#those are some good embracing and strolling through the park hands

[yaptown]

Hands

I know I need to explain myself, I can't, I feel like any defense will only make me look worse in the public eye. On the other hand if don't, it WILL be taken out of context, which also would not be incorrect but yk, lemme yap.

I've always been a physical touch kind of person, it's the result of both nature and nurture. Like, naturally if I enjoy being around someone(friendship and/or family-wise), I feel like I'm bursting at the seams with so much love and affection that I have to release it in a big fat hug. I will hug anyone and everyone, obviously there's nuance, I'll ask first and will only do it if somene's comfortable with it(consent is key babes). And that's my nature, nurture-wise, I'm latina and in my culture we're very touchy. We greet each other with hugs and kisses on the cheek, the latter is the most common if you don't know someone that well. I don't know why but out of all the physical affections, hand-holding is literally what gets me to fold. I can hug you and fall asleep in your arms and it can still be bestie vibes, we're platonic. But if you grab my hand we are literally in love.

I don't know if it's the security of it but hand-holding makes my stomach do backflips and make me scream "MARRY ME".

Don't even get me started on handshakes(formal greeting version), that is literally soooo hoooooot. T-T

I literally had a crush on a guy I never talked to for 3 months because when he introduced himself to my group he gave us all a handshake and his hands were so big and solid and ugh. I was ascending into another dimension and had zero thoughts for the next 5 minutes. WHY ME?!?!?!? I wish I had a normal fixation like maybe abs, but if you pull me by the hand in a farmers market, you're coming home with me.

At this point I just need someone to validate me

[devoutekuna]

Family bonding

Includes- Toji, Sukuna, Nanami, Gojo, Geto

Sukuna-

Sukuna never brings his child around his followers, finding them unworthy to grace their eyes upon his offspring. Sat in a vacant room, laid out on the floor as he watched his followers trying to entrain him, dancing around, telling stories or jokes. Nothing could suffice him, a pile of heads adorning the corner of the room, yet to become of everyone. Small giggles being heard from the slightly open door, pink hair sticking out from beside it as he looked at it, hands working magic as he sliced their head off, ushering for the next person. Door slashed open just like those people, leaving wooden remains all around. "Show yourself" crimson eyes peering out from the last standing part of the door. A smile glistening on her face, flashing her canines at him. "Papa!" Running towards the king. A smirk on his face as he felt his daughter's embrace, staring at the one servant who raised their head just for it to be cut off, leaving no witnesses to the matter.

"Next!" Motioning for the next person to come in, only to receive the news that there was nobody left, leaving a pile of corpses in the corner of the room, blood seeping towards him.

Gojo-

"Won't mummy be mad?" Sat in his father's arms as he fought a curse, using his infinity to block all the attacks, still flinching from the idea of them getting through. "Not if she doesn't know" grinning at the little boy, he loved to mess with you, hearing you scold him was some of his favourite highlights. "But still" covering his head in his father's shoulder, white hair rubbing against his neck. "If you're that scared we can go home" exorcising the curse as he looked away, making sure not leave a mess and just use the excuse that it ran away. Kicking his leg into his chest on accident. "No!" Smiling at how much his son wanted to spend time with him.

Nanami-

"If your going to stay in here, help me out" trying to declutter his office. Taking down a box full of files, throwing them onto the sofa since he knew that they were no used to him. Reaching for the next one as he noticed a small pair of hands reaching towards him first. "To me" on her toes as she reached for it, wanting to be helpful like she said. "Don't drop it sweetheart." Handing her the box, noticing how she reacted by lowering her body, waddling over to the sofa since the box was too big for her. "Ooo, what's this daddy?" Pulling out a memory box you two made when you reached your 10 year anniversary. Ripping the box open before he could even get a good look at what she was talking about. Ripping the box from her arms, not knowing what she would discover if she opened it up. "Awh" folding her arms over her chest, trying to act cute to get it back. "Let's leave this up here" straining his arms as he put it back up.

Geto-

He's rambling on about his stupid followers, talking about how useless and belittling them, cup in hand as he took a few sips of the drink before he carried down talking. "Here you go daddy" running up to him with a new glass of milk, having it come out of the microwave, it was warm, but still a little cold. Ripping the other cup from his hands, running back to the kitchen to hand it you. "Thank you sweetheart" smiling at the girl as she seated herself next to him, leaning her body onto his.listening to whatever he had to say despite not understanding the meaning behind it at all. "And then they have the nerve to say something about my actions!" Maybe he was drunk with the way he was acting. Small hands leaning over to grab the felt tips, refusing to get out of her comfortable position only for her father to step in and pass them to her, stroking her hair in the process.

Toji-

"Keep up" strolling in the park, he would've kept his normal quick pace but he had his daughter with him, both dressed up in pyjamas as they walked through the park. He was only here because the lines for the food truck were shorter at nighttime. Nightie swaying in the wind despite her coat. "Wait up daddy!" Running up to him to try and grab his hand, only to grab his fingers because she was too short. Picking the girl up as he sped up, wanting to get back before you woke up since he knew you would scold him.

Sat on the bench eating some ice-cream, it was a quick stop by to the shop before they made it to the food truck since she was so hungry. Wiping the ice-cream off her nose with the spare tissue he had. "We've got to go before your ma' wakes up"

[theyhavetakenovermylife]

May I please request something involving Rise!Raph where he confides in the reader that he’s a little insecure about his size when someone calls him “bubble butt”?

Big Teddy Bears Are The Best (Angst/Fluff)

Rise!Raphael x reader

A/N: Gotta show Raphie and his beautiful size some love❤️

Warnings: Insecurities about size, cat calling, expression of insecurities.

There was no doubt in Raph’s mind - you were the best thing that had ever happened to him. Ever since you had gained knowledge about him and his brothers, you had always been there for them. A close friend that they could always count on, always ready to help with whatever they needed. The fact that you were so calm and helpful when taking care of him and his family, made Raph’s head calm yet his heart flutter. It didn’t take long before he started developing feelings for you. You were absolutely amazing.

But if there was one day better than the day Raph met you, was the day the two of you got together. It was like a dream come true for the snapping turtle. To be able to hold you close and call you his.

But there were times where Raph would get… insecure, is probably the right way to put it. You were a beautiful human. The prettiest Raph had ever seen. There were times he still couldn’t believe you were real, and not just an amazing dream come true. And he… yeah, he was what he was. A big, large, mutant snapping turtle, so large that his hand was as big as your head. There were times where he would spend much of this time, thinking about it, feeling his insecurities nag inside of him. That gave way to many questions, that just wouldn’t leave him alone. What did you see in him? How could you love someone like him? Would you want to stay with him?

But whenever you would enter the room, all those worries would fall away, lightning up Raph’s state once more, as he would hold you close and let you pepper his face with kisses, the same way he would with you. He would remember the nickname you had given him, exactly because of his large size - teddy bear. Your teddy bear. Words you would tell him, before embracing him in another loving hug. Truly the best thing that has ever happened to him.

Together, you and Raph would frequent many places together, hand in hand on many wonderful and amazing dates, that the two of you would remember forever. In the disguise of human clothing, you would bring Raph with you out around New York City, or Raph would bring you with him down to the Hidden City. So far neither you or Raph had experienced any problems with that. Your dates had always gone smoothly, providing you with the time together that the both of you held so dear. During these dates, Raph would be too occupied to worry about his size or nature. Well, that was until the two of you took a stroll around Central Park.

Hand in hand, you and Raph walked together through the park, laughing and smiling at whatever conversation you were in, with not a worry in the world. That was until a group of three women came by in the opposite direction. Their eyes were locked on Raph, taking in his towering height with awe. Raph grew uneasy, feeling their eyes on him. For a moment he feared that he hadn’t brought his hood up high enough, and that they had noticed his turtle-like features. He tried to keep his focus on you, yet out of the corner of his eye, he kept an eye on the staring women as they came closer and closer, just about to pass by the two of you. But then one of them spoke, a teasing smile on her lips as he stared directly at Raph, her words causing him to stop dead in his tracks.

“Looking good there, bubble butt!”

Raph froze but you turned, staring daggers into the woman that had just cat called your boyfriend. One thing was to cat call a person in general, but to do it while they were walking with their partner? They must have lost their minds! You would have run after them and given them a piece of mind, but instead you turned your focus to your boyfriend, who’s spirit seemed to be dampened quite a bit. His gaze was now directed towards the ground, his brow muscles pushed together in a worried expression.

“Raph?”, you asked, holding his hand in your much smaller ones, your thumb stroking his knuckles with loving care. “Raphy bear, are you okay?”

Raph did not answer. Instead his head started flooding with the same insecurities that normally only seemed to take place when he was alone. But with the soft feeling of your thumbs on his hand, he finally brought himself to look you in the eyes, unsure on how to explain the tumult of emotions he was feeling. With a sigh, he finally decided to tell you, realizing there would be no benefit of hiding his thoughts any longer.

“(Y/N)”, Raph said, avoiding your eyes as he spoke, nervousness growing within him, fearing the worst would happen. But he had to say it. He just had to.  “Am I… Am I too big for you?”

You cocked your head in confusion, clearly understanding what he was asking you. “What?”

Raph swallowed the lump in his throat. “It’s just… for some time now… I’ve been feeling… I’ve been fearing that I’m too big. That I’m too big for you”. You stared at Raph, your thumbs coming to a halt, your silence causing him to grow even more worried. “(Y/N)? Babe? Please talk to me. I need to know-”.

Before Raph could finish his sentence, you cut him off by wrapping your arms around him, as far as they would go, pulling him in for a tight hug, smiling up at him with that beautiful smile of yours that made him weak in the knees.

“Raph, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me! You’re the sweetest, greatest and most wonderful person I’ve ever met”, you said, resting your chin against his clothes-covered plastron. “And your size? I’ve already told you that you’re my teddy bear, and big teddy bears are the best!”

Your words made Raph’s heart flutter, feeling small tears of happiness press against the back of his eyes. Wrapping his arms around you, pulling you closer against him with a happy sigh.

“I’m so lucky to have you, (Y/N)”, he said, resting his forehead against yours. “I love you so much”.

“I love you too, Raph”, you smiled, pulling him in for a small sweet kiss. “All of you”.

[shini--chan]

Yan face with human! reader (they are analytical cold and don't like hugging (tend to be sociopathic)

Scratching the sociopathic part because it doesn’t entirely fit with the analytical and cold part. Besides, I already had this finished and then my laptop decided to stage a rebellion. To say I’m a bit pissed would be an understatement

Yandere Allies - Winter Solstice

America

Alfred would see it as a challenge. In his eyes, you would just be so closed off because you wouldn’t have met him yet and have had somebody to open up to. It would just be like those old (as well as modern) Hollywood films where the love interest of the protagonist would make him chase them to prove his worth. Every slap to the face would just be a hint to try harder and every no would be a yes in disguise. Like the main character in those movies, he would just have to wear you down and you would just be playing hard to get. Never would a rejection of yours be taken seriously and it would just be seen as one of those silly games people like to play with each other. An important thing to keep in mind would be that the faster you would try to run from him, the more stubborn and passionate he would become in his pursuit of you. Even after he would have you bond to his side, he wouldn’t let go of that delusion. It just would compute for him that you aren’t enamoured with him, especially after you played hard to get for so long. 

You can bet your life that he wouldn’t respect your boundaries when it comes to touch, a feature that would be amplified after the two of you would “establish your relationship”. Wriggling out of his embrace, brushing off his hands, turning your cheek when he would go in for a kiss - that and many other rejection of his advances would just lead to him repeating the action more intimately and longer than before. It goes without saying that this would lead to some very … uncomfortable situations. 

Canada

Matthew would actually be relieved, There wouldn’t be such pressure to be a romantic this way and there wouldn’t be much difference between courting and living with him. This man would be from casting you lovelorn gazes while stalking you to casting lovelorn gazes at you while you go about your business in the isolated cabin he would keep you prisoner in after kidnapping you. His relationship would consist a lot of just observing you - he would act very much like a naturalist in that respect, so it wouldn’t matter much if you wouldn’t reciprocate his feelings. 

China

Yao wouldn’t have a big problem with it. Of course he would prefer it if you’d be more affectionate with him, yet he’d take what he is given. If being cold and distant is your baseline personality, then so be it - he’d have become obsessed with you for who you are after all. However, if you’re just playing at being standoffish to scare him off, then he wouldn’t have any of it. He’d increase his pursuit of you, maybe even going as far as forcing you to cooperate with him by pulling some strings and having you assigned to him. Then he’d have time to file away at your armour.

England

Arthur would actually be disturbed by your coldness and aloofness. The partner he would seek would be sweet and tender in the right moments, and have recognisable emotional expressions. You being so closed off, so one dimensional in character wouldn’t sit well with him. Which is why he would become quickly convinced that you would be hiding most of your personality from him and putting up a cold front to scare him away. As such, he would use any method to thaw that icy heart of your’s. Romantic gestures aplenty would be employed - from flowers to poetry to strolls in the park. Eventually though, he would become fed up with his failures and lure away to the woods. A scene would occur, that would culminate in him kidnapping you. 

After squirreling you away to his estate, he would put you through various trials in order to make your hard shell break. All good romantic relationships would have their own obstacles, and this would be one of your’s. For England, it would be alright if you’re cold to others, however you should be willing to grant emotional tenderness and warmth to him. He would also be very merciless in his pursuit of that. 

France

Francis would pity you. Who on earth would have harmed his beloved so much that they would have become closed off and introverted and distrusting? How dare the cruel world harm his petite little love. His notions of your relationship would lead him to directly skip the courting part and straight up kidnap you. When you would continue to be closed off and cold, he would sit you down to explain at length that you’re safe with him and that you no longer have to retreat into yourself to ensure you remain unharmed. With him, it would be alright to be vulnerable. To extend on this, he would see it as within his right to play therapist to you and if you wouldn’t cooperate, then he would resort to underhand methods. Romantic dinners would turn into interrogations, and every menial problem of your’s would be traced back to your childhood. 

Additionally, he would enact your “revenge” for you so that you can get over your past “traumas”. Your “abuser’s” head would be served to you on a silver platter. While it can be so easy to label him as a sappy, romantic fool, there would be instances like this where he would remind you that that would just be a singular facet to the personality of a warfaring empire.France would be like a cat bringing a mouse to your doorstep, and be as expectant as a hound for praise. 

Russia

Ivan would be alright at first - he would see it as a normal reaction to meeting somebody new. True smiles and real tears are only shared with family and friends, yes? If things would continue that way, then he’ll assume that he wronged you somehow or needs to step up his game. Eitherway, you’d be on the receiving end of a parade of flowers and chocolates. If you’d be naturally cold, then he’d come to terms with it. However, if he’d think you’re trying to get rid of him by giving him the cold shoulder, then you would be kidnapped. 

[myvisualstories]

Peaceful Days in London | Slow Living Nature Walks & Local Markets

Peaceful Days in London | Slow Living, Nature Walks & Local Markets https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQk02UsBM3Y A calm and peaceful weekend in London, embracing slow living and the beauty of spring. From quiet mornings and nature walks with our dogs to exploring Kensington high street, Holland Park, Ravenscourt Park and the Chiswick Sunday Market. It was all about enjoying good food, finding peace, and savouring those little moments of stillness. It captures a slow-paced life filled with beautiful parks, hidden local gems, cosy meals and the everyday charm that London has to offer. I hope this vlog brings you a sense of calm and inspiration for your own quiet days. Please visit my website to get more information: https://ift.tt/bQkhBvE 🔔Stay Ahead and Travel the World with My Visual Stories! Don’t Miss Out—Subscribe for First-Hand Visual Tours from Vibrant Cities to Scenic Hiking Trails. https://www.youtube.com/@myvisualstories1138/?sub_confirmation=1 🔗Stay Connected With Me. 👉Facebook: https://ift.tt/eED17Fd 👉Instagram: https://ift.tt/b7yeGwR 👉Website: https://ift.tt/bQkhBvE ============================= ✅ Other Videos You Might Be Interested In Watching: 👉 Embracing Spring: A visual journey through nature's beauty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuYc2A0vFnE 👉 Notting Hill London- a journey through cobblestone charms... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKUjDjjOfuM 👉 My strolls through London in spring 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml0R6aDx5Cs ============================= ✅ About My Visual Stories. My visual stories are videos and picture videos taken in various locations across the United Kingdom and other parts of the world. I have been to these places and wanted to share with the online community. I attempt to bring some easy-to-access and great places to enjoy. Some of them are from my walking trails or simply the city! 🔔 Don’t Miss Out on the Adventure! Subscribe for Captivating Videos and Photos from Unique Corners of the Travel World. Experience the Best Places to Enjoy, From Cities to Nature Trails: https://www.youtube.com/@myvisualstories1138/?sub_confirmation=1 ================================= #londonvlog #slowliving #naturewalks #kensingtonlondon #hollandpark #chiswick #ravenscourtpark #londonmarkets #slowdays #peacefulvlog #peacefulmoments ⚠️Disclaimer: I do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred from you acting or not acting as a result of watching any of my publications. You acknowledge that you use the information I provide at your own risk. Do your research. Copyright Notice: This video and my YouTube channel contain dialogue, music, and images that are the property of My Visual Stories. You are authorised to share the video link and channel and embed this video in your website or others as long as a link back to my YouTube channel is provided. © My Visual Stories via My Visual Stories https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWmAH-SuqbaQE5Z1xcwxMGg April 08, 2025 at 03:44AM

[quills-of-freedom]

Reiner Braun Relationship

Aesthetic, vibes & various.

♌

💥

🌦️

🐻

🥩

🍺

🏈

🍲

🏆

🧸

🚿

👔

👞

📖

💭

🏳️

It's no secret that Reiner is a huge soft bear at heart. When he loves, he loves so deeply, your presence in his life being his saving grace for the reignition of his love for life.

He’s a broken man and needs so much love, affection, patience and tonnes of words of affirmation and reassurance.

With all of the above showering him, slowly bit by bit, you can stitch this torn man back into one piece. The scars will remain but you will recognise that long-missed mischievous glint behind his honey eyes.

Always, always over the moon to see you. His face will instantly soften as he opens his arms in a welcome embrace.

Ideal dates;

Reiner isn’t fussed about where you go or what you do. He’s just happy to be in your presence. Your vibe is so healing to him, he’s almost addicted to you.

But his perfect ideal date with you is a casual stroll through the park with ice cream. His happiness returning as he takes the tip of his finger and scoops up the cold cream, dabbing it on your nose.

He’ll laugh so hard as your brows furrow and your eyes cross, before pulling you in with one arm and kissing it off you.

Picnics, quiet and private dates are his favourite. But he doesn’t mind taking you out to a fancy restaurant either.

Will be so proud to have you on his arm, his chest will swell with pride like - yeah. This is my woman.

So thoughtful. Will make it tradition to get you flowers every other Sunday. Or he’ll notice your eyes lingering on a cake in a bakery window and BAM. The next day he’s placing that very same baked good into your hands with a soft smile.

Modern AU

Like Porco is a big fan of sports. He likes to play rugby, keeping fit.

Also, loves his food. Cook for him and feed him well and he will never stray. (Not that he would anyway, but you know what I mean)

Always smells great. Even his sweat has a sweet tinge to it.

A sucker for a glass of beer while watching the sports channel in the bar.

Quiet and reserved but around those he trusts, he’s like his old self. Cracking jokes, belly laughing and making crude remarks to you with a mischievous grin.

Very respectful of you. And just an all-round gentleman.

Tight shirts and polos that hug his form beautifully 🔥

Those sleek, black trousers or jeans that hug his ass just… 👌

Cologne and aftershave, shower gel and bubble bath scented.

NSFW

Someone get this man a glass of water. Because he’s not okay.

He is so nervous when you first have sex. Not for himself and performance - but he’s so large he’s terrified he’ll lose control and hurt you.

Because boy, does he want you, bad.

He’s shy too, the first few times. Not knowing where he can touch you, the last thing he wants is to make you uncomfortable.

Takes a lot of reassurance for him to become more comfortable with you.

Will absolutely be in awe each and every time you make love. No matter how many times you’ve done it, or how long you’ve been together. He always feels like the luckiest man alive to have you.

People like to canon him as some extreme Dom. He really isn’t. He can take charge, sure. But hurting you or degrading you in any way is a huge turn off for him.

That’s not saying he can’t take control and be a little rough with you. Because he certainly can.

Can and will fuck you against walls. Bend you over a desk and take you.

Loves eating you out. Could do it for hours. And if you take him into your mouth, he swears he’s died and gone to heaven.

“Do my fingers feel good inside of you, huh?”

“You’re so tight baby…”

“God you're so perfect.”

“I love you so much.”

“You’re gorgeous.”

“Ah, your pussy… It’s going to make me cum babe…”

“You feel so good wrapped around my cock…”

Are some of the things he’ll often grunt or whisper.

Kinks

Breeding. Breeding. Breeding kink. Reiner's blood runs hot with the need to impregnate you - to breed you with his seed and create a little human that is half you and half him. To Reiner, this is the ultimate form of love and trust.

Service kink. Loves pleasuring you and making you feel like the queen you are. Praising you endlessly.

Mating pressing. Nothing he likes more than pinning you in place with his body weight, his large cock dipping in and out of you deeply. His fingers will lace with yours as he buries his head in the crook of your neck while he whispers how much he loves you.

Will keep himself plugged in after he’s come, and when he does remove himself, will push any dribbling cum back inside of you with his fingers.

Aftercare

Reiner is up there with the best of them when it comes to aftercare.

Will kiss anywhere he’s gripped you too hard or bitten you in his joy.

Will ask if you’re okay, embracing you against his solid chest.

Tell you how amazing it was and how much he loves you.

Will gladly carry you to the shower, even washing and combing your hair.

Changes the sheets too as you change into your PJs.

Will order food or whip up a quick snack for you both.

Spoons and bear hugs all night long.

Dates 10/10

Thoughtfulness 10/10

Affection 10/10

Sex 10/10

Aftercare 10/10

It’s no secret… My husband is perfection.

You’d better love him and love him well. He deserves the best. 💓

[spencersawkward]

I love your ff first of all, I'm obsessed and second of all I would ask you a suggestion, idk if maybe is that too much and you're totally free to not do that but you ever thought to do something in the line of the knive kink? I think it will be awesome

i'm so sorry this took so long! big thanks to my guardian angel @voidsfilm for giving me inspiration bc i literally struggled with this one more than i should have. never written a knife kink but i’m glad i tried lol.

summary: reader finds an antique knife that Matthew's kept in a drawer.

content warnings: unprotected penetrative sex, fingering, oral (male receiving), knife play (no blood drawn), Soft!Dom MGG, degradation and praise.

word count: 3.6k

masterlist

if there is one thing I absolutely despise, it's working out. getting sweaty, running until my legs hurt and my lungs are burning for air... not really my thing.

but when Matthew brought up the idea a couple months into our relationship, I couldn't say no to him: he had a goofy smile on his face and the kind of look in his eyes that made me relent and ask what kind of stuff he wanted to do.

I think that I've found the one thing that Matthew can't make fun.

"I'm gonna pass out." I bend over and set my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath. Matthew slows to a stop a few feet ahead, turning around and making a strained expression.

"oh, come on." but his voice is pretty breathless, too. he gently guides me off the path so that we don't get in the way of the other people out enjoying the day. a couple walks by us with their dog, strolling calmly, and I feel a rush of envy. if our workout routine had consisted of a few pleasant ambles around the city, I would have been totally willing.

"Matthew, I wanna go home." I whine impatiently. the only nice thing about this is that he's got one of those stupid sweatbands on his head to keep his hair out of his face, and it makes him look like a 1980's housewife.

"we can go home in fifteen minutes." he smiles, puts his hands on his hips, stretching in an exaggerated way.

"do you promise?" I brush a piece of hair out of my face.

"promise," he's lucky he looks so cute in his workout outfit. "we can even get one of those fancy juices for you on the way back."

"seriously?" I light up. this might actually be worth it; they have this amazing mango and lime combination that I can't ever manage to recreate with our own blender.

"if you beat me to the rock, then sure." he references the enormous boulder in Central Park that we both gawked at on our first date-- ever since then, it's been the end point for our runs. my lips curl into a grin.

"you're on." I take off, making sure to push him out of the way in order to gain a head start. he lets out something of a protestation but is quick to follow. I can feel his feet pounding behind me, trying to catch up.

I may not be good at running long distances, but I'm sure as hell faster than he is.

...

it's quiet when I step out of the bedroom, drying my hair with the towel and wandering into the living room. Matthew is sitting at the table with his sketchbook, drawing god knows what while he waits for me to finish up.

"what are you up to?" I ask softly as I plop down across from him. my head is slightly tilted while the towel rubs my scalp.

"I'm not really sure." he shrugs, frowning and holding up the notebook from a distance as if that'll help him figure out what to do.

"can I see when you're done?"

"of course," he sets it on the table again, then runs a fingertip across his chin. "actually, can you do me a favor?"

"sure."

"I have a set of colored pencils in the desk over there," he points to an old piece of furniture under the window. "would you mind getting them for me?"

"yep," I reply, getting up and leaving the towel on the table. "least I can do after kicking your ass."

on the walk past him, Matthew grabs my waist and pulls me into him, attacks me with tickles. I squeal and hit his shoulder.

"stop!" I laugh.

"you barely beat me!" he gives a dazzling smile and finally lets me go. I lightly smack him upside the head and head over to the desk, rifling through the drawers for the colored pencils he wanted.

as I push around various art supplies, glue sticks and random paintbrushes that look to be on the brink of falling apart, my fingers pass something cool and metallic. I grab the thing and pull it out.

it's a knife; like, a fancy one with an intricately decorated handle and what seems to be a pretty dulled edge. before he can notice what I've found, I start to move the thing between my hands curiously. there's a nice weight to it, but it's definitely old.

"hey, Matthew?" I ask warily.

"yeah?" so unassuming and sweet.

"why do you have a knife?"

there's a scratching as he gets up from the table to walk over to me. I lean against the desk. Matthew doesn't seem too bothered by what I'm saying at all, only gently taking the weapon out of my hands and examining it himself.

"oh, yeah!" he lets out something like a laugh. I raise an eyebrow and wait for him to continue. "do you remember when we went antiquing in Cape Cod, like, a month ago?"

"yeah." I nod at the memory. he'd been lucky enough to get some vacation days and we'd spent them sitting by the water with glasses of wine and nothing but time to talk. it really was a great trip, now that I think about it.

"I found it there." he still hasn't looked up and I realize that there's something he's not telling me. I don't know what I'm missing, but I start to get nervous.

"...why?"

"I was gonna ask then, but I guess I just forgot." his tongue darts out across his bottom lip as he lifts his face to meet my gaze. my heart thuds when he opens his mouth again. "I kinda wanted to try something."

"like?"

"I've been thinking about maybe using knives... in a sexual way."

"what?" I frown, confused by his wording. Matthew seems to realize that he's phrased it awkwardly and shifts his stance. he keeps glancing between the object and my face like he's worried about scaring me away.

"I don't mean I'm gonna stab you or anything," he laughs. "I just mean I think it sounds fun."

my hand finds his, brushing my palm over the steel to touch it myself again. there's a curiosity that burns through me now, something I'm a little unsure about but not enough so to deny the possibility of trying it.

"what do you wanna do with it?" I peek up at him. he bites his lip. we're speaking in gentle tones and I notice that our bodies have gotten closer within the last few moments. a warmth, a tension.

"like, pressing the blade flat against your skin while I fuck you." he takes the thing and demonstrates. the cool silver rests on my neck, too dull to really threaten a serious cut if he were to move too quickly. a shiver runs down my spine at the sensation of the metal.

I gulp, feel the curve of my throat push against it when I swallow. it's nice.

"oh." is all I say. Matthew is watching me intently, but he doesn't make any motion away from it. like he's entranced by the sight of me with a knife to my throat.

"are you interested?" he asks.

I mull it over. on the one hand, weapon play is something I've never considered in my sex life before. Matthew and I aren't vanilla, but this hasn't crossed my mind. that said, now that I can really feel it, there is a desire forming in my stomach. it would be a strange, new sensation.

"yes." the confirmation makes him smile a little. he lowers the thing and instead wraps me in his arms, kisses me passionately until our tongues are dancing over each other. I love how he holds me, our torsos against each other while my body leans slightly back to accept the weight of his touch.

he goes to my head like alcohol. and it's even more surreal when I feel the blade move under the hem of my shirt to rest against my back. I smile into his mouth. he doesn't do anything with it, just leaves it to remind me.

he starts to rut his hips against my lower stomach, getting aroused at the proximity of our bodies and the heated nature of our kiss. there's an urgency to all of it, like he's holding back. I don't want him to hold back; I want him to give me everything he has, everything beneath the surface.

my fingers twine in his hair and tug on the ends, causing him to groan into our embrace. there's no way we're going to make it all the way to the bedroom with the way he's grabbing at my body, so I stumble backwards towards the couch until the backs of my thighs hit the arm of it.

"you're horny." I giggle slightly when he pushes the hem of my shirt up my body, his nails dragging over my ribcage and trailing the object along with it. I feel the excitement growing.

"I'm just glad you're willing to try this." he murmurs the words, holds our foreheads together before his lips eagerly seek mine out, again. somehow, even with a weapon leveled against me, I can sense the love in every single action. I wouldn't have said yes if I didn't trust him to treat me with the utmost care.

I work at the buttons of his shirt, pushing it over his lovely shoulders and arms as he unclasps my bra. we're fervent, greedy in our movements, trying to kiss despite the attention needed to remove our clothes. mostly we just tangle up in each other until there's nothing left but my shorts for him to shove down my legs. he keeps his pants on.

"c'mon, beautiful." he mutters, pushing my legs open so that I'm sitting on the arm of the couch. he tilts my head and leans closer to suck on my bottom lip, and then starts to massage my tits. I can feel the handle of the weapon against my nipple.

when he reaches to slide his finger between my folds, I hiss out a breath at the cold sensation of his skin.

"is this because of me or the knife, baby?" he asks, corners of his mouth twitching up while I moan into his mouth. he starts to rub my clit with the collected wetness, teasing me too much. I want to fall back, but I can't. I won't let myself.

"both." I find myself turned on by the way the blade sits against my ribs again. the edge is just sharp enough to elicit a reaction from my body.

"feel that?" he angles the thing the slightest bit. I exhale and nod.

that isn't the response he's looking for, however, because he moves it so that it's under my chin. goosebumps on my skin while I pant uselessly against the weapon. I can feel it press harder with every breath out of my lungs, and I love it. I love the risk it brings out of me.

while Matthew dips his index inside my pussy, I writhe against it and tilt my head even more so he has better access.

"look at you," he lets out a dark chuckle, thrusts into me to the last digit. "you want more of this, don't you?"

"yes, sir." I breathe. my neck is actively moving against the metal. I glance down at his body and see his erection straining against his pants, craving release but finding none as he plunges his fingers in and out of me. I can hardly breathe from sheer focus on the sensations he's giving me right now.

"what are you looking at, sweetheart?" he quickens the pace of his movements and uses the object to make me focus on his face.

"you're hard." the words nearly die on my lips. he stares darkly at me, lifting his brows just enough to make me question whether I should have spoken at all. I bite my lip in anticipation.

"and what are you gonna do about it?" his voice is raspy as he stands back, removes his fingers from my pussy, and lets me drop to my knees. I'm weak both from the stimulation and from the loss of it, but I make quick work of undoing his belt, pulling the pants down his legs until I'm face-to-face with his cock. it sits against his stomach, throbbing impatiently while he watches. he uses the metallic point under my jaw to angle my face up to his.

"are you gonna suck me off, baby?" he smirks. I nod rigorously with wide eyes and an open mouth, dragging my tongue along the underside. Matthew's nose scrunches up for a moment at the shock of contact when I tease the head. all his concentration is on watching me wrap my hand around the shaft and pumping him gently. "spit on it."

I obey and spit right onto the tip before rubbing my thumb over the top to gather the precum. as I start to swirl my tongue and move my lips onto him, he throws his head back, lets out a wanton noise. it urges me on. I take every moment with a deliberate attention to the veins and sensitive spot he has.

"that's it, that's it." he rasps while knotting his hand in my hair. the other keeps the knife pressed to my throat. he lets me move on my own for a bit, gauging my desires from the way my eyes attempt to memorize the sight of his face above me, that jaw dropped in licentious craving. I can tell that he wants to fuck my face, but I go slow just to draw it out a little. it makes the soreness of my jaw worth it when he gets all impatient and flustered.

I hollow my cheeks and bob on his dick, bat my lashes, pull myself off him for a second just to kiss the tip.

"can I use your mouth?" he asks through a restrained groan. I open it and nod, sighing at the feeling of his fingers twining through my hair again before he pushes back into the opening. now that he's got full control, he starts to develop his own movements, sometimes meeting his thrusts by pressing my face against him.

he gets deep in it, never losing his grip on the knife, until my nose is pressed to his stomach. my throat closes instinctively around him even more tightly, and he lets out a guttural moan.

"such a cute mouth when I'm using it." he thrusts until I gag and then he's smiling. "get up."

he removes himself so fast, my eyes water at the sudden lack of blockage in my throat. I gulp air while he hooks his hands under my arms and hoists me up. I'm about to turn around so I can lift my leg and give him better access, but he sits me on the arm of the couch and parts my thighs.

"I wanna see your pretty face." he leans down and pecks my cheek. I smile at the surprising tenderness-- although it doesn't last long. steel sits against the space between my neck and collarbone. it's only a moment before he positions himself between my legs and slides his cock into me.

my back arches and I look him in the eyes, gasping.

"fuck, baby." he drags out the first word as he inches inside. I mewl helplessly at the way he stretches me out, my pussy clenching every few seconds. he keeps one hand on my lower back to support me and bring me closer to his pelvis, and then we're staring into each other's eyes as he finally settles in it.

his hips start to thrust into me, hopeful for any kind of contact while I accustom myself to the shape of him. it happens every time, despite the amount of times we've done this. and I'm bad at patience, but he's worse. his body stutters against mine.

"is it good enough, sir?" I ask quietly. he tightens his grip on my back and on the blade, the edge threatening my skin the perfect amount. I suck in a breath at the way it stings a little.

"you're doing perfectly." he recognizes what I want to hear as he finds my sweet spot and begins to hit it repeatedly, smoothly works my body. I swear there are planets in my eyes when I stare at the expressions on his face, both of us so wrapped up in each other that every other thought becomes obsolete.

he moves the knife to under my chin to rest on my throat.

"feel that?"

I nod so the edge bites more. he smirks.

"just to show you who you belong to."

my hips push up to meet his thrusts, needing more stimulation, more friction. what I want is for him to be relentless, to slam into my body with the kind of hunger I know he has. there are sounds, movements, that he's made before that make me want him to use them. but he's withholding, probably hesitant about the dangerous object on my pulse point.

"I belong to you, sir." I egg him on. he likes the sound of that, grunting and starting to pound into me.

"yeah? you're my dirty little whore." he speaks through gritted teeth. I shiver.

"mhmm."

"I use you how I want, when I want." his fingertips dig into my skin and he yanks me closer so that he can hit a new angle. I let out a surprised noise when he brushes my g-spot. it's otherworldly and I expose more of my neck to him.

"my little slut likes pain, huh?" he nudges the weapon harder into my skin. it doesn't draw blood, but I can sense the mark it'll leave. I love it.

"yes, sir." we're both getting needy, but we can't hold each other the way that we want to in our given positions. my palms are occupied on the arm of the couch to hold myself up and one of his hands is too busy holding the object for us to fuck as deeply as we need.

"are you gonna take it like a good girl when I cum in it?" he mutters. he runs his tongue over my jawline and the weapon nicks my skin. I moan at the mingling of sensations that's building all across my body.

"yes, sir." I plead. it's nearly unbearable, how much I want him. we're chasing our orgasms and I know what will finish me off. he knows, too.

Matthew drops the knife. it clatters to the ground, but there's no time for me to register it with the way he grabs my hips and lifts me into the air, my legs wrapping around his waist while he keeps fucking into me. he maneuvers us with shocking ease, laying me on the couch and positioning himself at the right moment so that I can drag my nails over his back and keep my thighs locked around him.

"mmm... baby, I'm gonna cum." he drives into me recklessly, both of us finally able to cling to each other. the angle is just enough to stimulate my clit and I nod, using the leverage of my legs to pull myself to him and roll my hips for friction.

Matthew slams my body into the couch, grunting in my ear as he finds his climax inside me. it's so deep, I have to work to keep the yell inside, but he's not done. he rides it out and plows into me while I reach the edge.

"tell me how it feels." he orders in my ear. I sigh.

"so-- so good, sir." my voice is thin. "I'm close."

"show me." he leaves bruises on my hips with his hands. I feel the knot finally snap, every muscle in my stomach spasming chaotically. I finish with a loud moan, begging him to drag it out further. my vision nearly goes black at the tide that threatens to overtake my body.

"Matthew--" I gasp. he moans quietly at the way I say his name, still rocking his body into mine while I come down from the shocks of orgasm. it's nearly overwhelming, the pleasure running through my body.

slowly, we come to a stillness and he drops his head into my shoulder, panting. he doesn't let go at first, but then he withdraws from my pussy and lets me take a rest. I lay there on the couch while he kneels between my legs, pressing gentle kisses to my neck.

"I love you." he repeats it over and over.

"I love you, too," I hope he can feel the meaning, despite the sheer exhaustion in my tone. he runs his fingertips across the red marks where the thing went a little too deeply, but I'm not worried about it. "we should try that again, sometime."

"you liked it?" he smiles brightly. I love the lines by his eyes.

"definitely."

he lets out a cheerful noise and buries his face back into my throat because he knows how much it tickles. I screech and giggle, my legs kicking wildly around me. more contented than ever before.

[minachuuu]

Itzy Reaction to their S/O being Covered in Tattoos

This was my first request for an Itzy reaction and I was so excited because I love those girls so much, I hope you enjoy it!💜✨

Yeji

There was something about you that didn't let her eyes leave your silhouette, sitting across her, all the way at the opposite side of the cafe. Dressed entirely in black, a leather jacket draping around you brought in the exact pinch of mystery that called Yeji's attention. 

But just exactly as she was taking a sip of her iced tea, you had the fantastic idea of taking the leather jacket off, revealing your arms and neckline to be covered with various tattoos, your black shirt hiding so much more. Let's say that Yeji's body forgot how to deal with liquids at that moment, spraying everything over Ryujin, Lia and herself, making the few people around turn around to face them, including you. If she was nervous to talk to you before, now the nerves had doubled adding embarrassment to the mix. 

Standing up to the bathroom to clean herself, Yeji didn't notice you entering a few seconds behind her. She jumped startled when she recognized you, but you approached her with a smile. 

"Ah bummer, your shirt isn't going to dry quickly," You pointed at the obvious, your voice trembling.  You extended your hand, offering her your leather jacket. "Here, use this." 

She nodded, shyly taking the jacket from you. She agreed if you allowed her to buy you a pastry and you accepted with a chuckle. Both of you also found the perfect excuse to ask for your phone numbers. You know, only to return your jacket later. 

Add time to the mixture, and Yeji still doesn't understand exactly how one of the most embarrassing moments in her life brought the most amazing person into her life. 

Now, in the private comfort of your nights together, sometimes when you take your shirt off, she'll embrace you from behind, losing herself watching all the amazing illustrations engraved in your skin, gently caressing her fingers through them. 

Lia

By Chaeryeong's recommendation, this was finally the day that Jisu decided to go and take a walk in the park. But her stroll was interrupted when she heard the soft sound of a guitar playing close to her. She followed the music and directed her to you, who was peacefully sitting on a park bench, playing with chords and strumming patterns. But what caught her attention even more, was the sun lighting up such a variety of colors and pictures all painted across what she was able to see from your body. 

Even if you looked kind of hard to approach, you still awaked a fair amount of interest in Jisu, so she breathed in enough courage to talk to you, approaching slowly. 

"That sounds beautiful!" She tucked one strand of hair in her ear as she fidgeted with her hands. Her eyes tenderly scanning every drawing all over your body, prompted your cheeks to turn bright red. "Is it your song?" 

"Thank you!" You smiled, suddenly awakening something new in Jisu's heart. "It is mine, but I still can't get the lyrics right."

Bingo. She latched from that to make a conversation, offering herself to help you write. You couldn't help but notice how she couldn't stop looking at your tattoos, sometimes completely ignoring what you were saying. A great friendship sparked between you two from that moment on, but day by day, Jisu couldn't keep ignoring the butterflies in her stomach everytime she lost herself in the colorful collage that was your skin. 

So now that you two finally stopped ignoring your feelings towards each other and started dating, don't be surprised if she begs you to use more sleeveless shirts, crop tops, or tries to keep you from putting a shirt on as much as she can when you're alone. Jisu can’t help it, she just finds you a walking work of art, one that makes her go *keyboard smash* all the time. 

Ryujin

Ryujin doesn't really like to be told what to do, so she wasn't really amused by the idea of having someone unknown review her own choreography. But then you walked through the door, and she couldn't understand exactly how to feel about it. Your dark makeup and clothing, covered in tons of tattoos made her heart do flips in all directions, and she couldn't settle on feeling afraid, excited, intimidated or amazed. 

All this confusion made the usually confident and witty Ryujin all flustered as she couldn't even focus on the notes that you gave to her because her eyes refused to leave the illustrations engraved in your body. She only nodded at all your words, convincing herself that it was just fear what you aroused inside of her. 

But she was quickly proved wrong by her own thoughts, as you didn't seem to leave her mind at all; your eyes, your lips, the way your body moved, and especially, every drawing that was painted across your skin.

The next day, Ryujin opened the door and her eyes landed on you, calling all those feelings back in her. You glanced at her reflection through the mirror, smiling at her dumbfounded expression. 

"Oh hey Ryujin! I'm glad you could make it." You turned around, grabbing a little paper bag and handling it to her. "I bought some cookies and a coffee for you, hope you like them!" 

Right there, she melted on the inside. The cute gesture helped get her confidence back, making this rehearsal a blatant back and forth of pure flirting. 

It all grew up to become an amazing relationship, were one of your hobbies is to combine Ryujin's audacious attitude and your threatening appearance to prank people (Mostly Ryujin's groupmates, who are we kidding), but behind closed doors, no one could imagine that the most intimidating couple was all lovey-dovey with each other. 

Chaeryeong 

Look, Chaeryeong isn't one to judge people based on their appearance. She didn't mind that you were covered in tattoos at all, but how can she help it when you're known as the stone cold, intimidating, serious and bossy member of your group? And most of all, how was she supposed to breath now that you were standing right in the same practice room as her? Could you two be friends? Would you like her? Maybe find her cute? But what if you weren't her type? 

Your group and Itzy were collabing for a special stage at a music award show and she couldn't stop staring at you through the mirror, your stoic expression as you reviewed the steps of the choreography. She found her eyes straying to the rest of your body over and over again, tracing your tattoos in her mind, wondering how it felt to touch them. 

The rehearsal came to a break and you dropped over the couch, your members surrounding you. Chaeryeong kept staring from the other side of the room, but was a bit taken aback when, amid conversation, you let out the most gentle chuckle she had ever seen. In general, it was the first time she had ever seen you smile. Impressed by how your amiable aura wasn't going down either, she convinced Ryujin to help her approach you. 

Turns out, your stoic personality was mostly just a concept that you acted for the cameras, but the softer, more real side of you was what cemented her crush over you, especially contrasted with your threatening, and frankly quite attractive looks. Luckily for her, you did find her really cute, and you kept in touch after the awards, allowing much more to flourish between you two. 

Now that you two are happily in a relationship, she doesn't throw away the chance to relish on your tougher side either, running to the safety of your decorated arms every time she needs to forget the world around her. 

Yuna

You first met Yuna in a queue in an amusement park, when you were waiting to get on a ride. You were chatting with your group of friends when she caught your attention, and apparently it was mutual, since she kept staring at you and your few visible tattoos in your arms and neck. You chuckled at her wide eyes, as she locked them with yours. But she wasn't shying away from you. She instantly waved at you with a wide smile, nearing you. Yuna introduced herself, along with Yeji and Ryujin who were going on the ride as well. 

She wasn't afraid to start asking about your tattoos and their meanings, and honestly you didn't mind answering them either. Most of them were new, and you proudly showed them off to someone willing to listen. After a good while chatting and your mutual crush being obvious to everyone around, you both agreed on going up the ride together, since both your groups were in the odd numbers. 

From that day on, an amazing friendship grew between you two, and Yuna never lost the habit of asking for a meaning everytime that you got a new tattoo. Except for one day, where she pointed out one that didn't have any particular explanations, you just had tattooed it because it looked pretty and cool. Yuna nodded silently at the answer, lost in her own thoughts for some minutes. 

"What do you think about tattooing my face?" She blurted out, staring lost at the horizon. 

"Wha-" You blinked, startled out at the sudden question. 

"I am pretty and cool too!" She turned around, not an ounce of a joke in her voice. 

You couldn't help but giggle in response, the way she wasn't afraid to be herself just allowed your crush on her to keep growing everyday. Always enjoying each other's company, you were both excited at the idea of being something more in the future. 

[latte-fairytaekwoon]

𝑀𝑎𝑓𝑖𝑎! 𝐴𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑧: 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝐾𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑂𝑛𝑒 𝑂𝑓 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑅𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑓𝑡. 𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑦 𝐾𝑖𝑑𝑠

Disclaimer: In no way am I condoning, encouraging, supporting, justifying, or promoting mafia behavior or lifestyle. This is all a work of fiction and not meant to represent real life scenarios.

Warning: Brief scenes of violence. Reader discretion advised.

「𝑲𝒊𝒎 𝑯𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒋𝒐𝒐𝒏𝒈」

When Hongjoong escorted you through the hall for your uncle's wedding, the last person he expected to be seated at the same table you two were in was none other than Bang Chan, who was also surprised to see him.

"You?!" They both exclaimed, already getting into a fighting position.

The people around you guys stared in shock, afraid of some shoot out about to happen. You however calmed Hongjoong down while explaining that Chan was your cousin's boyfriend.

"And you couldn't have mentioned this before?" He crossed his arms in front of you.

"Can you both just not cause a scene here? It's my uncle's special day." You begged them.

"Yeah, 5th special day in the last 4 years." Chan teased earning him a smack from his girlfriend beside him.

They just sat quietly during the entire reception, refusing to acknowledge each other, although occasionally they couldn't help but throw slight jabs at each other. It all culminated though when it was time for the bride to throw the bouquet which was caught by none other than you. Chan actually laughed at that.

"What's so funny?" Hongjoong asked.

"The fact that of all people, Y/N caught the bouquet when we both know you don't have the guts to make her walk down the aisle."

Hongjoong slammed his fists down and stood up.

"That's it! I've had it with you. You want to take this outside? Cause I'm ready."

「𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝑺𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒉𝒘𝒂」

Seonghwa and you happily strolled through the park, enjoying each other's affection, when you were startled by an all too familiar voice and face behind Seonghwa, one you had not seen in over 2 years.

"Y/N! Long time no see. How have you been gorgeous?"

Seonghwa noticed how you seemed to sunk your shoulders down, your eyes not wanting to directly look at the man in front of you. And Seonghwa was not at all amused by the way this man talked to you.

"I... I'm fine.... Lee Know..." You responded, your voice slightly trembling.

At hearing the name, Seonghwa turned around and indeed, it was none other than the infamous play boy Lee Minho himself, smirking right at you. He looked at Seonghwa and let out a tiny scoff.

"I take it....he's your new boo?" Lee Know asked, cocking his head to the side.

Seonghwa merely wrapped an arm around you protectively, clearly signaling an affirmative answer. Lee Know smiled.

"Well.....then good for you. If you ever get bored of him....you know you can always call me." He shamelessly said as he walked away.

Seonghwa looked down at you, the way you were holding back tears was enough to know Lee Know was your ex, the one who had torn your heart apart years ago, the one who made it difficult for you to accept Seonghwa because you were so heartbroken and scared about starting a new relationship.

Seonghwa kissed your forehead and held you close to him.

"You know I love you and I'd never hurt you like he did right?"

「𝑱𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒀𝒖𝒏𝒉𝒐」

Yunho slowly walked through the city's streets, casually listening to music and overall trying to relax a little. He thought he spotted a familiar sweater on a rather familiar frame, but it couldn't have been you right? Especially when the figure seemed to be lovey dovey with none other than....

Seo Changbin?!

Yunho ripped his earbuds out, tearing them off when he noticed it was definitely you and you were definitely hugging one of his arch nemesis.

"Get the fuck away from her!" Yunho declared as he ripped you away from Changbin's embrace.

"Yunho! What are you?-"

Grabbing the smaller man by the collar, he easily hoisted him up.

"I'm warning you right now, don't ever come near my girlfriend or so help me your gang will be short by one member." He warned him.

"Yunho! Stop! Put my brother down!" You cried out as you tugged at his jacket.

Yunho widened his eyes and looked back at you, immediately turning soft when he stared at your panicked stricken face.

"Bro...brother?" He asked incredulous.

"Yes! Her brother now do you mind putting me down?" Changbin asked as he tried to pry Yunho's fingers off him.

Yunho put him down and you immediately checked on him to make sure he was ok. You only got a scoff from him as he warned you:

"Careful with him and his gang Y/N. I'm only holding back for your sake."

Changbin began walking away, not wanting anymore confrontation in front of you. Yunho sheepishly looked at you while you merely rolled your eyes.

"I'm sorry.....but you never told me you had a brother."

「𝑲𝒂𝒏𝒈 𝒀𝒆𝒐𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒈」

The young man calmly stepped inside the room, looking around, trying to figure out if it really was a set up or not.

"Hello?" He called out, not seeing anybody.

Suddenly the lights turned on and from the shadows, Yeosang emerged, hands in his pockets as he calmly looked at the man in front of him.

"Hwang Hyunjin, thank you for accepting my invitation." He spoke out, voice laced with sarcasm.

"Get to the point Yeosang. The fuck you want." Hyunjin didn't want to waste his time.

Yeosang hummed. "I simply want you to stay away from Y/N."

Hyunjin actually let out a chuckle at that.

"Of course the overbearing boyfriend would pull out this mediocre shit. Listen, Y/N and I have been longtime friends and you can't change that. She's my friend. "

"I know. And I also know you have the hots for her and more than once you've shit talked me to her in order to get her to leave me." Yeosang raised an eyebrow at him, daring him to contradict him.

Hyunjin's smile faltered for a moment, but then he smirked.

"You're not gonna do shit Yeosang. And you can't stop me from seeing Y/N."

"What makes you think-"

"Suppose I accidentally let it slip out to Y/N what you actually do for a living, let her find out who you really are?" Hyunjin threatened him.

Yeosang stayed quiet, clenching his fists, resisting the urge to break Hyunjin's skull against the floor.

"I think it's in your best interest to not try me Kang Yeosang. You'll end up losing."

Yeosang just stood there, unable to do anything but watch his rival leave victorious...

"For now..."

「𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒊 𝑺𝒂𝒏」

"Well well well.....look what the cat dragged in."

San let out an evil laughter as he picked up the blonde haired boy up and slammed him against the wall.

"I thought I told you never to show your ugly rat face around here Jisung." San reminded him.

Jisung got up from the floor, refusing to back down at the taller and obviously stronger male.

"I'm actually a squirrel, thank you." He replied with a smug grin.

San didn't hesitate to throw a punch at his face, knocking him down once again. San picked him up again, this time with his hands wrapped around his neck as he choked him.

"Wrong move to try and be brave with me punk." He sneered at him.

"San! Don't! Let him go!"

Your voice made San look over at you. You ran over to them, fear and panic written all over your face.

"Stay out of this Y/N." San warned you, inadvertently pushing you away rather roughly, making you fall to the floor.

Seeing you get hurt triggered something in Jisung. Using whatever strength he had, he swung his leg and kicked San hard enough to loosen the grip he had on him. He got to land one solid punch to his cheek, knocking him to the ground before he proceeded to take out a switchblade from his jacket.

"No Jisung! Please don't!" You begged him, your arms encapsulating his waist, trying to get him to stop.

San just stood looking at you in disbelief.

"Y/N....what on earth-?" He asked, his voice somewhat breaking.

"Jisung! Please don't! I'm begging you! Don't kill him!" You begged.

"Give me one good reason!" Jisung exclaimed.

You looked up at him with tears falling down.

"I love him..."

Jisung's face dropped as he realized what you meant. He looked back at San who had confusion written all over his face, which then turned to shock when he asked:

"So you're my sister's boyfriend?"

「𝑺𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒊」

Mingi stormed into a room, watching as the younger male was strapped to the chair in front of him.

"Felix....." Mingi said, walking around and watching as the feline looking man remained quiet.

"Do you have any idea why you're here?" Mingi asked him.

"I can tell you the reasons I'm not here for." Felix scoffed.

"Stop acting you little shit! You know damn well why I brought you here!" Mingi's deep voice boomed throughout the room.

Felix wasn't intimidated though, he simply leaned his face closer to Mingi's.

"Try me."

Mingi huffed before taking a picture out of his wallet and holding it up.

"You see her?"

Felix squinted his eyes at the picture before realizing that it was none other than you.

"I want to know why you've been hanging around her place more often. Are you stalking her? Planning to kidnap her to get back at me? Was that your plan? Use my own girlfriend against me? You think I'd let you get the chance?" Mingi questioned him.

Felix rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Yes Mingi, I was totally going to kidnap my own sibling and possibly torture her in order to get under your skin." He replied sarcastically.

Mingi's face dropped. "What?"

"You dumbass. Y/N is my sister and I've been hanging around her place for protection. In case you don't know, there's another gang that's been recently rising up. They call themselves Oneus. About a week ago, they sent all of us pictures of our closed ones to taunt us, and so we've been on guard over them."

Mingi now froze as Felix said those words. He realized now you were in danger. He quickly cut Felix loose from the ropes before ordering:

"Tell me everything you know about these bastards."

「𝑱𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒐𝒐𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈」

"I love you so much." Wooyoung whispered, kissing your nose, making you giggle.

"Do you?" You teased him.

"I do. I love you more than-"

"Y/N! What are you doing with him?"

Your oldest friend, Seungmin promptly pushed Wooyoung away from you, placing himself in front of you.

"Kim Seungmin, do you want to die?" Wooyoung glared at him.

"You're the one that's going to die if you keep playing with my best friend." Seungmin warned.

"Playing?" You asked.

"Best friend?" Wooyoung was in utter confusion.

"Don't give me that. Everyone in the mafia world knows you're the biggest fuck boi there is. Only making girls fall in love with you so you can get in their pants and then dump them, you sick pervert." Seungmin cringed in disgust.

Wooyoung let out a dry chuckle at his words.

"Play with whoever the fuck you want but leave Y/N out of this. She deserves better than trash like you."

Wooyoung bit the side of his cheek, finally understanding where this was going.

"Like who? You perhaps?"

Seungmin gulped slightly, confirming what Wooyoung was thinking.

"How long have you been in love with her Kim Seungmin? Wait don't answer me, it honestly doesn't matter..."

Wooyoung snaked an arm around you and pressed you to him.

"Cause she chose me and she's mine."

Wooyoung couldn't hid the smirk on his face as Seungmin looked at you in disbelief.

"Y/N.....please don't tell me.."

Your words broke Seungmin as you replied:

"I'm sorry Seungmin.... I'm in love with Wooyoung..

「𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒊 𝑱𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒉𝒐」

You pulled your face away from your ex, getting disgusted when he dared touch your cheek.

"Come on Y/N. Don't deny you still have feelings for me." He chuckled darkly.

You could only glare at him.

"I don't love you anymore Jeongin. So why don't you just let me go before it gets ugly?"

He got up and began laughing.

"Seriously? You really think your boy toy is going to come for you?" He asked.

"I don't think.... I know he will." You stated proudly.

"Really? You really think the Choi Jongho gives 2 fucks about you princess?" Jeongin cooed at you, his hands petting your hair softly.

Right at that moment there was a loud commotion heard outside, guns firing, and the sound of running feet could be distinguished. In less than 15 seconds, the door burst open and none other than Jongho himself came in, eyes full of rage when he saw the close proximity of your ex.

"I'm giving you 3 seconds to get your filthy hands off my girl or I'll split your head open." Jongho warned, coming closer to him.

Jeongin quickly pulled out a gun and held it to your head, prompting Jongho to halt his steps in fear of you getting hurt.

"That's what I thought Jongho. Y/N was mine first and I'm taking her back." Jeongin declared.

Jongho clenched his fists.

"Over my dead body."

Swiftly, he lunged at Jeongin, knocking the gun out of his hand. Jongho tried to punch him in the face, but Jeongin caught his fist with his hand before it collided with his face, giving him a cold stare, refusing to go down without a fight.

"That could easily be arranged..."

Gifs not mine. Credit goes to their respective owners.

[forcebewitht]

Hearts And Spades And Friendship With Games (Disneyland: Ace Trappola and Deuce Spade x MC!Reader) 

The time had finally arrived. You had been waiting for this day for a long time. After a good bit of convincing on both Ace and Deuce's ends for the upcoming spring season, you had convinced the pair to travel with yourself and Grim over to a very magical place- Disneyland. You had been gushing about wishing to go ever since you had heard mentions of the place- after all, there was nothing like that back where you were from. So, here you were. You were now sitting upon a bus and happily chirping away to both Grim and Deuce. Grim was beside you in your seat while Deuce and Ace were directly across from you. Ace snorted after a while, shaking his head and glancing over at you. "I can't believe you're this choked up about a kid's park. Pffft- how childish! Haha!" Deuce sighed and shook his head, sending his fellow friend a glare. "And yet, you agreed to come with us. So, maybe it isn't as childish as you claim." The boys were already beginning to bicker back and forth. Grim shifted over to rest within your lap, gazing up at you happily. "Nyaaaahhaaaa! This is gonna be fun, y'know! Think of all the food! La la la~" You couldn't help but to release a giggle at the monster beneath you, now lightly petting him upon the head. "I am really excited about this, Grim! It seemed so...magical when everyone started talking about it! Hehe." Deuce soon looked over at you with a wide smile, his eyes lighting up and practically dazzling in the sunlight from the outside of the bus. "We're gonna get lots of pictures and souvenirs, okay? I'm going to find something extra special for my mom while we are there." Ace shook his head and snickered, glancing on over at his friend again. "Pleeaaassseeeee. I'll just be on the lookout for some princess material ladies. Hehe." After an eyebrow arch from you, Ace rose his hands in defense and laughed. "I'm kidddddiinngggg, [Y/n]. You're more close to queen material, anyways. Haha!" 

Right as you were about to retort, the bus screeched to a stop. The doors slowly opened, multiple other park-goers now making their way out into the land. Your little ragtag group was the last to get off. You allowed your eyes to widen in wonder and curiosity at the sight of the grand park. Deuce seemed to smile as he gazed up at the grand castle, as though a memory was playing through his head. Grim leapt out and jumped onto your shoulder to get a better view, already singing out his joy. Ace was the last to get off. He seemed to be a bit more passive about it, but you would be lying if you said you didn't see a sparkle in his eyes as well. The four of you now began to walk over to the main entrance with the rest of the crowd. Multiple occurrences began to hit your senses all at once. Children laughing joyfully filled your ears, the sizzling sensations of nearby food trucks wafted out into the air and graced your nostrils with its presence, and the bright and cheerful colors of the park all melded together into one gregarious scene. A warm smile tugged at your lips at the sights. A costumed man suddenly stepped up behind the four of you. The four of you turn around to face him and begin to chat. The fellow waves his hand, sparkles raining down from his fingertips. Four little headbands of sorts appeared upon the head of yourself and that of your friends. A cute little headband with mouse ears and a red polka dot bow popped itself onto Ace's head. For Deuce, another little headband with mouse ears- except with a. starry, deep blue, mini wizard's hat. For Grim, a cute little headband with a sailor's cap had popped onto his head. And finally, for yourself, a pair of white gloved hands that stuck out on either side of your head like ears upon a black headband was conjured onto your head.

Ace began to whine about his headband having a bow on it, to which the staff member laughed. He explained that the headbands were complementary and strode off. You gently poked at one of the hands upon your own headband and giggled. Grim leapt around with his sailor's hat on for joy, already making a beeline for a food stand. Given prompting from yourself, Ace and Deuce soon followed you as you chased after Grim. The monster had grabbed a little ice cream bar in the shape of a mouse's head and was now eating it happily. The rest of you soon followed suit, already snapping a few pictures away and settling down onto a bench. Once the bars were done, the four of you arose and began to travel around to different stands. A roller coaster with water included by the name of Splash Mountain was soon selected, the four of you joyously laughing or groaning out after being soaked so much. After that, a frightening stroll through the Haunted Mansion was taken. The effect of the walk-in "ride" of sorts seemed to have greatly improved over the years- for Ace had leapt into Deuce's arms a couple of times in his own fright. You had to hold Deuce back from punching a few of the more particularly scary creatures in the face while Grim nearly lit the entire mansion on fire. More rides were traveled on, such as Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Deuce screamed something about his magic bike during that one), some Pirates Of The Caribbean ride (Ace imitated a pirate the entire time and laughed about Jack's Halloween idea from before), Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage (Grim kept saying something about finding a live tuna and eating it), and many more. But nothing seemed to excite the pair of boys more than when your group finally made their way over to the Wonderland themed area. Ace and Deuce were both beside themselves in their joy. Ace madly tapped both you and Deuce on the shoulder, pointing at a nearby costumed park worker. "Look at that card suit guy! I wonder how they get those costumes so exact?!" Deuce followed his gaze, already pulling out his phone and turning to the both of you with a wide smile. "Let's go get a picture!" A giggle from yourself and a shake of your head is all that's given. You soon follow the pair over, Grim slowly making his way over behind you (he had to make sure people didn't step on him a lot). Ace soon grinned wildly and turned to you, eyeballing your form. "Ohhhhhh yeah. That'll be awesome." You couldn't help but to feel worried at the look on Ace's face. The Card Soldier slammed his staff down upon the ground, a dazzling ruby light now surrounding your form. Once the light cleared, you found yourself in an almost identical Card Soldier suit- but yours was red while the worker's was black. The worker gave a nod with another pair of slams of his staff in a farewell, now walking over to greet more park goers. Deuce pumped his fist into the air at the sight of you. "Aaaahhhh- you look so awesome, Prefect! This'll be perfect!" You couldn't help but to grin at the sight of yourself now in the suit, slamming your own makeshift staff upon the ground to accompany the look. Grim laughed and took Deuce's phone, now leaping up onto a high enough ledge to take a picture. He grinned brightly, making motions for all of you to make a pose. "Alright! Nyaha! Everybody say- hearts and spades!" All three of you copied what Grim had said and posed. Once a few pictures were snapped, you found the costume upon you began to slowly melt off of your form. A singular red rose was now upon your top with a miniature card with a heart upon it now clipped onto it in the costume’s place. 

By now, the sun was beginning to set. Grim stayed down below and got a few more bites to eat while the three of you went onto a ferris wheel. The sun was now slowly beginning to set, painting the sky a vibrant array of warm colors. You sighed out in bliss, allowing your chin to cradle within your hand. Ace and Deuce both glanced at each other for a moment and then looked on over at you. Almost immediately, both of their expressions seemed to soften. Ace was the first one to speak up, confident and boisterous as ever. "Hey, Prefect- I have something I want to tell you." Deuce choked a bit on the air and blushed, now gazing at you as well within your seat. "S-so do I! Ahem." You couldn't help but to arch a brow again, peering on over at the two boys. Your gaze flickered between the two of them, their skin seeming to glow and sparkle in the cascading sunlight behind you. At the exact same time, the pair looked up at you and spoke, "I love you, [Y/n]." Ace's expression was rather warm yet still held a flicker of his normal mischief within them. Deuce's expression was all around warm and rather soft in comparison to his normal outbursts of anger from time to time. They both soon began to blush and allowed their eyes to widen at their realization of their exact same statements. Ace and Deuce met gazes for a moment. They glared playfully at each other for a moment and then brought their intense gazes back to you. Your eyes slightly watered as you sniffed and wiped a free tear away, your smile now extending from ear to ear. You brought them both into an embrace, grinning sweetly in the sunset. "...Don't worry. I love you too, boys." Both boys seemed to exhale in relief. Ace raised an eyebrow at Deuce to which Deuce nodded. They both leaned in at the same time, kissing you on the cheek. As you froze and a blush began to spread across your cheeks, they both took their own moments to sweetly kiss you upon your lips in kind. Ace's kiss was fierce- all around passionate and a bit salty to the taste. Deuce's, on the other hand, combated Ace's kiss on the opposing spectrum. A sensation of overwhelming sweetness and a gentle touch was the kiss Deuce gave to you, truly displaying how much the male had changed at heart. You brought both of the boy's into a hug, the pair now settling within your arms. As the sun began to fully disappear beyond the reaches of the park, there was one thing you had to admit. This day had been filled with sugar, a bit of spice...but was all around nice. And the magic was just beginning. 💫

((Hey hey, lovely Readers! I've got something a little different for y'all today! Thought I'd switch things up a bit and give you guys some extreme fluff with a cute little Disneyland writing! Props to @leviskokoro-main for the "idea". Enjoy~💖

[eideticmemory]

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS... | MATTHEW GRAY GUBLER

Description: Impromptu trip to Vegas with your very gorgeous boyfriend!

Word Count: 2,948.

Rating: M.

Warning/Includes: Oral sex, 19 year age gap between adults.

“[y/n]? [y/n]? C’mon, Jellybean, wake up,” Matthew whispered, gently nudging your sleeping frame. He knelt beside the bed, pushed your hair from your face, kissed your nose. The soft touches alerted you to his presence, and your eyes fluttered open. “There she is,” he smiled. “Good morning.”

“Matthew, what are you doing, baby?” You mumbled, your voice raspy and small.

“Need you to get up, we gotta go.”

“Go? Go where?” 

“Do you trust me?”

“Right now?”

“[y/n],” he giggled.

You sighed, “I trust you.”

When you crawled out of bed, looking like a corpse, Matthew already had a couple of bags packed. His car keys sat on the nightstand, ready to go and be gone. Matthew was dressed in a set of matching pajamas, covered in a pattern of stripes. He held your hand, guiding you down the stairs of his house and out the door. 

“Oh, God, don’t tell me the old man’s lost his mind already!” You joked, rolling your eyes at him as you stepped in his car. “Where are we going, babe?” 

Matthew sighed, anxiously pawing at the steering wheel. You pushed his hair out of his face, gently grazing your fingers against his cheek, “Talk to me.” You whispered. 

“I—“ he stuttered. “I saw what people have been saying about you online. About us.”

Matthew made the very hesitant decision to bring you to the Horse Girl premiere. Nervous as you both were to go public, you distracted your love by making jokes the whole time, holding him close, whispering in his ear. Plenty of photographers captured candid photos of the two of you on the red carpet, smiling at each other, Matthew kissing your cheek. It was a wonderful night, filled with wonderful people, celebrating a wonderful movie starring the most wonderful actor. 

It was so successful, in fact, that you two felt comfortable enough to go out on a very impromptu, very public beach date. Matthew knew he’d be an idiot to say no — being that you agreed to wear an itty bitty bikini. And you wanted nothing more than a stroll down the shore with your man. Fingers interlocked, a smile on both yours face, you took small steps in the sand, the water wetting your feet with each wave. Matthew had never felt so safe, so secure, in front of so many people. He twirled you around and had you laughing so hard, you snorted. You gave each other quick and messy kisses, held each other. And it was all caught on camera, in photos taken by strangers, meant for social media. 

When those pictures got out, all hell broke loose. 

For you, specifically. Fans found your instagram, and very rapidly began to follow you. Found out anything and everything they could. When they saw a recent birthday post confirming your young age, the comments weren’t so nice. In your eyes you were Matthew’s girlfriend. So, to see comments strictly referring to you as a gold digger, sugar baby, and Matthew as a predator, it broke your heart. 

You thought you’d kept it hidden, kept Matthew guarded from it. But not well enough, apparently.

You let out a heavy breath, your eyes falling closed in sadness, heartbreak at Matthew’s confession. “Oh, Matthew...”

“And you’ve been so down lately, and it hurts me. It physically hurts me, I just—like to see you happy. I thought a trip might cheer you up.”

You gave him a small smile, “Drive.” 

His eyes flickers up to you, “Yeah?”

You nodded, “Yeah.” 

Matthew let you blast your favorite music for three hours straight. He liked to see you smile, dancing and sing along. He nearly crashed several times because he was so focused on you. 

You stopped to get food, and you had to feed him to allow him to drive properly. He would make happy noises everytime you lifted your hand to his mouth, and he would kiss your knuckles before taking a bite of food. 

“You’re so beautiful, baby,” you cooed, tapping his nose lovingly with your finger. Your hand found it’s way to his hair, and you played with it as you started to kiss his neck. 

“Fuck, you really want me to crash this car, huh?” He giggled. 

You undid your seatbelt, and leaned in to whisper in his ear, “You have no idea.” You fixed your posture, kneeling in your seat so you could hover your face over his lap. You slyly began to undo his pants.

“Holy shit, [y/n],” he gasped. 

You bit down on your lip, freeing his cock from his boxers. You kissed the tip of it, before allowing his length to glide down your throat. He sucked in a sharp breath, “Oh, fuck.” He gripped onto the steering wheel, his teeth grinding together. He used all his strength to focus on the road, keep control of the car. 

You bobbed your head up and down, breath coming in through your nose, Matthew hitting the back of your throat with each movement. It took every ounce of him to not buck his hips up, push your head down. When you wrapped your hand around the base of his dick and jerked him at the same time, he couldn’t contain his moans and his body started to tremble. 

“Oh, fuck, babygirl,” he groaned. “Keep going.”

You happily complied, speeding up your movement until he was whimpering into his mouth. You hollowed your cheeks, and allowed yourself to gag on him, saliva dripping onto his skin. 

“Hm, you gonna let me come down your throat?” He whispered, one of his hands moving down to grip onto your hair. 

“M-mhm,” you replied. 

His moans increased in volume and frequency, until he was letting out loud and guttural swear words, and releasing himself into your mouth. “Fuck,” he muttered, glancing down at you. You slid him out of your mouth, puckering your lips as you swallowed everything. You looked up at him and fluttered your eyelashes innocently. 

He chuckled, “That was wonderful, thank you.”

You sat back in your seat, giggling, “You’re welcome.” 

“Now, will you please put your seatbelt back on? You’re making me nervous, babe.” 

“Oh,” you pretended to pout, fixing your seatbelt. “You’re no fun.” 

The two of you pulled into Vegas twenty minutes later. Matthew parked his car in his mother’s driveway. When she stepped out of her house, she instantly recognized the car and began to jump up and down in excitement. “Matthew!” She exclaimed.

But when you stepped out of the car, her attention very rapidly shifted gears. “[y/n]!” She screamed. She ran up to you and embraced you in a tight hug. “Oh, my goodness, what a surprise!” 

Matthew followed you two into the house, carrying your bags at his side. Apparently he was the only one who knew about this little visit. However, you were very happy to be there and his mom was happy to have you. She helped you two get settled in Matthew’s old bedroom. 

“Vegas, huh?” You said to Matthew after she left the room. “Are we here to gamble?”

“Gamble, drink, whatever you want, beautiful,” he smiled. 

“Okay,” you giggled. “Let me take a quick shower and change. Ooh, I should brush my teeth, too. Get the taste of dick out of my mouth.” 

Matthew and you got impeccably dressed just to spend most of the day in the house. You helped his mother cook lunch, and she filled you in on everything she’d been up to since seeing you last. The three of you played board games, ate, had some wine, and carried a conversation for a long time. When you and Matthew would sit with one another, she’d consistently point out how perfect you two looked together. It made your heart swell. 

Later in the afternoon, Matthew and you went out to a bar. You sat on adjacent stools and ordered margaritas. 

“Can I see some ID?” The bartender asked you.

Matthew stifled his laughter, and you cut your eyes at him. “Oh, shut up,” you whispered to him, pulling your license out of your pocket. The bartender verified your age, seeing that you were newly 21, and went on his way. 

Within an hour or so, you two had consumed nearly 6 drinks each, and it was painfully clear. You laughed, often and loudly at every joke the other made. Matthew fell off his stool. Twice. You were eating peanuts hand over fist. You two were a mess. 

Matthew left for three seconds to use the bathroom, and some asshole felt it appropriate to approach you. He was slightly more sober, and thought you were there alone. He struck up a painful conversation, being sure to comment on how beautiful you were every two seconds. You rolled your eyes when he wasn’t looking. He got closer to you, thinking you wouldn’t notice. But you did. So did Matthew. 

“Hey, baby,” Matthew announced his presence, putting his hand on your back. “Ready to go?” 

You nodded, and gave the flirt a kind smile. “Nice meeting you,” you lied. 

As you exited the bar together, Matthew was quiet, and from his stern face, you could tell he was sobering up. Something was weighing on his mind. “Babe?” You called. “Babe, what’s wrong?” He attempted to keep walking down the strip, but you stopped him with your body. “Hey! Talk to me. What’s wrong?”

He let out a long sigh, “I’m...I’m never gonna be okay with that.”

“What? Guys flirting with me?”

“Young...guys flirting with you,” he couldn’t hold eye contact with you out of embarrassment.

“Oh, Matthew,” you frowned. “We’ve talked about this, baby. What do I always tell you? Hm?”

He licked his lips, “That...that I’m your old man, and you only want me.”

“That’s right, grandpa,” you smiled, pulling his body into yours. “You are my greatest love, and I’m lucky to have you, and if you think some young guy could ever steal me away, you couldn’t be more wrong.”

He sighed, “Yeah,” he nodded. “Let’s get back home.” 

“Wait, wait, Matthew,” you pleaded, stopping him once again. You sighed, “How can I convince you? What do you need?” 

“Nothing,” he said sadly. “I’m fine, babe.”

He was a big, fat liar. And you may have been a little drunk - or, a lot drunk - but it still hurt to see him upset. You suddenly got a bright idea, and in the middle of a dimly lit, sketchy, Las Vegas strip, you got down on one knee. 

“[y/n], what are you doing?”

“Matthew Gray Gubler,” you gulped. “Will you marry me?” 

He scoffed, “Okay, time to get you to bed.”

“I’m serious!” You squeaked. “I want to marry you! Right now!”

“[y/n]...”

You rose to your feet, “No. Listen to me. I love you. I love you more than anyone has ever loved anyone in the history of the planet. And I want to marry you. I want to go to that court house right now, get a marriage license, and marry you!”

His jaw was dropped in shock, but the corners of his mouth were turned up in a slight smile. “You’re insane.”

You stepped over to him, wrapped your arms around his waist, “So, are you saying yes?”

He slowly cupped your face in his hands, every inch of his body filling with pure love. “It’s not a yes, babygirl. It’s a hell yes.” 

You two were so excited that you drunkenly ran to the courthouse. You got there just before they closed, and the lady at the desk reluctantly allowed you two to obtain a marriage license. She could smell the booze on your breath, but also see the love in your eyes. She watched the two of you rush out of the building, hand in hand. 

“A ring!” Matthew exclaimed, screeching to a halt. 

“Huh?”

“I didn’t get you a ring! Fuck!”

You rubbed his shoulders to soothe him, and out of the corner of your eye, you noticed a store, the sign above it lit up and colorful. You gasped, “Matthew!” You exclaimed. “A pawn shop!”

“A what?”

“A pawn shop!” You repeated.

“I am not getting you a ring from a pawn shop!” He insisted, but you were already running towards the shop, happy and giddy.

“Come on!” You shouted. “Come on!”

You burst into the store and began to cruise the jewelry. The door jingled, indicating Matthew’s arrival. “Gosh, you run fast,” he huffed. 

“Nah, you’re just old,” you told him. “Excuse me, sir?” You called out to the shop owner. “Do you have any wedding rings?” 

“Yeah, over here,” the man replied, motioning for the two of you to join him. 

“[y/n], I don’t know if we’ll find what we’re looking for here,” Matthew whispered to you. 

But you drowned him out, approaching the salesman and eyeing the jewelry in front of you. “What are you looking for?” The man asked. “A matching set?”

“No—“

“Yes,” you interrupted Matthew. “One for me, another for my man here.” 

“Well, these is our selection,” he motioned to the case below you. “We have white gold, traditional gold...”

“Wait,” Matthew interjected. He stepped up to the case of jewelry and kneeled down in front of it, his eyes squinted. “These ones, right here,” he pointed. “Can we see those?” 

You stared at Matthew, confused as to why he so adamantly wanted to see these rings. The jeweler pulled them out of the case, carefully setting them down in front of you.

You gasped at first sight. He presented the two of you with two bands — one of which was white gold, covered in small diamonds and a large blue sapphire, and the second of which was a plain silver band. Matthew stood beside you, reading the expression on your face. 

“This one screams [y/n], don’t you think?” Matthew whispered to you. “Can she try it on?” He directed at the salesman.

“Of course,” he nodded.

Matthew picked up the ring carefully, and held his palm out for your hand. You shakily placed your hand in his gentle grasp and watched in bliss as he slid the ring onto your finger. Tears clouded your vision as you stared at the ring, feeling the way it fit your hand like a glove. Your eyes switched from the ring to Matthew’s face — his eyes, his soft smile. 

“Does it fit?” Matthew asked you.

You gulped, “Yes,” your voice broke. “Yes, it fits.” 

Before you left, Matthew insisted that you take the ring off for the ceremony and you told him that would happen over your dead body. You were attached to this ring and it was attached to you. There was no separating you two now. 

You walked into the first Vegas chapel you found. It was within walking distance, and was painted pink on the inside and outside. It was decorated with hearts and clouds and little cupids. It was awful.

So it was perfect. 

You presented the staff with your marriage license, and they ordered you two to wait patiently until the last couple was done. It was only for a few minutes, but boy, did you both have a lot of thoughts in such a short time. You thought about regrets, and sadness, and impulsivity. Then you looked at each other. And every thought faded away. 

You two stood in front of an ordained minister dressed as Madonna, hand in hand, facing each other. She read her words out loud to you both, and the two of you could barely contain your laughter. 

“This is crazy,” you whispered to Matthew, sliding the band onto his ring finger.

“Insane,” he said back. But looking at the ring, and looking at you, he knew. He knew nothing in his life had made this much sense. Had made him this happy. This safe, this fulfilled.

“Do you, Matthew Gubler,” the minister said. “Take [y/n] [y/l/n] to—“

“I do,” Matthew answered abruptly.

The minister and you both laughed. “And do you, [y/n]—“

“Yes, hell yes!” You exclaimed. 

“Then by the power vested in me by the state of Nevada, I now pronounce you husband and wife,” she announced. “You may kiss—“

Matthew pulled you in by your waist and kissed you passionately, before the minister could finish her speech. You kissed him back, your legs kicking up behind you, just like in the movies. You held him by his shoulders, both of your eyes squeezed shut as you had your first kiss as a married couple. When you pulled away, you stared into each other’s eyes. Both of you were on the brink of tears, and a single drop ran down Matthew’s cheek. You wiped it away with your thumb, and kissed his nose. 

“Well,” you said. “I think this is the best drunk idea I’ve ever had.” 

You got back to his mother’s house at one in the morning. You had gentle, passionate sex in his bed and cuddled until the sun came up. He spooned you, watching you over your shoulder. You were in a daze, fucked out, staring at your hand — your ring. You twirled it around your finger, sighing happily. 

Matthew kissed your shoulder and tucked his chin into the crook of your neck. His arms were wrapped around your waist. “Any regrets?” He whispered.

You grinned to yourself and slowly turned to face him. You placed your hand against his cheek and leaned in, kissing him softly. You put your forehead against his, “No regrets,” you shook your head. “From now until death do us part.”

[some-dr-writings]

Kokichi, Shuichi, and Izuru fluff, no plot, just fluff

Kokichi Oma:

·       You awoke with a groan feeling some pressure. Quickly you almost panicked but realized it was Kokichi.

·       Though you didn’t live with your best friend technically, you practically did. He kept much of his things in your apartment, coming and going as he pleased sometimes disappearing for a month or more, other times holding himself up in the place only going out on very brief, sort occasions. He’d invite D.I.C.E. and his high school friends over whenever he pleased, even in the dead of night, he at least had the decency to make sure you weren’t awoken and even left a sticky note on your forehead warning he had others over.

·       You were not surprised he was around but did wonder why he felt the need to use you as a pillow. Stroking your fingers through his hair you managed to get a hum out of him. He also hugged you tighter, snuggling into you. “Come on Oma. It’s time to get up.” “No it’s not.” He wined in that playful tone letting you know he was fully awake and just wanted to mess with you for a bit. “Yes, it is. Now please let me go.” “Noooooooooooooooooo. It’s your day ooooooooooooooooooooff. Spend time with me you meeeeeeaaaaaaaaniiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeee.” You mindlessly played with his hair, twirling the ends around your finger as you thought over your predicament. “… At least get under the quilt so you don’t catch yourself a cold. I’m not going to look after you again.” “Yay!”

·       Kokichi hopped off the bed, then threw the quilt and sheets high into the air, hopping under it as it fluttered down. He giggled wrapping his arms and legs around you in a tight embrace.

·       This was but a rather calm morning with Kokichi, innocuous in fact. You’d have assumed he was tuckered out from his exploits the night prior, but he so excitedly chattered on about his adventures that could not be it. As he continued on you noticed the bags under his eyes. Perhaps he had an especially awful nightmare, or fought with someone he cares about, or maybe he just had a rough night, whatever the case may be, feeling how he clung to you so tightly, and so eagerly nuzzled into you as you hugged him, you at least knew he needed the affection, and were glad to be able to give it to him.

    Shuichi Saihara:

·       It was a lovely summer day; the sun shined down without a cloud obscuring that bright blue sky, a cooling breeze rolled past, swaying the grass and leaves, alleviating the world from the insufferable heat, the world just felt perfect for a moment, and Shuichi thought to go take a walk outside. Always doing his training in late evenings he never got to appreciate the outside in the light, or at least not too often. He thought the local park would be the perfect place and so there strolled around, adoring the warmth that tickled his skin.

·       He wondered when was the last time he had done something like this, just walking around for the sake of it alone, it couldn’t have been back in high school when he was trying to get a feel for the grounds, was it? Though he was more of an indoors kind of person it was still so nice to get out once in a while. Especially curled up under the shade of a tree with a good book. That sounded just amazing to him and so he indulged himself and did just that!

·       “Ah, it can’t be, but it is! Saihara! It’s good to see you buddy!” That voice! He placed down his book and saw exactly who he expected. “Y/N, it’s so good to see you too.” You pranced up to him, a skip in our step, seemingly more lively than usual. “You look great! How have you been? I see even you wouldn’t resist this perfect weather!” You promptly sat beside him with a smile. “Hey, what’s that supposed to me!? I like being outside!” “Really? I couldn’t tell with how you always kept yourself in the library.” You both got a chuckle out of this light teasing before Shuichi answered. “I’ve been good. Honestly work had been piling up for a while now, but then a perfect day like this shows up and I just knew I needed a little break.”

·       You lightly nudged his shoulder, pointing to the book. “So, what’re you reading this time?” “Uh, I was actually just about to find that out for myself. I just took the book from my pile of unread ones and set out.” “So, you haven’t even started it yet! Mind if I join in on the fun?” “I don’t mind.” You eared yourself a light blush from the detective as you laid down, eagerly resting your head atop his lap. It was always so easy to fluster the man back then, but even years later he was just the same, the pair of you getting back into your old routine. Him reading aloud was some of your favorite memories of those times, and it was nice to see some things never change.

    Izuru Kamakura:

·       Finding even a place full of ultimates was boring Izuru ran away from the school at the same time as Chiaki’s class was graduating. Something in himself just knew this would be fitting and so that was when he made his escape. For a long time there after he simply wandered from place to place with no destination or anything like that in mind. He just survived doing menial jobs to get by but never stayed in one place for too long.

·       That was till he had met you though. “Well, if you don’t have any goals you can’t get anywhere fast. Why don’t you stay at my place for a bit? I just have a tiny place so it’ll be cramped, but in my line of work I get so see loads of different jobs, and maybe we could find one that catches your fancy.” And that was exactly what he did.

·       Being a freelance landscaper, you got to travel a lot and wherever you want, Izuru followed. Landscaper… Izuru believed that was a talent he possessed. Letting Izuru act as your assistant he’d often get opportunities to test out his skill, even letting him make plans and show them to your clients, but… “Aw, don’t feel so down. I’m sure someone will choose your design over mine one of these days.” “I’m not upset, I just don’t understand.” You draped an arm over his shoulders, pulling yourself closer as to get a better look at the plans he held in hand. “You are something else. So skilled, implementing techniques even I don’t know! But… I didn’t even need to see these to know why.” He just looked to you, expressionless. “You lack passion.” “… Passion? But I have raw skill.” “Sure, but people can only see skill, however they can feel passion. If you don’t enjoy yourself others can feel that. People naturally are attracted to passion, passion is something special that skill can never replace! Like before this, I used to be a doctor, but I just was not happy and I could see that hurt my patients, they deserved someone who truly loved fixing the human body, so I quit and made my gardening hobby into my job! And…” You let go of him, strolling over to the plants. You kneeled down, Izuru doing the same beside you, examining as you tended to the rose bush, doing some trimming. “It was the greatest decision of my life.” He continued to watch as you so lovingly worked the plants, assisting you with anything you needed for this new project.

·       Passion… the happiness he could feel emanating from you as you worked… could he feel that, not just from you but himself? He honestly did not know. He was so apathetic to everything, could he ever feel anything else? For years he wondered that as he continued to stay by your side. That was till one day. After getting back home from your latest job Izuru went straight to the rooftop garden, finding all his plants were untouched by the neighbors. As he inspected them, he suddenly saw his own reflection. He knew it was himself but he didn’t recognize it. It was himself, smiling, something he’d never seen before. He looked to you who was beside him in aw and confusion, finding you were holding a mirror before him. You didn’t say a word as you simply put it back into your pocket before asking him about his flowers. He didn’t answer for a moment, realizing something. He heart picked up in pace at the thought of your rowdy neighbors messing with his plants. He just planted these thinking having some flowers on hand could be useful for your job, but… he spent the majority of his time doing this, even watching over the flowers when there honestly was no reason too… You noticed how his eyes glossed over as he just kept staring at his beloved flowers. “Kamakura, are you okay?” He looked to you, again just staring. You were going to say more but then…

·       Like the flowers he spent his time with you, even if there was no reason too. He just found himself compelled to help you, to just sit in the same room as you even if neither of you were doing anything. He… he was passionate about his flowers and you, so he hugged you, his only friend in this entire world. There was no reason for it, he just felt he needed to do so, and so he did.

[cheri-translates]

Alone on Christmas

A one-shot dedicated to my Secret Santa partner, @beautiful-mystic-mess​

♡ MERRY CHRISTMAS YOU PRECIOUS GIRL ♡

And major appreciation to @ginkgowritings​ who initiated this wholesome exchange and for feeding us quality Gavin content :>

Mildly suggestive!

[ a week before christmas ]

“How could you do this?!”

“I’m sorry.”

“You. Are. The. Worst. Boyfriend. Ever.”

“I know.”

“How could you leave your adorable girlfriend alone on Christmas?”

“Mm, she’s adorable.”

“...”

A zephyr rakes up dried leaves, pulling them into a dance in mid-air. This dazzling display would have left you in awe, if you weren’t currently fuming.

Gavin presses a chaste kiss to your right temple. You huff, a cloud of mist leaving your parted lips.

It’s nearly impossible to stay mad at him.

“I’m going to miss this,” you grumble, voice slightly muffled by the azure scarf you’re sharing with him. 

Giving your laced hands an angry squeeze in the left pocket of his jacket, Gavin halts in his footsteps in the middle of the empty park.

“I’ll only be gone for two weeks, and even though I might not be contactable…” his voice falters when he sees the tears prickling the corners of your eyes, glistening under the glow of streetlights.

Eyes widening, he quickly removes himself from the scarf and stands in front of you, wrapping the wool evenly around your shoulders. Cradling your face, he tilts your chin upwards and gently scoops away the pearly droplets with his calloused thumbs. 

“I really am the worst boyfriend,” he murmurs, slight panic in his eyes.

The last thing you want Gavin to see before he leaves tomorrow is your crying face.

You smack him in the chest, then turn away to rub the heels of your palms roughly against your face. However, it’s a futile effort as the tears return in a continuous, unrelenting supply.

“What if... what if something happens?” You choke, words surfacing in a blubber as you sob messily.

Gavin turns you around to face him, as though he’s inspecting a fragile antique. He draws you into an embrace, and you bury your face in the crook of his neck.

A light swirl of wind tangles and tosses the scent of mint in your surroundings.

“Nothing will happen. I promise.” he whispers into your hair.

He draws back, flitting his lips across your face, every peck removing the tears, the sadness of his impending departure, and the clouds of uncertainty. 

The ticklish sensation causes you to giggle.

Gavin gazes into your slightly reddened eyes, then brings your right hand to his lips, planting a kiss on your engagement ring.

“I’ll make it up to you when I get back.”

--

[ four days before christmas ]

The house is silent, save for the occasional tapping of the keyboard and the almost imperceptible whirring of Sparky Jr. Jr. the Zoombot.

“Maybe Kiro’s Christmas album could turn this gloomy season around,” you muse to yourself, scrolling through your playlist before settling on a bubbly rendition of “All I Want For Christmas Is You” to inject some festive vibes into the room.

Leaning back against your chair, you return your gaze to the document on the laptop screen. You thought burying yourself in work would make the days more bearable. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to have such a desired effect.

Whenever you worked at home, Gavin would drop by the study room and bring you warm drinks, your favourite snacks, and words of encouragement to keep your momentum going.

You stare at the pink, bunny-shaped post-it note stuck to the top right corner of the laptop: I’ll be home soon. You can do this, my girl.

He had stuck it there before he left. But it seems he’s also taken your motivation along with him.

You sigh.

--

[ christmas day ]

The dullness of winter hangs above you as you drag your feet down the familiar street, boots sinking into the soft snow. 

The streets are livelier than usual, with raucous children pressing their ruddy cheeks against the glass windows, cooing over the newest toys.

Aside from you, no one is alone. Seeing everyone accompanied by their partner, friends and family gives you a stark reminder of how the person you wanted to spend Christmas with is currently in an unknown location and in an unknown condition.

Catching sight of your gloomy reflection in a glass window, you hurriedly smoothen the crease in between your brows, perking yourself up. You don’t want to ruin the company’s Christmas party for everyone.

This year, your contribution to the party is in the form of baking Christmas goodies. Not wanting to mess it up, you even sought the advice of Victor beforehand on how to make the perfect chocolate cupcakes. 

Although the goodies turned out slightly different from the images he sent you, you trust that your employees wouldn't dare to complain given that the fate of their monthly salaries rests in your hands. At least, not in your presence.

--

After storing the box of cupcakes in the pantry’s fridge, you head over to the main office. 

“Boss!” Minor greets enthusiastically once you step inside, squatting down next to the Christmas tree standing tall in the corner of the room.

Although the branches are already weighed down with tons of decorations, Minor continues digging through the cardboard box filled with ornaments, seeking to further embellish it.

“We’re almost done,” Kiki says proudly, taking a step back to admire the tree. “All that’s left is for Eli to-"

“Kiki!” Willow interrupts loudly. “I think we need more fairy lights.”

“Eli?” You repeat, utterly confused. “Wh-”

“Anyway,” Anna pipes up, handing you a Santa hat so you can match with the rest of them. “Since you’ve been such a wonderful boss, we thought we should give you something you’re sure to love.”

“Yes, make a guess!” Minor chimes in, standing up and clasping his hands together excitedly. “We’ll give you three tries.”

A thud from the file cabinet draws everybody’s attention. The door swings open, revealing none other than a familiar figure curled up in a foetal position at the bottom shelf.

But how is this possible? 

A ghost? 

Did you finally go insane after plowing through all those proposals for Victor over the past few days?

“Bro Gavin! You were supposed to wait for our signal!” Minor huffs in mild irritation.

“...it’s really cramped.”

You watch, frozen in position, as he struggles to extricate himself from the clutches of the cabinet. 

Straightening up and patting some dust off his hands, his face breaks out into a handsome, slightly sheepish smile as he mouths your name. 

“Gavin!” You lunge at him, wrapping your arms around his neck in a tight hug. He responds instinctively by pressing you closer to himself, and you can feel the rumbling of his chest as he chuckles softly.

Ignoring the flush on your cheeks when you hear whistles from around you, you draw back, staring at him in wide-eyed disbelief.

Then, you fire a series of questions at Officer Gavin:

“Are you real?”

“Yes.”

“When did you get back?”

“This morning. The mission ended earlier than expected.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” “I wanted to give you a surprise.”

“Are you hurt?”

“Nope...?”

“Gavin helped with the decorations.” Kiki pipes up excitedly, pointing at the unevenly cut paper snowflake garlands strung on the walls.

Catching the hesitance in Gavin’s response and Kiki’s input, you lift his hands up. As expected, you notice the razor-thin paper cuts donning his fingers. 

You bring them to your lips, blowing on them. “My Gavin is a poor liar as always.”

“And I thought their posts on Moments were bad enough...” Minor gripes good-naturedly, gesturing for everyone to leave the room. “We’ll go decorate the pantry now~”

Knowing glances are exchanged among the group as they flee from the scene, giving the two of you some privacy.

All the heaviness in your heart from the days before seem to melt away as you stand on your tiptoes, kissing him with all the fiery passion you have in your being. You can feel him laughing against your lips.

“It’s only been seven days,” he breathes in between kisses. You feel like crying with joy, but only laughter bubbles from your throat. Breathless and blissful laughter.

“Seven days is too long,” You respond, planting kisses on whatever skin you can reach on his handsome face. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” he echoes. He pulls your face away from his just so he can simply look at you, his liquid pools of amber drinking you in.

The door slams open with a thud.

“Did anyone miss me?” Eli bellows, strolling into the room with a tower of presents.

-

The party commences soon after that. Gifts are exchanged (Minor knitted Thorny a mini Santa hat), glasses are clinked, and separate conversations take place.

While it’s nice to be a part of the liveliness, you feel pretty overwhelmed and drained soon after. Offering to bring the cupcakes out, you politely excuse yourself from the intense discussion with the girls on which was the worst Christmas movie on Netflix this year.

Out of the corner of your eye, you can see that Gavin is currently engaged in a conversation with Minor (though it looks more like a one-sided effort on the latter’s part). You decide not to disturb their moment of bonding, and head out by yourself.

-

Taking small sips from a glass of water, you fiddle mindlessly with the round magnets on the refrigerator, relishing this short breather. 

Once you feel sufficiently rested, you pull the fridge doors open, retrieving the familiar box.

“Are you okay?”

The sudden voice causes you to jolt, and you almost drop your precious cupcakes.

"Mm, I’m fine. Just bringing the desserts out," you tell Gavin with a shrug.

"That can wait," he says simply. One large hand glides between yours and the tray, snatching it away, and sliding it onto the counter next to you. “I said I’d make it up to you when I got back.”

Now that the obstruction is out of the way, he wraps his arms around your waist and presses his lips to yours. You giggle, hands moving up to lace through his hair as you try to bring him closer than he already is. 

He crushes you tightly against his body, easily lifting your feet off the ground and seating you atop the counter. There isn’t even enough room for air to fit between the both of you.

His teeth travel upwards, grazing the soft lobe of your ear, making you shiver deliciously.

“Gavin, not... not now,” you’re trying very hard to keep your volume down. 

“Hm?” His warm breath tickles your skin. Caressing your cheek, he peppers feathery kisses down your jawline, ending with gentle licks and nibbles on your neck. “Why not?”

What happened to the boy who used to blush at the mere thought of talking to you?

“We’re in the office,” you respond lamely, attempting to pry him away without using any strength whatsoever. Your body betrays you, and you feel your grip around his neck tightening so he couldn’t go anywhere even if he tried.

Someone in the doorway clears their throat.

As though you got scalded, you release your hold on him and hop off the counter.

You lift your head to see a teasing Eli, his brows arched in bemusement as he splays his fingers over his eyes. "Please refrain from using the office furniture inappropriately.”

While you smoothen your slightly rumpled clothes and, Eli stuffs a Santa hat into Gavin’s hand. 

“Here,” Eli says, injecting faux urgency into his voice. “Wear this.”

“No.”

Already expecting Gavin to refuse from the get-go, Eli waggles his brows.

“If you wear it, maybe you could...” His voice dips into an audible whisper. “Slide into her chimney tonight.”

Gavin coughs, dealing a painful blow to Eli’s torso. “Get out.”

“Ah, my spleen.” Eli winces exaggeratedly, grabbing the box of goodies off the counter. “I’ll keep the others occupied. Please lock the door next time. You’re welcome.”

With a wink, he makes his way back to the meeting room, shutting the door with a click.

Pretending that you didn’t hear Eli’s comment, you meet Gavin’s gaze once again. After staring each other for a few seconds, the two of you burst into embarrassed laughter.

He takes you into his arms with a contented sigh, nuzzling his chin against the top of your head.

"Merry Christmas. I’m happy to be home.”

-

ENDING THIS WITH ANOTHER POOR EDIT:

[jamiemackenziefraser]

All That Was Fair

Chapter 18: To Go Home

Summary: Jamie and Claire get a little distracted on their way back.

Read on AO3

Read chapter 18 on tumblr below the cut

Previous, master list, next

a/n: A little early update since this chapter is essentially the second half of the last <3

Chapter 18: To Go Home

***

Hand in hand, Jamie and Claire began to walk back toward where he had parked. There was no urgency now as there had been when Jamie dragged her toward the stones, nor the anxiety there had been when he first found her on that hill and decided to take her home. Now, there was only bliss. They walked with a particular laziness— something that came with the certainty that they would be together forever. 

Jamie had been in no rush to face his life of loneliness after leaving Claire on the hill, but now he was in no rush to be anywhere or do anything. So long as Claire was at his side, he was well pleased with their world. 

They were strolling along, holding hands and taking in the beauty of the surroundings and the peace of their newfound intimacy, when all of a sudden, Claire stopped dead in her tracks. Jamie’s heart dropped, and he was gripped by fear that his happiness would be ripped away from him. Was she about to tell him that she’d changed her mind? 

But she didn’t declare that she wanted to go back to the stones, and the world didn’t open up at their feet to swallow him up, Claire just turned sharply and launched herself straight at him. 

He caught her around the waist as her lips landed on his. Laughing breathlessly into the kiss, his anxiety eased instantly. 

“Sorry,” she said between kisses, pecking his mouth before rewarding him with deeper kisses, “I just really— wanted to do this again.” 

They explored each other’s mouths lazily for a minute before Claire broke the kiss to trail her lips down his jaw. Tingles went down his spine as she reached a particularly sensitive spot, and he clutched her more tightly to him as his insides twisted in delight. 

“I’m really never going to have personal space again, am I?” Jamie chuckled to himself, not sure whether to lean in to the tickling sensation or pull away. 

“What was that?” Claire asked, detaching her slightly-puffy lips from his neck and peering up at him with that adorable look of confusion. 

“Only that ye’re a touchy one,” he said playfully, reaching out to grab her around the waist. His hands could span most of it, keeping her solidly in his grip. 

“I like touching you,” she stated matter-of-factly. Her face held the slightest bit of a playful pout, as if she was upset he’d called her out on it. 

“Well that’s verra good,” he said in a low voice, leaning in closer to her, “because I like when ye touch me.” 

He tried to bridge the distance between them and press his lips to Claire’s again, but she leaned back, just out of reach, with her brows raised teasingly. 

Letting out a groan, he let his forehead fall against hers. 

“Dinna torture me, mo nighean donn. I promise ye, one of my favorite things about ye is how tactile ye are. But it made it damned hard for me tae control myself when I was tryin’ verra hard not tae kiss ye.” 

Claire smiled. “Like I said, I very much wanted you to kiss me, but your head was too far down the hare’s hole to do it.” 

“I can do it now,” he breathed in quiet awe, and he took her lips again. 

Kissing her was a drug that he was quickly becoming addicted to. He was aware that they had barely made it a quarter of a mile, so distracted as they were by each other, but he couldn’t seem to care. 

Time was passing, though, and Jamie hadn’t been able to stomach eating anything that morning. His belly let out a rather mood-killing growl, and Claire jerked back. 

She had the same bewildered and concerned expression she’d worn the first time his stomach had growled in front of her, but it was just for a split second before she remembered and her face spread into a smile. 

“We need to get you some food,” she said, emphasizing the last word in a sweet way that clearly said be proud of me for remembering this word.

“I couldna care less about food right now,” he tried to dismiss it, eager to simply enjoy the moment of being with her. He could think of a few other activities for his mouth that he’d rather partake in… maybe something involving Claire’s mouth as well...

“I care. I won’t have you suffering because you can’t keep your lips to yourself,” she said, pushing a wee hand against his chest.  

“Me? Ye’re the one who canna keep any part of herself off me. Ye even sat on my lap in front of my sister, for pete’s sake!” he teased.

The playful mood broke as Claire looked thoughtful. “Why did you say it like that? Like it's wrong?” she asked innocently, looking genuinely curious, “we both love each other.” She ran a hand down his arm for good measure, ending by taking his hand in hers. Then, she added suddenly, “and who is Pete?” 

Jamie couldn't help but laugh. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to take much offense to this. She just gave him time to get it out, waiting patiently for his answer. 

“Weel, firstly, ‘for pete’s sake’ is jes’ a human expression that means… weel, it is an exclamation of exasperation, only I didna mean it in a bad way. And… it’s jes’ that humans dinna show affection so much around others. They leave those things to the privacy of their own homes,” he explained. 

Claire’s brows furrowed and she shook her head in disapproval. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand you humans. You make such a fuss over little things. If I want to touch the one I love, I will.” 

“I appreciate yer sentiment, a nighean,” Jamie laughed, “Also, it’s no’ common for a man and a woman tae hold hands or sit wi’ each other if they arena in a committed relationship,” Jamie added, “so Jenny was a wee bit appalled when ye sat on my lap.” 

His precious faerie’s eyes widened in dismay. “Oh… oh no. I made things worse then, didn’t I?” 

“Nah… dinna fash. I jes’ thought ye should know that, is all,” Jamie reassured, dismissing her worry. 

“Is that why you would blush so much when I touched you? Or went to sleep with you?” Claire asked. 

Jamie nodded with a smile as he thought about holding her body against his in bed, how terrified he’d been. “Yes. But I liked it. Probably too much. It made it nearly impossible for me tae keep ahold of my feelings. I fell hard for ye, and I had tae keep my feelings in check for so long.” He started to lean in, meaning to kiss her, but her question stopped him. 

“Fell?” Claire asked. 

“Ah…” another human expression, “it means felt love.” 

“Oh,” Claire responded, a slight satisfied smile turning up the corners of her mouth, “well if my touching you made you love me, I’m glad I did.” 

Jamie looked down at her, feeling an impossible warmth bubble up in his chest, “I didna fall in love wi’ ye because ye are touchy, lass. I fell in love wi’ ye because… well because all I want tae do for the rest of my life is make ye happy. There’s somethin’ between us, somethin’ I canna explain…” 

“A connection,” Claire breathed, nodding, “I feel it too. The world was trying to bring us together.”

They were both quiet for a minute before Claire asked, “do you think maybe that’s why I came through the stones? I mean… I had never ventured out that far before that day. I just felt like… exploring. And then I heard the buzzing sound, and I was just…. Here. Maybe it was all for a reason. For you and me.”

“Aye,” Jamie agreed, “maybe. Either way, I dinna much care about the reason behind it so long as ye’re wi’ me now. I am grateful, whatever happened tae cause it.” 

They both fell into a comfortable silence again, walking hand in hand. 

“Claire,” he asked abruptly, “will you tell me about what it's like for faeries when they are in love? I ken ye have parents, so I imagine it must no’ be sae different for the fair folk.” 

Jamie had a million questions, but he settled for asking that one, hoping Claire would answer some of those others as she explained. 

“Well…” she said as she played with his fingers, weaving them together over and over and turning her hand over in his as they walked, “we choose who we love, who we want to be with. Some never find someone, and that’s okay too. But if we do… well, we mate for life.” 

She looked up to him at that, her eyes holding an unspoken question. 

Will we mate for life? 

He wanted to tell her yes, to get down on one knee and propose then and there, but they had only just confessed their feelings for each other. He could be patient, give it more time. He didn’t want to rush her before he even knew much about her expectations. 

Continuing on, she said, “some have children and raise them until they can be off on their own.”

“That sounds verra much like humans,” Jamie said, giving her hand a squeeze. 

Claire seemed like she was about to respond, but her mouth fell closed again as she caught sight of the car. 

“We’ll talk more about it later,” Jamie reassured, “we have time now. All the time we need.” 

She nodded, looking pleased. As they reached the car, Jamie went around to her side and let go of her hand to open the door. 

Claire looked disturbed by the loss of contact, and looked up at him with big eyes, staring for a long moment. Something was stirring there, some deep emotion, and it twisted Jamie’s wame. The content expression she had worn moments ago had disappeared from her face. She seemed… distant somehow. Like her head had gone somewhere else. 

“Are ye gettin’ in, lass? Because if it’s the car worryin’ ye we could…” 

“One moment,” she interrupted as she pressed her fingers to Jamie’s lips, halting his speech. “I need—“ 

She didn’t finish her statement but abruptly bridged the distance between them and leaned in toward him. Hearing the choke in her voice, he quickly got with the program and gathered her again into his embrace the second she was near enough. Her face fit into the crook of his neck as her arms went around him, and she clung to him with a mixture between fierceness and certainty of the secure place. He held her tightly for a long time, feeling her shuddering breaths against him and stroking her back in long soothing lines. He didn’t let himself think; He just held her. 

“Talk to me, lass,” he rumbled gently after a long moment. 

“While I was standing on that hill— I thought that you really meant to leave me. That I’d have to face a life without you,” she murmured into the skin of his shoulder, “for a moment just there I.... I could hardly believe that I’m really here with you. Going home.” 

“I’m sorry, mo nighean donn,” he breathed, his heart breaking, “I’m sae sorry, lass. I thought the same. That I’d be facin’ an empty life wi’ out ye. Christ,” he shuddered at the thought of the sorrow and despair that had wrapped him in their darkness only mere minutes ago. How much life can change in an instant. 

He hugged her tighter, feeling the exact same impulse as she did. He wanted to cling to her forever, to feel anchored to her in the drifting sea of emotions. The memories of walking down that hill and leaving her would haunt him forever. If only—

She drew back suddenly and placed a hand on his cheek. It was as if a switch had been flipped and all her sorrow had been pushed to the wayside.  

“It’s okay, Jamie,” she said, her brows furrowed and face serious as she looked at him searchingly, “I’m here. Feel me here? I’m not going anywhere.” 

Jamie felt confused by this sudden shift. 

“What? Why…?” he tried to ask why she had suddenly begun to comfort him, but thankfully he didn’t need to articulate his question. 

“I could feel it… everything you were. You were just thinking about it, weren’t you? Re-living those feelings of leaving me? Well I could feel them coming from you. I could feel how much you hurt.” 

Jamie’s mouth must have been hanging open— and if it wasn’t, it should have been— because his brain had halted completely in its track and was struggling desperately to come to terms with yet another new divulgence. 

“You’re... an empath?” he mustered. 

“Empath… like empathy?” she asked quizzically. 

“Aye. An empath is someone that can feel the emotions of others. It’s no’ real… I mean… humans canna—” Jamie stumbled over his explanations, “canna sense feelings.” 

“You can’t?” Claire asked, surprised.

“You can?” Jamie shot back. 

Both of them stared at each other for a long moment. Jamie was still trying desperately to keep up with everything. He’d known that Claire was very in tune with emotions, astoundingly so, but he’d chalked it up to her making him feel things so strongly that they showed on his face. Either that or the connection that they shared that sometimes seemed so unreal had revealed his feelings. Thinking back, it made perfect sense to him that she’d actually been able to sense his emotions, not just read his face. 

He was also startled by the fact that he’d been living with her for days now, falling in love with her, and he didn’t even know she was an empath. The back of his brain was cursing him, once again, for his foolishness. He’d been so blind these last few days, so caught up in showing Claire his world and not wanting to push her that there were still so many things about her that were a mystery. Even so, they were taking things one step at a time. 

Claire interrupted his scattered thoughts when she spoke, “when I touch you… I can feel what you’re feeling. Not as much as if I were feeling it myself, but I… know.” 

Jamie nodded thoughtfully. “That makes sense given the things ye’ve said to me. Humans canna do that. We can look at a person and try tae guess what’s goin’ on in their heads, but we never really ken. You… ye dinna actually know my thoughts, rights?” 

Claire laughed, a bright and beautiful sound. “No,” she shook her head, “definitely not. And I can’t even sense your emotions all the time. I have to really be in tune with you, concentrating. It seems to be getting easier the more time I spend with you, but don’t worry, some things are still a mystery.” She punctuated that last statement with a sly smile. 

Jamie felt slightly relieved. Not that he didn’t want Claire to know what he was feeling, but his heart had been thrumming with mounting embarrassment as he considered whether she had known all the inappropriately forward things he’d been feeling about her the last few days. Only… only he’d told her now that he loved her... 

“So,” he began huskily, ducking his head so that his face drew close to hers, “can ye tell what I’m feelin’ now?” 

She gave him a smile, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath as if concentrating herself. Then, she exaggeratedly placed her hands on either side of his face. 

“I think…” she breathed, cracking one eye open to look at him playfully, “that you are feeling rather sentimental, James Fraser.” 

“Ye really are an empath, my wee one,” he said, dipping his head further to press his lips to hers in a long, drawn out kiss. God help him, he couldn’t stop. 

She didn’t seem to mind in the slightest. Her arms wound around his neck and pulled him closer, making a big ball of warmth grow in his stomach. 

Keeping her lips somehow smushed against his, she spoke in a mumble, “we should— probably go home.” 

“Hold on, I’m kissing my faerie,” Jamie said insistently, sparing barely any time to speak the words in between kisses. 

He wrapped both his arms around her waist, grabbing her to pull her closer, and continued to kiss her without hurry. 

She was laughing by the time he finally had to draw back for breath. 

“Are ye laughin’ at me?” he demanded with answering laughter of his own. 

“Not at all,” she chuckled— clearly lying— “it’s just that you were the one complaining about me never giving you space.” 

“Lass, ye’re mistaken, it was most certainly no’ a complaint.” 

As he spoke, his hands skated down her back and came around her sides to cup her hips. 

With an impish gleam in her eye, Claire swatted at his hands. 

“I’m going to need some space,” she teased. She placed a hand smack in the middle of his chest and pushed, making him stumble back a couple steps until her arm was straight and bracing as if holding him back. 

“And you… a wee thing half my size… think ye can hold me back wi’ only an arm?” he challenged, raising a brow at the appendage she had forced between them. He drew himself to his full height, making to intimidate her with his size. 

Claire seemed delighted to take him up on the challenge and raised her head defiantly, completely unfazed. 

(Some part of Jamie deep inside acknowledged the fact that this playful, defiant side of Claire was a huge indicator of trust. It had only been days ago that she’d trembled at the sight of him. Now, they were playing with each other with the comfort of friends and lovers.) 

“I think you’d be surprised what a ‘wee thing’ like me is capable of. You’re awfully big, I doubt you could run that fast.” Claire looked him up and down appraisingly, her head cocked in a manner that made Jamie want to grab her and kiss the grin right off her face. 

“That sounds like a challenge.”

“It is one.” 

“Maybe I’ll take ye up on it.”

“Maybe I’ll go back to the stones.”

“Not on yer life.” 

With that, Claire tore off at a run. She was so astoundingly swift that a flash of dismay washed over Jamie as he wondered if maybe he couldn’t catch her after all. As he slammed the car door shut and sprinted after her, though, her unnatural fae nimbleness was no match for his long legs. Bless high school track, he thought to himself as he ran. 

He considered very briefly allowing her the satisfaction of evading him for a moment longer, but he couldn’t leave her challenge unmet anymore than he could resist touching her. Bridging the distance left between them, Jamie snagged her around the waist and pulled her sharply to him. She smacked against his chest, laughing breathlessly, and struggled playfully as Jamie held her fast. 

“Seems I’m no’ so slow, after all,” he bent his head so he could say it right into her ear, his lips brushing teasingly along the shell of it. 

“I was going easy on you because I know you’re just so in love with me that you couldn’t bear to be apart,” she said in a gasp, stilling her struggles. 

“Aye, that’s true,” Jamie admitted, “I’ll thank ye, then.” 

Just as he was beginning to lean in for yet another gratuitous kiss, he felt Claire stiffen. 

Alarmed, he was about to ask her what was wrong when he turned his head in the direction of her gaze and saw two hikers approaching. They were clad in teflon from head to toe, likely day trippers exploring the highlands. 

Even though Jamie knew there was no threat from them, he tucked Claire behind him protectively, out of sight of the couple. 

“Jamie—” Claire started, but Jamie cut her off. 

“Dinna fash, lass, they’re only taking a wee stroll, they’re no’ a danger.” 

“No,” Claire said, tugging at his wrist insistently to get him to pay attention, “tell them to stay away from the stones.”

Jamie turned toward her abruptly. Seeing the fear in her eyes at the mention of the stones and the distress it was causing her to think of others going near them, Jamie was overcome once again by guilt over leaving her on that hill. They scared her terribly, and that was just another reason why depositing her with barely a word was one of Jamie’s biggest regrets. 

“I’ll tell them, lass. Dinna fash,” 

Taking her hand, he brought her out from behind him and began to lead her back in the direction of the car, toward the hikers. Claire stepped cautiously beside him but didn’t seem overly concerned about passing near them. 

“Hi!” Jamie called with a wave of his free hand as soon as they drew close. 

“Hello!” the woman called, returning his wave. 

“Beautiful day, is it no’?” Jamie commented in a friendly manner as the two couples reached each other.

“Verra fine,” the man answered with a nod. 

“Are ye two from around here?” 

“Jus’ here for the weekend, we’re from Edinburgh,” the woman said with a smile. 

“Ah, well I willna keep ye. Jes’ a word of caution from a local, though: dinna get near those stones. It’s a faerie hill, ken?” he said with a wink. 

Both nodded, murmuring appropriate grave assent. Without another word, they passed each other, Claire’s grip nearly bruising Jamie’s hand. 

Once they were out of ear shot, his faerie was fixing him with huge, almost horrified eyes and asking, “you told them about the fair folk?”  

Jamie couldn’t help but laugh. “They dinna actually believe me, but scots are a superstitious lot. They’ll leave it be out of respect even though they dinna really think faeries exist.” 

Claire let out a hum of understanding and bobbed her head, looking relieved that Jamie hadn’t actually just outed the existence and location of the fair folk to two random strangers. 

Walking hand and hand back toward the car, Jamie said, “well, I think now it’s really time to leave. Are ye ready tae go home, lass?” 

His words echoed back to what he’d said earlier that day before he’d taken her to the stones. It made his heart ache with joy to think now he was saying them while referring to his home. Their home. 

“Yes, Jamie… take me home.”

***

Full disclosure, I’ve been waiting for FOREVER to write these fools kissing, so I’m gonna milk it ;)) Thanks so much for reading, lovelies! Your support blows my mind <3

Next

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Just Swimmingly ch.9 (BAON)

Summary:  The final chapter! Let's hope it lives up to the story name, shall we?

Tags: Spicyhoney, Established Relationships, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping

Part of the ‘by any other name’ series.

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Read it here!

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Edge knew that he wouldn’t be able to carry Stretch for long. They were barely down the hallway to the stairs when warning twinges started up in his leg, and he could only ignore it for so long before he setback his own recovery. He resented that lingering weakness, hated that someone had stolen, albeit temporarily, his ability to physically take his willing husband to wherever he wished to put him. Hated that Stretch no longer flung himself at Edge from their front porch, trusting that he would be caught.

A return to that would come, he reminded himself. For now, he simply had to get Stretch to the car. He wasn’t about to let him walk downstairs with the delicate bones of his feet exposed to the floor of that filthy, junk-strewn warehouse anymore than they already had and perhaps Stretch realized that as well. His protests were brief and faded quickly.

“babe, no, your leg!” Stretch made a weak attempt at squirming loose, “i can walk!”

“You are in your bare feet,” Edge said shortly, “there is angel knows what foulness on this floor, and I am not letting you go.”

“guess i can’t argue that," Stretch sighed. "okay, captain. make it quick.”

“You’ve never said that before,” Edge murmured and Stretch let out a startled laugh that was always lovely to hear, but especially tonight. He really was all right if he could laugh like that, deep and sweet and loud.

So, Edge carried on down the stairs, past the melting remains of some kind of chemical foam, and Stretch didn’t struggle, a wise choice considering it would probably have sent them both tumbling down. He simply sighed and wrapped his slim arms around Edge’s neck, his skull resting lightly against his shoulder.

He was exhausted, Edge realized belatedly, already mentally berating himself. Of course he was, it was past the point of being late and going more into early, and the only sleep Stretch had had tonight was deliberately induced unconsciousness.

Better not to think about that. Seeing Stretch awake and hearing his laughter already relieved some of the raw, achy heat in his soul, there was no point in agitating it again. Surreptitiously, Edge ducked his head enough to breathed in the sweet scent of his husband’s magic, letting it further ease the dimming clamor of his LV demanding retribution. Much as he hated admitting when his brother was right, it would be best to let the Embassy security teams handle the kidnappers. Not that Edge wouldn’t be intently watching the results, but Edge knew himself well enough that he couldn’t promise not to react with violence if he saw any of them in person.

They’d stolen from him. Not a possession, no, love was not something to be owned, but it could be given, along with his soul, and Edge had given his to the very person they’d tried to use as a mere tool to be bartered with and after, they would have surely discarded him as nothing more than a useless object, a means to an end.

There was only one punishment suitable for that and Edge did not trust himself not to mete it out.

Outside, the night air was cool, refreshing after the dusty warehouse, and there was a new vehicle amidst the Embassy cars. An ambulance, the lights swirling silently atop, and the back doors were open with a stretcher already on the pavement. When the attendants saw them, they started forward, and in his arms, Stretch tensed, shifting as if to crawl up and over him in a wild attempt at escape.

“no,” Stretch said shortly. “no, no, no, don’t let the damsel in distress pose fool you, i am fine. all i need is a stiff drink and some zzz’s, this is me not consenting to any medical treatment.”

“Love—” Edge began. Stretch swung around to look at him, the pale glare of his eye lights accusing, and he backtracked, choosing his words carefully, “You were drugged. Perhaps it would be best if you were checked out.”

That suggestion was met with fierce scorn as Stretch scoffed, "yeah, i was drugged and now i am wide awake. i can tell you my name, my address, and my shoe size, and whoever tries to get me into the back of that wah-wah-mobile is gonna know it, too, when i shove my foot up their ass.”

“kinky.” Edge whirled to see his brother’s smirking face as he strolled towards them. “wellie, well, well, went fishin’ and got a hellava catch, eh, boss?”

In his arms, Stretch stiffened so briefly, he might have imagined it. He blinked rapidly, once, twice, as if to clear his vision, then relaxed again, settling on a wheedle in Red’s direction, “fishing jokes are so cliché, cooking is better. i’m the best cupcake in the bakery, so let him wrap me up and take me home. come on, tell them i’m fine.”

Red scratched the back of his skull lazily, “dunno, honeybun, might need a tune-up and an oil change—”

“quit switching the metaphors!” Stretch let go of Edge long enough to flip a middle finger at him.

Red snorted, amused, “yeah, yeah, he can take you home. if,” Red stressed, “you take a mo’ to strip off the new gear those assholes gave you.”

“aw, gee, red,” Stretch batted a pair of imaginary eyelashes, “you’ve never asked me to strip before. i’m not even wearing a g-string, where will you stuff the dollars?”

“cute,” Red’s grin widened in a way that made Edge want to carry his husband far away. The way he bared his teeth venturing into the realm of amused cruelty, and the flick of his tongue absurdly lascivious, “it’s evidence and we need it. if you’d rather change up at the bone factory, bet the docs could take a chance to check you out—”

“no!” Stretch yelped, “no, no, fine. you have something for me to change into?”

“yep.” And Red pointed to the back of the ambulance. “in there.”

Stretch rolled his eye lights. “wow,” he said dryly, “that trap isn’t even subtle. you want i should strap myself into the stretcher, too? check my vitals, start an iv?”

“it’s the only place to change, so either trust that we’ll do a catch and release, or…” Red trailed off meaningfully.

Stretch heaved a sigh and started squirming in Edge’s arms, wincing at the gravel as he was carefully set on the pavement. “back to fishing, huh? fine, fine. but if it drives off in the hospital way when i climb in the back, I’m shortcutting at the first stoplight and then we can play tag across town.”

“I won’t let them take you anywhere you don’t want to go, love.” Edge signed a little ‘x’ over his chest. Stretch’s scrutinizing look shifted to a soft smile and even though he would have preferred a doctor checking him over, Edge wouldn’t do anything to break the trust shining in his eye lights, not for anything in the world.

“okay, babe,” Stretch said, “give me five.”

He climbed into the ambulance, pulling the rear doors shut behind him. After a few minutes of the vehicle shaking and muffled swearing coming through the door, Stretch remerged. The clothes weren’t his own, but they fit, soft pants and a neon-bright sweatshirt that Stretch could have chosen himself, a far contrast to the cheap, bland clothes their kidnappers forced on them. Edge suspected his brother’s hand in it and wondered with some resignation if Red sent someone to purchase them tonight or if he simply kept spare clothes for them all in the dingy hole in the Embassy basement that passed as his office, for just such an occasion.

Probably the latter, Red was never one who minded delegating, but some things required a personal touch.

With visible distaste, Stretch handed over a large brown paper sack to Red. “take ‘em,” he said flatly. “burn them, whatever. i never want to see them again.”

“fair enough,” Red handed the bag off to one of the Embassy security who was standing close by with a muttered order. “all right, newly engaged goes next.”

Their Human friends were standing close by, both silently watching the entertainment, which was fair after the recent show upstairs. With the spotlight turned his way, Jeff hastily nodded and Antwan carefully set him on his feet, his hands lingering and reluctant to let him go.

“You two can head on home,” Antwan said, “We’re taking one of the Embassy cars.”

“yeah, okay, sounds good.” But Stretch didn’t return to Edge. He went to Jeff, leaning down to pull him into a tight hug that was fiercely returned. “hey, we made it, and you even got a special prize to top it off. congrats, bro,” Stretch told him.

It was charming the way Jeff’s cheeks went visibly pink even in the harsh overhead lights of the parking lot, but if this horrible night could end for him on a smile, Edge thought it fitting. No one said a word until the friends ended their embrace, Jeff heading into the ambulance to change and Stretch returning to Edge’s side, if not his arms.

“hey, honey bun.” Stretch paused, giving Red a questioning look, “i’ll have your cell phone back to you tomorrow.”

His face twitched but Stretch only nodded. He turned in a circle, his gaze searching, until it landed on Edge’s car parked on the far side of the lot. He started towards it and as slippers were included with his new wardrobe, Edge reluctantly allowed Stretch to walk on his own towards it.

Before he’d taken two steps, a small voice came from behind them. “Can I ride back with you two?”

Alone on the crumbling pavement, Blue stood there, his hands twisting together and his starry eye lights hesitant and hopeful. For the second time that night Edge cringed inwardly at not thinking of him.

“sure, bro,” Stretch said immediately. His eye lights flicked briefly to Edge to confirm, surprising him.

Of course he could come with them, why wouldn’t he…they needed to invite Blue over more often, Edge decided abruptly. They saw him often on movie nights and group events, and he knew that the Swap brothers had lunch together once a week, but he should spend more time with his brother, and with Edge.

Once, they’d been decently good friends, before his relationship with Stretch subtly cooled things between them. They could be friends again, better friends, if only one of them took the first step. Interesting how traumatic events could be a hell of an incentive.

“Of course,” Edge told him, and tried not to notice the sudden gratitude that filled Stretch’s face. He dug into his pocket for his keys and tossed them to Blue, who caught them with a jangle. “In fact, I’d prefer if you’d drive.”

Blue brightened visibly at the show of trust, darting over to the car. He held open the door as Stretch crawled into the back and didn’t so much as raise an eyebrow when Edge followed him.

“home, jeeves,” Stretch said. The last word broke on a deep yawn and he shifted to sprawl across the backseat, his skull in Edge’s lap.

“Seatbelt,” Edge chided.

“you put it on me,” Stretch grumbled. He didn’t move as Edge did, only settled in more comfortably once the belt was across him. He was asleep before they’d even left the parking lot, without so much as an ounce of deception in his long, slow breaths.

Cautiously, Edge settled his bare hands on him, choosing where to settle them with some care, one hand on his clothed side and the other on his skull with more palm than fingers. He wished for a pair of his gloves to keep the sharpened tips safely concealed. Earlier, he’d wanted his hands exposed and ready to be used, and now in the aftermath, he wanted them tucked away again, the same as he’d learned to conceal his other, more Underfell-ian tendencies. Only bringing them out when they were useful, like a set of heirloom dishes, then hiding them at the back of the hutch again to gather dust.

(don’t think of it that way, do not)

He resisted the urge to clench his hands, closed his sockets and tried to concentrate on the feel of warm bone under his bare hand. Stretch often carried spare gloves for him in his bag, never questioning Edge’s preference, never mocked or teased; he didn’t just accept that quirk, he embraced it and tried to help. If he were awake, he would have been pleased at the bare-handed touch, he would understand the significance of it and Edge focused on that.

It helped soothe some of his agitation and when Edge opened his sockets again, he was surprised to see the Embassy gates already looming ahead. “Drop us off, you can take my car home tonight.”

Blue nodded silently, his gaze focused intently on the road. There wasn’t even a teasing, if pointed, joke about Edge letting his car out of his sight. The car didn’t matter, all that was important was in his arms right now.

He pulled into their driveway and Blue held the door again as Edge carefully lifted Stretch into his arms. He paused long enough for Blue to press a gentle kiss to his brother’s skull, murmuring something Edge did not hear, then carried him inside as the car pulled out of the drive behind him. He hoped Papyrus was home, surely he was, and that he would know that Blue could use some friendly companionship after this night.

He would know, Edge decided firmly. This was Papyrus he was thinking of and it was likely he already had a pot of strong tea and some very interesting cookies ready to share, along with a blanket and some Mettaton reruns. Blue would be fine for tonight and tomorrow he could come over again, after they’d all had some necessary sleep.

He carried Stretch inside and settled him on the sofa. Upstairs would have been better, but he needed a moment for his leg to recover before taking him any further. Not that Stretch noticed, he only slept on, sleepily burrowing into the blanket Edge draped carefully over him.

Indecision seized Edge then. There were things that needed to be done, but leaving Stretch here alone made uneasiness stir in his soul. In the end, he checked the door and window locks to make sure they were secured and that their alarm system was on before he reluctantly went upstairs to run a bath and lay out pajamas. It would be testing Stretch’s ability to sleep through anything, but those Humans had touched him, laid their filthy hands on him. A quick wash would go a long way for both of them to get some decent rest.

He waited for the tub to fill with foamy bubbles, the unsubtle floral scent of lavender filling the room, before heading back downstairs. He halted on the landing, his soul seizing in his chest, to see that the sofa was empty, the blanket thrown carelessly back.

Edge closed his sockets and took a long, deep breath, settling his rattled nerves. Yes, Stretch was missing again, but this time, he suspected he knew exactly where he’d gone.

The sliding glass door was now unlocked, and Edge opened it to step out into the backyard. Dewy grass clung to his shoes as he walked and the horizon was overflowing with purples and pinks and deep orange, heralding the arrival of the sun.

The fence was standing open, confirming his suspicions, and Edge opened the coop door to find Stretch sitting on the floor, heedless of its less than sterile state. Nugget was in his lap, magnanimous surrendering her a scritches to her small, adopted duckling that was curled up on Stretch’s knee, mumbling out sleepy little quacks as it was gently stroked.

Stretch didn’t look up. “hey, babe,” he mumbled.

Edge sank down to sit next to them, pressing their sides together from shoulder to hip. “You could have warned me,” Edge said.

It was lightly said, but Stretch flinched, shifting to rest his head on Edge’s shoulder. “sorry, wasn’t thinking.”

“I’d say you’re still not,” Edge agreed. “are you even awake?”

“prolly not.”

They sat together in the dimly lit coop, the silence broken only by the faint sleeping rumbles from the chickens. Neither of them were prepared for Cheese to stir, going from sleeping to wide awake in an instant the moment they noticed the open door. With a riot of happy peeps, they hopped from Stretch’s knee, dodging Edge’s grab as they ran outside to plunge into the new pond, swimming circles in the clear water.

They followed them out, “No, not right now,” Edge began, preparing to wade in if necessary to secure their tiniest poultry companion.

“eh, let ‘em play," Stretch yawned. He sank down on the walkway they’d finished only the day before. “let them have some fun. may as well, i'm really tired, but i dunno if i can sleep yet."

Edge nodded and settled next to him again. The brickwork was hard beneath his tailbone and he made a mental note to have a bench of some sort installed. He should have thought of it before, Stretch enjoyed watching his pets, and both the patio and the porch swing were too far away for proper observation. Rather than allow Stretch to sit on the stones, he pulled his love into his lap, holding him close without impeding his view. "We can wait until you're ready."

"gonna have nightmares,” Stretch said abruptly. His voice was smaller and knowingly weary. "i was scared, you know, but andy was there, and he was scareder. his face was," Stretch gestured at his own face and shook his head. "i couldn't let him get hurt. i couldn’t."

It ached to hear that soft confession, though he’d known Stretch must have been frightened. He pushed the image of Stretch waking up terrified and surrounded by enemies out of his mind, saying firmly, "You didn't, you protected him."

"he wouldn't need protecting if he'd stayed in his seat on that bus all those months back,” Stretch said sourly and that was a notion that couldn’t wait for his therapist to address.

"Don't,” Edge told him softly, “Don't take on blame that isn't yours, you don’t deserve to carry their guilt."

"heh, yeah. you're one to talk."

“I know. So you can believe I know what I’m talking about.”

“don’t worry, babe, i know something about carrying guilt that ain’t yours, too.” Before Edge could question that, Stretch sighed heavily, confessing, "i knew one of the guys."

That was a chilling admission. "You did."

"yeah, he used to work at classic books,” Stretch said. He shifted in Edge’s arms, unconsciously pushing in closer. “had an issue with monsters, but i didn't think anything of it. lots of humans do. he never said anything out loud that i ever heard. last i knew, thomas said he quit. thomas was happier for it, he was about to fire the guy, anyway, him quitting made his life easier."

“Does my brother know this?”

“if he didn’t before, pretty sure he already does now, but i’ll tell him during my little interview tomorrow.” In his arms, Stretch shivered, bones briefly rattling. “when i saw him, saw into his—” Stretch stopped abruptly, “anyway. he’s not a nice guy, babe. not at all.”

“I see,” Edge said, slowly. There were depths in that obvious diverting should be explored, questions to ask, but that could wait for tomorrow. “Let’s go inside and get cleaned up, all right?”

“yeah, okay.” Stretch crawled out of his arms to the side of the pond and rather than fruitlessly chasing Cheese, he held out a hand. It took hardly more than a touch of blue magic to pull the little duckling close, their pitiful quacks as they were once more robbed of their watery freedom filling the air. “yeah, i know,” Stretch soothed, “tomorrow, okay? i’ll let you swim ‘till you’re sick of it, kiddo.”

He returned the duckling to Nugget, who unsympathetically tucked the peeping duckling beneath her, and when Stretch turned back to Edge, his gaze sharpened suddenly as he watched Edge climb to his feet. “where’s your cane?”

“I was getting it as we speak.”

“uh huh, from inside the house, it’s so useful in there. you,” Stretch jabbed a slender finger at him, “you’re going to use it all day tomorrow, right? no bitching, either.”

Edge didn’t bother pointing out that it was highly likely he wouldn’t be doing much walking at all tomorrow, certainly not out of their home. Tomorrow would be full of questioning and paperwork, so many things that would need to be done. But first, they needed to finish off the night before dawn took it.

“Of course,” he agreed. He allowed Stretch to pull an arm over his shoulders, ostensibly to help him inside, but it wasn’t his leg that needed Stretch’s assistance.

His soul pulsed in his chest softly, settling at the feel of Stretch close to him, leading them both into their house, and when they finally slept that night, it was on the sofa rather than their bed, both of them freshly washed and with a cooking show playing softly in the background.

Lying together, Edge was acting the part of smaller spoon to Stretch’s larger one, and if Stretch guessed the position was one that put Edge closer to the door, he didn’t say. His face was buried into the back of Edge’s neck, his breath damp and even. Edge drifted on the borders of sleep, listening more to that quiet breathing than whatever the chef on the screen was saying.

“I can’t lose you.” The words escaped him, said to no one at all, less a statement and more a vow, a promise offered in the early morning light. I can’t, he thought to himself as he drifted, barely hearing the sleepy murmur in return.

“you won’t, babe. ’m not goin’ anywhere.”

Soothed, Edge let sleep claim him, trusting that he was safely caught up in the embrace of both slumber and his love.

-finis

[vhsrights]

117 Days

Pairing: Morcia

WC: 2.2k words

Summary: Morgan just got back from a dangerous case, leaving him and Penelope in need of each other. What better way to do that than to take one of their signature walks together? Alas, dates are an important thing and lead to more than on realization.

*based off of @morcias post about sunflowers and the sun for morcia :)*

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Morgan felt like his mind was soaring as he walked down the path, highly aware of Penelope’s arm in his own. They had just gotten back from a case that Morgan had escaped from by the skin of his teeth. After that, the only thing he wanted was Penelope. He wanted to feel grounded, that he was still okay and still here. Having her by his side did just that. It was a feeling that couldn’t be put into words. Though, Morgan was sure that if he asked Spencer, the boy genius would have some obscure phrase for it.

Normally, the crisp air would bother him, but that day he welcomed the way it subtly burned in his lungs. Perhaps it was the adrenaline that was running through him. Morgan couldn’t put his finger on it. He didn’t know why he felt so intensely in the moment. His focus was split between the way that Penelope’s arms gently snaked through his own and the scenery around them. Morgan hoped that the near future would help him to connect the dots. His long, strolling stride guided the pair along the path.

Penelope let herself relax against Morgan. The nervous energy that had been teeming inside of her had slowly dissipated after their first hug that day. She had scurried over and jumped onto him as soon as she heard his knock against her lair’s door. The way that his arms and musky scent wrapped around her, Garcia’s worry subsided. She felt her heart beat a little faster, glowing under Morgan’s tight embrace. Here, with him, Penelope didn’t have to think about all of the darkness that they worked with. Rather, she could bask in the sunlight that her best friend emanated.

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She had always thought of herself as an entity that grew and changed, shaped by the people and events that passed her by. Some took pieces of her that they never returned, others that replaced those pieces and more, and then there was Derek. He was the glue that she fit every piece into. He was the one that she could ground herself in when the moment felt too much, as if it could shatter her in any second.

That was why she had fallen in love with him. It was beyond the way that Derek looked, acted, and spoke. She fell in love with the way that he felt things, the way that he thought, and the way that he never failed to connect with her on a level there were no words for. She was positive that even the great Dr. Spencer Reid didn’t have a word for what she felt. In her mind, there weren’t enough in the world to do that feeling justice. Penelope opted for the one thing that could even come close to represent their bond. She had pulled back from their hug and spoke, reverence in her eyes.

“Do you want to go on a walk with me today?”

“Of course. Do you want me to pick the route today?”

Derek’s answer was almost immediate. Their walks were a thing of intimacy that both loved and needed when their jobs reminded them of the transience of life. At that point, Derek and Penelope had a system. It was a memorized system.

The light returned her eyes with a passion, rejuvenating her spirit. Penelope spun on her heel and rapidly crossed the room back to her desk. She pulled open the drawer that was tucked under the desk, producing a frilly cup that was filled with popsicle sticks. The smile on her face had widened once more as she tilted the cup towards Morgan. Each stick had a number that corresponded to a walking route that she had mapped out around the city.

Morgan let out a hopeful sigh, excited to see what adventure he would pick for them that day. To him, it wasn’t about the walk, rather who he was walking with. She could make walking through the Library of Congress seem like a tour of an amusement park. Pretending to inspect the group of sticks, Morgan pushed a couple around. He picked up one after a few seconds, examining it for a number.

“Today’s route is lucky number 9.” Derek chuckled and handed the stick back to Penelope.

Garcia’s eyes lit up at the mention of the odd number. That was her favorite route on the map by far, even if she wasn’t supposed to be picking favorites. They would be cutting through multiple parks and in front of Derek’s favorite bakery, Savanna’s. She could already tell that today was going to be an amazing day. The feeling was not one that she could describe, rather one that Garcia could tell in her heart.

“Perfect. Thank you, handsome. I’ll grab my stuff and then we can make our way out of here.”

Derek simply shined his charming smile at her and leaned back against her door. His eyes closed for the moment, the weight of his go bag and the case they had solved heavy against his shoulders. Penelope would make it okay. She always did.

She was the one whose words and strength got him through more than most people thought was humanly possible. People often complimented him on his resilience. Yet every time it was brought up, all Derek wanted to do was say that it was because of Penelope. She had shined her light on his heart, giving him the power that most people could barely fathom. Derek had just fallen in love with her along the way. She was the very pillar that he leaned on but had taken his heart in the process.

He didn’t have much time to dwell on the thought because he felt her cool fingertips brush against his arm. Standing up fully once more, Morgan walked Penelope downstairs to their cars in the parking garage. They had parked side by side several days ago before he had left for the case. Watching Penelope close the door to her car made Derek’s heart clench. He didn’t want her to leave; not him, not alone, and not with the chance of not coming back.

Penelope would come back to him, safely. She always did.

Convincing himself of that simple fact, however, was a tall order. Taking in deep breaths, Derek began the drive home. He was always the one in the field and the line of fire. Still, he couldn’t help but worry about Penelope. Derek knew the world and its cruelty, as did Penelope, but he had vowed to himself that he would protect her from it as much as he could. Penelope Garcia was simply too good for this world.

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They met up at Penelope’s apartment nearly an hour later. Derek was in a sleeveless hoodie and gray shorts. His sunglasses sat on his head and he grabbed them as he waited for her to open the door. Seconds later, it swung open on its hinges, revealing Penelope’s bright outfit. She was wearing a baby blue dress with a spread dinosaur pattern, layered with a light green cardigan that had sunflowers on it. A floppy, off-white sun hat sat on her head with its eccentric bow giving it style.

“You look beautiful as always, mama. Ready to go?” Derek stuck out his hand for the woman, guiding her out towards himself.

She locked the door and they went on their way. The air was brisk, and Penelope’s cheeks immediately had a slight pink tint. She explained the route to Derek in the beginning but soon after they fell into a comfortable silence. Their relationship had that kind of beauty, where the silent moments were just as important and beautiful as the ones that were filled with loving words and encouragement. Penelope let everything but thoughts of Derek Morgan melt away. She took in the nature around them, baffled by its beauty. She finally spoke when they were deep in the first park.

“Derek Morgan, you are quite the gentleman. Thank you for doing this with me. I know that we’ve been doing this for a long time, but every single walk seems like I’m going into a new world. I just, it’s scary knowing that you go out into the world to protect others. I never know if you’re going to be okay, and I don’t want to think about what would happen if you didn’t-”

Her words had been spurred by the realization of what could’ve happened in the last few days. She was beyond thankful that Derek was here by her side, as he should be. Her words were cut off when Derek stopped walking and his hand reached up to her face. He let his thumb gently caress her cheek while his hand cupped her face.

“Baby, I will always come back. No matter what, I’ll be there with you. You are my sunshine, my energy, and the one person who turns my world. I won’t let anything happen to either of us. It was how my parents raised me and how I intend on living. I’m not leaving you.”

Penelope felt her cheeks grow hot and knew that her tears were just barely within their floodgates. She took advantage of the lull in the conversation. Penelope turned her body fully towards Derek and buried her face in his chest. She hugged him hard, not trusting her words to convey what she felt. Derek immediately his own arms around her, cradling her head against himself to help calm her.

“Fran and Hank Morgan made sure that their son knew what love was, so when I see it, I know what to do. They were the ones that showed me how beautiful a relationship, and even friendship, work. So when you, beautiful, walked into my life, it clicked.”

At that moment, his eyes fell on a small cluster of sunflowers. They leaned towards the patches of sunlight that peaked through the canopies of trees around them. Perfect. Derek let Penelope come to her bearing, and eventually slowly pulled away. He smiled at her wider than he ever had before, turning away.

Derek had a little ritual for their walks. It started on their first walk when he had seen a radiant, violet flower in the distance. Breaking away from Penelope, he crossed over the pathways and plucked it. Wasting no time, he returned and presented it to her. The flower was beautiful, fresh, and everything that reminded him of Penelope. It grew with each walk, sometimes ending in him gathering small clusters of flowers for her. Penelope would take and cherish those flowers, holding them close for the rest of the walk. She had a small corner in her house for them, letting them stay as a reminder of Derek.

He knelt down and grabbed 2 sunflowers, examining them before walking back over to Garcia. Derek extended his arm to give her the flowers, but Penelope stayed frozen. His eyebrows furrowed and he stepped closer. The tears in her eyes were on the verge of falling.

“117.”

Derek’s head cocked to the side. 117? Had he forgotten something important?

“Did I forget something, Babygirl?”

“Uh- 117 days. I just remembered. That was how many days your dad gave flowers to your mom before he proposed. You told me the story a month ago on your porch when we had that Italian takeout.”

“Oh.”

“Never, never mind. I just remembered it randomly.” Penelope tried to backtrack.

“No, you’re right. My dad was quite the romantic, and if I’ve learned anything from him, it’s that you never give up on the people you love. So with that, I guess this is only fitting.”

Derek took one final step to close the gap between him and Penelope. He had one shot at this, and his heart was pounding. The world around them had long disappeared, nothing in their sights but each other. Derek let his hand rest against Garcia’s face, searching for something in her eyes. He pulled her in and let his lips touch hers. It was slow, neither one fully aware of what was going on. Finally, Penelope pulled back.

She looked into his eyes, finding exactly what she was looking for. Genuine love and adoration. It made her heart flutter. She leaned back in to kiss him again, this time more alert. His lips were soft and she lost herself in him. Derek’s hand moved to rest under her chin, tilting her head up to reach him. Penelope was perfect, and here, kissing her, made him never want to move again.

They separated and both could have sworn that world had gotten brighter around them. Realizing that he was still holding the flowers, Derek raised them up to present them to Garcia.

“For you, m’lady. In honor of my parents’ and our 117 days, and the rest of our future ahead of us.”

Garcia giggled and took the sunflowers.

“You are so cheesy, but that’s what I love about you. I’m glad we went on a walk today.”

“Me too.”

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