in alarm at it. There’s a moment of silence before you all look at each other and laugh, feeling ridiculous that you’d all gotten scared of a phone notification of all things.

Reaching out, you grunt as Soyeon accidentally kicks you in the stomach before your fingers grasp your phone. Your friends were adamant that your phone case was uncool, but you didn’t care. You liked the flip phone case, the design a cute and overly cartoonish strawberry in hot pink and mint green.

Eyes widening, you stare at the lit-lock screen in disbelief before Chungha is poking at your arm, leaning over to try and see what’s got you so shocked.

“What is it? Has your dad accidentally posted in your family chat again?” Yeah, he was never living that moment down when he’d accidentally sent a sext that was supposed to be for your mom into your family group chat. “Is it...oh my god. It’s him! Soyeon! He’s texted!”

Her squeal is appallingly loud, causing you to turn and glare at her yet you can’t find it in yourself to shush her. Because you want to squeal loudly as well as she’s right, it’s Hoseok. He’s texted. Like he said he was.

“Isn’t it supposed to be too over eager to text the next day?” Is all you say, your tone confused and you recognise that what you’ve just said it stupid. But you can’t think properly right now because all you feel is pure elation that sizzles and crackles in your veins, the nausea of panic earlier to now turn into nausea of excitement while you try your hardest not to smile.

He’d texted. Just like he said he would.

“Oh shut up woman. Are you seriously gonna turn him down messaging you?! This a sign he likes you! Really likes you! It’s not even noon and the man is trying to talk with you again! Answer him!” Soyeon says and you realise that she’s gotten up, peering over your shoulder at your phone screen as well.

Quietly, you unlock your phone and read the message from him a few times before licking your lips and responding.

Jung Hoseok [11:23am]: Hi. So...about that Instagram?

Jung Hoseok [11:23am]: Also, I know you’re not meant to double text but...last night was fun.

The second text comes in before you can properly respond and your eyes widen, noting that he seems to be pretty eager just like they’d said. Or at least...being polite.

Y/N [11:24am]: Hi...same. Hope I wasn’t too...weird

You send him your Instagram handle as well, wondering whether or not you’d posted any dumb photos on there recently. Before you can get too worked up over it though, you push the thought firmly away and decide that he’ll just have to put up with it. He didn’t seem to have been bothered by your quirks last night, and if he wanted to pursue anything further then you’d rather he realise sooner than later.

Jung Hoseok [11:26am]: Nah, you were fine. Best first date I’ve ever had

Jung Hoseok [11:27am]: I also found this out this morning and thought you’d like to hear, Fact Queen

Jung Hoseok [11:29am]: Did you know...Stan Lee almost made the Power Rangers. Saw it on a documentary I’m watching

Y/N: [11:30am]: The Toys That Made Us? On Netflix? It’s great!

Jung Hoseok [11:32am]: It is! Thought I’d tell you anyway

Y/N [11:33am]: :)

He goes quiet after that and you realise that your friends have both been sat silent, holding their breath as they read the conversation between you both. And when you look at them, your eyes widen when you see the matching broad grins they wear.

There’s a second of hesitation before they both squeal and wrap their arms around you tightly, squeezing you so hard.

“Oh my god! He so likes you! He gets you! Oh my god! Girl! You’ve lucked out!!” Chungha shrieks, shaking you violently by the shoulders while Soyeon is slapping your arm lightly in her excitement. Their positive energy is infectious and you find yourself laughing in response, the happiness inside you bubbling higher at Hoseok’s words.

He’d enjoyed last night. Really enjoyed it, if he was to be believed.

And not only did he not mind your weird sense of humour or fact based response mechanism, but he reciprocated it with something he thought you might find interesting. It made you feel warm and gooey.

Another vibration causes you to look down at your phone again, noting that there’s no new message this time from him. Instead, you see that someone called ‘jungsevenfold’ has followed you on Instagram.

Clicking on it, you see that it’s Hoseok’s profile. And just like his Facebook, it’s a hodgepodge of casual photos of him and his friends and more artistic and aesthetic photography shots. Shyly, you follow him back and then note the notifications that pop up on the bottom.

“Oh...my god. This guy is gonna be whipped for you.” Soyeon snorts and you heat up in embarrassment, wanting to deny her but unsure how to.

Because he’d already viewed and liked at least 5 of your images. And he’d even left a comment on the photo you’d taken before you left for the date last night, the angle and light perfect to make your make-up and outfit look its best.

jungsevenfold: beautiful! :)

[weasleysimp394]

A Comfortable Silence [C.D.]

Cedric Diggory x Fem Hufflepuff Reader 

Word Count: 1.7k

TW: some shouting and aggression, some swearing

A/N: Hiii! I had this idea today, and I just had to share it with you guys! I hope you enjoy! A couple paragraphs in, I really liked the name Lacy for this character!

____________

“Ozwald, Lacy!”  

Your legs danced in anticipation as Professor McGonagall placed a beaten and weathered hat on your head. It slipped down your face and covered your eyes, then shouted “HUFFLEPUFF” with no hesitation. Loud cheers erupted from a table with students in yellow and black robes, but your face fell as you stood up and trudged over to an empty seat next to the house ghost. The fat friar congratulated you and welcomed you to Hufflepuff, “the best house of them all” with a wink. You mustered a weak smile and watched as Diggory, Cedric was sorted and ran over excitedly to join your ranks.

You felt an elbow nudge you and you jerked back into awareness as your charms partner scolded you for zoning out. You glanced at the ravenclaw emblem on his robes and squared your shoulders. “Just because you’re smart doesn’t mean you have to be a bloody git about it.” you lashed. Your partner’s jaw dropped to the floor as you perfectly performed the charm he had been hopefully practicing, and failing, for the past 15 minutes. You grinned smugly at your partner’s shock and watched as Professor Flitwick stood atop his pile of books and assigned homework. He dismissed everyone, and you gathered your books, shouldering past a group of giggly Gryffindor girls. 

“Wait! Lacy!” You looked over your shoulder and saw a hufflepuff boy running through the crowd, trying desperately to catch up to you. You rolled your eyes as you recognized him. Cedric Diggory. The boy who never gave up on trying to unearth your “sweet side” or whatever the hell he saw in you. Annoying as shit, really. You picked up your bag and quickly shoved your books in it as you heard Cedric’s shouts get louder. You broke into a sprint and ran to the moving staircases. They’re dead useful for trying to shake off someone who’s chasing you, you thought to yourself.

Not this time though. As you were taking the stairs two at a time, you didn’t notice all of your quills falling out of your bag. You had gained significant ground on Cedric, and looked down at him, three flights below you. But your plan of gloating was quickly squashed, and your face quickly turned to that of fury when you saw Cedric grinning at you and waggling one of your quills at you, a flashy grin spread across his face. 

You walked down the three flights of stairs and crossed your arms, looking at Cedric expectantly. “Give me my quills back Diggory.” He smiled and handed them to you, and before you could stop him, he slipped a warm ball of foil into your bag and ran down the moving staircases, taking them three at a time “Enjoy the brownie Lace!”. Infuriated, you unwrapped the foil to see a steaming hunk of some sort of chocolate dessert, apparently called a brownie. Must be some muggle recipe. “Don’t call me Lace!! And stop being nice to me!!” you wrapped the brownie back up and shoved it back into your bag. You’d give it to one of the girls in your dormitory or something, they all loved Cedric. 

You proceeded up the stairs to your last class of the day, Tranfiguration. You earned a disapproving look from Professor McGonagall when your pin turned into a wasp instead of the assigned bumblebee. Your mind had been on the brownie currently burning a hole in your bag, and your confusion over the boy who gave it to you burned a hole in your head.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

a couple years passed, and ever since that day with the brownie, you avoided Cedric like the plague. He never stopped trying to get you to open up, and for the past month, every time he came near you, you put a silencing charm on him. Your friends always got a kick out of this, and you ignored the hurt look on his face. They were all in different houses, and after you started hanging out with them, you quickly earned a reputation as the “mean hufflpuff” Your roommates avoided you, which you were fine with, and you always snuck over to the other tables for meals. Your housemates didn’t talk to you, you didn’t cheer for them at quidditch games, and the only thing that still tied you to them were your yellow robes. You compensated for this by getting a stick-and-poke of a coiled snake on your neck.

“Lacy! Lacy” you rolled your eyes and shoved your hand into the pocket of your robes. “where’s my wand?” you muttered to yourself, then smacked yourself for leaving your wand at Care Of Magical Creatures. There was nothing you could do to avoid him. The moving staircases were being cleaned for the next hour, your wand was gone, and your friends were no where to be found. Cedric ran up to you, panting, trying to catch his breath. He looked warily at your hand in your pocket, and your heart panged with guilt. You held your hands up, showing your wandlessness. “left it in care of magical creatures” you said, and he quickly looked much more relaxed. Cedric pulled out his wand and before you could stop him, he muttered “silencio”, then grabbed your hand. You recoiled and shot him a look full of icy daggers. He pointed his wand at you again. “I don’t usually use tactics like this, but you’re a special case Ozwald.” he winked at you. Your heart fluttered. WHAT WAS THAT you screamed at yourself internally and responded to Cedric’s wink with your usual grimace.

“Come with me or I’ll hex you.” you stood unmoving, not impressed by the popular hufflepuff boy’s threats. Cedric held out his hand once more “Come with me and I won’t tell Professor Snape who used his squid ink for a stick-and-poke tattoo.” he said with a look of triumph. You wearily took his hand, and he led you to a quiet spot on the hogwarts grounds. He threw a handkerchief on the ground beneath a tree and transfigured it into a soft blanket. Then you both sat down, and you gave him a look of impatience. Cedric smiled and apologized. “I’m sorry for blackmailing you and hexing you, but I need to talk to you. And even if you don’t know it, i think you need to talk to me too.” He paused, then continued. “I’m going to cast the counter-charm now, because I want you to talk to me. Why do you push everyone away and pretend like you don’t care about anyone?” 

Cedric raised his wand and braced himself for the shouting fit he knew you were about to have. “finite incantatem.”

You touched your throat and looked over at Cedric, who dragged you all this way. Just because..

wait. 

why did he drag you all this way?

"That desperate for a date Diggory?" you spat, not stopping there. “Desperate enough to drag the ‘mean hufflepuff’ down to the lake for picnic by blackmailing her, then you forget to bring the food” Cedric looked at you, speechless. His gaze fell back to his shoes. “I dragged you down here because ever since that day when we were second years, i knew that you needed me. You need me because the sorting hat chose you for a reason. And I know that you, Lacy Ozwald, are a kind person underneath the walls you’ve built to shut everyone out.” He leaned back on his hands, then smiled at you. “and you’re not the ‘mean hufflepuff’ Lacy. You never were. You just need a real friend.” 

You glanced at Cedric, then laid on your back and stared at the clouds. You both sat in a comfortable silence for a while. Watching the clouds as you gathered your thoughts. Then, finally, you spoke. “I push everyone away so that they can’t know me. If no one is close to me, then they won’t know the real me. No one can know that I-” you picked at the hufflepuff crest adorning your sleeve, “don’t deserve this. Hufflepuff’s characteristics are Kind, Loyal, Patient, and Hardworking. That’s not me. That’s my parents. That’s you. My whole life, both of my parents have told me how great Hufflepuff is, and how proud I should be when the hat hits my head and I continue their stupid legacy in the greatest hogwarts house. But obviously that’s not how it happened. As soon as the hat shouted Hufflepuff I knew that i was in over my head. I don’t deserve to be here, I’m a terrible person, and i’ve ruined my parents’ ‘legacy’” a single tear slid down your cheek, and you quickly wiped it away.

Cedric’s heart broke for you, as he watched your walls slowly crumble. When you had finished, he saw the tear before you could wipe it. He didn’t hesitate to go over to you, and sit down next to you. He held out his arms, welcoming you into his embrace. You looked at him warily, then curled up against him and let your tears flow onto his grey Hogwarts sweater. Cedric watched you and gently played with your hair. “I’m so proud of you for finally telling me Lace. The sorting hat chose you for a reason. The sorting hat chose you because it knew that you are a hufflepuff, and if you weren’t then you wouldn’t be here. Additionally, all that stuff about not ‘deserving to be here’ is bullshit. Hufflepuff welcomes everyone with a good heart. Your parents shouldn’t have put that sort of pressure on you, you’re not them.” Cedric lifted your head and wiped away your tears, then kissed your cheek.

You sniffled and wiped your nose. “That was pathetic Diggory.” you laughed. Then kissed him before he could register his shock, your lips dancing together. “thank you” you said. Cedric smiled and squeezed your hand. You sat together in a comfortable silence.

____________

Hi thanks for reading! Be on the lookout for part two!

have a magical day loves! 💛

[amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines]

Sweet Pea//Fix You

Request: :O <3 i love your blog, if you're not swamped, maybe a Reader/Fangs or Sweet Pea, you fix up his clothes/him when he get into fights, ya know that scene from Holes, the “I can fix that scene” with Sam and Kissing Kate Barlow, basically that ideally without the angst ending though. i dunno if this helps or not, but like basically you fix his clothes/ whenever he gets hurt and he like helps you with school work/learning how to fight (or whatever) and eventually you confess you have a crush on someone and he offers to help, the scene from holes is like hella sad tho so like maybe not with a sad ending? or maybe depending how you're feeling

I tried but I’m sorry if its not what you wanted. I wasn’t really sure what I was doing so I just kinda put the request together with what I could find and wrote whatever worked. Its more loosely based on it. I hope you still like it though! 

The first time you met Sweet Pea you were having the worst day imaginable. You had missed the bus into school so you had to walk, it had rained for the entire journey to school, only stopping once you’d made it in indoors so you had to spend the rest of the day in wet clothes, somebody had chucked their lunch on you and now you were sat in detention. The only reason you were in there was because you were failing Math. You had tried talking to the teacher but he just ignored you and accused you of ‘having an attitude’ so he sent you to detention. 

“It was Mantle’s fault!” The door to detention swung open and a very angry boy stormed in. His head was bleeding, he had a bruise staring to from on his right eye and his knuckles were starting to bruise too. You also noticed the serpent tattoo on his neck and gulped. 

Three teachers followed him into the room and he stood at the front, his arms folded and an expression that could kill someone if they were on the receiving end of it. 

“Sweet Pea, sit down.” 

“Hell no! I didn’t do anything.” 

“Sweet Pea you punched Mr Mantle in the face repeatedly.” 

“Because he did this to me!” He pointed to his eye. “And this!” He motioned to his head. 

“Because you called him a, wait what did you call him?” 

“A dick.” He stated simply and you snorted, gaining the attention of the three teachers and Sweet Pea. Sweet Pea sent you a cheeky grin and you felt your cheeks heat up. 

“Miss y/l/n? Is there something funny?” One of the teachers asked and you shook your head quickly. 

“No Sir. Sorry.” You replied and put your head down, pretending to do your homework. 

“I only called him a dick because he called me Southside scum and he told me and my friends to slither back to the Southside. But you’re gonna pretend like you didn’t hear that because all Northsiders stick together. You’re all the damn same.” He scoffed and the teachers rolled their eyes.  “Well apart from that one.” He pointed in your direction and you looked at him, he winked at you before directing his attention back to the teachers in front of him. 

“Just stay here.” One of them shook their head. 

“Whatever.” He replied and sat down beside you. After they left he pulled his phone out and started to text. You continued to do your Math homework for a few minutes before letting out a frustrated groan. “Whats up?” He asked and you jumped. “I’m not gonna hurt you.” He said annoyed and you shook your head. 

“I didn’t think you would. I just forgot you were here.” 

“Wow. I really need to work on my first impressions if you forgot about me that quickly.” He sighed and you smiled softly at him. “Whats up?” 

“I can’t do this stupid math problem.” You sighed and pointed at the paper in front of you. He looked over your shoulder, reading the question before he spoke again. 

“Oh, thats easy.” He replied casually and you raised an eyebrow. “What? Do you think because I’m from the Southside I’m stupid?” 

“No. I think that whoever can do this is a genius and I’m confused that I met someone who has said its easy.” You replied and he looked at you confused. “You are very judgmental for someone who is constantly judged.” You raised an eyebrow and he held his hands up defensively. 

“Just the way I was raised.” He shrugged. “Anyway, you carry the 1, and then multiply by the 5 and you get the answer.” He explained. 

“Oh.” You stated surprised and wrote the answer down. “Thanks.” You smiled brightly at him. 

“No problem.” He shrugged. A couple more minutes went by and you could feel him staring at you while you did the rest of your work. 

“Can I help you with something?” You asked, not looking up from your paper. 

“Just wondering why somebody like you is in detention.” 

“Mr Ward from Maths sent me.” You sighed. 

“Why?” 

“Because I’m falling Maths.” You grumbled and he looked at you confused. 

“He seems like a dick.” 

“Yep.” You agreed, chewing on the end of your pen. 

“I can punch him if you want?” 

“Its fine.” You reassured him. “I think I’ll be okay.” 

“The offer is always there if you want it.” He shrugged. “I punched a few teachers back at Southside High.” He continued and you laughed loudly. 

“Oh, you were being serious?” You asked when you noticed the look on his face. 

“Yeah? How else are you gonna be first in line at lunch?” He said casually and your eyes widened. “Joking.” He laughed. “Thats not the real reason I punched them.” 

“Right.” 

“So, what are you gonna do about Math?” He asked and you sighed. 

“I dunno. Probably find a tutor.” 

“Look no further.” He smiled at you. 

“You?” 

“Me.” 

“You wanna tutor me?” 

“Yeah.” He nodded. “You seem alright for a Northsider, plus you seem well liked...” 

“Not by Maths teachers apparently.” 

“Not by Maths teachers no, but by everyone else. And if they see us together, they might start to accept serpents. Soooo. Do we have a deal?” He asked and stuck his hand out towards you. 

You smiled brightly at him before shaking his hand. “Deal!” 

“Great. Here’s my number.” He handed you a piece of paper before standing up. 

“Where you going?” You asked. 

“I’m not gonna sit in here until they come back and tell me that I have sit in here longer. I have a life.” He winked making you laugh. 

“See you around, Northsider.” 

“My names Y/n.” 

“See you Y/n.” He opened the door, sending you one last smile before leaving. Five minute passed before the door opened again and Sweet Pea came back, cursing to himself. 

“You okay?” You asked. 

“Great.” He looked at you and you noticed another cut on his lip. 

“Sweet Pea!” Mrs walker shouted.

“Here we go.” He muttered. 

“You not only left detention when you were specifically told not to, but when you did, you punched the same person you did before.” 

“He’s just that much of a dick.” He shrugged and you held in a laugh.

“Don’t leave again.” 

“Yes Sir...I mean Miss.” He smiled sarcastically at her and she scoffed before leaving. Sweet Pea looked at you and you both burst into laughter. 

“Did you really go and punch Reggie again?” 

“Yeah. I feel like he didn’t really get what he deserved the first time.” 

“I get that.” You nodded. “Your face looks pretty bad.” 

“That was a terrible attempt at flirting.” 

“Shut up.” You blushed. “I didn’t mean like that.” 

“I know.” 

“Let me clean you up.” You stood up and he looked at you confused. 

“Do you have a first-aid kit in your bag?” He asked sarcastically and you rolled your eyes. 

“No. We’re gonna go to the bathroom and I’ll fix you up.” You replied and he raised an eyebrow. 

“We only met twenty minute ago and your asking me to go into the woman’s bathroom with you. At least buy me dinner first.” He smirked and you laughed. 

“You wish.” You snorted. “Now come with me.” You opened the door and poked your head out. “Its okay.” You smiled behind you and jumped when you realized how close he was. 

“The Northside is a badass. Well this day has taken an unexpected turn.”

“It really has.” You mumbled. 

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

“Y/n?” A familiar voice shouted through the letterbox and you looked at the door confused. Today had been your fifth tutoring session and it had gone pleasantly well. You’d studied for about two hours before Sweet Pea had gone home, however now, almost three hours later he was back and knocking on your door frantically. 

“What did you forget?” You asked and opened the door, leaning against the frame. You gasped when you took in his appearance. 

“Do I really look that bad?” He grimaced and you shook your head. He was bruised, bleeding and muddy. 

“Come in.” You opened the door properly so he could enter. “I can fix that.” You said, he followed you to your bathroom and sat on the bath. “So what happened this time?” 

“Some guys ran into my fist.” He shrugged and you raised an eyebrow. “Fine, maybe they ran into my knife too.” He added and you shook your head, getting the first-aid kit from the cabinet. 

“This is gonna hurt.” You told him, wiping the cut on his cheek with an antiseptic wipe. 

“Ow!” 

“You big baby.” You rolled your eyes and continued to dab at his cheek. 

“It hurts you know.” He defended, and pulled away from you slightly. 

You grabbed his chin and pulled him back. “Remind me, how many fights have you been in?” 

“Shut up.” He muttered and you laughed. 

“Ya know, if you wanted to see me outside the tutoring sessions you only had to ask. There was no need to get yourself beaten up.” 

“Wow, you saw right through me.” He deadpanned and you laughed. “I thought maybe I should get something out of tutoring you.” 

“Apart from feeling like you’re helping someone and getting to spend time with me?” 

“Yeah.” He nodded and you rolled your eyes. You’d moved to the other cuts on his face and thankfully he’d stopped moving so much. 

“So, what? You tutor me and I patch you up every time you get in a fight?” 

“Basically.” He nodded. 

“Well I’m glad you’re taking full advantage of that arrangement.” You motioned towards his bruises and he laughed, instantly holding his chest. “Take your shirt off.” You ordered. 

“Thats a little forward don’t you think?” 

“We’ve had five tutoring sessions now, we’re practically married.” You replied and he giggled. You could have sworn you saw him blush at the mention of marriage but decided not to say anything. “I’m not gonna ask again Sweet Pea.” You told him and turned away from him to put the used wipes in the bin. 

“Oooo. I like a woman who takes control.” He smirked and took his shirt off. 

“I bet you do.” You replied and turned back around. You became slightly breathless at the sight of a shirtless Sweet Pea sat in front of you and you had to stop yourself from staring to much. Your fingers traced his bruises and you felt his breath hitch. Looking up at him, his eyes flickered from your eyes to your lips before looking behind you. 

“Is it okay if I use your shower?” He asked, breaking you out of your daze. 

“Yeah. Of course.” You stuttered. “There’s not much I can do for your chest.” You told him and he smiled. “I’ll bring you some towels.” You said quickly and left. Once you came back he had put the shower on and was awkwardly stood beside it in his boxers. “Here you go. My rooms in there if you need me, but you already knew that because this is an en suite.” You rambled and he laughed. 

“I’ll try not to get lost.” He smiled at you and you laughed awkwardly before leaving. 

Twenty minutes later he walked out the bathroom with the clothes he had on before. 

“I think showering was pointless if you’re wearing the same clothes as you were beforehand.” 

“What can you do?” He shrugged. “I don’t have my serpent jacket on though. Thats different.” 

“Are you gonna start twitching?” You teased and he rolled his eyes. 

“You’re so funny.” He said sarcastically. “The snake on the back has been ripped slightly.” He sighed. 

“Let me look.” You told him and he gave you his jacket. You looked at the back and smiled. “I can fix that.” 

“Really?” He asked hopefully. “You can sew?” 

“Yeah.” You nodded. “My dad taught me.” You shrugged. “I can fix it tonight and bring it round tomorrow when I come over for tutoring?” 

“That’d be great.” He smiled. “You’re the best.” 

“I know.” 

“I could kiss you!” 

“Please don’t.” You teased and he looked at the ground. 

“I dunno why I said that.” He mumbled. 

“Its fine Sweet Pea.” You laughed. “Oh, by the way I have a test on Monday.” 

“Thats fine. We can fit everything in.” He reassured you and you let out a sigh of relief. 

“Great!” 

“Great!” He repeated. “I’ll, err, I’ll see you tomorrow.” He smiled and you returned it. 

“See you tomorrow.” You walked him to the front door. 

“Please don’t forget my jacket.” 

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” You replied and kissed his cheek. Both of you blushed profusely before quickly saying your goodbyes. “What the fuck was that?” You asked to nobody and leaned your head against the door. 

The next day you were at Sweet Pea’s early. You had been tossing and turning all night, thinking about what had happened before he left and it was fair to say you had completely fallen for him. 

Your thoughts were interrupted by Sweet Pea opening the door and smiling at you. 

“You’re early.” He looked at you confused and you smiled. 

“I thought you could teach me over breakfast at Pops.” You shrugged. 

“I’d love to. I mean, you’re buying me breakfast not dinner but I suppose it’ll do.” He laughed and you rolled your eyes. “I’ll get changed.” He let you into the trailer and you walked into the living room. “Oh, did you bring my jacket?” He asked and you smiled at him before turning around. 

“What do you think I’m wearing.” You pointed to the back and he laughed. You turned around to see him smiling softly at you. “I thought it would be easier than carrying.” You shrugged. “What do you think? Could I be a serpent?” You asked expectantly. “Sweet Pea?” You said loudly and he shook his head. “What do you say? Could I be a serpent.” 

“Of course.” He nodded and you smile brightly at him. 

“I’m the best though. Obviously.” 

“Oh. Obviously.” You agreed and he laughed before going to get changed. 

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

“Sweet Pea!” You shouted and opened the classroom door. “Oh thank god you’re in here. I have interrupted five classes already.” You walked in and sat beside him. “Wait, why are you in detention?” 

“Why’d you think?” 

“Fighting?” You guessed and he nodded. “Let me look.” 

“I’m fine. Its not that bad.” 

“Sweet Pea. Let me fix you. Its our thing now.” 

“Fine.” He rolled his eyes before looking at you. You cupped his cheek so you could look at him properly and sighed before reaching into your bag. 

“I thought you said you didn’t have a first-aid kit in your bag.” 

“I didn’t, not until I met you.” You replied and he laughed. 

“Sorry.” 

“Its fine.” You laughed and started to clean him up. 

“Why did you need me?” 

“Oh.” You said excitedly. “We finally got our grades back from Maths and I got a B!” You grinned and his face lit up. 

“Thats great!”

“I know! Thank you Pea.” You hugged him and he wrapped his arms around your waist. He could get used to this. 

“Pea, huh? Thats new.” 

“I thought you deserved it after helping me get a B.” 

“I’m honoured.” 

“You should be.” You replied and continued to clean his face. “Now we need you to get an A.” 

“That should be easy. You’ll have tutored me in no time.” 

“Yeah.” He said sadly and you looked at him concerned. 

“Whats up?” You asked. 

“Nothing.” He shrugged. 

“Sweet Pea. We have spent months together, I know when something’s wrong.” 

“Fine.” He sighed. “But if I tell you, you can’t tell anyone.” 

“I promise.” 

“I’m gonna miss hanging out with you.” 

“I can fix that.” You smiled.

“How-” He started but you place a finger over his lips to shush him. 

“Sweet Pea. Will you do the honour of being my friend?” You asked dramatically and he laughed. 

“I do!” He agreed. “I thought you’d never ask!” 

“You’ve just made me the happiest woman in the world.” 

“If we’re friends we need to do something to prove it.”

“Huh?” 

“I do this with all of my friends. We tell a secret about ourselves.” He explained. 

“Is that why you’ve only got two friends?” You asked sarcastically and he glared at you. “Fine. Tell me a secret.” 

“I cried at Titanic. I always do.” He admitted, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks. You laughed loudly and he rolled his eyes. 

“You cry at Titanic?” You asked. 

“Its a sad film!” He defended and you laughed louder. 

“Thats so cute.” You cooed and he cursed at you. 

“Tell me your secret.” 

“I have a crush on someone.” You shrugged and instantly regretted it. 

His eyes widened and he moved away from you, patching him up was completely forgotten about. “Who is it? Maybe I can help.”

“Nobody.” You shrugged. 

“Its definitely someone, your blushing just thinking about them.” He pointed at your cheeks and you swatted him away. “So tell me who it is.” 

“It doesn’t matter.” 

“Why?” 

“Because they don’t like me like that.” 

“How do you know? Have you asked them?” 

“Well no, but-.” 

“But nothing.” 

“But I know he doesn’t like me like that. I’m not exactly his type.” You replied and turned away from him. A few tears rolled down your cheeks as you busied yourself with something else. 

“Y/n.” He touched your shoulder and you turned around. “Please don’t cry. No boy is ever worth you crying over.” He wiped your tears away and you leaned into his touch. “Tell me about him.” 

“He’s sweet and kind and cute, and just perfect” You rambled and Sweet Pea felt his heart break. “He’s too perfect for me.” You mumbled. 

“Nobody is too perfect for you. If anything...” He moved closer to you, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear. “You’re too perfect for him.” 

“I don’t think so.” You whispered and leaned towards him. 

“If its who I hope it is, then you’re definitely too perfect for him.” He continued and your breath hitched. Your lips ghosted over his and he looked you in the eye. A few tears remained on your cheek and he looked you in the eye before mumbling “I can fix that”, and kissing you sweetly. 

[boogiewrites]

Uptown Girl

Young Alfie Solomons One Shot

Word Count: 18,100+

Summary:   My imagining of a young Alfie Solomons, finding his way in the East End as a boxer. He meets a West End girl, Lucy, who represents everything he's not, everything he wishes he could be. A young love blooms, feeling lost in their own world together where it doesn't matter what's expected of her or what religion he is. But soon, they're both faced with the hard truth of the world they live in as they're faced with the wrath of Lucy's mother and the effects of WW1. It's stated in the story, but neither are underage. Alfie would canonically be around 22-23 at the time and Lucy is nearly 20.

Warnings/Tags: FLUFF. ANGST. Explicit Sexual Content: Loss of Viriginity. Boxing/Fighting. Language. Period-typical sexism. Antisemitism. Young love. Romance. Lovers Reunited. Happy ending. 

My One Shot for Valentine’s Day and for hitting another follower milestone!

Click on my icon then go to my Mobile Masterlist in my bio for my other works. (Had to do this since Tumblr killed links, sorry.)

Lucy sat in the midst of a dirty, dusty, testosterone filled room full of shouting and drunk men from the east side of London. She sat with her hands clasped in her lap with wide blinking eyes trying to look like she wasn't scared of this new sort of people she found herself surrounded with. Her best friend from childhood, Marnie was next to her, shouting and cheering on her boyfriend who was currently in the ring in front of them in a boxing match. Lucy had never seen such a thing before. Men hitting each other until they were blue and bleeding for money? It was such a shocking truth to see it that she found herself studying the shiny new shoes she'd worn under a pastel dress that would most certainly need to be scrubbed after she got home.

Marnie had always been the adventurous one. A real opposite to Lucy's cautious and sheltered life. Lucy often wondered why they were friends at all, except for having grown up next to each other, they were quite different. But Marnie's father had earned his wealth off the labor of his own back, not being born into it like Lucy's parents. The linger bit of East End wisdom she'd received from him as she grew up was apparent with the way she blended in. The differences didn't seem so strikingly obvious until they'd ventured into womanhood together. Marnie was a mess of anger and hormones, staying out late, smoking and playing cards and flirting with every boy that looked her way. Lucy had, up to this point, been well behaved and meek. Taught by her father to be a prim and proper lady and a well-to-do gentleman would come and ask for her hand and all she would have to worry about were babies and keeping a home. But with the recent passing of her father, causing her to question everything about her own wants and desires with being left to own devices. Her mother now too busy trying to tie up loose ends from his sudden passing. Lucy found herself full of compulsive emotions and behaviors that were so unlike her that she wasn't sure what to make of it.

With her mother working and taking care of her siblings, she found herself wanting to escape. She was angry at her father for dying and leaving them. Angry at her mother for not stopping it somehow. For giving attention to the little ones exclusively and forgetting her as she was the oldest. Filled by the usual teenage urges, she found herself having more and more in common with Marnie. Marnie was her guide to the other side. Her window into how the other half lived. And currently, she was showing her that a woman could in fact scream and spit and hit just like a boy.

"Come on now, Lucy, get up! You have to scream for him or he won't win!" she shouts close to her face, jerking her up as she went back to her shouting for her East End boyfriend Jack. "Loosen your damned knickers girl, you're being such a posh little cunt right now." she laughs and shoves Lucy's arm.

"Marnie!" she gasps at first, but soon a giggle follows the blush in her cheeks for hearing such language.

"Stop making me look bad and if you don't look so bloody out of place maybe we can find a boy to put up with you!" she laughs.

"Okay." she mumbles, taking a deep breath, then proceeding to cough on the smoke in the air. She uses her rage, that kind that lies within every teenager, ready to burst at the most inconvenient of times. She thinks about how she wanted to rebel, to break free of how she'd been living, to be more like Marnie, so boastful and full of vigor. She wanted to be wild and free, a new person entirely.

She begins clapping, watching the fight and trying to piece together the bits she'd been informed of by her friend as she lets her muscles loosen, trying to take in the energy of her surroundings. A little "Woo!" escapes her as she giggles at herself as the two boys go to their corners of the ring. Marnie's Jack had his back facing them, but that didn't stop Marnie from screaming. The other boy who was facing them, a dark gingery lad with a strong nose and lean arms, a tattoo on his arm, sits and pants, being spoken to by the older men surrounding him. Instead of watching Jack she found her eyes on the other boy.

"Who is the other boy fighting Jack?" she asks, leaning close to Marnie and watching the sweat drip off of the mystery lad, making her feel some sort of way she wasn't sure about.

"That's Alfie. They're mates."

"But yet they fight?" she asks with high pitched curiosity and a tilt of her head.

"Yeah, all the boxing lads know each other. Jack and Alfie practice together, so they fight each other sometimes. Same weight class 'n all." she shrugs and goes back to shouting and ignoring Lucy.

Her eyes stay on him, and for so long she finds herself holding her hands up and clasps as she was when she was applauding but she was no longer thinking about that. This boy was absolutely lovely. A soft face marked with bruises, a sleekness to him the other boys seemed to lack appealed to her. She stares so long she startles when his eyes meet hers as he sits during the rest between the rounds. Her eyes go wide and she grabs Marnie's arm in the sudden flush of her face and the speeding up of her heart.

Alfie sees a spot of lightness in the crowd. Like something that wasn't supposed to be there. He akined her to a flower that would poke through the filthy cobblestones in the spring. A bright little dandelion, not yet bloomed and trampled by its surroundings. Her fair appearance, so clean and crisp and unlike anyone else in the room. She looked like a proper lady. But what would a proper lady be doing at a small fight like this? He notices Marnie, his mate Jack's girl next to her, broad and screaming. The girl next to her was the opposite. Light hair, light skin, some lovely shade of blue dress that he'd only ever seen in the sky during springtime. He thought surely she wasn't the stick in the mud that Jack had moaned about Marnie complaining about all the time. He smirks at the reaction his glance lights in her. Not paying attention to what his coach was saying, watching her grab her friends arm and tittering about and acting like their eyes had never met. He hoped whether win or lose his plans for the night might be looking him in right in the face.

"He looked at me!" Lucy says in a rushed way, her innocence showing her eyes and demeanor.

"What are you on about?" Marnie laughs, looking at her friend.

"The other boy..."

"Alfie?"

"Yes, he looked at me!"

"Well there aren't many girls here, and he knows me so it would be perfectly sensible for him to look at you, eh?" she shakes her head and rolls her eyes at her friend's innocence.

Lucy pretends to be interested in something in her purse until the round starts again. But promptly forgets it as the bell sounds and her eyes are back on him again. She watches with great interest, eyes wide but not with fear now. She finds herself clapping when he gets a hit in on Jack, Marnie elbowing her and laughing, but loving that she was finding a reason to get into it. As they circle, he looks over to her again, and in a foolish moment that only a young lad might take a chance to lose his focus for a pretty girl, he gives her a smile. Her posture straightens, her eyes fluttering as a bashful smile appears on her face. She really was lovely, he thought.

His thoughts are knocked out of his head literally, eyes squeezed shut as Jack connects to his face, stumbling his back. He shakes his head hard, and in that rush of young rage that they all knew about intimately, his pride is hurt in front of a pretty girl and he no longer thinks, only attacks.

Lucy's hands go to her mouth when Alfie is struck in the face so hard. The motherly instincts within her want to stop the fight and help the poor boy but she knows that's silly. Her eyes go wide with concern as Alfie's fists start pummeling down on Jack. Marnie shouting curses at them both. As quickly as she'd blushed at his dangerously charming smile under his bright blue eyes, the fight ends with his arm being raised above his head.

He comes out of his rage as his arm is jerked over his head in victory, the bell signaling his trained brain to stop as he blinks rapidly and comes out of the veil of embarrassment.

"Fuck, sorry, mate." he groans at Jack who his flat on his arse on the mat.

"What the fuck, Alfie?" he spits the words first, followed by blood as Alfie helped pull him up, a hard but apologetic look on his face.

"The hit to the face knocked me into survival mode, mate." he says patting his friend on the back.

Lucy cheers happily, a slight bounce to her feet as Alfie is proclaimed the winner.

"Oh fuck off." Marnie groans, rolling her eyes. "Suppose I'll be gettin' it rough again tonight." she sighs and moans, picking up her purse and Lucy mirrors her.

"What?"

"When he loses." he motions with an air of exhaustion to the boys in the ring. "Always fucks me rather hard."

"Oh." Lucy looks away and tries not to be such a child to blush at the statement. "What about when he wins?"

"Oh he's happy 'n full of beer instead of whiskey and he's rather pleasant and soft." she purses her lips and sighs. "Looks like I'll be drinking to make up the difference tonight. C'mon now Luce, they'll meet us at the pub."

"They?"

"Yes, he and Alfie drink together, come on ya ninny." she takes Lucy's hand and they move out to the street. On the walk to the pub Marnie talks, but Lucy is too busy wondering if after a win, would Alfie be a soft lover as well?

-------

Lucy had been on dates, she'd been kissed by boys and even let one touch her over he clothes before, but when it came to actual attraction she was very inexperienced. She'd gone out with Marnie with the West End boys, but they seemed highly suspect to her. They were so nice and proper and then the moment you got them alone they were all over you. She didn't appreciate dishonesty and she'd sworn off them off after a while, electing to not go out at all if there would be any posh boys around.

So when Lucy felt her stomach flutter as Alfie and Jack walked towards them in the pub it was a new sort of feeling.

"'Ello Marnie, girl." Jack says, charging towards her squeezing her about the waist tightly and planting a big kiss on her.

"You must be Lucy." Alfie says, ignoring the currently snogging couple next to him just as Lucy was trying to.

"Yes, and you're Alfie." she says with a calm voice that she's rather proud to have mustered up.

"That would be me." he smiles. A man comes up and slaps him on the back hard in praise, Lucy is impressed that Alfie doesn't seem to give much to such a harsh gesture. She surely would've been facing down on the floor if someone touched her in such a way. "I've never seen you with her before. You from Marnie's part of town?" He knew the answer, she was so clearly not from his side of town, but still, he wanted to take a chance.

"We're neighbors. Have been since we were born." she explains.

"I mean no offense, love, but you seem like you're from the East, and she surely doesn't." he laughs.

"Well Marnie's a bit..." she side-eyes her friend, nose to nose with her boyfriend who were whispering to each other, his hands firm on her bum. "Naturally inclined to go against what her mother says." she grins.

"And what of you Lucy? Your mum let you come out here?"

"No." she smiles and he mirrors it, finding it sickeningly sweet. "I came with Marnie to support Jack. But it seems that wasn't a wise decision." she holds back a smirk. "I told my mom I was going out with Marnie and she didn't question it."

"Let's go back to my flat. I've got liquor there we can drink 'n me 'n this little minx can grieve our loss." Jack interrupts, laughing and clearly already been drinking somehow, Marnie hangs around his neck like a pendant.

"You gonna come with?" Alfie asks, holding his hand out to her after he stands. She looks at it in consideration for a moment. She'd seen what those hands could do but she didn't find herself afraid of them.

"Have to watch Marnie don't I?" she says with a shrug, being so proud of herself as she finished her drink in one go and took his hand without hesitation.

Back at Jack's flat, she sits on the settee with Alfie. Marnie and Jack practically break down the door to his bedroom as they fall on top of one another.

"Let's go sit out here. Can't hear the animals out there." Alfie grins and opens a window, taking Lucy about the wrist and waist to have her sit on the roof with him.

"Is this safe?" He smiles at her concern.

"I've done it every time he's brought someone and I've been here. Not much for listenin' to others while they're goin' at it." he chuckles.

"Me either." she shakes her head, sitting with crossed legs as they look out at the smokey cityscape.

"I assumed as such." he snarks.

"What's that tone?" she asks with a shrug of her shoulders as she huffs out a laugh.

"You just seem..." he shakes his head. "Not like Marnie."

"I don't know if that's a polite or a rude way to say it." she laughs, her posture softening and so does his, seeing she wasn't offended. "I'm not... not like Marnie. But I'm also a lot more cautious than her, less compulsive it would seem. It's always been that way."

"You been friends since you were kids?"

"Yes. She's always been the troublemaker and I've been the good one." she sighs.

"But you're still out with a roughian like me? Sittin' on a roof in the east end at night?" he smirks.

"Well so are you. What does your mum think of it?"

"Ah. She's too busy with me brothers 'n sisters to worry 'bout me."

"I greatly empathize with that. Have you lived here long?" she changes the conversation to something less personal.

"Oh, I don't live here. This is Jack's flat. I stay a lot but I live with me mum."

"I wish girls could have their own flats. But then again I would be sleeping over at Marnie's and who knows if her place would have a roost to wait out their lovemaking." she laughs and he watches her eyes light up, finding himself staring.

"Lovemaking." he laughs. "Not heard anyone refer to it like that since I was a wee lad. Only ever call it fuckin' 'round here."

"Since he lost I assume that would be a more appropriate word for it." she nods. "Or at least that's what she tells me."

"At least she's honest."

Feeling bold, she decides to divulge more personal information. Perhaps it was how their hands almost touched, as they sat back and listened to the moans and howls of the city below. Or maybe it was how easy he was to talk to. He hadn't been handsy or assumed she was there to do the same as her friend and she found herself already growing fond of him. "She said when he wins he's tender, but when he loses he loses he's rough." she muses. "I would've thought it would be the other way around."

"Why's that?" he's glad she doesn't seem to be wound so entirely tight that he couldn't talk to her like a regular mate. She wasn't pretending to be something she wasn't. There was no need to be pissed for the courage to sleep with a boy who her father wouldn't approve of. Which he'd been on the receiving end of one too many times. At first, it was easy but as he'd gotten older it lost its charms.

"If I lost a fight, I would want to be tender. I'd want to lose myself and forget you know? Have someone console me and build me back up. But if I won I would feel high on it. I'd want to pounce and play and take my prize... so to speak." she shrugs and glances over at him. His eyes hadn't left her the entire night, although he had positioned his head to make it seem so.

"As lovely of a sentiment as that is. It is a distinctly feminine one, yeah?" he offers with narrowed eyes.

"How is that?" he can see the curiosity for his words in her eyes and he adores the sincere attention.

"Men, yeah? They want to show even with a loss that they aren't losers, they don't wanna wallow in it and ask for a cuddle, right? When they win they wanna show they're a winner, get treated as such, have a woman take care of them because they deserve it because they won."

Her eyes wander in thought. "That does make sense." she nods in agreement. "And what of you Alfie? What are you like after a win?"

The cheekiness of the question isn't lost on either of them. He smirks and gives her a charming grin that makes her blush at its underlying intention. "Well.." he begins, a smile showing teeth emerges, she sees a slightly wonky tooth in the front showing between his lips. His, now that she'd let herself really notice them, distractingly soft looking lips. She finds his face to be something she could look at for hours like a painting in a museum. His clean-shaven face, bare to be gazed upon is lighted magnificently by the moon. He was all cheekbones and sloped nose. A heavy brow with hooded lids that didn't hide the cleverness in his blue eyes. He wasn't just handsome, he was beautiful to her. He looked like some sort of poured mineral figurine that would set on a self. Something that didn't belong in the place where it was, she expected a rugged harshness from a boy who fought. But despite the discoloring and tiny cuts, he was stunning to her. "I don't like to mix the fights with sex meself. I find it a slippery slope I don't wanna try to tread on. You put the two together constantly, you'll start not performing at your best when it isn't readily available. And I don't want nuffin' to affect my fightin' except me. And if I rely on girls to fill some sort of need then that's gonna be a problem at some point."

"A boy like you having trouble finding a girl?" she chuckles. "You won and forgive me for being forward but you are very handsome, Alfie."

"I'll take whatever compliments you'll give me, love." he gives her a genuine smile. "And fanks." he nods slowly. "I find myself bein' a bit more particular these days," he informs her, pulling his knees to his chest. "What about you? What's a pretty bird like yourself doin' out alone on a night like 'is?"

"I find myself being a bit more particular these days as well." she gives him a knowing smile, her hands clasped together in her lap.

"And what is it that you particularly like these days?" he asks, seeing where he stood.

"Honesty." she answers quickly.

"Rare, that." he muses, wagging a finger. "But very, very important innit?"

"Very." she nods in agreement sternly. "Looks aren't the most important thing to me, I like someone who wants me for beyond what I look like so I search for much the same in a companion. Although a handsome face and kind eyes are something that would catch my attention. Someone who won't have his hand in my pants as soon as we're alone. That'd be a nice change of pace." she rolls her eyes.

"I see I've at least given you a break from 'at." he gives her a cheeky grin, pushing back is dark hair with his hand and ruffling it only to have it bounce back down into his face.

"Yes and I thank you." she gives him a friendly pat to the arm. An excuse to touch him really, but he was being rather personable with her.

"Nuffin' really. I too have found a lack of good conversation in my life. Boxers... they ain't much for discussion."

"As I could imagine." they share a laugh for a moment. "But you do don't you? We've even touched on the differences between male and female minds and not had an argument."

"Aye we have." he tilts his head and shoots her another charming smile. He sees her take a deeper breath and wonders what his chances are.

"Let's get on the move!" Marnie shouts from the window, smacking the roof with her hand that startles Lucy so much she jumps. Alfie reaches out to put his hand on her back and laughs.

"Let's not try to fly off the roof now pretty bird." he laughs as she blushes with embarrassment. He helps her into the window. Trying not to look up her skirts as she climbs back in, keeping a steady hold on her hand as she slid her way back into the flat.

------ Marnie and Jack are sharing a goodnight kiss inside the flat of an older friend of Marnie's. The boys had walked them to it together, Alfie even putting his arm around Lucy's shoulders, much to their mutual delight. Lucy looks up to Alfie, her face dimly light by the candles in the entryway. "I never said congratulations on your win tonight," she says earnestly. "You were rather good fun to watch." she admits, leaning back on her heels with nerves.

"Fanks, love." he gifts her with another smile that makes her gulp. "Perhaps havin' you there helped?" he gives her a wink and he gets a full smile with teeth.

"Doubtful." she titters.

"Only one way to find out. How about you come with next time Marnie comes to see Jack? Fight or not... I'd like to see you again Lucy."

She loves the way her name sounds when said in his accent. He didn't try to add any fake smoothness to anything about him. He presented himself as he was and she found herself very interested. "I'd like to see you again too, Alfie." she blushes.

He reaches out and takes her hand and kisses it and her breath catches in her throat. "Not to give it any unwanted attention, love, but you are absolutely darling when you blush like 'at." he steps closer.

"Oh, Alfie." she giggles, covering her cheek in embarrassment. "It seems you've brought it out in me tonight."

"You'll come back and see me, yeah? Give me another chance to make you all rosy cheeked?" she gives him a knowing smile, just as cheeky as what he was insinuating to her.

"I will." she nods, a coyer and less innocent smile on her face.

"Let's get 'ome, mate. I'm fuckin' knackered." Jack says seeing Marnie off with a slap to the bum and a hard slap to Alfie's back.

"Right." he nods and watches him leave. "I'll be finkin' of ya Lucy." he says, leaning in to give her a kiss to the cheek that makes her eyes shut. He feels the smile on her face, her round cheeks rising as he pressed his lips to her intoxicatingly soft skin. How had she spent all night where she had and still smelled like flowers? Must've been born and bred into her he thinks.

"And I you Alfie." she gives his hand a squeeze as they pull apart, a quick swish of his thumb over the back of her hand before they let go and she watches them walk down the street until they're out of sight. ------------------

Lucy took any chance she had to go to the East End with Marnie in the coming weeks. She drinks in pubs with her and the boys, she'd taken moonlit strolls hand in hand by the train tracks with Alfie. More long conversations on the rooftop, each time getting closer and closer. Always getting interrupted it seemed by Marnie's harsh voice calling her to leave. She could've stayed on that roof with him until the sun rose. She was surprised he hadn't made a move on her. She was of course relieved by this but she was also feeling rather impatient. She wasn't sure if another hug and kiss to the cheek would sustain her until she saw him again.

Unknown to her, Marnie had given Alfie a good talking to about Lucy. Telling her more than Lucy would've been comfortable with him knowing, but Marnie wanted to protect her friend. She spilled her secrets of never having a crush on a boy before and having never slept with one. She wasn't entirely inexperienced but that if he took advantage of her and her naivety that she would personally be making sure he was too injured to fight in the next bout. And he truly believed her.

So Alfie took his time with her. He gave her the deep conversations she longed for and had his hands on her as often as possible. She adored the non-threatening grasps to her back, waist, and arms if another man approached her, wordlessly marking his territory. She adored, even more, the hand holding. She'd always thought it was so sweet, so affectionate and not brash in any way. She thought only people who truly cared for each other held hands. And she was starting to truly care for Alfie. Anyone with eyes could see it as she'd watch him wherever he went. He was finding himself feeling much the same, wondering what a girl like her, being from where she was, saw in him. But he soon found through their conversations that became more and more personal, that her life had it's problems as well. Not the same as his of course, but life wasn't perfect where she was from, and he was thankful she found him so interesting despite knowing much about the arts, which she would muse about on their strolls. He'd make his way to her part of town, not looking for her per se, but trying to take in what made her, her. He felt out of place, receiving looks as he strolled with his hands shoved into his pockets, sauntering about galleries and asking questions to people who gave him half-formed, bitten answers. But the way her face lit up when he'd say the name of an artist she adored made it worth it.

They were both pie-eyed over the other with no end in sight. Alfie was simply waiting for a moment. He thought if she truly could be something special, that there would be a moment, an event that just grabbed him by his collar and told him to make his move with her. He hadn't expected it to be a fight night, but moments like those never really came when you expected.

He had won again. A streak he was on since being with Lucy. He didn't lose very often before, granted, he was an apt pupil in all things, including his fighting. After the fight she's on his arm, looking at him with adoration in her eyes, watching him be praised and receive his congratulations for it. So while they're all four on the way back to Jack's flat, their guards are down and their laughing and buzzed and having a rare carefree moment together as friends. So when a guy sneaks behind them and pulls Alfie out of Lucy's hands she screams. He's jerked onto the ground and kicked before scrambling up and knocking the other boy over, punches are thrown and without the aid of gloves, the sound makes Lucy feel squeamish. Marnie grabs Lucy back, Jack dives in and scares them off, but not before they get a few good hits in from both sides. He yanks Alfie up and pats his cheek.

"Ya alright mate?" he says, holding his head and looking him over.

Lucy pulls out of her friends hold and runs to him, taking his hand and she feels him squeeze it back.

"Fuckin' 'ell." he groans, shaking his head and almost falling over. "What the fuck was all 'at!" he shouts and stumbles.

"Sore losers 'ats what 'at was." Jack glares in the direction the boys ran off in. "It was the mates of that lad you beat tonight."

"Fuckin' wankers." he mumbles, Jack goes under his arm to help him walk.

"Let's get ya back now." he says with a firm pat to the back.

"Alfie, darling are you okay?"

"S'alright Lucy." he gives a smile to her and nods, squeezing her hand. "They didn't get you did they?"

"No, no." she says quietly.

"Hush up and let's get you laid down now. Ya hit ya head, ya know how it goes." Jack grumbles as they trudge towards his flat.

After settling him into Jack's bed, Lucy sits next to him, holding his hand as he complains that he's fine. "I get beat up for a livin', love, truly I'm fine." he groans, sitting up.

"They've gone to fetch you something cold from the shops for your face."

"They dinnit have to do that." he pouts.

"No but you're cheek is swelling and I'll have none of that." she says with a bossy tone that makes him smile. "What?" she says with a pushed back chin at the confusing look on his face.

"You're awfully precious when you're bossy." he grins and it does hurt a bit but it was nothing he couldn't handle.

"Oh hush, talk like that makes me certain you were walloped too hard." her concern breaks into a smile as she leans in to kiss his forehead.

"Got it." Marnie says, bringing in a chunk of ice wrapped in a tea towel to hand off to him. "Luce?" she asks, motioning with her head for her to join them.

"Keep that there." she says softly, and Alfie nods, accepting the kindness.

"He can have Jack's bed tonight. He doesn't want him out alone. Jack and I will go to Sylvia's and you two can stay here. Will that work alright?" she asks, a bit hesitant to your answer.

"Oh." she says with wide blinking eyes.

"Are you seriously nervous?" she laughs.

"No." she pouts. "I just, it's unexpected is all."

"You'll be fine. Come to me in the morning when you're a woman and we'll gossip on the walk home, eh?" she teases, giving her a hug before she leaves.

"He's hurt don't be silly." she dismisses the thought.

"Not too hurt for that I'd imagine." she smirks and kisses her friends cheek.

She gets a drink and takes a deep breath. She frowns, looking out the window at her friends walking down the street. Did they really need to have sex that badly? At least they hadn’t thrown him on the sofa and went at in the bed anyway. He did get hit by multiple boys without having a chance the defend himself. You were glad Jack wasn’t so blinded by Marnie's sexual prowess that he would let his friend be uncomfortable for it. You think perhaps Jack is an alright lad. A bit horny for your tastes but, to each their own. Alfie didn’t seem that way. He did plenty of flirty and cheeky things, both with words and winks that made her skin break out in goosebumps without even touching her. She wishes she’d had more time to prepare for such an opportunity as this that lay before her tonight. She’d terribly wanted to kiss him, she’d think about it every night before bed, what his full lips would feel like. Would his hands be rough or gentle with her when they finally touched her? Would sex hurt the way she was told it would? She hadn’t given sex much thought before Alfie. Not in any real, I want to do this capacity. It was talk for the girls to whisper about and giggle, but doing it was something else entirely. And finding herself considering it, wanting it even. She felt that new and strange feeling surge through her. That pure rebellion. The thrill of doing something that wouldn’t be approved of. Her breathing has picked up, her hand mindlessly stroking across her cleavage as she’s interrupted.

“Everyfing alright, love?��� She hears Alfie's gruff voice speak from the doorway.

“Oh yes, just fine.” She says quickly, moving towards him. “They went to our friend's house and left us here for the night. Marnie said Jack didn’t want you out alone after those boys jumped you so he thought it best we just stay here.”

“Oh.” He says, his full lips pressed together in thought for the sudden news. “Are you alright with that?” He asks, his head turning quickly to hers in question.

“Yes. I told her it was fine.” She says with a wave of her hand.

“You uh... want the bed and I can take the couch if you’d like?” He offers.

“Don’t be silly Alfie. I’m not letting you sleep anywhere but that bed.” She says walking past him. “Come now, let yourself rest.” She motions to the bed, standing with her hands on her hips and examining the room. "I wonder if Marnie has left anything here I could sleep in." she mutters, chewing on a fingernail.

"Doubtful. She doesn't really stay the night does she?"

"Suppose not."

"Lucky he expected her over and changed his bedsheets." Alfie chuckles, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I suppose I can sleep in just my shift. Basically the same as a gown, isn't it?" she asks to no one in particular.

"If you're gonna..." he motions to her with his hand. "You mind if I shed some layers as well?"

"Oh yes, that's perfectly fine, darling." she says, moving to the bathroom to run some water and wipe away at her face, leaving her shoes by the dresser.

He was surprised by the nonchalant nature of her words and actions. Perhaps he'd thought her too innocent from her friend's warnings. She didn't seem like she was embarrassed at all. But that could be her logical side. They were stuck in this position and she was acting as reasonably as it called for. No need to make a fuss over some skin he supposes, although the thought of having her close to him was starting to make him stir. He pulls off his shirt, shoes already taken off by her when they'd arrived. He leaves his trousers on and waits for her to make the next move. He watches her hitch up her skirts, rolling one stocking down then the other and he's utterly captivated by it. A lump grows in his throat as he sees the untouched skin of her thighs in a glance, wondering if everything was as soft as he'd imagined it to be.

"Would you help me with my dress?" she asks, a more obvious glint of anxiety in her eyes.

"'Course, c'mere." he says, standing as she turns and waits for his fingers to help unbutton the back of her dress. "There you go, sweetie." he says in a quiet tone as if he might startle her.

She slips her arms out, stepping out of the dress to reveal her thin white shift. He gulps at the sight of her skin, far more than he'd ever seen before. Her arms and shoulders now bare, he admired the bend in the nape of her neck as it stretched with her as she folded her dress and laid it over a chair. He wasn't prepared for her to turn around and approach him. The soft lace fell around her knees, moving as she did. He could see the curve of her hips, a tiny ribbon woven into the fabric just under her chest that pulled it tight across and he lets out a long exhale, lips parting in his fascination. She was his lovely little bird with delicate collar bones peeking through the soft waves of her hair as she let it down. He'd never seen it fully down and his fingers itched to touch it.

She can see the distracted look in his eyes. He was forgetting his manners, watching her body as she moved closer to his. She wasn't finding herself to be offended in the least. She'd longed for a boy to look at her in such a way. His blue eyes now half-lidded and those plush lips of his, wetted and parted as she stood in front of him with barely anything between them she felt powerful. He looked at her like she was the only woman in the world and that was what all young girls wanted from their boys.

"Alfie?" she interrupts his staring with a soft voice that makes his lids flutter and his brain remember she was, in fact, standing in front of him and this wasn't a fantasy he got to gawk at. "Do you sleep in your trousers?" she asks with a smile that's almost a smirk.

"I actually prefer to sleep naked." he blurts out without thinking then nervously laughs and rubs the back of his neck. Who was he to get clumsy around a girl? He's beginning to realize that he's feeling more than something below the waist for her. His heart does a funny little patter in his chest to accompany the stirring deep in his stomach. What an angel she was too him.

She giggles and shrugs. "If that's what you'd like." she says in a humorous acceptance.

“Oh! No, no I’m not gonna.” he lets out a nervous laugh. “Will take my trousers off though.” He says averting his eyes and leaving to one side of the bed.

She looks like she floats to the other side, light coming through the window and hiding enough of the dingy room for her hormone filled to find it all terribly romantic. She gets in and lays on her back with her hands clasped over her stomach. She looked posh even when she slept he bet. He slides in next to her, mirroring how she lay. His usual sprawled and wild limbs manner wouldn’t suit sharing a bed with a girl.

She turns and sits up after a few moments of silence. “Alfie?” Her voice that couldn’t help but sound sweet called out for his attention.

“Yeah, love?” He asks, his eyes moving to meet hers.

“Are we really going to share a bed all night and not... do anything about it?”

“I didn’t want to assume.”

“We’ve known each other for over a month now and I have to say I’m more than surprised by your behavior.”

“Right now or we talkin' in general?” He asks with a sarcastic tone as moves to lay on his side as well.

“Both.”

“What’s surprisin' bout it?” He asks earnestly

“I thought a lad from the east side would’ve made a move on me quicker.” She states with a shrug, her head resting in her hand.

“Well, I did make it known I wanted to see you again that first night. That weren’t nothing”

“Yes, but I meant physically.” She states flatly. “Why haven’t you kissed me Alfie?” She asks right out and he’s impressed by the aggression she’s showing.

“I didn’t want to offend you.” He says softly in defense. “That and... well Marnie threatening to end me if I hurt you put me off it.” he admits.

“Oh hell.” She sighs and pouts. “Should’ve known it was bloody Marnie.”

“Why would I kiss a filthy mouth like 'at now?” He laughs and teases.

“Oh bugger off” she rolls her eyes, shoving his arm playfully. “So is Marnie the reason you haven’t kissed me then?”

“At this point yeah.” He nods.

“Well she isn’t here is she?”

“No one is love.” he says quietly.

“Then you have no reason not to do it.” She says with a smile, leaning closer to him.

“'Spose ya right about that.” he answers softly as he scoots closer, suddenly not sure what to do with his hands.

“You DO want to don’t you Alfie?” She asks and the uncertainty in her eyes and voice make his brow furrow with sadness for it.

“Since the first night I met ya.” he confesses.

He sees the relief fall over her face and she bats her lashes, gathering her gumption and scooting closer to him.

“And I you.” she responds, looking at his lips and so anxious to find out if they were as soft as they looked.

“Right,” He says almost under his breath, looking over her face which showed nothing but anticipation. He raises his hand to her cheek and it’s just as soft as he thought. He leaves no more room for either of their imaginations to have to assume what the others pouty lips felt like as he brought them together at last. He expected hesitation from her, perhaps some clumsy or awkwardness but he doesn’t find it. It starts as a single peck, a chaste lips to lips brushing as she kept her eyes shut while he gave a moment of pause for her to step back if she wished. His expectation that she would be reserved was challenged as she pushed back against him, stretching her neck to press into him properly. As her hand slid over his on her face, she pushed forward, deepening the kiss, eagerly accepting his tongue as it teased at her before they lapped together, exploring the others skills. She presses her body against his, his hand traveling to her waist to hold her close.

Quickly they find a natural position. He moves his upper body over hers as she lies on her back, arms wrapped around his head while his hand behaves and stays stroking her side. She’s in a haze of kisses. She doesn’t even notice when he pulls back to catch his breath. He gets to observe her for just a moment lying there with her eyes shut and her lips pouted. Taking in the soft roundness of her face and the way her delicate features seemed so distinctly feminine. Her eyes flutter open but remain half-lidded as she gazes up at him. They both share a breath for a moment.

“Is there something the matter?” she asks. ”Why did you stop?” Her voice is soft and breathy in her questioning.

“Am I supposed to kiss you all night?” He grins.

“I’m not opposed to the idea.” she giggles.

He looks down at her with clear adoration and she finds herself blushing as he strokes back her hair. “I don’t want you to think we have to do anything because we’re in the same bed.” He states.

“I don’t think that.” She whispers with a subtle shake of her head. “Marnie must’ve lead you to believe I was some pristine and untouched virgin who cowered at the thought of a boy touching her.” She frowns. “Didn’t she?” Her lips purse after she sighs.

“She did say you were a virgin. Yeah.” He mutters.

“I am but that doesn’t mean I don’t want you to touch me, Alfie.” she says defensively.

He nods, a single slow blink before resituating himself, his hand now resting on her ribs. “As long as you’re sure. I wouldn’t want to scare you away.” He admits.

“I’m certain it would only assure that I would not.” She smirks and leans up to kiss him playfully. “I really like you, I was prepared to experience things with you for the first time before tonight. I thought a boxer from the east end would have fast hands outside the ring as well as in, to be honest.”

“You want ‘em to be?” He smirks now, eyes wandering past her face and down to her chest.

“Yes.” She answers in a soft voice, putting her hand over his on her body before rubbing it back up his arm and pulling his face toward hers.

They let themselves feel things that have built up over the past weeks. He gives over with a groan as he reaches up to cup her breast through the thin fabric, moving his body up against hers. Subconsciously her body begs for it, her legs opening as he kissed her with a mixture of lips and tongue that wasn’t forced and unpleasant like she’d felt before. Everything about him was so much softer than she’d thought it would be. His knuckles might’ve been marked but his skin was pliant and warm as she touched him.

As he moves his mouth to her neck, her eyes roll back and she lets out a moan she hadn’t known she was holding in. Sighing out his name into the dark he works his lips against her skin, being sure to not mark her, but wanting to make her feel as best he could.

She appreciated his apprehension and understood it as Marnie could be rather threatening. Most girls her age were getting married and had been getting their experience in before they had to do so. Lucy was still holding out hope she’d marry for love and someone who knew how to touch her. She hoped that she wouldn’t have to settle and sow her wild oats before marriage. She wanted to be with someone who would be wild with her while married.

As Alfie kissed his way down her chest, she let her fingers card through his short hair before letting her hand fall back, watching as his pink and kiss-swollen lips follow the thin fabric of her shift as he pulled it down her chest to expose her breasts. He never hesitated and gave her no reason to feel self-conscious as the thought of her being anything but perfect was far from his mind.

He felt her thighs rub together instinctively, bent knees bumping into him as she started to gasp and writhe as he sucked away at her nipple. She’d recalled brushing against them and it feeling pleasurable before, but she’d never considered his plush lips abilities for much beyond kissing her, but she was flushed and her toes curled with an appreciation for what he brought out in her.

She’d never felt her heart race and stomach flutter in such a way before. Watching his lashes fan across the tops of his cheeks, the way his brow furrowed in concentration, a deeper masculine sound coming from him as his hands held her tight. Moving down to her hip, she shuddered at the thought of him touching the bare skin of her thighs.

She finds him so strikingly beautiful. Such a delicate face, such a shame he was a boxer she thought. He was so lovely she hoped that softness would stay forever. She wants to see him panting like she was, to cause this sort of response in him as well. She wanted to touch him like he was her. She feels him hard against her hip, only his thin pants in a material similar to her shift between them. How thrilling it was to know he couldn’t deny his attraction to her. The proof lies hot against her skin as she swallows and gathers her mind to reach her hand between them and touch him.

“Lucy.” He whispers, pulling himself away from her skin, a fact neither was happy about. “You don’t have to do that, love.” He shakes his head and smiles gently, his voice just the same.

“I want to.” She says softly, large eyes batting up at him as her hand slides over him, the back of her hand sending a twitch of his muscles through his stomach at the contact. “You’re... already hard.” She muses, eyes looking down as he leans back to take in the sight of her slender and delicate hands with their curious fingers wrap around him. She twists her body slightly, arms pressing her breasts together and her other hand reaching to grasp him fully. She sees his eyes shut and lips part as she strokes him. “I want to see you.” She whispers.

He doesn’t need any more discussion, he would give her whatever she asked of him. He moves and swiftly takes off his pants, discarded in the floor. Her eyes are full of curiosity and wonder for his form as it’s revealed to her. So this was what all the fuss was about. She wasn’t sure if he was big or not, as she had to real reference, only gossip, and Marnie's crude depictions. She didn’t know how he compared, but thinking about something that size going into her somehow seemed like the stories of first times being painful to seem true. She knew he was cut and that was the case, she studied him almost dutifully, fingertips light and gentle on his length and she explored. He was nestled in an almost gingery nest of hair, her fingers being bold enough to reach down and touch below him, seeing what it was all the boys would shout about when they were kicked between the legs. It wasn’t exactly what she expected but then again, she didn’t know what to expect. But the way he fought to keep his eyes open, his tongue peeking out between his thick lips as she loosely stroked at him made her feel powerful and more confident about the whole endeavor.

"Can I?" he begins, licking his lips and getting a hold on himself. "Can I touch you first, love?" he asks her softly, going back to nuzzling into her neck, breathing in her hair as his hand trailed below her hem and he dragged it up her legs. "I don't want you to be trying to focus on me. Not when it's the first time." he shakes his head back and forth, nose moving back to her face before kissing her again.

She nods in response, her hand slowly pulling away, he was flattered at her hesitancy to let him go. She rests her hand on her stomach, pulling up her skirt as he watched her bare herself to him. The covers lay bunched up at their feet, no need for their warmth while their bodies were together, their heavy breathing making the air feel thick around them. "Can I still touch you? If I want to?" she asks and the uncertainty in her voice makes him smile. The back of her hand brushes against him, the one pinned between their bodies.

"Of course. I only want you to be able to focus and tell me what feels good." he explains his fingers now trailing her inner thighs. "I want to make you feel good, Lucy. I don't want you to regret this come morning." he confesses.

"It's you Alfie," she whispers, a single kiss to his jaw as he watching his fingers tease across her soft skin. "I won't regret it."

He gently cups her soft thatch of hair, a thrill runs through her at the contact. She didn't feel as nervous as she expected, as she felt thoroughly excited and alive. "Have you ever..." he nods down to where his hand lies. "Touched yourself?" he manages to make it sound as nonthreatening as possible.

"I share a room with my siblings, I've never had the chance to." she admits.

He nods, realizing he really is taking a degree of innocence from her. He barely recalled his first time. There'd been alcohol involved and an older girl. A friend of his brothers. She'd told him he was handsome, asked him if he'd ever been with a girl. He'd said no for some reason, in hindsight he should've said yes, kept his wits about him and sounded like a proper bloke about it. But he hadn't and she'd taken his virginity, wasn't like he was using it anyway. But it was different for girls, he thought. None of the girls he'd been with had been virgins. At least none admitted it if they were. He tried to not feel guilty, seeing the want in her eyes for him. "If I do something you don't like, you tell me." he instructs her.

She nods quickly. "Of course." she says with fluttering lashes, so ready to please.

She notices a tightness in his jaw and the concentration of a furrowed brow as his fingers begin to trace up and down her slit. They sink between her lips, welcomed by a surplus of hot and wet arousal that he was thankful to find. She wasn't too nervous, this was proof she wanted him. He lets his reservations fade away as he connects their mouths again in a kiss to distract her as he explores her. He doesn't insert his fingers, only circling, teasing and finding her little-swollen bud that jumped at his touch. The tiny moan that accompanied her thighs shuddering when he finds it makes him return the sound into her mouth.

"Good?" he asks, lips pressed against hers.

"Uh-huh." she nods rapidly against him. He deepens the kiss, his fingers finding what she likes. He trails lightly over the arch of her clit, presses hard on either side of it, circles and flicks and finds a light but fast maneuver that she responds the most to.

The pleasure builds and she slowly loses her inhibitions with him. Her moans grow louder, her tongue flicks out her mouth and stretches for his lips when he pulls them away to breathe. At first, it felt good as he felt her out and slowly it built. Her hand in the longer hair at the top of his head, clutching it, only working on instinct as he brushed at this magic spot that she was slowly understanding what all the fuss was about. She feels him hard against her leg, his mouth now attached to her nipple, sucking away as his hips move and rub himself against her. She reaches down, wrapping her fingers around him and he lets out a long groan into her breast.

"Fuck." he exhales, pressing his forehead against her collarbone.

The breathy way he groans out the word makes a blush come to her face that she can feel. She was making him act this way, she felt invigorated and different. She felt sexy as he looked down at her, something she'd never felt before. They both pant away, gazing at each other, hips now twitching and rutting, him against her thigh as he fucked into her hand, like her against his palm as he tried to speed up and bring her over the edge.

"Alfie." she mewls, head pushing back into the pillow. "I want... I want... more." she whines, her hips circling, searching for something even though they didn't know that.

"Be still love." he whispers against her lips before teasing around her entrance again. "I don't want to hurt you." he says in a sweet way that she responds to, holding his head down to kiss him with gasping pauses and deep probing tongues. She stills her hips and with one finger he gives her what she wants. A slow push, an in and out she could handle, her mouth open and a deeper moan coming up from her stomach as her eyes flutter shut.

"Oh my god." she whimpers.

"That's it, pet." he whispers into her ears and her back arches. He pushes against her with his knuckles, giving her pressure against her body that made her pull his hair.

She mumbles wordlessly into the dark room, his head buried in her neck, listening and feeling her around him.

"Can you take another?"

"Please." she openly begs. He was intoxicated by her eagerness for it. He was keeping his brow low and jaw tight as she continued to keep a firm hold around his cock, grasping at him and stroking enthusiastically in phases as she became overwhelmed and gained her senses again. He didn't want her to stop, but she would make him come before her if he wasn't careful. He wanted to melt into her, hear her moan out his name in her voice, sounding better than he'd imagined in his head. So breathy and needful.

He gives her what she asks, two fingers, slower still. Her lids bat, her mouth open as gasps and he rises to meet her face.

She mewls and nods, her face showing a hint of discomfort, but he knew there was no escaping it completely. "Yes. Yes." she pants, lip snarled and head back as she felt something inside her that stretched her for the first time. It wasn't painful, but it felt foreign at first. The way he moved slow and steady, keeping her distracted and wet as he kissed and sucked away at every bit of her his mouth could reach. He slowly opened her up, he presses his palm against her, a trick he'd told about by his older brother. And it certainly did make her moan as promised. "Oh my god Alfie, yes." she pleads, her hips back to moving against him, her thighs brushing against his length. She begins to buck again, breathing growing faster, grip around him alert again, her slender fingers reaching and stroking away at him to the pace he set inside her. "Kiss me." she demands, her free hand pulling him back down to her, a heated and messy lock follows, he finds himself getting lost in her again. Their hips grinding in tandem, listening to her call out his name, feeling her so tight around his fingers, her muscle tensing and hips begging him for more as he tried to rub every part of her he should. He thinks about what it would be like to feel her around him, so hot and tight, feeling her chest rise and fall against his flush, his limbs a tangled mess with hers, making her his.

"Fuck love, you're gonna make me come too soon."

"I think... I think I'm close." she whines and nods, hand on his cheek as she sees how blown out his eyes are, the most lovely dark blue she'd ever seen. "Come with me." she suggests.

His tilts his head. "But what about-?" he begins.

"Oh fuck Alfie please, I want to feel you do it too. Please. I think... I'm close, yeah. It feels so good, Alfie, my God." she rushes out, groaning and arching against him.

"I want to feel you too." he groans into her skin. "You feel so fuckin' right, love. I want you to come for me, Lucy. Let me do that." he hears the faults in his voice, knowing her soft hands, the rush of the newness and her eagerness all in combination with her milky, smooth thighs rubbing fast as she bucked against him were ending him. "Fuck you feel so good." he mumbles, a noise of anger leaving him, frustration from being so close, wanting her there too.

"Yeah, yeah." she nods, he sees her stomach convulse, her breathing faster and deeper as she can no longer kiss him. "Alfie."

"Yes love, let go." he tells her between kisses to her ear. "Let it happen. This is... fuck..." he feels his hips begin to stutter, his balls starting to tingle.

"Alfie I think I'm gonna... gonna..." she whimpers, her eyes starting to cross and her thighs shaking and tightening.

"Ya fuckin' perfect love, yeah." he says mindlessly as she begins to shake, a shocked look in her eyes as her stomach convulses hard and brings her head up to watch the work his hand was doing, now half hidden between her thighs as her hips moved involuntarily.

"Ugh!" she lets out a loud and deep moan, followed by tiny gasps, high pitched moans that sounded so innocent as they left her, he felt her legs relax, she grabbed him by his hair again and pulled him in for a rough kiss. It was sloppy and wet and desperate, a pure expression of the overflow from what he'd done to her, his hips continue to move, his hand staying cupped over her, keeping her still as her hand grasped at him.

"Yes, love, yes." he pants, pushing his forehead against hers. She got to witness the most vulnerable moment with another person she'd ever experienced. His face contorted, a heavy masculine brow drawing shut, hiding those blue eyes from her. His row of slightly askew teeth showed as his lips twitched and she felt a warmth spurt out over her bare thigh. His body spasmed just like hers had, grunts as his hips bucked just the same. He wasn't silent, but he wasn't as loud as she had been. They didn't sound like Marnie and Jack together and she felt like that was oddly reassuring in a way.

His eyes open wide as if he had snapped out of a daze. His shoulders slump, his face pressing against her chest as they both panted and caught their breath. They lay there like that until everything stilled. The aftershocks had passed, and their hands were lazy as they stroked at each other's naked skin.

"You alright, love?" he asks, raising his head to look at her. If he'd looked first then asked, he would've seen it was a needless question. She was lying like an angel. A moonbeam across her as flushed cheeks faded slowly, her eyes half-lidded and relaxed, a mischievous smile on her lips.

"I'm wonderful." she giggles.

"You are." he nods and kisses her gently.

"You are." she says back with another soft kiss. "That was amazing."

"If ya give me a little bit I can be ready to go again. Give ya the full show, so to speak." he admits sheepishly.

She answers with a giggle and a shake of her head. "No, I think I'm too tired now. Does it always make you so sleepy afterward?" she asks, her nose wrinkling with interest.

"Sometimes." he nods and kisses her cheek. "Let me get us cleaned up, yeah? And then we can get some sleep, hmmm?" he asks, stroking her hair out of her face.

"Lovely, that." she sighs out, a blissful look on her face he wanted to capture and never forget.

--------------------------------- Lucy feels like a new woman the next day. Having him see her off where Marnie and Jack had stayed. Kissing her deep and holding her close, making her blush and giggle before leaving her.

"So... seems I was right." Marnie snarks as they walk down the street back home.

"Not entirely." Lucy shakes her head, a smirk on her face.

"That smile says differently." she laughs and pokes at her friend's side.

"We didn't... ya know." she rolls her eyes and blushes. "But we did... other things." she bursts into giggles.

"Good for me there's a long walk home and I want to hear EVERYTHING!" Marnie says, taking her arm and wrapping it around Lucy's as they titter and giggle the whole way home.

--------- Lucy is in town, picking out food for dinner for her mother in the market while she took one of her younger siblings to the doctor. She' perusing a basket of apples, when hands go over her eyes, a deep voice she recognizes fills her ears and heart simultaneously.

"Guess who, love?" he says with a huge grin.

"Alfie?!" she says with a startle, turning fast as she smacks his chest. "You frightened me!" she scolds before giggling at the handsome young man in front of her.

"My apologies love." he nods his head and gives her a pout.

"Cheeky lad." she laughs. "What are you doing here?" she asks, getting a kiss on the cheek from him as they walk past the market where fewer people were.

"Had to come to visit some lads up at this gym on this side of town."

"Oh? What for?"

"Some interest in havin' me fight." he grins proudly.

"Oh that's wonderful!" she says, wrapping an arm around him to hug him, her other arm occupied by a large basket.

"It is. " he nods. "I happened to see ya before headin' back and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see my lovely little bird now could I?" he gives her a charismatic smile, his hands pushed into his pockets as she sighs at the very sight of him.

"I'm glad you didn't." she says with a dreamy look in her eyes. "Mum's with Laurel at the doctors. I'm fetching things for tea. It's almost time for her be getting out believe."

"Everyfing alright?" he asks, a reassuring squeeze her arm.

"Oh yes, just a check-up." she dismisses the concern. "But you should probably go before she shows up." she grins.

"Don't wanna deal with all 'at just yet?" he smirks, leaning in towards her.

"No, not yet. I'd like to have this relationship stay between you and me alone for a while. It's too nice to dampen just yet." she sighs happily.

"That it is." he nods and gives her a chaste kiss. "Ya comin' 'round with Marnie this weeks end?"

"I am." she nods.

"I'm stayin' at Jack's while we's trainin' for the fight. Don't want me mum to worry with the bumps and bruises 'n that." he explains.

"What a good boy you are." she laughs and teases.

"Nah." he gives her a cheeky grin and a wrinkle of his nose. "I'll be seein' ya, Lucy."

"Yes you will." she gives him an equally amorous expression before spinning and heading back to the market.

---------- Lucy stands next to her mother as she washes dishes and Lucy dries them. She's tired and content, a mindless smile on her face that her mother now knows the source of.

"I saw you with that boy today." she says, a brow arched, the clink of plates knocking against one another in the sink fill the awkward silence. Lucy doesn't say anything, her eyes avoid her mothers glance as she sighs. "Why did you not tell me about him?"

"I..." you shrug. "I liked having him to myself I suppose."

"Did you go to school with him? Or is he not from here? I didn't recognize him."

"No I didn't. He's not from here."

"Am I going to have to ask every single question of you or are you going to give me the information you know I want know," she states flatly, side-eyeing her daughter. "How about a name?"

"His name is Alfie. He's from the East End." she answers with a tight jaw.

"I see." her mother responds, clearly displeased. "His last name?" she says with more of a demand than a question. Lucy knew this wasn't going to end well. She had hoped she could keep him a secret. She knew her mother wouldn't approve. But she hadn't cared.

"Solomons." she answers, lowering her face as she dries another dish.

"You're seeing a Jewish boy?" she says with a face contorted in surprise and disapproval.

"Yes." she states clearly, feeling defensive of him.

"Why on earth would you be wasting your time with some Jew from the East end?" she says arrogantly.

"Because he's a nice boy."

"Nice?" she huffs out a laugh.

"Yes. He's smart and funny and kind to me."

"For now." she snarks.

"What's what supposed to mean?" she sass's back.

"It means you aren't a Jew, sweetheart. Jews don't marry non-Jews."

"That's not true." she retorts.

"It is. And it's clear you unfortunately like him... so I think you should end this little tumble you're having with this back street lad and get your bearings straight." she says sharply.

"I do like him and I have no intention on ending it." her tone is so defiant her mother is both furious and impressed.

"Yes you will." she commands, her voice low and threatening. "How did you think it would end Lucy? Hmmm? Did you think he'd marry you? You're not daft, girl."

"I don't know. Maybe." she shrugs. "I liked him and that's as far as I thought it through."

"You have to think ahead, Lucy. You can't go around thinking with your heart. And he's taken advantage of that mindset I'm sure."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she says turning to look at her mother with an angry red face.

"It means, he's using you, darling. Jewish boys sow their wild oats with non-Jewish girls because they don't truly respect them. They get their fun out of the way before they settle down with one of their own. It happened when I was young, I know."

"That's not what he's doing. He's been very respectful!" she retorts.

"They even have a word for it you know. A word for the starter girls, the goy little girls that believe all their educated words and find them interesting. They call them Shiksa. It's an insult and that's what you are, Lucy. I don't want to hurt you darling but you have to understand-"

"I don't have to understand anything!" she stomps her foot. "YOU need to understand that he isn't like that. And I'm not leaving him!"

"I'm not going to have you mess up and get knocked up by some roughian east ender and have you be the talk of the town, Lucy. Your father and I brought you up better than that. You're going to marry a nice lad you went to school with whose parents have given him a job at their company and you're going to have little girls who grow up to not understand and rebel against their mothers and act like ungrateful brats just like you." her voice is calm and that makes it hurt even more.

"No." Lucy growls.

"Yes. You will end it with this lad. If not I will."

"And how would you do that?" she crosses her arms and raises her voice.

"I'm guessing you'll be finding out won't you?" she replies with a hard face.

"I'm not leaving him. I love him." she says, her hand's in fists and shaking.

"Oh bloody hell here we go." her mother sighs and rolls her eyes. "You don't know what love is you silly child!"

"Yes I do! And I'm not a child! I'm almost twenty!"

"Perhaps you should start acting like it if you want to be treated as such." she snaps back.

"I will! By making the decision to stay with who I love and not some fucking dimwitted lad who's never had to have an original thought in his life!" she throws the dishtowel on the floor and stomps out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

Her mother sighs, a high eyebrow in annoyance. Seeing she would have to put her foot down and make some decisions for her daughter like they had been made for her.

"Where do you think you're going?" she shouts and she sees Lucy dart past the door.

"What do you care?!" she shouts and slams the front door, stomping her way down the street with her bag and coat drawn.

Moments later Lucy hears fast clicking footsteps behind her down the street. "What happened?!" she hears Marnie shout as she catches up with her friend.

Lucy tells her what her mother said and Marnie's face frowns. She knew her own mother wouldn't approve of Jack, but she loved him anyway. She was on borrowed time with him as well. She felt deeply for Lucy, who hadn't even lived in the way she had yet.

"I'm sorry." she says, locking her arm in Lucy's.

"Yeah." she mutters, her face still hard, tears wet down her face. "Why are you still here?" she asks, turning her face to look at Marnie's apologetic one.

"I'm not letting you walk to the fuckin' east end alone!" she says obviously. "We're in this together okay? I'm not looking forward to losing Jack either." she says reaching down to hold Lucy's hand.

"At least maybe he'll knock you up and you can marry that way." Lucy shrugs.

"Yeah like she'd let me keep it." she rolls her eyes.

"Maybe she would. Worth a shot." Lucy shrugs.

"Maybe." she pauses. "And what about you and Alfie?" she asks. "Would she let you keep it if he knocked you up?"

Lucy's face softens, lashes fluttering in thought. "I don't know." she whispers.

"Worth a shot?" Marnie asks, suggesting the same thing to her.

Lucy gulps noisily and sighs. "Yeah, maybe." she nods. ----------------

For the first time in their relationship, Lucy leads the way. Marnie stands back and lets her act out how she needs to. She recalls all the time's Lucy was there to pick up her broken pieces over the years, letting her scream and fight and make rash decisions. So she returned the favor for her best friend.

Lucy's small fist knocks on the door to Jack's apartment. "Jack? Alfie?" she calls loudly and desperately.

Marnie holds her breath, hoping that they were home.

"Bloody hell ya want to let the whole building know ya here?" Jack says with a furrowed brow as he swings the door open.

Lucy ignores him. "Is Alfie here?"

"Yeah, love, I'm-" Alfie answers from inside the apartment. She shoves past Jack, knocking him off balance as he looks to Marnie who is wearing an apologetic and solemn face and he decides to keep his mouth shut. "Fuckin' 'ell what's wrong?" his eyes are wide as she rushes towards him and wraps her arms around him, squeezing him tight. "What's happened? Are you alright?" he asks, his hands moving across her body, up to her face to pull it away from his chest to check her for injuries. "What is it Lucy?" he says quietly, seeing the tears in her eyes.

"My mum." she says before she starts crying.

"What's? Did she die? What?" the words rush out, his face showing clear confusion.

"I wish she fucking would!" she shouts into his chest and starts sobbing.

His eyes go wide, such a heartfelt declaration from Lucy surely meant something. She wasn't one to say words she didn't mean.

"Let's leave them, Jack." Marnie whispers. "Her mum found out about him and said some nasty things, wants her to leave him." she explains discreetly and Jack nods, with a heavy sigh he grabs his shoes and coat, giving Alfie a nod who returns it as he begins to tut at Lucy, trying to hold her face in his hands.

"Now breathe for me, darling." he commands, taking a big deep breath himself. "Look at me. I'm here. You're here with me. You're safe. Let's calm down now, yeah?" he nods, wiping away her tears.

"She saw us by the market. She wants me to leave you." she begins to sob again and he feels his chest ache, letting her lean back into it as he wraps his arms around her. His hand on the back of her head, as he rests his mouth against her hair. "She said I was a shiksa and you were using me. But you aren't are you? Please tell me she's wrong. I didn't believe her but-"

"No!" he shouts and it catches her off guard. "How dare she call you such a thing. Fuckin' woman claiming to know how I feel-" he begins and stops himself as he feels the red hot anger build and flush his face. "I really care for you, Lucy. Don't let her words lead you to think otherwise."

"I don't want to leave you Alfie." she sniffles.

"I don't want you to leave me either." he responds flatly, but honestly.

"Alfie?" she asks, her emotional voice breaking.

"Yes, love?" he sighs out, holding her lovely and pinked face, watching her little petal lips tremble.

"I... I love you." she chokes out. "I've never felt this way before. How can she-?" she begins to sob again at the thought.

"Shhh, Shhhh." he says, fingers stroking her hair. "Breathe love," he whispers. "I love you too ya know? I don't want this to end, same as you. I should've not kissed you in public like that. I'm sorry, it weren't right."

"No!" she says pulling away. "You should be able to kiss me anywhere and however we want!" she states defiantly. "Why can't two people like us show affection without others having something bad to say! Who cares if you're Jewish? Who cares if we're from different places? What does that have to do with anything?" she says, pulling away, caught up in her own anger and she wipes her face harshly.

"It dunnit." he says softly with a loud sigh, moving to get a glass of water. "But the world likes us to not mix with those outside our own."

"It's not fair!" she shouts, bottom lip shaking still.

"I know little bird, I know." he says with a disheartened smile, handing her the glass and rubbing her back. "As a poor Jew believe me... I know." he says with more bite to his tone that makes her come out of her upset for herself.

"And as a woman, things are forced and expected of me that I don't want as well." her anger faulters, a sense of hurt replacing it now. She pushes back the tears and moves back towards him, his face in her hands. "I love you Alfie. I don't know what will happen to us and that frightens me. I don't want to lose you." she says with conviction and he holds his hands over hers.

"I know, love." he nods. "I 'on't know what'll become of us either. But know I do love you. And your mum or anyone else keepin' us apart innit gonna change that. You're my little posh doll what come 'round to roll in the mud with the likes a me." he gives her a smile, his eyes sad but full of adoration. "How could I forget such a treasured thing like you? Not like anyfing I've ever experienced before are ya?" he leans in to kiss her gently.

"I love you Alfie. I don't want to be anyone else's." she shakes her head and wraps her arms around his neck. "I love you." she confesses again, pushing her lips to his.

"I love you, Lucy. I don't want ya to be anyone else's either." he holds her face and kisses her with intent. It grows more urgent, more desperate with each passing of their lips. Their bodies want to speak further on how they feel about the other where their words fall short in their inexperience.

"Alfie." she pants out as his lips press to her cheek. "Make love to me." she requests. Her eyes large and fluttering as they beg him. "I want to be yours forever. This is how I can be. Make love to me and no matter what happens I'll always be yours." she rushes out, crashing her lips into his.

He usually had a retort, a question to her motivations that he wanted to ease his own mind about. But he knew she meant it. He knew she was right. And he did want to make her his. He hadn't thought of marrying her, but they had also been loving in denial for some time together. They didn't want to think about who they were when they were apart, they only wanted to be Alfie and Lucy, with no pasts or families, no obligations or expectations of them. Just two humans in the rush of young love that you don't forget no matter how much time passes. The one you look back on and wonder what happened to them, all the what if's you have with the wisdom of age and hindsight. They wanted to be that for each other and he wanted to make her his in whatever way he could. So he responded to her pleading voice with enthusiasm as he pulled her into the bedroom.

Her head was rushed, feeling lightheaded and too many emotions at once as their faces pressed together, both afraid of what would come tomorrow, but wanting to forget about it all tonight. Although they'd had wandering hands ever since their night alone, she thought their first time would be different. Certainly not under the circumstances it was happening, and with a hope for a future instead of what they were facing. But as she's learning, life isn't like what you envision it to be and you should just work with what you have in front of you at the moment and hope for the best. So that's what she did. She was learning more than one lesson the hard way tonight. Becoming a woman was always just a phrase before and she thought sex might do that for her, but it was apparent now that that was not what being a woman meant.

Their hands move fast, buttons fumbled over as they knock into one another as they take off their clothes. A quick yank down on the covers on the bed, she throws herself onto him, feverish kisses with no grace are shared. There were no flowers, no romantic build up, and proposal of marriage to be had. Just a raw and defining moment between two people who didn't want to let go. The desperation was mutual, he'd found someone who saw him as something more, who didn't label him or judge him. She'd found someone with a sound mind, kind heart and strong hands. Everything she ever wanted. So they held onto each other like they were going to be ripped from each other's arms, because they were.

Her sounds break his heart, in the frenzy of skin to skin he tries to commit them to memory despite how they were more whines and whimpers than moans. He moves his lips from her mouth as she gasps for breath, running a hand through her hair which was growing damp with sweat. She shuts her eyes, pretending they were somewhere else together, her hands through his short cropped hair as his kisses move down her body, his hands wrapping around her thighs before pressing sucking kisses to her skin. He wishes he had time to make her beg, to kiss every fold of her, but he makes due with the rushed feeling her trembling hands feed into him. Spreading her lips, taking a moment to notice how she looked up close, pink petals he took into his mouth and found her center, kissing her as she finally began to relax as he worked away at the now swollen bud. He hears her moan, and it's a sweet sound he'll miss. Her light accent, an air of innocence to it somehow still, like she was a little doll kept on a shelf and never touched, in some immaculate townhouse, never having known any pain. He'd wanted to keep her like that as long as he could. He loved her softness, it was something that drew him to her.

Everything that wasn't like him, he loved about her. She softened his edges and made him forget who he was. His life was hard and he had taken that refuge in her for granted. And now he'd be back in the harsh reality with no harbor to come home to heal.

He pushes the thoughts away as he presses his fingers into her. A deep sound from her belly he felt, her tensing muscles, now not afraid or timid to his touch. He goes slowly, steadily, how he planned to use himself in her. He moves from two to three fingers, hearing her breathing gasp and change. A low whine, her back arching and bracing herself.

"Relax, love." he says in a deep, soothing voice. "It'll be easier on ya if ya can." he nods, going back to sucking on her clit, more gentle pressure from his fingers, wondering how he would fare inside her.

"Alfie. Just give me your cock," she whines. His eyes shoot up to her at the use of the word. Every time something dirty came out of her mouth his ears perked up like the words sounded so foreign coming from her sweet mouth. "Please. I want you. If it hurts, it hurts, I don't care anymore." she begs, her hands moving down to take the sides of his face and pull it towards her.

He gives in to her wishes, wiping his mouth before she pulls him into a deliberate, deeper kiss. She'd slowed down a bit, her heart racing but her lips slower. They had hours to be together. She wanted him as much as she could before she left. She wanted to be his in the only way she knew how to be now. He crawls up her body, aligning their hips, with one arm rested by her head to hold himself up. Her hands wandering down his torso, feeling every hill and valley of his strong body as it tensed above her. Her delicate hands tug at him, feeling him respond to her, a breathy exhale across her lips as his eyes go dark. He takes her hands from him, putting them around to his back as he pushes against her, her thrust back knees allowing him to slide against her wetness, give him a chance to figure out his angles before he committed to one. He finally picks a position, breaking their kiss and reaching to pump himself, spreading the slick across his before aiming.

"You tell me what you need, right Lucy?" he says, grazing his nose against hers. "Slow, fast, stop, anyfing just..." she sees his hesitancy to hurt her. Not wanting to leave her with the memory of pain from their time together. Her mind couldn't have been farther away from the thought.

"Just do it Alfie." she smiles, one hand pushing back his hair as it fell onto his forehead. "I promise I'll tell you." her gentle words ease him forward, the final go-ahead he needed from her.

He begins to push and he's grateful he can make progress immediately, notching inside her, eyes watching him enter her before returning to her face. When his eyes shift back up, he finds a lusty angel laying beneath him. Her hands still against his back as he puts his chest to hers. He takes her kiss-swollen lips being parted and stammering as a compliment, reaching down to connect their gaze by holding her cheek for a moment. The room falls quiet, tiny gasps and mewls as her lips push together, her body responding, tensing around him, causing him to fight to keep his eyes open as he slowly sinks into her, watching every movement of her face. A big exhale from both as their bodies rest against each other, her eyelashes fluttering before lifting back up to his, taking her hands to hold his face and kiss him.

"Move, love." she whispers against his lips, a small nip before he gives in to an intense kiss, trying to connect themselves fully. A slow drag, only a minor wince from her. On the second push in, a deeper exhale from her, a shifting of her shoulders as the pace he set started to feel better and better the more he did it. Soft yes's into his ears as he kisses her neck, finding a pace that suited them both so neither were overwhelmed. "It's..." she begins, a loud gulp that makes him rise to take in her face, expecting a rebuttal but he finds her so soft and strung out his shoulders hunch at the sight of her. "You feel so good." she sighs with a tiny smile, eyes looking unfocused and her moans growing.

"You feel even better." he rasps into her mouth, a moan as they connect into another kiss. He holds her thigh, shifting his weight up, a slightly different angle that she responds to loudly.

"Oh my." she pants, cheeks flushed and rosy, a thin sheen of sweat glistening over them both as they began to move together.

Her small noises, the way her hands would grasp at his back like she needed more, he knew he wouldn't give her what he wanted before he found his end first. She was too tight, his heart overwhelming him in the moment with her. So he reaches between them, nimble fingers find her clit easily, giving her a boost and she gasps loudly, eyes finally rolling back and closing, head knocking back, allowing him to kiss her neck and chest, giving him the chance to go faster, harder.

"Yes, that's it." she moans, nodding and biting her lip, her back arching, pressing her against him. "Oh my god Alfie." she whines, her legs opening wider, taking more of him. "Yes." she nods again, her head shooting down towards him and whimpers for him. Their lips meet fiercely, her fingers digging into his back to hold him to her, clutching as she felt herself drawing to that still new conclusion that she hadn't stopped thinking about since he first gave it to her.

"Are you close, love?" he grunts out, praying she would give him a yes, as he wasn't sure how much he could take, the waves of pleasure causing her to throb around him and in his not yet fully formed sexual prowess, he couldn't hold off much longer.

"Yes. Yes Alfie." she nods and bites his lip, giving herself over to it, letting everything else fall away as she wraps her legs around him. "More, please. Harder." she pants out. He pushing down with his knees and bucks into her feeling her body shudder, her thighs tightening around him as he decides to give over, pressing his forehead to hers as her mouth fell open with praise and moans.

"Fuck love, I'm gonna..." he grunts out, his face pained, his head shaking back and forth.

"Do it." she nods against him. "I'm so bloody close." she lets out a wanton moan.

Once again, he gives her what she asks. He does what his body is telling him to, harder, faster, finish it off. She tightens her grip, locking her arms and legs around him, pulling him against her fully, his arms both on the bed as he pumped into her and she got to hear him right against her ear. A beautifully pained sound she hadn't heard before. With a deep grunt he let's go, pressing against her, giving her the final kick of feeling she needed. The sounds they spilled out into the room weren't like that of what she'd heard from her friend. They were deeper, softer, more desperate. No dirty words shared, just the slap of skin to skin that she knew meant she was getting what she needed.

It washes over her, a feeling of being shaken, electricity through her limbs, her face screwing up as deep grunts escaped her she'd never heard before. Having already finished, but being young he keeps going as long as he can, trying to give her everything. He whines at the sensitivity, her squeezing so tightly around him. Something he'd never felt before her. Her grunts turn to light moans, feeling her finally loosen her grip on him.

They lay still and entangled, his face pressed next to her hers. She felt a sense of calm, of peace for a fleeting moment with him in the afterglow. She closes her eyes and pretends they're somewhere else, another time perhaps when things weren't so confusing, when they were older and more established, having been through these growing pains already.

"Can I stay with you tonight? Here? Can we stay like this?" she whispers, not opening her eyes, unwilling to leave the fantasy behind.

"Stay as long as you like." he answers softly, kissing her cheek. "We can stay just like this if that's what you want." he offers, now resting his head on her chest, listening to her heart and her breathing, smelling the mixture of expensive perfume and sweat from her.

"Yes. For now. Just... stay like this. On me... in me, like this." her voice is barely audible, her fingers now in his hair, lazy strokes that make his eyelids feel heavy. "I do want to do that again before I leave." she smiles, eyes still closed, feeling him smile against her skin.

"I'll do it as many times I can for ya love." he plants a kiss to her sternum.

Her mind wanders. Blissful from orgasm and holding a boy she loved in her arms, her mind drifts to better thoughts, forgetting they were spending what was most likely their last night together. "I love you Alfie." she leans to kiss his head. "No matter what happens." she shakes her head slowly.

"And I love you, Lucy. No matter what happens." he promises to her in the dark.

The future felt so infinite and empty at that moment for them. They knew they'd live, but being young and in love was something that was rather life ending in a way when it happens for the first time. When you come across that heartbreak, having to keep going through the pain of it, part of you does die. But another version of yourself, another life is born from it. A new set of eyes to see the world with, a new outlook without the rose-colored glasses young love afforded. They did long to be someone else and they'd found that in each other. But now facing losing the person they had been able to pretend with, they were both left in the cold. The harsh reality of having to find out how to make themselves who they wanted to be alone lie before them now.

----- "I don’t know when I’m going to be able to see you again.” She whispered her fingertips light on his clean-shaven face, his eyelashes casting shadows over his cheeks as his lips twitched.

“I know.” He whispers back solemnly, a nod against her forehead.

“She might lock me away.” She gulps, not wanting to separate from him. “She said she was going to arrange a marriage.” A tear falls down her cheek and her lips tremble and a sob breaks out.

“Shhh shhhh.” He pulls her close, holding her head as she beginning to sob into his jacket. “I’m sorry Lucy. I am really am. There’s nothing I can do. Your family... “ he begins, knowing her world was different from his, knowing a scrappy lad like him wouldn’t be able to ever be good enough for her in their eyes.

She nods and wipes her face. “I know. You’re right.” she takes a deep breath. “They’d never allow it.” She returns her gaze to his face lit beautifully by the street lamp. “I’ll be forever sorry it ended like this.” Her voice was so full of misery. “No matter what does happen, know I did love you. I know I’ll think of you often. And fondly." She gives him a smile that he knows is a shield but he accepts it anyway.

"You'll be with me in some way always, Lucy. I can't give you the life that you deserve, the one that your family has, the one they want for you but..." he shakes his head and she sees the heartbreak and defeat that lie there. “I love you Lucy. I wish I was a better man to-“

“You’re the best man, Alfie. Don’t let anyone tell you any differently. To me you’re more than enough. I'd rather have you than anything some strangers money could give me.”

“I’ll miss you Lucy. I’ll miss everything about you, love.”

“Promise you won’t forget me?” she asks with a sad sob that escapes, a smile still forced to her face.

“Never.” He whispers. “You don’t forget someone when they made me feel like you did.”

———

Her mother kept her word. Within the month, after being kept under close watch in her home a marriage was arranged. A family within the same means of her own, not from the same school she’d went to but he had the same air to him as the posh lads she knew.

She was thrown quickly into a world she didn’t want to be a part of. She missed beer and pubs and fights. The company of people who were unapologetically themselves. Patching him up after his fights and conversations on the poorly made roof of Jacks dusty flat. Now she was dressed in gowns and had to speak with etiquette, be touched by a boy who had never been in a fight before, who had no passion. Someone that didn’t know what struggle was and it was plain to see in his actions. She cried on her wedding day. She found out this was commonplace and received no sympathy for it. These realizations that came with her moving into adult life only made her miss her days spent in the east end more. It had only been months, but that version of herself already felt a lifetime away.

They were married in the summer. A hot day with a stuffy dress full of fake smiles and thanks. Her wedding night was unceremonious. More business transaction than personal.

She didn’t get to settle in fully to married life with this man. For the war came and before she knew it he was gone. Everyone was gone it seemed. Jack had gone, Alfie had gone. All her schoolmates. Just gone. The next years were long and lonely. A great span of time with other wifes left behind, then time spent with the war widows, later on, the two groups much the same by the war's end. She felt guilty for not grieving more. But she’d barely known the man.

She had gone to school and went to work after that. With a house and money that was in her name, she grew bored quickly alone. She missed being out in the world, missed interacting with real people. She wanted to have her own life and she’d been given that opportunity. She knew she needed to move forward.

One unassuming spring afternoon she’s out at the market, basket in hand and picking out food for tea. With the day free she planned on spending it cooking, then perhaps curl up with her pastries and a good book by the fire. She’s busy perusing a cart of apples and paying no mind to anything around her. Inside her own head was where she lived the most after all.

Alfie heard about Lucy through Marnie. The marriage, the house, the money. He was told she was miserable, but he hoped she could find solace in the comfort those things could provide. He couldn’t give them to her after all. And she deserved it.

He channeled that hurt into his fighting. He beat every opponent, working his way up and becoming focused. He was set to move up to real fights anytime. With real boxers and real audiences with real money. He was on the brink of something, making something of himself, he could feel it.

But then the war came. The fever that was sparked from it swept up everyone he knew, the poor going off with either hope of a better life after for serving or some left with a sense of patriotism. He enlisted because there was no more boxing for him with everyone gone. The young lads, the promoters who were still of age, everyone started leaving. He thought he’d give it a shot, best go in by choice and accept it then be pulled into it by force later.

The war changed him. As was the nature of it. Perhaps his education and his familiarity with fighting and violence led him to make it though. Although with being a Captain it certainly felt like he was a fraud at times. Little east end tosser like him a Captain. That’s how bad it’d gotten. But it did end. And with a title, a new outlook on what his life would be now. With old hopes abandoned and new goals now set, he knew he could use what he learned in the war to his advantage. And that’s exactly what he did. He didn’t want to be one of the men he saw who were shells in themselves after. Some mad as hatters, not able to leave the war behind.So he settled back into London, and with his old schoolmate Darby, another fellow child of immigrants, he began a new business venture.

He stomps out of the building towards the town car that waited in the street for him. His shoulders now broader, his face covered in a beard, now with hair that was far overgrown what it had been before the war. Hidden under a bulking coat and hat he stopped to lay out instructions to one of his employees before departing. Growing annoyed with the lad's thickness, he stands and sighs, eyes rolling and lips pursed in a clear display of dissatisfaction.

“What the fuck is wrong with ya? I could go get anyone else in this whole fuckin market, yeah? And they’d be better at following simple fuckin instructions than you.” His hand lifted and motioning to the crowd. “Fuckin any one of these wankers out here.” He gruffs as his eyes follow the path of his hand to make a connection to someone he saw, use his cleverness to make the boy feel bad. But instead, he paused. The boy watches his bosses face go slack, his arm slowly falling back to his side.

“Sir?” The boy asks, looking in the same direction and finding nothing of interest.

But she’d caught his eye. Just like she had all those years ago. Her in the middle of a crowd and his eyes drawn to her like there was no one else. She'd changed just the same as him. Taller, darker hair fell to her shoulders as her dress fluttered about her calves as she walked.

“Get in the car lad.” He says, watching her walk through the booths of fruit.

“Sir?”

He returns his eyes to the boy. Annoyed he had to look away. “I said get in the fuckin car ya daft child. I’ll be back. Sit here and don’t fuckin go anywhere. Don’t speak to no one. Lest they know what a bellend you are.” He says, beginning to cross the street, shoving the boy out of the way.

The closer he gets, the more certain he was that it was his Lucy. Well, not his Lucy anymore. She was grown now, the same as him. He trails her for a bit, seeing no one approach her. No man, no children. He sees no ring on her dainty finger and he tries not to become hopeful.

He decides to close in. He stands next to her, not noticing him as she’s away in her thoughts as she would get sometimes. He sees her face set indifferently, she fingers through her pocketbook to pay. But he interjects.

“I’ll pay for the lady.” He says, handing the money over to the man behind the stand. “And she’ll take some of them berries too.” He adds, her eyes full of surprise at first for a strangers kindness, then he watched her face shift. A polite smile to recognition with wide eyes. “That is if she still likes em like she used to.” He gives her a nod.

Her mouth stutters for a moment before forming his name. “Alfie?” She says in disbelief. She hadn’t even known if he’d survived the war. Let alone come back to London. He was like a ghost appearing out of nowhere. Her heart raced and her hand rose to her chest.

“Lucy.” He nods and the grin he gives her makes her lashes flutter with its charm. His eyes were the same. His face now covered and he stood taller, an air of importance to him now, his clothes old fashioned but well made and clean. His voice was deeper and rougher but those plush lips still sat across those slightly wonky teeth just the same.

“Oh, my word.” She whispers. “You? You?” She doesn’t know what to ask or say first. So much comes flooding back.

“Me, me. Yeah, love.” He laughs, taking the produce and handing it to her. He feels an inkling of hope when she takes it from him and doesn’t move her eyes from his.

“I didn’t know you were back.” She begins with. "Or even alive." she adds with a whisper.

“I am.” He nods. “I saw ya when I's leaving a meetin' and I thought there’s no way that’s little Lucy.”

“Not so little now.” She gives an awestruck smile.

“Ya got a minute to talk?” He inquires, holding his arm out to her to take.

“Yes!” She says fast with a quick nod. More reason to feel hopeful. She takes his arm as they walk aimlessly, she can’t take her eyes off him. “How are you?” She asks first.

“Oh, I’m fine.” He dismisses. “Always workin' it seems. More importantly, how are you love?”

“I’m... I'm fine. Had the day off and thought I’d come out to buy some things to bake.”

“Oh ya baking now?”

“Only as a hobby. I’m actually a secretary in town now.”

“Ya workin?” He asks clearly surprised. He expected her to be a kept woman.

“Yes. I grew tired of sitting alone in the house.”

“Alone?”

“Yes. I... well, I’m just another war widow now I’m afraid. So I support myself.”

“My condolences love.” He gives her a polite nod.

She stops and narrows her eyes at him for a moment. “You should know they aren’t needed.”

The weight of her words hits him. There was hope. A bloom bursting inside him he had been avoiding. “Well, what of the little ones? You have your own army of nanny’s to take care of them?”

“I don’t have any children.” She answers simply. "My husband left for the war shortly after we were married."

No husband, no children and working for herself and living alone was exactly the opposite of how he’d expected to find her. If he ever did.

“What about you?” She asks timidly, afraid of his response.

“Same as you it would seem.” He gives her a slow nod.

"You're a war widow?" she asks with an inkling of humor that makes a broad smile grow across his face. Bless her, she still had her cleverness.

He looks away, a groan of a sound at her cheeky response before returning his eyes to hers, finding them beaming at him. "Ahhhh. Not that no." he shakes his head and lets out a breathy laugh. "Never married. War 'n all." he gives a stern nod.

There’s silence for a moment. Both thinking the same thing but not knowing how to say it.

“Would you like to get some tea sometime Alfie?” She asks. His stomach tightens. What a forward little bird she’d become.

“I would. But how would dinner sound instead?” He leans closer.

“Like a real date?” She smirks. He was so relieved to find her sense of humor still intact. The same quirky and judgmental glance he remembered.

“Would ya like it to be?”

“I’ll say yes if it is.” A wide smile spreads across her face.

“Then it is indeed a date, love. You have the day off ya said? Would it be too forward of me to suggest tonight?”

“It would not.” She says softly. “I believe we have some time to make up for.” She says with a cheeky smile.

“I do hope so, Lucy.”

“You don’t have to hope Alfie.” She gives him the same adoring smile from years ago, moving to take his hand into hers. “We most certainly do.”

@fangirlfreakingout @jaegeeeeer @cosettewinchester @lookuptheskyisfalling-blog @brianaisasongbird @cry5t4l-w4rri0r @iliveonchocolateandnetflix @jess2464 @hardygal69 @thegarrisonpublichouse @a-flock-of-angry-pigeons @pootle @negansdirtygirl22 @musingsby-night @wtf-is-wrong-with-this@shine-dont-shadow @vale0413 @lafayettes-baguettes-1 @sxlomons @aphnxrising @emerald-bijou @elaenom @give-jack-a-lightsaber @anrm1 @ultrablackwidower @tinastarkandco @arrowswithwifi   @marvelgirl7 @they-are-not-just-stories   @ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes

I just tagged everyone who is tagged in my other Alfie fic, Choking On Sapphires.

[midnight-writ3r]

A bed, too big

Pairing: Hyunjin x Genderneutral Reader

Genre: Fluff, implied sexual content, humor if you squint

Wordcount: 1.2 k

Inspired by: The author´s frustration of their bed being too big, send help :(

Summary: "This is ridiculous", you laugh, trying not to let how affected you are, show, "Let go. I´m putting on a shirt."

"If you get up and put any kind of clothing on your body right now, I´m breaking up with you." He groans and you burst out laughing. 

A/N: I just wanted to write something wholesome tbh and who is more wholesome than Hyunjin and what is better than morning gayness/straightness/anykindofness. I just wow I lob that giant baby, please enjoy <3<3

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Sunlight dances on the walls, as the wind from outside ruffles through the curtains. From outside, faint noises seep into the room, like a stream of white noise. You barely pay attention to it. Your mind is still trying to clear itself from the fog of sleep and as you stretch, you get the feeling back into your muscles. The clock on your nightstand ticks away, but you ignore it. There is no need to pay attention to minutes, hours or seconds. Today, is free for you to spend as you please. And you have a pretty good idea on how you want to spend it already.

Turning your head, you see Hyunjin´s black hair poke from under the blanket. It´s tangled, knots making it stick in every direction possible and the sight makes you smile. He´s going to be pissed at you once he sees it, since the constant tugging last night, is most likely the cause of the mess. However, you always know how to save yourself from a scolding with a sweet pout and some kisses, so you´re not too worried.

Unable to resist, you pull the blanket out of the way to reveal his sleeping face. For a moment, you try to hold in a snort. Hyunjin has his mouth opened slightly and there´s a tiny trail of dried drool drawing a line down his cheek. He always makes fun of you for snoring, but you have yet to call him out on his drooling, because you´re just that nice. Plus, it´s kind of cute and you´d be sad if he actively tried to break that habit.

Your hand, with its own mind, trails forward to stroke his cheek. At the first contact, his eyelids flutter. Then one eye opens and then another. His first reaction when he sees you is a pleased hum and that eye-smile you love so much. Not even fully awake yet, Hyunjin already wraps an arm around your waist and pulls you closer, until his nose is pressed against your neck. Neither is wearing anything apart from briefs and the feeling of you skin against his is so soft and domestic, all you want is to go back to sleep.

"Morning." You chuckle, cradling his head in your arms.

"Morning", he whispers back, his voice still a bit raspy, "I missed you."

You smile and press his head tighter against you, so he won´t see the redness to your cheeks, "We literally slept in the same bed."

"But you weren´t in my dreams", he croaks. Then he curses softly at the state of his voice, "damn, my voice sounds like I haven´t had any water in two weeks."

You pull back, so he can see your shit-eating grin, "Well you did use it pretty actively last night."

He hides his face in his hands with an embarrassed whine, "How is that fair? You sound completely fine."

"I´m a natural."

The both of you burst out laughing at that. Once he´s calmed down, he climbs on top of you with a wide grin. You raise a brow at him, but let your arms loop around his neck anyways. There´s something so soft in his gaze that makes your fingertips prickle and your mind go wide-awake. How the hell are you so lucky?

"I have a proposition to make." He says then.

"I´m all ears."

"We do not move out of this apartment and if possible, not out of this bed either, for the whole day." Hyunjin´s smile is so proud you have to hold back a cooing sound.

You let one of your hands wander into his hair, carding the knots out of his strands, "And what do you suggest we do in here for the whole day?"

"Hm, we could watch movies, or read to each other or cuddle", with every word, he closes the space between his and your lips, "or kiss, or… other things."

You laugh and lean up to give him a peck, "You´ve got it all planned out, I see."

"All of it."

"What about food?" You purse your lips.

It´s obvious he´s only half listening, because he leans down against and places a series of loving pecks on your lips, each one lasting longer than the previous, "Let´s just order in." he mumbles, mind already somewhere completely else.

Meeting all of his kisses, you let your hands wander over his shoulders, down his chest, "And what about a shower?"

"I´ll only allow one together."

"Oh, bossy." You tease and he chuckles against your lips.

Your legs wind around his hips and as he looks down at you, Hyunjin pulls his bottom lip between his teeth. At the sight, you narrow your eyes in a distrustful manner, "Oh no. No, no, no." you push against his shoulder, but he doesn´t budge, only pushes his body flush against yours and grabs one of your thighs, "No, we´re not doing this first thing in the morning. We haven´t even brushed our teeth yet."

Your giggled arguments fall on death ears, as Hyunjin latches onto your neck. He´s sucking tiny marks into the skin that isn´t covered from last night yet. His hand is rubbing up and down your thigh in the same rhythm that his hips circle against yours and you can practically FEEL his smirk, pressing into your skin. Everything feels so good; you have to do everything in your abilities to not let your mind fill up with just Hyunjin. To your disadvantage (or advantage – that´s debatable), your boyfriend knows all your sweet spots like they are tattooed onto your body.

"This is ridiculous", you laugh, trying not to let how affected you are, show, "Let go. I´m putting on a shirt."

"If you get up and put any kind of clothing on your body right now, I´m breaking up with you." He groans and you burst out laughing.

Throwing your precaution out of the window, you roll your eyes and then push against his chest. With a short pressure, you have the tables turned, sitting on top of his hips.

"No fair." you pout.

He whines, when your hands splay across his chest, "I´m not the only one playing dirty here."

Humming, your fingertips dance across his stomach, feeling the muscles flex under your touch. "Now", you lean down, your tone as alluring as you can manage, "I´m gonna do something very, very naughty."

"W-what is that?" He stammers, his chest twitching with excited breaths and his eyes closed, to take in your voice.

"I will", you leap off of him and from the bed, "put on a shirt and you can´t stop me!"

"Oh no you won´t!" As fast as lightning, Hyunjin is on his feet and chasing after you.

The curtains still sway in the wind, as your laughter rings through the apartment; outshining even the sun.

–*– FIN –*–