#traveling the globe to make sure the other is safe

[legendary-pink-dot]

Airport Pickup

Pairing: Francisco "Catfish" Morales x female reader

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Unprotected PiV, fingering, semi-public sex, established relationship, light dirty talk because I like to think Frankie is a Sex Talker, Tom has a cousin and he's an asshole too

Word Count: 2.4K

Summary: Frankie hates airports when he isn't there to fly or work. The crowds, the noise, endless passengers complaining to airport employees who were just trying to do their jobs and get through the day. But he’s sitting there waiting today for you.

Notes: No use of "Y/N". No mention of Frankie's child. Frankie starts off grumpy but gets a happy ending. Thank you @goodwithcheese for the prompt and prodding, and to my magic slut coven for cheerleading @arcanefox207 @magpiepills 💜

Fuck. Frankie hates airports when he isn't there to fly or work. The crowds, the noise, endless passengers complaining to airport employees who were just trying to do their jobs and get through the day. But he’s sitting there waiting today for you, through a lengthy delay of your flight arrival and then another one.

Six weeks was a long time to be apart. Way too long. It didn't help that you'd been halfway across the globe -- the time zones and your respective work schedules had made it almost impossible to stay in touch other than a couple quick calls and some texts. He missed your conversations, the shared dinners after work, the drawn-out nights of sex. Right now, especially the sex.

Frankie frowns as your text comes in: Just landed. Delayed b/c crew was late. Pilot is Cpt Davis 🙄

Captain Davis -- fuck. Tom's idiot cousin Chad. Frankie hated him. Not only was Chad an asshole, but a shitty pilot too. Frankie had had the misfortune of flying commercial on one of Chad's flights and knew within two minutes that the minor pitch, yaw and roll corrections -- or lack thereof, in this case -- during the particularly turbulent takeoff were an indication that this pilot didn't give a shit about his passengers. Sure, a captain's primary job is to get people safely to their destination, but what happened to having pride in your work? Fucking jerk.

Frankie shakes his head in disgust as he heads to the coffee shop for your favorite order, stopping at a convenience kiosk on the way to pick up an extra pack of Dramamine for you. Just in case.

~~ * ~~

You stare dumbly at ten identical black suitcases endlessly rounding the baggage carousel as people push past you. Why is baggage claim always a shitshow? You were exhausted from 18 hours of travelling and jetlag, and the turbulence during the flight had stirred up your motion sickness so badly that you’d run out of Dramamine. Bed sounded good right now. Just your cozy bed, 10 hours of sleep, and Frankie waking you up with kisses and hot licks of his tongue. Is that too much to ask for?

Frankie had texted to say he was in the waiting area, and you were so eager to see him. Six weeks was way too long to be apart, and everything ached to be reunited -- your heart, your fingers, your cunt. Anticipation had gotten too much on the last leg of your flight and you'd even tried getting yourself off in the tiny airplane bathroom, but no luck. It just wasn't happening and you'd given up in frustration, ending with no orgasm and also a nice bruise from banging your elbow against the sink.

Finally, your neon blue bag (chosen specifically to be unique and bright so you didn't have to think at times like these) comes into sight. You haul it off the carousel and head straight for the exit.

Frustration melts away as you spot Frankie waving, making his way through the waiting crowd. He's wearing a green sweater, the one he only puts on for special occasions as his version of "dressing up". It would be an awful color on most people but it perfectly brought out the golden tone of his skin, the richness of his brown eyes, the chocolate of his curls peeking out under his navy blue cap. It makes your heart skip a beat that he still makes an effort to look good for you.

"Come here." He envelops you in a bear hug and you bury your face into his neck, inhaling the smell of fresh coffee, his leather jacket, his freshly washed hair curling out under his cap. The scent of Frankie. You drink your fill of it, of him, cinching your arms around his broad back and letting your body sigh and melt into his. "I missed you so much."

~~ * ~~

Dim lighting in the parking garage makes it feel even colder despite the long welcoming hug, the hot coffee you’d downed in the elevator, the extra Dramamine, even the pre-warmed comfort of Frankie's leather jacket. You hadn't missed how his eyes had travelled up your bare legs as you put the jacket on, taking in and appreciating the sight of you. He did love when you wore sundresses. Which is why you had changed into one before getting off the plane.

Tucked into a dark corner space is his truck, looking lonely with few other vehicles around. Frankie tosses your suitcase into the bed of the truck and immediately pushes you up against the passenger door to kiss you hungrily, his hands firm on the back of your neck and around your waist to press you closer to him, giving you a proper welcome home. His mouth is warm and inviting, and you slip your tongue inside it to generate and seek out more heat.

"Tired?" he checks in after a couple minutes, breaking the kiss to rest his forehead against yours. "How's your motion sickness?"

"The Dramamine's kicking in now." You shiver involuntarily in your thin dress. "I'm cold though."

"A sundress, in this temperature? Didn't you check the weather here before your flight took off?"

"But I wore it just for you, Francisco," you whisper, nipping at his mouth. "I know it turns you on."

Frankie groans as he slides his hand along your bare thigh, a featherlight touch against the chill-textured flesh. "You're too good to me. Let me warm you up, cariño. Get in the back seat."

Last time you'd been in the back of his truck, you had been splayed across the bench seat, hands tied by and gripping the seatbelts on both sides as he ate you out, coaxing two strong and heady orgasms out of your body as the sun rose over the beach you had parked at. A good memory, one you had recalled several times during the long lonely nights in your hotel room on this trip.

He opens the door, and you eagerly climb in.

Frankie slides onto the seat, closing the door with a firm but quiet click. You climb into his lap and straddle his thighs, letting him pull you close again, his hands roving under the jacket and rubbing your back while yours snake underneath his sweater to borrow heat from his chest. The curve of his neck and shoulder is warm and you gratefully nuzzle your face into it, inhaling his scent again to imprint it in your memory, so happy to be back.

"Mmmm. Really missed you," you breathe into his skin, the cold tip of your nose rubbing circles over his throat and poking under the neck of his sweater to tease his collarbone. "Missed this."

"Me too. So much," he croons, sliding a hand through your long hair. He adjusts the angle of your head just perfectly to kiss you again, gentle at first and with increasing hunger until your tongue traces his plush lower lip, dipping in to slide in and out of its cleft, and he moans into your mouth.

"Fuck. Do that again."

You continue teasing his mouth with the tip of your tongue as his hands descend to grip your ass and grind his hardening cock against your core, rough denim snagging on thin cotton and lace. You're toasty warm now and you shed his leather jacket, also taking his hat off so you can weave your fingers through the curls in his hair, pulling gently as you rock against him, feeling his heat transfer to your center, the tip of his length in his jeans making contact with just the right spot to make you moan as you rut against him.

Frankie takes advantage of your open mouth and slides a finger in. "Suck. Get it wet for me." You comply and swirl your tongue around his finger, licking and sucking and slurping as if it were his cock, savoring the anticipation of knowing it would soon be inside you.

"Good girl." His finger drips with your saliva and he slides it through your folds, his other hand pulling the crotch of your lace panties aside and holding it there. Letting the cold air kiss your heated flesh. "Hmmm. So wet for me already though, aren't you? So hot," he rasps against your throat, feeling the vibration from the sound that travels up and out of it as he slides a second thick finger into your pussy. You clench around their sweet pressure, his fingers always able to reach places inside you that your own can't.

Within seconds you're shamelessly fucking his fingers, rocking back and forth and building more and more heat in your core, his thumb doing a better job against your clit than your own had in the airplane bathroom, when a bright light flashes through the windshield. Frankie grabs you and pulls you down to lie on the seat, covering your body with his as if shielding you from gunfire. Years retired from Delta Force but his combat instincts never fade, apparently.

"What's happening?"

"Security guard on patrol. I know most of them here and don't need 'em catching me fucking in my truck like a teenager," he whispers into your ear as the flashlight glare fades away. "I'd never hear the end of it."

You stare into his eyes, his face hovering just an inch from yours, those brown eyes you love so much looking darker than ever in the dim fluorescent filtering through the truck. You kiss him with hunger and want. "I need you inside me. Please. Can't wait until we get home."

"I got you, cariño. I'm gonna fuck you good. Get up and turn around."

He hauls you back up and turns you to face the front of the truck this time, straddling his thighs again, and you plant your feet on the floor as he pushes you forward, unzipping his jeans and pulling them down just enough to free his cock, hard and leaking precum, eager to sink home into you. His hands roam up the front of your dress and gently squeeze your tits. You feel the prickle of his mustache caressing the back of your neck as he presses kisses there, and you shiver from pleasure this time, not the cold.

"Patrol will be back soon. You're gonna be the lookout while I take care of you, okay?"

You hook your fingers around your panties and slide them all the way off.

"Fuck yes, Frankie. Show me how much you missed me."

Frankie groans and grabs your hips, lifting up the hem of your sundress, and you grab the back of the front seats for leverage and control as he slowly guides the thick tip of his cock through your folds and into the first few inches of your entrance, setting on fire every nerve ending along the way. It's a stretch, always a stretch with Frankie, but especially in this position, your thighs spread wide across his lap and toes just barely brushing the floor. Your back arches against his chest as he slides the rest of the way in, all the way to the hilt, your moan mixing with his grunted sigh to echo through the small enclosed space of the truck.

"You like that?" He gives an experimental thrust and you cry out, for another, for more. "Did you miss my cock?"

"Yes," you whimper, your voice shaking but not hesitant. "So much. Give it to me."

The leather of the seats in front of you is smooth on your fingers as you bend further forward, changing the angle, inviting him to fuck you in earnest and he does, his practiced hand finding your clit without you needing to ask. Frankie always wants to give you the world if he could.

You forget the security guards, the time on the clock until they come back, not caring and soon no longer cognizant of whether time is passing normally or whether you've been suspended in it. The only thing in your orbit is the feeling of Frankie's cock travelling deep into your heat and discovering every sensitive spot inside as if it was the first time he's explored it. Fire and tension build in your core as his fingers dig into your hip to hold you in place, his thumb working your clit in tandem with his thrusts, the rough texture adding an extra sensation that you've never managed to replicate alone.

"Fuck." Half a whimper and half a plea, and Frankie answers it with a loud groan. Your fingers grip the seats so tight that you create marks in the leather. "More, Frankie, please, don't stop. "

"So fucking tight for me, cariño." Frankie sounds utterly wrecked behind you, voice rich and full, his free hand snaking up to clutch the back of your neck, holding you at the perfect angle for him to drive in and out relentlessly, deep and hard the way he knows you crave. "So sweet. Always so good to me when you come home."

Sounds reverberate off the windows: heavy breaths, flesh against flesh, your moans, Frankie's grunts and whimpers as his rhythm inside you starts to falter, both of you close.

A final few strokes of his fingers across your clit and the tight coil inside you snaps, his other hand slapping over your mouth just in time to contain your sounds as you cry out, feeling his cock twitch and pulse as he comes hard, spurting hot inside you. He buries his face in your hair to muffle his own loud groan and it vibrates loud across your scalp and down your spine as you grind your ass into his lap a few more times to draw out the pleasure for both of you, your walls fluttering around his softening cock, until the sensitivity becomes too much.

Collapsing back against his chest is all you can manage and his arms encircle you, holding you close and breathing heavy into your hair. You feel his heartbeat as it winds down, slowing its thumping against your back through the thin cotton of your sundress. Your surroundings take shape as you come down from your high: Frankie has got you. You're home again.

A sudden flash of light through the windshield blinds you both. "Morales? Hey man, I thought that was you! Have fun with your girl, see ya at the bar Friday night!"

You both groan. It wasn't even a security guard -- it was Chad Davis and his frat-boy smirk.

"Fuck me," Frankie sighs in disgust. "I hate airports."

[adventuringblind]

Mend Me

Lando Norris X Reader

Genre: Magical Realism via Superpowers (kind of), A mix of fluff and angst

Summary: After a long history of being running and hiding, she finds someone who isn't afraid of her. Enough to risk it all for him. Feat Oscar and Carlos being a chaotic duo for once.

Warnings: A tad dehumanizing (if you really squint), mentions of hospitals, mentions of blood/wounds/weapons/bruises, reader literally bring someone back to life,

Notes: This is incredibly experimental. I like these kinds of AU's that incorporate racing still. It's fun to see different concepts come to life in a normal world! I'm currently working on a few A/B/O fics and a few other experimental things :)

Side Note: and another request! I had so much fun writing these two and this story in general! I'm hoping to write more like this, or for these two specifically, in the future!

Masterlist // Request Form // My Website // buy me a Ko-Fi

This is not the life she envisioned for herself. The running, hiding, forging papers to try and keep herself safe.

Stupid unnatural abilities that she never asked for. A danger rating that started at three and moved up steadily as these abilities expanded. Classified within a unique group that tends to be more isolated due to their nature.

A healer is what her new papers say, a danger rating of five. Her armband required across the globe remains the same color. Unassuming and weak, which is how she needs to be perceived.

Powers, abilities, magic, auras, whatever you want to call them, manifest in different ways. Some are element based, some a material, some deal with things like the mind and soul. Smaller groups include shapeshifters, psychics and mediums, shadow work, and her own group.

Those who deal in life and death are not to be messed with. The healers and the reapers. Which, you would think wouldn't be dangerous. She was lucky enough to not be sentenced to a life in captivity. The reapers can decide who dies when, if they are strong enough. Usually prompted by the healers if they person is out of reach. It's a peaceful passing. Yet that doesn't stop people from fearing that kind of power and control.

No, she's a healer. Lower levels are kept as doctors and nurses. Knitting wounds together, feeling the pain of others, being able to x-ray a body without a machine, are all useful.

Raising people from the dead? yeah, that tends to freak people out.

Her wound transference started small. A scraped knee on a friend became her own, but without a mere itch. Soon it progressed into deep lacerations which bled less on her and healed faster. Then it was bigger injuries like broken bones and concussions.

Training was required for anyone with abilities. In order to see where they fall in rating, where they can be utilized, and make sure they have control over the chaos.

She spent ample time in the local hospital with the other healers. The paramedics had rushed inside. The body nearing death. They flatlined, mangled in different ways, yet she still managed at the age of sixteen to bring them back.

The amount of pain she was in was nearly unbearable. She'd almost killed herself in the process.

Her rating shot up to seven after that and she was whisked away to a facility for people like her. They moved her up to nine after another year. She'd managed to bring back someone who'd been dead at least a day.

She's a necromancer.

Whatever she is, they all knew they couldn't stay in that place. Inevitably escaping with their combined powers. She'd never run so fast. She was provided new classification papers and sent off to a different country.

Which is how she found herself here. Traveling and healing despite the prior adversity. She likes this job, specifically because she's strong enough to manage drivers and personnel in the paddock who hurt themselves with their own abilities, but not enough to look conspicuous. Which is a fine line she's toeing, but she makes it work.

She has regulars. Max Verstappen frequently asks her to come around. Metal tends to slice him when he's not grounded and specifically more agitated. Lando has a tendency to hit himself in the head with things when he's excited and the telekinesis decides he needs something right that second. Carlos shapeshifts into a bear, which comes with its own set of problems (she didn't know she'd have to be a vet, also). Then there is Alex, who always seems to be summoning feral street animals.

The year she started; she was nineteen. Lando and Carlos were teammates then. The Brit a in his sophomore year of the sport. The number of bruises on both drivers was ridiculous due to Lando randomly pushing and pulling random objects was ridiculous. Carlos even joked he might have been doing it on purpose at the time.

It was 2021, and the encouragement of Daniel, that got him to ask her out. An invitation she accepted. It was nice, but there was that lingering fear in the back of her mind that he would figure her out and turn her in.

A night out in 2022 is what changed everything for her. The ability to trust and a longing for connection driving her to spend the night with him.

Now, her suppressor band is strong enough that she's only supposed to wear it for twenty-four hours maximum. She'd put it on when she woke up the morning prior and hadn't taken it off sense. Lando had asked if she wanted to take it off, let their energies meld together. A privilege only people like them have. But she'd declined and he hadn't pushed.

She slept in. The best sleep she'd had in a while, mind you. Yet the pain firing through every nerve of her body had her crying. She hadn't cried in pain in so long. This was entirely new to her, and if she's honest with herself, terrifying to experience.

~~~~~

Lando stirs beside her. His hands cup her face and eyes scan her body as he attempts to understand what's wrong. She's unresponsive and he panics. Enough to call Carlos and ask if it's something to do with her classification of power. She could've overdone it, or it's the residue of a different injury she took on herself. Whatever the case, he needs help.

"Lando, mate, she's a five right?"

"Yeah? why?"

"Suppressor bands for five and up tend to be stronger than four and below."

Lando pauses for a second. "Aren't you a seven?"

"And I take mine off in intervals." Carlos' explanation makes sense. Enough for Lando to calm himself and locate the chain on her wrist. "Just take it off and see if it helps. It might not be immediate though so give it about ten minutes and then call me back."

"Thank you, Carlos."

"Not sure what we'd do without her. Maybe kill ourselves? So, you better keep her alive, mate!"

Lando ends the call. Her body seizing in his arms in a scary kind of way that makes him want to vomit.

The chain doesn't come off easily. The second he manages to unclasp it; she becomes deadweight in his arms. But he doesn't get the kind of relief he is hoping for from it.

The aura she has around her is strong and intense. The kind he's never felt before. It's not nauseating like when Carlos or Max is high on emotion, this is serene. Like he's never felt better in his entire life. Which is strange, considering how strong it is...

He calls Carlos back. This cannot be normal for a five. The fact he has it off, but she's sweating and gripping his hand like she's in turmoil makes him wonder.

"Did it work?"

"Uh - possibly?"

There is a brief pause. "What does that even mean?"

"Okay, so, energy of a five healer, is it supposed to be this intense? Cause I feel like I'm on cloud nine and she's still in pain." He wishes he could reverse it, just get her to settle and not look like she might die until he can help her.

"I'm coming over."

It takes Carlos too long to get to his room. His anxiety is getting worse by the second. She's finally exhausted herself enough to fall asleep, but her energy is still permeating the room in a way he can't describe.

Carlos nearly falls over when he steps inside the door. "You like this?!"

"I feel fantastic!"

"Well good, we know you have a soulbond now. We'll talk more about that later. I'm going to pass out if she doesn't have a suppressor on."

Lando whines, but he knows Carlos won't last like this. He just hopes something reset and bought them time to figure it out. He puts the chain back on her wrist and Carlos immediately looks better.

"Verdict?"

"She's not a five, that's for sure." He inspects the chain and her arm band. Carlos' own brown band is still around his bicep. The shapeshifter colors. Lando's is yellow for the energy category, Max's is red for the secondary elements, and Alex's is brown with a green stripe in the middle for the animal handlers. Her band is white with a black ring in the middle, the reapers are the opposite. The number attached to her band is a five. It's the same as a legal document.

Lando snatches the band off of where it lays next to his own. Sure enough, when he flips is around, A different number is crudely patched over enough that nobody could make it out unless staring for an obscene amount of time.

Lando hands the flipped band to Carlos. "She's a fucking ten."

Carlos hums and examines the elastic in his hands. He then fishes a suppressor ring out of his pocket and switches hers for the one he brought. The energy is still there, but the Spainard doesn't look like he's going to be sick anymore. Lando claims this as a win.

On the other hand, he can't fathom why she didn't trust him enough to tell him. "I don't understand-" The crack in his voice is embarrassing.

Carlos gets him to sit down next to him on the edge of the bed. He places Lando's hand on her shin and they watch the tension she was holding in her body disappear.

"Have you ever seen how the treat anyone six and above?"

"No... you never talk about it."

Carlos sighs. It's a pained one; eyes distant as he recalls memories. "Fives toe the line of being stronger than the people deem safe. These universal numbers used to classify us aren't just for the amount of energy we exert, it's what we can do as well. I shapeshift into a bear, which can be destructive, but I can also do it with fewer breaks and for longer stints."

"What does that have to do with any of this?" Frustration now evident.

"Relax, I'm getting there." Carlos gives him a pointed look and quiets himself. "Six and above tend to have more restrictions. They want to make sure we can't cause any chaos or start wars or something. Reapers are immediately labeled as tens. Healers start small but increase depending. I met a good few back in school that ended up being taken away for some unknown reason."

"So, she's a ten, meaning she can do what?"

"I'm not sure... but she is definitely at risk if anyone were to find out."

Carlos stays with him. Explains to him what is probably happening due to the extreme suppression of this kind of energy. He explains this soulbond thing. How their energies mesh well together which is what was giving him that euphoric feeling earlier. It's not rare, Lando is only a three himself, but for her it is because of the intensity.

It's around midnight when she wakes up, panting and drenched in sweat. Whatever these higher energies are, the seem to communicate for them. Carlos gets next to her and switches the suppressors again. He's giving her the familiarity in a stressful situation with no words.

"Fuck - Lan, I'm so sorry!" Her voice is hoarse and cracked. He wants to tell her that he's fine, that he understands, but words aren't there. Not when she looks this sick.

He opts for the physical contact route instead. The gentle kind, so he doesn't scare her. This hug feels different than any he's had before, but he assumes it's because his aura is actively seeking hers. "We have a soulbond. Our energies mesh together quite nicely."

"So, you know now? You're not going to turn me in?"

"Absolutely not! Carlos has been giving me a crash course and everything. I'm sorry that you are treated so horribly..."

She grips onto his shirt and sobs harder than she has in her entire life. It's broken, and Lando can't help but wonder when the last time somebody cared for her and her abilities alike is. "I'm not leaving you, okay? I might be a three, but I'll do my best to keep you safe." And he means it. He has every intention of keeping her out of the clutches of those who would see her locked away.

~~~~~

Lando convinces her to quite working under the FIA and let him take care of her instead. She still attends to the drivers since she can, because she wants to.

It's never a surpise when she receives a phone call from across the paddock asking for her assistance. It's more fun this way, not having the constant pressure of people watching her for any semblance of too much power.

Carlos keeps a close eye on her when she looks on the verge of overexerting her power or suppressing for too long. He had her and Lando set alarms for when to take it off and put it on again.

2023 comes around, and both her and Lando are more relaxed this year. Car wide, the Brit would rather die, but otherwise, he's fine.

Oscar is a rating six water manipulater. Carlos makes sure he knows where to find him if he ever needs anything. The FIA tends to get on the case of higher ratings.

It's because of that rating that Oscar manages to figure out she's not what she says she is. Lando gets wildly defensive when the Aussie brings it up. She just laughs when he threatens to throw his teammates dinner into his face.

They all get along nicely. Lando manages to not send random objects at Oscar despite various threats, and she still finds herself in every garage.

Then Vegas happens, and everything changes.

The crash replays on the screen, but she can't hear it over the sound of her heart. Their soulbond had only gotten stronger, she can feel his pain and discomfort now because of it.

As an established healer, Jon lets her tail him to where Lando is. The medical team only lets her go so far.

But it's worse than anyone is letting on. She can feel his heart slowing, the internal bleeding more than they originally thought.

He's still alive when the race ends, but he won't be for much longer. They won't let her inside. Oscar and Carlos can barely get past the front desk to where her and Jon are sitting outside the door. Doctors are still working away at a problem they haven't found yet.

"They won't let you in?" Carlos gives a look of utter confusion. "Wouldn't it be helpful to them?"

"Yes, but I'm too emotional to be in an operating room as a five."

Oscar's face lights up. "How far does your energy reach?"

"Decently, why?"

"If me and Carlos take our suppressors off, then we can blame the energy on that."

The three of them take off their suppressor in unison with Jon watching the end of the hall in case someone comes around the corner.

The wall makes it hard to navigate. But she knows Lando's aura like it's her own. She's mapped his entire body, healed him more times than she cares to remember.

The flatline of the moniter rings through her ears.

She finds his heart. Where he's bleeding out, where his ribs are cracked and splitting him open.

And she fixes it.

Lando sits up on the table, heat beating erratically, but he's alive. The doctors don't know what to do with themselves.

They open the door. The only one there is Jon, teary-eyed, but not from sadness despire what he says.

~~~~~

Lando is high on painkillers. Though he wishes his human healer were here to make it better. He just wants to meld with her, thank her without words.

Jon had filled him in on the details. It's not safe for her at the moment, but his teammate has her, and Carlos is on his way back to Lando after helping get her settled.

The Spainard drives him back. Even stopping for food on the way since none of them have eaten and Carlos has this perpetual need to store food for the winter. Lando always gets him honey as a joke.

"When you see her, don't panic. There's blood we have yet to clean up from the incisions they made. But it's mostly just pain and exhaustion."

Lando nods and opens the door. The sight is odd, more so than scary. She's on the bed, pale, and covered in different fluids. Her mouth is open, and Oscar is dripping tiny water droplets inside. Her supressor bracelet has been ditched, but her ring is on so the other two can be around her.

Her eyes drift towards him the closer he gets. "Lan!" She tries to sit up but fails after two seconds and yelps in pain.

"If you'd just take the water and stay put, then you might not be in as much pain." Oscar scolds her, but she just rolls her eyes.

Lando crawls onto the bed next to her. His hand drifts over where he heart is, and he places her hand over his. "I'm alive because of you. I can't - I just - I don't understand why they didn't let you in. You're not dangerous. You saved me."

"Lan, it's okay... I'm happy being considered dangerous as long as I have you around."

"Ay! What are me and Oscar then?!"

"Rivals, according to the media." Oscar muses and drops another bead of water into her mouth.

"That was planned and executed well, okay, we make great rivals." Carlos nearly jams some kind of pastry into Oscar's face, but he opens his mouth just in time. "What am I going to do with you three?"

Lando doesn't have the energy to ponder the question. Him and his lover end up falling asleep at some point. Both of them are still in pain and in desperate need of rest.

He wakes up to a call the next morning from Jon. His trainer is adamant about speaking to all four of them.

Yeah, they all get lectured about how he had to go get tested and was humiliated by the hospital staff when they laughed at Jon's own ability. "Aparently, making people sneeze isn't an ability. But I'm happy you're okay, Lando. I would've missed you, buddy."

"I second that!"

"And a third."

Everyone looks at her expectantly. Some kind of response swirls around in her head. Maybe witty or sarcastic with the way she's smiling to herself.

"If you died, Lan, I would've never forgiven myself." Her energy taps on his. It envelopes them, warm and comforting. Their bond still growing stronger as their souls dance together around them.

"Gross, you two should get a room."

"This is our room!"

"Your point?"

Carlos and Oscar can't stop their laughing fit. Delerious from the long night they had previously and little sleep then managed to get. Still, Lando goes back to being in his own world.

He's wrapped up in her, and she's wrapped up in him. Exactly as it was intended to be.

"Reckon you could make an undead army?"

"Osc - I swear to god-!"

[fandomnerd9602]

Dating the Girl of Steel

Kara Zor El Headcanons

On your world, you were the child of Diana Prince and Steve Trevor, a demi-demi god so to speak. Your mother sent you out with your sword and shield to protect the Earth from the arrival of Zod.

Didn’t take long for the Barrys to seek you out, you were more than happy to join them.

You met Kara when you helped the Barrys and Bruce free her.

You were the first kind hand to touch hers. Her hand immediately wrapped around yours. “You’re safe” you tried to reassure her.

You aided this makeshift Justice League, as Barry Prime called it, in the battle against Zod. In fact, it was you that saved Kara from Zod’s arm blade. You were struck in the shoulder but it allowed Kara an opening to kill Zod and send the Kryptonian army fleeing, saving the earth.

“I though i lost you” Kara whispered as she held you

“Not yet” you answered back with a smirk.

Kara was stuck like glue to you from that point on, even after Barry Prime went back to fix his timeline

You, Kara, Barry 2, and Bruce, meanwhile, began forming your own version of the Justice League, scouring the globe for other hidden meta humans. It’s still a work in progress but hey that’s being a team.

You and Kara train daily, both in the Batcave and in your personal quarters ;)

It took a long time for Kara to begin showing any emotion or affection. You didn’t blame her, it was hard for her, growing up in a Serbian prison cell that had no care for her.

You took your time with her, showing her little signs of love, gentle caresses of her hand, shoulder touches, little gifts for her. The little things that slowly brought her out of her shell.

Now that she’s free to show love, she can’t stop showing it to you. She jumps on your back, kisses your lips and neck whenever she can. She holds your hand any chance she can.

Kara loves going on dates with you when you’re not both busy saving the world.

She’ll take any sort of date. Library, dinner, movie, walking down the streets of Gotham.

One of her favorite things to do is take a nice warm shower with you. Something about you just holding her as the water cascades down your backs just makes her feel loved.

Barry, a little jealous, still cheers the two of you on, “your ship totally beeves!”

You and Kara still don’t know what that means.

“You’re like a power power couple!”

Bruce, while he may look disapprovingly on you, he actually approves.

Kara helps Barry hone his speed skill and slowly but surely become his universe’s fastest man alive.

Kara loves sleeping as the little spoon. Makes her feel safe to have your arms wrapped around her.

Energy? Kara can go for rounds in training. And many rounds in your room.

Bruce bought you and Kara an apartment in the best part of Gotham. And since he didn’t have kids of his own, Bruce got legal documents listing Kara as his adopted daughter. Makes it easier to get places for missions. Or so Bruce says.

After saving the world countless times, you and Kara decided to take a leap year, time to travel the world and just enjoy each other’s company.

It was during this trip that Kara officially met your parents on Themyscira. Diana took a liking to Kara immediately.

You and Kara found yourselves just loving to hike and enjoy the sights of your home island.

It was on one hike on Themyscira that Kara asked you an important question.

“My love,” she asks you uneasily, “if we ever have a baby boy, can we name him Kal?”

“Kal? After your cousin? I love it!” You gave her a little hug and kiss on the forehead, earning a giggle from the Maiden of Might.

You love Kara with all your being. You pledged your soul, your sword and shield to her.

“Is that your way of proposing?” She asks you with a giggle.

“Maybe it is”

[ereardon]

Friends Don't || Chapter 2

Summary: Bob Floyd has been your best friend for almost a decade, ever since he quietly agreed to tutor you in college. The two of you have spent years chasing each other around the globe – Bob as a WSO, you as a travel blogger. You’ve always been the anywhere-but-here girl, and he’s been your rock. But when a surprise diagnosis threatens to crumble your picture-perfect life, you’re on the first flight back to San Diego, desperate to put down roots for the first time. Will Bob finally have it in him to admit that you could be the love of his life? What will he say when he finds out the secret you’ve been skillfully hiding from him? Or worse, what if he doesn’t find out until it’s too late? 

Pairing: Robert “Bob” Floyd x OC [Reid] 

Tropes: Friends to lovers

Warnings: Cursing, mention of doctors/illness/crashes, illusion to death, blood

WC: 2.1K

Series masterlist here; previous chapter here; next chapter here

“Got everything you need, Sunny?” 

You turned around. Bob was standing in the doorway to your room, wearing a pair of blue striped pajama pants and a white t-shirt that hung off his lean frame. You smiled and nodded. “Think I’m good for the night at least.” 

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, you crossed your bare legs and looked around the room. It was a mess. You were waiting on the rest of your stuff to get shipped from your Brooklyn apartment where you had been living for the last eight months, so all you had were the two suitcases that you’d taken on the plane, now spread out on the ground, their contents spilled across the hardwood floors. 

“Thanks for letting me stay,” you said quietly. 

Bob tipped his head. “Don’t have to thank me, darlin’. It’s your house now, too.” 

It was a sweet little two bedroom house, only a fifteen minute drive from the beach. But it was sparsely decorated. Your room had just a bed and a dresser, no art, no rugs, no lamps. “What are your thoughts on letting me redecorate, in that case?” 

He laughed. “What, you don’t like my style?”

“Bachelor chic? You’re about one step above a 20-something guy in Bushwick who has his mattress on the floor so that he’s closer to the Earth but the reality is that he has fifty dollars in his bank account so when he asks you on a date he takes you to his sweaty roof in July and plays shitty guitar music and tries to mansplain to you the difference between IPA and other beers.” 

Bob raised an eyebrow. “Tell me you haven’t actually met guys like that.” 

“Unfortunately, I’ve met every single kind of guy you could ever imagine.” 

“Well, if my options are Brooklyn douche or you redecorate, by all means Sunny, do whatever you’d like with the place. I’ll leave my credit card on the kitchen table.” 

You stood up and crossed the room. “No way. It’s on me. I want to do this for you. Make a nice house so one day you can have some lucky girl over and she won’t get the immediate ick when she sees that you still have gray sheets and brown towels.” 

“What’s wrong with gray sheets?” 

You shook your head. “Trust me, Bobby.” 

“Sure, honey,” he whispered. You took one step closer, wrapping your arms around him. Bob immediately folded you into an embrace, resting his chin on your shoulder. 

“I missed you so much,” you whispered. “Thank God you’re home safe.” 

“Were you worried about me, Sunny?” he asked quietly, his low voice rumbling.  

“I worry about you every fucking day,” you murmured into his chest. “When you’re flying and I don’t know where you are. When you’re on the ground somewhere far from wherever I am. All I can think about is the next time we’re going to talk. The next time I'll know for a fact that you’re safe. And then that call comes and I’m elated. But it has to end sometime, right? So when it ends, the second you hang up, I’m back to being worried about you.” 

Bob pulled away, his hands folded into yours. “You worry too much, Reid. I’m always gonna be here for you. Always have been.” 

How could he forget? There was a reason you were scared all the time. You had almost lost him to the skies once. 

You were living in San Francisco and Bob was stationed out of Lemoore. It was the closest the two of you had ever lived since you graduated, four years prior. 

That’s when you got the call. 

“Reid Coleman?” 

You sat up straight at your desk chair, looking out the window over Market Street. If you really craned your neck, you could see the Ferry Building. “This is.” 

“I regret to inform you that Lieutenant Robert Floyd has been in an accident. You were listed as his emergency contact.” 

“Oh my God,” you whispered, heart plummeting in your abdomen. “Is he OK?” 

“He’s sustained injuries, ma’am,” the person on the other end of the line said. 

You didn’t even register that the phone had fallen from your grasp until you heard it drop to the floor at your feet. You were out the door in a second, practically barreling down to the lobby of the building, fingers shaking as you tried to search for rental cars nearby. 

The three-and-a-half hour drive went by in an instant, and it was the longest car ride you had ever been on. Every single second all you could think of was the fact that Bob could have died out there. 

And that the last thing you might have said to him was that you hated him. 

By the time you arrived on base it was dark. You barreled through the hospital doors, panting as you made your way to the nurses station. “Robert Floyd?” you asked, panicked. 

“And you are?” 

“His emergency contact.” 

The nurse nodded. “Follow me.” 

You trailed after her down the hallway, the clacking of your high heels on the linoleum floor the only noise in the sterile hallway. 

She stopped in front of the door. “He’s intubated,” she warned you. “So he can’t speak.” 

You nodded and she opened the door. But you weren’t ready for what you saw. Bobby, lying there on the bed, with a thick clear tube sticking out of his throat and mouth, taped to his lips, the whirring sound of the machines as they kept him alive. The way he practically blended into the white linens of the bed he looked so pale and fragile. 

You collapsed onto a chair next to his bed, taking his hand, the one that didn’t have an IV in it, into yours, letting your salty tears fall onto his cold skin. 

“Bobby,” you whispered, voice thick with tears and pain. “Honey, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it. Please, Bobby, come back to me.” 

He stayed in a coma for three days. You spent nearly every waking moment at his bedside, watching him with bated breath, waiting for some semblance of life to overtake him because the boy lying there in that hospital bed was not your best friend. He was a stranger. He didn't look or feel at all like the boy you had come to love over the last seven years.

And then, on the third day, you heard a familiar voice. 

“Sunny?” 

It was dry and scratchy. That morning the doctors had taken out the intubation and said he was awake, and you had rushed over from the hotel. There were tears in your eyes as you bolted through the doorway to where Bob was sitting up in bed, his glasses settled on his nose, a slow pinkness coming back to his rounded cheeks. 

You bent in half over the edge of the bed, sobs wracking your body, silent tears streaming down your face. Bob reached out one hand, softly patting your hair. “Honey, don’t cry.” 

You pulled away, looking up into his familiar blue eyes. He had looked so small before, and that had terrified you. He looked like himself again. Like the Bobby who had picked you up and carried you halfway across campus when you accidentally stepped on a rusted nail and had to go to the ER. He looked like the Bobby who had dared you to go into the caves in Vietnam even though you were terrified of small spaces. He looked like the Bobby that you loved with every cell in your body. 

He looked like your Bobby again. 

“I thought I lost you,” you whispered. 

“Never going to lose me, darlin’,” he murmured back. 

You sniffled, gripping his hand. 

Bob’s eyes widened after a moment. Then, “Wait. Where’s Denver?” 

You raised your eyes to him, unable to say it but knowing that they could convey what had happened without words, and watched as your best friend fell apart right in front of you. 

***

“OK Floyd, spill.” 

“Spill what?” Bob asked, tossing down a hand of cards. Payback laid his cards down. Two pair. He grabbed the pile of chips in the middle of the table and slid them closer, stacking them up with his own poker chips. 

“About Reid, Floyd,” Phoenix said, exasperated. “These two boneheads,” she pointed at Hangman and Rooster, “want to know if she’s fair game.” 

“Hey!” Coyote pouted. “So do I.” 

Bob shook his head as Fanboy dealt a new round of cards. “She’s not my girlfriend, if that’s what you’re asking.” 

“So we can ask her out,” Hangman was practically salivating. “Cause she’s hot as fuck.” 

Bob raised his head and glared at the blond. Hangman put his hands up in a defensive maneuver. 

“Woah, chill Floyd.” 

“She already turned you down, Bagman,” Phoenix chimed in. 

“She didn’t turn down Rooster,” Payback pointed out. “Or should I call him Chicken Man.” 

All eyes turned to Bradley, who took a sip of his beer. Then, “Never said I was gonna ask her out.” 

Bob sighed, trading in three cards from the five card draw. “Sunny is an adult,” he said. “She can do whatever she wants. So Rooster, if you want to ask her out, you’re free to. It’s up to her if she says yes or not.” 

Bradley nodded, tossing out one card, waiting for Fanboy to deal him a replacement. “Maybe I will.” 

Bob pursed his lips, grabbing for his beer glass, taking a chug and then slamming it down. He didn’t realize how forceful he was until the glass shattered on impact in his hand, sending beer rushing over the table and down the sides. Everyone jumped up in a panic. 

“Shit, baby on board, what the fuck?” Hangman called as he rushed to grab a roll of paper towels. 

“I’m sorry,” Bob shook his head. “I didn’t mean to.” 

“Come here,” Phoenix said, grabbing his arm and tugging him into the kitchen. She held his hand over the sink, pulling out a small splinter of glass from his palm, running the bloody hand under water. She doused it in soap and he winced at the sting. 

“Thanks,” Bob said as Phoenix wrapped his hand in a clean dish towel in Hangman’s kitchen. 

She looked up at him, knowingly. “You can say no to them, you know.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

Phoenix sighed. “Yes you do. Reid. You don’t want those idiots to touch her.”

Bob grimaced. “She’s a big girl. If she wants to go out with them, she can.” 

“Just admit it,” Phoenix said. “She is more than just your best friend.” 

Bob’s blue eyes bore into hers. “Sunny is, and always will be, the love of my life. I’m just not hers.” 

***

You looked through the sliding glass door to where Bob was carefully peeling an orange at the kitchen table, his eyes glued on the TV hanging over the mantle. 

“Ms. Coleman, have you found a new physician in the San Diego area? If not, I can recommend one to you. But it’s imperative that you go in for new scans immediately.” 

You sighed. “I’m working on it.” 

“Ms. Coleman.” The voice on the other end of the line was hard. “This is no joking matter.” 

“Don’t you think I’m aware of that?” you hissed. 

“I’m going to email you a list of five physicians in the area.” 

“They’re going to say exactly what you said,” you whispered. 

“You need to get a second opinion. And either way, you need a local physician now that you’ve relocated.” 

“Fine,” you said. “Send me the names.” 

“Ms. Coleman?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Please make an appointment.” 

You clicked off the phone and slid open the door. Bob had moved to the couch, one arm slung over the low back. 

“Everything OK?” he asked. 

You nodded, walking around the edge of the couch and settling into the spot next to him. Without even thinking, you leaned into Bob’s side, letting his arm fall around your shoulders, tucking you into his side. 

“Sunny?” he asked softly. He read you like an open book. He could practically see the anxiety and tension radiating off of your skin. 

“I’m fine,” you whispered, looking up at him with a small smile before resting your head against his thigh, lifting your feet onto the other end of the couch, lying down so that Bob’s hand was now firmly pressed against the dip in your side where your ribcage ended. 

You closed your eyes, breathing in his familiar smell, letting yourself relax, feeling your heart rate slow. 

“Everything is going to be fine,” you murmured.

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[kurocamille]

❝miles high❞

shigaraki x reader mdni

3k words

you’re the secretary for the multi billionaire, shigaraki tomura, and you’ve developed a crush on him. he invites you to travel with him to his overseas conference but the plane ride quickly turns into something more than it should be.

warnings-

afab reader, no mention of pronouns (refers to reader as a good girl), boss/employee relationship, no quirks au, fingering, blow jobs, ingestion of fluids, overstimulation, spanking, semi public sex, creampie, ceo!shigaraki, ooc shigaraki, kind of fluffy at the end, terribly unrealistic plot line

You had a crush on your boss. You had been working for Shigaraki for over five months now and had gotten to know his harsh glares and beratings. He was not, by any means, a kind person, let alone somebody to invite you to his conference across the globe so soon into your meeting. However, you could only hope this trip would serve to better acquaint you, or at least earn some respect from him.

Of course, it was your duty to provide for him as his secretary, but it was still an extreme surprise to see his 5 billion yen private jet pull up on the runway.

Soon after the jet had stopped, Shigaraki’s other attendants ushered you into the cabin, taking it upon themselves to stow away your extra luggage.

The interior was everything you expected and more. The space was luxurious and not at all like any other plane you had been in.

“Move in, the plane has to leave on time, and I can’t have you delaying it with your spacing out,” Shigaraki huffs from behind you. You had been so enamoured by your surroundings that you had forgotten about the real task at hand.

“Right, sir,” you reply.

Shigaraki walks around you to get to his seat and motions you to follow.

You dig around the plush leather cushions of your seat, searching for the buckle.

“There aren’t any seatbelts on these seats,” Shigaraki tells you without looking up from his newspaper.

That’s terrifyingly unsafe.

Flying doesn’t scare you, but one look at the cabin has you questioning everything. You close your eyes, not daring to open them until you’ve taken off.

You don’t have much more time to stress because the jet is soon moving down the tarmac and getting ready for takeoff.

At this point, Shigaraki has put his reading down and is watching you grip the armrests like your life depends on it.

“Relax, (y/n), you don’t look too good like this.” His tone is joking, revealing his amusement in your distress.

You only calm down and loosen your grip when the plane makes a safe ascent. You open your eyes to make sure you’re well above the city, noticing Shigaraki’s focus is, thankfully, somewhere else. To combat your growing boredness, you decide to pull something out to occupy yourself.

The two of you mind your business for a while, both indulging in reading a contract and a cheesy vacation novel respectfully. The hours drone on and your intermittent time-checks become more than frequent. You still have ten out of 14 hours to go.

“(y/n), I would suggest you sleep now, since our first meeting is right after we land,” Shigaraki suggests, breaking the silence that had loomed for hours.

“Would you be able to wake me up in a few hours, then? I think it would be important to discuss my duties for this weekend before we arrive,” you hope that he’s kind enough to agree, but he has a habit of leaving you in the dark till the last minute. It’s shocking that you haven’t quit sooner.

“Yes.” Your conversation is pretty much shut down, but you don’t mind, preferring to rest your eyes as soon as possible.

—

You’re in a deep sleep when you’re jolted awake. You look around to see if it was your boss who woke you, but he’s still sitting in his seat, calm as ever.

Shigaraki’s pilot’s voice comes through the speaker, explaining the small patch of turbulence.

When Shigaraki notices that you’re back awake he tells you to rest again. “You’re going to be very busy, so you should sleep longer. I wasn’t planning on waking you soon anyway.”

—

The plane is still high in the air when your consciousness comes back. Just when you’re about to open your eyes fully, a ringing hits your ears.

You feel a short tap on your shoulder before Shigaraki’s voice reaches your ears. “It’s been an hour,” he says.

You open your eyes to see your boss retreating from in front of you. He actually woke me up! And surprisingly kindly, you thought.

Suddenly, your legs cramp and your hours of sleeping in a leather chair catch up to you. When you move to reposition yourself, an extremely harsh bump throws you forward, straight towards your boss.

Shigaraki grunts when you land directly in front, and practically on top, of him. Your hands had made their way onto his thighs when you had been propelled forward. Now, you sat in a terribly embarrassing position, directly in front of him.

“Sir! I’m so sorry!” You yelp. The plane is doing nothing to help you as it continues to throw you around.

Shigaraki’s face grimaces, but doesn’t say anything in response. Instead, he offers his hand to you, pulling so that you’re back on your feet.

However, Murphy’s law decides to bless you in your moment of embarrassment. With one last hefty, turbulent jolt, you are thrown flush against our boss’s chest, your legs falling in between his open legs. If somebody walked in on you at this exact moment, you were sure that they would gravely misunderstand your relationship.

Heat rises to your cheeks when Shigaraki places his hands on your hips to prevent you from moving. Unpredictably, he’s more flushed than you’ve ever seen him. It’s a good look on him and it makes you fall harder for him in that moment.

“Apologies, (y/n), I wasn’t watching myself,” he grumbles , dropping his hands from your body.

“It’s all right, I apologize for falling for you.” The words tumble out of your mouth without any filter.

“What was that?” Shigaraki’s frown falters.

“Nothing, sir!” You peep, slinking back a few feet. Had you said that out loud?

“All right, if that’s what you say…” He smirks at you. “You know, you don’t have to call me sir when we’re alone. Call me Tomura instead.”

First name basis when you’re alone. That’s something that only friends would do… Or lovers.

Were you reading into this correctly? Or were you finally falling delusionally in love with him?

Your eyes glance at Shigaraki’s—or Tomura’s now—lips. His gaze fixes on yours as if to say “Kiss me, I dare you.”

Leaning forward and placing your knee in between his legs, you shakily hover your lips above his ear.

“May I kiss you, Tomura?”

“Yes,” he simply responds with a groan, and presses his lips to yours.

The desire between you encompasses the room. You can feel the heat coming off of him as he looks into your eyes when you pull away.

Tomura greedily grabs your face again and pulls you into a deep kiss. His hands are on your sides, grabbing your waist as you move to straddle his lap.

You can feel his growing bulge under you and slowly grind your hips against his. Tomura lets out a shaky groan, hands gripping you tighter, keeping you firmly against his crotch.

“Are we going too fast?” You whisper when you notice Tomura’s state, his pupils blown wide and his lips plumped up by desire.

“No… Just look how hard you’ve made me,” he breathes, bucking his hips up to yours in desperation.

Tomura places his lips on your neck before hastily pulling your dress shirt from your skirt. Breaking from you, he unbuttons your shirt and greedily grabs your bare waist.

“Tomura, touch me,” you beg.

No matter how aroused you are by simply kissing, you want to go impossibly further with him, and as soon as possible.

“Where do you want me to touch you?” You’re broken from your thoughts and shamefully beg him, “Please, just anywhere.”

Tomura’s hand makes its way under your skirt and to the cloth of your panties. Pulling off your skirt and stockings and throwing them aside, he wastes no time in pushing your panties to the side and running a slim finger over the length of your pussy.

“You’re so wet. Look at you,” he groans before showing you the glistening wetness on his finger.

“Don’t tease,” you whine as he swipes fingers across your slit, avoiding your throbbing clit.

“As you wish,” he chuckles.

Without warning, Tomura flips you over and plunges his middle finger into your hole. Although you’re slick enough to be dripping onto the seat, you let out a squeal at his finger’s intrusion. Then, slowly, with the rhythmic movements of his hand, the burning fades and your moans reach a new volume.

With one particular brush against your g-spot, you begin to writhe uncontrollably. Tomura grins slyly, skillfully focusing on hitting that spot with every thrust.

Seconds later, lips reach your clit and suck you until you’re practically falling apart. Your moans can probably be heard by the pilot in the next room, but you don’t care enough to quiet down.

His head lifts off of you for a second so he can reach up to kiss you. Your saliva intermixes with every second your mouths meet and you swear you’re in heaven.

When Tomura adds a second, then third finger, you’re practically sent over the edge. His long fingers press along every nerve that sets your body on fire. Then, with the curve of his digits and a swipe of his thumb across your clit, you’re screaming his name and hitting your peak.

“Cumming!” You cry out, and collapse against the seat.

“Fuckkk, that’s a good girl,” he groans, slowing the pace of his movements before pulling his hand away and licking your cum from his skin.

Breathless and still hazy, you grin stupidly at Tomura.

“What’s next?” His voice ends your trance.

Wordlessly, you push Tomura off of you and force him into the chair behind him. Kneeling with as much poise as you can, you’re now face to face with his crotch, and by the look of it, he’s bursting at the seams.

Running your hands up and down your boss’s thighs, you narrowly touch his aching cock with every caress.

“Don’t make me wait, I think I've been patient enough.”The look you receive from above is one of restraint.

Your last touch never leaves his pants, moving across his lap to his sensitive clothed member. Clasping the zipper with two nimble fingers, you pull down his pants and underwear to reveal his cock at long last.

The sight that is Tomura Shigaraki’s dick is a work of art. In all ways, is it pretty, with its flushed tip, the soft trailing veins on the underside, and the little bead of perch that’s slowly dribbling towards the shaft.

Eager to have a taste, you lean forward and press soft kisses along the length, making your way to the head. At this point, Tomura is letting out soft grunts and groans whenever you make contact with his skin, and you can imagine what it’ll be like when he’s inside of you.

“Nnngh,” your boss borderline whimpers when you take him into your mouth and give a long hard suck.

You smile sheepishly when Tomura grabs a fistful of your hair and starts to guide your head. Soon your nose is meeting his trimmed pubes and he’s thrusting into you at a hazardously fast pace.

Gazing into Tomura’s eyes, you blindly reach up to cup his heavy balls. When you lightly give them a squeeze, he hisses and his cock twitches at the back of your throat..

The feeling of him throbbing in your mouth turns you on to such a degree that you feel your pussy begin to flood with wetness. Your panties are pushed against your folds and currently becoming drenched with your leaking desire.

Another twitch of Tomura’s length refocuses you on him. Sensing he’s close, you fasten the pace of your head as he moves his hand to grip your face. Tomura fucks into your mouth like no tomorrow. His balls now slap wildly against your chin, accompanying a lewd squelch with every thrust.

Your throat constantly constricts around his long cock as his thrusts become erratic and sloppy. A few last curses and one loud groan signifies the end for Tomura, and you feel his hot seed pour down your throat.

“Mmm,” you lick your lips after swallowing his load, opening your mouth to show it was gone.

“You are too sexy, I don’t think I can hold back any longer.” Strong arms lift you up hastily and throw you down onto the leather seat.

—

Tomura’s cock is still hard after two rounds and it’s clear he wants to continue. From your dazed out state, you can still feel the cum dripping from your hole. Wriggling under your boss’s grip, you attempt to reposition yourself.

The result of your movements is the sticky squish of cum in your pussy that seems to have Tomura raring to go.

“Can’t stop myself, I just want to keep cumming in you,” a breathless whine comes from him as he starts to move again.

“Please, cum in me again,” you reply breathlessly.

Unlike the last two times that had you sprawled out on your back, this new position has you on your knees, face pressed against the leather. Tomura takes you from behind, gaining speed with every forceful push.

To gain a better angle, Tomura brings your arms behind your back and bounds with a single hand. You can only squirm and arch as his cock hits that one spot repeatedly.

“Oh, fuck, Tomura!” you scream out when your boss’s free hand finds itself drawing circles on your clit.

The pleasure is starting to get so intense that your body is spamming under his, yet he continues fuck you as though he wants permanently leave you in his shape.

The familiar feeling of release builds up and you can feel the way you clamp down on him. Hitting that perfect spot one last time, you cum and scream out his name. Tomura fucks you straight through your orgasm, with little regard for your overstimulated body

Unfortunately, he still hasn’t cum yet, and with lust clouding his mind, he ignores your whines and protests.

“Just a little bit more. Just need to fill you up one last time. You think my good girl can last a bit longer?” Tomura questions.

“Yeah.” His praise goes straight to your core and suddenly it feels all too good again, the pain only adding to the pleasure.

After hearing your answer, Tomura grips the fat of your ass with a new vigour. Sinfully lewd noises are the only thing coming from his mouth, each groan ripped out of his throat with each clench of your core.

*SMACK!* All of a sudden Tomura slaps your ass, making you tighten in shock. He grins in realization, his cock throbbing at the discovery.

“So,” he starts, “Is it that you like being hit, or are you doing this for me?”

“Neither,” you barely gasp out as a palm hits your ass again.

“Are you sure? Your body is telling me otherwise.”

You aren’t able to reply when the force of his thrusts and his slaps are stealing the breath from your lungs. Tomura uses your silence as a way to fill your head with mockery and praise.

“Can’t answer, huh? Did I fuck you stupid?” He laughs haughtily, pulling your back against his chest so he can whisper it in your ear.

This new position allows him to have you far more intimately than ass up, doggy style. He uses it to seductively whisper in your ear, making fun of the way you clench with every use of “good girl” or “masochistic slut.”

His rough voice in your ear adds to the pleasure and the sensory overload sends you to the brink of an orgasm.

As you’re reaching your peak, you begin to worry that you’ll yet again cum before him. Hoping to send him straight to his orgasm, you deliberately clench around him. He reacts to your tightness with a deep groan, grip tightening around your hip to pull you flush up to his groin.

Not even five seconds later, his cock violently twitches inside you and his cum pours into you without warning.

The noise Tomura lets out can only be described as a whimper. It’s a whimper that’s enough to have you squeezing around him, cumming, and milking him for all that he’s worth.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he curses, letting out the last drops of his orgasm.

Grinding out the final bits of your highs, Tomura shockingly pulls you into a sweet kiss. Eventually you stop moving against each other, watching how he pulls out and a river of semen flows from you. It coats the sticky seat below you and dribbles onto the carpeted floor.

Watching your body quiver in the post-sex afterglow entrances Tomura to the point that he doesn’t notice your eyes closing. He finally moves from where he was standing after five whole minutes, but by then you’re fast asleep, slumped against the seat. Walking off to the plane’s washroom to find a washcloth, he watches you peacefully snoozing. There’s a certain tranquility to your calmness that makes him want to care for you more than he should.

—

Your boss, Tomura Shigaraki, thinks you’re beautiful, he always has, but it wasn’t until recently that he realized he liked you as more than an employee. Being fearful of any form of love, he had pushed you away when he suspected your crush. Little did he know his avoidance would only work against him.

—

Returning from the washroom, Tomura decides it would be stupid to pretend that there isn't mutual attraction (he thinks beating around the bush would be stupid.) So the two of you will have to talk about that later, something which he might struggle with. After all, he isnt used to having to confront his feelings, let alone acknowledge them. Whatever it is you two need to sort out, it’ll be worth it, he decides.

For now, Tomura wipes your glossy skin and smiles lovingly at you sleeping body.

a/n: sorry for disappearing!!!!!! i got a job so i’ve been busy. also, this was inspired by a dream i had💀

[finedinereception]

the married wizards au has been rotating in my head the past few days…what their first meeting like as Ice King and Magic Princess…does MQ bring home gifts and souvenirs for her 53 penguin children, does any random ever go into a dungeon or a tomb and just find a Archeologist witch carrying a penguin in bjorn…..what do the Wizards in Wizard City think of Magic Queen calling herself Magic Queen, does that imply she’s their ruler??? Man, thank you for coming up with this idea. It’s so good.

aw thank you for the kind words! 💕 these are some fun questions!

their first meeting

magic princess preferred to travel on foot, or at least fly. she could just teleport herself places, but that takes the fun out of exploration for her, and its easy to miss things when youre just zapping around, yknow? that does mean she needs to make rest stops, though, and one of those stops brings her to the ice kingdom one day. shes surprised to find out a cave she was planning to rest in was already a home (albeit a terribly furnished one) occupied by the ice king

ice king, of course, is excited. a princess has just strolled into his home, and shes not immediately leaving! shes staying overnight! time to put the moves on. magic princess is a little more wary, at first. its been about 50 years since simon parted ways with betty and marcy, and his isolation has already affected him, though he has yet to develop his violent temper. he just comes off as very… sullen. he swings between being weepy and being happy and excited like nothing happens.

but this is a fine place to stay. magic princess wont be bothered much, and she can just magic up a bed for herself that isnt a solid chunk of ice. she ends up staying longer than planned, and they get to know each other better. ice king just falls more and more in love- mp is actually polite to him. shes smart and witty and funny, and she has a way of explaining things that makes them easier to understand. she figures out where hes at and accomodates him. sure, she could just be trying to be a polite guest, but… its hard not to fall in love with a woman this perfect. not to mention shes beautiful.

magic princess isnt sure why she sticks around so long. she doesnt need this long to rest up, but she feels safe here. sure, the ice king is moody, but hes never mean, and as she gets to see his good moods more, she finds out hes actually a pretty sweet and funny guy, and very creative and enthusiastic. unlike other wizards, hes actually interested in her pre-war research, and he helps her sort through her notes, even if he doesnt really “get” them.

theyre a match made in heaven, and so a few years later they make things official, and magic princess crowns herself as queen of the ice kingdom.

gifts for the penguins/dungeon diving

absolutely. she cant understand them the way ice king can, but he translates for her. she could just magic up whatever they want, but its supposed to be the thought that counts for a gift, so even if its something silly like a smooth rock or whatever, she’ll go out of her way to pick things up for the penguins. gunther asks for the most complex things. hes got a hell of a snow globe and post card collection by this point.

shes brought gunther dungeon diving once, indeed in a carrier. he didnt really enjoy himself thought, so she didnt bring him again, and the other penguins arent really interested. but yes, if a tomb or dungeon hasnt been explored much, chances are youll go inside and find magic queen in there, surrounded by the torched remains of guards and monsters and writing info in her big, messy notepad.

relationship with wizard city

its super mixed. at first, they hated her. like, whos this out of the blue nobody calling herself a magic princess? WAIT, SHES CALLING HERSELF A QUEEN NOW?

by year 100 of betty taking the queen name, though, theyve basically learned to live with it. she doesnt have actual political authority in wizard city, but shes accepted as one of the most powerful wizards to exist in a LONG time, doubled by not just her raw power but her sheer competency with it, and its versatility.

its begrudging, but they respect her strength. they think shes wasting a lot of her time though, both with her pre-war research and her relationship with a goofy guy like ice king. they definitely kiss up and show respect to her face, but they grumble and complain behind her back.

[wwbtsdty]

Set My Soul On Fire [2] | 18+

Summary: The chances of meeting your soul flame were almost one in a eight billion, the only way of knowing you were a match? You had to happen to be in close proximity of each other, so how were you ever to find your one true flame when they possibly lived halfway around the globe. When you find out you matched with not one but four members from the biggest boy band in the world, you weren’t sure if you were incredibly lucky or headed for devastating heartbreak, but you were willing to find out.

Rating: 18+

Genre: idol!au, smut, angst, fluff

Pairings: Jungkook x Reader, Taehyung x Reader, Jimin x Reader, Namjoon x Reader, Yoongi x Hoseok

Status: Ongoing

Word Count: 6.6k+

Warnings: Explicit language, dom!jungkook, dom!jimin, dom!taehyung, dom!namjoon, sub!reader, smut, possessiveness, polyamory, anxiety, insecurities, trauma, jealousy, sexual tension, panic attacks, all the fluffy fluff fluff, mentions of death, making out, dry humping, slow burn smut.

Author’s Note: warnings update with each chapter.

This is my first fanfic I’m sharing with the public, so please be kind. I’m working on becoming a better writer, for now sometimes this might seem like a jumbled mess, but practice makes perfect! Hopefully I can at least convey the stories I want in the best way I can. 

Sorry if any of this seems rushed in any way, I wanted to get this out so it might not be as finessed!

This is all fictional.

The following morning came much too quickly, stretching lazily you snuggled further under the covers to block out the sunlight. This just might have been the best bed you’ve ever slept in, and yes somehow you did sleep, if that’s what you wanna call it. It was more like passing out. Like the minute your head hit the pillow. You didn’t brush your teeth, wash your face, nadda. So hopefully your suitcase arrived soon so you didn’t kill one of the members with your morning breath.

One of the boys had lent you a shirt to sleep in until then. You pulled the collar up to your nose giving it a sniff, it smelled amazingggg. Clean cotton, like the kind they always tried bottling for perfume but never quite finessed, combined with a underlying woodsy spice, you could drown yourself in this smell, if only they could bottle this.

Rolling onto your back, you stared up at the ceiling as you thought back to last night. You had agreed to fly back with them to Korea in the end, to spend the summer getting to know each other.

You sighed deeply thinking of your mom, she was probably going to freak out. You’d all agreed it was for the best to err on the side of caution and say you had gotten an internship in Seoul for the summer instead. She would be a mess of course, you and her were best friends, ever since dad had passed away senior year of high school you had both come to depend on each other. Hopefully, if all worked out, you could fly her out to visit, maybe even move here.

Haha what the hell, why were you thinking of moving to Korea already?!

You weren’t even sure how this would work, weren’t they always busy with interviews, practices and all that. Not to mention being constantly hounded by paparazzi, how would we able to spend time any together, let alone stay out of the tabloids.

Not to mention this would be your first time traveling to a foreign country and alone at that, you didn’t speak a lick of Korean beyond Hello and some slang picked up from dramas. Sure, they would be there… but you didn’t even know them, not really. You still don’t even know why you had felt so compelled to give in, usually you were known for no means no, that was the end of discussion. But those sad faces made your heart ache, you just couldn’t say no in the end regardless of your fear and anxiety.

Now you just had to try your best and hope it worked out. You had no doubt they would keep you safe.

Sudden noise outside your bedroom door drew your attention from your thoughts, whispered voices and the sound of a door clicking closed, sounds like someone was up. Reaching for your phone to check the time, the first thing you noticed was a stream of text messages and missed calls overflowing on your phone.

Mel: Good Morning Cinderella! 🧚🏻

Mel: Bibbity Boppity Boo bitch text me back!!

Mel: Don’t make me come find you and break down your hotel door! You know I will!

Mel: can you please stop fucking for a moment and text me 👅

Mel: Alright seriously girl, please call me I’m worried about you, why aren’t you answering?

You laughed scrolling through the various amusing messages. You need to a call her today, you just had to figure what exactly you could tell her first. Not like you could just come right out and say it.

Oh yah, by the way these 4 guys from bangtan think I’m their Soul Flame. Cool huh?

Plus Namjoon had said not to tell anyone just yet, even if it was your best friend. You can only imagine what her response would be.

You desperately wanted to tell someone though. Someone to laugh with at this unbelieve situation, tell you that you weren’t dreaming. Mel had been your friend since grade school, she’d seen you at your darkest days and talked you through them all. You could really use her right now.

You were mindlessly scrolling through pictures you had taken together upon arriving in Vegas, so excited for the concert, before shit had hit the fan. You glanced at the time on your phone.

Oh Shit, it was almost noon? How did I sleep that long?!

Throwing the covers back you sprung off the bed, unfortunately your right foot didn’t get the memo, tangling up in the comforter like it wanted to stay in bed. You fell flat on your face, right leg bent awkwardly. A loud thump followed by you cursing echoed through the penthouse, “Fuck!” That’s gonna leave a mark, you thought.

Namjoon had crept by your room as quietly as possible, one of his bodyguards had text letting him know they left your suitcase by the front door. He was sure you’d be glad to have your belongings for a fresh clothes and shower.

Though he would be lying if he said he didn’t like the way you had looked in Jungkooks shirt. He would keep you in their clothes all the time if he could, wrapped in their scent to show who you belonged to. He couldn’t wait for you to wear one of his shirts, preferably with nothing underneath.

The image of you in a button down shirt, the top buttons undone just enough that the tops of your breasts were displayed; suddenly he was painfully hard. Reaching down to adjust himself as he shook the image away opening the door to retrieve your luggage.

He’d been just about to knock on your door when he heard the loud crash, bursting through the door as he felt your sudden pain. What he wasn’t expecting to see was you sprawled out awkwardly half on the floor and half on the bed, that plump ass perched precariously in the air. Of course he couldn’t help but notice your ass yesterday, he was only human. Now on full display he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to laugh or take a bite of one of those delicious cheeks, though the latter was definitely winning currently.

You blushed bright red, kicking angrily at the comforter as you fought to stand up. “Namjoon!” You squealed pulling your shirt back down to cover yourself quickly.

He still hadn’t moved or said a word, his gaze darkened as he stared at your hand tugging at the hem of Jungkook’s shirt. He swallowed, hard. Turning his gaze to the ceiling as if it were suddenly the most interesting thing in the world, he rubbed at the back of his neck pretending as if he hadn’t see anything.

“Are you alright? I heard the crash, sorry for barging in, I felt your pain-- I couldn’t rationally think and just burst in.”

“I’m okay, just got in a fight with the comforter,” you spoke under your breathe, regarding each other silently for a few moments.

“Yes, right, ah-- well… Your things just arrived and I thought you would like a fresh change of clothes and a shower.” He gestured to the suitcase he was holding.

You glanced down at the suitcase in his hand clapping your hands together in glee. “Yes!! Thank you so much, I desperately need a shower.” You went to grab the handle but he waved it away, “I’ve got it, where do you want it?” He sauntered into the room as you glanced around before pointing out a lone chair in the corner. “Over there is fine, thanks.” You tugged at the hem of the shirt shyly, suddenly aware of how very little clothing you were wearing.

He lifted the suitcase up smoothly placing it on the chair, you couldn’t help but notice the subtle way his biceps flexed as he did. You had seen them dance so much in videos, always wondering what they would look like without a shirt. Unlike some other boy bands they never really displayed much skin, a pity but somehow it made you respect them even more.

He cleared his throat garnering your attention, his cheeks had a slight flush to them as you met his gaze. How long had you been standing there thinking about his damn chest. You felt your face heat up as you suddenly looked anywhere but him, both of you talking at once nervously.

“When you’re ready—”

“I guess I should take a shower—“

You both laughed, “Ah sorry, you go ahead.” Namjoon spoke up first motioning for you to speak.

“Oh, I was just saying I should probably take a shower now...”

“Yes, yes of course! We will be outside if you need anything. Was there anything in particular you wanted for lunch.. err breakfast?” Namjoon fumbled moving towards the exit.

You shook your head moving to open your suitcase and relieved to see all your stuff in place, no doubt Mel had helped back everything up for them. Wonder what they told her when they went to pick it up. “No, I’m down for whatever.”

He nodded in response before exiting the room. “Take your time.”

You had already slept in so late, so you made quick work of getting ready so they weren’t waiting on you further. The first order of business was brushing your teeth, which felt disgusting.

Once he finally left you ran to the bathroom to get ready, taking in your appearance in the mirror. Your hair stuck up in multiple directions, mascara smudged across your face. You could just make out some dried drool on the corner of your mouth.

Great, I look like I got run over by a truck. Well, this was quite the look, of course Namjoon would happened to see you like this.

You opted for a quick shower, though you eyed the bath wistfully, you had no time to dawdle. Letting your hair air dry, you decided on the most minimal makeup; Some concealer, blush and tinted chapstick. You never had much faith in your makeup skills anyway, you always went with the less is more mentality.

Feeling much better now that you were clean, you crept out of your room to face everybody.

“Good morni—… uhm, afternoon? Sorry I slept so long, I’ve never slept that long before. I guess yesterday wore me out.” You shrugged sheepishly, running your fingers through your damp hair.

Taehyung was the first to jump up and rush over, he looked as if he were about to hug you but then thought the better of it. “Of course you’re tired! Don’t worry about it! We’re just glad you were able to get a good nights rest, with everything that happened we weren’t sure if you’d be able to sleep.”

Jungkook had come up behind you from somewhere at some point, startling you as he suddenly sniffed the top of your head. “Morning.” He yawned loudly, running his fingers through his bed head.

Taehyung laughed ruffling Jungkooks hair playfully, “See your not the only one who slept in this morning. Jungkookie hates mornings, he would sleep until noon everyday if he could. You sleeping in late gave him the best excuse to as well today.”

Jungkook rested his chin on your shoulder causing you to stiffen, you could just make out his barely open eyes from your peripheral. He indeed looked like he had just rolled out of bed, oh how you wanted to run your fingers through that fluffy mop of hair like Tae had. Would it be as soft as it always looked?

“Mmm, sleepy.” He muttered, his nose brushing your neck softly as he took another sniff, causing you to shy away. He loved the way you smelled, like fresh lilacs and his own scent from the shirt he had lent you. He had been the first to reach his luggage and pull out a shirt for you to wear last night, even if he had to push Jimin and Tae out of the way.

You laughed suddenly, flinching away as his hair tickled your nose. You remembered his obsession with scents, always smelling his members randomly, you were very glad you had showered before coming out now.

Jimin came up to you grabbing your hand, he tugged you from Jungkook’s grasp causing him to stumble forward onto Taehyung with all his weight. “Yah!” Tae let out as he shoved at his chest causing Jungkook to stumble backwards.

“Let’s eat before our manager gets here, he wants to go over the plan regarding yesterday and what happens now.” Jimin flashed a smile as he dragged you into the living room, sitting down and pulling you against his side, Namjoon sat down beside you with a gentle smile. Tae and Jungkook followed behind pushing at each other playfully before taking a seat on the sofa across from you.

A knock on the door came right as Jungkook had started clearing off the coffee table after your meal. Jimin answering the door to allow their former manager and hitman bang himself into the room.

“Hello Y/N, I’m Bang Si-hyuk, the owner of BigHit. I wanted to personally greet you and hopefully make you feel a little more comfortable with what’s to come. This guy next to me is Sejin, up until recently he was BTS main manager, since then he’s had a promotion but he insisted on greeting you as well being so close to the boys.” He motions to the tall man beside him who had a warm smile on his face.

Of course you knew of them, it was impossible not to know if you watched anything BTS filmed. However you didn’t feel intimidated by them at all like you had thought you would, both Bang Si-hyuk and Sejin had a fatherly vibe to them, you immediately felt comfortable. You could see why the boys always held them both in high regard.

“First things first, I’m afraid I’ll have to start with some bad news.” He grimaced before bringing out a few tabloids to scatter on the coffee table. “I’m afraid along with the shots of Jungkook from the concert, someone managed to get a shot of all of you entering an elevator last night. We were unfortunately too late to stop this from going to press last night.”

You picked up one of the magazines, noticing your picture plastered across the cover, a look of shock on your face as the four members huddled about you within the elevator. It wasn’t a full face shot, luckily Namjoons shoulder had slightly deflected the photographer. You quickly flipped through the magazine to the story.

Who is BTS’s mystery woman?? After fainting at the concert, Jeon Jungkook was seen swooping in to take her backstage, much to the chagrin of ARMYs. Later on in the evening the same woman was spotted entering the elevator with members Namjoon, Jimin, Taehyung and Jungkook. Just who is this women to them? Could she be dating one of the members? ARMY are demanding answers as their much awaited concert was postponed due to the incident—

A familiar rush of adrenaline flooded your body as you tried to control the onslaught of anxiety.

Multiple pictures were plastered across the pages from far away of Jungkook leaping off the stage andcarrying your limp body through the crowd. They might not have been the best quality, but you had no doubt there were better pictures and videos out there yet to surface.

You jumped as Jimins hand covered yours, pulling down the magazine, his other hand cupping your cheek softly as he made you meet his gaze. “Deep Breath’s Y/N...” He whispered, concern lacing his voice as he took in your panicked expression. They could all feel your anxiety and fear racing through their thoughts.

Namjoon was kneeling before you, hands resting on your knees. “Look at me. Your okay, everything is okay. Nothing bad is going to happen to you. We will never let anything happen to you.” Namjoon spoke softly, as if talking to a skittish animal. His finger plucking the offending magazine from your hands.

Jimin was motioning for you to take deep breaths beside you, placing his hand on your chest to signal you to follow his own breathing. You stared deeply into Jimins eyes, feeling oddly comforted as you let your breathing fall into the same rhythm. Your anxiety ebbing almost as quickly as it had come.

How strange, that was the fastest you had ever been able to come down from an anxiety attack before. Remembering the countless times you lay on the cold bathroom floor, counting tiles as your mother spoke to you to distract you from your panic attack.

Once Namjoon was satisfied that your attack had passed he moved back to his seat beside you tucking you against his side, he needed to touch you, know that you were alright. Jimin too had taken your hand in his, tracing the delicate veins with his thumb.

You glanced over to see the rest of the group in a heated debate, you just barely made out Jungkook growling at Mr. Bang under his breath, “Why did you bring those?!? Wasn’t it enough to tell her they had gotten her picture, she didn’t need to see the damn magazines herself!” Bang looked sheepishly around the room as Seijin cleared the table of the remaining magazines before you could read further.

“I’m so sorry Y/N, I’m so used to dealing with idols who are more familiar with this that I didn’t take into consideration how you would react, please accept my apology.” He bowed deeply.

You shook your head, “Its okay, really, I’ll try to be better prepared in the future.” You felt sorry for Mr. Bang, you were so embaresed for having responded that way. To see face all over so many magazines, how would you ever be able to show your face again without repercussions.

“I’d like to continue if that’s alright?” Mr. Bang had moved back to his seat as he regarded you hesitantly. You gave a nod preparing yourself for whatever comes next.

“We have decided the best course of action is to say that security had alerted the members to someone who was in danger. Then naturally everyone had been worried when an ARMY had fainted and that’s why Jungkook reacted that way. You accompanied the members to the hotel to be checked out by our doctor on staff and verify you were indeed alright after the incident, that's all. 

Now of course, that doesn’t dissolve the dating rumors but it should at least soothe the press a little. After a while if you decide you would like to fully invest in becoming their Soul Flames, we will hold a press conference to address this just as we did for Yoongi and Hoseok.”

It all seemed logical enough, the members however seemed less than enthusiastic about the idea. Jungkook was the first to raise his concerns, “How is Y/N expected to go anywhere in Korea when we get there? How are we going to do anything together?”

Mr. Bang sighed, “I knew you were going to ask that. We are going to have to be very careful about how we proceed once we get to Korea. But we will take care of everything, we’ll arrange anything you need. Let us worry about keeping all of you out of sight, as long as you follow a few guidelines I’m sure we can avoid the press. For starters, we will be announcing you are all taking a hiatus before your next comeback once you come back to Korea, this will allow you all to spend some time getting to know each other and hopefully by that time we will have come to a decision regarding the next steps with your Soul Flame.”

The boys were skeptical, so were you. But all you could do was trust that they knew what they were doing. The last thing anyone wanted was a scandal when they were at the peak of their careers.

Mr. Bang and Sejin left after going over a few more fail safes in the event anything else were to happen before they left Vegas. He had given you instructions on what you could tell Mel when you asked, which wasn’t much but hopefully she would leave it at that. So your first order of business was to call her to let her know you were safe.

After telling the boys you were gonna make a phone call, you retreated back to your room, much to the members dismay. You quickly pulled up Mel’s number in your phone, it rang only once before she was screaming in your ear.

“SHE LIVES!! Damn girl, I was about to go to the police, I don’t care if they are BTS!!”

“Okay, 1. Ow my eardrums. 2. I’m sorry I couldn’t call sooner, I text you yesterday though telling you I was fine.”

“How the hell was I supposed to know that was really you?!? They could have forced you to write that! You could have been being held captive in some weird sex dungeon for all I know!”

“Mel, why does your mind always go right to sex.” You laughed, she could be so dramatic sometimes. But that’s why she was your best friend, she was the extrovert to your introvert.

“Uhm… duh, this is BTS we’re talking about, who’s mind wouldn’t go straight to those glorious bodies. Anyway I’m just glad your okay bitch. Now spill, you’ve been with them all night. What happened? Are they as hot up close as they are in pictures? No wait… have you seen any of them naked??”

“Nothing has happened. Yes they are fucking gorgeous and Jesus NO MEL! Look, they were all very considerate and felt horrible that I was hurt, they had their doctor look me over backstage and wanted to keep an eye on me overnight in case of a concussion. That’s all!”

You felt so horrible lying to her, though there was some truth to it, you just left out the part about them being your Soul Flames haha. Just as you were to tell your mother you had an internship in Korea, when Mel no doubt asked why you were going there this summer you were to also tell her that. Consistency is key in this plan.

You talked on the phone for another 30 minutes or so, she explained how the crowd went crazy after the fiasco, fans openly weeping and wishing they were in your place. It was hilarious really, some people even resorted to fake fainting to see if they too would be swept up in one of the members arms. You then had to break it to her that you wouldn’t be able to come to the makeup concert with her, they were too worried about paparazzi and the fans recognizing you. Of course she was upset, you had to listen to her rant and curse for about 10 minutes before finally conceding with the bribe of meeting them in person eventually.

“I love you Mel, you know?”

“I know.”

You smiled at her reply, it was something you had said to each other since grade school whenever one of us mentioned they loved another, we just knew, no need for words.

“I’ll meet you at the airport on Monday okay?”

“You better, I’m not going to explain to your mom why you didn’t make the flight home.”

[ 🎶 Lets do the time warp again! 🎶 Sorry if I wrote about everything between now and then this would be five billion chapters! ]

May 20, 2022 - 1 month later

Unfortunately things hadn’t worked out quite as you all had hoped, the rumors spread like wildfire through Korea days after breaking here in the states causing HYBE to have to call an emergency board meeting. The boys of course having been called back to deal with the damage as well the minute their concert had finished in Vegas. They were all naturally very upset about the situation, but in the end there was nothing else to be done, this was their job after all.

You had kept busy the following weeks with finals, now the day was finally here, your semester had come to an end and summer had arrived. Before you knew it, it was time to head to Korea. You felt giddy at the idea of seeing everyone again after a month, you’d been texting and video calling each other when you got the chance. These past few weeks you have loved getting to know each of them individually, you’d learned so many things about them already.

Currently you sat on your bed, staring at your suitcase in dismay. You had struggled figuring out just what to pack for such a long trip for the last week, you had tried your best not to overpack, but lets be real… you always overpacked. You wondered just how you were going to close this monstrosity of a suitcase, god help you if it bust open on the runway.

“Y/N! Your flight leaves in a few hours, aren’t you ready yet? We have to leave !” Your mom yelled from downstairs, “I know! I know! I’m coming!” you returned, closing your suitcase and promptly sitting on it to keep it closed as you somehow managed to get the zipper closed.

Mel had arrived right as you were about to leave the house, helping you heave your luggage into the trunk of your mom’s car.

“Holy shit, did you pack your whole closet? You know they have stores there… you don’t have to bring everything you own!” She laughed, you both fought back tears in your eyes as you delayed the inevitable.

“We have to go hunny…” Your mom whispered from the drivers seat regarding both of you.

Mel pulled you into her arms hugging you tightly, a couple tears falling down her cheeks. “You better text me like every damn day! I swear I’ll never talk to you again if you don’t!” You nodded, giving her a tight squeeze back. “That’s too bad I really liked you.” you replied sarcastically, “Every day Mel. I promise.”

Stepping back you both wiped at the tears on your face with a slight laugh, “I can’t believe your going to Korea without me you lucky bitch. I fully expect to hear some stories about hot Korean guys you hook up with.” She winked, making a suggestive face.

“I’m serious though Y/N, please don’t stay cooped up in your apartment… I want you to get out and live your life while you’re there this summer. Don’t make me fly out there and drag you out myself. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, live a little lady.” She gave you one last tight hug before stepping back so you could get into the car.

“I’ll do my best, I’ll try to channel my inner Mel.” you laughed, hanging out the window now as your mom started the car.

“Oh, by the way I left a surprise for you in your suitcase!” She rose her eyebrows suggestivly, laughing as she waved frantically at you as you drove away.

Oh great, you could only imagine what she had slipped into your suitcase.

The rest of the drive was quiet, you could tell your mom was barely holding it together a this point, you heard a few faint sniffles over the music playing in the car. You were barely keeping it together yourself as well. All these emotions raced through your mind, the sadness at leaving your mom and Mel, the excitement of meeting the members again after being away for weeks now, the fear of traveling all alone to a new country. It was a shock you hadn’t had a panic attack yet.

You scrolled through the messages on your phone from last night, everyone was so excited you were finally coming to Korea, all of them texting at once explaining to you all the places they wanted to take you, food they wanted you to try. Jimin and Jungkook had mentioned how much they wanted to take a trip to Busan and show you where they grew up, play in the ocean and maybe meet their families. Which of course that last idea had sent you into major anxiety, meet their families? You still weren’t even sure if this was going to work out, last thing you wanted to do was give their families false hope. Namjoon had quickly scolded the young members, feeling the fear radiate from you even thousands of miles away. You reassured them all that you would love to see where they grew up, but just didn’t feel comfortable meeting family yet.

You had slowly given in to that fact they were your Soul Flames, it was hard not to believe when anytime you hurt yourself or felt anxious you would hear that familiar chime from your phone that one of the boys was texting or calling you. That was just not normal, there was no way they could know something like that when they weren’t even by your side. Now it was more the idea of being their Soul Flame that you were trying to accept, sure it was amazing, but also incredibly scary. You could barely keep a boyfriend when you were in high school, the minute you had a panic attack they would go running. If it wasn’t that then it was the all too familar, you’re lame and never want to party, why don’t you want to hang out with my friends, blah blah.

Once you had finished checking in and sent your luggage on its way, you turn to your mom who had begun openly weeping. “Mom…” You whined, trying to hold it together yourself, “I’ll be back in a few months, I’ll call you every chance I get I promise.” You smiled, the tears already beginning to fall as she pulled you into a tight hug, nodding her head in response. “ I know, I know, I’m being silly. It’s just this is the longest you’ll have ever been so far away from me—the house is going to be so empty… please just, call me when you land, okay?” She leaned back from your embrace, giving you a teary smile as she pulled you in for one more quick squeeze.

You waved her goodbye as you headed into security and towards the plane that would soon bring you to Korea, who knew what else awaited you after that.

One of their bodyguards was there to greet you upon your arrival in Korea, you felt a bit saddened not to see the boys smiling faces when you stepped off the plane, but you could only imagine the chaos that would have created.

He ushered you into that ever familiar tinted van to drive you directly to BTS’s dorm. He had tried to make small talk as you drive, mentioning how originally they were going to sell the dorm as all the members had purchased houses of their own at this point, but once you came along they had decided it would be the best place for all 5 of you to reside for now. You could feel your eyes getting heavier and heavier, his words becoming jumbled as you fought to stay awake.

Sometime during the drive you had finally succumbed to sleep. Though the boys had insisted you fly first class—which was an experience in itself, your nerves however had gotten the better of you and you hadn’t been able to sleep a wink. Now the cars gentle vibrations along with the comfort in knowing you were in solid ground lulled you to sleep.

You vaguely hear the sound of the car coming to a stop, the door opening to hushed whispers. Then you were being lifted from your seat, you buried your face in the comforting scent of clean cotton, arms wrapping tightly around the neck of whomever held you as you nosed at the familar smell.

Jungkook laid you gently down on the bed they had made up for you, when he went to pull away your arms locked tightly around his neck, causing him to stumble forward catching himself before he fell on top of you, his hands on either side of your head on the bed behind you.

“Hyung…” Jungkook whined, his breathe fanning across your face, another voice responding in kind from somewhere else in the room. “It’s fine Jk, let her sleep. She’s probably exhausted from the flight.”

With Joon’s acceptance he went to lay beside you on the bed, you immediately curled against his side seeking his warmth. Your face nuzzled into his neck again finding that comforting smell of cotton, you were rocked back to sleep by the slow rise and fall of Jungkook’s chest.

The first thing you felt upon waking was incredibly hot, you squirmed trying to get away from the inferno beneath you. A heavy weight landing around your waist drawing you tighter against the solid wall of heat beneath you. You blinked into awareness, eyes widening as you stared up at that ever familiar mop of black hair and chiseled jawline.

Jungkook…?

It took you a moment to get your bearings, last thing you remembered was driving to the dorm. He must have carried you up to bed when you fell asleep in the car. But how then had he ended up underneath you?! You had suddenly noticed you were laying on top of him, your soft body melded against his hard one. His tattooed arm keeping you prisoner against him as soft snores emanated from his mouth.

You screamed internally, this was to date your most embarrassing moment yet, here you were snuggled against Jungkook of BTS like he was your own personal body pillow. How mortifying. Mel had always said you were a clingy sleeper, having woken up way one too many times to the onslaught of your snuggles she had bought you a body pillow for your last birthday, Jungkook’s picture taped to said pillow, which Mel of course thought was hilarious, “Here, snuggle with Jungkook so I can finally get a decent nights rest.”

You glanced up at Jungkook to make sure he was still sleeping, Mel would be dying laughing if she could see you now knowing how many times she had joked about snuggling with him just like this. Your gaze was transfixed by that little mole under his lower lip, fingers itching to reach out and trace the outlines of his lips. You took your time surveying him this close, he was just as handsome up close, maybe even more so. You’d never really had the chance to really take in his face before, always turning bright red and shying away when he looked at you. Of all the members he and Jimin were always the most intimidating to you, Jimin with his flirty comments always trying to get a rise out of you, and Jungkook’s with his dominating presence, sure he could be a big softie sometimes, but you always felt yourself shrinking underneath those big Bambi eyes.

Your fingers however had a mind of their own reaching out to brush along his bottom lip, touching his lip ring shyly. What would that feel like if we kissed, you’ve never kissed anyone with a piercing there before.. would it be cold? Would it feel weird against your lips? You wanted so badly to know.

Jungkook stirred, mumbling something under his breathe as his hand shot out capturing your fingers just as you went to pull away.

“Hyunggg, five more minutes.. leave me alone,” you giggled, he thought you were one of his members teasing him to wake up.

Your delicate female laughter had him jolting awake, those dark eyes penetrating yours suddenly as he gave a wide bunny smile.

“Hi..” his husky voice radiated straight to your core, making your whole body burn as you remembered your position. Before you could respond, apologizing for possibly forcing him to become your human body pillow, he brought your hand up to his face pressing a gentle kiss to your palm. His gaze darkening as he took in your adorable bed head, you were even more beautiful when you woke up.

He was leaning up before he realized it, pulling your face down to his, his lips brushing ever so gently across your own. He paused a moment to gauge your reaction as he felt you tense above him, he felt your shock at first contact, but it was what he had felt from you moments ago, that he had thought was a dream, that had him insisting he hadn’t been wrong in kissing you.

Your eyes grew wide, Jungkook was kissing you... and you weren’t still asleep, this was too real to be a dream, right? He pressed his lips more firmly against yours as if to solidify you weren’t dreaming, causing your body to melt into his as you sighed into his mouth.

At your acceptance his lips were smashing against yours, finally giving into his desire to kiss you since the moment he first held you in his arms at the concert. His tongue teased along the seam of your lips asking for entrance, when it wasn’t immediately given the cocky shit nipped at your lip causing you to gasp. His tongue delved into your mouth, deepening the kiss.

Jungkook groaned, tasting your mouth as his tongue tangled with yours pulling you down hard against him. His fingers tangled in your hair, tugging gently. 

Your fingers flattened against the hard planes of his chest, “Jungkook…” You whimpered as his fingers in your hair bent your head to his liking. You bit down gently on his lower lip in retaliation, taking his lip ring into your mouth experimentally, the cold metal feeling so foreign against your tongue, you couldn’t get enough of it.

You could feel his hardening budge forming against your stomach causing you to grind your core down against his thigh seeking friction, your legs squeezing his hard thigh for relief. It was all too much and not nearly enough at the same time. You felt like your body was going to go up in flames at any moment, your fingers raked down his chest as you moaned against his lips. You couldn’t believe how turned on you were getting from just a kiss, you wanted him so badly. Wanted him to fuck you until you couldn’t walk straight.

Jungkook curses below you as his arm holding you slides down to cup your ass, thrusting hard up against you so you felt his full length. If you kept throwing thoughts like that his way he wasn’t sure just how much longer he could control himself. He could feel you were just as turned on as he was, and if your thoughts hadn’t been enough your body was more than willing to show him.

A sudden knock had you both jumping, Jungkook pulled back regretfully pressing a kiss to the corner of your lips, a bright smile on display as he took in your flushed face and slightly puffy lips. It took all his strength not to say screw it and go back to kissing your delectable lips.

Namjoon opened the door when he didn’t get a response, Jimin and Tae tumbling in behind him, falling atop each other in their rush to get into the room.

They all took one look at Jungkook’s and yours throughly fucked out expression and there was no doubt in their mind as to what exactly had transpired.

Jungkook tucked his arms behind his head glancing over at this brothers with a cocky smile, he looked just like the cat that had caught the canary. Tilting his head slightly he pressed his tongue against his cheek, before running it across his lower lip.

What the hell had come over you just now?!

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[theonceoverthinker]

6. Yep. I’m doing more miscellaneous Bowuigi HCs, and I’m numbering them now!

-The two of them snore. Loudly. Luigi's snores can be heard from two or so doors away, and Bowser's? You can hear it from the other side of the hallway. Everyone knows when Bowser is asleep. It's a total boon for his staff and minions because they know exactly when they need to return to their posts and start getting work done. Their individual snores don’t bother each other. Like, Luigi might have had to get used to the loudness of Bowser’s snores and I think Bowser was just surprised for a few days that Luigi snored at all, but they quickly got over those feelings and adapted to their partner’s quirks.

-Bowser adores Poulterpup. He’s a dog-loving koopa at heart and Poulterpup has that mischievous energy that really vibes with Bowser. Whenever he can, Luigi bring Poulterpup to Bowser’s castle so he can hang out with Bowser, the kids, and himself. Luigi likes giving Poulterpup another place to run around in and others for him to socialize with. Kamek’s...less than enthused because Poulterpup always manages to distract Bowser from his kingly duties or is causing chaos in the castle. However, Kamek just has to suck it up because Bowser’s not having anything happen to his favorite pooch.

-Bowser has accidentally lit Luigi on fire in the past. Some things outside of Bowser’s control just have a way of setting off his fire breath, and poor Luigi has occasionally gotten the burnt end of the stick. It definitely happened on one of their first few dates, and Bowser was convinced he’d blown it with Luigi forever...right after he’d...blown it (Look, I like puns, okay?). It was only when Luigi came to the castle the following day to check on Bowser that Bowser knew that he still had a fighting chance with him. I could also see Bowser trying to light a candle, sneezing while doing so, and Luigi’s clothes catching on fire. Luigi’s used to pain and always forgives Bowser because he knows they’re accidents. Still, Bowser does feel bad, and on the plus side, he does make more of an effort to be safe with his fire abilities around Luigi in the future, learning how to control his abilities better because of it.

-Bowser and Luigi both swim, and they do it well. On Bowser’s half, not counting stuff like the Sonic Olympic games, that might come across as surprising because, you know, he’s big and breathes fire. However, those qualities don’t end up limiting him all that much. Sure, he’s not as fast or controlled as Luigi is in the water, but his stamina is not to be underestimated. And Luigi is so good at swimming that it’s a running joke between himself and Bowser that he’s part Cheep Cheep. He’s fast in the water and is able to practically turn on a dime. He and Bowser are able to swim pretty deep underwater and are good at holding their breaths, and if they go to like a beach for a vacation, they’ll definitely go snorkeling, looking for fish, shells, and treasures.

I’m only gonna do four this time, but it’s because I have been doing a LOT of work on a new Bowuigi project of mine today.

How about I give you a preview to get you excited?

Yes, let’s do that.

When Luigi and Bowser find themselves stranded together in the Lost Kingdom, a busted up Odyssey becomes their unlikeliest of saviors. Now reluctant traveling companions doomed to remain marooned without the other’s help, the two gather power moons and embark on a globe-trotting adventure home. However, as they fly and hunt for moons together, bonding all the while, Bowser and Luigi find their reservations and preconceived notions about the other start to wither away, and a fondness instead grows in its place. Will that fondness and what more it might birth stay bound to the confines of a temporary truce or will it become something far stronger and impossible to ignore?

Coming soon to a Tumblr near you:

Super Bowuigi Odyssey!

[sophiebernadotte]

H.M. Queen Silvia's speech at "UN meeting on travel and tourism"

Your Royal Highness Your Excellencies Ladies and gentlemen

I am delighted to be here in a room of experts on child rights.

We need many advocates because we have a big and difficult task to tackle: To keep children safe in connection to travel and tourism.

So far, we have collectively failed. Child sexual abuse and exploitation flourishes because we fail to protect the children. I founded the World Childhood Foundation, almost 25 years ago, with the vision of ending child sexual abuse. We see progress, but so much work remains.

Global travel and tourism create great value; travel connects people, builds bridges between cultures, fuels trade and exchange. But sadly, travel and tourism also expose children to great risks and exploitation. Vulnerable children and families are exploited in the fight for survival. Weak protective systems and under-resourced law enforcement makes it too easy for offenders to commit crimes. Bystanders fail to take action, blinded by misperceptions of what abuse may look like, or accepting different norms in places and cultures far away from home. But child exploitation is unacceptable everywhere.

As travel increases again after the pandemic, we have an opportunity to set things right; to shape new patterns and behaviors that keep children safe. The travel sector reaches people in so many ways – from major online platforms to the remote street on the other side of the globe. This gives many opportunities to be the eyes and ears on the ground. And it carries an obligation to ensure child safe-guarding mechanisms. Online behavior is now a fully integrated part of travel. We sadly also see how online abuse is an integral part of the modus operandi of traveling offenders. The ICT sector needs to step-up and play a key role in the protection of children.

Collectively we need to do more. We need to agree on high standards and goals. And they need to be implemented to make real difference on the ground. Together, we need to make sure that what is discussed and agreed by the international community in rooms like this, at the United Nations and by powerful leaders, actually reach all the way to the individual child at risk. That is where it matters.

That is why I am especially delighted that today’s meeting connects the different parts, from global policy makers to local and national partners in Asia and Africa, some of whom I know well from close collaboration with my own organization Childhood.

I look forward to listening and learning from the different experiences, views, and perspectives and to constructive discussions of how to move forward together to keep children safe.

Thank you!

Speech held by H.M. Queen Silvia at the UN Headquarters in New York City on October 17, 2023.

[americasass81]

Within The Winds of Time

Warnings 18+ for the following:- Use of Pet Names, Smut (Fisting, F/F giving and receiving)  Mentions of Previous Character Death, Mentions of Loss of Loved One.  Seriously do not read if any of this upsets you, the warnings are there for a reason.  Feedback is welcomed and any mistakes are my own.

By proceeding you are acknowledging that you are over 18 and are consenting to the content below the cut.

Pairings:- Maria Hill x Reader

Synopsis:- Finding a way to navigate the Blip without the love of your life what happens when Earth’s Mightiest Heroes mess with time to restore what was?

Total Word Count:- 6,758

Rematerializing back on the street where moments ago the breeze had scattered her ashes to the four corners of the globe, Maria knew one thing deep in her core ... floating away like a leaf on the wind was so much easier than being put back together.  Getting her bearings just long enough to avoid being mowed down in the early morning traffic, she made it safely to the sidewalk just in time for her insides to spew out all over the place.  Heaving up her last meal as the odd pedestrian on their way to work gave her a wide berth, she was thankful at least that Fury wasn't around to witness this display of human frailty.  Weakness was something he rarely appreciated and speaking of Fury she thought suddenly as a young guy passing her on a skateboard offered her a tissue and a knowing look, where was the insufferable son of a bitch anyway?

Looking around as her stomach righted itself and she wiped the tissue across her mouth, this and a million other questions flitted through her mind.  Why wasn't Fury here with her?  He had been when she started to disintegrate.  Did he not reappear or had whatever afflicted her left him untouched?  What about all the carnage and chaos that had caused them to stop and exit their vehicle in the first place?  How had that been dealt with so swiftly?  Setting aside these questions temporarily as she continued to take stock of her surroundings it wasn't long before a few other thoughts struck her, not the least of which was how the vehicle they were traveling in just moments ago was now gone and everything else seemed like a normal typical day.  Maybe it was just her.

So what had happened then?  Had Fury taken the vehicle to try and figure out what was going on?  Would he come back for her now that the mysterious problem had apparently been rectified?  Should she contact him and let him know she was back and that she was all right?  Taking a moment more to steady herself and make sure no more of her stomach contents were going to reveal themselves, it was with this thought that she slipped her hand into her pants pocket, removed her phone and froze the second she turned it on.

Your laughing face staring back at her as the device came to life brought a whole new set of questions flooding into her mind and with it a panic she had never felt before.  A panic that was so strong and hardwired into her very soul that it overwhelmed the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent she was and reminded her what it meant to be human.  Why it was she did what she did.  Gazing down at your smiling image once more, she took some deep, calming breaths before returning her phone to her pocket and heading off down the sidewalk to find the nearest law enforcement officer.  Thankfully she didn't have to go far.

Walking two blocks from where she reappeared as she tried to piece together what had happened, the familiar car parked on the street and the officers waiting inside in no way prepared her however for the shock that was about to hit her.  Showing them her S.H.I.E.L.D.  identification and explaining what exactly had happened to her, years of experience and the look the officers exchanged told her that things were far worse than she ever could have imagined.

Allowing her to sit into the passenger seat, the burly officer who introduced himself as Eddie moved into the back while his partner Rhona composed herself for the task ahead.  Looking Maria up and down with a sympathetic gaze that had now been honed through countless encounters just like this one, she took a deep breath and placed her hand on Maria's shoulder before speaking.  Explaining in a calm and professional manner what exactly the disintegration was and all that had happened in the past five years, Maria listened without interruption up until that point.

"Wait.  I'm sorry, but did you just say five years?  I've been gone for five years?" she questioned, unable to get her head around this unbelievable piece of information.

"Yes," Eddie answered tentatively from the backseat as he watched the all too familiar horror settle on Maria's features.

Half listening now as Eddie and Rhona continued to explain the changes that occurred in this new time, Maria had finally heard enough and knew only one thing mattered now ... finding you.  Not willing to listen anymore about the past few frantic weeks of reintegration or returned heroes or what world governments planned to do with those who had come back from the dead, Maria turned to open the door only to be stopped by Rhona's firm grip on her shoulder and soothing voice in her ear.

"Hun, you've been gone five years, think a minute.  Where are you planning on going?  Who are you hoping to see?" she questioned with enough compassion it seemed to at least temporarily stall Maria's escape.  "We may have given you a collective view of what has transpired in the world at large, but hun, we can't possibly predict what has happened in your individual world," she continued tenderly as Maria now looked between the two officers.

"Listen to her love," Eddie added reassuringly, "from what little I've seen of you so far you seem to be handling this whole situation pretty well and I'm fairly confident they don't just let anyone join S.H.I.E.L.D.  So how about you tell us where we can drop you off and then take it from there."

Sighing deeply as she acknowledged the wisdom behind their suggestions while still aching to know what the past five years had done to you, Maria nodded her head slowly in defeat.  Thinking through her options while Rhona settled properly behind the wheel and Eddie radioed in their situation to the station, Maria figured a S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house was now her best option to get her bearings and work through the daunting task of piecing her life back together.  Thanking the officers a short time later as she stepped from the car outside an unassuming building, Maria took one last look at Eddie and Rhona before smiling to them and walking off towards her unknown future.  Stepping up to the ordinary gray stone wall and uncovering the hidden panel, she then entered the pin number and prayed that five years hadn't seen the code changed.  Delighting in the green light that appeared a heartbeat later, she placed her hand on the newly revealed door and stepped inside with a grateful sigh.

Closing the door behind her and hitting the switch that would bring the place to life, the first thing Maria noticed was the feeling of security she didn't know she was missing.  Looking around at the familiar layout, she quickly scanned the recesses of her memory to recall where the backup laptop would be.  Zoning in on the obvious painting on the far wall, Maria smiled as she thought of all the criminals and super villains who would go straight for that location should they ever have the good fortune to breach these walls. Heading off into the kitchen instead, she dropped to her knees in front of the cupboard by the fridge, opened the doors to remove the few plates present and gently pushing down on the false bottom, smiled in triumph as it slid aside and revealed her prize.

Picking up the laptop then, she headed over to the table and turning it on, removed her phone once more and sent up a silent prayer that all was at least well with you in this new time.  Watching the device come to life and smiling again when her access code was once more accepted, Maria then began the painstaking task of tracking you down.  Starting off by inputting your name, social security number and last known address, she released the breath she didn't know she was holding when the displayed information revealed that you still lived in the apartment both of you called home.

Gazing back at the phone once more and the picture that she had taken the day both of you had moved in together, Maria then set about digging deeper.  Going through every possible newspaper article, records search and social media platform for any reference of you, she was both delighted and apprehensive to find nothing.  No record of marriage, children, no indication that your life had changed at all in the past five years.

But it had to have, right?  Surely both of you meant more to each other than just roommates who shared a bed and a life?  Surely you felt her loss as keenly as she now felt yours?  Surely you had made some acknowledgement of her presence in your life or been driven by grief to make some drastic changes?  But apparently not.  Shaking her head now at the thought that she could wish you pain over her loss, Maria shut down the laptop, returned everything as she had found it and heading upstairs quickly organized a change of clothes before picking up a gun and some spare cash to get herself where she needed to be.  Sending off a quick text to Fury to let him know she was fine and would contact him properly soon, she then walked out of the safehouse to the nearest diner to quiet her stomach before searching out her past.

Waking up and reaching out towards the empty pillow beside you, five years of this mundane action had yet to heal the ache in your heart.  Of course a part of you knew your family and friends that survived were right, that moving out and moving on were the only real steps that would help you get over Maria's devastating loss, but how could they not understand that doing so could very well kill what remained of the person you had become.  Never feeling quite like yourself or that you belonged anywhere, meeting Maria while you delivered flowers to a hospital ward on a dark day as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents littered every floor and corridor, you couldn't possibly know then the effect such an encounter would have on both of your lives.  Yet that's exactly what had happened.

Invisibly dropping off the flowers at the nurse's station and turning around to head back down to the gift shop on the ground floor, everyone seemed captivated by the discussion taking place between Steve Rogers and a gruff looking, dark haired S.H.I.E.L.D. grunt to notice the brunette walking blindly out of the surgery room doors before sinking to the floor.  Moving quicker than you ever thought possible and without anyone else coming to her aid, you reached her before she could fall back through the closing doors and with her assistance, walked her towards the nearest chairs.

Sitting both of you down and waiting to see if any of her comrades came to her assistance, the retreating figures and on rushing silence told you you were all she had.  Getting back up quickly to snatch a bottle of water off an abandoned trolley while never taking your eyes off her, joining her again seconds later and handing her the bottle rewarded you with a grateful smile. And what a smile it was.

Introducing herself as simply Maria before taking a welcome slug of the cooling liquid, your eyes flitted back to the doors she had just excited before speaking.  "I take it things are bad," you uttered by way of a question and the imperceptible nod of her head told you more than any words she seemed unable to utter.  Staring at the floor now as Captain America and The Black Widow entered that same room, your heart went out to her even more at the fact they failed to acknowledge either her presence or her obvious anguish.  In fact it would have angered you if not for the unexpected admiration that battered you moments later when Maria, getting to her feet, thanked you for your kindness and restored her mask of professionalism before walking back into the surgery room and carrying out her duty.

Rising from the chair after her and looking in through the doors, you were rewarded with the sight of a true hero.  Standing in the presence of Captain America and The Black Widow as tears silently marred her beautiful features, you watched in awe as this unassuming woman set aside her own pain and ushered the heroes from the room in order to take possession of the body of their fallen mentor.  Watching a few moments longer as she held in her grief and composure while preparing the body for transit, you contemplated going to her but stopped abruptly as four guys in black combat gear brought your attention to the opposite end of the corridor.

Continuing to watch now as Maria's hand slipped away from her ear to reveal a hidden communication device, you placed your hand against the door in a silent gesture of strength before heading back to your day job to think no more on the events of that fateful day.  But apparently it wasn't to be.  Never forgetting the impact Maria had on you that day, a career in nursing called out to you and after years of hard work and exhausting days you were finally giving something back.  But it was nothing compared to what you had gained.

Finding fulfillment in the long E.R. hours helping patch up bullet wounds, sick children and traffic victims, the odd S.H.I.E.L.D. agent showing up requiring assistance also brought with it some unexpected perks .... one of which would become the love of your life.  And so that was how both of you had met again many times after that first initial meeting.  Every time a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent showed up requiring assistance they couldn't get from home base, you helped out if available and somewhere along the way Maria would show up to clean up the paper trail left behind.  For which you were ultimately grateful for.

Eventually taking you aside and introducing you to colleagues woven throughout the hospital who also helped patch up and cover up S.H.I.E.L.D.'s emergency visits, Maria slowly became a more prominent fixture in your professional life before things spilled over into your personal one.  Proving yourself invaluable to your new colleagues, it shocked you a year before everything went to shit at a private S.H.I.E.L.D. event when Maria took you aside and thanked you once more for the kindness you had shown her three years previously.

Surprised that she had remembered you but still telling her that it was nothing that required any type of acknowledgement, the surprises kept on coming when Maria leaned forward and tentatively placed her lips against yours.  Pulling back quickly then to gauge your reaction, your face must have conveyed everything she wanted to know as she kissed you again, this time with more passion, while you melted into her gentle touch.  And so began a year that brought you joy beyond belief before ending in a tragedy that threatened to tear your soul apart.  Yet somehow Maria was still there.

Reminding you every time you woke up of the quiet strength she displayed in everything she did, you kept her memory alive by getting up each morning and heading off to work to once more help out in any way you could.  And so it had been for five years.  Now if only you knew how long more it could continue.  Pulling yourself out of memory's flow and sitting up in bed as your eyes landed on the last picture taken of both of you, you wiped away the stray tear rolling down your cheek as you prepared to face the first day off you'd had in months not knowing that across the city events were unfolding that would change your young life yet again.

Finishing off her eggs, bacon and waffles while relishing in the memory of how comforting the rare morning off had been snuggled up in bed as you pottered around the kitchen, Maria then paid the cheque before heading out into the city.  Walking along the familiar streets that showed no memory of the chaos she had left behind five years ago now, Maria thought about hailing a taxi to take her to you, but thought better of it.  She needed more time.

Sitting in the diner mulling over all she had relearned about you, it was still going to be a shock for both of you.  One that would require adjustment.  Thinking back on what she had discovered as her feet took her along the familiar path to your apartment building, she suddenly stopped as she tried to figure out what came next.  Discovering that your career as a nurse still guided your life, she hadn't bothered to check if you were working today and now staring up at the building that held her heart, she found herself stumped.

Should she ring first before just showing up?  Would you want to see her?  Would you believe what had happened to her or had you decided she had used the chaos of the blip to leave you?  Would you even still want her?  Thinking through all these questions as she walked up to the main door and entered the security code, another thought struck her as she waited for it to be accepted ... what if you weren't home?

Hearing the beep as the door opened and she headed off towards the stairs, Maria now wondered at this possibility.  Would her key still work or had five years seen the locks get changed?  If she could gain access to the apartment, should she?  Sure it had been her apartment too not so long ago, but that may no longer be the case and if so would the shock of her waiting in your living room be greater than her showing up at your door?

Your door?

God how strange those words sounded even in her head.  This place had belonged to both of you.  The one place her spirit found peace and the only place she told you had ever felt like home.  Now she felt lost.  Untethered and adrift like those few seconds she disappeared and reappeared, she longed to bury herself in the comfort and safety of your arms but that may very well be the one thing Thanos took that no miracle or hero could ever return ... and the realization was threatening to crush her.

Finally reaching the fourth floor and staring at the door that once housed everything she still held dear, Maria took a deep steadying breath and slipped her key out of her jacket pocket before moving forward and placing her hand against the familiar wood.  Sending up a silent prayer for the strength to face whatever lay beyond, she shakily raised her hand and released a breath as her key slotted into the lock like it always did.

You hadn't shut her out at least.

Turning the key then and pushing open the door, she need not have worried about the effect all of this would have on you ... she should instead have worried about the effect it might have on her.  Calling out your name and waiting for a response that never came, she cautiously stepped over the threshold just enough to close the door behind her and lock the world outside.  Standing then in the kitchen / living room, she called out to you once more even though she now suspected you weren't there.  Afraid then of you returning to find her standing there like a wax figure of your former lover, she gingerly took her first steps into the apartment proper and braced herself against the reality that hit her with the first cabinet door she opened.

Nothing had changed.

Pots and pans were still exactly where they had always been.  The mugs ... hers and yours still sat by the coffee machine waiting to be filled with your morning beverages.  Even the living room still looked the same.  The Avengers cushions you had begged her to buy still littered the couch, while resting in the pride of place in the middle of the mantlepiece was the picture of both of you taken at the last Stark party Pepper had insisted both of you show up for.

Did this mean you still grieved her?  That the love both of you shared was stronger than death?  Picking up the picture and running her trembling fingers over your smiling faces she knew only one place for certain held the answers she sought.  Returning the picture back where it belonged, Maria then turned towards the hallway and faced the room she feared would reveal the changes that had surely started to take place.

Opening the door and quickly placing the groceries and shopping bags on the nearest counter before your arms fell off, a strange feeling hit you in the apartment that you couldn't quite explain.  Walking back to close the door, you then retrieved one of the knives from the block by the sink before carefully moving through your home.  Making sure to walk as quietly as possible while checking every window you walked past, your thoughts drifted to Maria and all the times she had told you to trust your gut ... which was screaming at you now.

Finding every room you entered exactly as it should be ... kitchen, living room, guest room, bathroom, something told you the cause of your concern was to be found within your bedroom.  Stopping in front of the door and breathing deeply, you reached out and placed your fingers around the handle as the grip of your other hand tightened on the knife.  This was it.  Not knowing what to expect, yet pissed beyond reason that someone had invaded the area of your home that mattered most to you, you silently pushed down the handle and pressing forward into your sanctuary, froze at the sight before you.

It couldn't be.

Fast asleep on her side of the bed while wrapped in your favorite sweater, your mind refused to accept what your eyes were seeing ... it was her.  The woman who held your heart and took it with her five long years ago lay sleeping soundly as if she had never been away ... and the shock was just too great.  Dropping to your knees as your legs buckled and the knife fell from your lifeless fingers, you tried to call out to her, but nothing happened.  Your voice didn't seem to work, your arms and legs refused to move and your lungs no longer seemed willing to accept the air needed to keep functioning.  You felt like you were dying.

And perhaps that's what this was?  Perhaps after five years of holding on to the memory of the only person you had ever truly loved and who had loved you just as passionately in return, maybe the universe decided you had given enough.  Just maybe in your final moments she had come to take you home.

But why then did your brain refuse to let you embrace this gift?

Forcing air into your burning lungs, which in turn seemingly started a chain reaction of neurons firing throughout your body, you slowly found yourself rising back up off the floor as your feet moved you towards the bed and the body you were sure was nothing more than a figment of your long ignored despair.  The final release before you at last accepted Maria Hill no longer walked this earth and you could finally start the process of moving on.

But it wasn't to be.

At last reaching the bed and placing your shaking fingers on the apparition before you, you pulled it back as if you’d been burned when you came in contact with a solid mass.  This was no ghost.  It was instead the living, breathing body of the woman you thought you would never see again and now you were beyond confused.  Gazing back down on the sleeping brunette, you were just about to wake her up and fire a barrage of questions at her when the sun glinted off the discarded knife lying where you left it.

Walking back over and picking it up as if it somehow anchored you back in reality, you then took one long lingering look at Maria before focusing on the weight in your hand and silently deciding that a bit more time to contemplate this new development was nothing compared to the five years you had wished for this moment.  Thinking of going to her and kissing her tenderly before returning the knife, you thought better of it and smiling at the new found peace thrumming throughout your body, walked from the room and let your lover find some rest while you situated yourself on the couch and figured out where to go from here.

As fate would have it though you wouldn't have very long to wait.

Returning from the land of slumber fifteen minutes after your return, Maria stretched out on the bed that now felt big, cold and empty without your presence.  Burying her face into your sweater and inhaling the scent that was distinctly you, she then looked at her watch and deciding she had wasted enough time headed off towards the ensuite.

Freshening up quickly and pulling your sweater back over herself, ten minutes later found her reaching for her phone on the bedside table.  Taking a moment extra to gaze fondly on the picture of both of you that matched the one on your side, the task at hand eventually proved too strong for her to ignore any longer.  It was time to track you down and see what this new future held in store.  Hitting the button on her phone and watching the device come to life, she ignored the missed messages from Fury this once in favor of her personal life.

Scrolling through her contacts until your name popped up, her thumb hovered over the call icon for just a second before she swallowed the lump in her throat and finally hit it.  Then placing the phone to her ear, another shock pierced her consciousness as the echoing ring rang out loud and clear from within the confines of the apartment before your trembling voice broke through.  You were here too.

Walking through the halls now as you kept firing questions down the line, she almost let the device slip from her grasp as she entered the living room to find you pacing in front of the fireplace as you still awaited some response from the other end.  Gazing longingly now on your glorious features as they stood before her in tangible form, your surprised expression as you turned around and stared at her was enough for her to turn off her phone and take the first tentative step towards you.

But it didn't last long.

Dropping your phone on the couch before she had a chance to react, Maria thought her legs would give out as you ran to meet her and crashed your body against hers.  Bracing herself as best she could against your onslaught so that both of you didn't topple to the floor, your head nuzzling against her neck as your incoherent words got lost in her hair mattered little when compared to the feeling of having you back in her arms.  It was like she'd never been away.

Planting her feet firmly then as you took the extra leap and brought your legs around her waist, she couldn't help the laugh that left her lips as her hands traveled south to grab your ass and support your weight.  Holding you firmly then as you clung to her like your life depended on it, Maria slowly and carefully closed the distance between both of you and the couch before falling down onto it.  Moving your legs simultaneously from her waist to straddle either side of her, she then sat back and simply held you as five lost years seemed to rush towards both of you like waves crashing on a distant shore.

Except now that distance was gone.

Pulling back and gazing into the face of the woman who meant the world to you, you could no longer stop the tears from falling as the past five years finally caught up with you.  Running a hand along her face, you tried once more to find your voice, but when nothing happened you were reminded once again of just how perfect you and Maria were together.

She always had your back.

"Hey there cupcake, did you miss me?" she asked and the accompanying smile did more to settle your emotions than those seven little words that heralded her return.  That smile was home.

Removing your hand from her face and wiping away your tears, you took a steadying breath before your voice agreed to finally cooperate.  "Of course I missed you snowflake, but when did you get back?  How did you get here?  Where have you been?  How long have you been here?  What do you remember?  Do you still love me?" you blurted out in one continuous breath for fear that your voice would once again abandon you before you asked all the questions currently plaguing your over taxed mind.

Smiling warmly as she waited to make sure you had no more questions rattling around in your brain, Maria then reached forward and kissing you just like she had that very first time, squeezed your ass before laying back along the couch and bringing you with her.  Waiting then as you stretched your body along hers and snuggled comfortably against her chest, the familiar closeness this action brought proved almost enough to distract her from the questions you had posed.  But still, her resolve proved stronger.

"Of course I still love you cupcake, how could you even ask that?  You know I'd never willingly leave you right?" she asked and as she tilted your chin to look directly into your worried face she knew now her earlier fear was real.  Part of you thought she had left you.  Pulling you tighter now against her body as her hands and lips decided to roam over every inch of you, a particularly hard bite to the juncture of your neck and shoulder had you moaning out atop her in a manner that had slick pooling between both of your legs.  Realizing now that no more questions were going to get answered any time soon, Maria separated both of you once more and rising from the couch, walked both of you back to the bedroom to get reacquainted and put out the flame threatening to escalate into a roaring inferno.

Helping both of you onto the bed, Maria kissed and nipped at your patches of exposed skin as her hands began to wander.  Closing your eyes briefly against the memory of her loss, her soothing voice and a sudden nip to your left ear proved enough to shock you back to reality and convince your brain that this was neither a dream nor a memory revisited.  The love of your life was back.

Smiling down on you now as her hands reached out and grabbed your t-shirt, a skilled arch from you and a tug from her had your upper body dropping back onto the pillows while Maria now held what she realized with a smile was actually her top.  Bringing it to her nose and inhaling the scent that was uniquely you, your eyes never left hers as she tossed it aside and just as quickly divested herself of your favorite sweater.

Marveling now at the beautiful flawless skin that covered her impressive physique, you reached forwards and grabbing hold of her blue lace bra, smirked as you yanked her towards you while your lips made contact once again with hers.  She had dressed for you apparently and it sent heat shooting outwards from your core.  Molding your lips meanwhile together as her hands rested on your shoulders while yours reached round her back to hold her closer, the moan you left escaped your mouth as her teeth bit gently into your lower lip proved just the invitation she needed for her tongue to slip in and begin to explore.

Twisting, sucking and licking, your warm, wet tongues danced together while both of your lips reacquainted themselves with the feel and taste of each other but none of it however could still overcome your human frailties.  Both of you still needed to breathe and pulling apart eventually to draw in some much needed oxygen, the flush on Maria's cheeks told you time hadn't robbed you of your skills.

You could still turn her on.

Smiling down on you now amid heaving breaths and racing heartbeats as you propped yourself up on your elbows and deftly managed to remove your bra, you would have done the same for her if her fingers hadn't chosen the exact same moment you reached for her to whip off and toss her own aside which left you grabbing for her leggings instead.  Grasping firmly now and pulling them towards her knees, the flash of blue panties confirmed she had donned the complete set.  Which was more than could be said for you.

Allowing Maria to fall atop you as her legs pointed towards the ceiling, you couldn't help but laugh as her lips latched on to one of your newly exposed breasts while you took advantage of this new position to fully remove the final articles of clothing covering the body you had so long wished to see again.  Finally dropping these garments over the side of the bed as Maria now suckled and played with both of your tits, your mind still boggled at the fact that you were the one that felt exposed even though she was the one that was now completely naked.  But then this was an issue Maria just as quickly remedied.

Detaching herself from your chest as your pouts and protests confirmed the hold she still had on you, her swiftly moving down your body to peel off your leggings brought a glorious smile to her face as your lack of panties was revealed.  You were ready for her like always.  Smacking your mound enough to sting and grab your attention, Maria's digits then began to gently explore your nether regions as she tenderly worked her way back up your writhing body to place her lips back over yours.

As the kiss deepened with time and both of your moans filled the room you realized suddenly with blinding clarity that this is what you had been missing.  But it wasn't the sex ... you had missed her.  Running your hands over muscle and bone, the feeling of her warm body molded perfectly to yours as her lips, tongue and fingers touched you in all the ways that made you feel truly alive, this was her gift.  Though you and Maria had known and loved each other for such a short amount of time, hell you'd been apart longer than you'd been together, that time had been well spent finding all the ways that made your bodies reach dizzying heights.  And she was utilizing all those skills now.

Pulling back slightly to allow some much needed air to enter your lungs as her fingers continued to explore your sopping cunt, her lips now nestled by your ear sent a whole new shiver coursing through your body.  "You hear that, don't you cupcake?  Your pussy's so wet and not a drop of lube in sight," she whispered before her tongue slipped out between her lips and slithered around your ear just as her fist completed its entry.

Gasping out both from the feeling of fullness and the delicious sensation her tongue was creating against your ear, you thought she might give you time to adjust but that was not in Maria's playbook.  Kissing a trail down your neck while sucking the odd hickey here and there, you continued to moan beneath her as her fist now began a leisurely thrust within your overstimulated flower.  And still she managed to tease you as your hands left her and latched onto the sheets beneath you.

"Feels good doesn't it cupcake?" she asked between kisses as she eased her fist back just enough to flex her fingers and tickle your insides before closing her fist again and thrusting forwards.  Setting up a gentle rhythm of fisting and tickling, you felt your body approaching the peak that signaled an orgasm but just as you were about to take that leap Maria's hand exited your cunt as she sat up on her calves and you felt her loss all over again.

Whining, bitching and begging now for her to finish what she started and make you come, you now lost all ability to speak as she slotted her head between your legs while the hand that had just about made you combust returned to your pussy.  Entering you again at a now leisurely pace while her lips and tongue engulfed your bundle of nerves, the sucking, biting, licking and stroking would have been enough to send you into the stratosphere if Maria hadn't added the extra stimulation of moving her head at the last possible second to bite into your thigh just as the fingers of both of her hands closed around your clit and nipple and sent wave upon wave of electric pulses careening throughout your body.

Screaming your release for only her ears to hear as one orgasm ended and another began, the sounds of her laughter rang in your ears as you begged her between breaths to ease up and let you recover.  Continuing to work your over sensitive vulva and clitoris as the sounds of your dripping snatch now filled the room, you somehow managed to tap into an unknown reserve of strength just long enough to toss Maria aside and use her distracted state against her.

Pinning her now beneath your trembling legs as her blue eyes lit up with the mischief of a child on Christmas morning, your lips crashed against hers as your hands covered her breasts and began to knead, squeeze and pinch the flesh beneath them.  Now being her turn to lose herself in your skillful ministrations, you would have thought you were doing a good job servicing her until her fingers once more zeroed in on your clit and began to manipulate you all over again.  Determined this time not to let her have her way, you quickly laced your fingers with hers before settling down between her legs and getting to work on her pussy.

Delighted to see how wet it was simply from taking care of you, you swiftly set about eating her out the way she had always loved and as more and more of her juices flooded your mouth and her fingers tightened around yours, the sounds of your coupling filling the room was more than enough to ignite another surge and throw you into the best orgasm you could ever remember having.  And Maria was right there with you.

Working both of your bodies through multiple orgasms as time lost all meaning, those same exhausted, sweaty and well worn out bodies later traveled the short distance to your ensuite where warm water and luxurious bubbles eased away the lingering aches your reunion had created.  Washing each other lovingly before talking through and crying out the past five years that kept both of you apart, you then dried each other off before Maria wandered off to the kitchen to grab some food while you stripped and replaced the bedding.

Sinking then into the newly refreshed bed after a well earned snack, Maria's loving embrace brought a comfort you had never dared imagine you would feel again as her words of love murmured against your ear sent you off to the best night's sleep you'd had in five years with dreams of a rediscovered future stretching out before you.

[thatfanficstuff]

Open Wounds - 13

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x soulmate!Reader

Warnings: um...no

Time passed.

You and your soulmate spent more time together. Went on more dates. And you were happy. You really were. Even if part of you still didn’t trust him completely. Even if part of you was waiting for the day you looked in his eyes and found nothing but the soldier staring back at you.

So you held back. Just a bit. Just enough to guard your heart and keep your head about you. Enough to feel safe and in control.

After a lot of procrastination, you had been making progress repacking the jumbled boxes that held your life with the help of the Avengers. Mainly Bucky, Steve, Nat and Clint. You were wrapping breakables and sorting contents into new boxes labeled by room. Some things you left out, others you tossed or donated. You had no idea you and your dad had so much worthless shit in your apartment. Currently, you were sorting through kitchen utensils while Nat and Clint worked on their own boxes.

The three of you were laughing at some story Clint was telling about his kids when his voice trailed off. “Oh. Oh no.”

You turned to him with wide eyes as you searched for the problem. He looked between the box he’d been sorting and you. He shook his head and stepped back to make room for you.

Your stomach churned as you glanced inside, afraid of whatever he’d found. It took you a moment to realize that that the assorted pieces of plastic and glass had once been your small snow globe collection. A blanket on the bottom of the box seemed to have soaked up all the liquid.

Oh.

For the most part they were cheap plastic with only a couple of nicer ones thrown in. But they had been a tradition with you and Phil. It had started with him bringing back the most bizarre, cheesy snow globe he could find when he traveled without you. When you started traveling together you made a game of which one of you could find the best/worst one. Despite all the traveling your job entailed, the collection was still relatively small. It wasn’t often you got to more besides get off the jet, do your mission and get back on. But that only made the ones you did have all the more precious.

A hand on your shoulder brought you back to the present. You cleared your throat. “Thanks for the help today,” you managed to say. “I need…yeah, I just need a minute.”

You didn’t look at them. You didn’t have to, to know that Nat had to pull Clint from the room. She’d always been good about your space and he’d always been reluctant to leave when you were upset. They left the door open but you didn���t care. There was nothing but storage on this floor and you were unlikely to be disturbed.

Your hands gripped the edges of the box and your shoulders rolled forward as you tried to curl in on yourself in your grief. Despite the time that had passed, your misery over Coulson’s death was still raw. It didn’t take much to drag you back into those dark days that immediately followed the loss.

Hot tears rolled down your cheeks and you left them for a bit. You weren’t entirely sure if they were from grief or anger. The nature of your lives meant that your moments of normalcy were rare. Fury’s tantrum had cost you a little of that and the memories that went with it. Gods, he was such an ass.

“You okay, doll?” The voice coming from the doorway startled you and you were annoyed with yourself that you hadn’t heard him approaching. Sloppy.

You licked your lips tasting the salt from your tears but you didn’t turn to face your soulmate. You didn’t want him here. Not right now when you were already vulnerable. “I thought you were training with Steve.”

There was the shuffle of a step as he moved closer. “I was. Nat came and found me. Only told me you might need me.”

You huffed a laugh. “Yeah, well, she was wrong.”

He didn’t say anything. Just hovered.

You sighed and wiped the tears from your face. “I’m sorry. That was shit of me. This isn’t your fault.”

“S’okay.”

“No, it’s not, Buck.” You turned around and his gaze ran over you. It was clear from his appearance that he’d come straight from training when Nat found him, probably worried about you, and you were acting like a complete bitch. “It’s not okay for me to take my issues out on you. Just…start calling me out on my shit. I don’t people well.”

One side of his mouth curled up in a grin. “Yeah, okay.” He leaned forward to kiss you and you turned at the last moment so he got your cheek instead of your lips. His smile fell and his brow furrowed as he looked you over.

“I’m not in a good place at the moment,” you said by way of explanation without meeting his gaze. You needed space. Time. Someone you didn’t need to put on a front for. You gestured to a box you’d sat aside earlier. “Could you carry that upstairs for me? I’ll take this one.”

The two of you took the boxes up to your bedroom which was still in between Clint and Nat. Bucky had been trying to get you to move into an open room on him and Steve’s floor but you’d resisted thus far.

“I appreciate you coming to check on me but I need to be left alone for the moment. I need some space and I can’t take the hovering right now.” When he said nothing, you added, “I need to make a phone call.”

Bucky hesitated a moment before nodding and leaving, closing the door behind him.

“Jarvis, video call Nick Fury.” You sat on the end of the bed facing the large screen on your wall.

“Of course, miss.”

“Coulson?” Nick said as soon as his face appeared in the screen. It was the first time you’d initiated contact since the day he kicked you out of your apartment. His gaze ran over you and his eye narrowed. “Everything okay?”

“I have a question for you. When you had your minions pack my shit did you order them to be as careless as possible or do they just suck?”

He frowned. “What?”

“Let me simplify it for you, old man.” You tilted the box in his direction so he could see the mess at the bottom.

He sighed and shifted his focus to a file on his desk. “Invoice me for whatever they broke and we’ll reimburse you.”

“What do you suppose a tourist trap snow globe goes for these days?”

His head jerked up and he looked from you to the box as his lips pressed into a tight line but he said nothing.

“Pretty sure it was the whole collection. I mean, that makes sense as they were all displayed together.” You glanced in the box as if you were indifferent to the destruction. “I figure they just tossed them into the box. They must have because these are utterly destroyed.”

Fury remained quiet though you could see the regret that colored his features. The knowledge that he’d pushed this a bit too far.

“It’s like they knew the one thing that it would break my heart to lose.” You wiped a hand across your mouth. “I was giving both of us time. Waiting until we could move past all this shit. But this? I’m not sure I can forgive you for this.”

“Now, let’s—”

“End call.” The screen went black. “Block any incoming calls for me from Fury for the time being. Thanks Jarvis.”

“My pleasure, Miss Coulson.”

You had approximately thirty seconds to process the call before your door flew open and someone lunged at you. You grunted as you were flattened beneath a surprisingly heavy Wade Wilson. “Hey, bestie.”

Your lips twitched. “Hello, Wade.” You shoved at him. “Get off me. You weigh a ton.”

He sat up and gasped as he put a hand to his chest. “Rude.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Got a message from your favorite archer. Figured you could use a distraction.”

You huffed a laugh. “And we all know you are incredibly distracting.”

He hopped to his feet and picked you up before throwing you over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.

“Wade!”

“Yes, princess?”

“Put me down.”

“No.” He swatted your ass then headed for the door.

“Wait,” you said to stop him. “I need that box off the bed.”

He stepped backward until you could reach the item in question. You grabbed it and told him you were good. You hoped he got to wherever he was going quickly because all the blood was rushing to your head.

A short walk and an elevator ride later and you arrived at the main living area. Several of your teammates laughed at your predicament. Wade walked over to the couch and dropped you on top of it. You bounced with a laugh. “Thanks, Wilson.”

“No problem, sweet cheeks.” He dropped into a seat next to you and kissed your forehead.

You leaned into his side as you waited for your head to quit spinning. You tossed the box in your hands over to the blond super soldier. “Catch, Stevie.”

He caught the box easily and turned it in his hands looking it over with a frown.

“It’s dad’s Captain America collection. I thought you’d get a kick out of it.”

Steve smiled as he sat the box on the table in front of him and opened it. He pulled the contents out and examined them one by one. There were comics, pop vinyls, action figures, and other little pieces of memorabilia. “This is quite the collection,” Steve said. “Most of this predates me waking up.”

“Yeah. You were his favorite as a kid. Just be glad I didn’t bring all the shirts and boxer shorts down with me,” you teased, enjoying the blush that colored Steve’s cheeks.

Wade snorted beside you. “Forget Daddy Coulson. Let’s not forget your own extensive collection of Captain America pajamas and undergarments.”

Just when you thought the team leader couldn’t get any redder. Your friends laughed as you elbowed Wade in his ribs. “He’s joking.” Mostly.

Wade shook his head in denial as he said. “Yes. I’m totally joking.”

Your gaze found Bucky out of habit to find him looking unamused on the far side of the room. His attention kept shifting between you and Wade who still had his arm around you. When Bucky caught your eye he lifted one brow in question. You rolled your eyes and pushed yourself up from your seat. You needed something to drink.

You grabbed a bottle of juice from the fridge and turned to find Nat and Clint hovering behind you. You startled slightly at their unexpected closeness. After twisting the lid off your bottle, you took a drink. “Can I help you two with something?”

Nat shifted from foot to foot, making you smile. You stepped forward and pulled her into a quick hug. She wouldn’t settle until she knew you were alright and not pissed at her for fetching Bucky.

Clint ran his gaze over you as the two of you separated. “You okay, kid?”

You shrugged and he immediately looped an arm around your shoulders to pull you into his side. He kissed your temple. A loud scoff sounded from the sitting area and you turned to find Bucky glaring at the three of you with his arms crossed over his chest.

You leaned closer to Clint knowing immediately that was what this little tantrum was about. “Problem, Barnes?”

“I just find it interesting how you claim you don’t want to be bothered, how you just need a little space, I believe is how you put it, and now you’re cuddling with these three and flirting with Steve.”

“Damn,” Sam said with a low whistle and wide eyes.

Barnes stood and gestured angrily with his hands as he continued. “You’ll cuddle and flirt and laugh with anyone but me apparently. I’m your fucking soulmate. Not them.”

You clenched your teeth and motioned for Wade to sit down when he started to intervene.

“I’m trying here, doll, but I’m going nuts, so just tell me why.”

When you didn’t answer, he slammed his metal hand onto the counter causing you to startle. “Why!?”

You stepped forward and slammed your own hands against the granite. “Because they never broke me!”

[cookinguptales]

So now that YTTT is finished and posted and I've had some time to decompress from it, I wanted to talk about one of the central ideas I was playing with in the story. Because, yeah, sure, it was a nandermo love story, but it was really about stagnancy and change and fear and depression and how you can need change, you can crave change, but still find yourself mired in stagnancy.

I've thought a lot about the end of s4, and while I did not like everything about the tail-end of the season, I do think that Guillermo's right about the stagnancy in the household. And while it affects all of them, I think Nandor really is at the heart of it. The others, especially Nadja, are always willing to take on life's new challenges and try new things, but Nandor... he's a tough one.

Nandor is fascinating because he outwardly wants change. He's constantly talking about wanting more from his unending life and is constantly making plans to change his situation. He's looking for a soulmate, he's running the vampiric council, he's getting married, he's traveling the globe, he's joining a cult, etc. etc. etc. But... none of it sticks, y'know? And it never sticks because he never lets it. It's almost as if he purposefully (if subconsciously) sabotages all of these attempts at change because on a deep and cellular level, it scares him. As much as he always plays at change, he always takes it in a direction that's bad for him -- because then he has a reason to retreat back to the relative safety of the quiet nest he's created for himself.

He dates people who aren't good for him, who never ask anything from him because they don't actually care about him. He quits the council because it exhausts him and makes him feel powerless. He goes on a trip not because he actually wants to change but because he's running from his fear of being alone -- which only makes him feel even more alone during his journey. He.... well, he joins a cult. (And I could say a lot about how that very, very unhealthy coping mechanism was the one thing that made him briefly feel happy...)

In some ways, I feel like Nandor's simultaneous craving for and fear of change are a part of the vampiric depression that we see him struggling with throughout the entire series. It mirrors real-life depression, tbh. Change is healthy and you know it, but you keep finding excuses not to do things that you actually want (and need) to do. Oh, I won't do this class because it's too expensive. I won't go on that walk because I'm not really feeling it. I'm going to cancel my dinner plans with that friend because it's raining. And then next thing you know, you've been in your house for a month and you don't feel anything anymore.

Nandor's really stuck in that rut, isn't he? And he recognizes, I think, that he can't go on like this forever. His own feelings of loneliness and hopelessness scare him sometimes. But he's still not fully leaving the house, either. He's making all these plans and he's physically going out, but he's not emotionally leaving the "safe", unchanging space that he's built for himself in this house. He's still emotionally snuggling into that stagnancy.

I think it's telling that Nandor's whole arc with the Djinn in s4 is him constantly making small changes in his life and then smoothing them back over, wishing things back to the way they were in the first place. I think it's telling that he only calmed the fuck down in the finale when both Marwa and Freddie were gone, Colin was back to normal, and Guillermo was no longer threatening to leave him. Everything was back to the way it was before and he could go back to pretending he was okay with that. Stagnancy, while ultimately deeply unhealthy for him, is comfortable and it feels safe and it's very, very easy. He has retreated back to his version of solid ground again even if he'll straight-up die there one day.

And for Guillermo, whose entire driving force is change, who's reinvented himself multiple times in just a few years and who desperately wants to be changed further -- and who, I might add, would probably benefit from slowing down and accepting that some parts of his life (and himself!) are already good -- yeah, I can see how the dawning realization that Nandor is always going to sabotage any attempts at genuine change in his life would upset him. I can see why he'd take drastic measures to change that house. I may not agree with how he's going about it, but... I get it.

Nandor, for all that he spins his wheels without really going anywhere, has changed quite a bit over the past few seasons. And it's always been because of Guillermo. Nandor has resisted most meaningful change in his life, but he has not been able to resist Guillermo. The man is a force of nature. Even as Nandor desperately tries to cling to some sense of normalcy between them, Guillermo just keeps shattering that illusion over and over and over again. Guillermo will not allow Nandor to ignore the way that he has changed, the way Nandor has changed, or the way the dynamic between them has changed. And that's uncomfortable for Nandor, but it's also exciting. Scary, but also exhilarating.

Just look at the The Night Market, y'know? Guillermo is forcing Nandor to face who he really is and what that really means and Nandor is into it, even as his own slipping position scares him. He adores Guillermo's change! But what that means for him... well, that's the part that worries him. And it's the part that he refuses to think about too deeply. (Best... man, indeed.)

With YTTT, I wanted to use a time loop to explore the way that Nandor has been emotionally resistant to change. Making him literally live the same day over and over to make him realize that he's been doing that emotionally for years -- and that he's been forcing Guillermo to do it with him. It's a really fascinating (if frustrating) part of his character and I really, really hope that in canon we start to see him take real, meaningful steps forward. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't (this is a sitcom, after all) but like... man, a girl can hope, right?

Nandor, I am BEGGING you to let Guillermo change your life. You'll both be so much happier!

[telekinetiq]

You dream.

And in this dream you are floating through the air without weight on you. The world around you seems so impossibly immense. It's as if you travel the entire globe somehow, and through each place you go, you see hundreds upon thousands of individual decisions being made. Hundreds of thousands of memories. Hundreds of thousands of reasons.

Pokemon everywhere. You watch the history of each one of them. Every breath, every success.

You watch a bird hatch, and grow up. You watch a little girl grow up, leave home.

And as you pass each one, you end every single connection. Every time your shadow falls upon them, the grotesque and quick way their existences are snuffed out makes your stomach sick.

It's not just people, it's not just monsters, its the land that rots under you.

There is so much information, and the world is infinite. Every single blade of grass lives until you pass, and it dies.

And it dies, and it dies. And you don't.

And you are reminded that no matter the pain, you won't.

You will just watch everything, and everyone pointless spots of existence, die.

There is no point to this, It says, quiet and sad. If you had a sweetheart, you imagine them to sound like this.

But it is all you can do.

And you can't wake up.

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ THIS IS LIFE, AND IT IS BEAUTIFUL. those are the first words you awoke with when you came into this world, full of violence and an inexplicable sorrow.

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ much like your experiences before birth, with a friend who no longer exists and its your fault, you fly around now, like a shade, a ghost among the living— and then they aren't. each time you draw near, seeking connection, and your shadow falls over them, the light leaves their eyes. they fall to the ground, lifeless and hollow.

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ you don't understand. so you try again.

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ they continue to fall, and the trail of bodies grows longer as testament to your destructive purpose. you don't understand. are you really so repulsive, so vile that they would rather drop dead than endure you ? or is out of their hands, a consequence of having had the misfortune of crossing in your path ?

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ as you've heard it said, ' all good things must come to an end. ' that explains why you're still here. it is proven with every soul that shrivels beneath your touch.

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ the trees are no longer alive with birdsong. the flowers no longer grow. the sun no longer shines. all is darkness and all is death, and you are at the center of it, timeless and terrible.

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ this is not a place of honor. no highly-esteemed deed is commemorated here. nothing valued is here. what is here was dangerous and repulsive to us. the danger is to the body, and it can kill.

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ you wanted the truth so badly, but this is the truth and it is ugly, just like you. you represent all the sins and wrongs you wish to purge. you are what you despise in others.

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤyou want to fix this world, but you are what doesn't belong. the rot tells you this. the corpse of the world cries out for mercy— you have none to give.

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL. YOU ARE NOT.

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤin your heart, blackened as it is, you know this. you've always known this. the tears fall, as do the bodies. you've stopped reaching out, but even as you try to stay away, there is no place on Earth safe from you. by some awful accident or cruel fate, you're not sure which, they come to you now. and they die for it. no matter what you do, you can't stop them. you run, and they follow.

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤthey ask you what's wrong, they wonder why you flee— they just want to help, they cry. your pain is their pain, until it isn't. until they don't feel pain anymore, and you're left with their lot of it. it grows, and it grows, and it grows. you can't stop it. you can't wake up.

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤterrible things happen to good people every day. ㅤ ㅤ ㅤconsequentially, you are not one of the good people.

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤyou are one of the terrible things.

[ereardon]

Friends Don't || Chapter 6

Summary: Bob Floyd has been your best friend for almost a decade, ever since he quietly agreed to tutor you in college. The two of you have spent years chasing each other around the globe – Bob as a WSO, you as a travel blogger. You’ve always been the anywhere-but-here girl, and he’s been your rock. But when a surprise diagnosis threatens to crumble your picture-perfect life, you’re on the first flight back to San Diego, desperate to put down roots for the first time. Will Bob finally have it in him to admit that you could be the love of his life? What will he say when he finds out the secret you’ve been skillfully hiding from him? Or worse, what if he doesn’t find out until it’s too late? 

Pairing: Robert “Bob” Floyd x OC [Reid] 

Tropes: Friends to lovers

Warnings: Cursing, angst, mention of doctors and illness, fighting, hospitals, OBGYN scene

WC: 3.4K

Series masterlist here; previous chapter here; next chapter here

By the time you were nine, you had met so many “friends” of your mother’s that you stopped listening to their names, if they even bothered to acknowledge you at all. Somehow they all showed up in various stages of dress in the kitchen when you were eating your breakfast before school. There were the ones that wore only tattered boxers and wife beater tanks. There was the one who actually stole the toast you were making on his way out the door. There was the one who sat down with you and did the crossword and asked how old you were and what your name was, only to never be seen again. 

Mostly, they were simply ghosts. There for a moment, gone the next. That was how your mother liked them. Practically useless and only for one night.

You told yourself that you wouldn’t turn out like her. You studied and you left that tiny slice of hell in Appalachia and you never looked back. You went to college. You met Bob. You got a job. You traveled anywhere and everywhere they would send you at the drop of a hat.  

And yet, somehow you had turned out just like her. You might be sitting in a bedroom in San Diego near the beach. But a thousand miles away, in a house with a cracked roof, your mother was sitting in a room not too dissimilar from the one you were in, fighting the same demons.

You had promised yourself you wouldn’t live the way she did. That you wouldn’t sabotage any chance of happiness because you were too scared to keep someone around long enough for them to realize you had nothing to offer except your body. 

***

You weren’t sure where to go. 

You had given up your Brooklyn apartment. Going home wasn’t an option. You hadn’t been back there in more than five years. 

Usually, when you weren’t sure where to go, the first thing you did was call Bob. 

That was no longer an option. 

He left two days after the fight for a three week mission. The two of you stood in the foyer, looking at each other. You had only been there for one deployment, early in his career. You remember sitting on the steps of Bob’s Newport apartment and crying so hard when he left that someone shouted at you from an upstairs window to shut up. 

Bob was wearing his green flight suit, his bags packed into his truck. He had on a pair of aviator sunglasses, so you couldn’t see his familiar blue eyes. But even without being able to see his eyes, you knew what he was thinking. With Bob, you always knew. 

“I’ll see you when I get back,” Bob said quietly, one hand on the door handle. 

You looked at him. “I won’t be here.” 

“Honey,” he whispered softly. “Please, let’s not be like this.” 

“Be safe,” you said, stepping forward, pressing your lips to his soft, familiar cheek. Bob’s hand found your waist naturally, fingers tightening, continuing to hold you even when you pulled back. 

“Always,” he murmured. 

You took a step back, Bob’s hand falling from your waist down to his side. 

He looked at you, dejected. “I love you, Reid. I’ll talk to you soon, OK?” 

You nodded. “You should get going. Or else the boat might leave without you.” 

Bob pulled open the door, giving you one last look, before heading out down the steps toward his truck. 

You pressed the door shut, sliding down against the wood, your butt slamming down onto the floor. You couldn’t bear to watch him drive away. 

***

“It’s a good thing you’re getting this checked out,” the doctor said, rolling on her stool to the shelf on her right, pulling on a pair of gloves. “Always better to be safe.” 

You laid back on the exam table, bare legs shaky in the stirrups. 

“Can you scoot down for me please?” she asked and you wiggled down toward the end of the table, feeling the thin waxy paper beneath you tugging, threatening to rip. “Perfect.” 

You stopped, feeling the air hit your exposed center. 

“Going to feel a pinch,” she said and you closed your eyes, feeling the metal of the speculum as it spread you open. You cursed whoever invented it in your head silently. You had always thought it looked like some kind of demonic shoe stretcher. 

For a few moments, the room was silent. And then there was blinding, searing pain as she punched a hole in your literal cervix. You gasped.

“OK, you can sit up,” she said. “I’m going to send this off to pathology. I’ll give you a call when the test results come in.” The doctor leaned forward, putting her hand on yours. Somehow in between cutting out a piece of your internal flesh and bagging it for the lab she had managed to peel off her soiled gloves. “Do your best not to worry, OK? Not until we get the results. Most of the time, symptoms like this are nothing to be concerned about.” 

You nodded and she left the room, leaving you to dig your panties out from the pile of clothing on the chair. 

A week later, your phone rang. You were sitting at a cafe in Dumbo when Mount Sinai’s contact flashed on the small screen. 

You lifted the phone to your ear. “Hello?” 

“Ms. Coleman?” There was a pause on the other end of the line. “The doctor was hoping you could come in today to discuss the results of your biopsy.” 

You frowned. “Today? Is that bad?” 

There was another pause. “We’re open until six. It’s important that you come today.” 

You agreed, ending the call with a shaky hand and putting the phone face-down on the wooden table. 

The first thing that popped into your head was how devastated Bob was going to be when you told him. 

***

The house was quiet. Bradley called three times. Once when they first got to the location, which he couldn’t tell you about. A second time at the end of the first week. A third time in the middle of the second week. Each time, he gave you a verbal update on how Bob was doing. 

Each time, you left the call feeling worse. 

Your things were packed. You had a lead from a former colleague on a beach house in Santa Barbara. One thing about moving to San Diego was it had reminded you of how much you liked California. 

You had just gotten home from pilates, wearing a cropped sports bra and a pair of matching biker shorts when your phone rang. You dug around in your purse that sat slumped on the countertop. 

“Shit, shit,” you muttered, digging in the endless depths of the bag. “Finally.” You pulled it out and swiped right without looking at the caller ID. 

“Hello?” 

“Reid?” It was Bradley. 

“Hey,” you said, leaning down and putting it on speaker phone as you unloaded the bag of groceries on the counter. “How’s it going?” 

“Reid, honey, there’s been an accident.” 

You froze. The blood rushing through your veins stopped. Your fingers dug into the countertop, keeping you standing. 

“Reid, are you there?” 

You felt your breath catch in your throat. “I’m here.” 

“We’re at the hospital on base,” Bradley said quietly. “You should come.” 

A tear slid down your cheek. “Can I talk to him?” 

“I’ll explain when you get here,” Bradley replied. 

“Is he OK?” 

There was a pause. You could hear commotion in the background. “Reid?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Come now.” 

You burst through the hospital doors. Everywhere you turned, there were people in Navy uniforms. Doctors in scrubs. Nurses with frowns on their faces. You felt like your lungs were on fire. You weren’t sure where you had parked, or if you had run every red light between Bob’s house and the hospital and you were only vaguely aware that you had forgotten to put on a sweater so you were running across the linoleum floor in a pair of Hokas and a tiny blue sports bra. 

“How can I help you?” A nurse looked up at you from where she sat at a curved desk. 

“Lieutenant Robert Floyd.” The words spilled out of your mouth in an avalanche. 

“Relation?” 

What were you to Bob? Best friend? Roommate? Family? The girl whose bed he sometimes slept in? You grimaced. “I’m his emergency contact.” 

The nurse nodded, clicking her mouse. “Lieutenant Floyd was brought in an hour ago. He’s in critical care.” She looked up. “You can wait in the waiting room at the end of the hall.” 

“Is he, is he OK?” you asked, voice shaking. 

The nurse gave you a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, the doctor will have to walk you through Lieutenant Floyd’s injuries, ma’am. Just take a seat. Someone will be out shortly to update you.” 

She pointed down the hall toward a room that was encased in glass walls. You floated down the hallway, opening the door and struggling with its weight. 

A tanned arm pulled it open and you looked up. 

Bradley. 

You were in his arms in an instant. The familiar pink peppercorn smell, mixed with jet fuel, flooding your nose. He was everywhere, all at once. But you still felt empty, even in his embrace. 

He pulled back, his handsome face drawn and tired. 

“Come here,” he whispered, steering you by the shoulders to a nearby chair. You watched as five pairs of eyes landed on you. Phoenix. Hangman. Fanboy. Payback. And an unfamiliar aviator. He was older than the rest, and shorter. But he had an air of importance around him. Wisdom. “This is Mav,” Bradley said, watching your eyes as you fixated on the additional person in the group. “He’s our team leader.” 

“And Rooster’s uncle,” Fanboy chipped in. 

“I didn’t know you had an uncle,” you murmured. 

Bradley gave you a thin smile. “Lots we still don’t know about each other sweetheart. That’s OK.” 

“Have you seen him?” you asked, craning your neck around, looking at the room. It was just the seven of you in a corner. 

They shook their heads. Phoenix laid one hand on your knee. “Reid. He’s going to get through this.” 

“I didn’t say it,” you whispered. “I was mad, so I didn’t say it.” 

“Say what?” 

“He said he loved me before he left. We always say I love you before he leaves.” A tear tumbled down your cheek. “And this time, I was mad. I was trying to prove a point. So when he said it, I didn’t say it back.” You put your head in your hands. “What if I don’t get the chance to tell him?” 

Phoenix squeezed your knee. “You’ll get the chance.” 

“Family of Lieutenant Robert Floyd?”

Seven pairs of eyes turned to the doctor standing in the doorway. You stood up, Bradley hovering next to you like you were about to fall. “Yes.” Your voice was thin, weak. 

The doctor nodded. “Come this way ma’am.” 

You looked around. 

“Do you want us to come with you?” Jake asked quietly. 

You shook your head. “No, um, I think I need to go alone.” 

Bradley squeezed your bare arm. “We’ll be right here, OK?” 

You nodded, following the doctor out of the room and into the hallway. The doctor led you down a winding hallway, the flickering overhead lights adding to the surrealism that you felt in that moment. 

He paused outside of a closed door. “Lieutenant Floyd sustained a brain injury from the accident,” he said. You gasped. “We won’t know the extent until he wakes up.” 

“So he’s in a coma?” you asked. 

The doctor nodded. “He has a broken leg, he came in with a collapsed lung, and he’s currently in a coma.” 

“Oh, my God,” you whispered. 

He turned the handle to the door. “I’ll leave you with him.” 

Inside the room was dim. You stepped forward. Bob laid on the hospital bed in the middle of the room. He looked small. He was so tall, and you always saw him as so strong. But there, in the bed, he looked feeble. 

He looked the way you felt inside. 

His glasses sat perched on the rolling table next to the window. You picked them up. There was a small crack on one of the lenses. 

The room was quiet, save for the machines. This time there was no intubation, just a tangle of IVs and a heart monitor. You sat down on the edge of the bed, smoothing your hand over his hair softly, running your finger down his cheek. 

“I love you, too,” you whispered. “I’m sorry I didn’t say it before. I was holding out because I was mad, and that was wrong of me. I don’t know if you know this, Bobby, but I’m kind of a bitch.” 

No response. You hadn’t expected one, but the reality that he was there, but he also wasn’t, was difficult to wrap your head around. 

You kicked off your shoes, and gently eased onto the bed, curling yourself around Bob’s side, careful to make sure that all of the IV wires were on the opposite side. You slung one arm across his abdomen, resting your head on his upper arm. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to happen,” you whispered. “You’re the one who sticks around, Bobby. You’re the dependable one, remember? I need you.” You squeezed your eyes shut, tears spilling out, soaking the coarse white cotton sheets between your body and Bob’s. “I fucking need you, honey. Now more than ever.” 

You didn’t even realize you had fallen asleep until you heard voices whispering around you. You opened your eyes in a small sliver. Jake, Phoenix and Bradley stood near the doorway in a huddle, whispering in hushed tones. 

“We can’t let her stay here like that,” Phoenix said. “She’s gotta go home. Shower. Eat. It’s not healthy.” 

“Just leave her be,” Jake said and both aviators turned to him in surprise. “What? I’m a nice person. Besides, what harm could it do to leave her another hour? Doctor said he could wake up any minute. How do you think he would feel if he wakes up and she’s not here?” 

“Seresin is right.” This time, Phoenix turned to Bradley in shock. “Floyd would tear this entire place apart if he woke up and she wasn’t next to him. I’ll go to their house and get her some stuff. Change of clothes. Something to eat. I’m sure the nurses will get a cot or something.” 

“His glasses.” 

The three of them turned. You had your eyes open, but they were focused on nothing. Just staring, blankly, at the wall. 

“He needs his spare glasses. He keeps them in the top drawer of his bathroom. Green case.” 

Bradley stepped closer, approaching the side of the bed. He reached out with one hand, touching your shoulder, and you moved away on instinct, crawling closer to Bob, practically laying yourself on top of him. 

Bradley retreated. 

“OK, honey. I’ll get his glasses.” 

“And a book,” you whispered. “Whatever is on his nightstand.” 

Bradley nodded. “What can I get you?” 

You closed your eyes. “I don’t want anything.” 

“Reid—”

“No,” you snapped. “Just leave. Please. I want to be alone with Bobby.” 

You heard footsteps and the door closing and you opened your eyes, expecting peace. But Jake Seresin sat in a chair on the opposite side of the bed, one ankle crossed over the other knee. 

You rolled your eyes. “Leave, Hangman.” 

“He’s my friend, too,” Jake said. 

“You pick on him. He told me.” 

Jake nodded. “Yeah. And I’m sorry about that. Just like I know you’re sorry about the fact that you two were fighting before we left.” 

You sat up. “How did you know about that?” 

“Floyd over here told me.” 

“Why would he tell you that?” 

“Because we’re friends,” Jake said. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you.” 

You looked down at Bob, brushing your fingers over his forearm, slipping your fingers into his. “Does he hate me?” 

“He couldn’t hate you if he tried.” 

A salty stream of tears started to fall and you didn’t even bother to try and stop them. “I hate myself right now.” 

“That’s not what he wanted.” 

You blinked before raising your eyes to Jake. For the first time, he looked genuine. Like he truly, actually cared about the conversation the two of you were having. 

“He wanted to take it back.” 

“Take what back?” 

“Telling you to leave.” 

You shook your head. “You’re just trying to make me feel better.” Jake smiled. “Does that seem like something I would do?” 

You looked at him, and despite everything, found yourself smiling along. “No, I guess not.” 

Jake stood up. “He’s going to be OK.” He approached the bed, and to your surprise, patted Bob’s unresponsive shoulder in a familiar, friendly way. “See you later, Floyd. Don’t make your girl here wait too long for you to wake up.” He smiled down at you and then he was gone, slipping out the door into the hallway and it was just you and Bob in the stillness of the hospital room, the quiet hum of machines, the sterile smell in the air. 

You laid back down, head on the pillow near Bob’s, fingers trailing softly across his arm and chest. “I miss the way things used to be,” you whispered to him. “It was so much more simple when it was just you and me. Back in college. Before you left for the Navy.” You sighed, tracing your fingers up through his hair. “Before I fucked everything up.” 

It was quiet. Too quiet. You missed the soft way that Bob snored in his sleep. You missed the way he hummed along as you were talking, small reassurances. You missed his goofy, crooked smile. You missed the way he held your hand sometimes when you drove long distances together, content in the silence. 

You missed him, even though he was right beneath your fingertips. 

***

Jake stepped into the elevator, pushing his hands into his pockets. It had been a day and a half since Bob was admitted. Everyone had gone home at some point except for you. Last time Jake checked, you were asleep on the cot that a nurse had rolled into Bob’s room. 

He wasn’t paying attention, so when the elevator doors opened, Jake stepped forward, only to find himself face to face with you. 

“Shit,” he said, blinking. “Sorry. Is this the fifth floor?” 

You frowned and stepped inside. “Going to see Bob?” you asked, ignoring his question, pressing the five button for the fifth floor. 

Jake looked out as the doors slowly closed. It was an unfamiliar floor, with a different layout than where they had Bob. 

There was a small plaque sign on the wall in front of the elevator banks. 

Oncology. 

He turned to you. “What were you doing on that floor?” 

You shrugged. “Went looking for better coffee. Thought there might be a cart or something.” 

You kept your eyes turned straight ahead. Jake’s eyes roamed over your body, stopping at your hand where it was shaking next to your thigh. 

The door dinged and opened. You glared at him. “What are you looking at?” you snapped, stepping out onto the fifth floor. 

Jake followed you out into the hallway, heading for the waiting room. Phoenix and Bradley were huddled in the corner, deep in conversation. You were about to reach for the glass door when Jake’s arm caught yours. 

You whipped around. “Hangman? What the fuck?” 

“Why were you really on the oncology floor?” he whispered. 

You shrugged his hand off. “Like I said, I was looking for coffee.” 

“I don’t believe you.” 

“And you think I care whether or not you believe me?” You scoffed at him, opening the glass door. Bradley and Phoenix looked up. Bradley stood up and gathered you into a hug and you melted into him. “Any update?” you asked. 

Phoenix shook her head. “Not yet.” 

The glass door skidded open and all eyes turned. A tall doctor in blue scrubs looked around. “Reid Coleman?” 

You dropped your arms from where you had been holding Bradley and turned, tension filling every crevice in your body. “That’s me.” 

The doctor smiled. “Lieutenant Floyd is asking for you.” 

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[spellbook-gayboy]

Cape-Watch Monthly Bulletin- April 2023

Hey, y’all! This is your host, Christina Cabello, welcoming all of you back to another Cape-Watch Monthly Bulletin! April may have the day of fools, but it also brings many new challenges for our favourite heroes, some of which are detailed under the cut!

Far-Flung Future Fighters

Our first story marks the second time that the world has been made aware of the superhero group known as The Guardians of the Cosmos, the self-proclaimed ‘greatest heroes of the 31st century’, a group of humanoid superheroes who last appeared in mid-February to whisk away the Guardians of the Globe on a still unknown mission to their time. In the two months since their last appearance, very little information has been learned about this mysterious group, leading some to wonder if their claims are indeed true, and that they are time travellers from some far-off future Earth. 

This time, however, the group did not require the aid of any present heroes. They suddenly appeared in downtown Singapore, hot on the heels of some sort of large reptilian creature that was busy wreaking havoc on the city-state. From what staff at the newspaper that spoke Malay and Mandarin were able to translate from local social media posts about the incidents, it seems that several members of the group were also present when the Guardians disappeared for three weeks. 

Naturally, this reappearance has sparked a social media frenzy around them, which was only fuelled by the bevy of new information that was learned. For example, we now know several of their names, such as Robot 10 (perhaps a descendant of the current Robot), Miss Viltrum, Gigantic Lad, Magna-Boy, Madame Mist and Bow-Bot. While perhaps a touch more generic than the aliases we in the present are used to, their skills speak for themselves: the group managed to subdue the wild creature, which they call a ‘Blorfkorl’, in a matter of minutes, before vanishing almost as quickly as they appeared. 

So yeah, one of those stories. 

Prison Break

Our next story is definitely a cause for concern. Last week, the government supermax prison known as Stronghold Penitentiary was breached by the earth-shattering supervillain Doc Seismic, which caused the impromptu release of some of America’s most notorious superpowered criminals. The total number of escapees is still unknown, but from this statement by US government liaison Peter Schlottman, it’s not looking good:

‘I won’t sugar-coat this: this breakout has the potential to be one of the greatest national security crises that the US has experienced since the Cold War. As we speak, all available police and military are being placed on standby in the event of a major supervillain attack near Chicago or any other densely populated. Under the advice of a special counsel, the Governor of Illinois has decided to temporarily enforce martial law upon the state until this issue can be safely resolved. We have also mobilised every available superhero into the efforts to locate and recapture the escaped villains. In the meantime, I wish for the public to know that we will not rest until they can sleep soundly once again.’

Some of the most notable names among the many escaped villains include members of the infamous Order, such as the gargantuan Octoboss, who made his escape with the assistance with several of his Squidmen minions, as well as the Irish crime lord Slaying Mantis, who is expected to make an attempt to get back to his home country. A more surprising escapee is the pernicious performer Orchestro, who used his hypnotic singing voice to coral several other villains into helping him. Look out for that one, California.

A Field Day for Monsterfuckers

And for our last story... I’m sure you can guess who this is about from the title. 

For those of you who are still in the dark, I refer of course to the Californian mystic Magic Man. Ever since his reveal of his demonic heritage and the many abilities that come along with that fact, the hero has proven a favourite with those among us who prefer romantic with less than perfectly humanoid physiques. Over the past few months alone, multiple pictures have surfaced of the San Diego Sorcerer displaying many demonic traits, from elongated fangs and a pair of what appear to be ram horns to a long spiked tail and even a large pair of flaming wings. Points for creativity.

Another vocal supporter of Magic Man’s powers of transformation is none other than Multi-Paul, his boyfriend. When asked about his love life, the former teen hero had this to say:

‘Oh, I am living the dream! I mean, ever since I watched Gargoyles as a kid, I’ve been into that kind of stuff! And now I’m living with a guy who can do all that plus magic? You’ll get no complaints from me!’

The most recent event to send this specific internet subculture into a frenzy, however, happened a little over two weeks ago, when Magic Man fought against the stage magic themed villainess known as Miss Direction. In response to her summoning a giant snake from a playing card, the wizard decided to transform himself into what can only be described as a full-blown demon, complete with razor-sharp teeth, a pair of sturdy goat-like hooves, and colossal flaming angel wings. After dispatching the large reptile and defeating Miss Direction, he chose to keep up the new form, flying off instead of teleporting as he usually does. Needless to say, the internet was into that. 

And that’s all for this month, folks! Once more, a big thanks to our sponsors, who keep the lights on around here! Also, a fair warning: due to some hectic assignments I’ve been given, I might not have the time to get the May or June editions out, so bear that in mind! And finally, always remember to stay safe, stay hydrated, and tune in next time for more of the biggest superhero stories around!

[news4dzhozhar]

Plymouth couple told they can leave Gaza — but not their kids

A Plymouth, MA family that has been trapped in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war began is still inside the enclave, after being told at a border crossing that the children would not be allowed through to Egypt.

Hazem Shafai, 47, Sanaa Shafai, 36, and their children, Seera, 13, Yomna, 10, and Jaser, 2, had already been turned away at the Rafah Crossing at the Egyptian border with Gaza multiple times over the past few weeks. Diplomatic talks produced a breakthrough earlier this week, allowing injured Palestinians and foreign nationals to escape the war zone. 

So the Shafai family traveled to the crossing again Thursday but “they were expected to leave the children behind,” Hazem’s brother Hani Shafai told The Boston Globe. 

According to Hani, Hazem and Sanaa’s names were on a list of people who would be allowed to enter Egypt, but their children’s names were not. They made the decision to return to the place where they had been sheltering. 

The fact that the children were not given safe passage baffled the family. 

“Nobody is going to just leave a 2-year-old, a 10-year-old, and a 13-year-old behind,” Hani told the Globe. “These kids were born in the U.S., they’re citizens just like everyone else, to say ‘leave them behind’ is just inhumane.”

Another Massachusetts family, also with a young child, was allowed to leave Gaza Thursday morning. Medway residents Abood Okal; his wife, Wafaa Abuzayda; and their 1-year-old son are now safely in Egypt, planning a way to return home. An attorney and family friend of theirs, Sammy Nabulsi, shared some details of how the border crossing process works. Nabulsi had been advocating for the Okal family and other U.S. residents to be let through the crossing. 

There are two lists of people who are allowed through, Nabulsi told the Globe. One is maintained by U.S. State Department officials and the other by Palestinian officials. It is Nabulsi’s understanding that those looking to escape must be on both lists, and that the Palestinian list is subject to frequent changes. 

The children’s names were apparently not on both lists, forcing the Shafai family to head back into Gaza and hope that the situation changes in the future. They are in touch with the U.S. Embassy, the State Department, and congressional representatives to coordinate an exit plan, the Globe reported. 

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to spiral out of control, even with a slow trickle of aid now allowed in from Egypt. The Okal family described staying inside for days on end, surviving off canned goods and, occasionally, saltwater as bombs rained down outside. 

The Shafai family has also had trouble getting clean drinking water, Hani told the Globe. Dehydrated already, their situation was made worse when many of them contracted the flu last weekend. Most of them have recovered, but 2-year-old Jaser still has a fever and is throwing up. While he works to care for his family, Hazem is also on the hunt for desperately needed diabetes medication. 

Palestinian officials released a list of almost 600 people that were approved to leave on Thursday, Reuters reported. Those names were all checked by Israel, with the country reportedly vetting lists to make sure no Hamas fighters escape. Residents of Belgium, Greece, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands and more were included on the list. But many others were turned away, despite having valid passports. 

Egyptian national Ghada el-Saka told Reuters that she was visiting relatives in Gaza when the war broke out. She and her daughter wept in frustration at the Gaza side of the Rafah Crossing Thursday after being told that they could not cross. 

“Why are you leaving us in this destruction? We’ve seen death with our own eyes,” she said, according to Reuters. “I want to pass. We are not animals. I have Egyptian rights, we are Egyptian.”