#up half of the food i just ate and so i say no to the shake which is a gurantee of me being up all night throwing up

[diettwistup]

HALF OF YOU

PAIRINGS: tashi duncan x f!oc, art donaldson x f!oc, patrick zweig x f!oc

SUMMARY: No matter how bright Tashi Duncan shined, her best friend, Milan Mikaelson, wasn’t far behind. Though seeming second best, Milan would never let that define her career. Holding as much fame as Tashi, Milan encountered Patrick Zweig and Art Donaldson. Would this encounter change the trajectory of her life, and would it completely alter her relationship with Tashi Duncan?

WARNINGS: challengers spoilers, reader is milan mikaelson, sexual situations, language, angst, plot alterations.

NOTES: hello lovely people! so excited to be back n finally posting this next chapter. i really hope you guys enjoy this, as it’s a little bit of a filler chapter to get ready for the juicy stuff. also i was a little lazy and didn't edit much, so mind an errors! hope you enjoy kisses n hugs xx 💋

WC: 4.3K

READ BEFORE THIS: INTRO, ONE, and TWO

CHAPTER 3: CRACK ME AND I’LL CRACK YOU

STANFORD DINING HALL , 2007 1:00 PM

My eyes scanned the dining hall and all the students grabbing late lunches. Taking out my phone, I looked down to read a text from Art.

“I’ve got a table by the window.” 

Looking up, I almost immediately saw his backward cap and blonde curls facing me as he looked out the window, hands bridged. 

Softly inhaling, I walked over to where he was, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. 

“Hi…” I softly spoke, making him turn around and flash me his signature lopsided grin. 

“Hey,” He started as I sat down across from him. “Such a beautiful day. I just had to get a window seat.” He nodded his head towards the view we had. 

Following his eyes, I saw our beautiful campus basking in the hot California sun. 

“It really is beautiful if you have the time to stop and stare.” I sighed as I stole a glance at Art’s side profile. 

I felt my breath catch in my throat solely from his features. They really were perfect, and that’s saying something. 

“Ready to eat?” He snapped his eyes back to me as I tried my best to play off staring at him, grabbing a piece of my hair. 

“Yeah!” I spurted out, too eager for my liking, as I quickly stood up, student ID in hand. “Let’s go…” I finished calmer as I brushed my hair out of my face. 

I heard him softly chuckle as we went to go get our food. 

Returning to the table, I sat my tray down, looked at my food, and grabbed a piece of my hair to play with. 

Again.

“So, I wanna hear everything about how your semester went.” I smiled and crossed my legs under the table. 

Shooting me a soft smile while opening his water bottle, Art locked his eyes onto mine. 

“It’s been rough. Lots of hard practices and tough classes, but like we said the other day, it’s all gonna be worth it.” He explained before taking a bite of his food. 

Picking up my fork and poking my salad, I tilted my head. “Have you and Pat been keeping in contact?” I questioned as I took a bite of my food. 

Nodding as he chewed, Art put his fork down. “Yeah, we talk all the time, and he’s visited a bunch,” he responded. 

I knew about the visits since Tashi always told me when she needed…alone time. 

“That’s fun,” I continued to eat my food before looking out the window. “Tashi said he’s coming for her match next week. We should all do something.” 

“I like that idea.” I could feel him smiling at me as my cheeks heated up. 

A comfortable silence befell us as we ate our food. Surprisingly, it was very enjoyable. I liked this. 

I liked Art. 

When we finished our food and returned our trays, Art shoved his hands in his pocket and looked at me, letting his eyes ask, "What's next." 

Smiling at him, I bit my bottom lip and parted my lips. “Since we didn’t talk much, I wondered if you wanted to return to my dorm. I have a single, so we wouldn’t have to worry about disturbing my roommate.” I spoke as I played with my fingers. 

I could practically feel the happiness radiating off of his smile as he simply nodded. 

“Lead the way.” He responded and extended his hand out for me to take. 

Softly laughing, I grabbed his hand and walked us to my dorm building. 

His hand feels good in mine.

Reaching my dorm, I turned to Art as I unlocked the door. 

“She may be messy, don’t judge.” I playfully scolded as I opened the door. 

“Don’t worry, if yours is bad, mine is worse.” He laughed and followed me into my room. 

I closed the door behind us and put my keys down on my desk as I watched Art look around my room. 

Sitting down on my bed, I took off my shoes and moved my legs up to sit with them crossed. 

“This is cute,” Art said as he turned around and showed that he was holding a framed photo of Tashi and me from third grade. 

Tashi and I were standing back to back with our arms crossed, both making the silliest faces we could muster. Tennis rackets were in our hands, which you swear were bigger than us. We had just won our first of many doubles matches. 

Softly laughing, I stood up and took the photo from him, staring at it with a fond smile. 

“We were so young…” I whispered softly as I studied the photo. Art’s head was right above my shoulder, and I was looking down at the photo as well. 

“You never told Patrick and me about how you and Tashi met,” he said in my ear as I placed the photo back on my desk. 

Sitting back down on my bed, I patted the area next to me with a smile. “Come sit, and I’ll spill my guts.” I chuckled as he moved to sit next to me, taking his hat off and handing it to me to place on my desk. 

“Do I need to sell my soul for this information?” He joked and ran a hand through his hair while I rolled my eyes and gently hit his knee. 

“Shut up…” I chuckled before moving my hair behind my shoulder. 

“Tashi and I have known each other all our lives, really.” I started smiling at the memory of young Tashi and me. “Our mothers were friends, so we were bound to be just like them.” I laughed to myself, looking down at my hands. 

“I feel like we’ve been playing tennis since we were both able to walk,” I smirked as I looked at Art, who was hanging onto every word I spoke.  

He simply nodded to show that he was listening, a smirk widening at every new fact.

“We were doubles partners for years before we decided to play singles for better recruitment chances, and here we are.” I shrugged at this, looking at the photo on my desk while a lazy smile played on my features. 

All Art did for a moment was stare at me with a slight smile.

I wish he wouldn’t look at me like that. 

Quickly running a hand through his hair, he laughed softly before looking back at me. 

“I can’t say I’m shocked.” He smiles before flickering his eyes back to the picture of Tashi and me on my desk. “You two have something special.” He finishes and looks back at me. 

“Look who's talking,” I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and responded. “You and Patrick have one of the most genuine friendships I’ve ever seen.” I smiled as Art adjusted himself, our knees now touching. 

“Please,” He laughed and shook his head. “Patrick and I are more brothers than friends.” He smirked. 

“Exactly!” I exclaimed and subconsciously moved closer to Art. “That’s what I love about you two. I can tell you really care about him.” I tilted my head with a gentle smile as I placed my hand on his thigh. 

Art glanced down at my hand as my face instantly turned red.

“I’m sorry-“ I began as I retracted my hand, but Art stopped me by grabbing my wrist and staring right into my eyes. 

“No, it’s okay.” He spoke, eyes piercing into my entire being: soul, body, and all. As he held my wrists, his thumb softly caressed the sensitive skin of my palm. 

Biting my bottom lip softly, I turned my head to look out the window as my stomach churned. 

“So,” I began as I bit the inside of my cheek. “I’m glad you texted me…” I softly spoke, refusing to make eye contact. 

“Wow,” He started and shook his head slowly with a smirk. 

Tilting my head, I furrowed my brows and looked at him through my eyelashes. 

“What…?” I asked as I gnawed my bottom lip, and my face heated up. 

He threw his hands up in defense and let out a chuckle as he stared at me. 

“Never did I ever think that Milan Mikaelson would express any sort of feeling without having an attitude.” He laughed as my mouth dropped, and I chuckled before leaning in and smacking his arm. 

“You’re such an asshole!” I laughed, not realizing how close our faces were. 

He shrugged with a smirk before moving his hand to play with the sleeve of my hoodie. 

I watched him do this, eyes trained on his fingers before flickering to the roughness of his calloused hands. Sure, I had them, too, but for some reason, seeing him made me smile at all his hard work and dedication to tennis. 

“I told Pat about this.” He chimed and snapped me out of my thoughts, pointing between the two of us to signify that there was now an us. 

“I think he’s more happy than I am about this.” He laughed and rolled his eyes.

I turned my head to look back out at the window as I softly laughed. 

“Yeah, I told Tash,” I responded before looking back at him, his smile growing wider. “She was surprisingly chill about it.” I laughed as I thought of Tashi’s stubborn nature. 

Moving his hand from my sweatshirt to my thigh, Art smirked even wider at me. 

That damn smirk. 

“See, I told you they wouldn’t give a fuck.” He chuckled and patted my thigh. 

Rolling my eyes, I clicked my tongue and looked back at him. 

“Hey, I was just playing it safe!” I explained in defense as I leaned my head closer to his to counteract his smug expression. 

“When is playing safe ever fun?” he replied and leaned in, grinning from ear to ear. 

My mind trailed back to the hotel as I remembered the harsh eye contact between us when Tashi and I first arrived. This moment seems to be teleporting me back in time. 

Returning to my senses, I noticed that Art’s hand had moved from my thigh to my waist, and our noses were almost touching. 

“Art…” I whispered, almost warning him about what we were about to do.

He only learned more until his lips ghosted mine. 

“There’s nothing to worry about…they’re fine with it, remember?” He reassured me and moved a hand to cup my cheek, rubbing it with his thumb out of comfort. 

He was right. We can do whatever we want…I know we both wanted this. 

Softly laughing and smiling widely at this realization, I quickly pressed my lips to his and wrapped my arms around his neck. 

He, of course, kissed back instantly as his hands moved to the base of my neck. 

I could practically taste his smirk against my lips as I parted my lips to give him access. 

Swiping my tongue across his, I laced my fingers into his hair and gently tugged the blonde tuffs. All he could do was softly groan into my mouth before pushing me back gently on the bed to let me lay on my pillow. 

I smiled at this as I moved my leg to wrap around his torso and push my heel into his back to push him further down, whining at the slight friction below. 

I was almost totally lost in the kiss before Art pulled away after biting my bottom lip to catch his breath.

Panting softly, I raised a hand to brush a piece out of his face, softly humming to myself. 

“I really want to get lost in you, but I’m refraining myself because I want to show you that I’m all in. I don’t want a one-time thing.” He spoke breathlessly as he leaned down to press a kiss to my cheek and gently pick me up so that I lay on his chest. 

“I want us to happen. I need us to happen.” He continued into my hair as he gripped me closer, hands under my shirt, tracing shapes on my bare stomach. 

Smiling and closing my eyes, I moved my hands to play with his. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard something more perfect.” I laughed and buried my head more into his chest before continuing, voice quiet. 

“This is exactly what I want. Everything I need.”

NEXT WEEK- STANFORD DORMS 2007, 10:00 AM

“Are you excited?” I smirked as I sat with my head dangling off of Tashi’s bed, hands resting on my stomach. 

“Excited? Yeah, excited to beat that Pepperdine bitch.” Tashi finished as she sat at her desk and did her skincare. 

Scoffing, I turned my body around to sit upright on her bed. 

“Um, I was talking about Patrick coming…” I laughed with a subtle eye roll as I rested my chin on my palm.

“Oh,” Was all she said as she looked at her skin closely in her mirror. 

I fell back on her bed with a chuckle as I stared at her ceiling. 

“What about Art? How’s that going?” She chimed, grin so wide I could practically hear it. 

I blushed at the mention of his name and turned my head to face her, hair falling into my face. 

“It’s been good,” I smiled like a child as I thought about last week with Art. 

We’d been taking it slow to really get to know each other. Finding time in our hectic schedules was definitely a challenge, but we were both up for it. 

All I heard was Tashi snorting before standing up from her desk and moving to sit next to me on the bed. 

“I’m happy for you,” She smiled and draped her body over mine as I let out a laugh with protests for her to get off of me. 

Times like this made me wish that Tashi and I didn’t have to worry about the future. We could perpetually live in certain moments where we would only show certain sides of ourselves to each other. It was refreshing, really. 

Laying next to her, I grinned and brushed my hair out of my face. 

“The four of us should do something after your match. Maybe grab dinner off campus or something.” I thought out loud as I grabbed one of Tashi’s stuffed animals to lie with. 

Shrugging, Tashi sat up next to my head and pulled a blanket over herself. 

“Sounds like a plan to me,” she nodded before letting a smirk break out. Just think, this will be the first time the four of us have been together since the hotel.” I saw her eyes flicker with mischief.

Sitting up quickly, I gently pushed her off the bed as we both burst into laughter. 

“That night was fucked!” I laughed as I crawled to the edge of the bed to see her sprawled out beneath me, clutching her stomach as she continued to laugh. 

“Hey, but it brought both of us two attractive men who play the same sport as us!” She quipped before grabbing my arm and pulling me off the bed, laughing through her words. 

She does have a point. 

As we continued to laugh momentarily, I softly sighed and sat up, brushing my shirt off. 

“Well, I should get going. I want to grab something to eat before I go to study before your match,” I said as I stood up and walked to my backpack and shoes. Plus, I know you’ll want to have some alone time with Pat.” I smirked and raised my eyebrows at her as I bent down to put my shoes on. 

“Fuck off.” She laughed and kicked my foot as I cursed her out and threw one of her stuffed animals at her. 

“You’re being defensive because you know I’m right.” I stuck my tongue out at her before quickly putting on my shoes, fixing my outfit, and slinging my backpack over my shoulder so Tashi couldn’t throw anything back at me. 

“Love you!” I yelled as I ran out the door, only catching a glimpse of her shooting me the middle finger. 

Smiling to myself, I quickly made my way to the dining hall, not wanting to waste any time so I could get ample studying in before Tashi’s match. 

Reaching a hand up to my mouth, I bit my nails as I entered the dining hall, looking around to see if I knew anyone. 

Shockingly enough, Art and Patrick were sitting by the window, eating churros and talking about something. 

I decided to get my food before heading over, just in case I got caught in a long conversation. 

It’s happened with them before, who said it wouldn't happen again? 

Grabbing my food quickly, might I add, I walked over to the boys with a small smile. 

Patrick was the first to spot me, expression turning to a wide smile as he waved. 

This caused Art to look at who his friend was waving to, and his face immediately lit up when he saw me. 

How sweet. 

“Mila!” Patrick exclaimed as he got up from his stool and hugged me. “How’ve been?” He asked while I hugged back, laughing softly. 

“Awe, Pat, good to see ya,” I smiled before letting go of the hug. “I’ve been decent, pushing through.” I laughed and placed my food next to Art.

“Hi,” I whispered to Art while he wrapped an arm around my waist below my backpack and smiled at me. 

“Hi,” He responded with a lopsided grin and whispered softly. “You look good today,” He patted my waist while I gently chuckled. 

“How about you, Pat? How's the tour?” I angled my attention back to Patrick, who looked between Art and me with a knowing grin. 

“It's been great. I've learned a lot of things and am getting better every day.” He nodded and crossed his arms with his signature smirk. 

I smiled at this, genuinely happy for his success. I never really took much time to get to know Patrick, but I knew he was a good guy. He and Tashi made a good couple, and I know he was treating her right, which is all I cared about. 

“Well,” I began, patting Art’s arm, then grabbing my food. I have a huge test to study for, and I want to get a lot done before Tashi’s match, so I’ll see you two there?” I pointed between them, already knowing the answer. 

“You know it,” Patrick smirked before sitting back down on his stool and shot  Art a very large smirk. 

“Yup, I’ll text you.” Art smiled and moved in to press a small peck on my cheek, making my face heat up.

Well, that’s new. 

Laughing softly, I waved to both of the boys as I yelled, “Let's get dinner tonight with Tashi!” before making my way to the library. 

Something tells me that today is gonna be a great day.

STANFORD TENNIS COURTS - 2007, 1:00 PM

The walk from the library to the tennis courts was never something that I had never done before and was never something that I would do again. 

My legs were about to give out any moment, and you would think they would be strong from years of training, but when you’re carrying a backpack with textbooks, notebooks, multiple papers, and more, your abilities are truly tested. 

As I reached the bleachers, I walked up and sat near the middle, discarding my backpack and letting out a groan. 

“Tashi Duncan, you’re glad I love you,” I told myself as I pulled my phone out to text Art that I had seats for him and Patrick. 

After a bit of waiting and looking over my notes to get a little extra studying in, Art showed up, startling me as he pulled my notes out of my lap. 

“Hey, give that back,” I protested, staring at him through my lashes. 

“Hm,” he started before sitting next to me and skimming my notes, pretending to know what he was looking at. 

“The importance of oxygen in oxidative phosphorylation? Who wouldn’t know that?” He pointed to my section in the notes as I laughed and took them before putting them in my backpack. 

“The day you can explain cellular respiration, you can put a ring on it.” I joked as I zipped up my backpack. 

“Well, I guess there will be no marriage anytime soon.” He pretended to sound extremely disappointed before looking at the court.  

Rolling my eyes, I stared at him in confusion as I realized his partner in crime was nowhere to be seen. 

“Where’s Pat?” I asked as I rested my chin on my hand. 

All Art did was shrug and look back at me. “He went to Tashi’s dorm a bit after you left and told me he would meet me here.” He explained and ran a hand through his hair. 

“Hm, I see.” I slowly spoke as Tashi exited the locker rooms, the crowd cheering. Maybe you should send him a text,” I added as I looked back at Art.

“Yeah, let’s see.” He responded as he pulled out his phone and quickly texted Patrick. 

Not even a full ten seconds later, Patrick had responded.

“Well fuck,” Art said as he read the text. “He said they got into a big fight, and he’s not coming.” He sighed as he put his phone back in his pocket.

“Shit, that’s not good,” I spoke as I reached a hand up to my mouth and bit one of my nails. “Thank God Tashi knows how to lock in.” I continued and watched her stretch and warm up. 

Humming in response, Art’s eyes were focused on Tashi just as mine had been. 

I shook my head at the thought of Patrick and Tashi's fight. The match began, and Tashi started off perfectly, as usual. 

The crowd roared as she continued to score over and over again, strides faultlessly, obviously not letting the fight with Patrick get to her. 

When Tashi set the next ball, the volley with her opponent went down momentarily. I watched in awe as she strategically moved across the entire court, hitting the ball back with great force. 

“Come on, Tash!” I yelled as the crowd roared with me. 

“She’s really on point today,” I glanced at Art and spoke before my eyes locked back onto Tashi.

“I know, she’s so-“

CRACK

“Oh my god…” I gasped and stood up as I covered my mouth in horror while Art shot up, eyes wide.

Tashi was on the ground, thrashing and crying out in pain. Her screams wracked throughout the stadium as she gripped her knee.

“Fuck, Art, we gotta go,” I exclaimed and, without hesitation, sprinted down the bleachers, jumping over the fence and net with Art over to Tashi.

“Tash, hey, it’s gonna be okay…” I calmly spoke as I moved her head into my lap. Art grabbed her hand and rubbed it soothingly.

Moving her hair out of her face, I whispered softly down at her. All she did was cry and squirm back and forth, blubbering about her knee and how badly it hurt. 

“Shh, it’s gonna be okay, everything is gonna be okay,” I whispered as I wiped her tears away before glancing at Art, who was looking at me with a worried expression. 

Biting my lip out of anxiety, I looked back down at Tashi as she cried and turned her head to hide her face in my thigh.

Shit. 

STANFORD INFIRMARY - 2007, 2:00 PM  

Complete and utter silence filled our end of the infirmary as Tashi sat on a stretcher between Art and me. 

No one dared open their mouths while we listened to the physicians and tennis coach speak hushedly.

I knew this was going to break Tashi. She would never let anyone know that even me, but an injury like this is something that could severely affect her future. I reached a hand up to my mouth to bite my nails in anticipation of her exact diagnosis. 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…” A rushed and exasperated voice sounded from the doorway. Looking up, my eyes locked with Patrick’s as Tashi started to yell at him. 

“Get out,” She warned before raising her voice to scream when he wouldn’t listen. “GET OUT!” She spat and threw her entire body to point at him to get out. 

Patrick continued to protest, wanting to explain himself and apologize as his eyes darted between us, looking for some forgiveness. 

“Patrick, get the fuck out!” Art yelled when Patrick went to step closer to us while I closed my eyes, shook my head, and furrowed my brows. 

Why the fuck was HE yelling?

Crossing my arms and biting my lip, I sadly looked up at Patrick as I spoke softly. 

“Pat, I think you should leave.” I softly whispered, his eyes burning into my being. 

If Tashi wants him gone, he should go. 

All I was met with was his defeated eyes, pleading for this not to be serious. I turned my head away from him, and he finally nodded in disappointment and left. 

Sucking in a breath, I turned my body back to Tashi and moved to grab her hand, softly gripping it while she did the same back, her gaze pointing forward. 

Looking back up at Art, he only stared into space with a piercing expression. 

Sighing softly, I closed my eyes and leaned back against the wall. 

So much for today being a great day.

[princessoflalaland]

“I don’t like you talking to that Kenjaku bitch.”

“what?” He’s baffled you’d bring her up. Jin has only spoken to her a handful of times in the past, but having been her chem partner all year, they’ve developed a close friendship. One that he’s fond of because it doesn’t feel forced or one sided. He feels like Kenjaku genuinely likes him for him.

and he can’t stand the fact that you’re trying to forbid him from seeing her.

“Why not? She hasnt done anything to me.” Jin argues.

“not yet. You don’t know her like I do, she’s a damn snake.”

Jin rolls his eyes. You are being over-dramatic and that squashes his appetite. He begins packing away his half eaten bento, preparing to abandon you on the rooftop.

you don’t take kindly to this, however, and grab his arm just as he’s getting up. “Listen, nerd, she’s bad news. She doesn’t have friends for a reason, and it ain’t got nothing to do with me or some other bully.”

your face pinches in the same manner your stomach clamps down uncomfortably around the food you ate. Jin has always listened to you, even in the moments where he doesn’t fully trust you. So why is it now he wants to rebel? Why is it when you finally have his best interest in mind that he wants to distrustful of you?

“Jin—” you begin again with more desperation than you’re comfortable with. But he snatches his arm out of your grip and whips around to look at you, his caramel eyes seething behind his semi-circular , silver glasses.

“it sounds to me like your jealous, insecure even. You don’t want anyone else to have my attention because maybe then I’ll start to like them and won’t want to take your bullshit anymore.” Jin’s mouth is a loose cannon now, that curse not having meant to slip out.

but the bite in his tone, the venom in his words, all of that is intentional. “Forget it, y/n. You’ve put me through so much crap, and just because I’m sleeping with you, you think you can run my life completely.”

your mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water. What is going on? You can’t wrap your brain around anything that he’s saying. You can only feel the helplessness beginning to shroud your heart as someone you care about is rejecting you.

You do care about him, right?

Jin straightens his back and holds his bento box beside his body. The look in his eyes chills you down to your core, makes you feel small. It’s a look you’ve only ever seen in his supposedly heartless twin. “Well, I’m done being your bitch. I’m gonna be friends with Kenjaku, and if you have a problem with that, too damn bad.”

he leaves you on the rooftop with nothing but a shaken soul and the chill of the uncharacteristically cold spring air. His words ran laps in your head as you slumped against the chain link fence, pondering on what the hell you should do now.

[floral-hex]

woke up at 4am feeling the weight of my life crushing me, so I’ve been sitting out in my car for the last couple of hours because I just need. to. be. somewhere else.

[genekies]

screaming in the club

time for another vent in tags

[hua-fei-hua]

alright whenever you have time (and also the energy) I would love to hear your thoughts on the lantern rite epilogue! Have a good day <3

we're going to pretend that people following me will care abt genshin 3.4 lantern rite spoilers so we're gonna put my entire deranged mess under a cut hahaha

*gently holds* MY XVS......

truly this lantern rite had EVERYTHING although truth be told, like, the way venti was kind of shoehorned in was a little disappointing. i felt a little bit baited by the way the 3.4 TRAILER HAD THAT ONE CUT RIGHT where it goes from VENTI PLAYING THE LYRE in the harbor to XIAO LOOKING UP AT THE FIREWORKS outside of wangshu inn, and then we see the xiao bit in the actual cutscene on day 2, but absolutely none of venti until the epilogue. and also we never see venti playing the lyre during the event story so it's like. whoever edited that pv absolutely had xv on the brain. like. what the hell was that it was magical i feel higher than a boat right now

BUT ANYWAY like i don't even care how obviously shoehorned in venti felt bc the interactions were all SO PERFECT i love love loved them. i loved the way hu tao just RAN INTO WANGSHU INN and started shouting for xiao, and then talked death to him until he was like "yeah sure i'll go to your dinner". they are so besties i love them their friendship is everything to me.

THE WAY. XV INTERACTED. IN FRONT OF US. xiao just like "well. um. there's this. um. um." TOTAL PANIC MODE n venti had to SAVE HIM with like "huuuh? did you forget already? i'm a bard!" like HELLO why do they need a COVER STORY why are they making up COVER STORIES TOGETHER WHAT WERE THEY DOING TOGETHER IN THE MARSH EARLIER like what kind of GAY SHIT--

also i'm pretty sure when xiao started explaining his relationship to venti, venti fluttered his lashes at him. like, i recorded the whole quest (bc i didn't last year with the final part n i REALLY WISH I HAD bc i STILL remember the dRAMATIC GASP i had when we had that one beiguang moment in the cutscene), and when i rewatched it earlier i was like. "HANG ON. DID HE JUST FLUTTER HIS LASHES" n rewatched it like three times. maybe my game was just stuttering BUT IT DEFINITELY LOOKED LIKE IT and maybe i'll gif it when i get home from work tonight

BUT ANYWAY (2) point is that the expression work this time was ON POINT like whoever's doing all that over at mhy hq needs to get a raise pronto. venti going (¬‿¬) at all the other immortals was so immaculate. you aren't subtle little man!!!

it's probably just shipper goggles on to an extent, but i feel like the xv implications were really strong this time around, with the parallels to that fontch guy's ancestor, and the guiping n everything... i'm kind of disappointed that we don't get to actually hear any of venti's unobstructed thoughts on xiao; like the ribbing n implications at the dinner are a lot of fun (like, they were totally making out in the marsh before dinner. we all know this. it's very clear imo), but it kind of makes me wonder why we can hear xiao like... do his Very Heavy Implying abt venti's importance to him (though again, he doesn't outright say anything-- we know the full extent n depth of xiao's feelings abt venti (romantic or not) bc we can read his character stories, so technically really he hasn't told us jack squat in the current canon timeline), but the best we get from venti are smug expressions. those expressions are very telling, ofc, but a very unhinged part of me wishes that mhy didn't feel the need to wrap up the xv in layers of allegory and metaphor and just outright heard one of them say, "this person is very dear to me." i know it's just the rabid shipper in me, and i need to be sedated, but i was really kind of hoping that we'd see the allegory w/the fontch guy's ancestor n madame ping lifted away at the end n, like, see or hear it be bound to xv outright. just for purely self-indulgent purposes o(--(

but anyway (3) i also love love loved all the playful ribbing, witty banter, and prev event callbacks btwn the characters!! hu tao n venti canonically making a pact to be poetry friends was SO GOOD you just KNOW hu tao is gonna commission venti to compose a JINGLE for wangsheng advertising purposes later, while zhongli n xiao are like, "this meeting never should have happened. we are all doomed." somehow i legitimately forgot that xq n venti know each other from irodori n was like, "...huh?" when xq mentioning knowing venti for like, a FULL two seconds. the way venti was like "damn you know i was right outside this entire time. can you believe the way some people ignore the wind?" n zhongli was like "hahaha (✿◡‿◡) the harbor is very busy this time of year (✿◠‿◠) it is very hard see or hear an individual person's whereabouts (^人^)"

AND ALSO. PAIMON BEING ELECTED AS THE "MOST DISTINGUISHED GUEST." PAIMON YOU GOT IN THE WAY OF MY DERANGED SELF-DELUSIONMENT MANY TIMES THIS LANTERN RITE BUT THAT WAS PRETTY FUNNY. i thought it was interesting how no one nominated venti. like i was kind of expecting xiao to do it (but ofc he nominates traveler) which is fair honestly, n then i was like "IS LUMINE GONNA NOMINATE VENTI????" but then she nominated paimon n paimon was like "wait... me?????" n it was just EXACTLY like a bunch of adults telling the little kid they are the most specialest ever n they should have the honor of doing The Thing. as that little kid growing up, i know the feeling very well lol

there are other bits i'm just,,, rotating around in my mind, like venti and kazuha hanging out on the alcor, the way xiao goes "i can't taste the difference in xiangling's special almond tofu" when you go visit him afterwards, ALL THE GANQING THAT HAPPENED IN THE MAIN STORY I'M SO HAPPY FOR THEM I'M SO HAPPY FOR ME I WON VERY HARD THIS LANTERN RITE, n like,,, yeah!!!!

[lavender---sunshine]

i am so deep in my feelings right now, i both sad and mad enough that i cannot sleep

[galariangengar]

💭

[xviruserrorx]

I don't understand why people get frustrated at things they knew were gonna happen because someone else is chronically I'll and it's happened multiple times before so it's not like it's new, like oh yeah sorry for existing like this

[worldwright]

just one day when I can get home on time would be great

[polarfarina]

I am really sore from work I wish riding five hours in the car didn't require having your feet on the ground

[insanechayne]

~ ~ ~

[boowritess]

very mild 18+ simon riley x reader

lmaoo i can't breathe Simon Riley is just a man.

atleast to you.

when he's home, all he is to you is dry humor, a couple beers every night, sat in front of the tv on his spot on the couch, the game is playing - some soccor or rugby match. he doesn't wear his mask, his clothes are a simple t-shirt and some pair of shorts he just threw on.

he uses your shampoo and conditioner, as much as it pisses you off because it's expensive and for some reason he uses half the fucking bottle everytime he's home, but when he does the groceries he still comes home with '2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner' he would’ve got the '3 in 1' but the last time he did that he got no head for 3 weeks.

he'll go to the pub, take you out, pushes the trolley, holds your bag, let's you dress how you want it, belly gets a little soft because he eats food like he's never ate before, buy you anything you want even after the 'do you really need it though?' talk.

he's bit lazy on workouts only goes on the occasional run, but will fuck you whenever you want; always vanilla and only gets rough when you ask.

he will say he'll fix whatever appliance needs tending too but won't do it right away, starts the occasional handyman job at odd times.

it's just - he's so mundane and normal that you'd never know just how dangerous he is ???? like he so carefully hides that side from you. seriously. when he's home, he throws his gear in the bottom of his closet in a box, locking Ghost away and just existing as Simon.

even when the rest of the task force come around on the occasion. they're so normal and are just... men. yelling at the tv during a sport match. teasing each other. stealing snacks and helping with cleaning. they never speak about work and when you ask them, it's always a smile and shrug, "just another day really." "little boring and slow." "oh not too bad." their answers are so half-assed, that you don't even ask anymore; which is what they want.

but you really aren't missing anything. not when you don't even know what you're missing out on.

it's crazy, because he even keeps Ghost hidden when you're being harassed by men. whether that be when you're shopping or just going for a walk.

he'll loop an arm around your waist or over your shoulder, look at the guy with a grin - that's more of a sneer, "can i help you, mate?" he'll drawl. his stature and stare is enough to make the man who had been harassing you back off.

"what a freak..." you mutter with a roll of your eyes, letting Simon guide you away as he presses a kiss to your temple, a deep chuckle leaving him.

around midnight you wake up to Simon in the laundry room washing his hands. he doesn't blink or hesitate when you wonder in and wrap your arms around his waist. "what're you doing?" you mumble, sleepy eyss dropping to the sink.

Simon's hands are red, and you would be alarmed, should be alarmed. but how could you when Simon hums softly, a sound that rumbles deep from his throat, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of your head. he's so warm and casual that you don't even do a touble take seeing the blood.

"caught a rat. right pest they are. the trap i set snapped it clean in half." Simon's mutters, he raises a bloodied hand to you, sniggering when you crinkle your nose up in disgust and step away from him.

"ew, i'm going back to bed." you huff, yawning and leaving him to what he was doing.

Simon laughs softly as you head off. "just be a sec, love." he says as you go. all he receives is a yawn and a tired 'mhm'.

he cleans his hands and then his phone chimes. he pulls it out and it's a private message.

'getting rid of your pest now, LT.'

image attached

Simon opens the picture and sure enough there's the man from earlier in the boot of a car. all bloodied like Ghost left him.

Simon heads back upstairs to your shared room, you quietly snoozing away. you don't steer or wake as the closet door opens and Simon's putting his mask back in with his gear. No. Ghost is too quiet to let you wake from such a warm and sweet sleep.

he turns from the closet after putting everything away and changing clothes. he crawls into his side of the bed and wraps his arms around you. letting your body nestle back into his side. limbs tangling together.

just you and your simon.

a/n: inspired by a tik tok video on how he is just a man lmaooo

[clementine-thedestroyer]

Miguel O’Hara x reader - Come to bed

Warnings: fem reader, smut, nsfw, AFAB language, piv sex, overstimulation, and a slightly annoyed Miguel. You and Miguel are also married btw.

Basically, sleepy Miguel fucks you because you wouldn’t come to bed and let him sleep. Fluffy at first, then turns smutty.

Miguel walked into the kitchen, immediately squinting his eyes and bringing his hand up to block the glaring lights of the kitchen as he grumbled. “¿Amor? Dios mios…”

Your husband was always a sight to behold, in all of his forms- but the sweet domesticity of this one must be one of the best. The way he stood before you in nothing but his boxers- how his voice was still deep and gravely from waking up- the way he rubbed the sleep from his bleary eyes- it was perfect.

Miguel shuffled his feet, coming up behind you and wrapping his arms around your waist, pulling you flush against his chest and resting his chin on top of your head as he mumbled his complaints. “What are you doing up? Love, It’s 2 AM. Why are all the lights on?”

“I was hungry…” You murmur, looking down at the plate of mix-matched leftovers you had scrounged from the fridge.

“Yes, pretty. I can see, but why does warming up leftovers require you to turn on every light in the house.” Miguel said, poking fun at you as his fingers crept under the hem of your shirt, caressing the soft skin of your stomach as he pressed a kiss to the top of your head.

You can’t help the smile that spreads across your face at Miguel’s teasing. “Go back to bed, Miguel. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Miguel, however, did not go back to bed. He instead followed you around, sitting down with you on the couch and holding you tightly against him

“You’re like a lost puppy, Miguel. Can you not sleep without me there?” You tease, looking back and smirking at Miguel.

Miguel, for his part, looks practically asleep behind you- his eyes half closed as he rests his head on your shoulder, mumbling barely intelligible words into the crook of your neck. “‘m not a puppy. ‘m a wolf… a big, bad, scary, and protective wolf.”

The (frankly, adorable) sight is enough to send a pang of guilt through your chest from keeping your poor, exhausted husband awake- so you do your best to quickly eat the food you’ve made for yourself.

Once you’ve finished, you had to wake Miguel up, but once he was awake, he was immediately herding you back towards the bedroom. With one hand on your back, gently pushing you forward through the hall, and the other rubbing at his tired eyes.

You couldn’t help but giggle at his incessant nudges. “Hey! Miguel! I gotta go pee first!”

“Nu-uh. Nothing else. Back to bed.”

“Miguel!!” You laughed, ducking under his arm and running into the bathroom, locking the door behind you.

You went to the bathroom as fast as you could, but not fast enough for Miguel, who stood outside the door whining the entire time.

“¡Por favor! ¡Date prisa, amor!”

When you finished and unlocked the door, you found a rather pitiful looking Miguel on the other side- who immediately scooped you up in his arms and carried you to your bedroom despite the light hearted protest you mounted against him.

“Miguel!! I gotta brush my teeth before I go back to bed! I just ate!!” You say, grinning as you squirmed in his arms and managed to slip away. Only for a strong arm to wrap around your waist and pull you back, hoisting you up in the air and over Miguel’s shoulder.

“That’s it. You’re coming to bed right now. No ifs, ands, or buts. Except your butt, in bed.”

You couldn’t deny the shiver Miguel’s words sent through you. This poor man- your dear husband- who was so clearly exhausted and wanted nothing more than to lay down with his wife and go back to sleep. However... there was a threat in those words. One that you were itching to press him on.

“But- Miguel!” You whined, only to be cut off by a harsh slap to your ass and a startled yelp escaping you.

“I said, no buts.” Miguel growled, tossing you onto the bed and climbing on top of you.

You couldn’t help the burning need quickly growing inside of you, because Miguel looked practically primal above you. With his messy, sleep-tousled hair- the way his voice was still just as deep and scratchy as when he first got up- how perfect he looked above you, in nothing but his boxers as he pinned you down on the bed.

Miguel yanked down your pajama bottoms and underwear, eliciting a surprised yelp from you at the sudden rush of cold air. “You always decide to be a brat at the worst times. You couldn’t just listen tonight and come to bed one of the five times I told you. No, you had to keep running around and doing whatever the hell else you felt like doing. And now, you're going to stay in this bed, whether you like it or not.”

The sudden press of Miguel’s large, warm, and calloused thumb against your hole was enough to make you clench around nothing , pressing your hips down to try and get some of that thumb inside of you. Only for Miguel yo scoff and pull his hand away.

“No. Don’t move. You’re going to be a good girl and sit there and take it. I stayed up with you for the past half hour, waiting patiently for you. So now, it’s your turn. You're gonna lay right here and take exactly what I give you, got it?”

You quickly nodded your head, desperate enough for his touch that you’d probably agree to just about anything.

Miguel growled, pressing the tip of his cock against your hole and just barely pressing it in- rubbing it against your lips as he spoke to you. “You’re so wet for me already, you don’t even need any prep, do you?”

Your cunt tensed around nothing as his cock slid over your hole, nearly making you start to beg for him to just put it in already- only for him to push his entire length in as soon as you opened your mouth to speak- resulting in a loud moan falling from your lips as he bottomed out.

Miguel smiled to himself, looking at you with a clear air of pride at how loud he just made you moan for him. “You seem much more docile now that I have you all stretched out on my cock, pretty lady.” He comments, pulling out slowly, only to thrust back in and begin to fuck into you, quickly establishing a brutal pace.

“Is this the only way I can get some sleep around here? Do I have to fuck all the energy out of you? Hm?” Miguel asks as yet another embarrassing moan falls from your lips at his words.

Moans fell freely from your mouth as the lewd sounds of sex filled the room. With Miguel’s pace, it wasn’t long before you felt your orgasm start to build.

You cry out, reaching a hand down to hold Miguel’s. “Miguel! Miggy! Miggy I’m close! ’m gonna cum!”

“Good.” Miguel growls, intertwining your’s and his fingers and pressing your hand against the pillow. “Cum for me, love.”

all you can do is nod dumbly as your orgasm washes over you- Miguel reaching down to play with your clit as he continued to fuck you through your orgasm.

As you came down from your high, you realized Miguel was still fucking into you- the pleasure from just seconds ago quickly turning into painful overstimulation.

“I-it’s too much!! T-too much!” You whined, desperately trying to squirm off of Miguel’s cock, only for him to smile and take your other hand, intertwining your fingers and pinning both hands down- holding you in place as he fucked you harder on his cock.

“Remember what I said? Take what I give you?” Miguel said, smirking and fucking into you with new intensity as he held you in place. “Well it’s a two way street. You always have to take what I give you. Whether it’s not enough, or too much. I don’t care. You’re. Going. To. Take it.” Miguel punctuated each of his final words with deep, powerful thrusts. Leaving you nothing but an overstimulated mess beneath him, whining as his hips stuttered and you felt his cum fill you up.

Miguel didn’t pull out, still hovering over you as he panted and caught his breath.

After a moment, he scooped you up in his arms and rolled both of you onto your sides, holding you tightly against his chest and kissing your forehead as he murmured sweet praises into your ear.

“You’re so pretty for me. So good to me too. You feel so good, you know that? You’re so warm- so soft and perfect for me. You’re always perfect for me, love.”

You nodded sleepily, happily curled up in Miguel’s strong arms- his cock and cum warming you from the inside out, and the thick comforter that Miguel pulls up encasing you and him in a warm cocoon of shared body heat. You couldn’t help but press closer to Miguel’s chest, your eyes slipping shut as you relaxed in his embrace.

In the end, Miguel finally got what he wanted- laying in bed, warm and cozy under the covers, holding his wife against his chest as he fell asleep. Although, there would be a bit of a mess in the morning to deal with.

[deadsetobsessions]

Sea Cryptic! Danny AU- Pt.6

[Pt.1] [Pt.2] [Pt.3] [Pt.4] [Pt.5] [Pt.7]

Danny slumped over the table at the library. He’d feel embarrassed about it if it weren’t for the rest of the floor’s occupants. Around him, students were speed running through the five stages of grief like it was going out of style.

“Fuuuuuuuuuuck.”

“Same.” Danny replied, rolling his head to look at Tim. “I’m feeling like an academic victim instead of an academic weapon right now.”

“I should have stayed dropped out of school,” Tim grumbled.

Danny gasped theatrically. “And deprive the world of your awe-inspiring genius on…” Danny peered at Tim’s books and grinned. “On… the Krebs cycle? Seriously? They’re teaching that again?”

“I know! This is like, the third time.” Tim whined.

“At least you’ll be good at it, right?”

Tim scoffed. “I’m gonna drop out of college and become a stripper.”

“They do make bank,” Danny nodded. “But aren’t you like a millionaire or something?”

Tim brightened. “Oh, you’re right. I don’t need education! I’m filthy rich!”

Danny whacked Tim on the back of the head, laughing quietly.

“Whatever. Let’s go take a break. Snacks?”

“I literally don’t know how you eat so much.”

“Snacks have a separate stomach pouch. Normal food goes one place, junk food and desserts in another.” Danny retorted, quickly packing up his stuff. In reality, he didn’t need that much food. He’s half dead, after all. But food also converts to ectoplasm in his body, and ancients knows Danny needs all the energy he could get.

They made their way out of the campus library, passing stressed out looking students on their way to a taco truck.

“Does this even count as a snack?” Tim asked, amused. He tugged on his book bag, readjusting the vigilante pins on them.

“Is the sky even blue?” Danny snarked back, forking over the cash needed for the best fucking tacos on this side of Gotham. They sat on the benches, asking for an obscene amount of extra lime and cilantro before going to town.

“Holy shit, how many of those can you eat?”

“Dunno,” Danny mumbled though a mouthful or carne asada and pico de gallo. “Hungry.”

Tim snorted, pulling out his phone to scroll as he ate. A moment later, Tim showed Danny his screen.

“Hey, you live near here, right?”

Danny, cheeks bulging with food, peered at Tim’s phone and nodded.

“Oh, cool! Have you seen the green guy around?”

Danny squinted at Tim, tilting his head as he chewed.

“You know, the glowing green guy that’s been blowing up the Gotham Bay tag.”

Oh. Tim was talking about him, Danny!

Danny nodded. He quickly ate his food and wiped his mouth before replying. “Yeah, why?”

“Does he seriously just clean up the bay? Nothing else?”

Mildly offended for some reason, Danny shrugged. “I mean yeah? He doesn’t seem to pop up near any of the shady spots- oh, I saw him save someone from a mugging in front of my apartment once! But like, I think all he does is clean the bay. Which is good, because holy heck, that place is nastyyy.”

“Seriously?” Tim leaned in, looking super interested. “So he’s friendly?”

Danny raised a brow. “Yeah, he seemed pretty nice, I guess. Though, that’s not saying much considering your Rogues tend to be pretty chill when they’re not in the middle of a scheme.”

Tim snorted. “True that. You talked to him? When? Outside of his bay cleanings, right? I’ve noticed that he only talks to the Bats during those.”

Danny stared at Tim. “Tim… are you… stalking the guy?”

What Danny really wanted to say was: “Tim, are you stalking me?”

“I’m not stalking him!” At Danny’s suspicious glare, belied by his sauce stained mouth, Tim sighed. “Okay, maybe I am. But only some minor stalking!”

“Uh-huh.”

“But if you have, you think you could introduce us? Maybe he’d want to be friends?”

Was Tim asking Danny to introduce him to… Danny himself?

“Uh. Why do you even want to meet him?”

“Danny, he’s a glowing green guy that does community service for funsies. And he knows the Bats. That’s cool.”

“And here I thought you wouldn’t know cool if it smacked you in the face.” Danny teased. Well, whatever. He might as well do something nice for Tim. “Sure. I’ll text you when he pops up and see if he’s okay with meeting you.”

Tim grinned at him, a piece of cilantro stuck in his teeth. “Thanks!”

——

Danny made a duplicate of himself and went ghost. Danny and his duplicate looked at each other and sighed.

“We’ve done stupider things.”

“But we’re still not telling Jazz.”

“Agreed.”

Danny paused. Did he just make a deal with himself? No, he’s busy.

Doppelgänger Danny went invisible and left the apartment by going through a wall. Danny followed in a sedate pace, the normal way.

Outside, he pretended to catch sight of a suddenly visible Phantom. He’d heard the heartbeats outside his apartment ever since he got home all those days ago, and he’s pretty sure the vigilantes were watching his place ever since. Luckily, he made sure there weren’t any bugs or hidden cameras- Sam beat cautiousness into his head a while ago- before starting the plan.

One of those heartbeats sounded like Tim’s which left some… interesting connotations.

Danny sighed. Who was he kidding? Of course he’d be friends with a vigilante.

“Hey, Phantom!” Danny shouted, waving. Phantom floated over.

“Danny. Hi. Did you need something?”

“Oh, not really. My friend wanted to meet you, he’s a huuuuge fan. Think you’ve got time today?” Danny held up his phone.

Phantom hummed. “I can stay for a bit. Thirty minutes.”

“Okay, I’ll call him. His name is Tim, by the way. Thanks for taking the time to meet him!”

“No problem.”

Danny texted Tim, and minutely frowned as he picked up the sound of Tim’s ringtone. Shit, that pretty much confirmed his suspicions. He got a text back from Tim.

Timsy

[5 nin]

Nin

Nin

Nin

Min

Danny huffed an amused breath. “He’ll be here in five minutes.”

“Alright.”

Danny texted back an okay.

Five minutes later, a flushed and disheveled Tim peeled onto the street and right to the curb.

“Here!” He said as he tumbled out of the car.

“Damn, bro. You good?”

“Fine- oh my god, you’re the green guy!” Danny had to hand it to Tim. If he didn’t already figure out he was Red Robin, Danny would’ve believed the act. Holy shit, wait, he called his friend broke. Hah!

“It’s Phantom. Nice to meet you, Tom.”

A quick sliver of sullenness flashed over Tim’s face. “It- it’s Tim.”

“Oh, right. Sorry, human names sound so similar.” Danny leaned back and hid a grin as his doppelgänger messed with his friend.

“Oh, wow, you’re not human? What are you then?”

“Oh my god, Tim, you can’t just ask him what he is!” Danny scolded. These vigilantes were really similar.

“Sorry…” Tim apologized.

“It’s fine. To answer your question, I’m dead. Ghost.”

“Do you really pay taxes?”

Phantom tilted his head. “Yes, of course.” By the, Danny meant that he paid both human taxes and oversaw the Zone’s taxes. “You know that saying, something about never escaping from two things and that’s taxes and death? You can escape death- might come back a little wrong- but taxes are in the afterlife too.”

“Come back a little wrong?” Tim asked, eyes suddenly sharp.

“Come back a little,” Phantom gestured to himself. “Green. More emotive and prone to irritation.”

Tim stared.

——

“Jason, are you a ghost?” Dick, crouched on the top of Danny’s apartment building whispered.

Red Hood, crouched in the same area, stayed silent.

——

“How did you die?”

Phantom snarled and disappeared.

Tim whirled around, looking bewildered. Behind him, Danny struggled to stay calm.

“Where’d he go?”

“He probably didn’t want to hurt you.” Danny sighed.

“What? What did I do?”

“You asked him how he died. That’s like, the ultimate social taboo.”

“I didn’t know that!”

“It’s common sense, dude. Trauma like that has to be shared instead of asked about. Generally.” Danny sighed. “Come on, let’s get off the street and I’ll give you a crash course in manners.”

——

Bruce, upon hearing about the conversation, dove headfirst into researching the after life.

“No, go suck a goat’s genitals, Batsy, I am not helping you adopt a being of the infinite realms!” Constantine hung up on him.

“Hn.” Bruce will adopt the child and give him a home. It’s only a matter of when… and what inter-dimensional loopholes he could find and use in the relevant laws.

Jason was right behind him, because he was going to get answers, dammit.

[seethinglikeme]

girl help i need to shit but i keep forgetting to eat 😔

[rafeandonlyrafe]

fixation

words: 2.8k

warnings: 18+ only, smut, male receiving oral, reader has an oral fixation

taglist: @drewstarkeyslut @thelomlisrafecameron @f4ll-for-you @dilvcv @drudyslut @drewsbabygirll @jjmaybankswifes-blog @rafescokenostril @jjsmarijuana @jjmaybankisbae @seeingstarks @angelofcigs @cece45450 @babygorewhore @vanessa-rafesgirl @michelleisheres-blog @dream-pink

“baby i’m running out to the store real quick, do you want anything?” rafe asks, pressing a kiss to the top of your head as he walks through the living room where you’ve been for the past hour, book splayed open in your lap.

“a sucker please? cherry or strawberry preferably.” you answer, only half paying attention to your boyfriend as your eyes continue to skim over the text.

“sure thing baby.” rafe says, tucking his wallet into his back pocket before heading out.

time flies as you get engrossed in your book, barely feeling like you’re reading and more that you’re inside of the book, part of the story.

“i didn’t know which kind, so i kinda got a bunch.” rafes voice makes you jump, not even realizing that he had returned from the store as he dumps a bag of suckers on the couch cushion next to you. your eyes widen at the 10 different kinds he brought back for you. you eye the group and then pick out your favorite, but really you didn’t dislike any of them.

“thank you rafey.” you hum, accepting his kiss when he leans down and presses one to your lips.

“i’m gonna head to the gym out back, since you’re still reading. you need anything else?” rafe asks, his hand cupping your jaw, thumb stroking over your cheek. you’re so unlike any other girl he has gone for in the past, but it’s why he loves you so much. you are smart, but so innocent when it comes to certain things and he loves to teach you and bring out your wilder side.

“i’m good, thank you.” you say again, pressing another kiss to his lips before rafe is out the back door. you’re surprised how quiet tanneyhill is today, but you’ve learned for the most part that all the members of the cameron family spend their days elsewhere, with eloise and sarah still in school, and ward and rose working most of the day away.

you unwrap your sucker before returning your attention to the book, feeling so much calmer now that you have something in your mouth. you reach the climax of the book, fingers rapidly turning the page until you get to the resolution, and then ultimately the end of the book.

you take a deep breath, letting in all that air you were holding from when the dramatic scenes were unfolding before setting the book onto the coffee table. you turn to pick up another sucker before realizing that you had subconsciously kept getting more, and you now only had one left, the rest reduced to white sticks.

you feel your cheeks flush in embarrassment even though no one is around, cleaning up your mess quickly but still unwrapping the sucker and sticking it in your mouth. you are just about to head out the gym, converted with weight machines and mirrors from a shed in the backyard, when rafe reenters.

“finished your book?” rafe asks, his skin covered in a sheen of sweat, hair sticking to his forehead.

“mhm.” you nod. “it was really good, i’m gonna rate it 4 stars on storygraph later.” 

“glad you liked it baby.” rafe comes up and kisses your cheek, considering your mouth is still occupied by the cherry sucker. “if you want to put the rest of the suckers in the candy cabinet, you can.” rafe says, referring to the one cabinet in the cameron home stocked full with junk food, from chocolate to greasy chips.

“i- um…” you trail off before pressing your lips together.

“what?” rafe asks, a slight smile on his lips, loving when you get flustered like this.

“i kinda ate them all. i didn’t even realize i just kept sucking.” you shrug, averting your gaze from rafe, so you miss the smirk that comes to his face.

--

“does anyone want any gum?” kelce asks, opening up the package and taking a piece for himself.

“oh my god, me!” you say, reaching out when kelce offers one to you, a slight look of confusion on the desperation in your voice as you stick the minty gum into your mouth and begin to chew. 

“i’ve been going crazy not having something in my mouth.” you say, turning your attention to rafe as kelce refocuses on the game. you’re not the biggest basketball fan, you find it entertaining enough to always agree when rafes asks you if you want to come with him and the boys, but you don’t understand most of the calls the refs make and the loud screaming from the crowd hurts your ears.

“you’re so precious, baby.” rafe says, pressing a few kisses to your cheek, leaving you to scrunch your eyebrows together, not sure what you did to gain that reaction but certainly not complaining.

you crunch the gum between your teeth, much happier now that you can focus on that and drown out some of the noise as you lean into rafe, his arm moving to be placed securely around your shoulders, up until the game comes down to a final shot, whipped from halfcourt towards the basket as the timer counts down, the ball ultimately swishing through the rim, making the entire crowd jump to their feet as the team gets the buzzer beater.

“that was exciting!” you tell rafe as you head out of the building, your hand encapsulated in his. “thanks for letting me along on boys night.” you call to topper and kelce.

“happy to have you.” topper says with a friendly smile, making rafe tighten his grip on your hand slightly.

--

“do we have any popsicles?” you ask, fanning your face with your hand, the bright sun beating down on the boat.

“yeah, should be in the cooler in back.” rafe says, gesturing towards the back of the yacht as he continues to steer the boat to the place he wants to anchor for the day to fish.

“mmkay thanks.” you say, getting up off the captains bench, where you always sat with rafe so he could keep a close eye on you while he also paid attention to the water in front of him. “you want one?” “nah, thanks though baby.” rafe glances away for a moment to look at you, his eyes soft. “hurry back though.” you smile, knowing he’s only being so strict with you because he loves you. you rush to the back of the boat, digging into the cooler for a red popsicle before returning to take your place next to rafe.

“are you too hot? you should drink water too.” rafe says, placing one hand on your thigh while he steers the boat with the other.

“nah, just wanted something cool in my mouth.” you say, too focused on the sun glimmering off the water in front of you to notice that rafe has to readjust himself in his shorts.

“gonna try this spot first.” rafe says, slowing the boat to a stop. you get up and move to where you know he’s going to fish from. you used to offer to help anchor, but you know rafe would never let you get your hands dirty.

“are you good princess?” rafe asks once everything is done, fishing pole and tackle box in hand.

“all good.” you nod, already having gotten a second popsicle from the cooler.

--

“what is it?” rafe asks.

“huh?” you question, taking your thumb out of your mouth that you didn’t even realize you were sucking on until rafe spoke up.

“you keep sucking on your fingers and you’ve got that look in your eyes. are you nervous for something, doll?” rafe asks, his voice soft and genuine.

“midsummers.” you pout, making rafe tilt his head to the side. he’s such a confident man, especially in social situations. he’s charming and outgoing, meanwhile you prefer to keep to yourself and watch things from afar, but it’s impossible with rafe, he’s always the center of attention in any room, like all the lights shine on him.

“i’m gonna be with you the whole time.” rafe says, not even having to ask why you’d be nervous for the big party.

“i know, i still hate the idea of all those eyes on me.” you shudder, sticking your thumb back into your mouth to provide some comfort.

“if you need to leave, we can leave after making an appearance.” rafe says, knowing he’d get shit for not sticking around longer, but he doesn’t care, you come first, always.

“thanks rafey.” you say, slightly muffled by your thumb in your mouth.

“i love you, baby.” rafe leans in, pressing a kiss to your jaw before pulling you onto his lap, letting you relax against him, eyes fluttering close as the sucking on your thumb eventually slows as you fall to sleep curled up in his arms.

--

“can we stop and get some gum? or a sucker?” you ask rafe, hands nervously twitching in your lap.

“baby, we are on a tight schedule we can’t be making stops for candy.” rafe says with a sigh, wishing he could accommodate you, but he knew he’d be in a rush ever since he stayed in bed this morning for an extra fifteen minutes to cuddle and kiss you.

“barry is late all the time, i don’t even know why you have to be on time to meet him.” you complain.

“don’t be a brat.” rafe says, already stressed out. sure, barry is often late, but rafe has different expectations of himself, and if he says he’s going to meet barry at a certain time, you can be damn sure that he will be there on time, if not five minutes early.

you cross your arms over your chest, not bothering to hide your annoyance from your boyfriend.

“here, you just wanna suck on something, go ahead and suck on my finger.” rafe says, gripping the steering wheel with one hand while he shoves his finger towards your mouth.

you would say no, but that really is all you want, so you pull your knees up to your chest and rest rafes wrist against your knees, sticking his finger into your mouth, moaning slightly around it at the pure relief of having something to focus on while rafe speeds down the backroads.

you suck on his finger, swirl your tongue around it, even gently press your teeth down on it, all while rafe sits there, cock swelling in his jeans while he wishes it to stay down, not needing to greet barry with a hard on, especially when you’re so blissfully unaware of the effect your mouth is having on him.

“alright we are almost there.” rafe says, making you whine when he takes his hand away, again reaching down to adjust his crotch, not sure how much longer he can put up with this.

--

“can we go to the store and buy a sucker? or maybe get some ice cream?” you ask, hands pawing at rafes chest as you lay in bed.

“come on, i just wanna stay here all day.” rafe says with a yawn. you were both up late partying, but you were getting bored of just sitting in bed all day, even if you do like being pressed up against your boyfriend.

“give me your fingers again then.” you reach out for his hand, but rafe snatches it away.

“i have something else you can suck on.” rafe says, making your head quirk to the side, inquisitive.

“you trust me, right?” rafe says, which you of course eagerly nod to. you trust rafe more than anyone else, so when he raises his hips and lowers his sweatpants down his legs before kicking them off to the floor, you don’t feel the same nervousness that you usually do.

“you want me to… give you head?” you swallow thickly. “i told you i’ve never done it before.” you’ve had sex with rafe before, but the focus was always on you, how he could bring your body to pleasure, how he fit inside of you.

“i know, but you’re always wanting to suck on something.” rafe shrugs. “might as well suck on my dick. besides, i’ll teach you.”

“o-okay.” you nod, eyes flicking between meeting rafes gaze and his length, clearly obvious and straining against the fabric of his underwear.

“now, i’m already hard just because i always am being around you, but why don’t you explore a bit with your mouth over my underwear, hm?” rafe says. you nod, figuring the best thing to do if you felt nervous was following his directions, afterall, he hasn’t led you astray in the past.

you slide down the bed until you’re laid on your stomach between his legs. you start with kisses around his underwear, before planting one on his length, kissing down the shaft until you reach where you presume his head is. you flick your tongue out, giving an experimental lick that makes rafe moan, so you double down on your effort, pushing your tongue against the fabric, creating a wet spot.

“that-that feels really good.” rafe says, his voice so breathless, causing you to look up at him, his eyes glazed over with lust.

you take matters into your own hand upon seeing how turned on you’re making him. you always let him finger you, or eat you out, or fuck you to orgasm, but you’ve never done the same to him in return, mostly because you are inexperienced. so, you pull his underwear down suddenly, allowing his cock to spring up.

you don’t give yourself any time to feel insecure as you wrap your lips around the head of his cock, making rafe curse and bring a hand down to grip your hair, but he doesn’t shove you down, knowing you’re not ready for that and will move at your own pace.

you rub your tongue against him, surprised by how much you like the taste as you try to move your mouth down some, to take more of him. you succeed for the most part until you have to pull off to take a breath.

“baby, when i cum you can pull off that way it doesn’t go all in your mouth.” rafe says, wanting to warn you now before he gets too wrapped up in the feeling of your warm tongue to forget his words.

“and what if i want you all in my mouth?” you question, sinking your lips around him again, trying to go deeper again before you start to suck, having had lots of practice with your suckers and popsicles. you may have never given head before, but you know to keep your teeth away from his sensitive skin, so you hope that means you’re doing a good job.

“breathe thr-fuck. breathe through your nose, baby, it’ll help.” rafe says, reminding you. you give a hum around his length in acknowledgement, making rafe let out another curse.

you try it again, sucking and then humming, sucking and then humming, and clearly from the look on rafes face, he likes the vibrations on his cock. 

you pull off after a minutes, licking around the base of his cock and slowly moving up, wanting to taste every inch of him. you get back to the head and notice he’s leaking slightly out of his tip, which you quickly dart up with your tongue, making rafes hips raise up, pushing his cock against your tongue.

“you’re so fucking good at this.” rafe moans, one hand still gripping your hair while the other is fisted in the bedsheets, trying his best to hold back from shoving your head down onto his cock and fucking your mouth.

“i’ve got lots of practice with sucking things.” you giggle before taking him into your mouth again, bobbing your head as you suck, flicking your tongue over his head every time you pull back.

you decide again to try to take more of him into his mouth now that you’ve gotten more comfortable, but you swear rafe has swelled as you can’t take nearly as much as before.

“baby-i-close-i-” rafe stutters out, pushing your lips further, causing his cock to push into your throat as he releases to your tongue softly licking his length even you gag.

you feel rafe release, thick ropes of cum lining your insides as you swallow down repeatedly until he’s dry, completely milked free of cum. you pull off with a cough, rafes hands dropping limply to his sides.

“god, your mouth is amazing.” rafe moans.

you smile at the praise, glowing under his words. you look to the cock in front of you, now softening against his thigh.

“can we do that again?” you ask, quirking your head to the side.

“absolutely.” rafe nods. “once i recover. why don’t we get you a sucker until i can get hard again?”