#ugh not sure how i feel about this movie and not really looking forward to it

[lustspren]

La notte delle rose nere. ft Mina & Sana

length: 10.5k words ✦

Mina, Sana, Male Character & Male Reader.

genres:  sub! Mina, anal, hard sex, foursome, spitroast, DP, blowjob, squirt, oral sex, lesbian, voyeur, creampie, public sex, facefuck, facial, slight daddy kink✧ 

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The day had begun peacefully for you, it was Saturday, and you had gotten up early to go to the supermarket to do the month's shopping. The week was somewhat exhausting at your job, as was every week that coincided with a nominal payment, paperwork, paperwork and more paperwork, especially considering that you were the human resource’s director, but luckily everything went as expected, and right now you had no other concern than spending a nice weekend with the girl you loved the most in the hole world.

"Honey! I made a list of things we should take home, I don't know what you think," said a sweet little voice behind you as you walked into an aisle with the shopping cart still empty, you turned your body, walking now sideways so you could see her.

"Oh yeah?" you smiled seeing the enthusiasm on her face, "let me see, sweetie," she handed you a small notebook, in which the list was written, it caught your attention that it was perfectly colored and decorated.

"Well? What do you think?" she asked shyly, her hands clasped on her belly as she played with her fingers.

"Do we really need that much ice cream?" you raised both eyebrows, "and snacks?"

"Hmm, yeah?" she tilted her head, looking at you with tender eyes and blinking several times. You took a few long seconds to ‘think about it’, you even narrowed your eyes, but in the end her tenderness overcame you.

"Ugh, that's cheating, you know? But okay, you win," you stopped, only to place a small kiss on her lips, which brought a smile to her face.

Myoui Mina looked as radiant and beautiful as ever, she was a girl with simple tastes, delicate, elegant, and above all, a tender and shy person. She was wearing a purple cotton shirt, baggy jeans and her cream-colored clutch, a basic outfit, but one that she knew how to wear perfectly with her charms.

It hadn't been an easy process to get to where you two were now. You had met about three years ago when you arrived in Rome, your friends were practically non-existent there, but even so you decided to go to the cinema to see a movie you had been waiting for a long time, coincidentally, she was going to the same movie as you, accompanied with a small group of two other friends, Minatozaki Sana, and the architect of everything, Hirai Momo.

Momo was responsible for welcoming you between them. She and Sana made you feel comfortable throughout the night, they were fun, kind, and above all, exaggeratedly beautiful, but despite that, neither of them caught your attention as much as Mina did. She was quiet all night, enjoying the movie and later your conversations, laughing, nodding, and speaking only when someone asked her something or involved her, but strangely enough, her reserved, delicate and pretty aura made you fall in love from the first moment.

You exchanged numbers with all of them that night, but the only one you started talking to every day was her. The months passed, and the connection between you was formed every day until you began to forge a special bond, she was very attentive, kind and nice to you, and you made sure to reciprocate all those good feelings. It was clear that you  liked each other, but neither of you managed to take that small step forward. You asked Sana for advice for many days, meditating on what would be the best way to declare yourself, but absolutely everything terrified you. The day had arrived, and you two had met in a small cafe north of the city, the conversation was difficult for you to carry, but you ended up telling her, with a long talk explaining your feelings for her included. Lucky for you, the feeling was reciprocated, and the two of you had a very nice date that day, but anyway, things didn't become official until months later, when at the most special and fun birthday party you've ever had your life, you two kissed in your room, completely alone, while Angel by Aerosmith was playing outside.

Since then your relationship hasn't changed much, she was your girlfriend now, but everything was exactly the same, with the difference that things were much more special for both of you, and you could express your love for each other in any way you wanted. You were very happy with her, and you could tell how happy she was with you, everything was perfect.

"Oh, you said you wanted a box of tea sachets, right?" you remembered, when you were passing by in front of the shelf. The cart was already half full, and a few things were missing.

"Yes! White tea," she grabbed the box of tea and dropped it on the cart, just at that moment, you and Mina received a message on your phones at the same time.

"Huh?" you took out your phone at the same time as Mina, and then you exchanged glances when you saw who the message was from.

"God, I really can't believe she's going to do it for real," she said, looking back at her phone.

"What? What thing?" You looked down at the screen, opened the message, and saw the photo she had sent you. It was an invitation to a masquerade party, too well designed in your opinion, but suspiciously worded, "did you know about this?"

"Yes, she's been planning this all month, but she didn't want to give me too many details," she put her phone in her back pocket, "what is she supposed to mean by 'a perfect night to unleash all your instincts and carnal urges'?"

"I can get an idea, but I don't want to jump to conclusions..." you replied, staring into space and touching the inside of your cheek with your tongue, "shall we go?" you turned to see her.

"You want to go?"

"I don't know, do you want to?"

"I want to go if you want to go, silly."

You looked at nothing again, but this time thinking very carefully about what decision to make, going meant taking a big risk, you didn't know what you were going to get into, and especially what you were going to get her into, but hell, no you could miss out on a potentially amazing night.

"Okay, we'll go, but that doesn't mean I'm not dying of anxiety right now."

"I know, I feel the same way," she sighed, as she looked at the products in the shopping cart, "let's finish getting everything and go home honey."

You nodded, and then set off again with the cart.

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1 week later.

The week went by much faster than you could have imagined, this was a product of the anxiety that still caused you to think about what could happen in a few hours. You and Mina bought clothes exclusively for the occasion, with nice accessories and masks included, of course, and everything was ready to go, but the feeling that you were walking into the lion's den didn’t go away even if you tried to suppress it.

You saw yourself in the mirror for a few long seconds, analyzing every possible angle; you had opted for the easy option: pants, jacket, shirt, tie, and shoes, all black.

"Oh my gosh!" Mina exclaimed as she came out of the bedroom hallway, "Darling, you look amazing! And so handsome," she smiled at you, as she looked you up and down.

You turned to meet her gaze, but yours quickly shifted to the rest of her body; Mina definitely had a fashion sense far superior to yours, you could tell by the spectacular choice of dress that she had made; it was a short, long-sleeved black dress with protruding shoulder pads and a silver-trimmed belt that encircled her waist. You looked entranced by how beautiful her body looked, but that wasn't the only thing that caught your eye.

"Baby, do you have hair extensions on?" you asked innocently, taking a few steps towards her with a smile.

"Do you like it?" she cocked her head from side to side to show you the full length of her hair now perfectly ironed and styled.

"God, you're going to be the most beautiful girl in the place, I'm not even exaggerating," you took her by the waist and brought her closer to your body, to gave her a small peck on the lips, "hey, we have to go, the party started at 9 and it's almost 10 o'clock."

"Let's go then!"

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All the way you couldn't do anything but wonder how the hell Momo had managed to rent a villa in Olgiata, one of the most prestigious areas in all of Italy, you knew the place only from photos, and you never thought that you could visit it one day, but it was a truly beautiful territory, no matter which way you looked, there were meadows adorned with beautiful houses and vineyards that, despite being at night, completely dazzled the landscape.

"Damn, do you have any idea how much the cheapest parcel should cost?" you said, one hand on the wheel and the other on Mina's hand.

"I don't know, but I'm concerned about the means by which Momo got a place here," she replied, looking out the window.

"Her parents?"

"She doesn't keep in touch with any of them, bad relationship I guess," she sighed.

"Oh… that sucks."

"But," she continued, turning to look at you, "she loves her sister, who does have a good relationship with her parents."

"Do you think she got it for her?"

"Who knows, I know her father is a wealthy businessman here in Italy, but nothing else," she shrugged.

"Well, great," you looked straight ahead, when a few meters ahead you saw the villa whose address was written on the invitation, "it's here, put on your mask."

When you parked next to all the cars lined up along the narrow road and turned off the car, the first thing you noticed was, of course, the blaring music coming from inside. The villa was surrounded by tall, perfectly trimmed bushes, and adorned on the inside by some tall trees.

"Well here we go, are you ready?" you said, after putting on the mask and turning to look at her, "wow, that mask really enhances your eyes, you look like a... what do they call it here in Italy? Oh yeah, un cigno nero."

"A black swan, huh?" she giggled, "alright, I'll act like it then, come on."

You and Mina got out of the car and went to the sidewalk, skirted the bushes and found the entrance to the villa, which consisted of a couple of stone steps that led to a small roundabout with a tree in the middle, it was there when you both could see in all its splendor the spectacular mansion that stood a few meters from the garden through which you were entering.

"This is amazing, what the fuck..." you said, genuinely impressed.

The two-story house had a beautiful Mediterranean architecture, which immediately reminded you of a Renaissance painting that you could perfectly see in a museum, only with a slight contemporary touch that achieved a perfect balance between historical eras.

You walked with Mina down the stone path, past a circular pool and a few ornamental pieces placed at random spots in the garden. She held your hand, and despite the fact that before she seemed confident, you could see out of the corner of your eye how she saw the place like a little scared puppy.

"What? Why are all the windows covered?" Mina pointed with her finger.

You hadn't noticed it at first, but she was right, all the windows were covered from the inside with what seemed to be black curtains, you had never seen such a thing in the house where a party was taking place.

"Okay, this is beyond suspicious, it's strange and creepy," you said somewhat worried, letting out a sigh. Mina squeezed your hand harder, while you stood in front of the double doors.

You took a few seconds to take a deep breath and try to calm your nerves, and finally you rang the bell; long seconds passed, but no one opened, so you decided to ring the bell a second time, another long seconds passed, until the doors were opened wide by a voluptuous sexy woman. Hirai Momo herself, wearing a long-sleeved red dress made of fine silk, it was long, but had a side slit that allowed her to fully show off her creamy toned left leg.

"Damn! You guys are arriving so late, I thought you wouldn't come," she said smiling while biting her lower lip a little.

"Can you explain to us why the windows are boarded up and how you got this place?" Mina asked without even saying hello, she wasn't upset, but she was really puzzled.

"Oh come on, relax princess, I'll answer all your questions, but let's move on first," she replied, as she only gave you a quick wink before turning around for the two of you to follow her.

"Gosh, really, this girl," Mina snorted.

"Calm down honey, come on," you took the lead and walked in with her, closing the doors behind you. You three were in a corridor that led to a second and this time the final entrance, Momo standing in front of it waiting for you. The crystals blurred what was happening behind, but you saw movement, a lot of movement... and skin.

"Momo... what's going on-" Mina started, but Momo interrupted her.

"Honey, there won't be anything you haven't seen before, it'll just be a little… ingrandito" she turned her back on you, and opened the door to reveal what was going on inside. 

Ingrandito meant magnified. And it certainly was.

It was a sex party.

In front of your eyes was what you thought was the most bizarrely lascivious scene you could witness in your entire life, there was no other way to say it, there were people fucking everywhere, many completely naked and with only the mask on, and others with different items of clothing still on their bodies, but after all they all had the same thing in common. You had no idea where to look, since naked people weren't just fucking and that's it, they were also walking freely around, chatting or dancing. Of course, not everyone was completely or half naked, there were people still dressed, just enjoying the scene, among them you could see a girl dangerously similar to Sana, watching a guy fucking a girl against the column in front of her.

You simply didn’t have words to say at that moment, it was so much the shock of the moment and the different focuses of attention that you couldn’t produce any sound. You saw Mina out of the corner of your eye, and the poor thing had only managed to bring her hand to her mouth while she saw everything, her eyes wide open.

"So? What do you think? Wonderful, isn't it?" Right next to Momo, a man in a suit passed by with a tray with glasses of what seemed to be pina coladas, she didn't hesitate to grab one.

"Hirai Momo… you better… have an explanation," Mina said, not looking at her, but at a couple of girls kissing a few meters to her right.

You had already assimilated the initial shock, but that didn't make you less upset about how she had deceived you and Mina.

"What? Don't you guys fuck? Come on!" She laughed out loud, then took a sip of her pina colada, "Besides, you need to break that shyness a bit, sweetie, it was the perfect opportunity."

"You fucking b…" you clenched your fists, but swallowed the insult, "I mean, of course we… fuck," you said with slightly hot cheeks, "But this is going too far! Who says she wants to do that?!" you finally claimed.

"Well I don't know, she doesn't seem to be complaining," Momo pointed her chin at her.

You turned to look at her, realizing that her breathing was agitated and that she looked a little uncomfortable, but above all, you found her biting her lip while she was watching a girl being face fucked.

"Baby?" you said, and she turned to see you with eyes that you rarely saw in her. She was horny as fuck.

"Well, I have some things to put in order for the rest of the night, I'll see you guys in a bit!" she winked at you again, and left you two alone there.

"Honey..." Mina hugged your arm tightly, looking around, "let's go to a room, please, I need to calm down."

"I… fuck, sure," you swallowed, noticing that a few meters to your left Momo was handjobing an unknown man when he was close to cum.

Mina broke away from your arm and grabbed your hand to start walking out of the main focus of people. Staying focused on looking for an empty room was a stupidly difficult task, there were at least 3 couples fucking per square meter of the house, and if that wasn't enough, many of them stared at you as if they wanted you to join. Neither you nor she made eye contact, but the temptation to peek was always there.

On the ground floor you found nothing, all the rooms were either occupied or closed, so you had no choice but to go up to the second floor, where apparently there were far fewer people; in the corridors you did not find anyone, all the noise came from inside the rooms; you walked and walked for a while, until you put your ear to a door to make sure there was no one inside.

"This one is free, let's go," just as you put your hand on the knob a female voice foreign to Mina's suddenly spoke to you from behind.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

You and Mina probably got the scare of their lives, both of you turned around startled to find yourself face to face with the woman you had seen a few minutes ago.

"S-Sana?" Mina asked.

"Hi Minari," she tilted her head slightly with an innocent smile. The mask did little to hide her identity, the shape of her body and her smile gave her away.

"Were you following us? You almost gave me a fucking heart attack, Minatozaki," you rolled your eyes, shaking your head in denial.

"I just wanted to see what you were up to, sorry," she shrugged.

"You knew about all this? Minatozaki Sana, why didn't you tell me?" Mina was hardly ever violent, but this time she gave Sana constant little nudges on her arm.

"Hey hey! That's enough," she grabbed her wrist to stop her, "yeah, of course I knew, but if I had told you, you'd never come."

"Ugh! I hate you so much!" Mina complained with a small growl, "now I'm in a house full of strangers having sex everywhere, and I'm horny as fuck!"

The three of you looked surprised at her own words, Mina quickly realized what she had said, so she put her hand to her mouth while her cheeks turned red.

"Oh, is that so?" Sana's innocent smile turned somewhat mischievous, and her eyes began to cover every part of your bodies, without even bothering to hide it.

"U-uh... no! I mean, ugh!" Mina shrieked, covering her face with her hands.

"But that's perfectly fine, sweetie," Sana took a step forward, taking advantage of the fact that Mina wasn't looking to bring a finger to your parted lips, and from there slowly lowering it down your torso until it reached your crotch, where without any warning she gave your cock a firm squeeze.

Your eyes widened and you took a small step back to get away from her hand, but seeing her face flushed with malevolence and mischief, and her curvaceous sexy body, you gave her no sign that you hadn’t liked that.

Sana giggled looking at you, then stood behind Mina, put her hands on her waist, and approached her ear.

"Wouldn't you love to choke on your very, very handsome boyfriend's cock?" she said quietly, followed by another giggle.

Mina was startled when she felt Sana's voice in her ear, and she took her hands from her face to turn around, her face was completely flushed.

"Hey! W-what are you doing? What are you talking about?" Sana was still holding onto her waist, so the two of them were now face to face. Mina watched Sana's face and lips, and a few quick glances at her neck and cleavage.

"Is there something wrong? I mean, I don't think it's something you haven't done before, right?" Sana had a constant innocent smirk as she took it upon herself to turn you both on, and she certainly was getting it. You didn't know how far this was going to go, but you decided to let things flow.

"I… no!" Mina bit her lip, already desperate and avoiding Sana's seductive gaze.

"Come on cutie, let's fuck…" Sana broke away from Mina and came to stand behind you, her chin in your shoulder, "Don't you think we deserve this big, juicy, throbbing cock inside our tight Japanese pussies?" she said as she squeezed your cock through your pants again, this time making it rock hard.

"W-What are you doing grabbing my boyfriend's cock? That... that's not right!" Mina exclaimed with fake annoyance, but you and Sana both knew that underneath all that edgy, icy facade, was a soaked fucking pussy.

"I know it's not right, but you like how I do it… don't you?" Sana was now constantly squeezing and massaging the bulge in your pants, "And I can do this too," she placed her tongue on your neck, giving it a long lick that sent shivers through your entire body.

"Can you… suck his cock?" Mina asked in the most tender way she could for a question like that. Your heart skipped a beat, you didn't expect your girlfriend, all innocent and pretty, to turn into this. Seeing so many people fucking in different possible ways woke up something in her that you didn't know existed, and it was all the fault of a certain Japanese woman who wasn't with you at the time.

"Do you really want that, Minari?" she asked, as she placed little kisses on your neck, "I have no problem with that, but we should know what your pretty boyfriend thinks."

You went blank for a moment, part of you knew that the right thing to do was to grab Mina and get out of there as quickly as possible, go home, and see how to handle the situation, but damn, an opportunity like that one wasn't going to appear twice.

 "I… let's go inside," you finally decided.

Sana broke away from you and opened the door behind her, motioning for you to enter the room. So you did, and the one who closed the door again was you. The lights in the quaint bedroom you had entered were already on; it was one of the two rooms that you noticed from the outside that had a balcony with two chairs and a small table, and it was also full of pretty plants and perfectly cared vines, a double bed, and a nightstand next to it with a bottle of wine, two glasses, a box of cigarettes and a lighter.

"Wow, what a nice view," Sana mentioned, looking at the scenery through the billowing curtains that led to the balcony, they certainly were, you were at a height where you could see acres and acres of beautiful countryside. She took her phone out of her handbag for a moment, and you could see that she was texting someone, but you couldn't see who. When she sent the message, she put the phone away again and placed it on top of the dresser, "Oh yeah, where we were?"

Mina had sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed when Sana fell to her knees in front of you, her face right in front of your bulge.

"And tell me, do you like messy or slow blowjobs?" Sana asked, biting her lower lip, undoing your belt and then unbuttoning your pants.

"Suck that cock any way you like, I don't care," you said, looking at her and then at your girlfriend, who had already pushed her dress up above her waist and had one hand tucked inside her black panties.

"As you wish," Sana lowered your pants and boxers to your ankles, freeing your throbbing cock and smacking her cheek with it, which made her giggle, "God… look at this perfect piece of meat, I wonder how it will feel inside my pussy," she licked her lips and took you right into her mouth, with a nice deep moan that made you gasp.

Her mouth moved just a few inches beyond your tip, giving you slow sucks and licks around it; she took her hand to your balls, squeezed them very delicately and began to massage them while she was taking more of your cock. When she reached the middle of your shaft and her head pumps became ever faster, you could hear Mina's unmistakable sweet moans as she rubbed her own slit, you glanced at her, and noticed that her panties were now on the floor, and she was spread-legged on the bed as she did it.

Sana's hand went from being on your balls, to now holding the base of your cock with two firm fingers, this to hold it in place and to be able to move her head at whatever angles she wanted; She teased you by slowing down her blowjob, then began pumping her head hard, her lips moving from your tip to almost touching her own fingers.

After a few seconds giving you a messy blowjob, Sana stopped abruptly when she reached your base, pushing a little more until her nose rested against your pubis. You couldn't help but let out a moan, close your eyes and purse your lips, wishing she would never get away from your cock. But you couldn't always get what you wished for. Sana took you out of her mouth and took a deep breath, as she quickly jerked you off.

"Hey, Minari, why don't you come over here and have a taste?" Sana said to Mina, her mouth all spittle, which she then spit back onto your dick.

Mina didn't even think twice before getting off the bed and kneeling next to Sana.

"Honey, I want you to fuck my mouth, please, I need it," Mina begged you, holding onto your thighs with her hands.

"Yeah, fuck her mouth, daddy, your little princess is so in need of it," Sana teased, placing small kisses on your balls and on your inner thighs.

"Do you want me not to be too rough with you dear?" you asked Mina, cupping the side of her face with your hand and caressing her cheek with your thumb.

"Oh no, please don't hold back, I want you to make a mess of me," she replied, slowly removing your hand from her face to open her mouth wide and stick the tongue out.

You were going to do the honors yourself, but Sana took the upper hand; she took your cock between her fingers, and guided it directly to your girlfriend's mouth; your shaft slid inside her, slowly and halfway, where Mina already had a little struggle in her throat until she coughed.

"Oh baby, don't you know how to take it to the throat?" Sana asked, as she caressed Mina's hair out of her face, "You just have to get used to it inch by inch, come on, you can do it."

This time you introduced your cock into your girlfriend's mouth, and repeated the process until you reached the middle, Mina closed her eyes and clung to your thighs while you pushed as carefully as possible, you felt that she was forcing herself too much, and she soon proved it when she let out some choking sounds. Sana kept caressing Mina's hair, but when she tried to back away, she grabbed the nape of her neck and held her in place.

After a few seconds your cock slid a few more inches, almost reaching your base, but that was more than enough to give her what she wanted.

"Sana, baby, could you hold her hair? And take off those masks, I want to see your faces well," you ordered with a slight imperative tone in your voice.

"Sure daddy!" She seemed to be looking forward to it for a long time, because she took off her mask in a matter of seconds, and also Mina's. After she threw both masks away, Sana grabbed all of your girlfriend's hair in a messy ponytail, giving you the green light to start moving your hips slowly.

You didn't dare to go faster than you were going, not while it looked like she was going to vomit every time your tip touched her uvula, but as time went by her throat adapted to the constant harassment of your cock, that's when you started moving your hips faster and faster.

It was a matter of seconds before her eye makeup began to smudge from the little tears that spilled out of her eyes, and the saliva in her mouth began to spill as your cock slid in and out of her warm mouth. Sana didn't lose her grip on Mina's hair, not even when she brought her free hand between your girlfriend's legs and slipped two of her fingers inside her. Mina went crazy between moans that were muffled by your cock and by the constant gag sounds that emanated from her throat. But just when you were closer to your peak, and Mina was about to cum all over Sana's fingers, the bedroom door was flung open.

The fright made you jump out of Mina's mouth, and you instinctively covered your crotch. Mina also covered herself, she seemed even more scared than you, but when she saw who she was, and who she was with, her face softened, but still seemed uneasy. The only one who was neither surprised nor scared was Sana.

"Momorin! Finally!" Sana applauded with a smile, "Oh, and he's…?"

Hirai Momo was standing in the doorway, still dressed but her dress was a little out of place, and showing more cleavage than usual, and next to her stood a man about 5.4 feet tall, short brown hair, short square beard, and a robust, muscular and hairy body, completely naked.

"I'm so sorry, but I can't join you, I have to make sure nothing gets out of hand down there," Momo said with a ragged breath, then glanced at the man next to her, "But, I'm sure that my friend Piero will be a very pleasant company."

When she said that she didn't even give you time to answer her back, she just pushed Piero into the room and disappeared from there by closing the door. Now you were locked in with a stranger.

"I'm going to ask it just once and I want you to tell me the truth, Minatozaki," you warned, looking down to meet her gaze, "it was you, wasn't it? The one who told Momo we were here."

"Yeah, it was me," she shrugged, "but my intention was for Momo to join, not him. Nothing personal," she clarified, looking at the man.

"Non preoccuparti" he said, just standing there. He seemed like a respectful and nice guy, since he didn't try anything weird without anyone's permission.

"Very good," you nodded, then sighed. Mina gave Piero discreet glances, especially at what he had between his legs, "Parlare inglese?" you asked the man.

"I can understand you well, but I can't answer you that well," he replied with a thick accent.

"Okay, you can join, but please don't do anything I don't tell you, okay?"

"Understood," he agreed.

"Baby, you're okay with this, right? I must say I'm overwhelmed by all of this, but I'm only concerned about you," you asked Mina with total sweetness, as if you weren't making her choke on your cock until a few seconds ago.

"This is the first and last time we'll do this, so we better seize the moment," she winked at you.

"Got it," you smiled at her, then turned to Piero, "Undress her, please" you pointed your chin at Sana, "I'll take care of my girlfriend."

"Oh hello handsome!" Sana said with a giggle as she stood up and saw that Piero was walking towards her, when they were face to face, their lips met in a passionate kiss, and Sana grabbed the man's cock while he took his hands behind her back to begin to take off her dress.

You grabbed Mina's hands and helped her getting up, putting your arms around her waist and crashing your lips against hers. As you kissed her your hands went into action, quickly unzipping her dress and removing it from her arms and then from the rest of her body, the only vestige of clothing left on her was her black strapless bra, which you removed as well.

"Now let me help you honey," Mina murmured against your lips, putting her hands on your jacket and beginning to unbutton it. It was a bit of a slow process, but after a few seconds, you and she were completely naked in front of each other. You glanced at Sana and Piero, realizing that Sana was already on her knees and naked, sucking on the man's cock. Your gaze indiscreetly roamed Sana's voluptuous and fleshy body, her tits were round, firm and perfect, creamy legs, and an ass even more perfect than her tits.

"Hey Sana," you called out to her, and she stopped to look at you, her face flushed with pleasure, "why don't you come over here and share our cocks?" Sana's eyes seemed to light up like two streetlights.

"Yes daddy! I'd be delighted," she nodded, then stood up.

"Can I call you daddy too?" asked Piero, trying to create a fun atmosphere, and he certainly succeeded, because Sana and Mina let out a little laugh.

"No, now come here."

You stood facing him, and he walked to stand in front of you. Mina and Sana understood the message, and they knelt one on your right side and the other on your left side, respectively. Neither of the two girls wasted any time, Sana took your cock, Mina took the man's, and they both took you straight into their mouths. Sana was pumping her head at a not so fast and not so slow pace, hardly anything messy like a few minutes ago, but this time, the way she used her tongue to explore and stimulate every part of your shaft was driving you crazy every time she she took you into her mouth; plus you had another added attraction, and it was her delicious naked body in all splendor, which you had to admit that you wanted to be able to contemplate since you met her.

Mina on the other hand was putting into practice everything she had learned from Sana a few minutes ago, replicating exactly the same kind of messy and sloppy blowjob, but you couldn't pay much attention to her, not when Sana demanded your eyes on her as she took you to deep down her throat for a few seconds, then let go of your cock to take a quick breath and plunge almost immediately into it again.

It wasn't long until Mina moved away from Piero's cock and turned to kiss your balls, Sana took you out of her mouth too, and they both coordinated to start kissing and licking the sides of your shaft until they reached the tip, where they shared a momentary passionate kiss before Sana now began to focus on Piero.

Now the one who had a free hand to do what she wanted with your cock was Mina, who didn't hesitate for a moment to treat it for what it was, a treasure of hers and for her, she kissed your shaft all over, with slow licks from your balls to your tip to then give you small suctions on it. When she was sure that she had adored your cock enough, she plunged straight into it, bringing her nose directly to your pelvis; a moan escaped from your mouth as you felt your tip brush against her throat. She couldn't hold it there for more than 2 seconds, but you still appreciated the effort, as she was doing amazing.

"Fuck, I'm so close honey," you warned Mina, who started pumping her head to the perfect rhythm that you loved.

"Me too," Piero told Sana, his hand on her head.

"Make her swallow it, we don't want them dirty yet," you ordered between gasps.

The wet sounds of their blowjobs were the only sound in the room for the next whole minute, the two girls were locked in their work, both with different ways of doing it but with the same goal, a goal that wasn’t long in coming. Both you and Piero held the girls by the neck, taking control yourselves to explode inside their mouths. Mina clung to your hip with one hand as you continually rocked it back and forth, sending multiple streams of your thick load straight down her throat.

You gave her one last slow thrust, reaching down her throat once more before pulling your cock out of her mouth. Mina looked at you with a restless breath, to then meet Sana's gaze, they both stared at each other for a few seconds, before opening a space for them to kiss.

You dedicated yourself for the next 30 seconds to watch as the two girls dedicated themselves to sharing saliva and doing a dance between their tongues, still filled with some of your cum.

"Now, who wants to be spitroasted first?" you asked, caressing the necks of both girls.

"We must please the little princess, right?" Sana replied as she separated from her kiss with Mina, who seemed even hornier and wanting more.

"What about you?"

"I don't mind waiting as long as I can help," she winked at you.

"Fair enough." you nodded.

You grabbed Mina's hands and helped her stand up to surround her body with your arms, you kissed her for a few seconds, until you made her move back towards the bed; she sat down on the edge of it, but immediately scooted further towards the center of the mattress and lay on her back, legs spread wide so the three of you could see her juicy pussy in all its glory.

"Sana, would you help us get them up again?" you asked her, while you held her chin and caressed it with your thumb.

"Of course daddy," she grinned, highlighting her tender cheeks. An interesting contrast.

Sana reached out with both hands until she took both of your cocks in her fingers, squeezed them firmly, and then began to move her arms slowly at first in case either of you were still sensitive, but soon she began to jerk you two off aggressively, until you were hard again.

"You know what to do, mate," you nodded to Piero, pointing at Mina with your eyes.

"Oh, do I?" he asked as you got on the bed and positioned yourself between Mina's legs.

"Don't make me repeat it."

You leaned forward, planting a few kisses on Mina's neck and jaw until you reached her mouth, where you also gave her a few small kisses as you rubbed the tip of your cock against her slit. You noticed that Piero had stood on the opposite edge of the bed, and he made a sign that you understood immediately. You held your girlfriend's body firmly and moved her forward on her mattress, so that her head was dangling off the bed, meeting Piero's balls and cock.

With everything ready, you didn't want to make her wait any longer, so you aligned your cock with her entrance and with a slow but firm thrust of your hips you were balls deep inside Myoui Mina's pussy. Your girlfriend let out a nice long moan, but the ability to make any sound was deprived of her as Piero also pushed his cock into her mouth, Mina instinctively stuck her tongue out, as he slowly began to slide in and out of her mouth, and you fucked her without applying much speed from the beginning.

The sensation of being inside Mina's hot and soft pussy wasn’t new to you, obviously, but you still wanted to dedicate yourself to feeling it completely with each thrust you gave her; it would have taken you longer, if it weren't for the fact that Piero wasn't having any mercy with your girlfriend's throat, he had his hands resting on her tits, and he moved his hips between gasps and grunts.

To balance things out, you decided to follow the rhythm he was using, fucking her pussy with equally strong and aggressive thrusts. Mina went crazy trying to hold on to something, her moans didn't produce any sound, so they stayed as simple grunts. Sana on the other hand, had climbed on the bed as a simple spectator, but all of a sudden she got up and knelt next to Mina's torso, bringing her two salivated fingers to your girlfriend’s pussy, to rub her clit while you continued pounding her.

"You want to make her cum fast so your turn can come, don't you? Fucking slut," you growled, glancing at Sana with the corner of your eye as her fingers rubbed quickly over her clit, making Mina shake wildly between tremors.

"Oh of course not! How could you think that?" she faked, not caring how fake it sounded tho.

"Come here..." you reached out a hand to grab Sana's neck and pulled her towards you, her lips meeting yours in a kiss that lacked any finesse, and rather was caught up in the intense and agitated moment.

You kept moving your hips as fast as you could, giving your girlfriend's body a strong shake with each thrust, inevitably you moved her place, but Piero kept a tight grip on her neck to hold her so she wouldn't fall. You were both giving your all to fuck both of Mina's holes with the dedication that she deserved, not to mention the extra stimulus that Sana was applying to her pussy while the two of you were still kissing, all this led to a sudden explosion of pleasure in Mina, who jerked between violent spasms as her walls tightened around your cock. Her muscular contractions made Piero come out of her throat at will, allowing her to moan as much as she wanted. Mina's moans weren't especially loud, but they were pretty and sexy, perfect with her personality.

Short and leisurely movements were the only thing you kept giving your girlfriend while she was still having her orgasm. You let a few seconds pass waiting for her body to relax, until you finally pulled your fluid-soaked cock out of her pussy.

"Rest for now darling," you told Mina between hectic breaths when you separated from the kiss with Sana, "it's time to give our little friend what she deserves," with the help of Piero himself you moved Mina to the side of the bed, near the pillows, in a way that she could be comfortable while resting. Her face was flushed, and her gaze was lost in what seemed like an attempt to assimilate what was happening, you only left a small kiss on her lips, and when you looked back at Sana, she was already in a perfect and hot doggystyle pose, with her face on the edge of the bed and her ass perfectly arched for you.

"You're going to cum inside me right?" Sana asked you with a voice full of mischief, "I want to feel daddy's hot thick load inside my slutty pussy," she rocked her butt slowly from side to side for you.

"Keep quiet and choke on that cock like a good girl," before she could reply Piero unkindly grabbed her by the hair and plunged her fully into his cock, going right down her throat in one thrust. Sana tried to free herself to speak, but her failed attempts were reflected in loud gag sounds.

You took advantage of the moment to position yourself behind her and raise your hand, letting it fall in an exaggeratedly strong spank that came loaded with a combination of anger, frustration, revenge and passion. Sana immediately stopped trying to break free to moan in response, but you weren't going to let her do that either; you made a sign to Piero, and he started fucking Sana's mouth once more, and this time he was being even harder than with Mina.

With that problem solved, it was time to focus on the main attraction. You licked two of your fingers, running them up and down repeatedly through Sana's slit, testing how wet her pink pussy was; You couldn't help but insert your thumb a couple of times inside her just to tease, but you couldn't resist the temptation yourself. You took your cock and quickly lined it up, then slid all the way into Sana's pussy.

The sensation was completely different from being inside Mina, Sana felt a lot tighter and wetter, and it felt like your cock was being engulfed by her silky folds. It didn't take long for you to start moving your hips with strong thrusts, her ass crashing against your pelvis every time your cock went in and out. 

A long but low moan escaped you as you clung to Sana's waist, using it as a support to keep your pace. It was satisfying for you to know that not only her pussy was being well filled, but also her mouth and throat. Piero was completely destroying her face, she wasn't wearing too much makeup, but the little that she had began to stain due to the tears and the huge amount of saliva that spilled from her mouth. Your thrusts didn’t stop for a single moment, you gave Sana another strong spank on the other buttock, and then you stretched out your arm so you could grab a handful of her hair and pull it towards you, forcing Piero to bring one foot up on the bed to be able to move comfortably.

You were already very close to your final peak since the session with Mina a few minutes ago, and of course fucking Sana so hard and well didn't mitigate that tingling feeling in your tummy. You had to really stay focused not to cum at that precise moment, but it was fucking complicated, not even the most mentally strong man in the world could have resisted filling that tight Japanese pussy all at once, but for some reason there you were, putting all your effort to last just a little longer so that Sana could continue to be well fucked.

Your luck with willpower couldn't be replicated by Piero, who only managed to hold on for a few more seconds before once again burying Sana completely against his cock to cum straight down her throat. He held her there throughout his orgasm until he finally released her from his grasp, you quickly seized the moment to grab her once more by the hair and pull her upright, so that her back was now almost resting against your chest, she hadn't even managed to close her mouth when you did that, so a good part of the fluids inside her mouth fell directly to the mattress.

From that position you were finally able to let go of her hair, to take your two hands to her neck and firmly squeeze your fingers around it while you fucked her with all your might. Again, Sana's moans didn't quite come out of her mouth, they all seemed muffled and compressed in her throat like growls. You had her sweaty back now right against your chest, and her soft brown hair filled your nostrils with the rich smell of chocolate. Soon your willpower would be of no use at all, the explosion of pleasure came to you suddenly and violently, held back for a while but finally released. You gave Sana a strong first thrust, shooting the first spurts of your load into her wet walls; you released her neck, letting her fall face down against her mattress, for you to firmly squeeze both of her buttocks as you continued to fill her. A few more hip movements were enough for Sana's pussy to be completely filled with your cum.

You pulled out your cock, letting all the cum leak out of her pussy and slowly spill out through her slit and then onto the mattress. You felt exhausted, all the energy was drained from your body in a matter of seconds, but you still had a job to do.

You took one hand to Sana's buttock, while the other went straight to her pussy to introduce your index and middle fingers inside her. You started moving your wrist as fast as you could, turning Sana into a quivering mess between loud moans. The extremely wet sounds of your fingers pumping against her pussy filled the room together with her screams of pleasure, and it took just under a minute to make the girl have her long-awaited and intense orgasm.

Her spasms were so intense that she could no longer keep her butt up, now she was completely lying on her stomach as she came on your fingers. You moved the wrist for a little while more until you felt her orgasm had passed, and with Sana already satisfied and fulfilled, you finally let yourself fall against the mattress, your head just falling on the abdomen of your girlfriend, who had been watching all.

"Did you have fun, honey?" Mina asked with the tenderness that characterized her, looking at you with a little smile and caressing your hair.

"Oh fuck yeah," you replied, still gasping, "and you?"

"Of course..." she paused for a few seconds as she looked at you and then at Piero, who was lying on his back next to Sana's ass, "but I'm still not satisfied, you know?"

"No?" You raised both eyebrows in surprise, "Are you telling me you want to get fucked again?"

"Why not? I'm your girlfriend, your  sweet pretty princess, you can't say no to me," Mina sat up so she could look down at you, "besides, none of you have fucked my ass yet."

Hearing that, Piero suddenly turned to look at her like a dog that has just heard a whistle, and you couldn't even assimilate that it was the same Mina who was shy even with the waiters in restaurants.

"Honey, just say what you want, and we'll give it to you."

"I want you both to fuck me… at the same time, I don't care who has which hole," she said biting her lip.

"Shit… uh, very good," you sighed, "but please give us a little break, my man and I can't even bear our souls right now."

"But I'm fine," said Piero.

"Shut up. You're exhausted and your very body weighs you down," you replied back. Mina could only laugh.

"You have to understand, Minari," Sana said in a weak voice, looking at the three of you face down, "he could barely resist my pussy, it's normal for him to feel like he ran a marathon."

"Zitto, slut."

"Is that so, darling? Don't you have the energy for your pretty baby anymore?" Mina teased, caressing your face with the back of her hand.

"Agh fuck, come here," you settled horizontally on the bed, but not before grabbing a pillow and resting your head on it. You subtly motioned with your eyes for Mina to climb on top of you, and she did, squeezing her strong, smooth thighs on either side of your torso, her pussy now brushing against the back of your shaft.

"Piero, Momo told me that in all the bedrooms there are things to use in the drawers," Sana intervened, "you know what to do."

Piero disappeared from your range of vision, but at that moment you could only focus on Mina's deep and charming eyes, full of desire for what she was about to go through. She reached between your bodies to take your limp cock between her fingers and begin to rub it slowly for a few seconds, then simply pressed her slit against it and leaned on your shoulders, rocking her hips back and forth until your manhood got hard again.

The direct contact between your cock and her pussy made her impatient too quickly, and without a second thought, she lifted her hips and grabbed your cock with one hand to set it straight, taking you deep inside her once more with a strong smash against your pelvis.

The smash was so strong that it even made you lose your breath for a moment, but she had quite enjoyed it judging by her long moan as she felt you fill her pussy again. Your girlfriend began to move her hips up and down, with slow strokes that made your cock go in and out completely; she put her hands on your chest, but they moved little by little until they rested on your neck, her pretty face infused with pleasure hovered just above your face, and it didn't take long for her to close that distance when she crashed her lips against yours.

While you and Mina were wrapped up in an intense kiss full of passion, all between the smashes that her round and big ass gave against your pelvis, you felt a greater weight climb on the bed again; You separated from the kiss to see what it was about, but you only managed to see how Piero positioned himself behind Mina's ass with his knees bent, and his feet on the mattress each one on the sides of your torso.

"Peach-scented lube? What a coincidence," he said, then placed a hand on Mina's lower back to stop her from moving, "is this the first time you're going to get fucked in the ass?" he asked her as he poured lube over his cock and a little over Mina's hole.

"Ah… yes, please be good to me," she gasped, looking over her shoulder at him.

You stood completely still as you looked at Mina's face, wanting to see how she would react. Piero flexed his knees even more, until he reached the perfect height where he could align his lubricated cock with your girlfriend's ass; Mina held her breath as he barely inserted his tip inside her, that alone made her face wrinkle, but as her ass was filled inch by inch with thick meat, her face distorted with pleasure at now having two cocks buried deep inside her.

"Oh fuck, fuck, fuck," she murmured under her breath between small moans, she somehow clung to your face without hurting you, since her eyes were closed, and that was the precise moment when you and Piero you coordinated to start fucking her.

You planted your feet on the bed, and began to move your hips up and down at the same speed with which she was moving before; Piero did so too, slipping in and out of her ass with ease but careful not to hurt her as she got used to the sensation.

Your hands went to her waist, which was the only possible place on her body where you could hold on while you kept the pace slow and leisurely, but it was enough for you to feel how Piero began to pound harder and harder against your girlfriend’s ass so that you could dedicate yourself to catch up the pace, driving Mina completely crazy on top of you. Her moans were like music to your ears, and to see her face completely submerged in ecstasy, a splendid work of art, you knew that your body at this point could no longer give more of itself, but somehow you drew out an energy reserve before unknown to you; the situation ignited faster than gunpowder, Mina was now taking two cocks through different holes, at a speed that did nothing but make her shake like a rag doll.

Mina had the urge to drop her face to one side of yours and hug to your head tightly, now you could feel her moans and gasps right against your ear, which served you as gasoline to continue fucking her with the same intensity you fucked Sana with a minutes ago. Your arms surrounded your girlfriend's torso in a warm hug that kept her still in her place. Piero on the other hand had already lost his fear of doing her any kind of harm, so he was pounding her big ass like she deserved it, strong and deep.

Fucking her obviously wasn't feeling great just for her, your thrusts up and down were between gasps and low moans, her pussy was extremely wet, and it felt more fucking amazing than ever. You wished you could be grabbing her ass right then, but for the moment you'd given the privilege to Piero, who was holding onto both of her buttocks as he filled her ass with thick throbbing meat.

"Look at the innocent and sweet princess Myoui Mina," Sana said from the side of you in a seductive voice, followed by a giggle. Amidst all the excitement you hadn't noticed her presence again, but she was just watching, her legs wide open and the fingers of one hand rubbing her pussy, "Who would have imagined that she could enjoy so much like two cocks filled her."

It was clear that none of the three of you could respond to her taunts or even give her your full attention, but you could still hear her. Mina was the only one who managed to turn her face to be able to see her between intense whimpers.

"Are you enjoying it, cutie?" Sana asked, "You love how they fill you up, don't you? And how they use you like a pretty fragile sex toy. I bet deep down that's what you've always wanted, to be completely torn apart while being fucked."

All of Sana's dirty talk to Mina escalated her pleasure even more, and within seconds, your girlfriend exploded in an intense orgasm that did little to even compare to the first; her pussy contracted violently, and her body spasmed, shaking her as electric shocks from a taser gun, while her fluids shot towards your cock in a slight squirt, something you never thought she would be able to do so far; you had no choice but to let your cock out of her pussy while it kept dripping and she kept shaking between intense cries of pleasure. You and Piero gave her a little rest, until her spasms were now controlled and her orgasm had passed. You were about to continue, but Sana interrupted you.

"Daddy, I don't think she can take it anymore for now, she must be very sensitive," Sana wailed, looking at all the mess your girlfriend was made, "Why don't you cum on her face? It would be a waste not to paint a canvas that expensive and pretty."

You and Piero listened to Sana for some reason, both coming out of Mina to help her kneel on the bed; Sana jumped to her aid as well, kneeling behind her to hold onto her shoulders so she wouldn't fall off. Your girlfriend's face looked completely different from what you were used to, full of lust, red with pleasure, her mouth parted and her eyes somewhat weak. You both stood in front of her, your cocks floating together over her face as you began to quickly jerk off.

"That's it, give all your load to this pretty and innocent princess," Sana grabbed Mina's hair in a ponytail to push it out of her face and then gave her a peck on the cheek, "she's been a very good girl this night," your girlfriend managed to nod, sticking out her tongue.

Mina could only look into your eyes and you into hers, and with the passing of the seconds you exploded first, followed by Piero a few seconds later; the cum began to paint Mina's face in all possible corners, long thick strips of thick load falling on her forehead, her mouth, her tongue, her nose and her cheeks from both directions, even Sana received a little unintentionally, which made her let out a mischievous giggle. Your girlfriend's face was now almost completely covered by white, which you would have found funny if it weren't for the fact that your legs collapsed, making you fall sideways on the bed.

"Oh shit, I think I'm dead now," was the last thing Piero said before staggering out of bed until he fell face up on the floor.

You were the only one who stayed there to watch your girlfriend pick up the cum that had fallen on her tongue to swallow it, while Sana helped her clean herself, holding her by the neck to run her tongue all over her face, picking up everything  she could and then spit it back into Mina's mouth. They repeated that hot process a couple of times, until Mina's face was clean, sticky, but clean.

You didn't have the energy to say anything else, you just settled in the middle of the bed and rested your head on a comfortable pillow. Sana and Mina joined you, each one on one side of your body, both of them raised one of their legs to your body, and then they hugged you.

"I hope you enjoyed this," Sana said quietly, looking at Mina and then at you, "You don't hate me do you?"

"No, Minatozaki, I don't hate you, now shut up and let me rest," you sighed.

"You didn't ask me," Mina replied now, her eyes closed.

"Do you hate me?"

"Nope, but I do want to kill Momo right now, I hate being tricked like this," she snorted.

"Save that for later, cutie, maybe the four of us can… you know, talk in private," Sana brushed her knee against your already dead cock for a moment when she said that.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that, close your eyes and rest. Bye," you said quickly to muddle through, before closing your eyes and drifting off to sleep.

——————————————————————————

Spren Notes:

I almost died writing this thing bro lmao. I thought that Erinyes had been my most "ambitious" work so far, but I think that without a doubt this piece surpasses it by far. I must say that I am quite proud of the result, as I also hope that the user who bought this commission from me and gave me the main idea is too! Thank you very much bro, I hope you enjoyed it <3.

If you, dear reader, are also interested in buying me a commission, do not hesitate to go through my inbox, I’ll be delighted!

[midnightlitterateur]

Forbidden

Pairing - Tig Trager/Reader

Warnings - Underage, recreational drugs, cunnilingus, smut, 18+

Summary - You fidget. Unable to relax. This was new. Very new. Barely even been kissed and here you are being eaten out by the next door neighbour.

A summer afternoon spent with Tig was always something to look forward to. You had made friends talking over the fence and smoking together. Gradually it had moved from talking in the yard to watching movies on his couch and getting high when your Mom was at work. He had never once made you feel unsafe or uncomfortable and for you, the friendly relationship had blossomed into a crush.

This particular afternoon the both of you were watching a horror movie and passing a j between each other. A slasher movie full of blood soaked tits. When the ubiquitous sex scene came on the screen you both went kinda quiet and the air seemed to change. As the scene unfolded before you the air seemed to become charged with anticipation. The naked blonde on the t.v was bouncing on the guy's lap, as the killer advanced from behind axe in hand. You couldn’t help but feel a thrill of excitement and a little tingle between your legs.

“You a virgin?” Tig asked, like it was nothing. He was looking at you intently, waiting for you to answer.

“Um…wow, where did that come from?” you tried to laugh off the question but he of course persisted.

“Yes or no,” he smiled, loving the sight of you squirming beneath his gaze.

You stare at him for a moment wondering if you should just leave… but you don’t want to. No, you want to see where this goes.

“Ok, yeah I am. Why?” He seemed mildly shocked and the awkward silence that was growing between you needed to be filled, “I’m an awkward teenager that smokes weed with the creepy biker guy next door. Is it really a surprise?”

“Woah, woah! Creepy?” He laughed, seeing the funny side immediately, “Wow! and I thought we were friends!

“Well there are people that may consider this grooming. I’m sure we had a talk about shit like this at school. In fact they showed us a picture that looked just like…” you looked at him with mock surprise.

“Yeah, yeah…deflecting with humour, I gotcha. I do it too,” he smiled, that little twinkle in his eyes that drew you in. Like an angler fish. “So you really never been touched?”

You shook your head and took a sip of your soda. “Never been kissed, actually,” you savoured his reaction, “I don’t really attract that kind of attention.”

“Nah,” he smiled and shook his head in disbelief, “how old are you again?” He asked, turning his body towards you.

“Ugh, why? You gonna make fun of me? You had never told anyone what you just told Tig. There was no one to tell really. You relented, realising that you were being silly, “I’m seventeen.” You say finally, waiting for the inevitable questions.

But there were no questions Tig grabbed you by the chin and kissed you full on the lips. Taking your breath away. It was no peck either. His lips overlapped with yours and he gently teased open your mouth with them, slowly introducing his warm tongue to yours. It was a masterclass in how to kiss from an experienced older man. His hand moved to cup the back of your head when he thought that you were ready to deepen the kiss. He tilted his head and opened his mouth, guiding you with his skilled tongue. You hummed and grasped his wrist, meeting his movements. Your heart felt like it would burst out of your chest and your pussy ached painfully. Then just as you found your rhythm he pulled away with a grin.

“There ya go, now you’ve been kissed,” he wiggled his eyebrows and looked extremely pleased with himself. Returning his attention to the movie and drinking his beer.

Your face was flushed as you sat stock still, contemplating what the hell had just happened. Your body's reaction throbbing in your panties. “You kissed me…” you managed to say as you tried to process it.

“Yeah? You said you’d never been kissed. So I fixed it,” he said with a smirk.

“…Why’d you stop?” I asked quietly,

Tig stopped mid drink and gave you an amused side eye. “Ooh she liked it,” he teased.

You rolled your eyes and smiled feeling more than a little embarrassed for asking him that. Of course he stopped, he was just teasing you. Like he always does. You are intelligent enough to realise that you are too young for this - for him and you stand awkwardly.

“Hey, hey…you don’t have to go,”

“I should though, shouldn’t I?”

Tig stood a little too close, it was electrifying. “Yeah I guess…” he answered, though he didn’t sound very convinced. He gazed down upon you with his ridiculously blue eyes and searched your face for permission.

You bit your lip as you gazed back not knowing what to say to make this happen. ‘Make what happen?’ You thought, ‘your way out of your depth here, kid.’

“You want me to kiss you again?” He asked, placing his hand on the back of my neck.

“Yeah,” you breathed, uneasily. You didn’t want him to laugh at you again.

He licked his dry lips and pulled you close with his other hand, kissing you softly. He was so much more careful and considerate this time. He wasn’t trying to claim anything, he just wanted to make you feel good and oh god it did. The butterflies were escaping from your tummy and into your chest making your heart flutter but you lean into it. Kiss him back just how he showed you. You could hear the wet noises your mouths were making, it made you hungry for more and now that you knew what you were doing you chased his heat, matching his passion.

His hands slid down to your ass and pulled your hips against his body. It made your summer dress ride up your thighs, exposing your panties. His hot lips moved away from yours and down to your neck, kissing and gently biting the delicate skin. You let out a little gasp and arched your neck, it felt divine. Sending lightning to your pussy. Tigs fingers gathered up the hem of your cotton dress, sliding his hands beneath the cloth of your underwear and putting his bare hands on your skin. It happened fast and you didn’t quite know how to react to the sexual touching other than to pull away.

“I…” you began breathlessly, missing his arms immediately. Tig was equally breathless and flushed but his features were filled with regret.

“I’m sorry, that was too fast,” he said, passing his hand through his hair.

All at once you seemed to decide a lot of things. Just looking at him was driving you crazy. Like you didn’t know what to do with yourself other than run back into his arms. You wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed him, trying to communicate everything you didn’t know how to say into it.

Your feet left the floor and you instinctively wrapped your legs around his waist. Tig spun you around and took you back to the couch, laying you down and covering you with his body. Feeling his weight between your legs as he kissed you made you ache and squirm around, needing the friction from his jeans more than your next breath. He knew it. Grinding into you and groaning into your mouth. You realise that you can feel his dick beneath the denim and it sends an aching thrill through your body and a feeling of deep trepidation.

Tig picks up on the change in your body language and pulls back, “you ok darlin?”

You decide to just be honest, “I can feel your dick. I don’t think I’m ready.”

“Hot as that is baby…so fuckin’ hot, we don’t have to do that if your not ready, I mean I am, obviously. Honey, I wanna fuck the shit outta you! But there's other stuff we can do…”

“Like what?” You asked innocently, relieved that he wasn’t going to push it.

“Take off your panties for me baby,” he said with a shark-like grin.

“I don’t know…umm…Ok…? “ you stammer as you move to do as you're told. Tig took off his white t - shirt and threw it aside.

“I bet you got a sweet little pussy, baby… lemme see.” He motioned with his head for you to spread your thighs for him as he unbuckled his belt. “Don’t be shy,” he said gently when he saw the indecision in your eyes, “I bet it's real pretty.”

Your eyes widen as you listen to his dirty talk. You had never heard anyone speak like that outside of a movie.

“Relax,” he smiled disarmingly with that little twinkle in his pretty blue eyes, “no penetration, cross my heart.” He crossed his body with his fingers and kissed the tips as he spoke, smiling that damn smile.

You opened your legs tentatively, avoiding his hungry gaze as your cheeks blazed with shame. You hear him click his tongue, chiding you gently for being embarrassed. “Oh honey…,” your eyes met his once again, and you melted beneath his gaze. “Baby, you're beautiful. Your pussy is beautiful.” He unzipped his jeans but didn’t take his dick out. You probably would have died right there if he had.

“This isn’t gonna hurt one bit, baby…just relax for Daddy and I’ll blow your fuckin mind,” he knelt between your legs and parted your trembling knees a little wider. Making your tummy turn over. You pull a couch cushion over your face with a squeal feeling the embarrassment keenly.

You don’t have to wait for him to begin. He parts your folds and dives right in.His soft tongue laps so…so… gently at your clit. Easing your virgin cunt into unbelievable new sensations. You let out a shuddering breath as you become accustomed to the pleasure. Sinful moans escaped your lips between indecisive pleas for mercy. His mouth had you somewhere between heaven and hell. Suspended in a warm aching haze of infinite pleasure.

“Tig…” you sighed his name and finally figured out what to do with your hand. It tangled in his curly black hair, as your hips began to rise and fall unbidden. The other stifled your moans when they grew too loud for comfort. The patio doors were open after all and your mom could be home from work at any moment.

He answered you with a long satisfied hum. Watching you arch your neck when he sucked on your clit. His experienced tongue laving your pussy with fervour. Sliding it up and down, probing the skin that covered your closed entrance before returning to spoil your tingling bud with his skilled muscle.

The pleasure was soon too much to bear. Your tummy was coiled tight as you teetered on the edge of something you had never experienced. It was all too much but you wanted more. As much as he could give you. You tingled unbearably in places that had only just been awakened by his touch.

You panted loudly and your legs trembled. Sweat prickled your skin… then it happened. You fell spectacularly into a mindless aching pool of throbbing delight. A smile, wide and strained, wreathed your face and your eyes rolled to the whites. Tig had to hold down your bucking hips to continue eating you through it.

Tig rose, wiping his dripping chin with the back of his hand. A triumphant smile, equal parts smug and proud on his face. As he looked down at the quivering mess he had made of you.

“Oh my god.” You push the damp hair away from your sticky forehead as you stare vacantly at the ceiling. You felt Tig crawl over you, your hands rising almost instinctively to guide him.

“How’d that feel, Princess?” He asked smugly as he stared down at you with those damn eyes.

“Good…so good,” you say, still breathless from your orgasm. He leaned down and peppered your face with little kisses, making you giggle girlishly.

“You want another one?” He asked, wiggling his eyebrows and biting his lip as he pressed his hips into yours. Letting you feel his cock, big and hard in his unzipped jeans.

But even if you had dared to take him up on his offer your afternoon activities were rudely interrupted by the sound of your Moms truck pulling into the driveway from across the yards.

“Shit!” You pulled down your dress and jumped up, you spun around in a tizzy looking for your underwear. It was nowhere to be seen but you had no time and as you tried to run out through the open glass doors Tig pulled you back and kissed you hard whilst he shoved a couple of grams of weed into your pocket before he let you run home. Watching you climb the shared fence with a faraway smile. Your balled up panties clutched tightly in his hand.

[ashecampos]

ANYONE BUT HER 3

JANIS IMI-IKE X FEM READER

Part one part two

Warnings - smoking, alcohol, drugs, swearing, cheating, mentions of anxiety.

The POV switches between reader and Janis (I use — when I change the POV)

there will be more parts to this, make sure to reblog and comment and I will get the next few parts up as soon as I can, happy reading lovelies 🫶🏼

“and where have you been?” My best friend Tess says while she sits on my bed, cross legged, her gym clothes still on. She smirks at me before throwing my pillow at me face, earning a groan from me. “Tee I feel like shit, no abusing ur token gay today please” I look over at her before falling next to her on my bed face first. “What’s wrong? Did Bea or Jason approach you again? Look when I come back to school tomorrow I’ll stick by your side to make sure they piss off yeah?” She states proudly.

Tess has been my best friend since middle school, we can’t actually remember how we became friends but our closest guess would be that we got sat together in some class, the rest is history. She got put into a different high school freshman year, however she is being transferred to Evanston for the rest of high school.

I lift up my head and smirk “oh yes my princess in shining armour please save me from this distressing part of my life” I say dramatically, rolling over to face her fully. She smiles back, shoving my shoulder a little laughing, her face lights up and she scoots forward a little “oh before I forget, this girl in my bookclub called Cady said we can sit with her and her friends at school, she’s really nice, and her friends sound amazing” she says while grabbing her tote bag off of the floor and pulling a book out, swatting me on the head with it “now read and we shall watch a movie of your choosing later” she hands me my book off of my cabinet.

——-

Cady walks into my basement where me and Damien are already sat down gossiping about todays events “hey guys where did you two disappear to earlier?” She says while plopping her backpack down and sitting on one of the beanbags. I look over to Damien begging him to not say anything, but let’s be real it’s Damien. “Damage control, little miss lover girl may or may not have overdosed a little” he says, earning a slap on the arm from me “for one” I look over to Cady pointing “she didn’t overdose, two she got spiked, three don’t call it damage control, im really worried about her” I say with a sad smile. Cadys phone pings a few times earning an ‘ooo’ from Damien, she picks it up and smiles “oh it’s my friend Tess, she’s just transferred to Evanston, I invited her to sit with us if that’s cool?” She says vibrating with excitement.

Great another new friend. Actually this might take my mind off of y/n, seeming though she hasn’t stopped ringing through my mind since that one gig.

—-

“Y/n/n. Wake uppppp” I am shook awake by Tess, “cmon we fell asleep” she says, my body jolts up, how did we fall asleep? What time is it? I look over at my alarmclock, it’s only 6am. Thankgod.

I roll over to face her and she smirks “hey do you have any clothes I can steal?” She laughs before getting up out of the bed and grabbing me by the ankle and pulling me with her to my closet. “Ugh fuck you and your strong rugby arms” I curse her out half asleep as im being dragged across my room.

I sit up and she is raiding my closet. Groaning I lay back down on the floor, she walks back to my bed, clothes in hand then back to my closet. I start laughing “you’re in the closet” I say squinting up at her with a smirk. She kicks my shoulder and throws some clothes on my head “cmon goofy, get your emo ass dressed” I stand up and we get changed.

Upon entering the school, Tessa is stared at by every man we walk by, we attend classes together, I thank every god in the sky that me and her have all of our classes together. The day is going smooth until third period art, we walk into the room, she is told to sit in front of me, that’s when Janis strides into the room, immediately noticing the blonde and freezing up.

The story is, Tess is Regina Georges cousin, she attended the same middle school, was indeed apart of the plastics. However Tess had no part of the downfall of Janis.

Tess turns around to me “is that?” She asks leaving the question open. “Mhm” I groan back to her. “As in your longtime crush Janis?” She mocks me, with a sweet smirk. I throw a pencil at her as Janis walks by, sits down next to us. “Hey Janis, y/n here has told me so much about you” she continues, making me regret being born. The class goes by, I end up drawing sketches of people in the class, while my dearest best friend talks to Janis, telling her embarrassing stories.

——

Walking into that art classroom was my worst mistake of the day so far. As soon as I walked through that door, I saw her. Tessa George, or as she goes by now Tess. You see the problem with Tess is that she is one of the kindest souls to walk the streets of suburban Illinois, however she is regrettably related to the one and only Regina George. In middle school, Tess was there for me when we were both plastic but when Regina ruined my life she was out of town and didn’t find out till I was long gone and expelled.

“Heyy Janis, y/n has told me so much about you” she says happily, meanwhile y/n groans a little and puts her face in her hands before slowly putting her head on her desk while Tess continues to talk about y/n, spilling secrets and telling stories. “Oh and then there was the time she tried to fight a man a foot taller than her when she was drunk” the blonde continues her rant. My eyes flicker from y/n to Tess, I never knew y/n was even friends with Tess, never mind best friends. Tess sounds really good for y/n. The bell chimes to indicate lunch has started, Tess grabs her phone and squeals causing y/n to roll her eyes, I try to ignore them, I start to pack up, grabbing my bag “Cady said meet her outside, she can’t wait to meet you” Tess said, grabbing y/n’s arm and dragging her out of the classroom. So Tess is cadys mysterious friend.

…

I walk to outside and find Damien, we end up sitting under our tree, I pull out my cross stitch and start sewing the rest of the eye I have been working on for this art contest. I hear leaves crunching and look up to see Cady, Tess and y/n walking over. “Oh my god, is that Tessa?” Damien starts to freak out. “Y/ns best friend Tess, Regina’s goddam cousin Tess?!” He exaggerates but shuts up just before they reach us. They all say hi and sit down. Y/n sits next to me, Tess and Cady sit on the other side of Damien.

“So Cady tell us about this Aaron dude you cannot shut up about” Tess says while nudging Cady. to this all of us snapped our heads toward her “Samuel’s Aaron Samuel’s?” Damien asks “oh no Cady no” I continue “are you unwell?” Damien leans forward. “Wait you like my brother?” Y/n speaks up making everyone stay quiet, I look over and she shakes her head “Cady in the nicest way possible be careful, things with him and Regina ended horribly, and I don’t want him to be hurt” she says protectively “well things ended horribly with you and Bea but I don’t see Aaron sticking up for you” Cady bites back. A few seconds go by in silence before y/n stands up “sorry I have to go grab my charger from the art classroom” she says, Damien and his quick thinking blurts out “Janis can go with you, she left her needles there” which makes me look over and mouth ‘what?’ To him.

Y/n starts to walk away not waiting for me, which would be my que to get up and follow her, I stumble up and run after her. We end up in the art classroom, she grabs her charger and turns to leave but I grab her arm. “Wha..” she starts to say “what’s going on with you?” I cut her off, she looks at me as if she’s trying to analyse me to see if she can trust me. “Nothing in fine” she shrugs “no no your not now tell me what the fuck is going on” I push further, walking to the door and locking it. I walk back to her and hug her. She stumbles back a little but regardless her arms wrap around my waist. “Sorry” she mumbles into my shoulder “maybe let’s try explaining our actions instead of apologising for them” I say while rubbing her back. “Jason got his friends and beat me up, I rely on drugs to cope, my brother is in love with the queen bee of the school. Everything hurts jan” she says while tears stream down her face. I pull away from the hug and wipe her eyes. “Okay so we keep you away from Jason, we find better ways to deal with pain and we ignore the fact Regina exists mh?” I push some hair out of her eyes. She stares up at me before stepping forward a little, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling our faces together, she pulls me into a kiss. My fingers graze her hips and I use the loops of her belt to pull her closer to me. She starts to pull away to say something “this isn’t going to be awkward later right?” She questions, “no..I really don’t think so” I say pulling her in again, deepening the kiss.

——

(With Damien and the girls)

“So shall we talk about the elephant in the room?” Damien says as Janis and y/n walk away.

“What the fact that those two would make an adorable yet scary power couple?” Tess quips back to the boy, in return he clicks his fingers and points at her “truth” he says smirking.

“So how do we get them together because I know Janis is as stubborn as they come and y/n well y/n is just y/n” Damien laughs.

🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼

Heyyy my gayssss, I hope you liked this chapter, it is a bit happier than the last one. The next chapter should be up in a few days, thankyou for reading.

[schoopsahoy]

omfg babe this with steve

[ TRAPPED ]  one muse ends up staying the night with the other due to a storm. 

it’s just so soft n sweet ugh <3

thank u for this bc u are right it IS so soft and sweet and steve <3 summary: steve harrington x female!reader {2k} just fluff, two shy idiots in love, first kiss

“It’s really comin’ down out there.” 

Your hands are pressing into the windowsill, cold wood only made colder by the slurry of snow that’s falling outside. The storm had been forecasted for a few days now, warnings of heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures lurking in the air but never quite coming. Until tonight, when you’re tucked away in Steve’s house for a movie night that neither of you are quite brave enough to call a date. That’s definitely what it is, though. 

“Yeah? How bad?” Steve’s still sitting on his couch, eyes trained on you as you stare at the snow for a couple of moments more before turning to him.

“Like, snowed in bad. Or, only go out if you got a death wish bad.” You tug the sleeves of your sweater down over your hands, fingers barely visible beneath the fabric, the cold seeming to seep through the window and into your bones despite the fact that Steve’s got the fire burning hotter than a summer's day. 

Steve nods, mouth open a little because the words are on the tip of his tongue. The offer for you to stay the night seems to choke up in his throat, because he’s not even had the courage to kiss you yet let alone ask you to spend the night in his house. But it’s not like that, it’d be dangerous to drive before the roads get gritted and he’s got enough guest bedrooms that you could try them three times over before having to settle on his room. Still, you’ve both been tip-toeing around your feelings for so long that any step closer together feels like a leap, a jump across a quarry that you’re only 99% sure you’ll make. That 1% stops you in your tracks every time. 

“I, um-” You cross your arms over your chest, tucking into yourself as you swallow your words before trying again. “Can I stay? Tonight? I don’t think I can drive in that.” You twist your whole body to look towards the window before turning back to Steve, the glow of the fire lighting him up all golden and pretty and making your request feel even more daunting. 

Steve nods, blinking at you a couple of times before he realizes he needs to say something, anything. The silence hanging in the air is heavy, and he coughs to clear his throat before speaking. “Yeah, yeah, of course you can.” He shuffles in his seat, leaning forward a little now. “I want you to.” He pauses, his confidence fleeting as quickly as it arrived. “To be safe, y’know.” 

“I know, thanks Steve.” Your voice is soft, always sweet and barely above a whisper as you try to hide the flush that’s rushing to your cheeks. You feel like you’re in high school again, some juvenile crush leaving you tongue tied and smitten, an innocent sweetness that seems so fragile that if you move too fast or speak too loud it’ll shatter around you. 

“Y’wanna finish watching the movie?” Pretty in Pink had been sitting on pause since you realized the snowstorm was well and truly underway, the frame frozen in place waiting for you to peel yourself away from the windowpane. Steve had rented it out from work for you, he could care less about watching it but you’ve been waiting for it to be back in store for weeks and the look on your face when he’d held it out to you tonight was more than worth it. He’s spent most of the film gazing at you, anyway. 

“Yeah, sorry, got a bit hypnotized by the snow there.” You laugh, a little embarrassed at how long you’ve been staring at the blanket of white that’s covering the street outside. The way Steve extends his arm for you to tuck yourself under takes over your mind and quickly forces that embarrassment out of your head. 

“S’alright, could look at it all night if you wanted to.” Your head is resting on his shoulder, his head leaning on yours so you can feel the vibrations of his words and you know he means them. Know he’d let you do whatever you wanted to, just happy to be in your company. 

“Probably send me a little loopy after a while.” Your words can barely be heard over the movie, whispered out because your heart is always beating a little too hard when you’re this close to Steve and if you speak any louder you’re certain your voice will crack or squeak and give you away. 

Steve chuckles, his arm that’s slung over your shoulder pulling you closer into his side and all you can think is he’s absolutely going to feel how wild your heart is going, some crazy rhythm that’s pounding against your chest. “Maybe best not to, then.”

“Mhm, maybe.” You try to keep your eyes focused on the TV, bright colors filling the dimly lit room and casting onto the walls around but your mind is racing with how soft Steve’s hair feels where it’s brushing against your forehead, and how all you can smell is his cologne mixing in with his laundry detergent on his jumper and how it’s all familiar, some heady woodsy scent with a soft synthetic floral underneath that smells a little too much like home. 

It makes you a little dizzy, each inhale making you want to sink deeper into his side, melt into his warmth and stay there as long as he’ll let you. 

The credits roll across the screen, the film somewhat a blur to the pair of you because you’re both silently caught up in the other. Both overly aware of the fact that now the movies over you’ll have to move, have to untangle from each other and try and navigate the conversation of where you’ll sleep and what you’ll wear and the thought of it all is so daunting that it has you contemplating walking home in the snow and accepting the risk of frostbite to avoid it. 

Steve’s the first to move, sitting up a little straighter but still careful to not move you too much. He likes the feeling of your head on his shoulder, a comfortable weight that he misses as soon as you lift it away. 

“C’mon, I’ll get you some pajamas and then we can, um, you can choose your room.” He’s quick to correct himself, eyes all soft on you as you nod and let him lead you upstairs. 

You linger close to the doorway as Steve roots through his drawers, an old Hawkin’s high shirt and some sweat shorts passed over to you with a smile. He thinks if his friends could see him right now, all smitten and shy and unsure of his words, they’d tell him to get it together. Definitely call him a loser, or a dingus, or some other insult that he’d take on the chin because they’d get it if they were in his shoes. 

You get changed in the bathroom, drawstring on the shorts pulled tight so they fit you, the length of them still looking a little silly on you but then the t-shirt ends up covering them mostly anyway. You fold your clothes up neatly, cradling them in your arms as you step out after one last look at yourself. You think you look ridiculous, Steve feels like he’s been punched in the chest when he sees you in his clothes - in a good way. 

“They alright?” Steve asks, eyes looking up and down at your frame that’s swamped by his clothes. 

“Yeah, they’re great, think I look real fashionable.” There’s a little teasing in your voice, still too soft for it to really hit the way it would from anyone else. 

“You do.” Steve nods. “You wanna see the guest rooms? There’s a few of ‘em, not to sound like a dickhead or anythin’, there just is. I can show you-”

You have to cut off his rambling, waiting for him to take a breath taking too long and you don’t want to wait. “Steve.”

“Hm? Yeah?”

“Can I stay with you?” You hold your clothes a little tighter to your chest, as if they were a barrier against the fear of rejection, the ache that would hit your chest if he were to deny you. 

Steve wants to pinch himself to make sure he’s not imagining your words, though he doesn’t. He tries to keep his cool. “Yeah, yeah. I’d like that.” 

You tuck your clothes into a corner of the room, out of the way, conscious not to make a mess of a space that’s not your own. Where you’re a guest. 

It’s all slow and hazy, soft movements as you follow Steve into his bed. His duvet held up so you can climb underneath it, set down gently as you both shuffle to try and get comfortable. Fingers brushing thighs and arms, barely there accidental touches that leave fires burning in their wake. The moonlight filters through the curtains, a muted glow that illuminates you both in a cold light - a contrast against the warmth in both your eyes with each glance at the other. 

Steve lets you slot yourself into his side, tucked into him with an arm across his chest whilst his arm is laid beneath your neck. The room is still, quiet save for the steady intake of breaths that are taken in sync. You can feel his gaze on you, eyes quickly darting away each time you shuffle like he’s scared to get caught admiring you. 

He’s not scared, he doesn’t think. Because he’s fought interdimensional monsters and stood up to Russian soldiers and that warrants being scared, not having the girl he so desperately likes next to him in his bed. The girl who sets an ache in his chest each time he sees her, has him flustered and overthinking and jumbling his words - no, that’s not fear. It’s something else entirely, something deeper and warmer hidden under the guise of anxiety. 

“Steve?” You whisper his name against his chest, not moving and Steve’s half convinced he’s imagined it. 

“Yeah?” He’s whispering back, voices hushed like you’re sharing secrets. Maybe you are. 

“Can I ask you something?” You tilt your head, pulling away from his chest a little so you can look at him in the pale moonlight. 

“Course, anything you want.” He means it. 

You let out a sigh, a deep exhale to try and rid yourself of the nerves and tension that’s currently building in your chest. “D’you-” you pause, another small exhale from your nose before you try again. “D’you wanna kiss me?” 

His eyes scan over your face, your eyes all wide and lips pressed tight together as you wait for an answer. He feels like his chest might explode from how his heart is rattling about inside of it. “Yeah, I do.” He covers his honesty with a little laugh, the lingering fear of rejection looming over him even though you’re the one asking him. “D’you want me to? Kiss you?”

You look like you’re deep in thought as you process his words, a small nod in response that could easily be missed.  “Yeah, I do.” 

Steve tries to fight off the way he wants to grin, all wide and boyish because of the way you’re looking at him and the fact you want him to kiss you. He really hopes he’s not dreaming. “Can I?” 

Your faces are already close, bodies pressed together in his bed to try and keep warm. The comfort of one another is enough to have you forgetting about the slurry outside. You nod again in response, a bigger one this time. One that says you’re certain, no doubt about it. 

His lips are soft when they meet yours, cautious and featherlight as he tests the waters. But you’re quick to respond, chin tilted up and to the side so you can properly kiss him. Still gentle, a steady push and pull that’s all too sweet and has your stomach fluttering like it’s your first. 

You don’t realize you’ve been holding your breath until you part, only a couple of inches between you as you both try to catch your breath. Sweet smiles on your lips, subconscious and honest, hearts on your sleeves and in your eyes. You don’t really need to say anything, some silent understanding of each other and how you feel transferred in the dark of Steve’s room. 

You think this might be the only time you’re grateful for a snow storm. 

[pedrostylez]

Something Else- pt. 4

pairing: Frankie Morales x fem!reader

chapter summary: As you learn things about Frankie, you wonder how much Anna realizes how she affected you. Frankie is adamant about getting to know you more, exposing you to his life in ways Anna hasn’t been exposed to Santiago’s

rating: 18+ (no minors please) Explicit

word count: 7k

warnings etc: Frankie w/o a daughter, triple frontier movie plot has happened, protected p in v, oral (m and f receiving) dirty talk, breast play, eating, mentions of missing meals, jealousy, friendship dynamics, fluff, pet names, friendships, jealousy, competition, drinking, 2nd person pov, no use of y/n

A/N: Happy Frankie Friday! I hope you're just as excited as I am for their first date :) Things will continue to get heavier as we progress, and I might start putting out drabbles of back stories? Like Anna's reactions or Santi's observations? Idk, let me know what you think about that before I do it lol. Please support by commenting, sending me thoughts, and reblogging. I appreciate every single one of you who reads this!

Taglist: @meveispunk, @jitterbugs927, @sullyosully @3sriracha @alltheseperfectimperfections @nandan11 @jake-g-lockley, @theanothersherlockian, @anoverwhelmingdin, @guelyury, @harriedandharassed, @wintersquirrel @scarletthefierce @paleidiot

You’ve been dreading seeing Anna. 

She came to your job to “just buy a coffee” to set up a girl’s night with you, and it was forced beyond belief. 

You really do love her like a sister, and sometimes sisters need space. You put on that face that your mother taught you early on; smile and deal with it. 

“I was thinking we could watch something silly, like just a couple episodes of a cartoon or something?” She asks at the end of the coffee bar, sipping from her matcha latte, that she requested you make because you “make it best.” Oat milk, a couple pumps of vanilla, light ice. You glance up at her as you wipe down the counter–even in just a t-shirt and jeans she looks effortlessly put together. Her hair is down, soft curls framing her face with a dewiness you’ve never been able to pull off. 

You sigh, setting the rag back in the sanitizing water. “Sure, that sounds okay. Do we want to cook?” You suggest, trying to show you are putting in effort. 

The bell above the door rings as you continue the conversation with her, smiling at all the right times and helping move the conversation along. Out of the corner of your eye, you see a hat, and whip your head over to see Frankie and Benny, Santiago already coming over to Anna. 

“Hey!” Anna squeals, hugging around Santi. “What are you doing here?”

“You said you were going to stop by, and we just got done at the hangar so we thought to pick something up,” Santiago says quietly, looking up at you and giving you a knowing smirk. “Frankie wanted to have a drink made by his girl anyway.”

You can feel your face flush red at the implication, looking over at Frankie’s smile. Santiago seemed to be just as forward as Anna, suggesting that you were “Frankie’s girl” even though you and Frankie had only been around each other a few times. Benny is watching the interaction, standing back to get the full picture. His eyes flick to yours briefly as he gives you a nod of acknowledgment. 

Frankie is at the counter, tilting his head as you come over. You’re suddenly nervous, wiping your hands against your apron that has chocolate sauce splattered on it. Ugh. “Uh, hi.” You say quietly, clearing your throat. 

You can hear Anna tittering, laughing with Santi and it makes you feel more embarrassed. Like you have an audience and you can’t escape this show that they have decided to watch– “You look beautiful, hermosa.” Frankie says quietly so no one else can hear it, eyes resting on you with not a care in the world. 

If you could blush more, you would at this very moment. You clear your throat, shaking your head. “What can I get you, Frankie?”

“Are we still on for this Friday?” He asks, smirking at you as you look down at the counter. You go to look over at Benny, Santi, and Anna, but Frankie pulls you back with his words. “Don’t worry about them. Just you and me right?” He’s just as quiet as before, smiling at you as you nod in confirmation. “Can you make me what you make for yourself?”

You sigh in relief, that Frankie isn’t asking for something overly sweet, or just black coffee. He wants what you make yourself; so that he can see you. You mark the cup with his order even though he doesn’t know what it is and look over at Benny. “Would you like anything?”

Benny shakes his head no, giving you a soft smile that matches Frankie’s. You get to work making Frankie’s drink; iced, easy, and a little sweet. It looks scarier than it is, with such little cream in it, but it isn’t needed. When you go to hand it to him, Santiago and Benny are bickering about what they did today. You look over to Frankie who is already looking at you, rolling his eyes at his friends arguing. “Ignore them.”

“No, I want her opinion actually,” Benny says, turning towards you. You widen your eyes, looking at Frankie across the counter and back to Benny. “Who do you think is a better fighter? Pope here, or Will?” 

Santiago scoffs, leaning against Anna as he has an arm wrapped around her. “How is that fair? She doesn’t know how either of us fight.”

“Why are you fighting?” You ask, stopping their bickering for them to look at you. Anna smirks, taking another sip of her drink. 

“Just, which one looks like it, no one is fighting,” Frankie says, leaning against the countertop. He has yet to take a sip of the drink you made him. 

“Except me, I’m the professional.” Benny concedes. “But that’s why I’m not an option.”

You pause, unsure if you knew that about Benny. “Wait, you’re a professional fighter?” You turn to Frankie, who’s smiling at you. 

“You didn’t know that?” Santiago exclaims, looking over at Frankie. “Next you’re going to say he didn’t tell you he’s a pilot.”

Your head whips to Frankie, who is still staring at you, eyes now wide and smiling bigger. “You’re a pilot?” You squeak out, listening to everyone laugh at you. It’s an irritating sound, one that is enhanced by Anna’s laugh–somehow she even knew?

Frankie must notice your nervousness, how you start to pull away at the sound of everyone laughing and reaches forward for your hand. “Hey, it hadn’t come up, and I only just got my license back.” He says quietly, eyes wide and open for you to read. “We just haven’t talked about it, right?”

You bite the inside of your cheek, giving a tight smile and nod. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right, sorry.” 

He holds on to your hand, giving it a squeeze before letting go and continuing to watch you. He looks like he’s about to say something more but–“Don’t worry!” Anna screeches, jumping back at the sound and looking over at her. “They all don’t really talk about what they do. I only knew because Santi told me he was going to be in a helicopter today.” Anna tries to soothe, looking over at Frankie with a knowing smile that makes your face drop. 

Your whole mask you had been wearing for Anna to play nice fades. “I’m so glad you know everything about him.” You say quietly, flicking your gaze to Frankie before turning around for the rag again. You close your eyes in frustration, not wanting to continue this back and forth anymore. You clear your throat, “I have to close up, guys. Can you leave?”

The silence is tense as everyone stops talking, shuffling of feet heading towards the door. When you look to the side, Frankie is still standing there, brows furrowed as he watches you. Anna stands just outside the door, oblivious to the change in mood as she kisses Santiago. “She doesn’t know anything about me, cariño.” Frankie states, watching you. You’re quick to look back at him after watching Santiago frown in your direction, looking down at Anna and asking a question. 

You crack your neck, closing your eyes. The way Frankie listens to what you said and addresses it head-on, whether or not you meant the words makes you question if you should have said it. “I didn’t say that to upset you, Frankie.” You say quietly, holding your apron by the edge. It’s worn down here, where you grab it often.

“I’m not upset.” He tilts his head, watching you for another beat. “You are, though. What happened, just now?”

You shake your head, clearing your throat. “I don’t know.” You do know. Anna has just put in your head that she knows Frankie better than you. That she will always have the upper hand. That she–

“I only just got my flying license back because of a drug problem,” Frankie says abruptly, watching for your reaction. 

You stop down your anxiety spiral, looking up to him. “Oh, I-I didn’t know that.” You whisper. 

“Neither does Anna.” Frankie nods, licking his lips. “Pope, Benny, and Will know, because they helped me get it back. They won’t tell her- even Pope won’t. I don’t want Anna to know.”

You shake your head, widening your eyes. “I wouldn’t tell her–”

“I know you wouldn’t,” Frankie smiles, leaning forward. “I’m telling you because I trust you.” He reaches for your hand, pulling you towards the counter, and leans over to kiss your cheek. And just like that, Frankie’s serious switch has changed back to playful, smirking at you and looking at your lips. “Thank you for the coffee.” He whispers, giving you a wink before leaning away and taking a sip. As he’s walking away he nods appreciatively at the cup. “Holy shit, this is what you get? That’s delicious.”

Frankie is satisfied with how he left your workplace, sliding into his seat next to Benny after Pope said he would go with Anna back to her place. The two of them together were unaware to the rest of the world after brief questions if everything was alright, and it made Frankie upset for you. He takes another sip of the coffee you made him-some caramel-flavored dark drink that is sweet but strong. 

“What happened back there?” Benny questions, pulling onto the road. He taps the steering wheel with his fingers, looking over at Frankie and then back at the dark street. He snatches Frankie’s cup and takes a sip of the coffee himself. “Wow, that is strong.”

“It’s good,” Frankie argues, feeling himself getting defensive for you. He sighs, shaking his head, “I don’t know. Anna and she have some issues, and anytime I try to get her to open up about it, she’s vague.” Frankie concedes, confiding in Benny. Benny was trustworthy for not telling Pope something that would in turn get back to you through Anna. He knew he wasn’t the only one that had noticed the tension. “She told me she hasn’t dated in a while because Anna interferes.”

Benny’s face scrunches in confusion. “What, like sabotaging it?”

“I don’t know.” Frankie shakes his head, looking out the window. He thinks back to hiding in your closet, watching your eyes glaze over with tears. “She…she said something that made her upset the other day. Something about leaving Pope.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.” Benny shakes his head, turning into Frankie’s driveway and shifting his body to look at him briefly. “She wasn’t like this before Anna planned on setting her up with you.”

Frankie doesn’t know what to do with that information, letting it bounce around in his head. He pulls his phone out of his pocket, shooting you a message, getting wrapped up in it to where he isn’t aware of his dazed-looking smile that Benny rolls his eyes at.

Dinner at my favorite spot on Friday?

Where’s your favorite spot?

It’s a surprise ;)

What should I wear?

He knows this shouldn’t make his heart speed up and his dick tighten in his pants; he just told you that he had a previous drug problem after you were spiraling from your friend’s comments. He knows you’re asking because you want to literally know what to wear to your date with him on Friday-but he can’t help but relive what happened over the weekend, stripping your top half and letting you feel–

“Earth to Frankie,” Benny says with a small smile, looking over at him before pulling into Frankie’s driveway. “Where are you taking her on Friday?”

Frankie sighs, shaking his head and sliding his phone back into his pocket. “I was thinking Berto’s, but I don’t want to bring her somewhere you guys will show up.” He says, giving a pointed look to Benny. “I need you to be quiet about it.”

Benny agrees easily, promising to not say a word as Frankie hops out of the vehicle, waving goodbye and stepping into his entry. When he finally gets to sit on his couch he brings his phone back out to respond to you. 

Anything you want, hermosa. Casual, just relaxed type of date

He sighs, watching the bubbles of your pending response appear, tilting his head and waiting. He thinks you’re taking much longer than usual when it pops up that you’re now calling him. He answers quickly, not caring if he sounds desperate. “Hi.”

“Will you tell me what that means?” You laugh, the sound of your car alarm beeping at you to indicate you’ve locked it. You sound different than you did in the cafe–like you’ve moved past what has happened in there.

“Tell you what what means?” He questions, smiling to himself and leaning further into the couch. 

“Hermosa? And cariño, since we are on the subject.” You say, your accent not matching even close to what the pronunciation is supposed to be. 

He chuckles, scratching at his forehead. “I thought you knew.” He muses, listening to your giggle and the sound of your door opening. “Did you just get home?”

“Yes.” You sound tired, ready to lie down at any moment. “I have to clean up for Anna to be here tomorrow.”

He hums again, looking at the clock. “Have you eaten already?” 

“No.” You yawn, a muted thump heard through the phone. “I think I’m going to lay down and maybe nap, then clean up.”

“I’ll order you food.” He says, putting you on speaker and ordering from the same place as before again. As he’s clicking confirm, you’re protesting. “Too late, it’s on its way.” 

“Ugh, I hate you.” You mumble a tiny laugh bringing a smile to Frankie’s face. “You can’t be doing that.”

“Just accept it, hermosa.” Frankie grumbles. 

“What does that mean?!” You laugh. Frankie’s smile grows wider as he lets your laughter lessen.

“It means gorgeous. Or beautiful, depending on my mood.” He shrugs to himself, feeling a blush creep onto his face. He can only picture yours, biting at your lip with anxiety but red-faced to match his. He listens to you breathe, wondering if you’re going to respond, but when you don’t and just let the silence grow between you, he sighs. “I’ll let you eat. Let me know how it goes tomorrow? With Anna?”

“Yeah, I can do that.” You say quietly. “Thank you.”

He smiles, ending the call and leaning back on the cushion of his couch. He knows he’s screwed when it comes to you. 

Playing nice with Anna is a blur that you aren’t totally present for. You’re tired, staying up all night tossing and turning in bed at the thought of her stopping by, only soothed by the memory of Frankie calling you hermosa, and has been since he first met you. After Anna had left, hugging you and kissing your cheek saying she misses hanging out with you, you feel almost guilty for not being as fun as you used to be. 

She didn’t ask about Frankie once. 

It irritates you in more ways than one that Anna chose to not even ask how you two are doing. She was adamant about being in your business before, but what has changed? Was she really wanting to just hang out with you?

You said as much in your phone call with Frankie following Anna leaving. “She was so nosy before, breaking down my bedroom door to find you.”

He laughed quietly through the phone. “Don’t worry about it, maybe she’s discovering she needs to give you space finally.”

“Don’t give her too much credit.” You grumble, taking a bite of some late-night cereal you had put together. 

Another laugh and a small sigh. “Have you figured out what you’re wearing for our first date yet?” He teased, making you smile into your spoon. 

You hum. “No, did you have a suggestion?”

You can hear him thinking through the phone, debating on what exactly to say. “I want you to be comfortable.”

Comfortable for you meant shorts and a T-shirt. You made sure it was your nicest pair of jean shorts, with small distress marks towards the hem, flattering and slightly loose so you could move easily. A plain scoop neck shirt, dark olive green that reminds you of Frankie’s comforter. This doesn’t feel like a date-worthy outfit, but you feel better about it when Frankie comes to your door wearing close to the same thing- ripped jeans and a charcoal shirt. His boots are laced up tightly, hidden by the hem of his pant legs, hat is perched on his head. 

You open the door wider for him and step away towards the hall. “I’m almost ready.” You call, stepping back in front of the mirror and adding a single layer of mascara. You hear him hum, tapping on your countertop with his fingertips. 

When you step back out, Frankie is leaning against the counter and watching you. “You’re very pretty, cariño.” He says quietly, holding his hand out for you to take. 

You do, shyly placing your fingers in his palm and feeling a jolt of adrenaline when he pulls you toward him. He kisses you lightly, smiling at you as you look up at him. “Ready?”

Nodding, he pulls you along, letting you lock your door before helping you into his passenger seat. He jogs around to the driver's side, starting the engine and then looking at you for a brief moment before placing his hand on your leg again. The drive is relatively silent, Frankie asking how the past couple of days have gone for you, but just enjoying your presence. You feel yourself relax the further along he drives, giddy about what he has planned. “So, where are we going?”

He smirks, looking at you for a moment, and then back to the road. “I thought I would tour you around the hangar, show you Big Mama.” He says quietly, pulling down a dirt road and slowing the speed of his truck. 

“Big Mama?” You question, gripping the handle of the door tightly as Frankie hits a bump quicker than expected. You jump in the seat, Frankie giving a short chuckle at your surprised gasp. 

“Just a dirt road, hermosa, don’t worry. Yes, that’s the name of the helicopter.” He nods, pulling up to a large building that just looks like a garage. You look over at Frankie to see if this is right and sigh at the smile he gives you. “This part will be quick, I just wanted to show you.”

You hop out of his truck, the sun beating down on your head, and squinting towards the metal door. “Are you sure this isn’t to kill me? Kinda far away from everything else…”

He laughs, coming around the front of his truck and sliding his arm over your shoulder. His other hand reaches into his pocket, keys jingling around his fingers. “I don’t kill my dates, sweetheart.” He says quietly, pulling you along to the door and unlocking it. 

When you step in it’s cooler, concrete flooring and metal walls of the same shade of gray surround you. There are a couple smaller planes, a row of toolboxes along the short wall farther away, and a helicopter right in front of you. Your eyes widen as Frankie steps towards it, easily opening the door and climbing in without looking back at you. 

He slides the back door open, smiling over at you in a way you haven’t seen before. He looks like a little kid, getting to play with his toys and is excited to tell you about it, dimples deep into his cheeks. “Come on in.”

You step forward, grabbing the hand he has offered and step into the opening, looking around cautiously. “What kind of helicopter is this?” You ask, looking up at him. 

“It’s a decommissioned military helicopter.” He says, letting you take a step or two around to explore. “It still works, but it lets us practice a bit in case.”

“In case of what?” You question, missing Frankie’s serious face as he thinks.

“In case we get called on again.” He mumbles, stepping toward you with a quick smile and directing you to the front. He shows you the pilot's seat and lets you act as if you are flying the helicopter. Pointing to the different buttons and levers, he tells you how it works in the simplest of terms. 

You laugh when he struggles to find the right words. “You’re not going to test me, are you?” You look over at him to see he is right next to you, cheek almost touching yours, the brush of his stubble barely touching you. Your breath catches at how close you are, his tanned skin glowing with a slight sheen of sweat from the humidity outside. You could lean a bit forward and plant your lips there yourself if you had the confidence to do it.

He turns to lock eyes with you, a smirk growing on his face into a full smile again. “Should I?” He asks, leaning forward and pausing as a silent question. When you don’t move, he leans all the way in and presses his lips to yours lightly, pulling back to see your reaction. 

You inhale sharply, flicking your eyes back and forth between his and then down to his lips, his teeth peeking out as his grin grows. You rest your hand on his chest, firm under your fingers, and give a gentle shove. “No, I’m not good at tests.” You settle on, giggling at his momentary frown. 

Another moment of staring at each other before he holds his hand out to you again. “C’mon pilot, let’s get something to eat.”

Frankie loves having you beside him. He’s standing with you, at this food truck that he frequents enough that they cleaned the picnic tables off in preparation for this date. He had mentioned it to Berto, the owner a couple days ago that he would be bringing you here and Berto’s wife, Alma took matters into her own hands. String lights cover the area where the picnic tables are shaded by trees, each table has a plastic tablecloth on it so it is easier to clean up after previous guests, and they gave him extra toppings and a tray of salsa and chips. When Pope had asked if they did chips and salsa a few weeks ago, Berto had given a firm “no.” that was now being brought into question. But Frankie only takes note of these things and stores them in the back of his head because he can’t take his eyes off you. 

You’re perusing the menu, debating between soft shell tacos and a quesadilla, and ask the owner what he prefers to make. “He will make you anything you want, cariño.” He mumbles in your ear, feeling you relax against his hand resting on the small of your back. You smell warm-he doesn’t know how else to describe it. When he had stepped into your apartment earlier he smelled it and didn’t think much of it, until he had you in the helicopter so close that he wondered if he put on a perfume specifically for him. His arm around you now, he was pretty positive you had just changed your shampoo and weren’t aware he was fixated on it. 

When you’ve both ordered and sat down, he’s sat beside you to look out on the water. Berto’s food truck was set up in a local park not far from the hangar, a small pond with a walking trail accessed by just a few yards. He can’t think of anywhere he would rather be, especially when you lean your head on his shoulder and look out, sunglasses you took from his truck perched low on your nose. “Thanks for bringing me to the hangar. Is that still…your job?” You ask, not lifting your head and making yourself comfortable. 

He sighs. “No, not at the moment. I mostly do paperwork for the company that owns that hangar in exchange for using their facility.”

You shift, lifting your head and turning towards him. “Do you want to be doing that again? Flying?”

He smiles, shaking his head. “No, not really. But having my license back is good, lets me teach classes on occasion when I’m bored.”

You seem to mull it over, debating on what to ask next. Frankie feels nerves bubble in his stomach, wanting to shut down at the possibility of prying questions. He was ready to tell you that he had gotten over a drug problem, sure–but the why and how and what happened– “Do you teach like, adults? Or like rich kids wanting to fly a helicopter?”

Your question stuns him, a sigh of relief blown out of his mouth as food is placed in front of you both; something else that Alma insisted on doing. “Typically flight students, sometimes military. Whether or not they’re rich I don’t know, but you can’t just sign up for flying lessons with me, no.”

You laugh at that, sliding the sunglasses off your face and setting them on the table as you dip a piece of your quesadilla in salsa. He waits for you to take a bite, listening to your hum of satisfaction before biting into the burrito he ordered. “This is delicious!”

He swallows, watching you again. “This is my favorite spot, they make the best food. Berto over there has all these recipes down to a science.” He watches your smile, turning to him and blushing. 

“Are you watching me eat?” You groan, pushing him with your shoulder and making him chuckle. He mumbles out a no, letting silence consume you both as you enjoy each other’s company and the food together.

When you both finish, you chat about random things. Stories from growing up, but not going into detail about home life, you favorite classes when you were in school, his first few years in the military before meeting the group he is friends with now. It is nice, just getting to know each other, and he knows he’s not the only one who thinks so based on your smile and how your fingers swirl small circles into the knee of his jeans. 

It sends a jolt of want up his leg when your finger accidentally drifts higher as you excitedly tell him about the time you flew down the street on your bike and now have a scar on your thigh. You point out the general location on his leg for demonstration, and Frankie has to grab your hand to get his heart rate to steady. You smile at him knowingly, tilting your head in question. 

Frankie clears his throat, looking out onto the water again before turning back to you and offers to walk around the pond. “Just a stroll?” He mumbles, watching your smile grow, ready to tease him.

The tease never comes though as you stand with him and walk down the short hill towards the paved path, following his lead in a counterclockwise direction. There is no one else around but a mom pushing her kid in a stroller and a runner, and the quiet makes Frankie take a deep breath. “Thanks for coming with me, today.” He mumbles, looking sheepish as you glance at him. 

“Thanks for inviting me.” You nod, falling in step beside him and looking out on the pond. “It’s really cool that you’re a pilot.”

He scoffs, shaking his head. “I’ve been doing it for so long that I don’t even think of it that way.” He looks at you, down to your hand, and wants to reach for it. He holds back from it when you keep your eyes on him in question. “It was cool when I first started, and now it’s just part of my life. Lost its luster.”

You hum at him, moving your head back and forth before saying. “I can see how that could happen. Everything can get monotonous after a while, no matter how much you enjoy it.”

He nods, kicking a stray stone. “Do you enjoy your job?” He asks quietly, watching the crinkle at the corner of your eyes and the huff out of your nose. 

“Ah, no. I mean, it’s easy, and lots of free coffee is a bonus. But…it’s not…” You trail off, shrugging. “It’s paying the bills while I work on it.”

He nods, prying a little further. “And what are you working on?” 

Your eyes shine brightly at him, stopping in the pathway and turning your whole body. You’ve made it halfway around the pond, trees shading the pathway with benches and a small playground. “I like to write. I don’t think I’ll go very far with it, but…maybe.”

He smiles, blushing as he says, “I saw you had a poetry book in your room.” 

You laugh, sitting on the bench and waiting for him to do the same. “Yeah, I’m trying to see if poetry is more of my speed.” You sigh, turning to him again. “I have so many ideas and they aren’t lengthy enough to write a story so I thought I should try something else and see if that helps kinda clear my mind–” You sigh, looking down at your fingers and picking at your nails. “Sorry, I’m rambling.”

Frankie can’t help himself when he slides closer to you, his jeans catching on the worn-out wood of the bench before grabbing your hand to stop you. He doesn’t say anything as he leans in, pressing his lips to your cheek, the corner of your mouth, and then finally your lips. He can’t think about anything else besides your lips against his, how they are so soft and willing, how you smell of warm vanilla and spice– “Do you…” He doesn’t know why he pulled away, his thoughts all over the place and his body struggling to catch up. “Do you want to come to my place? Watch a movie?”

Your nod is all the reassurance he needs to know he’s not out of his depths. 

Being with Frankie today was a whirlwind of surprises. The helicopter tour, the favorite spot to eat that you noticed he tried to be nonchalant about but knew he would have been crushed if you didn’t like it. The walk around the pond, all the way to holding your hand while he drove quickly back to his apartment.

When he kissed you it felt like he couldn’t help himself; that his attraction for you was the same as how you felt about him, and that it was bound to happen. He asked in the truck about more of your poetry, and if you thought you would stick with it after you said it hadn’t been that long of you trying, and your heart soared at his interest. 

No other guy you had ever been with had been really all that interested in your interests. Not that they had to, but the effort of asking was new for you. 

Frankie had led you into his apartment, smiling at you as you passed him through the doorway. He was quick to shut the door and wrap his arm around you, making you do a quick turn around to see what he was doing and launch into a kiss. Your fingers were quick to shove up into his hair, curls wrapping around them so easily, his hat falling somewhere on the floor as he led you backward. 

God, it was so easy.

Easy to fall back on his comforter, bouncing with a giggle as he laughed with you. Easy to lean back into another kiss as he quietly asked “Is this okay?” before unbuttoning your shorts and pulling them down your legs. The way he looked up at you, wide brown eyes blown out with a need you couldn’t place, made your spine tingle with want of your own. It was easy to reach for his pants, shoving down his jeans and boxers in one swoop and letting his hardened length slap against his lower stomach. 

It was easy to lean forward and lick up the shaft to the head, watching his hands clench in surprise. “Fuck, sweetheart–” He groaned, pulling at your shirt to lift it off of you. 

You pulled away long enough to help him, yanking him to kneel on the bed beside you. As you reattached your lips to his weeping head, a pearl of precome touching your tongue and making you sigh in delight, he lifted his own shirt off of him and exposed his bare chest, flushed with adrenaline. 

His hair was wild from removing his shirt in haste, jaw slacks as he watched your mouth over him, heaving heavily. You thought you could write poetry about this, maybe. 

“C’mere.” He huffed, pulling you off of him to lay flat on his bed. Frankie adjusts himself to lay next to you, turning on his side and chuckling. “If you keep your mouth on me, I don’t think I’ll last.”

You shrug, bringing a finger from the center of his chest down to his belly button. “I owe you for last time.” You smile, letting your eyes trail down to the tuft of hair below his belly.

Frankie pauses, eyebrows furrowing as his own hand glides down your torso. “You don’t owe me anything.” He grumbles, swirling his fingers lower to your clit and listening to you sigh. He’s tensed up, shaking his head. “Fuck–you’re so fucking pretty. Do you understand me?” He asks, dipping his fingers lower and pressing two into your entrance. “You don’t owe me anything, okay?”

When you don’t answer, Frankie pulls out his fingers, trailing them lightly down your thighs. You whine at the feeling, sticky and wet with your own arousal. “Frankie–”

“Tell me you understand.” He says lowly. He kisses your temple briefly, fingers still ghosting over your skin. “Say you don’t owe me anything, hermosa.”

He’s brought his fingers back to your center, slowly shoving his fingers into you again, curling them against that spot you struggle to find yourself, pulling them out and circling your clit. Over, and over he does this, mouth open and breathing heavily over the side of your face. “I d-don’t–” You reach for his arm, nails digging into his skin but he doesn’t let up. “Don’t owe y-you anything.” 

Frankie gives a cat-like smile, kissing your cheek and groaning. “Good girl, that’s it.” He pulls his fingers away from you, your hips bucking up to follow them. “Let me taste you, huh?” 

Dazed, you watch him move between your legs, his hands sliding up your thighs and spreading them apart. He groans again, leaning down to kiss the junction between your thigh and center. “I’ll come once, and you can come twice.” He mumbles, glancing up at you and smiling when your eyes widen. “Fair?”

You think about arguing with him–you really do. But the way he leans down and lets his tongue drag against your skin, leaving a blazing trail of want behind, you can’t think about why you would argue in the first place. 

He does the same that he had done with his fingers, his tongue trails down to your entrance, giving a gentle push inside you before retreating and sliding up to your clit. He circles it, lips wrapping around to provide some suction that makes you throw your head back with a moan. 

Frankie’s tongue is talented, and you weren’t really prepared for that. He groans at the feeling of your hands tangling in his hair, his fingers digging into your thighs to keep you still. He pulls away enough to mumble out “You taste so sweet.” before diving back in, causing you to arch up into his mouth. His hand slides up your stomach to your chest, covering your breasts and giving a light tug to each nipple, and it is just about your tipping point. 

“Please, Frankie.” You whine, covering his hands with yours to keep him there, moving your hips with his tongue to chase the feeling he is providing. When you fall over the edge, shutting your eyes and chanting his name, you feel his moan vibrate through your center. 

When you come down, Frankie pulls away with a deep breath and a smile. “Alright?” He asks, sitting up and leaning over you, letting his lips trail over one nipple to see you shiver. The wetness from your center leaves a trail over your chest, cool in the air as he moves across your skin.

You breathe heavily, nodding your head at him as he looks up to you for confirmation. “Fuck, that was–” You cut yourself off, not able to figure out what it was beyond good. So good that you’re pretty sure you blacked out for a second. 

Frankie nips at your collarbone, smiling into your skin with a sigh. He pushes his hips forward, the head of his cock brushing against your clit making you shiver. “Think you can give me another one?” He asks, breathing against your ear as his hips rut against yours again. 

You give a faint “Yes,” as he leans over to his nightstand, pulling out a foil pack and ripping it open with his teeth. He leans back to slide it on, looking at you with hooded eyes and red cheeks. When he leans back down, he presses his lips to yours, moaning at the feeling of you against him. He rests his forehead against yours, positioning himself to push into you, sliding in slowly. His eyes are on you, your face, watching for a reaction. He props himself up with his hands on either side of your head, letting you look down at his hips, his dick. You bite at your bottom lip, not realizing that it drove Frankie crazy until he took his thumb to pull it from your mouth, holding your face in his hand. 

“You’re so fucking gorgeous.” He groans out, fitting his hips flush against yours to just stay there, to feel you. “How are you this fucking tight for me, baby?”

You moan, moving your hips up to push against his. “Please, Frankie.”

He pulls away, holding you steady as he watches before sliding to the hilt into you again, setting a pace that is slow but powerful. You jolt across the sheets, his hand tightening at your jaw to try and keep you still, but he has to reach up to the headboard to support himself at just how forceful he is being. He moans your name, eyes closing in bliss at how you feel wrapped around him. “God, fuck–you’re so fucking good for me.” 

You reach your hand down to your clit, circling it as he continues to push into you, his eyes trailing down your form to your hand and watches you. The rise to this orgasm is much quicker, feeling your chest heat as you begin to breathe heavier than before. You reach your other hand up to Frankie’s shoulder, digging into the taunt muscle. “Frankie–”

“It’s okay, that’s it.” He mumbles, leaning his forehead on yours again. “Be a good girl for me? Come all over my cock baby.”

He continues to quietly encourage you, your nails digging in at the feeling of your orgasm again, eyes shutting in pleasure. It feels like your ears are ringing, a muffled sound of Frankie’s labored breaths fucking you through it, chasing his own high. 

“I’m so fucking close.” He breathes, leaning up and changing his position. He sits straight, hands securing onto the dip in your hip to pull you towards him. His jaw is tight, teeth gritting against each other as he tries to hold on just a bit longer, practically growling out at the feeling. When he comes his jaw drops, watching your centers connect together over and over and the smallest whimper escapes his mouth at the sight of your center squeezing his. 

You’re both breathing heavily, watching him through sleepy eyes as he pulls out, removing the condom and tying it off with skilled fingers. He steps out of the room and across the hall to the bathroom, returning with a warm washcloth and a small smile. He looks a little embarrassed, bringing the cloth down to your chest where he kissed you after eating you out, trailing down to your center and gently wiping. You bring your hand down with his, stopping him. “I didn’t mean to bring you to my bed first,” Frankie admits, resting his other hand on your leg with a small chuckle. 

You smile, pushing your hair out of your face and sitting up. “We can still watch a movie if you want to.” 

Frankie tosses the rag into the laundry basket he has by the closet, kneeling on the bed again so that you’re at eye level with his neck as you sit, his hands coming around the base of your head and petting your hair back. “Of course I want to.” He says quietly, planting a kiss on your forehead. “Spend as long as possible with you if I can.”

You smile at him, adjusting to bring your feet to the edge of the bed and slide off. When you stand you stretch, unknowingly putting on a show for Frankie as you lean down to find your underwear, sliding it up your legs. He goes for your shirt, pulling it out of your reach, grabbing his own, and offering it to you. You furrow your brow, placing your hand on your hips and asking the silent question of why. “I like seeing you in mine.” He blushes, pulling you toward him when you try to grab the shirt out of his grasp. 

You laugh, leaning down to kiss him again. “Fine by me.” You conceded, letting him help you put on his shirt, it brushes the underside of your ass and covers the tops of your things. His fingers reach forward to your hip and slide down to your leg where you mentioned you had a scar. He finds it quickly, giving it a light circle with his thumb before he pulls back and examines it. 

Your heart flutters at the sentiment-that he listened, he remembered, he sought it out. You’re lost in your own thoughts when he looks back up to you, a smirk growing on his face. “Should we find another Heath Ledger movie to watch?” He asks, watching you. 

You smile at him, nodding your head. “Yeah, maybe.” 

[grendelsmilf]

Have you heard that is going to be a new avatar series, post-korra? Not sure how i feel about that, I guess it depends who’s involved, because the books have been good, but if they try to make it even more modern than korra it’s probably going to backfire

ugh, yes. really not looking forward to this. or the “adult gaang” movie. or the netflix live action. i like the novels because they do a good job of fleshing out the worldbuilding through past avatars (seeing, for example, a fire nation pre-sozin, air nomads pre-genocide, the geoeconomic conditions that led to the north/south pole divide, the way internal earth kingdom politics affected all nations, the ripple effects how the spirits were affected by human choices, etc.) but it’s clear that they have no idea how to handle the politics of their world in a post-atla-finale landscape.

the comics are godawful, and of course lok is a political dumpster fire. i really see no way for them to make a show about an avatar post-korra because it would simply highlight and exacerbate the problems they established with lok, namely the facts that they don’t know how to “modernize” the world they created without westernizing it, all the radical anti-imperialist politics of atla being replaced with pro-colonial centrist copaganda, the bizarre developments with the spirit world, and the fact that atla specifically works as a standalone story in the first place so trying to expand on it in any way shape or form beyond the timeline of the show’s finale simply doesn’t work!

i wouldn’t mind if they made more content about past avatars (because again, i like the novels!) but it’s clear they have no idea how to handle their postwar future. i don’t want to see the gaang as adults! considering we know how they turned out in lok (zuko maintaining a colonial presence in the earth kingdom, toph becoming a cop, aang and katara nuclear family, etc etc) that sounds depressing as fuck! i don’t want to see an avatar after korra in some bizarre attempt at a “modern” world.

even if the writers on these projects do truly understand the ethos of the show, these characters, the themes that made atla work in the first place, they’ve written themselves into a corner with what they already established in lok. it shows with faith erin hicks’s attempt to salvage the comics. she is good at writing these characters and this world, and yet she still has to abide by the worldbuilding established by the godawful gene yang comics on one end of the timeline and the lok world on the other, so she’s severely limited by what she can write about in a way that doesn’t contradict “canon” (in quotes because i refuse to abide by it lol).

if avatar studios really wanted to expand their franchise without taking a big fat shit on atla’s legacy, they would make media expanding on tangential lore that people care about, like a kyoshi warriors spinoff series, or a kanna bildungsroman (just as examples). it’s clear they don’t know what they’re doing, so i have absolutely no faith in them. that said, hire me bryke you need me

[insomniac-astronomer]

Nick Nelson x Reader: Bad Days

Welp I've read heartstopper twice now and got actually triggered by Charlie's ed. So yeah. That really sucks. It was helping my depression and loneliness till I wasn't eating. So. Here we are.

Fuck my brain, I hate it.

Literally wrote this after taking sleeping pills so idk how this turned out, gotta read it again later.

Description: Reader is having a really bad day with their ed, Nick helps.

Gender: neutral! no pronouns used

WARNINGS: talking about ed (not eating) in detail

NOT INTENDED TO ROMANTICIZE EDs. As heartstopper put it, love can't cure a mental illness. Additionally, YOU DO NOT WANT AN ED OR A MENTAL ILLNESS. They suck. Whatever picture you have painted of it, you don't see everything else.

I promise it's not worth triggering yourself to read this ❤️

*not my gif* UGH LOOK AT THAT BOI, MURDER ME

You feel mopey. Like, for some reason that's the only way to describe it. You've had an awful day. In health class, you had to list--in great detail--your body type versus your eating and exercising habits.

The hunger from lunch pangs nicely in your stomach. That feeling is familiar. The lightheadedness is almost comforting now.

You fight between the thoughts of "don't pass out," "this feel nice," "I'm being ridiculous," and "you don't deserve food."

You glance over at your best friend (and crush), Nick. He is focused on something on his phone. You glance back out of the window, torn between being happy he doesn't notice your unusual behavior and selfishly wanting him to see.

When the bus pulls up to the stop by Nick's house, you both step out. He gives you one of those smiles you adore as you both begin to head to his house.

Once in his bedroom, you flop dramatically onto the floor. You feel the air conditioning biting at your exposed arms.

"Its freezing in here!" You whine.

Nick laughs. "Here," something lands on the ground next to you. One of his hoodies.

You muster the energy to sit up and put it on, hugging the warmth and totally not his smell close to you.

He sits on the ground next to you.

"Want a snack?" He nudges your shoulder.

You shake your head. "I'm alright."

"Really?" He leans forward so he can see your face. "You didn't eat lunch."

You shrug. "Not hungry."

Nick sighs and a strained silence settles between you two.

"You know," he finally breaks the tension, "there's no one else here. No one will see if you eat anything."

"I'll see," you whisper. It's quiet enough you didn't think he would hear it, but he did.

"You deserve to eat something. Despite what your brain says."

For the first time since getting to his house, you look at him. "Since when do you know so much about I'm thinking?"

"Since I thought you might have an eating disorder." He looks away.

"Aw," it escapes. It sounds a little condescending in a way you didn't want. "I'm glad you care."

He takes you hands and you look at him, the light humor you had been holding on to disappearing.

"I don't know if anyone's ever told you, but I think you're very pretty and you can eat food if you need to. And you do need to. And you can always talk to me if you need."

For a moment, you focus on the floor, not sure how to respond. "Thanks," you whisper, throat blocked by tears.

"I'm gonna get you some food, okay?"

You feel a twinge of stress in your chest. "I just . . . can't today. I'm sorry."

"That's okay. I'm gonna get it anyway in case you want it."

You give him a little smile. Once he is gone, you feel a couple tears fall on your cheeks. You quickly wipe them away. You're greatful that he cares, no one's every really cared about you before. Like that. Like they really want to make you believe what they're saying.

Nick returns with a plate with some fruit on it. He sets the plate between the two of you. He pulls out his laptop and starts scouring for a movie to watch, mindlessly eating some grapes while he does so.

Your fingers twitch as you desperately want to take some fruit, too. You watch the way he doesn't think twice about anything he consumes and it almost comforts you for some reason. You take a strawberry and twist it in your hand for a moment, then you bite into it.

The sweetness fills your mouth, stronger than you've ever tasted due to your complete fasting in the last 12+ hours.

Nick must have noticed because he gives you a giant smile.

You smile back and reach for more food. Maybe it won't be so bad to eat tonight. Thanks to this dorky boy.

Thx for reading, don't steal. Go eat something my loves ❤️, Nick wants you to.

Buy me a coffee?

[teacuptoast]

Homefront

Relation: Young Justice x Teammate! GN. Reader

Warnings: Cussing, Mention of Alcohol

Words: 3.2K

Summary: A reader insert and rewrite of episode 12 season 1. Reader is an absolute smart ass but we stan the sarcasm. They're giving major stiles stalinski vibes.

A/N: Ayyy my first piece so enjoy. Also, I'm having my monthly YJ brain rot.

Navigation

“Ugh, I hate chemistry,” Sighing, I walked out of my last class of the day. Merging into the swarm that was the hallway I adjusted my bookbag as my feet swiftly carried me out of the building. I was practically running to get out of the building, desperate to get away from the place.

Its only the second week and I already miss summer. AP this, ACC that, I was drowning in paperwork. Not to mention the fact that the rest of the team gets 3 hours off before you. While they’re all playing games and baking cookies I’m stuck listing to Mr. ‘Peaked in Highschool’ tell me how to do a pushup. 

Already in a bad mood I walked deeper into the drowsy city.  A steady drissle turned into a downpour as your student jacked did little to shield you from the rain. ‘I hate this,” I’d chant in my head to pass the time, “I hate this, I hate this so much.” Forgetting an umbrella was a rookie mistake.

Now being soaked and soggy, I huffed before taking a sharp turn into the nearby ally. My boots splashed through puddles as I neared the rundown photo booth. Setting my bag down in a relatively dry sport my hand rummeged through textbooks before pulling out a pair of glasses.

Placing the glasses on my face I took in a large breath before stepping into the booth. After scanning me the voice read, “B0-7 Hawkeye.” Hearing the familiar name I readied myself for whatever weird situation I was about to walk into.

Stepping forward into the room I closed my eyes and spoke into the room, “I think I’ve broken the record for most consecutive minor problems in one day, and let me tell you, its really pissing me off.”

Opening my eyes I looked into open room to find a fireball coming straight twords my face. My mind took its time playing ‘fight or flight’ roulet before it made the last minute movement to doge.

A string of curses left my mouth as I tried to figure out what was going on. Though I didn’t have the time before another fireblast came my way, this one I didn’t miss as cleanly. Feeling your skin burn you let out a hiss before dropping you bag and deciding to run.

Practically screaming I began to talk to myself, “I just had to ask how this day could could get any worse!” Booking it down the hallway I took a steady turn into a small room, barely missing the flames that followed.

Shoving yourself into a storage room was anything but ideal. My rapid breath frilled the room creating a erie eco. Inhaling one more time I held my breath as foot steeps neared. It sounded like the person was wearing metal shoes. ‘Red Tornado’ my mind celebrated, almost making me open the door.

The footsteps stoped at the studden sound, right on the otherside of the door. Rational thought soon kicked in, ‘Whys Red Tornado trying to kill me?’ My face cringe as I relized my stupid mistake.

The tension grew as the steps didn’t seem to move. Almost like a horror movie I held My breath, waiting in anticipation. After what seemed like hours the footsteps began to walk away.

Shakily I let out a breath. Trying to piece together the situation, I couldn’t help but wonder who, where, why, and what the hell was going on here. ‘This must be an attack, or maybe this is just a practie mission right? Right?’

After a short while I left the closet, checking the to make sure the coast was clear. I began to work myself down to the locker room. If I was going to do my job effectively, I first needed to get myself out of civies. 

Heading twords the fitness center I quickly rushed into the locker rooms. I frantically tried to open my lock before it finally released. Out fell my suit and I didn’t wait a second to rip of my soaked cloths. 

To think I was in the rainy streets of Seattle less then 20 minutes ago, gave me the shivers. I didn’t even have time to look at my burns on my arms and face to know I was in some deep shit. Knowing the adrenaline masked the pain, I quickly cover it up the burn. Finally placing my mask on my face I slipped on my toolbelt.

Putting my last knife in its place, I took in the calm that certainly wouldn’t last long. Hearing two pairs of footsteps, I quickly turned to see a pair of familiar faces being thrown to the ground by a flame.

Waving for them to follow me into the locker room, the three of us filed in before the next attack. Before we could even speek a word, Robin was already tring to override the systum. Following their lead I began to twist the showerheads, again drenching my dry suit.

“Can anyone please tell me what the Hell is going on!” I asked though nether responded. Robin procided to tell us that all lines of communication where down. ‘Grate now were stranded,’ I thought to myself.

“At least the waters helping,” he said as we backed into the middle of the room. Soon the clicnking of the pipes turned into growls as the water pressure shot them off the wall.

“Or not,” I added as the room began to flood. Swimming upwards I noticed a red robot sening more flames twords up. We looked at one another before I was taken by the water and tossed onto the hallway floor.

The three of us coughed as we tried to catch our breath. Standing up we quickley headed for the kitchen.

“We need to get lost.” Robin said as we walked into the kitchen. As we all entered I started to catch my breath.

I scoffed and smiled back. “Yeah no shit.”

Artemis looked to me before rolling her eyes, “The sarcasm is not helping Hawk.”

Turning back to face her, I rasid my hands in frustration, “I’m sorry I almost just got my face seareed off by a robot with boobs! I have a right to be a fussy,” stepping twords the kitchen I continued, “Lets head for the vents, so I can have a little fussy breakdown without being seen!”

The twos’ bitter similes soon turned lighthearted. Disite being overly dramatic and flamboyant at times, you were intellectually a genius. No matter the task at hand you always were able to run every possibility to make the best decision for the team and mission. You were flashy but decisive none the less.

As the two of us started our way into the vents we questioned Robin as he downloaded the caves blueprints. Before he could finnish his explonation, the familiar sound of metal boots was heard in the hallway. 

We quickly scurried into the shaft one after another, myself leading the way. Robin shouted directions as we made our way throught the vents. Turning I opened the vent cover as instructed. Sliding down I couldn’t help myself from making a little ‘wee’ sound. 

Braking through the vent we landed on the rafters inside the boiler room; now it was Robins time to lead. Before he could get anywhere we were stoped by a loud thud. Looking up we saw it was the same flame robot from before.

“Hey your a very nice looking robot,” I said to draw her attention away so the others could escape, “But the whole metal thing is kind of a turn off, for me.” She didn’t seem amused as she raised her hands, fire fillling the room as I let out one last remark, “I never said you wern’t hot!”

Jumping onto the growned level I met with my teemates. Seening the machines begin to malfunction, Robin let out a quick word before we moved again. Steem hissed as pipes broke sending us charging by the robot. It aimed for us as we continued to struggle with the blazing attacks. We ran past it quickly, myself brining up the end of the pack.

Ducking behind another engine, Robin pulled up a scene from his hollow glove, “I know that other acces tunnel is here somewhere,” Robin said in distress.

Finding the vent door on the floor I held it up for Artemis to jump into, speaking with a stupid smile, “You mean this one?” Placing an explosive, Robin followed in behind us. Falling into the tunnel, he stoped us before we could get much further.

Plugging his glove into the electrical socket he quickly explained, “Looking out the cave’s motion and heat sensors to prevent the enemy from tracking us.”

Artemis quickly followed up, “And I ask again, who is the enemy?”

“We already know theres a giant red robot lady that can produce fire and unless Kaldur’s gone crazy, we can assume theres another person who can control water. I’m just wondering why they look like Red Tornados divorced parents,” I added as Robin pulled up the screen.

On the screen showed our four superpowered teammates. They were up to their usual shenanigans wile working on Conners bike.

Kalder was the first to ask if anywone was struggiging with their school work, to which I fell back against the vent and yet out a disgruntled yes. As Megann began to ramble about her cheerleading team, I silently wished I went to our own Happy Harbor High school.

It was just some normal highschool, with normal kids who all did normal things. They could do extra cariculors like cheerleading, or swimming. They could hangout without having to risk the lost hour for their homework. It struck a cord of jellosuy inside of me hearing them talk about how easy their personal lives are.

Every morning I’d wake up at 6 in the morning to be greeted by prentious assholes for the 8 following hour. Pine Hills Private Acadamy for Intalectully Gifted, or as I call it, ‘The prerec for becoming a rich dousebag.’ Everyone there was just the same carbon copy Barbie and Ken and it made me want to rip my hair out.

While everyone was worried about surviving the evil robot attack, I couln’t stop myself from stressing over my lab paper due tomorrow.

My attention was soon drawn back as everyone was blasted back by an explosion before the screen cut out. Artemis was the first to pester us with questions about what hapend to our team mates.

“Explosion took out the camera,” Robin responded, “I’ll look for another angle.” He continued to type away as 4 more screens loaded onto his hallow glove. The first camera showed big stretching waves crash into the hanger before one seprate stream deliberately took out the camera. On the second angle, we briefly saw the team get splashed by water, before the camera was cut out again. 

“All four are dead,” Robin spoke as I rolled my eyes at his poor choice in words, “The cameras. I mean the cameras,” ​​Artemis face relaxed, “I’m sure the others are ok.” He continued to ramble on as Artemis leaned back next to me. Before we got the chance to relax, we were already opening the vent to jump down into the study.

Running down the stairs Robin explained that theres was a secret passage opened by one of the books. I jumped at the chace to coment, “Whats next, a trap door that leads to the dongen?”

“You should see the Batcave,” He said as I chuckled. Walking passed the numerous shelves we were surprised by the door opening behind us. Getting into position we quickly retreated behind a shelf. Knives still drawn and ready, we patintle waited as metal clanking walked down the isle.

“Artemis, Robin, Hawkeye.” The voice spoke reminding of us all of a familiar Den Mother. Artemis, though, jumped the gun and moved to confront him. Though who she saw was not Tornado and more like his long lost step father.

Robin pushed her out of the way as I tried to stab the machine in between its mental plating. Hitting its eye I tried to stab the other one before he could react. Before I got the chance he grabbed me by the neck and threw me into the nearest bookcase.

Hearing my teammates call my name I croaked out, “Sorry for flirting with your wife, thats my fault.” Rubbing the back of my head I got up to find the other, female, robot standing infront of us. 

As she shot fire out of her hands I tried to regroup with the others as they scrambled ontop of the bookshelf. Artemis questioned who they were as she covered us from the top of the shelf. Sliding down with Robin the two androids continued to fire. Finding the right book in the nick of time, we entire the secret as the shelf fell overhead.

As we sprinted down the hall Artemis asked, “Did you know Tornado had siblings?”

“Yes! It’s almost like I mentioned this is the vents!” I shouted, “If I had a nickled for every time you all called my ideas stupid and I was right, I’d be more richer then Bruce Wane!”

As we met a cross in the halways she grabed my hand, “So what do we do now? Red Tornado is one of the powerhouses of the League. How are we suposed to take down two of them?” She seemed more distressed as the situation grew.

“They do seem pretty user unfriendly.” Robin responded as I once again let out an obnoxious chuckle.

She told us off before we got to respond, being interrupted by they overhead speaker system. It sounded like the same voice as one of the androids, “Attention, Robin. Attention, Artemis. Attention, Hawkeye. You have exactly ten minuets to surrender or the lives of your teammates will be extinguished.” Turing to face one another we could only assume what danger are teamates were in.

Continuing to run down the halls the androids sounded again, reminding us we only have 8-minuets left.

“We can access the hangar from here,” Robin spoke before we quickly turned around to face another wave of water. Contradicting himself, the three of us began to run away from the wave, only to be swept up by it. Taking in a deep breath, we were quickly submerged. 

As Robin took out his breathing device, he headed towards me first but, I shook my head. Giving it to Artemis I looked around, only to find a red hand wrapped around my ankle. As it pulled me twords it, I grabed a smaller knife from my belt. Griping it I stabed it into his other eye as bubbles escaped my mouth.

Pushing off of it I felt a hand grip my waste and pull me out of the tunnel. As explosions followed behind us we broke for the surface. Gasping for air we quickly caught our breaths before hearing the voice of a familar speedster. 

Quick dodging the incoming fire blasts we quickly swam twords Wally and Conner, who where both trapped in a rock of some sorts. Quickly asking if they were ok, they directed our attention up to the Martian. Looking up both Kaldur and Megan were traped in a cage made of fire.

“Aqualad, is she-” Artemis asked, pleading. Kaldur reassured us that she was just unconscious but, that they were running out of time. The conversation was broke when more flames were sent twords us.  

Navigating deeper under water my body was beginning to fetieege. 8 hours of school on top of running away from evil robots was alot more then your 16-year-old body could handle. Passing Sphere, who was stuck in the wall, we quickly tried to hussle up the stairs. Unfortunately we were followed by the evil step father, and were stoped at the top of the stairs by the evil stepmother.

As Artemis talked about her lack of arrows, Robin called for a distraction.

”Ay Ay Captin!” I responded. throwin a small dager into the flame robots eye. It didn’t seem to faze the it at all. Before she was able to hit me with her flames, I dove into the water. 

The others followed as I looked for a storm drain, which I luckily found. Pulling it off I let the others swim up before I followed in. Once we broke the surface we gasped for air and starrted to climb up a later.

Sitting in the tunnel I looked up and spoke, “You know i’m getting really tired of drowning!” Following my statement was the reminder that we only had 6 minutes left. Placing my hands behind my head, I heaved for air and didn’t bother listening to the two bicker.

“And you,” She looked to me, “For once in your life can you take this seriously? Our friends are dying and you look like you’d rather be napping!”

Between breaths I snapped back, “I think anyone of us would rather be naping then dying Artemis,” taking in another breath I responded to her other question, “And for the record I am taking this seriously. I prefeer to process my emotions with a little bit of sarcastic flare to avoid the fact that I secretly have an inferiority complex,” Watching her face turn in confusion I finished, “Does that anser your question?”

Slowly nooding we followed Robin down the tunnel. Artemis droned on about how none of our   training maters now that we’re without the rest of our teammates. Though something she said sparked an idea.

“There machines,” Robin spoke and looked at me to finnish, “That means one electromagnetic pulse will shut down any machine within range. Nighty Night evil robots!”

Artemis was quick to bring us back down to reality, “Great, except you better have an EMP emitter in your utility belt, because I know I don’t have one in my quiver.”

“Nope I’m fresh out!” Robin responded, “But i'm betting we can make one.” Looking dumbfounded I turn my attention to him.

“This isn’t the science fair! We can’t do that in -” I was cut off by the android reminding us we had 5 minutes left, “In five muniets.” 

Pressing my com, I linked to the one deliberately placed wepon, “Hey KF. Correct me if i’m wrong but, theres two vircator in the med lab, on the X-ray machine.”

Chuckling he responded, “I thought you hated practical science?” I hummed in agreement as we made our way into the med lab, before explaining the plan to the others, “You’ll find a small vacuum tube called a viractor, that converts high energy pulses. Reprogram the units microwave conversion from X-rays to EMPs, with a cascading energy vector directed outward.”

Grabbing the cylinder I asked once again, “Alright we’ve re-programed and secured the EMP,” Standing up the others followed my lead, “Hey KF? Again correct me if i’m wrong but if we hook this thing up into the main generator then we win the prize right?”

“You know your really making it hard to be the science nerd on the team,” Sighing he finished, “Once again correct.”

Pressing off my com, we dropped into a nearby airway. Looking down I could see the two robots as well as our teammates. Looking at one another, Robin divised a plan.

“Ok. Make a distraction,” He called into the com. It wasn’t long before the two drowning knuckleheads were teasing the robots to death. Hell, their commets were even making me cringe. Whe Robin asked for cover, the two of us quickly got into place.

As he swung onto the generator, he placed the EMP inside. After pulling up his hollowglove to re-route, he whispered into the coms, “It’s not working, Hawk. Circuits incomplete, I need something conductuble.”

I readied myself for the throw, though I stoped when I heard a yell, “Robin look out!” The boy was soon tackled by a wave of water, nocking him off the generator. Artemis reaied her arrow but whilst trying to dodge the blast from the android, rammed into me.

Losing my footing I tried to regain my balance but, the slickness of my drench boots betrayed me. As I began to fall I gave one last ditch attempt to connect the circuit. Throwing the knife before I hit the water with a large and painfull splash. Relling in pain from the impact I came up to the surface tp find that my dager had only missed by centimeters.

“Oh you have got to be kidding me.” I spoke, preparing myself for the incoming wave. Taking a final deep breath I excepted my fate, It was all up to Artemis now. With that, I felt my mind slip as I passed out from exhaustion.

***

Long and painfull coughs wrack my body as I began to wake up. I didn’t even have the energy to sit up but I always had one for a comment, “God I need a drink,” I coughed as I heard footsteps walk towards me, “A dirty shirley? Vodka? A club soda? Fuck it i’ll even drink Malabu just something people.”

“Well you definitely haven’t lost your humor.” Megann spoke as the others crowded around me.

Kaldur was the next to ask, “Are you alright? You’ve been out the longest? We were beginning to worry.”

A week chuckle left my lips, “Ah just ask Artemis, I was taking a quick nap. Speaking of which, I would like to get back to that.” Shewing them away with my hands I curled up more into the floor. Chuckles followed but they all decided to let you rest.

The moment didn’t last long though before Wally and Artamis were heard yelling from accros the room. Though when you heard a familiar voice. Deciding it was best yous at up drowsy.

I couldn’t bother to hear the aindriods reasoning, looking over to the two bots you decided to study them. As Red Tornado walked twords you and the drown you began to protest, “Hey I don’t care why you wern’t here but, I think its in all or our best interests if you don’t have a family reunion.”

“There’s no need to worry any more Hawkeye. The leage is here to finnish this.” He said kneeling twords the too.

Trying to stand up I wobbled and tried to separate the group of robots, “Thats not my point. My point is that your clearly linked to these two, making you a person of intrest in the attack. You being here at this moment is quit literally the worst alibi.”

He didn’t seemed bothered by my words but I still tried to convince the android. Before I got the chance Sphere sprung back to life jumping out of the wall. Then the relization hit me, those robots would be waking up anytime now…they just need a spark.

As the others were busy with the laser cutter, I wispered to the android “You walk away right now and no one will need to ever know about this,” He didn’t anser, just simply sreached his finger out, “Don’t!”

Quickly the drons came back to life, panicking you looked back to your friends behind you, trying to tell them to run. Red tornado raised to the sky as it began to suck the air out of the room. Quickly grabing your throat you began to cough. Grasping for oxygen you felt the life being rinped out of you. One after another, their bodys hit the floor. Despite your best efforts, you feel back to sleep.

***

“Hey I know your tired kid but you got to wake up.” The familiar voice was heard above me. I willed myself to open my eyes. Opening my eyes I was met with a familiar face.

“God I need a drink. Do you know the day i’ve had,” I asked him with a lopsided smile, “Like I had a Murphy's law daw. Just wait till Roy hears this.” Patting my shoulder he stood up giving me the chance to lay down once again.

From a distance I could only hear him speak, “Definitely concussed but they’ll be alright.

[rarestdoll]

pillow talk 🧁

prompt: “falling asleep in the same bed w ur best friend ellie is never a problem… until it is”

warnings/tags: wet dream situation, smut, choking, voice kink, fingering, service top!ellie, voyeurism, cunnilingus, fluff at the end, description of female anatomy

a/n: this is kinda nonconsensual at first so if ur uncomfortable w that, don’t read !

“ugh fucking hell- i’m so sick of wakin up early, i can’t fucking wait til my next day off. now i know how joel feels when he talks about havin’ ‘the aches’”

ellie grumbles as she swings ur front door open, dropping her well-worn backpack on the floor, balancing herself on the doorframe while toeing off her beaten converses. she sheds her coat off too and throws it over the chair next to the door, not being too bothered to hang it up in the closet although she knows ur gonna remind her about it later. the smell of butter and slightly burnt popcorn hits her nose, a smile cracking across her face as she shuffles further into ur place. she never gets tired of being here, her daily routine of busting into ur house after patrol has been deeply ingrained in her since the two of u really became friends. being here brings her comfort, so much that sometimes she prefers it over being in her own home, but ellie will never tell u that.

“i’m in here, idiot!” u yell back to her from the kitchen, voice strangely warped and ellie guesses that ur eating something, knowing u have a bad habit of talking with ur mouth full. she finds u perched on the island, popcorn bowl behind u, mouth half full with popcorn while using what looks like one of her comics to fan the smoke coming out the microwave away from the smoke detector. tonight was u guys’ weekly movie night, something ellie genuinely looked forward to cuz u always managed to score the best ones.

“hey! that’s precious! don’t bend it up, it took me ages to find that edition!” ellie starts, nearly lunging herself at u to pluck the “precious” comic from ur fingers.

“hold on, williams! i’m trying to make sure the house doesn’t catch on fire!” u stick out one of the legs ur currently balancing on in her direction to make sure she keeps her distance. whenever u make popcorn, u always somehow manage to burn it. this was obviously one of those times, ellie watching as u passive aggressively fan the air, face pulled in an annoyed pout.

it makes ellie laugh, at the sheer ridiculousness of the fact that u continuously mess up something so easy. she stands there watching u until the smoke finally clears, lips still pulled in a half smile when u jump off the island and smack the comic at her chest while flicking her off.

“ur so dumb, how do u always manage to do this? popcorn is literally the easiest thing to make, even jesse can do it and jesse literally burns everything he touches in the kitchen.” she jabs at u, smile widening again when u roll ur eyes at her.

“hardy har har, els.” u bite back, face still pinched in annoyance but sharing a smile just as wide as hers, “who died and made u the popcorn master?”

ellie barks out another laugh, pitching her voice low, aiming to tease u more on ur misfortune, “ur just mad cuz i do it better than u, babes. like everything else.”

ur eyes lock with hers, shining with mischief and something else ellie can’t quite put her finger on, her eyes following the movement of ur hand as reach up and tug at her ear hard enough for her yelp and smack u in the arm. u hop away before she can attack u any further, turning to cross through ur living while holding the bowl of popcorn, then starting up the stairs to ur bedroom.

“that’s what u get for being cocky. now c’mon, i have the other snacks ready in my room. i managed to swipe the exorcist from dina after baking her that strawberry buttercream cake she’s being wanting for awhile.” u giggle, remembering the interaction from earlier today and how much dina gushed over how perfect it was and how she was going to savior each bite.

the mention of her makes ellie’s insides twist, an unknown emotion rising within her, causing her pause and falter slightly, mind scrambling to make a timely response.

“i don’t think i’ve ever seen that one… i hear it’s real old, way older than joel even.” u luckily don’t catch her slip up, giggling again as u continue up the stairs, her eyes lingering on ur form, trying her best not to let them rest too long on the way ur hips and butt sway.

she watches u open ur door wider, throwing around a few things, dimming the lights some before popping again in the door to yell out, “oh and bring up something to drink please before u come up i don’t wanna die of thirst.”

“as u wish, ur majesty!” ellie calls back, biting her bottom lip into her mouth and clutching the comic harder into her chest where u smacked it at. something feels different this time, ellie just doesn’t know what yet but she’s determined to find out.

she spins on her heel, opening ur fridge to rummage through before settling on two sprites and a cola for u both to share. her brain reels back to earlier, stopping on how ur eyes captured hers, the way that unknown something flashed in them. it’s confusing, cuz ellie’s sure that ur not supposed to think about ur best friend like this, right? it’s not like she hasn’t before, the feelings she had for dina were of a similar sort but not like this. not in a way that ellie is unable to wrap her mind around it or a way that has her on her toes feeling like she’s dangling over a void that she doesn’t know what’s waiting for her at the bottom. it scares her, cuz this is new territory and it’s nothing like dina or cat or even riley. ur different, like sun tinted rain in the spring, like bubbles in the summer, like smell of cinnamon and maple in the fall, like the ice cream u both share in the winter. rare. unusual. special. it didn’t use to be like this, but now just the thought of u makes butterflies slam against the walls of her stomach, flapping helplessly in desperation and longing. and it’s how ellie knows she’s entirely fucked.

“ellie! cmon or i’ll start without u!” ur voice snaps her out her trance, making her jump out of her skin, nearly dropping the beverages. after switching off the kitchen lights, ellie all but runs up the stairs, slowing herself down as she rounds around the doorframe and slinks into ur room.

“finallyyy, u took forever, i was almost convinced that u we’re gonna stand me up,” u joke lightly. she deposits the drinks on ur bed then settles herself into the coziness of ur room, arranging her limbs til u both are comfortable, her head in ur lap and ur back against the wall.

“i would never, dumby.” she responds back, eyes looking up to scan the underside of ur face. u pat her head in appreciation, fingers gliding over her reddish brown hair in a petting manner as thanks.

“alrighty let’s get this party started!” u say, clicking the play button on the remote, u both watching as the opening credits begin.

୨♡୧ ୨♡୧ ୨♡୧

the movie rolls smoothly for the next hour, u both watching the old film intently, laughing a few parts that were corny then exclaiming in disgust at others. this one by far is one of ellie’s favorites, it’s dumb, cliche, and cheesy, one of the best combinations when it came to an A1 movie, which is probably why people called it a “classic.” u both had been so engrossed in the movie that u barely noticed urself start to lay down, cuddling up to ellie’s backside, head propped up with one hand while the other still carding through ellie’s hair. ellie is practically mush under u, humming lightly, almost like she’s purring, as she leans further back on ur frontside. u feel urself start to doze off, eyes falling shut for a few seconds before they snap open again, ellie pulling u closer to her backside.

cuddling is something very normal between the both of u, often times u both find solstice and peace in each other’s arms. it’s unspoken, natural, grounding. but this time, just seeing her so calm and unguarded around u makes u feel this warmth in ur chest. like hot tea on a cold day, it spreads throughout ur body, sedating u like a candy coated drug and it makes u blink back for a few moment’s cuz this is ellie. a hard lump forms in ur throat, tears stinging at ur eyes by the sudden onslaught of emotions. ur best friend? the realization scares u and u start to pull away from the red brunette lightly.

“heyyy, nooo don’t go ur my pillow and i’m very comfy right now.” ellie pouts, voice edging on a whine as she grabs ur arm to pull u back to her. u stifle a laugh, trying hard not to reveal the current state of ur emotions. the sheer cuteness of it makes ur heart stutter a few times in ur chest.

“okay okay u big baby. i won’t go anywhere.” u jokingly huff out, letting urself be pulled into her embrace as ellie flips over to face u. u two lock eyes momentarily, ur eyes moving away first to jump back to the movie, looking at her is a little too much for u to handle right now. in ur peripheral, u see ellie’s brows knit in confusion, u can almost hear the gears turning in her head, trying to decipher u like ur some ancient code that’s never been cracked. u don’t know what it is she wants exactly and ur too scared to ask quite frankly. she turns away after awhile, huffing in frustration and starts watching the movie again.

ur eyes stay trained on the screen, struggling to watch the movie. u try to keep them open but u start to drift off again, eyes falling shut after a few minutes.

it’s silent for awhile, ellie still watching the movie and she assumes u are too but u haven’t said anything in awhile, which she finds strange. she turns back to u to find u sleeping soundly. the sight makes her smile and she reaches up to rub her hand over ur head. ur face pinches at her touch, eyebrows pulled together, lip bitten into ur mouth and ellie swears she sees a blush spread across ur face. u shift next to her, slightly rocking ur body into hers while clutching onto her shirt tightly, face desperate.

ellie moves to shake u, worried that u may be having a nightmare cuz that’s a frequent occurrence between the both of u, and then u make a sound. something akin to a whine and ellie pauses for a few seconds to make sure she wasn’t hearing things. her eyes scan over u again, watching u move helplessly, ur mouth falling open as u let out another whine, this time louder than the last, making her pull away from u like she’s been burned. her brain stops, mouth going dry when she realizes that it’s not at all a nightmare but a fucking sex dream.

more sounds fall from ur lips, flush deepening on ur skin like a reddish stain and she can’t seem to tear her eyes away. ur hips grind into the bed, desperately trying to seek friction and ellie stupidly feels jealous cuz of how much she wants that to be her. she watches as ur hips stutter, hands clenching the sheets, moans coming out louder between ur spit slick lips.

“fuck…” ellie groans out lowly, biting down hard on her bottom lip, nearly drawing blood, the sounds ur making going straight to her core. she clenches her thighs together as u gasp out, broken moans becoming more and more unrestrained, increasing steadily in volume. it’s too much, her seeing u up close, like this, is making her head swim dangerously, it feels wrong. ellie takes a few moments to calm down, taking a deep breath, shaking herself to clear the fog from her head before she brings her hand down on ur hip, shaking u firm but gently.

u startle awake, flinching back from her touch, eyes finding their way to her as u look at her in pure confusion. ellie is staring at u in curiosity, eyes dark and predatory. reminisce of ur dream flickers back through ur mind and u groan out lightly, feeling embarrassment crash down on u in harsh waves. u flop back down on the bed, throwing ur arm over ur eyes. u refuse to face ellie right now, wanting nothing more than to sink into the floor and disappear.

“hey, are u still watching?” she says squeezing her hand still on ur hip lightly to get u to look her. u jump at the motion, touch feeling hot even through the layers of ur baggy sweatpants. she stares at u for a few moments longer, green orbs boring into ur face, calm and calculating, the sheer intensity of them making u squirm lightly cuz u feel too open. she shuffles her body closer, leaning down to hover herself over ur body with her arms effectively caging u in. she’s so close that u can feel her breath fan over ur collarbones and on the side over ur neck, forcing u to suppress the shiver threatening to rack through ur body.

“ur hearts beatin so fast, y/n/n, are u okay?” ellie whispers, voice twinged with amusement, she’s obviously finding this entertaining, “u look nervous, babes. am i makin’ u nervous? u know it’s just me.”

there she goes again with that stupid petname, laced in texan drawl and curling off her tongue in a way that shouldn’t be attractive. or in a way that u shouldn’t find it attractive. u know it’s just her but somehow that only makes it worse.

u shake ur head so stiffly that she barely notices it. ur body goes ridged when she leans in closes to brush her nose and lips along the juncture of ur shoulder where ur neck meets. she pulls ur arm away from ur face, pinning it down to the bed so u cant escape her hold.

laughter rings out of her when u jump as she presses the lightest of kisses to the underside of ur jaw. ur brain short circuites, surprised gasp falling from ur lips when u feel her lips spread into a grin around ur skin. u must still be dreaming, have to be, ur brain playing a crude trick on u cuz what the fuck, there’s no way this is happening right now.

“have i ever told u how pretty u are?” she asks, murmuring the words into ur skin, “i think i might of mentioned it once or twice but man ur one of the prettiest ppl i’ve ever seen.” she continues on, reaching up to splay her hand out on the back of ur neck. her fingers catch lightly on the hairs at ur nape, twisting and twirling them between the digits. “it makes me wanna kiss u sometimes, yanno?”

ur body stills in shock, unable to fully process what she just confessed to u. heat blooming on ur face, running its course down ur neck, to ur chest, across ur legs and arms. u feel like u were set on fire and u can’t breathe, finding it hard to force the rise and fall of ur chest.

“w- i- what?” u stutter out, eyes going wide and teeth clicking together by how nervous u were. ellie shifts back, grabbing u firmer by ur neck, forcing u to meet her eyes.

“don’t act coy, u heard me, y/n.” her eyes dart down to ur lips for a split second, watching ur tongue swipe over them anxiously, her fingers pressing down a little harder. she leans in again, nosing along the shell of ur ear, breath fanning over sensitive skin there as she speaks lowly, “can i kiss u, please?”

still unable to formulate a proper response, u nod ur head dumbly, heart clambering loudly in ur ears. the heat coursing through ur body has only worsen, now pooling itself at the bottom of ur stomach. what the fuck is even happening?

“i’m gonna need a verbal answer.” ellie whispers, this time ur unable to fight how ur body shakes under her grasp, breath coming out in small gasps, heating rushing down to ur cunt and u still have half the mind to feel embarrassed.

“yes, please…” u dont hesitate this time, voice wobbling as she pressed kisses on ur nose, making a trail over ur face, to ur eyes, nose, cheeks, forehead, temple, and finally ur lips. ur stomach flips at the sweet gesture.

“good girl.” she breathes against them, pushing her lips onto urs, the hand firmly on ur neck now tangled into ur hair as she holds u close. u move ur lips against hers urgently, pulling at her to come closer, want radiating hotly throughout ur body. her voice plays in a loop over and over in ur head and u can feel ur panties start to stick to u uncomfortably.

she pushes u down into the mattress, towering over u, hand yanking ur hair back so ur body arches against her. u moan at the pricking sensation on ur scalp, letting the pain ease into pleasure. she spreads ur legs open with her thigh, pressing her knee against ur clothed cunt, other hand slithering up to wrap around her neck.

“is this okay?” ellie says in between kisses, lowering her weight onto u so she can grind her hips against urs. u whine loudly, nodding ur head while ur hands find purchase on the thin frame of her shoulders, digging ur nails into the freckled skin. u melt further into her hold, opening ur legs wider, bucking ur hips up to met hers rolling down, pleading for her to do something.

she breaks away from ur lips, tilting ur head to the side, to bite down the side of ur neck, littering the skin in a pretty trail of dark red and purple bruises. “what were u dreamin about? hm?” she asks, the rasp in her voice making u squeeze ur legs around her thigh, tone pulling an almost immediate answer out of u, fast enough that humiliation floods ur veins.

“u… was dreaming about u els…” u respond back, opening ur mouth as she swipes her tongue against the bottom of ur lip, whimpering when hers means urs. it’s filthy, her tongue easily overpowering u, pushing u further back into the mattress in dominance. her hand around ur throat squeezes lightly in promise and u swear u could’ve died and gone to heaven at this point. she pulls away from u again, biting ur bottom lip between her teeth, to look at u in equal parts of lust and adoration, both fascinated and satisfied by how utterly fucked out u look from just kissing.

“yea? really? i must’ve been doing a great job cuz u looked so pretty layin there moaning and whining next to me, all desperate and helpless, i almost had the mind to lend u a helping hand.” she teases, eyes glinting in a way that makes more wetness flood ur panties, her looking at u like this doing nothing but spurring u on. the thought of her watching u, listening to how desperate u were for her, knowing how much it affected her just as much as u makes ur stomach pull harshly, a thick cloud of need fogging up ur head.

“fuck, ellie… just please do something?” u beg her, feeling urself grow impatient with the need for her to touch u, wrapping ur legs around her waist, fully grinding ur cunt down on her thigh.

“i will, babe, but first,” she starts, grinding harder into ur soaked cunt, fighting back the urge to just say fuck it and have her way with u, “u gotta tell me what ur dream was about, i wanna hear u say it. go on and admit it.”

she’s taunting u now, going back and forth with u like she’s playing a game of cat and mouse, purposely dropping her voice a few octaves cuz she know how fucking needy it makes u. u have never seen ellie like this, in this headspace. eyes dark, pure dominance radiating off her with ease. sure u’ve seen a glimpse of it in whenever she’s leading a patrol, coming up with better ways to protect jackson, or even in the past when u should see her flirt occasionally whenever a new girl came into jackson, holding an air of confidence to her name. but never like this. it makes u want to be good for her, want to listen to her every command.

“about ur fingers… we were in bed like this, uh… u were fucking me with ur fingers, uh and u were edging me til i started crying…” u trail off, feeling urself fall deeper into the haze she’s put u in. it’s suspicious, how good she is at this, like she knows exactly what u want and need.

her mouth twitches up into a smirk, smugness evident on her face even up to her eyes. she’s well aware of what she’s doing to u, how much power she holds over u.

“would u like that, baby? u spread out all pretty underneath me with my fingers in ur wet cunt, fuckin’ u so hard ur only able to remember my name and how fuckin’ good i make u feel?” ellie’s voice is edging onto a growl at this point, a hand coming down to cup ur heat through ur sweatpants, eyes lighting up and lips curling further when a wanton moan leaves ur kiss swollen lips.

“please please ellie just-“ u cut off into another moan, as she rubs her fingers over ur clothed entrance, palm grinding down on ur clit. any coherent thought flies out of ur head, body focusing solely on her finally touching u where u desperately need it.

“ur so pretty when u beg. who knew u would be so obedient?” ellie whispers lowly, u almost don’t catch it when she slips her hand along the waistband, eyes flickering back up to ur face for confirmation. u nod, hard enough to make her laugh. she pushes both ur pants and underwear down, eyes trained on skin as it’s revealed inch by inch. she gasps when they’re finally off, throwing the clothes on the floor next to ur bed, her chest visibly hitching when her eyes drink in the sight of ur naked cunt. her gaze lingers for a few more seconds, tongue absentmindedly licking over her lips, her pupils dilating til only a thin ring of green is left.

“shit, ur this wet already? just from a little bit of kissing?” her finger find her was back to ur heat, cupping u fully like before and ur body lights up with pleasure at the skin to skin contact. u try to catch ur breathe as she rubs her fingers slowly over ur cunt, thumb pressing down on ur clit as two fingers slide down to ur entrance. u stop breathing for a second, waiting in impatiently for her to put them in. she pauses, just long enough for u too let out a frustrated whine, before pushing them in. the stretch makes ur head swim, lewd moans falling from ur lips as she sets a slow but steady pace, her slender fingers stuffing u full just like in ur dream.

“that’s it, pretty girl. awww look at u, does it feel good?” she cooes, green orbs trained on ur face in awe, observing as ur face scrunches up, lips pulled into a pout, eyes glassy and glazed over. ur so caught up in her fingers pistoning out of u that u barely give her an answer, forcing a wobbly “yes” with a delayed out, begging her to go faster, harder.

her fingers curl up, brushing against that spongey spot and ur spine arches almost dangerously, pleasure racking through ur body hard enough for u to see stars.

“please ! please p- please ellie !” u wail out, her fingers fucking into so hard, so good, making ur sink further into that sweet floaty headspace. u hardly notice urself start to cry, hot tears rolling down ur face as she continues her merciless pace.

“fuck ur taking we so well, doing such a good job, sweetheart.” ellie grits out, clearly just as affected as u are. she pulls out abruptly, sliding her hands under ur knees. before ur about to protest, she pins ur legs to ur chest, lowering her mouth to lick a sloppy stripe over ur cunt before pushing her fingers back into ur stretched hole, fingers pounding directly on ur g-spot.

u scream out, full on sobbing now, hands flying down to grip red brunette hair as ellie eats u out. ur so gone, only being able to focus on her fingers filling u up and her tongue lapping unforgivingly over and over over ur swollen bud. ur legs shake around her head, fingers yanking hard on the strands between ur fingers, making ellie moan in u, sending endless vibrations through ur body. u can feel urself getting close, knot winding itself tighter and tighter in the pit of ur stomach.

“ellie !” u keen, pulling her head up so u can make eye contact with her. she looks beautiful herself, pretty blush painted across her skin, eyes black with lust, lips shining ur with arousal, chest heaving like she’s run a marathon. she looks feral, fucked out, and is probably just as gone as u.

“i can feel u clenching down on my fingers, u gonna cum, baby?” her voice dripping in tenderness, hands moving up to brush the tears off ur cheeks. the gesture makes u whine harder, heart flipping, knot threatening to burst at any moment.

“yes yes please…” u lean up to meet her halfway, capturing her lips in a heated kiss, tasting the salty sweetness of urself on her tongue. she speeds up her fingers, breaking away to bite down on ur neck, sucking on a mark she left previously.

“go on, come for me, don’t hold back, be a good girl and make a mess all over me, yea?” that’s just enough to send u over the edge, ur back arches of the bed, fingers scratching down ellie’s back, unrestrained screams of her name leaving ur lips as that knot finally snaps. u cum all over her fingers, legs shaking violently as white hot pleasure shots through ur body, mind going blissfully blank when u reach ur peak.

୨♡୧ ୨♡୧ ୨♡୧

u don’t know how long ur out for, but when u finally come around ellie’s pulling her fingers out of u, licking them clean of ur spent. after pulling a pair of her boxers over ur bare bottom, she wraps herself around ur body, holding u close, whispering praise and reassurance in ur ear while u come to. she trails her hands lovingly over ur body, through ur hair, and over ur face, wiping the leftover tears off ur face and kisses ur forehead.

u whine out, fingers winding in the material of ur shirt, pressing urself into the crook of her neck as u come back into ur body. u both lay there for a few moments, happy to be in each other’s company. a frown pulls down on ur lips and ur pull ur head up to look at ellie, eyebrows knit in worry.

“what about u els?” u croak out, twisting the soft material of her shirt between ur fingers.

“it’s okay, baby, u can do that later. seeing u cum was more than enough for me.” she says, smiling down at u. ur heart flutters and u can’t help but think abt the question that’s been bouncing around in ur head since she first kissed u. if u didn’t ask now there would be no way of u know because ellie wasn’t too keen on talking about her feelings unless u asked first. u decide to take the leap of faith.

“ellie?”

“yes, sweetheart?”

“what does this mean? do u like me?” u ask in a small meek voice, suddenly overcome by nervousness and fear of rejection. u jus had sex with ur best friend for pete’s sake ! and u were absolutely terrified at the the thought of her not liking u back. u didn’t want to be just another girl to her, or friends with benefits or any of that bull, u wanted to be hers and hers only, after all she wouldn’t have sex with u if she didn’t think the same way, right? u try ur hardest to push down the rising feeling of anxious nausea in ur throat as u wait for her to answer ur questions.

“of course, silly! i don’t just finger fuck any ol body,” she laughs, hugging u closer to her, “besides, i don’t like anyone else but u, i haven’t since i met u.”

confusion flashes over ur features for a moment and u open ur mouth to speak before even thinking. ellie’s been hitting up girls for years, always having someone new hanging off of her every few months so for her so say this does nothing but confuses u, “but what abt all those other girls?”

“oh them, yea nothing came out of them, i never got past anything that just flirting with any of them.” ellie says, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. “i’m so dumb, i should’ve just told u how i felt instead of trying to pursue other ppl.”

“u are pretty dumb els.” u sigh out, biting back a giddy smile at her straightforward confession. ur still convinced ur still dreaming to some degree. only a little bit.

“hey ! that’s mean !”

“but that’s what i love about u other than ur sick guitar skills and ur ability to make good popcorn. i like u too obviously.”

“damn, what about my looks?” she smirks, eyes filled with mischief, winding an arm over ur waist.

“they’re alright i guess. i can’t have my girlfriend looking cuter than me.” u say playfully, shoving her shoulder back. her eyes widen slightly at ur choice of words before a even wider smile cracks across her face.

“don’t get cocky now, i can wipe that smirk right off ur face.” she says in a slightly threatening tone, obviously meaning more than what she’s letting on.

u raise an eyebrow at her, leaning in real close to ghost ur lips against hers teasingly, gaining the confidence u wish u had before, “i’d like to see u try.”

“ur lucky ur my girlfriend.” she whispers against ur lips before connecting them to urs for the umpteenth of the night.

a/n: this took soooo freaking long to finish y’all don’t understand ໒꒰ྀི𖦹ࡇ𖦹꒱ྀི১

[goldennika]

Initial Thoughts on TXT's Minisode 3: Tomorrow

Overall I think this album sounded the most sonically cohesive from their entire discography so far! I haven't read the articles about the album yet but it seems like they've deviated a bit from their usual approach of exploring different genres in a single album and kinda stuck to more of a band sound this time around?

Sure, they experiment with layers and singing styles but I’ve really felt (and liked!) the band influence across the different tracks!

The way the music builds in each track is delightful albeit seems a wee predictable. I am a sucker for a good guitar and bassline though so this album suited my tastes

Currently (and surprisingly) my favorite track upon first listen would probably be Deja Vu (Anemoia Remix)! I honestly wished the remix ver would have been the title track instead 🥺

The original ver is probably more palatable for general population though and lends itself better to their type of choreography than the Anemoia remix would so I understand why the title track is so.

My favorite track off this album would likely change after I’ve read through the lyric translations and give the album a few more listens.

If I’m being honest, I think this album would be more of a slow burn type of in terms of how quickly it grows on me, compared to their earlier releases (particularly Temptation and Freefall).

I’ve genuinely enjoyed these tracks! But I can’t say that I loved the album and I think a factor in my tempered response to Minisode 3 is just how short they all are!! 😩

The entire (mini) album’s duration is just 17 minutes for 7 tracks!! It felt like just as I was getting into the groove and spirit of the track, it just… ends 🥲 IMO, these shorter track durations may end up hurting them in the long run as they sacrifice the listening experience for convenience of streaming 😔

That said, it makes Deja Vu an impressive feat that it has such a cinematic and immersive feel, and done in less than 3 minutes!

In any case, I will be listening to these tracks more and am looking forward to catch their performances throughout this comeback!

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading and i’d love to hear your thoughts too!

If you want to see my raw thoughts for each track, you can find them below the cut!

Track 1: I'll See You There Tomorrow

yes lower register TXT let's gooooo

sounds like a video game bg music? haha

ooh when the music built up it got funky

ugh love me a good bassline

this is kinda cute???

funkyyyyyyyyy

am digging the old school vibe to this

*head bops*

ok this is rly growing on me

the layers to the music is just 😩

IMAGINE HEARING THIS WITH A LIVE BAND I WOULD ASCEND

Track 2: --- -- --- .-. .-. --- .--  (Tomorrrow)

uhm yeah

so....

that's a morse code alright....

Track 3: Deja Vu

ok technically not a first listen since i've watched the MV already but here we go anyway!!

the high pitched warpy sound at the start -- i like it

this feels like R&B-ish?

their verses seem almost spoken than sung

different from how they usually are

the little music break after the first chorus, mhmm

that clarity was delicious

this song feels so... ambient? if that makes sense

like there's a distant thunderstorm almost?

and the sirens blaring??

THIS SONG SOUNDS LIKE AN ENTIRE MOVIE??????

and they did that with a 2:51 duration ??

Track 4: Miracle (A miracle happens at every moment that you and I are together)

really liking the piano

ooh the build up of the instrumentals

EYYYYYYYYY

leaked image of me listening to this track

oooh it got rock band-y

oh this would be AMAZING to hear live!!

ugh the harmonizing in the second verse/pre-chorus YES 😩

looooove the energy on this one

they are killing the instrumentals on this album

I CAN'T STOP HEADBOPPING

OH SHIT THE GUITAR IS HITTINNGGGGGGG

wow ok i loved that one

Track 5: The Killa (I Belong to You)

sexy start okayyyy

is this Spanish guitar?

the finger plucking(?) style 😩

OH WHAT THE FUCK

EXCUSE ME THE HARMONIZING???????????

DEADDDDDD

oh this range and style suits Soobin so well??

mhmmm the adlibssss

i swear those harmonies will be the death of me

the guitarrrrrrrrr 😩

Track 6: Quarter Life

istg the instrumentals are so good here

band txt is one of my fave genres

*head bops*

the build up is delicious

oh i'll bet kai enjoyed this one haha

LET'S GO BEOMGYUUUUUU

whoever thought of putting the maknaes together for this track is a genius

another great song to hear live

claiming this as Beomgyu's song bc wow

THAT WAS TOO SHORT WTF 😭

Track 7: Deja Vu (Anemoia Remix)

THE GUITAR!!!!!!

WHY CAN'T THIS HAVE BEEN THE ORIGINAL VERSION

PLEASE LET US HAVE BAND TXT AS THE MAIN CONCEPT NEXT TIME 😭

ugh i can't resist a good bassline

wtf i swear we were robbed that this is just a remix and not the original song 😭

THE ADLIBS!!!!!!!!!

SING IT TERRYYYYY

WTF THIS IS A ROBBERY FRRRRRR 😭

pls let this listing be an April Fools joke and this is actual the title track 🥹

[lutawolf]

Between Us Episode 4 Commentary and Review

For those that haven't read my other reviews. They can be found here. It's right underneath the UWMA reviews. In previous posts, I talk about how Win is possessive but not jealous. There is a difference, and I explain that here. Let me say that for those who are new to me. I am a kinkster, and I write from a kinkster perspective. This is, of course, artwork so it can be viewed differently by other people. However, I will say that kinksters don't hold some of the negative connotations that most view in vanilla relationships. So yes, my perspective tends to be vastly different.

Let's begin! I'm super excited while also nervous. WinTeam have amazing communication skills except for when they don't. I love this brother dynamic so much.

Honestly, this is exactly how my siblings and I act. Grown up? What the fuck is that when a sibling is around?! Well apparently, Win. 🤣🤣🤣 Gamer Bro gives me only child vibes more than the oldest. Win is more like the oldest. Ahh, there is the big brother coming out. It's in there just well hidden.

Is anybody else thinking about a certain Daddy scene? No, just me? 👀

T-Rex, if you haven't figured it out yet, you are an idiot. There has got to be something behind those fierce eyebrows. Apparently not. Congratulations, you've won the white crayon award. As in, he is not the brightest crayon in the box.

Awww, baby bro. You can be anything you want cause Win will make sure of it. They are cute, but damn is sunshine happy. Damn your younger brother knows more about love than you. You might know sex buddy, but you don't know intimacy. Listen to tiny bro. HAHAHA! Okay, sunshine is perceptive. I love it! And omg, the acting!! The way Win suddenly looks like he has been gobsmacked.

The alphabet gang. Um, was he expecting him to come? I thought we all knew he wouldn't. Oh, but he did come, and you guys owe your buddy an apology. There are so many side couples, though. Damn.

A locker full of drinks. That's more romantic than most guys actually get. I like it. Then, back to the group project. Bee is like bitches get out. Bee got one thing on his mind and it's a certain Prince. His crush is so obviouse.

Back to Team. Then to Win. Then back to Team. I'm getting whiplash, guys. Oh no, nightmares again. Win you might be upset now, but not for long. Sure enough, not for long.

Tell us how you really feel Win. They already have sides of the bed. I love it. Ugh, I'm gutted. Look at that gentle touch and the arms open. He's asking. It's completely up to Team, but he's asking because he know Team needs it but won't ask. The soft smiles from them both. One is looking forward to holding the other, and the other is looking forward to finally having a good night's sleep. They both found comfort in each other. For different reasons, but they've found it.

Win like, I'll be your wife, husband, and daddy, but I'll be damned if I'm your mom. FYI, for an amazing read about why the intimate verbiage from Team to Win is so important, check out @notfreetoday and @ellaspore posts. Both can be found on the Coconuts Mafia side blog.

Look how soft Win is when he is with his brothers and Team. Not just anyone gets this side of him. Not even his close friends. That should tell you that Win has long since chosen Team even if he himself hadn't completely realized it. Team is me after a night of drinking. Crawl on the floor and totally excited about food. Now notice that Team brings up his mom and Pharm cooking for him, and that smile never leaves Win's face. Jealousy is not there.

Win is doing everything he can to extend the time he has with Team. That smile never left his face because the time he does have with him is precious to him. Team is just as into the time they have together. Look at him talking about a movie tonight. He himself extended their time.

Win is having to work hard to get Team on the back of that bike. Team isn't an adrenaline junkie; he knows too much the consequences of that. He likes steady and steadfast. He craves security. Hai used the magic words, though. He said, "Trust me and come on." See how easily Team gives in. He is a brat through and through. He isn't happy about it, but he respects his Dom so fine. "Please drive slow, though."

Win won because he got those arms securely wrapped around him. OMG, I love the casual touches. The arm over the shoulder. The natural intimacy. The way Team says Hia and gently pulls on the back of his shirt. I know that a lot of people are thinking of this as whining, but please note that a lot of Doms like to be addressed. That's what you do when you put the name or title first. It's hard to explain. Think of it as a letter, how you address a letter. To whom it may concern or the name. It's addressing, showing respect before just going into dialogue. Now, from my understanding of some kinksters on here, that is not as prevalent everywhere as it is where I am from. I do feel that is actually what Team is doing here with Win, though. A reminder of, yes, I recognize that you and I have a more intimate tie than most.

Yes, Win he digested all his breakfast. A lot of energy was put into holding onto you on that bike. Ahhhh, look at that naturalness again. Team just grabs Win's hand without issue, and Win naturally lets him.

Team is such a foodie. Don't stop him Win, for a foodie like Win it's an act of love. HAHA, you are all equal, huh? Team, you're an idiot. Why would Win care about how girls think of him. Win sets him straight, though, letting him know it doesn't matter what girls think of him. Yesssssss, and he fed him the shrimp. Look how happy Team is. Sharing food with a foodie is the ultimate act of love. Guys, I'm telling you. Food is its own love language. It engages the senses and creates a connection. When words are hard to use, it's an easy way to express oneself.

"I thought you wanted to go grocery shopping. Why aren't you buying anything." 🤣🤣🤣 He just wanted time with you, Team.

Looks are subjective girls!!! Please stop knocking yourself down. Yes, Phreuk, come cheer. Oh, look at that gentle hand to Menow's back. Ahhhh, so cute. I love all the little detailed touches!!!! I adore Phreuk. They are cute. I'm dying. That was smooth, dude. Don't even ask, just tell. Wait, who was arguing with me that Phreuk doesn't have it in him to be Dom???? Did you see that move. I am cackling. So cute!

Here comes the possessiveness. Win isn't jealous of who Team is on the phone with. He is possessive of their time together. This is his time. Then he sees that Team is looking up movies, and they are back on track. I'm dying over the product placement of Iqiyi while I'm watching iqiyi.

I love Win's "The audacity of this Bitch" face. 🤣🤣🤣 Even I'm laughing at you Win. Yeah, you are still cool but maybe not right now.

Team is totally taking advantage of this, and I love him for it. Team is having fun, but you can tell he cares for Win. He changes the channel and easily agrees to keep it to himself. Then Win flashes back to talking to his little brother, and we get this beautiful sequence of love and adoration.

Thank you, Ray of Sunshine! Again, with the casual touches and shared joy.

Ha! Win got Team back on the bike. Win wants to know if Team is used to the bike yet. Team brings up girls again, and Win is not understanding. See you guys, Team IS jealous. He is not secure in the knowledge that Win is his. Now, he could recognize this as a negative emotion and push those feelings down. The healthiest thing to do, though, is exactly what he is doing. Bringing them out into the open to be addressed. He isn't starting a fight, and he isn't accusing Win of anything. He is telling him what everyone says. Win says, "How can he help what other people think?" This isn't an unhealthy conversation. It's a healthy one because emotions are not getting bottled up.

T-Rex, are you trying to die.

Conversations goes right back to where it was with a lot of misunderstandings cleared up. See, intense but not unhealthy. They both walked away from that conversation happy.

The sub trio!!! Each of them teasing why having their own secrets. Run Pharm Run!

Dom trio!!! Look at you calling people out, Win. HAHAHAHA! Love Deans response. Oh, you wanna bring someone extra. 🤣🤣🤣 I love the fact that all of them went for kids from the same friend group!

Ohhh, they got questions about Team. Back off, you can't stop Win. Good, you told him you trust him. I really like that despite Dean being Win's bestie, he is a good guy. He cares about doing the right thing and being a good person. He isn't gonna just side with Win because he is his friend.

"That's how our relationship started." "You started that way but how are you going to end?" "I don't know, but whatever we have right now it is already good." Ugh, how is Team gonna take that. He doesn't look so happy. He missed win saying it wasn't just about the sex and basically admitting he is head over heels.

When in doubt, head to your bestie. Ahh, what is love question. Team says that everything Pharm is describing can be attributed to friendships as well. Including theirs. Pharms says yes, but there are no feelings of possessiveness. 👀👀👀 Oh gee, who could have said something similar. 👀👀👀 hmmmmm. "Because you want to possess him." 👀👀👀

That face of Win's. Dead. But notice how Win waits until he is acknowledged. He doesn't but in to interrupt Teams time with Pharm. He can tell they are having a conversation. When he is acknowledged, he moves towards team, telling him, "Let's go home." Team agreeing but not moving fast enough so Win grabs him by the hand to take him away. I'm sure there will be some of you that think this is jealousy and you are wrong. It's possessiveness. Notice how Win tells Pharm that Dean will be out in a few minutes and how Pharm is smiling because he knows that this is Win being possessive. Win knows Pharm is Dean's. It's just that now it's his time with Team, and he is possessive of his alone time. Remember, Win isn't used to having something that is ALL his. And he doesn't desire to keep Team all to himself but be damned if he doesn't savor those moments when he does get him all to himself.

Win is gone. Gone.

We know why you like the bike Win. You ain't fooling, nobody.

OMG, this was such a good episode. And the side story!! So cute!!! I don't care that it was a promotion. It was adorable. Hope you guys enjoyed it as well 💜💜💜 As always, this is dedicated to my amazing followers and the Coconuts Mafia.

[clarks-letterman]

Wally anon: You get it. 👍 He's gonna be hard & needy just from the sight of it (verse!Wally >>>> you know. he'd be making the loudest sounds with you eating him out in this specific scenario cause he already loves it, but this just takes it to thenext level for him). Oh, for sure. He's already bent over & being loud about the attention you're giving his hole. Filling him up is just the natural conclusion for him cause he needs. it. Well, he didn't lie about it having the most icing dhdhd. 🤭 (And his immediate thought is that he wants you to suck his dick clean of all of that blue. 🥴)

Absolutely agreed. He is the most ancient Gen Xer in this department specifically cause he already wasn't a huge tech guy when he was alive cause football & all that, but seeing how. far things have come since then makes him be like, "Yeah, I haven't been dead long enough for this." He probably even misses those huge, boxy 90s comps cause he had just. gotten the hang of them not long before the school replaced them. 😭 But, yeah, lotssss of printer ink used on showing him all kindsa new things.

Heard that @ desperate. Even though I'm a relatively "newer" fan (because of the limited material), I can't get enough. 🫠 That makes sense @ it being his biggest "small" role. He's definitely on his way up from smaller ep stints. 🙌 Hmm, can't help but think that it sounds like there's fic potential in this Josh going to multiple lengths to pick up guys. 🤔 We'll just have to manifest future edgy roles for him. I know ~earnest~ is more in his wheelhouse from what I've seen of him so far, but he obviously has the potential to tap into more (even though I'm glad he'll be in the sequel, very. much missed opportunity to make Ryan the killer in Thanks cause you could just FEEL it being a possibility under the surface).

And him being sprawled out just makes it easier for him to take up space so that you have. to lie on top of him. 😉 Yesss, exactly. He just gets. it when it comes to cuddling cause how sincere he is with his emotions.

Probably a matter of how much time you spend with him & how used to the smell you are (sniffing kink, perhaps?).

Yesss. Fulfilling The Milo Manheim Agenda™. ‼️ It really is so true, though @ steal the show, especially in Thanks. As to be expected from me, I was n o t a fan of the entire ~love triangle~ element (& was like, why did this mfer vanish for half the movie...), but HE really held it down as Ryan.

Understandable @ wanting to start off easy (there were a lot. of ideas there 🫣). No worries on stray errors. I'm an extremely nitpicky bitch for my own writing & I still miss shit all the time. It happens. 👍 And, in response to your reply to my reaction: Anytime. ❤️❤️❤️ Us Wally/Milo truthers gotta stick together. No worries on keeping them separate for simplicity. Whatever is the easiest to manage works for me. 😁 No need to be nervous/be concerned with perfection. As long as you're having fun writing it & not derailing yourself with anything that might be distracting, you're all good. 🫡 Coming from someone who's only ever finished one fic forever ago, you should be very proud in your work ethic + output. Hope the rest of the writing goes well for you, though. Have fun. Don't overwhelm yourself (since, once again, a lot. of ideas lolllll). Will be looking forward to reading the sleepover or whichever one comes next (cause, yeah, that's expected @ it taking a bit longer). 🥰

YESSS UGH he’s writhing at your touch one minute, but then thinking about how good your lips and tongue would look stained blue. He’s getting eaten out but also imagines fucking your throat in such a dom way, basically returning the favor after you pounded his hole, he gets a turn at one of yours to clean off all that blue icing😮‍💨 bonus points if the icing works its way back into play while eating him out (can you tell i’m a sucker for foodplay. it’s so silly yet can be so fun)

Mans knows how to use a Microform (those electronic scan things that read old paper documents i think) and that’s. it. LMAO he’s the reason you now own a printer and printer cartridges sksjskk

Yeah unfortunately Ryan wasn’t the killer and i knew it because they basically dangled the keys in front of you in every interview about his character😭 “he’s so sus” was literally used to describe him so i kinda knew that they were just teasing him as the killer, which did kinda work but it was so obvious. I know Milo has Zombies 4 slated for next year, so that’s a bigger role, and I hope he gets more leads/supporting characters in bigger movies. (Live action Flynn Rider may be a stretch but i’m here for it) Love the Josh idea btw, he could definitely be a player to guys too, not just women. I forget what exactly his MO was and why he did what he did in the show, so i’ll have to rewatch it.

Yeah he’s a crazy cuddler but it warms his heart to feel you either lay on him in your sleep or just because. He doesn’t care why just that you do it fr

“Here, better get used to it now.” and he’s using the fact that he’s wearing a tank top to his advantage if ykyk (plus, he knows you two are gonna get along great)

It worked in the movie to give some kind of motive to him, but i hated its inclusion. Thankfully (haha), the movie placed more emphasis on the friend group as a whole rather the three in the love triangle, so it’s easy to ignore. But man, I love that adderall addicted guy who’s willing to get possessive sksjsk🫣

Same omg you get it. I’m so critical of my writing yet I always feel like something’s missing or there could be more added😭 it’s a pain and partially why i get nervous doing requests cause if i slip up on a fic that i wrote in self-indulgence, then it’s no biggie, but if it’s for someone else it’s hard not to get nervous😪 I want to hopefully have the sleepover done before christmas so it fits within the holiday window, but i’ll do whatever i can!! and trust, i won’t rush🫡

also, i totally forgot to mention. but when selecting the gif for last night’s fic, it reminded me that we saw Wally in the pool and my mind went a little wild… just a teeny tiny bit feral it made me laugh that he doesn’t bother to get swim trunks from one of the students in the locker room (like how Dawn stole phones to use) and instead just strips all the way down to just his gym shorts and used those as a bathing suit… just funny things

[spiteless-xo]

╰┈➤ eren fucking jaeger - tbaw. ⋙ deleted scene from chapter 11 - eren fucking jaeger.

why was it deleted. originally the eren pov chapter was going to be made up of a bunch of small scenes but it felt too disjointed and clunky. what changed. nothing. ft. fem!reader, eren. cw. unedited, explicit language, second person pov, 400 words.

Please remember that this scene was deleted for a reason and that nothing that happens here occurs in the actual story posted on AO3. This is just fun bonus content for people who are interested in reading more.

context. none needed.

It started with the morning coffees. 

After hooking up with you in the public bathroom of your shared workplace, Eren couldn’t get enough of you. He wanted to be nice and keep himself at the top of your mind and what better way to do that than to make sure you started every day thinking of him? It was no extra burden for him, he just had to ask the barista for a second coffee (girls liked vanilla lattes, right?) and take a small detour around the office to drop it off at your desk. Most of the time you weren’t even there, anyway. 

Then one day you were, and you stopped him to chat. 

“I thought you had forgotten about me,” you said. Your eyes lit up when they met his and it gave him a weird feeling in his chest. 

“What are you, an addict?” he asked, handing you the cup. Your fingers brushed on the exchange and Eren wished your hand had lingered on his a little longer. “Why are you in early today?”

“Jean had an appointment so I had to take public transportation,” you explained. Ugh, he hated the way Jean’s name sounded in your mouth.

“By yourself?”

“Yeah, it was tough— dangerous, even.”

“Yeah? Did you have to beat off a guy with a stick to get here?”

“Well, no, I usually beat them off with my hands,” you said, smirking and making a lewd gesture with your fist. 

Eren liked how funny you were. You were easier to talk to than some of the other girls he hooked up with. Post-sex silence and the awkward drive home together after hooking up in his car used to be his least favourite part, but with you, he almost liked just sitting and talking with you as much as the sex itself. 

“I’m familiar,” he said, leaning forward into you.  You stepped up on your toes and Eren’s eyes drifted down to your lips. They were so soft and pouty, just looking at them made him want to bite them. “Do you wanna hang out tonight?”

“Can’t tonight. It’s movie night with the Roomies,” you said with a pout, pushing that bottom lip out even further. 

“After?”

“It’ll be late.”

“I don’t care.” He really didn’t. Even though driving to see you took him almost an hour, each way, he’d do it in a heartbeat if you asked. Anything to see you again, to feel you.

You smiled and nodded curtly, “Ok.”

[unorthodoxx-page]

A Tale of Spirits sneaks and thoughts. Atla x rottmnt fanfic

So, I’ve been working on this crossover, and it’s hard.  Not really plot hard, because I have an idea where I want to go with it (I just need to commit on one of my two plot options), but it’s mainly the writing.  I don’t know how to explain it, but I want the writing to be, not really better, but different from everything else I’ve written.  That’s why I’m going to rewrite portions of Chapter 1 once I start nailing down a schedule.  I just want a certain tone and I’m spending a ton of time on certain passages to achieve that.  

Reminder: set after the rottmnt movie and after season 1 of avatar the last air bender

But here’s sneak of ch. 2

SNEAK (Sokka POV)

The spirit drops down next to him.  “So,” it says, “wanna spar?”

Boomerang slips from his fingers.  “What?”

Leo smirks.  “I saw you swinging that club around and you’ve got some skill.  Personally, I think you might do well with a sword.”  The spirit leans forward suddenly, face breaking into a wild grin, and Sokka falls back.  “That’s what we should totally do!  Come on.”

The spirit grabs his hand and Sokka freezes at the touch.  It cool, unnaturally so and there’s so much strength under those fingers.  Leo drags him into the clearing and stops a few feet away from where Aaang and Katara are trading water.  Leo drops his hand, gives him a once over and walks to the trees lining the edge.  The spirit assesses each tree with a hand under its chin, and stops before the thickest one. The spirit steps back, a hand cover its eyes before running forward.  Leo jumps, grabs the lowest branch, swings and disappears into the leaves.  The spirit’s agile that’s for sure.

“Sokka?” Katara calls.  “What’s going on?”

“Ugh, I’m not sure.”

There’s rustling, snaps, then the spirit drops suddenly to its feet without a sound.  That’s the creepiest part about this thing.  Sokka can’t recall hearing a single footstep since they met the spirit.

“Catch.” 

Something long spins through the air and he just manages to catch it.  Sokka fumbles a bit and looks blankly at the stick.  It’s surprisingly straight. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

Leo’s own swords drop to the ground and the spirit spins a similar stick in its right hand.  “Hold it like you would a sword.  We’ll start there.”

Sokka stares.  He rolls the stick in his hands nervously before shuffling his feet.  He ends up holding it how he does his club, with his feet square and firmly planted with a slight angle in his shoulders.  His fingers flex against the wood before he wraps both hands around it.  That’s how people hold swords right?  He looks up to find the spirit walking his way.  Leo’s eyes move around his form, and Sokka feels himself tense from the scrutiny.  Firm fingers nudge his elbows, push his shoulders and move his hands down.  A foot taps the inside of his shoe, forcing him to widen his stance and move a foot back.  By the end of all the prodding his feels stable, but weird.  Like he’s too far forward.

Leo steps back with a nod.  “That’s better.  Now copy my steps.”  Leo slips easily into the stance it just molded Sokka into.  Leo lifts the stick in a slow arc and brings it down just as slowly.

Sokka raises an eyebrow.  “That’s it?”

“That’s it,” Leo says.  “Do that ten times, and be mindful of your feet.”

Sokka huffs but complies.  He pulls through the move with a wobble, but he thinks it comes out ok.  Leo’s back at his side, pushing him down and tapping his feet.   He finds himself naturally complying and this new form, less bent and with a wider base, feels better. “Do it again.”

Sokka does and the stick-blade comes downs a lot smoother.  He blinks.

“That’s better,” Leo grins.  “Unbalanced a little, but it’ll get there.  Ten more, lets go!”

“But that was two?”  Leo raises….well not an eyebrow, but his brow ridges definitely wiggle.  “You said ten, I just did two,” he says slowly, “ergo I have eight left.”

“Oh,” Leo chuckles, “right, right.  I meant twelve.  You just gave me two, which means….”

Sokka drops his head.  “I owe you ten.”

[coldsandfluff]

Evergreen Dream (F/M, Original, Illness Care-Taking Fluff)

Here's another one of my original fic previously posted on the forum. It's a Christmas story, so it's kind of fitting for the season!

It's about a singer-songwriter from Seattle who works for a Christmas tree lot company every winter to make some extra cash. This year, she gets shipped off to Wisconsin to replace a manager who left. Since she's not quite used to the brutal weather, she ends up catching a customer's cold... and also getting to know said customer a little better.

Evergreen Dream

“Don’t we have more spruces in the storage lot?” asked Lily Morris, pen hovering over an inventory sheet. She looked around the darkened parking lot that she’d been calling “home” for the past three weeks, now a maze of pines and firs waiting to be picked up by a family looking for the perfect Christmas tree.

Aiden shook his head and peered at the sheet. “Looks like you’ve got the wrong list. This one is from November 19.” The college student pointed at the mangled date in the top corner, scribbled with difficulty by Lily’s gloved hand two weeks ago.

“Shit.” Lily slapped her hand on her mouth and looked around, making sure no one was within earshot. Thankfully, customers seemed too busy wrangling their excited children and examining trees to have heard her. 

Aiden flashed a mischievous grin. “You really have to watch your mouth, Ms. Morris.”

“Pot calling the kettle black, kid.” She tucked the pen behind her ear and started walking back to the checkout stand. “And stop calling me Ms. Morris, for god’s sake! I’m only 30!”

“Only when you stop calling me ‘kid’!”

Lily chuckled. When Evergreen Dream Ltd. had contacted her to ask if she would take up the managing position at a lot in Wisconsin, she’d scoffed at the idea. She’d been working at a Seattle lot for five years now, in a location only a few blocks away from her apartment. The thought of spending winter in the cold Midwest, especially without friends or family, was unthinkable. But they’d sweetened the deal with quite a bit of cash, and Lily hadn’t been able to resist. The job was seasonal after all. What was two months out of the entire year?

The first few days had been brutal. The humid cold seeped into her North-Westerned-raised bones like the icy breath of death, and her colleagues had turned out to be a bunch of college kids already friends with each other. Lily had instantly missed her Seattle lot and its many familiar faces.

Thankfully, the crew quickly warmed up to Lily, and now treated her like an aunt. Not that she particularly enjoyed feeling like an aunt, but she’d already grown fond of what she called “the kids,” even though they were less than ten years younger than her. There was something uplifting and inspiring about working with a group of young adults looking forward to the endless sea of possibilities ahead of them.

But the cold. Ugh. Nothing could make her love the weather.

Lily reached the checkout stand, relieved to feel the heating lamp’s glow on her frozen nose. She bent down under the counter and ruffled through a pile of inventory forms looking for the latest one. Her mind raced as she wondered exactly how long she’d been using the wrong sheet, and how many trees they actually had left. She’d need to order a new shipment as soon as possible. The busiest time of the year was already upon them.

“You have a lovely voice,” said a man from the other side of the counter.

Lily stood up, confused. A customer in his late 30s smiled at her. He had the looks of a Hallmark movie star: a nice-looking “guy next door” with a warm smile and a rugged, nonchalant style. His nose looked quite red and chapped, and he wore a thick green knitted scarf around his neck.

He pointed at the old speaker attached to a lamp post behind Lily. The thing was blaring “The Christmas Song” with great difficulty. “I was referring to your singing. You know? ‘Chestnut roasting on an open fire...’” he tried to sing, but his hoarse voice couldn’t carry the tune.

Finally, a light bulb went off in Lily’s brain, easing her furrowed brow into a look of understanding. “I was singing out loud against my will again, wasn’t I?”

The man laughed. “I’m afraid so. But don’t worry, you sounded great. You should really be a singer.”

“I kind of already am, actually,” Lily said with a smile. “This is just my seasonal job. You know, the one that actually pays the bills?”

“Now it all makes sense. But what happened to Mrs… What’s-Her-Name?”

“Oh, apparently she retired. They shipped me here from the West Coast because she waited until the last minute to tell the company, and they couldn’t find anyone to replace her on such short notice.”

“’Company’? You mean to tell me this isn’t owned by a lovely local family and passed down from generation to generation?” the man said with a tinge of sarcasm.

“Oh no, Evergreen Dream Lot #124 is totally a family-owned business built with love and Christmas magic,” Lily shot back with a grin. “I’m Lily Morris, by the way.”

She extended her hand towards the customer, but he shook his head. “I’m just getting over a cold and I wouldn’t want to make your job even harder in this weather,” he apologized. “My name is Ezra Norton. I co-own Honey & Cream, a café downtown. I’m actually here to buy a tree to display in our store.”

Lily’s smile widened. “I’ve actually been to Honey & Cream once! Great cranberry muffins.” She turned to grab a paper cup and filled it with hot chocolate from the insulated dispenser. “I’m sorry you’re feeling under the weather, but hopefully this will keep you warm while you browse. I’ll get Aiden to help you pick a tree.” She handed the cup to Ezra and used her walkie-talkie to page Aiden.

Before entering the maze of evergreens, Ezra turned back to Lily and said, “By the way, I’m glad you’re replacing Mrs. Grinch. I’m pretty sure she took pleasure in sucking the Christmas spirit out of everyone.”

Lily laughed, pouring herself a cup of hot chocolate. “So I’ve heard,” she said, glancing towards Aiden emerging from the trees.

“That’s an unnecessarily nice way to put it, Mr. Norton,” said Aiden, gesturing for Ezra to follow him.

Lily heard Ezra’s faint voice as he disappeared behind a huge fir. “Oh come on Aiden, since when do you call me ‘Mr. Norton’?”

When Ezra came back to pay for his massive 10 feet scotch pine, one of the best in the lot, he and Lily chatted a bit more about the town and the weather. While Ezra looked through his wallet for his credit card, Lily took a sip of hot chocolate, eager to warm up.

As she put down the cup, Ezra gasped. His face paled as he looked at the cup with wide eyes.

“What? What’s wrong?” Lily said, panic rising in her chest.

“I’m afraid this was my cup,” he said, pointing at the hot chocolate.

Sure enough, Lily noticed her own cup waiting for her behind the counter.

“Oh no, I’m so sorry! I can give you another one!” she said, scrambling for a new cup.

“No, no, that’s not it! I’m just worried you’ll catch my cold.”

Lily stopped in her track and laughed. “That’s why you made that face? I thought you’d seen a ghost!”

Ezra chuckled. “Well, I’d feel terrible if I passed this on to you,” he said, pointing at his nose.

“I’m the one who hijacked your beverage, so it’s absolutely not your fault! But don’t worry, I’ve got an amazing immune system. I’ll be fine.”

“I hope so,” Ezra said, a look of uncertainty in his eyes.

“Guys, look!” interrupted Aiden a few feet from them. He was still wrapping Ezra’s tree in mesh netting, but had stopped midway and was now staring at the night sky. “The first snow! Finally!”

Lily looked up. Sure enough, a few puffy snowflakes floated lazily in the glow of the Christmas lights hanging between the lamp posts. A groaned escaped her lips. She wasn’t ready for snow. But then again, when would she ever be?

*****

The snow didn’t let up for a full 24 hours, forcing Lily and the crew to move all the trees on the show lot about four times during the day so that the snowplow could clear the ground. And of course, snow meant a dramatic uptick in customers, who finally felt in the mood to decorate for the holidays. Nothing quite as magical as picking a noble fir while big cottony snowflakes danced in the air around. But for Lily, it only meant a grueling day of shoveling the stuff whenever she had a free moment. Definitely no magic in that.

She’d also gotten up early that morning to schedule a delivery, and had had to call her bosses to explain her mistake so that they would approve a rush charge from the supplier. Needless to say, they were not happy with her. Lily worried that it would affect her position in Seattle next year. This temp job was the only thing keeping her afloat on her meager singing gigs salary. She occasionally took up other jobs as necessary, but the Christmas tree lot was by far the most lucrative, especially since she’d been promoted to a manager last year.

When it was finally time to close up shop at 10 pm, Lily grabbed her shovel, repressing a sigh. Aiden offered to help, but she refused. “Don’t you have finals soon?”

Aiden shrugged. “Yeah, but I’m majoring in History and I have an excellent memory. My finals are 95% memorization, 5% critical thinking, so…”

“Oh yeah?” Lily huffed as she pushed the shovel through a pile of snow. “Who was the president of the United States in 1943?”

Aiden rolled his eyes. “Easy. Roosevelt.”

“OK. When did Canada declare independence?”

“1931.”

Lily stopped shoveling, concentrating on finding another question. “Hmmm…” Her head was pounding, making it even more difficult to think straight. It also didn’t help that she knew very few historical facts. “How long was Al Capone’s prison sentence?”

Aiden’s victorious smile turned into a frown. “Uhh…”

“Ha-AH! See? You obviously need to hit the books. Go!” She used the shovel to shoo him away towards the parking lot.

“Wait, so how long was his prison sentence?” asked Aiden, defeated.

Lily shrugged. “Do you really think I would know that?”

“Did you even know any of the other answers?”

“No.”

Aiden shook his head, laughing. “I’ve been tricked. Fine, I’ll go home and brush up on the Prohibition era. New York in the 1920s is one of the coolest eras anyway.”

Lily resumed shoveling. “I’ll take your word for it. Now go prosper and all that, and get out of my sight.” As she finished her sentence, a tickle bloomed deep within her sinuses, forcing her to drop her shovelful of snow and burry her nose in her scarf.

“Hhh—iih—sheeew!”

“Bless you Mrs. Morris!” said Aiden with a laugh, a reaction Lily was used to by now. No matter how hard she tried to control the sound of her sneezes, she had never been able to suppress what could only be described as a high-pitch voice crack before the release. People either found it adorable or hilarious.

“Good night, Aiden,” Lily said in a stern voice, shooing him away once again with the shovel.

After Aiden’s car turned the corner, silence fell upon the Christmas tree lot. Snow still tumbled out of the sky, but at a slower rate. Lily resumed shoveling, the flat blade occasionally grating against the asphalt underneath, filling the air with a loud rustling. Now that everybody was gone, Lily found the activity quite calming.

When she was finally done, her cheeks red and frozen, her fingers numb, she headed towards the RV rented for her by the company. It definitely lacked the comfort of an hotel room, but she didn’t mind it too much. It allowed her to be around whenever the kids needed her, even on her days off. But it wasn’t exactly the best place to sleep in the middle of winter. She longed for a deep, hot bath instead of the lukewarm dribble her shower provided.

As she unlocked the door, another tickle formed at the back of her nose, freezing her in place. It developed slowly this time, torturing her as she tried to inhale cold air to set it off. Finally, she turned to her side and sneezed openly towards the ground.

“Iih—sheeew!”

The sound echoed in the dead of night, as if mocking her.

*****

“Unfortunately, we don’t have any of those in stock at the moment, but let me show you a few better options.”

Lily bit her bottom lip as she heard Tommy try the new canned response that she’d taught the kids that morning. It was now late afternoon, and she’d heard the line a thousand times, cringing inwardly every time.

“Any news?” asked Aiden as he passed by the checkout counter carrying netting.

Lily shook her head. “Still nothing.”

Two days had passed since Lily had rush-ordered a new shipment of trees. It had been scheduled to be delivered the previous morning, but bad weather had pushed the delivery window to this morning. However, the truck had never shown up, and no one could get a hold of the driver.

In the meantime, business had flourished and the supply was dwindling fast. They barely had enough trees to satisfy the demand for the next four days. But worse than that, they had run out of the most popular types, and some customers were leaving empty-handed and unhappy.

Lily could barely function, checking her phone every two minutes and feeling too frazzled to focus on a task.

“Iih—tsheeeew!”

“Bless you,” shouted Aiden as he kept walking. “You should take something for that.”

“For what?” she shouted back distractedly as Aiden disappeared in the show lot, but he didn’t reply.

Lily tried calling the truck driver for the hundredth time, no longer caring whether or not all the missed calls would make her look like a psycho stalker. When he didn’t pick up, Lily felt the same mix of emotions as all the other times she’d called: worry that something had happened to the driver, and anger because he probably just had had too much to drink the night before and was sleeping off a hangover. There were no other options in Lily’s mind; it had to be one or the other.

“I’m back for more,” said a voice Lily didn’t recognize at first. She lifted her head to see Ezra standing once again in front of the counter, only this time, his nose no longer looked chapped and his voice sounded deep and strong.

Lily tried to rally herself and managed to pull off a natural smile. “Welcome back! Addicted to Christmas trees, I see?”

“Guilty. But this time, I’d like one for my house. So… a little smaller.”

“As long as you don’t want a douglas fir or a blue spruce or a scotch pine, I’m sure we can find something.” Lily regretted her sarcastic words as soon as she heard them coming out of her mouth. This wasn’t very professional, and not at all what she’d taught the boys to say. But she had this odd feeling of familiarity with Ezra, and it had fooled her into being too frank.

“I don’t know what any of this means, but as long as it has branches to hang ornaments on and smells like sap, I’ll take it,” said Ezra, laughing. “Has business been a little too good to you?”

“Well, yes and no. It’s mostly my mistake. I ordered a new shipment too late, so we’re running out of trees. But it’s all good, the truck should be here today. Hopefully. Except the driver disappeared.” She grabbed her walkie-talkie and shoved it in front of her mouth to stop the deluge of honesty from spewing out. “Aiden, could you help Ezra pick a tree please?”

Ezra gave her a sympathetic look. “That sounds awful, I’m sorry. Hopefully he’s just sleeping off a hangover and he’ll show up soon.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking!” said Lily with a little too much enthusiasm. “It must be that, right? The guy had to stop for the night, went to a local bar and got smashed. That’s all.” She really did not want to think of the alternative.

Ezra nodded. “Must be it!”

“I just can—can’t belie— hhh… Hold—“ Lily’s breath hitched as a tickle nestled itself deep within her nose. She turned to her side and muffled a sneeze in the crook of her puffy coat-covered elbow.

“Iih—sheeew!”

“Bless you!” said Ezra with an endeared smile.

But Lily wasn’t done. She immediately launched forward with another one of her signature sneezes and barely enough time to draw breath.

“Iih—tsheeew!”

“Oh, bless you again!” Ezra’s smile faltered and a frown appeared on his face. “I hope I didn’t get you sick after all?”

Lily sniffed. “No, no, don’t worry. It’s just…” she gestured around her. “I must be allergic to snow.”

“Hey there!” interrupted Aiden, shaking Ezra’s hand. “Did Melinda send you for another tree?”

Lily’s ears perked up at the mention of “Melinda.” Who was Melinda?

“Yeah, she’s been wanting one for a while but we’ve been busy at the café. She says the house is gloomy without it.”

Lily felt a wave of disappointment hit her, which left her puzzled. Of course, Ezra was cute, but she hadn’t been consciously aware that she found him attractive enough to be disappointed that he was taken. She raised an eyebrow. This was definitely a first.

A buzz on her phone reminded her that she had more important things to worry about. Sadly, the text was from a friend back in Seattle, not from the supplier.

Before following Aiden back on the show lot, Ezra turned to Lily once more. “Listen, I was wondering if you were free tomorrow night?”

Lily looked at him with a blank face, confused.

“Oh I… I should explain,” said Ezra, his cheeks flaming red. “We’re having our traditional Christmas Evening at Honey & Cream, and we usually just play some Christmas radio station over the speakers, but I thought it would be nice to have live music.”

Now understanding where this was going, it was Lily’s turn to get red-cheeked.

“We’d love to hire you for the event if you’re available,” continued Ezra. “And if you sing Christmas songs at all.”

“Of course! I know all the classics, and I even have my guitar with me. I’d love to sing for you guys!”

Ezra beamed. “That’s great. Let me pick out a tree and we can discuss the details.”

As she watched Ezra walk towards the trees, Lily couldn’t help but smile. Landing gigs always made her happy, and she hadn’t expected to get any job offers in the middle of Wisconsin. For a blissful moment, she even forgot about her predicament.

Until she heard Tommy in the background: “Unfortunately we don’t have any scotch pines in stock at the moment, but let me show you a few better options.”

Lily resisted the urge to smack her head on the counter, and decided to count that as a victory.

*****

“I just don’t know what I’m going to do, El,” whined Lily as she prepared the cash register for the day, her cellphone tucked between her ear and the faux fur of her hood.

It was the next morning, early enough that none of the college kids on schedule that day had made it to the lot yet. A cold wind rustled through the remaining trees, the sun shining brightly on the blanket of snow. Too brightly for Lily’s eyes, which were oddly sensitive, exacerbating the low-level headache she’d been putting up with for the past two days. Stress always affected her like that.

“So let me get this straight…” said Ella at the other end of the line. She was one of Lily’s dearest friends and a very opinionated woman, which made her the perfect person to call when things went wrong. Lily found it cathartic. “This idiot drove his truck into a ditch, damaged all your trees, didn’t get hurt but took an entire day to remember to call someone?”

“Yep. Apparently he thought he could ‘fix it.’ I guess he was scared to call his boss and admit that he messed up.”

“I bet that sucker was driving too fast. Or drunk.”

“God I hope not,” said Lily, closing the cash drawer with a satisfying clang. “I’m glad no one got hurt, but what am I supposed to do? The supplier is sending another shipment, but it’ll take too long to get here. I’m running out of trees! And that’s the only thing we sell here. I can’t exactly be like, ‘Oh sorry, we don’t have any trees in stock, but can I interest you in a nice roll of mesh netting? Or a flocking machine?’” She stopped and raised an eyebrow. “Wait, what if I offered flocking services?”

Ella laughed. “You’re joking.”

“I mean… I’m really desperate here. I’ll flock anything for cash. I can flock a mailbox, I can flock a car, I’d even flock a damn turkey.”

“Lily, this is me virtually shaking you by the shoulders right now. Get a grip, and for the love of all that is holy, stop saying ‘flock.’ It’s way too early for that. You know it’s 7 am here, right?”

“I’m ju—just… Ho—hhh—hold on,” said Lily, fighting against her hitching breath. She barely had time to pull the phone away from her ear before she bent forward with two harsh sneezes. “Iih—tsheeew! Iih—TSHEEEW!”

“Bless. This is the second time you’ve sneezed since you’ve called.”

Lily sniffed wetly. “So?”

“Are you coming down with something?”

“No, Mama Bear, I’m fine. It’s just much colder here than back home. It’s constantly below freezing. Can you imagine?”

“Yeah, I can imagine that it would get you sick pretty easily. Listen, don’t get your tinsel in a bunch about this whole thing. You’ll run yourself ragged, I know you. It’s not your fault if the trees didn’t show up. Just call your bosses and tell them what happened. I’m sure they have a few tricks up their sleeves.”

“I don’t know,” said Lily, sniffing again and briefly pinching her nose. The sneezes hadn’t gotten rid of the tickle. She could still feel a light, feathery tingle in the back of her sinuses. “If I hadn’t made a mistake with the inventory, this would have never happened. I need to fix it on my own, otherwise I might not get my job back in Seattle next year.”

Ella groaned. “You realize you’re doing exactly what that stupid driver did, right?”

Lily shrugged, waving to Tommy has he drove by on his way to the parking area, the beat of rap music vibrating the ground under her feet. “I guess he had the right idea, he just didn’t execute it correctly. Listen, I gotta go, we’re opening soon.”

As Lily lowered her phone to end the call, she heard Ella’s faint voice muttering her disapproval. But that was the thing with strongly opinionated people: One could always ignore their advice and chalk it up to their passionate dispositions.

The tickle suddenly surged like a gust of wind, reducing Lily to a hitching, gasping mess as she fought the sneeze—and lost.

“Hhh—iih—tsheeew!”

*****

Lily spent most of the day on the phone, calling every tree farms in the area to secure a new shipment. But because she was so late in the season and couldn’t promise a long-term deal, no one was willing to quote her a reasonable price.

Time was running out, and so was Lily’s hope to resolve the matter by herself. She slumped on the stool near the cash register, sighing heavily.

“Still nothing?” asked Aiden, his eyes fixed on his phone.

“Nothing good at least. Bunch of Scrooges. No one is willing to give me a good price.”

Aiden scoffed. “Maybe from their perspective, you’re the Scrooge. Making them work so close to Christmas for mere pennies. I’m sure they have a family to feed and kids to take care of.”

“You’re the worst devil’s advocate ever,” said Lily, shaking her head. The motion woke up her nagging headache, making her wince.

“No one likes to hear the truth,” said Aiden, shrugging.

Lily rolled her eyes and went back to looking for more farms to call, widening her search area even more. The idea of explaining her situation to yet another farmer and begging for help made her feel completely exhausted. Plus, her throat had begun to hurt from talking all day; not a good thing considering she was scheduled to sing later that night.

Her mind drifted off to Seattle and her cozy apartment. She missed going out for a beer after work with Ella. By this time, their group of friends would no doubt be organizing Christmas gatherings and activities, and Lily was missing out on all of them. Is the extra money really worth all of this? she wondered.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a fierce tickle deep within her sinuses. She scrunched up her nose and sniffled wetly, which did nothing to abate the tickle. It kept on expanding, forcing her to shut her eyes and tilt her head back. She waved a gloved hand in front of her face, her breath hitching for what felt like an eternity. Finally, she launched forward with a harsh sneeze.

“Iih—TSHEEEEW!”

“You’ve been doing a lot of that today,” said Aiden absentmindedly, still occupied by god-knew-what on his phone.

“Doing what?” said Lily as a shiver wracked her body. Damn this cold weather, she thought, and glanced at the heating lamp, wondering if it had a higher setting.

“Sneezing.”

Lily laughed. “Have you been counting my sneezes?”

“Not really, but I should have.” He gestured towards the almost empty lot. “It’s not like I’ve been really busy today.”

“Yeah w—well… hhh… May—Maybe you… Iih—sheeeew!”

“That’s two. I’m starting right now,” said Aiden with a smirk.

“You know, Aiden, if we don’t have trees to sell, that means I have to cut your hours, which means no salary for you.” Lily sniffed, waiting for the full effect of what she’d said to erase the smirk on Aiden’s face. When it did, she smiled sweetly and said, “So how about you use all your free paid time to help me locate a tree farm instead?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m on it!”

“Iihh—TSHEEEEW!” Lily quickly lifted her head after the third sneeze, shooting a warning glance towards Aiden. “I swear to god, if you—“

“Shhh! I’m busy looking for trees online,” said Aiden, repressing a laugh.

*****

An hour before she was due to sing at the Honey & Cream, Lily stood in front of the cold medicine aisle of a grocery store.

It had taken her that long to realize that all of her symptoms were indicative of a burgeoning cold. The headache, the shivers, the sore throat… and the sneezes. But it was only when her nose had started to run that the veil of denial had fallen. And here she was now, holding a crumpled tissue to her nose while looking for the perfect syrup that would allow her to survive the night.

She didn’t want to cancel; the singing gig was the only good thing happening to her at the moment. Even though she felt under the weather, she knew singing would bring back some much-needed happiness into her heart. She could do it, too. She’d sung with worse than a cold before and knew all the tricks to avoid damaging her vocal cords. But medicine always helped.

She grabbed a bottle of generic cold medicine and headed for the tea aisle for some throat coat, when a familiar voice called her name behind her.

It was Ezra.

Lily instinctively hid the cold medicine behind her back when she turned around, not wanting him to know she was sick. Partly because he’d given her this cold and she didn’t want him to feel bad, but mostly because she was worried he’d cancel the show tonight.

She cleared her throat and hoped for the best. “Hey Ezra! Fancy seeing you here!”

Ezra chuckled, pushing a cart full of a variety of drinks towards her. “We severely underestimated the number of people coming this year, and we’re already running out of drinks.”

“Keep them happy; it makes my job easier!” said Lily, aware of how awkward and overly joyous she sounded. That was the only way she knew to compensate for her lack of energy.

They both stood in silence for a few seconds too long, not knowing what to say. An old Nat King Cole Christmas song played in the background above the hum of the refrigerated displays next to them. Lily wondered just how sickly and pale she looked in the sad, yellowish light of the grocery store, standing right next to a wall of raw meat. Lovely. She tried to think of a way to end the conversation and extricate herself from this situation, but her mind was blank.

And of course, that’s when her nose decided to start tickling.

“Everyone is very excited to hear you sing,” said Ezra, breaking the silence. Unlike Lily, he sounded completely comfortable and relaxed. “I’ve already gotten a few requests.”

Water rose in Lily’s eyes as the tickle grew more intense. “I can’t wait!” she squeaked, trying to control her breathing.

“Oh, do you need a lift to the coffee shop? I’m ready to checkout, so if you want to, you could come with me right now and have a drink before the show. We’ll have plenty of options,” he added, pointing at his cart.

Unable to think straight because of the itch, Lily nodded vigorously, which only made matters worse. “That’d b—be great… Hhh….” She gestured towards the exit in a ‘lead the way’ motion.

Ezra nodded and turned the cart around. As soon as he had his back to her, Lily ducked to the side and stifled a quick double in the crook of her elbow.

“Hhh—Iih—chxshh! Iih—chxxshh!”

Ezra turned around. “What was that?”

Lily stood up straight and stopped moving, as if caught red handed. “What was what?”

Ezra’s eyes scanned the area around Lily. “I heard a weird noise. I thought you’d drop something.” He smiled and turned back around, resuming his walk to the checkout line.

Lily exhaled and sniffed, quickly swiping her used tissue under her nose before hiding it back in her pocket. When she was sure Ezra wouldn’t turn around again, she shoved the box of cold medicine on a shelf, knowing there would be no way to purchase it without Ezra seeing it. She shot the box a longing look as she walked away, promising herself that she’d be back for it the next day.

As they were pulling out of the grocery store’s parking lot, Lily regained enough brain power to remember her guitar. “Crap, do you mind stopping by the RV? I’ll need my guitar.”

“No problem. It’s only a few blocks away anyway.” He put on the heat at full blast, glancing at a shivering Lily. “Who’s in charge of the lot while you’re out?”

“One of the kids,” said Lily, warming her hands over the vent. “They should be fine though… Not many trees to be in charge of at the moment anyway.”

“Are you still waiting for that lost shipment?”

Lily sighed. “That shipment is lost forever. I’m waiting for a replacement. I’d love to find a local supplier to get a small shipment until then but…” She shrugged and shook her head. “I won’t bore you with the details. I’ll figure something out.”

As soon as she moved her hands away from the vent, a blast of hot air blew in her face, which felt nice on her frozen nose, but also triggered another annoying tickle. Lily quickly adjusted the vent away from her face and pinched her nostrils to squash the impending sneeze.

“I’m sure you’ll—“ Ezra glanced at her and stopped mid-sentence, amused. “You OK there?”

Lily lowered her hand and nodded, then quickly shook her head no as her mouth slacked open and her eyelids fluttered. “Go—Gonna sn… sneeze—Iihh… Iih—tsheeew!”

“Bless you! If you need tissues, there’s a packet in the glove compartment.”

“Thanks,” said Lily, fetching the packet and plucking a tissue out. She dabbed at her nose gingerly, not wanting to blow and make a disgusting sound that would give her away.

Ezra glanced once again at her. “Are you feeling alright?”

She smiled. “Yep! It’s the snow…”

“Ah yes. Allergic to snow, right?” said Ezra with a chuckle. He turned into the Evergreen Dream’s lot and stopped in front of Lily’s RV. “Here you are!”

*****

As Ezra and Lily walked to the back door of Honey & Cream, their hands full with bags of clinking glass bottles, muffled sounds of laughter, conversation and Christmas music saturated the night air. Butterflies rose in Lily’s stomach, anticipating the moment she’d be on stage in front of this cheery crowd. She couldn’t help but smile.

“After you,” said Ezra, holding the door with his elbow and moving his bags out of the way.

Lily walked into a dark and narrow hallway, a wave of comforting heat enveloping her. At the other end of the corridor, she could see people chatting, and the orange glow of a fireplace. Images of Christmas when she was a child instantly filled her head. Her grandpa’s living room with the giant brick fireplace. The entire extended family gathered in one room, laughing and talking animatedly. Tables filled with food and desserts. Comfort, warmth and happiness.

“Sounds like quite the crowd in there,” said Lily as she neared the end of the hallway.

“Yep,” said Ezra proudly. “The party gets bigger every year.”

When Lily reached the main room, she couldn’t believe her eyes. She remembered the café being quite spacious and cozy when she’d visited a few weeks ago, but it had been completely transformed from a modern, minimalist space to a Christmas wonderland. A fire roared in the huge stone hearth on the right side of the room. Pine garlands scalloped the entire length of the walls, peppered with holly and ornaments. A huge chandelier made of thousands of dangling crystals in the shape of snowflakes glittered in the dimmed lights.

A few hundred people had gathered at the Honey & Cream in their best attire, with people sitting at the decorated tables or standing in small groups, crowded together for a lack of space. The chorus of voices sounded cheerful and relaxed, which immediately put Lily at ease. She noted a small area in the left corner of the room with a stool and a mic, and behind it, a huge Christmas tree beautifully decorated—the 10 feet scotch pine she’d sold Ezra a few days ago. This would be her spot for the night, and Lily couldn’t have been happier.

Ezra guided her towards a double swivel door behind the counter. “Can you drop off the bottles in the kitchen? I’ll go grab your guitar real quick.” He set down his own bags near the door and darted back towards the hallway.

When Lily pushed the double doors, the smell of glazed ham, pepper gravy and green bean casserole welcomed her despite her congestion. The small professional kitchen was a mess of dirty dishes and flour, forcing Lily to stack a few mixing bowls to make room for the alcohol she was carrying.

Behind her, the double door swung again, and Lily turned around to come face to face with a tall blonde carrying a tray of empty mugs.

“Oh!” the woman said, a warm smile illuminating her face. “You must be Lily! I’m Melinda. I’d shake your hand but…” she nodded towards her tray and swept passed Lily. “Sorry it’s such a mess in here. I hope my brother told you it’s not always like this. Please don’t call the health inspector on us!”

“Brother…? Oh, Ezra? You’re Ezra’s sister?”

Melinda stopped in front of the sink and started unloading the mugs. “Yep! Sister, roommate, co-owner… All of those things. And we’re not even twins.” Once done, she swiveled and started grabbing clean mugs from a shelf and placing them on her tray. “When he told me he’d found someone to sing at our Christmas party, I was ecstatic. Live music is really the only thing that was missing, but we hadn’t realized it. Do you know ‘Christmas Time’s a-Comin’ by Emmylou Harris? It’s not a well-known song but my mom loved it and played it on a loop every Christmas at home. I’ve always wanted to hear it live. If you don’t know it, it’s fine too!” She hurried around the counter and placed the tray on a stack of clean plates, then started filling the mugs with hot chocolate from a thermos dispenser. “Oh shoot, we’re running out.”

Lily watched her flutter around the kitchen, unable to place a word as Melinda chatted animatedly, seemingly more to herself than to Lily. Lily tried to keep up, but her mind still clung to the fact that Melinda was Ezra’s sister, not lover. It felt like such a silly trope that only happened in romcoms, and yet it had just happened to her.

“… and he said you had the voice of an angel. That’s a huge compliment coming from Ezra. He doesn’t like any of the singers on the radio these days. I keep telling him he’s just too old to get it.”

Lily turned her attention back to Melinda just in time to hear the compliment, and her heart swelled. She blushed and sniffled, feeling her nose running a little. Unfortunately, as it often happened to her when she had a cold, sniffling sparked a torturous tickle that nothing could stop. She scrunched up her nose and tried to pinch her nostrils shut anyway, but when her breath started hitching, she knew there was no way out.

“…seem to be having fun, but you never know for sure. What do you think?”

Suddenly, Melinda stopped filling the mugs on her tray and looked at Lily expectantly.

“I… Hhh… I uh… Ehh…” Not only did Lily not know what the question was, but she was also fighting off the sneeze with all her might, embarrassed at the fact that Melinda was just staring at her.

“Are you alright?” said Melinda with a frown.

Lily lifted her index finger and quickly swiveled towards the door, her head tilting back as she took in a big breath. She covered her nose and mouth in her scarf and launched forward with two itchy, irritated sneezes.

“Iihh—tsheeeew!... Hhh—Iiih—tsheeeew!”

“Bless you, my dear!” said Melinda with a chuckle before busying herself piling mini marshmallows and crushed candy canes in each mug. “Boy do I wish I had a cute sneeze like that. Mine sounds like a tornado warning, and then comes the tornado, if you know what I mean. Yours is like a kitten sneeze. It’s so cute.”

And just like that, Melinda was back to a whirlwind of chatter, hurrying around the kitchen to prepare the drinks. Behind Lily, the double doors swung, revealing Ezra, guitar case in hand.

“Ezra!” said Melinda, briefly looking towards her brother before focusing back on her task. “We were just talking about you!”

Ezra chuckled. “I bet you were doing most of the talking, as always.” He turned to Lily and handed her the guitar. “Can I get you something to drink before the show?”

Lily hesitated. Her throat felt a bit raw and she could really use a coat throat, but didn’t want to admit being sick. She wanted to ask for chamomile tea with a lot of honey, but that seemed like a dead giveaway.

“A glass of water would be great.” She clenched her teeth as soon as she heard her own voice. Heavy congestion had settled after the sneezes, and she really needed to blow her nose. “Also, is there anywhere I could go to warm up my voice?” And blow my nose in peace, she thought.

“Yeah sure! You can use my office.” Ezra headed back out of the kitchen. “Follow me.”

*****

Lily spent half an hour doing vocal warmups while walking around Ezra’s office. In-between “hums” and “aahs,” she admired the cleanliness of the room. She hadn’t pegged Ezra as being so orderly. Everything had its place, from the piles of papers neatly arranged in stacked trays to the three pens of different colors aligned next to a notebook.

Lily scrunched up her nose and sniffled, annoyed at the returning tickle. The inside of her nose permanently felt on fire. She grabbed a tissue from a nearby box and folded it over her nose. Her eyes closed as the tickle etched deeper and deeper into her sinuses, sending a little shiver down her back. Her head shook lightly as she drew a breath and sneezed into the tissue.

“Hhh—iihh—sheeeew! Ugh…”

She knew the squeak wasn’t good for her voice, but she couldn’t help it. At least she didn’t feel too sick. Sure, her head was heavy and achy, her throat was irritated and her sinuses were on fire, but she didn’t feel feverish or exhausted. Not only that, but after warming up her voice, Lily felt confident that she could pull off her set. She sang a little deeper than normal, but didn’t crack at all. If she played this right, nobody would notice anything.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. “Come in!”

Ezra’s head peeked in from a crack in the door. “Are you ready to go? I think the Christmas cheer has reached maximum capacity out there.”

Lily smiled. The butterflies hummed with excitement in her stomach. “Let’s give them something to cheer about.”

*****

“Alright everyone,” said Ezra in the mic, tapping it a few times to test it. “This year, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful singer with a beautiful voice who agreed to perform Christmas songs for us tonight. So please be nice to her, and maybe she’ll come back next year.”

Lily smiled when Ezra looked towards her with pleading eyes. She quieted the voice in her head whispering that she’d be back in Seattle next year, maybe without a job. Stay in the moment, she told herself. You’re about to go sing. Her heart pounded with nerves, but her smile grew bigger.

“Put your hands together for Lily Morris!”

Lily walked to the stool and sat down, adjusting her guitar strap. When the clapping died down, she leaned towards the mic. “Hey everyone, I’m the one who sold most of you a Christmas tree this year,” she said, then pointed over her shoulder. “Including this monster right there.” The crowd laughed, and Lily felt her nerves melt away, leaving only excitement. “How about we sing some Christmas songs?”

She started with “Chestnut Roasting on an Open Fire,” one of her favorites. As she strung the first notes on her guitar, she remembered that this was the song she accidentally sang when she met Ezra for the first time. She glanced at him and saw that he was grinning from ear to ear, as if he was remembering the same thing.

A split second before she was meant to start singing, worry bubbled in her chest. She couldn’t help but fear that her voice wouldn’t cooperate. Thankfully, the words came out effortlessly, smooth and clear. A smile grew on her lips as she relaxed into the song.

Lily lost herself in the music during the first half hour, going from jazzy classics to upbeat carols. The crowd was so into it, clapping and singing along, that Lily forgot all about her cold and overdid it a little bit. She belted out “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” doing her usual runs. When she finished the song, people cheered and applauded while she took a big gulp of water, feeling the wrath of her irritated throat flaring up.

“Alright folks, how about a slow one?” she said, her voice sounding a little rough. “Anyone here knows ‘Where Are You Christmas’?” People cheered and nodded.

Lily took another sip of water. “Not that we need to ask ourselves where Christmas is, because it’s obviously here. All of it,” she said, making people laugh again. Lily giggled, but it turned into a small cough. She leaned away from the mic and cleared her throat, catching Ezra’s worried gaze on her. She smiled reassuringly at him.

Lily starting singing, closing her eyes. She always loved doing “Where Are You Christmas.” It was such a beautiful song with a powerful build. Sure, it wasn’t the most cheerful, but it resonated with Lily. After moving to Seattle, away from her family, Christmas hadn’t been the same. Her family had stopped organizing huge gatherings because of a petty fight between her aunts and uncles, and Lily had eventually stopped going home for Christmas altogether because of her new job at Evergreen Dream. Her parents understood that she had to make ends meet, but it still felt bittersweet every year to be spending the holidays selling Christmas trees to happy families, while she had no family of her own to celebrate with on December 24th.

“Where are you Christmas, why can't I find you, why have you gone away,” Lily sang, looking at the crowd in front of her. Some people were putting their heads on their neighbor’s shoulders, or holding hands. They all looked like a big, giant family, and Lily still had trouble wrapping her head around the fact that this city had such a tight-knit community. It was incredibly touching.

Lily concentrated on the vibration of her guitar against her body, trying not to choke up. Emotion rose in her chest and fizzed in her nose as she tried not to cry. But something worse than tears happened: The tickle returned.

At first, she kept singing, hoping adrenaline would take care of it. But it didn’t. The tickle grew to a persistent prickling sensation buzzing slowly down her nostrils. In between verses, she tried to wiggle her nose, which didn’t do any good.

“Where are y—you Christ—hh…mas, do you… hhh...—member, the one you used— tohhh…”

Her lips parted, her eyes closed. She kept strumming, but could no longer sing. She fought her hitching breath once, twice, until it was too much. She turned her head in time, but the mic still picked up her sneezes perfectly, down to the little gasp.

“Iihh—tsheeew! Hhh—ihh—tsheeeew!”

A chorus of bless you and giggles burst from the audience. Lily couldn’t help but laugh, too. “I’m so sorry guys,” she said, her face hot with embarrassment. “I tried so hard, but I couldn’t fight these off.” She kept on strumming the same notes in a loop, trying to recover from the situation. “Although I must say, I’ve never been blessed by so many people at once. I feel really… well… blessed actually.” The crowd erupted in laughter again.

Lily managed to finish the song and play a few more, but she could feel her voice weakening. It even cracked during a folksy version of “Jingle Bells,” but thankfully no one heard it because the crowd was singing louder than her.

She ended with a very simple rendition of “Silent Night,” and was surprised to discover that it sounded better with her raspy, lower voice. As soon as she finished the last note, the crowd whistled and applauded for a full minute, leaving Lily speechless and incredibly touched. She had never sung for such an enthusiastic crowd before. Most of her gigs involved small gatherings, or bars where customers still chatted loudly with each other as if she didn’t exist.

A few people even came up to welcome her to the city and tell her how much they loved her voice. Ezra waited for everyone to disperse before he walked up to her.

“You were wonderful,” he said with such honesty and admiration that Lily felt her insides melt.

“I had a blast!” Her voice sounded deeper and rough around the edge. She cleared her throat. “You’ve got such an amazing group here. I can’t believe how many people turned up.”

“This town is crazy about Christmas,” Ezra said, turning around to gaze upon the mingling crowd like a proud father. “There are tons of other activities organized in town and in neighboring cities. Next week, the old drive-in is even going to reopen for a Christmas movie marathon. Everyone will build their own bonfire and cuddle up with blankets and hot cocoa. Should be fun.” He looked at her sideways. “You should join us.”

Lily smiled. Was that an invitation? “I’d love to.”

But her smiled faltered as a tickle came out of nowhere. She barely had time to muffle the sneezes in her elbow, her head bobbing down with each release.

“Hhh—iihh—sheeew! Iiih—sheeew!”

“Bless you,” said Ezra, his tone more serious. He paused for a moment, surveying her. “Are you sure you’re feeling alright?”

Lily sniffled and nodded with a smile. “Yeah. Just tired. I’m still trying to figure out my little ‘problem’ at work and—“

Ezra snapped his fingers, his eyes lighting up as if he’d just thought of a cure for world hunger. “OH! That reminds me! I think I can help you with your Christmas tree problem.”

Lily raised her eyebrows. “Seriously? What do you have in mind?”

“Well, I haven’t worked it out fully yet but—“

“Ezra?” called out Melinda from the counter, her panicked voice rising above the chatter. “Little help please?”

Poor Melinda was struggling to serve drinks and desserts to the crowd that had formed around the counter, ready for something sweet after the show. Lily could understand their excitement. If the dessert was as tasty as the cranberry muffin she’d had last time, she’d be dying to get a piece of it herself.

“Shoot,” said Ezra, already moving towards Melinda. “Listen, are you free tomorrow morning? I can come by and tell you all about it then.”

Lily nodded. “Sure, we’ll talk tomorrow.”

“Thanks again for the show,” Ezra said, his smile warming up the room. “Have a hot chocolate and enjoy yourself.”

Lily smiled back. A hot chocolate sounds heavenly right about now, she thought, shivering in spite of the ambient heat. And with any luck, this cold will be gone after a good night’s rest.

*****

The night brought anything but good rest to Lily. She spent it tossing and turning on her cheap mattress, shivering under the blankets and sneezing her poor little nose off. By the morning, her bed was littered with used tissues, and she’d only managed to doze off a few hours, at best.

She stood outside in the light of dawn, coffee mug in hand, surveying what was left of the Christmas tree lot. Steam from her coffee rose in the chilly air, mixing with the mist of her breath. She sniffled wetly, bringing a crumpled tissue to her nose. Her nostrils were chapped beyond repair, and she knew nothing could be done to make herself look presentable before Ezra’s arrival.

She walked between the few trees still available on the show lot, her boots crunching in the snow. Worry wrapped around her chest like a corset bound too tightly. If Ezra’s solution didn’t work out, she’d have to call the bosses and admit her fault. Not only had she messed up in the first place, but now she’d lost a good two days of sales trying to fix it by herself. She’d made it worse.

No wonder this lot is so important to them, Lily thought. It had been incredibly popular since the start of the season for such a small city. After talking with Ezra the night before, Lily understood why. Evergreen Dream had found the perfect gem: A series of small towns and cities with deep-rooted Christmas traditions, and no other Christmas tree lots to compete. The stakes were higher than she had thought.

Lily shivered in the relentless cold, and scrunched up her nose as a tickle formed. She fished for her tissue in her coat pocket, covering her nose just in time.

“Hhh—iihh—sheeeew! Ugh… Iihh—sheeew! Iiih—TSHEEEW!”

Behind her, she heard a car make its way into the lot, most likely Ezra’s. She turned around, still clutching the tissue to her nose with one hand, and holding her coffee in the other. A black truck with a trailer attached slowed down near the entrance. It wasn’t Ezra’s Toyota, but the windows were so frosted that Lily couldn’t tell who was sitting in the driver’s seat.

The door opened and Ezra came out. Lily’s heart flipped at the sight of him. She watched him walked to her RV, not knowing that she stood ten feet away on the show lot.

“I’m right here,” she called, except her voice didn’t cooperate. What came out was a pitiful squeak, only hitting a few syllables in full voice, the rest lost in a whisper. She put her hand to her throat, surprised. Had she lost her voice?

Thankfully, it had been enough to catch Ezra’s attention. “Hey,” he called out as he headed towards her. “I was afraid you’d still be sleeping.”

“Your text said 6 am,” she squeaked, her raspy voice still not able to form full words.

Ezra walked up to her with a pained expression. “Oof, you really don’t sound good.” His eyes scanned her face, stopping at her bright-red nose. “I got you sick, didn’t I?” he said softly, his tone full of guilt.

“I think this weather is what did me in,” Lily said, pointing at the gray skies above threatening to unleash a fresh coat of snow. “I’m alright though.”

Ezra looked at her, unconvinced. “You sure you’re up for this? I can come back tomorrow and let you rest.”

Lily shook her head. “If you’ve got a solution, we need to do it now.” She looked at the trees around her. “We’re losing money becau—because of… hhh…”

Lily felt the sneezes coming, hard and fast, the tingle catching fire in her irritated sinuses. But she couldn’t locate her tissue. She put her coffee mug on a crate nearby to free her hands, then checked her coat pockets, her jeans pockets… to no avail. Understanding what was happening, Ezra dug into his own pockets, and came up with a travel packet of tissues, managing to get one out and handing it to Lily just in time.

“Iiih—tsheeew! Hhh—iihh—tsheeeew!”

“Bless you,” Ezra said, his voice warm and soft. “At least let’s get you into the warmth of my truck. I had the heat on full blast. It should still be toasty in there.” He guided her to the passenger side and opened the door for her, closing it behind her.

Lily welcomed the heat with relief, blowing her nose while Ezra circled the truck to get to the driver seat.

“There, this should be better,” he said as he sat down and started the truck, reviving the heating vents. Forced air rushed out with a loud wooshing sound. Ezra turned the heat down to quiet them. “I had a hunch you were under the weather yesterday, but I didn’t dare to ask,” he said, sheepish. “It was a bit selfish of me. I really wanted to hear you sing.”

Lily smiled. “Don’t feel bad. I didn’t tell you because I was afraid you’d cancel the gig.” She grimaced at the sound of her voice. “I sound worse than I feel. And it was totally worth it.”

Ezra nodded. “Alright then, let’s go get you some trees. That’s at least one problem I can fix.”

He put the truck into gear and started turning around in the parking lot, but Lily put her hand on his arm. “Wait, you haven’t told me how we’re going to get the trees yet!”

“Oh, you’re right!” Ezra laughed. “Sorry, my mind has been all over the place these past few days.” He stopped the car. “I’ve got a friend whose cousin owns a tree farm about two hours from here. I explained the situation and he got his cousin to give you a good deal on the trees. At least I hope it’s a good deal,” he said, suddenly unsure. “I’m not exactly in the tree-buying business, but my friend assured me it was a wholesale price.”

Lily beamed. “At this point, I’m willing to pay more if it means getting trees on the lot. How many can we fit in your truck?”

“I brought lots of rope so I’m hoping we can stack them fairly high. Maybe 40 of them with the trailer?”

Lily calculated in her head, her mouth forming the numbers silently. “I think that would be perfect. It should tide us over to the scheduled delivery, and maybe recoup some of the losses.”

Although her voice still sounded hoarse and raspy, it was gaining strength as she used it more, waking up her vocal cords from the difficult night she’d had.

“Thank you so much for doing this, Ezra,” Lily said, putting her hand on his arm once again. “Not only did you get me a singing gig, but now this? You must be a Christmas angel or something.”

Ezra laughed. “It’s the least I could do for passing on that awful cold to you.”

“Hey, I’m the one who stole your hot chocolate, remember?”

“Fair enough,” said Ezra, easing off the brake pedal and maneuvering the truck around. “But I’m still partly responsible and—“

“Hhh—iihh—sheeeew!”

“—bless you—and nobody should be without a tree on Christmas anyway.”

“Ihh—sheeeew!”

Ezra glanced at her sympathetically. “Bless you again.”

Lily dabbed at her nose. “You’re going to run out of ‘bless you’s at this rate.”

“I’m sure we can find a supplier for more of those, too.”

*****

They drove for about half an hour, making light conversation at first. As the warmth of the car settled, easing Lily’s shivering, the conversation took on a more warm, familiar tone.

 “I really like this city,” Lily said with a longing sigh.

Ezra glanced at her. “Oh yeah? You don’t hear that often from West Coast people.” He chuckled. “But I can’t imagine a Christmas without snow.”

“I grew up in a small country town, although it rarely snowed there. I just miss the community. The fresh air. I miss knowing your neighbors and stopping by for a visit.” She looked outside at the snow-covered fields, her eyes following the few lonely trees in the distance as the car rushed passed. “And I guess snow does look really nice.”

“And now that we know you’re not allergic to it…”

Lily laughed and playfully pushed him on the shoulder. “I rarely get sick, so there’s still a case to be made about the snow and the weather doing… this to me.” She motioned towards her throat and sinuses, grimacing. “Seattle is fine. We do get a bit of snow every year but it doesn’t last and it’s just chaotic. Some streets in my neighborhood are steep, which is a total nightmare when it gets icy.”

“I’ve actually never been to Seattle before,” said Ezra. “Or much of anywhere to be honest.”

Lily looked at him in surprise. “Were you born here?”

“Yep! Born and raised… and anchored, apparently.” He fiddled with the heating knob, increasing it a little. “My parents bought the Honey & Cream when they were in their 20s. That wasn’t its original name though. They called it ‘Expresso.’ It drove Melinda crazy. She’s a coffee nerd.”

Lily could easily imagine Melinda ranting about the term “Expresso” to no one in particular, averaging 30 words per second without losing her breath. She made a mental note to ask Melinda about it next time she visited the coffee shop.

“So how did you both become the owners?”

“My parents retired early. My dad’s heart wasn’t doing so great. I don’t think he was cut out to be a business owner. Now they live in Florida, his heart is doing much better, and my sister and I are co-owners. The first thing we did is change the name, of course.”

“I really like ‘Honey & Cream,’” mused Lily, scrunching up her nose. “It’s modern, but also soft and soothing in a way.” She picked up a tissue from the travel packet Ezra had given her, feeling another sneeze coming on.

“It was Melinda’s idea. She’s the baker and coffee addict. I take care of the business side of it. That’s what I studied in college, knowing my parents were thinking of selling the coffee shop. I didn’t want it to leave the family, and I’m—“

Ezra stopped talking when he heard a little gasp coming from Lily, warning him of an impending sneeze. He glanced at her with a sad smile. “That tickle won’t leave you alone, huh?”

Lily shook her head, her eyes half-closed, her lips parted, struggling with a torturous buildup. She wiggled her nose again, which seemed to do the trick. Her head titled back, and she bent forward under the force of the sneeze, burying her nose in the tissue.

“Hhhh—ihhh—TSHEEEEW!” She remained bent over her lap, the tissue still secured around her nose and mouth, knowing another sneeze was coming. “Hhhh—iiihh—tsheeeew!”

“Bless you!” said Ezra, surprised at the force of the sneezes. He slowed down the truck, turning into a gas station. “I think we need some supplies. Let me get you something warm for your throat. Any preference?”

Lily dabbed at her chapped nose and sniffled. “Coffee.”

Ezra raised his eyebrows. “Not to go all ‘doctor’ on you, but wouldn’t tea be better in your condition?”

“You’re right,” said Lily, relenting. “Throat coat would be great, but if they don’t have it, chamomile with honey should work.”

“Throat coat…,” he repeated, committing it to memory. “I’m on it!”

He opened the door and got out as quickly as possible to avoid letting too much cold air in, but a burst of icy wind still made its way to Lily. She shivered and readjusted her scarf around her neck, fluffing it up. Reaching for her purse, she checked her phone to see if Aiden was doing alright back at the lot. She’d left him in charge again while she was gone.

Lily: Everything OK over there?

Aiden: Yep. I’m telling people to come back this afternoon. They don’t seem too mad.

Lily: Good. Thank you!

Aiden: How’s it going with Ezra?

Lily: What do you mean?

Aiden: I mean you’re spending half a day on a road trip with the hottest bachelor in town, surely you won’t waste this opportunity?

Lily: Aiden!! Seriously?!

Aiden: Sorry Ms. Morris :P

Lily repressed a laugh. Maybe her growing attraction to Ezra had been apparent to everyone but herself. But this was a professional work trip, and she was in no condition to put on the charm anyway. She would be lucky if Ezra ever thought she looked attractive after seeing her like this.

She put down her phone, realizing that she was alone and could finally blow her nose properly. She had been dabbing at it, too embarrassed to blow in front of Ezra. The process took multiple tissues, but it relieved a lot of pressure in Lily’s sinuses, easing her headache. She managed to take a couple of breath through her nose before another tickle took hold.

She reached for the packet of tissues, but realized she’d used the last one. As Lily battled the oncoming sneeze, Ezra came back, sending another rush of cold air into the car and flaming the tickle in Lily’s nose.

“I got you a—oh!” Ezra noticed the empty packet and Lily pinching her nose, her breath hitching. He put down the two cups of hot liquid in the cup holders and rummaged in the plastic bag, but Lily could no longer hold the sneeze in. She covered her nose with her scarf.

“Ihh—tsheeeew!”

Ezra fished out a box of tissues from the bag and ripped it open, passing Lily a bunch of them. She took them gratefully, her eyes still shut as the tickle triggered another sneeze. She buried her nose in the thick, soft fabric.

“Hhh—ihh—tsheeew! Iihh—tsheeew!”

“Bless you!” Ezra said, moving the bag out of his seat so that he could sit down and close the door. “Poor thing, you sound so sick. Hopefully this will help.” He took out a box of cold medicine and a box of throat coat tea. “I got you a cup of hot water for the tea. The lady at the counter looked at me weird when I asked for ‘throat coat.’ I think she thought it was some kind of sex thing.”

Lily burst out laughing, her nose still buried in the tissues. Ezra joined in.

“I’m just glad I found it so I could show her what it is,” he said, picking up the box to read the text on it. “What even is this? What’s in it?”

“Slippery elm,” said Lily, sniffling wetly and removing the lid from the cup of hot water. “It coats your throat and makes it feel less raw and tickly. Too bad they don’t make it for your nose, too,” she mumbled.

Ezra fetched a tea bag from the box and sniffed it. Grimacing, he gave it to Lily. “What does it taste like?”

Lily dumped it in her cup. “Mostly like a sweeter, more subtle version of licorice. It’s not bad if you don’t hate licorice.”

“Oh, I hate licorice,” said Ezra. “Thankfully I’ve got the perfect chaser right here.” He produced two packets of tree-shaped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups from the bag.

Lily beamed. “I loooove Reese’s! Especially the trees—“

“Because they have more peanut butter, right?” said Ezra, grinning.

“Yes, that’s it!”

“I always stock up after Christmas and Easter. They’re the best.” He opened one packet and took a bite of the chocolate tree. “I’m sure your tea won’t taste as bad if you eat one of these with it.”

Lily laughed. “It’s OK, I’m used to it. I always drink it when my throat is irritated before a show. It’s a singer’s best tool.”

Ezra was pensive for a moment. “You were really wonderful yesterday. I can’t believe you sang like that with a cold.”

“To be fair, I didn’t feel as bad as I do today. I could not sing with this voice,” she said, pointing at her throat.

“You definitely need some rest today.”

They sat in the car in silence for a few minutes, Ezra sipping coffee and eating Reese’s, Lily drinking her tea. Ezra stole a glance at her. “Did you always want to be a singer?”

Lily shook her head, blowing on her tea. “No, I actually wanted to be a hockey player.”

“Really?”

“Yep. I played from when I was five years old all through high school. I quit when I went to college to study music.”

“Do you still skate sometimes?” Ezra put down his coffee and started up the car, turning on the heat.

“I haven’t been in a few years, but I do miss it.”

“Me and my buddies play on a frozen pond in the park during winter. You should come sometimes.”

Lily smiled, feeling the butterflies waking up. “I’d love to.”

Ezra put the truck in reverse, turning his body around to see where he was going. “I’m a pretty good goalie though, so don’t get your hopes up. No puck gets through me.” He glanced at her with a mischievous grin.

“We’ll see,” she said, returning the grin.

*****

Lily soon fell asleep, unable to keep her eyes open in the warmth of the car and the lull of the tires on the snow-covered streets. Ezra woke her up gently once they reached their destination.

“Sorry,” he said after whispering her name and tapping her on the shoulder. “I would let you sleep but you have to sign and pay.”

Lily fought to stay awake, rubbing her eyes and stretching. “No, no, it’s perfect.” Her voice had gone back to a pitiful squeak, which earned a frown from Ezra. “I’m sorry, I’m the worst road trip buddy in the world.”

Ezra laughed. “It’s alright. You needed it.”

Lily met with the owner of the tree farm and agreed to the wholesale price. It was more than Evergreen Dream usually paid, but much lower than the quotes Lily had been getting on the phone. Once she saw the stack of trees ready to go near a warehouse in the back, she felt instant relief. This was really happening! Her problem had been solved, thanks to Ezra.

She looked on as Ezra and two employees discussed how they would load the trees on his truck and trailer. Now that she no longer had to worry about work, she couldn’t help but turn her full attention to Ezra. She gazed at his warm smile as he laughed with the employees, at his strong arms when he lifted up a tree. There was an undeniable attraction, but was it really a good idea to pursue it? She’d be back in Seattle at the end of the season, which was fast approaching.

Her phone rang, interrupting her thoughts. She checked the caller ID and saw Ella’s photo, probably calling for a little ‘I told you so’ reminder. Lily looked back at Ezra and figured it would take a while to load all the trees, so she had time for a quick chat.

“Hey El,” she said, her voice beyond hoarse.

“Oh my god, Lily. You sound absolutely terrible.”

“I know, I know.” Lily walked a few steps away from the warehouse. “Turns out you were right about everything. The cold, the boss… everything.”

Ella sighed at the other end of the line. “You know I usually like to hear you say I’m right, but this time, I’m just worried.”

“Don’t, I’m currently fixing it. Well, actually, Ezra is fixing it for me as we speak.”

“Ezra? The cute guy who offered you a singing gig?”

“Yep, the same one!” Lily looked back at Ezra. He was still hauling trees into the bed of the truck.

Ella laughed. “Girl, I can hear the dreamy tone even with your voice all fucked up. Are you guys hitting it up?”

“El! Come on! We’ve just met, and I’m not like that. You know me.”

“Lily, I’ve been telling you this for years. Have some fun, for christ’s sake. At least take the guy on a date or two while you’re there. What’s the harm?”

Lily rubbed her nose with her gloved hand. “What if I want more?”

“Then you can call me and we’ll figure it out. You already took a chance with this job, why not embrace it fully and live a little?”

“I just—hhh… Da—damnit… I hhaave to… sn—“

She moved the phone away from her face, covering her nose with her scarf.

“Hhh—iihh—sheeeew! Iihh—tsheeew! Hhh… G—god… Hhh—iih—TSHEEEW!”

“Bless you,” said Ezra not too far behind her.

Lily jumped and turned around. Ezra was walking towards her with a deep frown on his face. She brought the phone back to her ear long enough to blurt out, “I gotta go.” She could hear Ella’s faint voice yelling at her to “get some rest, for Pete’s sake.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” said Ezra, examining her with soft eyes. “It’s just… It’s really cold out here and… I noticed that you were shivering.”

Lily hadn’t even noticed, but he was right. Her whole body was shaking, and she realized just how cold she was. The humid wind blew right through her, chilling her to the bone.

“Why don’t you go wait in the truck?” he added gently. “I don’t want you to get worse.”

Thirty minutes later, Ezra and Lily drove off with the forty Christmas trees secured in the truck bed and on the trailer. Lily felt giddy with relief. She couldn’t wait to see the happy faces of customers coming in to buy the tree they actually wanted, instead of seeing their disappointed look as they left empty-handed. She never knew a Christmas tree lot could become so depressing, and she never wanted to experience it again.

“I don’t even know how to repay you,” said Lily.

“It was nothing, really. I enjoyed this little road trip.” Ezra kept his eyes on the road, as if stricken by shyness.

Lily remembered Ella’s advice on the phone, and before her brain could even catch on, she heard herself say, “How about we test your goalie skills tomorrow night?”

Ezra turned his head to look at her, his smile so warm it threatened to catch fire. “That sounds great!” He thought for a moment and added, “But are you sure you’ll be better by then?”

Lily nodded, confident. “For sure. I’m never sick more than one or two days. I already feel better!” It was a little lie, but she knew that with her anxiety gone, she’d be able to sleep and would be as good as new in the morning.

“Tomorrow night it is, then!”

*****

“Just go back to bed,” said Aiden, leaning back on the counter, watching Lily down cold medicine tablets with a sip of coffee. “You’re obviously not better.”

It was the next day, well into the afternoon, and the lot was as busy as ever. But Lily hadn’t woken up as good as new, as she’d expected. In fact, she definitely felt worse.

“I’m fine,” she squeaked.

“That is definitely not the sound of a ‘fine’ person,” mocked Aiden.

Lily turned around quickly, grabbing tissues from a box nearby. “Iihh—tsheeeew!”

“Also not a ‘fine’ sound. Just FYI.”

Lily glared at him over her tissues. She did not have the energy to banter with Aiden. Her throat hurt, her head throbbed, her sinuses felt heavy and hot. She had on about four layers of clothes, but couldn’t seem to get warm. However, since they’d brought in more trees, they were dealing with an uptick in customers, and Lily couldn’t afford to stay back. Especially since Tommy had called in sick and nobody else that wasn’t already working today was available.

“Suit yourself,” said Aiden, raising his hands in capitulation.

Since her voice was too hoarse to try to sell trees, and she didn’t want to risk infecting customers by handling their money, Lily had decided to take on the job of wrapping the Christmas trees in mesh and resupplying the lot when trees sold. It was a grueling, physical job that drained her already limited energy, but it was the most logical decision. She managed to take a few breaks during the day, sleeping in the RV whenever she could, but she still worked on the lot from opening ‘til close.

When 10 pm rolled around and the lot had finally closed, she sat down on a stool, exhausted, while Aiden counted the money.

“Now you can finally go to sleep,” said Aiden, writing down the amount on an inventory sheet.

Lily shook her head. “Can’t.”

“What? Why not? Don’t tell me you’re going to clean up the lot, I swear to god…”

Lily laughed, which caused her to cough a little. “No, it’s not that. I’ve got a… thing.”

Aiden gave her a knowing smile. “A thing, huh? With who?” He shook his head. “Actually you know what? It doesn’t matter who. You should definitely cancel.”

Lily had debated canceling all day, but she really wanted to go. She had already taken another dose of cold medicine and knew it would kick in long enough for her to enjoy her date. Since Ezra was picking her up at 10:30, she figured they would play hockey for an hour or two and call it a night. After a day of dragging trees around, ice skating sounded like a lovely, relaxing time.

And she really wanted to see Ezra.

“I’m not going to cancel. He’s already seen me sick anyway.”

Aiden squinted his eyes. “Wait… Is it Ezra? It’s Ezra, isn’t it?” He started laughing. “You’ve got a date with Ezra. I knew it!”

“Oh shush,” said Lily, wiping her nose for the millionth time. “We’re just going to hang out for a couple of hours. It’s not really a date per se.”

“I think you guys look cute together,” mocked Aiden, batting his eyes. He zipped the cash pouch and handed it to Lily. “Have fun on your *cough* date *cough*.” He gasped, overplaying an expression of surprise. “Oh no, I think you got me sick!”

Lily smacked his arm with the envelope, and Aiden fake-coughed as he walked to his car. “I might have to call in sick tomorrow like Tommy *cough* *cough*.”

“Wait, is he not actually sick?”

Aiden turned around and shrugged, still walking backward towards the parking lot. “I promised I wouldn’t say anything,” he shouted as he reached his car. “Feel better!”

Lily shook her head, trying not to get mad at Tommy. She breathed out and headed to her trailer to freshen up. Of course, Ezra had seen her sick the day before, but this was an actual date—no matter how much she’d downplayed it to Aiden.

She splashed cold water on her face from the small kitchen sink, and managed to put on enough makeup to look presentable. She kept on her layers of clothing, dreading even the idea or removing them and feeling the cold on her skin. Thankfully, the pills had started to take effect and her headache eased. Her nose also wasn’t as runny. It’ll be fine, she thought. Just as she finished up, she heard Ezra’s car driving into the lot and went outside to meet him.

Ezra waved to Lily as he got out of the car. Lily waved back, but a prickle hit deep in her sinuses, forcing her to divert all of her attention to it. She murmured a quick “oh!” and brought her hand to her face, ready to catch the sneezes.

“Hhh—iihh—tsheeeew! Iih—tsheeeew! Iihh—TSHEEEEW!”

“Oh no,” said Ezra as he reached her. “I was going to ask if you’re feeling better, but I guess I have my answer.”

Lily sniffled, reaching for tissues stashed in her coat pocket. “I’m fine,” she said. “Still getting over this cold but I really want to play hockey.”

Ezra hesitated, surveying her face, as if for any signs that she wasn’t well enough. “Are you sure you’re up for it?”

Lily nodded with big, hopeful eyes as she dabbed at her nose.

“It’s hard to resist that look,” said Ezra, chuckling. “Let’s go.”

*****

Snow had started falling by the time they arrived at the location. It was a small natural preserve with hiking trails snaking through a dense wooded area. The place was quiet and the path well lit, creating a magical atmosphere with the puffy snowflakes dancing in the light. They walked beneath tall and narrow trees, the sound of their boots crunching in the snow filling the air.

“The pond is about two minutes that way,” said Ezra, pointing forward. He was carrying two pairs of ice skates slung on his shoulder, their blades occasionally clinking together.

“It’s so quiet,” murmured Lily. “Whenever it snows at night, it always feels like I’m in a monastery. Like I should keep my voice down and pay my respect to Mother Nature.”

“I know what you mean,” said Ezra. “All the sounds are muffled. It feels like we’re walking into a tunnel, and we’re about to step into outerspace at any moment.”

They kept walking in silence for a bit, until the wind picked up and sent a flurry of sharp ice flakes on Lily’s face. Somehow, a few of them hit her sensitive nostrils, and she gasped as a wave of prickles assaulted her nose. “Oh no,” she whispered, before bending away from Ezra to sneeze.

“Hhh—iihh—sheeew! Iihh—TSHEEEW!”

The last sneeze had been particularly loud, and it echoed in the forest around them. Ezra cracked up, managing a “bless you” in between laughs. “So much for the monastery peacefulness,” he said, and Lily burst out laughing as well.

When they finally reached the pond, Lily gasped in admiration. It was a small patch of ice in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by the same lanky trees from the trail. Warm Christmas lights had been strung on their naked branches, creating an intimate, breathtaking ambience.

Ezra guided Lily to a large horizontal trunk on the side of the pond that people had been using as a bench. As they both sat to tie their skates on, snow stopped falling and the clouds started clearing, letting in a bit of moonlight.

“Do you think skating is like riding a bike?” Ezra asked as he bent behind the trunk to retrieve two well-used hockey sticks and a puck.

“I hope so,” Lily said before standing up and awkwardly walking to the ice. She put her first skate on the ice, apprehensive, and then the other. The first few kicks were a bit wobbly, and Ezra stayed by her side just in case, but Lily soon got her bearings and glided around the ice like it was second nature. It felt great to be back.

They circled the pond a few times, Lily reacquainting herself with the techniques and trying a few things like skating backward and pivoting.

“How does it feel?” asked Ezra, watching her with a delighted smile.

“Amazing,” said Lily, feeling the rush of adrenaline as she picked up speed.

Ezra handed her a hockey stick when she skated by him. She grabbed it and started playing with the puck.

“Where’s the goal?” she said, sniffling.

“We usually use branches. Here,” Ezra said, skating to the edge and hopping in the snow to gather a few branches. He placed them on the ice in the shape of a two-dimensional goal.

Lily laughed. “Did you guys run out of money after buying all the lights?”

“Did I mention we were unofficially playing hockey?” said Ezra, chuckling. “But I meant what I said about being a good goalie. Show me what you’ve got.”

They played for a good twenty minutes, Lily scoring goal after goal as Ezra tried to keep his branches from sliding away. They both laughed so hard that soon, none of them could even hold up the hockey sticks.

“How about a break?” asked Ezra, out of breath.

Lily nodded. Fatigue hit her like a ton of bricks, her energy finally reaching the “Empty” gage and sputtering. She wondered if the medicine had stopped working early, too, because all of her symptoms were back. It didn’t matter, though. She felt happy.

She sniffed, trying to keep her nose from running, but instead caused cold air to hit too deep. She felt a burning sensation that turned into another irritating prickle. She let go of the hockey stick, which clattered on the ice at her feet, and dug for tissues from her coat pocket.

“Everything OK?” asked Ezra, sitting on the ice near his goal.

Lily nodded. “Just—hhh got… gotta—hhh… Iihh—TSHEEEEW!”

The sneeze overpowered her small frame, and she bent forward under the force of it, losing footing. Her reflex was to counterbalance and straighten her back, only causing her to slip further and fall flat on her butt.

Ezra shot up to his feet, rushing to her side. “Are you OK?!”

Lily laid all the way back on the ice, laughing. “This is ridiculous,” she said, giggling and coughing a little. “I’m such a mess, I can’t believe you even agreed to this.” She brought the tissues back up to her nose to wipe it.

Ezra laid next to her on the ice. “You’re not a mess,” he said with a smile. “You’re adorable.”

Lily stopped laughing and blushed, her eyes fixed on the sky. Clouds had completely cleared, uncovering a night full of stars, so many stars that Lily couldn’t take them all in.

“I forgot about the stars,” she said, breathless.

“It’s the best part.”

Lily turned her head towards Ezra. “I’m glad I came here.”

“Me too,” said Ezra, looking into Lily’s eyes.

They both inched closer to each other, their lips almost touching. “What about my cold?” whispered Lily.

“The one I gave you?” Ezra whispered back, a hint of a smile on his lips, and all Lily wanted was to taste it.

Their lips touched in a shy and delicate kiss, until Ezra removed his gloves to cradle Lily’s face in his hands. Their kissed instantly took a passionate turn... That is until Lily gasped and moved her head away. Her breath hitched as they were still inches apart. She quickly brought her scarf over her nose and ducked away from Ezra.

“Iihh—tsheeew! Hhh—Ihh—sheeeew!”

“Bless you—“

“Iihh—thseeew—Iihh—TSHEEEW! Hhh—ihh—TSHEEEW!”

“Oh, Lily… bless you,” said Ezra, frowning. “You’re so sick.”

They both sat up, and Lily brought out more tissues to wipe her irritated nose. “Sorry about this,” she said, embarrassed.

“Don’t be. I just…” he looked at her closely, and his concern only seemed to deepen. He put his hand on her forehead, gently. “I figured. You have a fever, sweetheart. Let’s get you home.”

*****

Ezra held the door to the RV open for Lily, and followed her in.

“Do you need anything?” he asked as she removed her beanie and her gloves.

“No, I should be alright. I still have some of the medicine you bought.”

Ezra looked around with a shocked expression that made Lily wonder if she’d left something scandalous out in the open. But then again, she didn’t exactly have anything scandalous to leave out.

“Is this really where you’ve been sleeping since you’ve arrived?” asked Ezra in disbelief.

“Yes…” said Lily, not following. It wasn’t exactly luxury, but it was tidy enough.

“It’s incredibly drafty,” he said, pushing on the door and putting his hand around the frame to feel for cold air. “No wonder you got sick.” He moved to the window in the kitchen area and checked there too. “And no wonder you never got better.”

Lily shrugged. “I spend most of my time out there near the heating lamp. In here, I just sleep under a bunch of blankets.”

“That’s not enough if you’re sick,” said Ezra, worried. “Why don’t you come sleep at my place?” And then, as if he realized that what he’d said sounded lewd, he added quickly. “I’ve got a guest room, of course.”

Lily laughed. “I think you’re overreacting a little bit.”

“I just hate the thought of leaving you here with a fever,” he said, looking so sad that it almost broke Lily’s heart. “I’ve got a fireplace. And hot food.”

Lily imagined sitting in front of a fireplace, and suddenly, the RV felt as freezing as a dead cold heart. And if she was honest with herself, she knew she didn’t have the energy to spend the entire night battling a fever in the RV. She would probably sleep in her winter coat to avoid the dreaded feeling of slipping into a cold bed.

She nodded. “A fireplace sounds very nice.”

*****

The thermometer beeped, and Ezra took it out of Lily’s mouth. He frowned and touched her forehead again, then her cheek. “You feel much warmer than it says,” he murmured. “Is this thing broken?”

They sat on Ezra’s couch in front of the beautiful stone fireplace of his small chalet-style home. A huge window covered the front wall of the house, reaching up to the second floor, and Lily couldn’t stop gazing out at the tall snowy pines swaying in the wind, enthralled by the gorgeous winter view.

“Your hands are still cold from being outside,” said Lily, smiling. “It’s not that bad, don’t worry.” She put her hand on Ezra’s arm, hoping to ease the worry lines etched on his forehead. “I promise.”

Ezra gave her a sad smile. “You’ve been saying that since the start, but you just get worse.”

Lily gestured around the cozy living room. “How can I not get better now that I’m here?” She resisted the urge to say ‘with you,’ wondering if it was a bit too cheesy, even though she meant it. “I still can’t believe you live here.” The other Christmas tree she’d sold to Ezra stood next to the roaring fire, elegant and sparsely decorated, which let the natural branches shine.

Ezra chuckled. “I’m used to it by now, I guess. It was our parents’ home after Melinda and I both moved out. I bought it from them when they retired, and Melinda has been staying here for now.” He put the thermometer back on the coffee table and readjusted the blanket on Lily’s shoulders. “Relationship troubles,” he whispered, even though Melinda was fast asleep in her bedroom upstairs.

“It’s like living in a vacation chalet all year-long,” she mused. Her breath caught in her throat as the persistent feathery tickle at the back of her nose flared again. She bent down to retrieve a few tissues from the coffee table and let her breath hitch, no longer having the energy to fight them.

“Hhh… Hhh—ihh—tsheeeew!” Lily covered her nose with the tissues, jerking forward with the force of the irritated, exhausted sneezes. “Ihh—tsheeeew!” She gasped, expecting a third sneeze that didn’t materialize. She felt Ezra's hand on her back rubbing in circles as she waited, her nose itching furiously, her head titled back and her mouth parted slightly. “G—god… Hhh… Ihh—TSHEEEEW! Ihh—TSHEEEEEW!”

“Bless you.” Ezra shook his head, still rubbing Lily’s back. He gazed into her watery, feverish eyes. “It’s killing me how sick you look. I just want to hug you and make it all go away.”

Lily wiped her nose and groaned, melting into Ezra’s hand on her back. He shifted closer to her and opened his arms. She gratefully put her head on his chest as he embraced her tenderly and kissed the top of her head. “I have to say, you are the most adorable sick person I have ever met in my life,” he said, chuckling. “Down to your cute squeaky sneeze.”

Lily laughed, which turned into a small cough.

“Sorry,” whispered Ezra, rubbing her back again. “I shouldn’t make you laugh.”

“Isn’t laughter the best medicine?” asked Lily, getting sleepier by the minute.

“Rest is the best medicine,” said Ezra. “You should get some sleep. You need to get better so that you can taste my delicious turkey on Christmas Eve.”

Lily smiled, imagining spending Christmas in the chalet with Ezra. She drifted off to sleep with a contented sigh, listening to the crackle of the fire.

She awoke early the next morning in the guest bedroom, still fully clothed but underneath the covers. She got up, shivering, her head still full of cold, her throat still hurting, but her spirits high. She tiptoed downstairs to the kitchen/living room area. Nobody else was awake yet. She stood in front of the large window, in awe. Huge snowflakes fell from the sky like strands of silk, covering her entire field of vision. The only thing she could see through the white blanket was the pines, strong and proud, their green branches peeking through as if nothing could defeat them.

She wiggled her nose, feeling a sneeze brewing. She cupped her hand over her mouth and nose, hoping to stifle as to not wake anyone up. She hitched a few times until the sneezes tumbled out of her.

“Hhh—ihhh—NNGXXShh! Ihh—NNGXShheew! Iihh—NNGXXXShh!”

“Bless you,” said a voice at the top of the stairs.

Lily turned around to see Ezra in a t-shirt and flannel pants coming down the stairs, looking sleepy and gorgeous. Her heart flipped in her chest.

“You should still be in bed,” he said with a warm smile, as if he were glad that she wasn’t. “Are you feeling OK?” He didn’t wait for her answer, and put his lips near her temple. “You don’t feel too warm. That’s good,” he murmured.

Lily smiled and embraced him, nuzzling her head in his chest. Ezra put his arms around her, and she felt instantly safe. “I was just thinking,” she said, glancing back at the window. “I think I love snow after all.”

Ezra chuckled. “I’m glad you do.”

They stood there in the early morning light, watching the snow fall.

“I could get used to this,” said Lily.

There was a small moment of silence, as if Ezra was holding his breath.

“I hope you do,” he finally said, and Lily could hear the warmth of his smile filling his voice.

And she decided it was all the warmth she would ever need.

THE END

[bcofl0ve]

mollie why does nobody in the fandom want the priscilla film?

a little part of me doesn't even want to touch this topic bc the discourse grates on me but. i do believe in being honest and i don't want to obfuscate my own views just to go along/get along.

i am looking forward to the priscilla film. of course sure i might hate it, but i'm expecting to like it and prob will. though austin will always be "my elvis", i think sofia weaves beautiful stories about the female experience. and i trust her to tell a faithful story of priscilla's life in a way that cilla didn't feel the mini series director (who fwiw, was a man) did. and i realize this is an unpopular opinion. but tbh my *chief* worry in all of this is people in the elvis fandom using this movie as some sort of purity test and running anyone who enjoys it out for being a "traitor".

and can i be very honest? i was scratching my head at some of the tweets going around the other day to the effect of "ugh elvis fans we're gonna be in the trenches defending him". like...defending him against what exactly? the truth? i realllly don't want touch the discourse about priscilla allegedly exaggerating some things in her book. but i do think the take of "well this didn't happen exactly as written by her so their relationship was perfect and she's a evil lying bitch" is bordering into delusional. not to mention the thing she said she exaggerated was one specific incident, the sex after she told elvis she wanted a divorce. the way people talk about it you'd think she released a "50 things i lied about list" when that is not what was said at alllll.

i am a huge elvis fan, i cry sometimes over wishing he was still alive and he will mean so much to me forever. but he wasn't a god. he was a human. he had missteps, sometimes severe missteps, and i just can't in good conscience argue in defense of some of them like it appears some fans will be doing. yes, the times were different. i will never call priscilla a victim of abuse when she hasn't chosen to label herself as one. but i also won't sit here and act like elvis did every last thing right by her. even people in his life were concerned about how young she was. even for ~the times~ he was pushing it. and that is not a fact i like, but facts do not care about what i like after all.

her life was turned upside down when she was 14 years old because she fell in love, and she's undergone 60+ years of public scrutiny since. when cilla could've chosen the easy path into oblivion, or allowed herself to be lifted up as a saint by people who hate elvis, she didn't. she *chose* to put money, time, energy and grief into legacy work. she *chose* to go above and beyond for his fans when she quite frankly, owed us nothing. if a microphone being held to her life story for like two hours really negates that and makes her a villain in the eyes of certain elvis fans i find that sad. women's stories matter. always.