#what's the best way to have someone else apply sunscreen to a leg?

[randomgurustuffs]

what would you do if your lady friend asked for some help applying sunscreen to her legs while you two were fishing? :3

If she was fine with it, I'd be fine with it and would comply. I'd do my best to provide an even coat in a reasonable amount of time. After all, I wouldn't want my gal getting sunburned and we gotta get to fishin'. Wonder what SPF she'd go for?

[mrwinterr]

Over & Over

Pairing: Pornstar!Bucky Barnes AU x Pornstar!Female Reader

Summary: You’re an up-and-coming adult film star secretly eager to work with the popular Bucky Barnes, and with just the right connections, your paths cross much sooner than later.

Warnings: Adult themes. Smut 18+ (unprotected sex, vaginal penetration and instructional fingering, oral [male & female receiving], size kink, spit & cum play, a smudge of male dominance), dirty talk and language.

Disclaimer: I don’t know how the porn industry works; this was just written for fun.

Title Inspiration: “Over & Over” by Smallpools

A/N: After doping up on strong painkillers wasn’t enough, I thought releasing endorphins would help ease my headache, so once again watching porn inspired another fic. Idk. I’m a mess. Enjoy!

Slipping on your oversized sunglasses, you walk along the rectangular outline of the hotel’s lavish pool, to one of the vacant lounge chairs next to the redheaded goddess, whose wings you were taken under and could gratefully call a close friend. You hadn’t known a single soul when you packed up and moved west to Los Angeles at 18, but you knew you were destined for more than what your humdrum life back at home could offer.

The porn industry wasn’t your first choice at a career in entertainment, but the starving profession wasn’t paying the bills fast enough. You weren’t going to survive in L.A. another year juggling to pay for tuition and stay enrolled in acting school from the income of working menial jobs and booking small gigs. However, one minor role as an extra in a one-night stand sex scene of a TV show, you catch the eye of the multitalented adult film actress Natasha Romanoff.

It was pure coincidence she was also casted, playing a bigger role, of the same episode, but she saw more in you in your less than 15 seconds of fame than most casting agents did before offering you a chance to shadow her. You knew she looked familiar and you were no stranger to watching porn, but when you’re as down on your luck as you were, you went all in and soon enough countless scenes now under your belt within a year, you’re porn’s best female newcomer.

“There’s this year’s Best New Starlet!” Natasha proclaims loudly for almost everyone around to hear.

Lucky for you, the shades conceal the roll of your eyes at her comment as you kick off your flip-flops and remove the thin cover up to reveal your skimpy bikini. You dare look over at her in time to catch her mocking reaction, jaw dropped from your attitude.

“After all I’ve done for you,” she says, placing a hand to her heart, feigning hurt.

The pair of you laugh at your nonsense and after she helps you with applying the appropriate amount of sun care protection, you recline in your seats and attempt to soak up some sun. It was a much-needed break with the long stressful week of the award show now behind everyone. Your hard work had paid off and after all you did learn from the best.

Your predecessor before you, Natasha was also a former Best New Starlet, and now is a household name in pornography. She didn’t welcome a lot of people into her inner circle, but she had plans to one day direct and knew she had to find the next big thing before anyone else to take her place.

“Hello, ladies,” comes from the voice of this year’s Director of the Year and other close friend Wanda Maximoff.

“Hey Wanda,” you greet her by sitting up to give her a proper hug.

You met her through her twin brother, Pietro, who happened to be your first co-star and was very welcoming and caring to you. The twins took care of you during your first few months starting out. Much like Natasha did for you, you help her administer the same amount of sunscreen on her body.

“Congrats on your achievement,” she says wholeheartedly, looking over her shoulder at you as you finish up on her back, and even under the heat of the sun, she could still see the blush creep up on your face.

“She’s a natural, isn’t she?” Natasha comments casually, to which Wanda nods enthusiastically, only speeding up the process of the rose tints on your cheeks to spread all over your face. They were your biggest fans and supporters; you were so happy you could make them proud.

“I owe it all to the queen herself,” you say, downplaying your achievement and turning the attention to your mentor in Natasha. She scoffs at that and teases you about just taking the damn compliment. You put in the work; it was all you.

“Seriously, you deserved it,” Wanda says honestly, and you finally accept the praise.

“So, what’s next for miss Director of the Year?” Natasha asks leaning on a propped elbow, body facing towards you and Wanda.

“Well, I managed to finally book Bucky Barnes in an upcoming project…” she starts out, but the moment you heard his name slip from her lips, the rest almost didn’t matter.

Bucky Barnes was somewhat of a legend. There wasn’t a model or director that didn’t want to work with him. The man was downright gifted in every aspect and his work speaks for itself. Before you broke onto the scene, you’d gotten off to his videos, and only dreamed of one day starring in a scene with him, but you were still new to this world.

As a promising star, you had a long way to go and tons of plots, positions and people to still experience, so landing a role with someone like Bucky Barnes wasn’t entirely written in your plans any time soon. Then again, your first girl-on-girl scene was with your mentor herself, so anything could happen, right?

“I just haven’t found my girl yet,” was the next thing you pick up Wanda say the moment your head comes back from the clouds, “...I have all this momentum now that I want this to blow everyone away, especially Stark.”

Tony Stark was her rival. It was a friendly competition amongst friends. You hadn’t gotten the chance to work for him yet. He was a playful character and had directed some of the best adult films out there, Wanda just happened to be the better of the two this year…

“Sorry, I’m retired,” Natasha reminds her and repositions herself on her back.

“Fuck you,” Wanda says playfully to which Natasha responds with a finger in the air before she clarifies, “I was hinting at this year’s Best New Starlet…” and slyly looking in your directly.

“Me?” You ask incredulously. Your head can’t even start processing that you’re finally getting the opportunity to work with Bucky.

Wanda rolls her eyes at your obliviousness, “no, last year’s Best New Starlet. Hell no! Of course, you!” You respond in the same manner as your mentor, who is more than amused at you also following her lead, and flip Wanda off. Wanda snatches your hand to bring it away from her face, “I’m serious!”

“I-I don’t know, Wan,” a part of you is a little scared that you’re not going to be able to keep up with someone as established and with the star power as Bucky, “...like you said, you have all this momentum behind you. I don’t want to fuck this scene up because I don’t have a lot of experience.”

“Are you fucking kidding?” Natasha pipes up on the other side of you. “This is the perfect role for you!” She sees the questionable look on your face and sighs before explaining. “You’re a fresh face and rising star! People are lining up to book you, Stark included.”

“Nat is right. You’re a hot commodity now! I need someone who is a little inexperienced to mix with someone that is,” Wanda further explains her premise, “let him take the lead, but at your pace. I need it to be raw and passionate. People love that shit!” They were right, he had all the experience, and you were a fresh loveable face. It was the perfect combination.

You remain quiet for several seconds before Natasha rats you out, “and don’t even try to act like you don’t want to work with Barnes. This is your fantasy come to life.” Way to throw you under the bus like that…

There’s no denying your goal to work with him. He’d been in this business much longer than you had, you didn’t think your paths would ever cross on a set, but the opportunity couldn’t have presented itself in a more perfect point in your career.

The room is very pristine. White walls with a king size bed, also adorned in white sheets, fluffy pillows scattered at the top, minimal furniture around to make it look realistic, and the lighting was just right. Wanda had received a hefty budget after her recognition that’s for sure.

“Alright, girly, let’s get you on the bed!” Wanda happily directs.

You nod silently, remove your footwear and plop down on the center of the large mattress. You decide to leave your legs sprawled on one side of your body, settling on a bashful position. It’s not hard for you because although you agreed to do this and have done several scenes, internally, you’re freaking the fuck out. Unbeknownst to you, it’s all part of your charm; the innocence you somehow still radiated was an all too endearing quality and actually sexy.

Even your attire was pretty modest, opting for a more casual look with black leggings and a tight long sleeve that accentuates your figure and shows off the right amount of cleavage. It was something that you could easily wear out in public, which again was a part of your brand in being as natural as possible, but come the right circumstances, when it was time to roll you could turn on the right switch.

“We’ll start off like a typical casting interview before we bring Bucky in and then we’ll go from there. Sounds good?” She runs down the plan with you, fixing a few strands of flyaway hairs on your head before back away from the bed. With a thumbs up and a smile from you, she starts recording.

“Welcome, Best New Starlet of the Year!” Wanda greets from behind the camera.

“Hi,” you politely reply with your signature sweet smile and a wave to the screen.

These scenes start off with a small interview recounting your tale into the porn industry leading up to your recent achievement and even delving a bit into your personal life before the topic changes to your co-star.

“So, how excited are you to work with Bucky today?”

No matter how hard you practiced at keeping a straight poker face, that was something you were unable to master from Natasha, and the blush couldn’t be contained.

Fidgeting at the hem of your top, you open and close your mouth, trying to find the right words. You’re overly flustered at the thought of Bucky and he wasn’t even in front of you yet. You don’t want to sound like a fool and ruin the atmosphere. Wanda mouths words of advice from where she sat in the director’s chair, “be honest.”

“Um, I’m...nervous,” you say truthfully.

“Nervous?” She questions, urging you to elaborate.

“Yeah, he’s Bucky Barnes! He’s hot and he’s got so much experience. I’m kind of scared I’ll be boring,” you finish explaining and hope to God that Natasha doesn’t kill you afterwards, or with that answer let Wanda down, but the smile on her face sends you a wave of assurance.

Maybe you could do this...

Earlier that day, Bucky had already recorded his little opening scene. Wanda had called him to report on set before you were scheduled to arrive.

On the contrary, Bucky was also a tab bit anxious to work with you. He’d seen some of your work and more so heard about your talent from his own best friend, Steve Rogers.

He didn’t deny it, he was very much attracted to you and he wanted a chance to work with you too. Bucky wasn’t a jealous person, which made working in the porn industry easy for him, but when he had to hear Steve recount his scenes with you, he couldn’t help but want to sock his own childhood friend. He didn’t of course, but the rage was evident and his other friend, Sam Wilson, took some sick pleasure in teasing him over it. In fact, the eccentric personality of the trio of friends, decided to tag along with Bucky to introduce himself to you and get under his skin a little more.

“What’s going on in that nasty head of yours?” Sam poked at Bucky as they made their way over to Wanda, who was by the camera setup going over a script with another stagehand. When Bucky doesn’t respond, it provokes Sam even more, “no way, you’re nervous!”

Bucky sighs fed up with dealing with the anxiety brewing ever since he found out he was going to star in this film with you. “Shut the fuck up, will you? Of course, I’m nervous,” he says, trying to remain calm.

“Dude, you’ve slept with some of the hottest people in the world and millions of people have seen you naked. Why is one girl any different?” Sam wonders.

“I don’t know, ok. She just seems so down-to-earth and normal?” Bucky attempts to explain. You were real. His work was just that, it was a work, and he was afraid that it would be different with you. He could say he was almost intimidated by you.

“Yeah, as if I don’t have to hear that enough from Rogers…” Sam chimed in. Steve had nothing but high praise for your performance. In fact, his testimony helped expose you a little further. He was an honorable performer and a respected one, so they took his word on you. “Maybe, I’ll be her next co-star,” and just like that Sam ruined a moment.

“God, I hate you,” was the last thing exchanged between the two friends as they finally reached Wanda. She warned Sam to behave and gave Bucky a quick rundown before instructing him to hop on the bed.

Bucky’s interview starts a little differently than yours. Having already been a more established performer than yourself, no one needed his background story. The only thing Wanda wanted out of him was his plans and opinion on you.

“Well, I don’t know too much about her, personally speaking...but everyone seems to love her,” Bucky’s answer was a bit bland for Wanda.

“She’s a great person to work with,” she comments and that’s a tactic most directors used to get talent to keep talking.

“That’s what Steve keeps saying,” he says with somewhat of an awkward light laugh. He could see Sam facepalming next to Wanda at that lame answer.

“Yeah, you don’t win best female newcomer for nothing,” Wanda points out. If anyone was the lucky one here, it was Bucky. He was climbing up in age and you were the next big thing. You were the real star of this film not Bucky. She was counting more on you to deliver than him.

“That’s right. She’s a very talented performer,” Bucky says, and this small comment opens up a can of worms for Wanda to build up on.

“Oh, so you’ve seen some of her work?” Bam! He was caught.

Bucky’s mouth starts twitching slightly and Wanda and Sam are smirking from their spots as they watch the gears in Bucky’s mind start turning faster trying to think of something. The only piece of advice Wanda gives is “be honest.”

He sighs, the jig was up. Smooth Bucky Barnes was caught red-handed, “yeah, I’ve watched some scenes. I’ve seen her in person a few times too…”

“Wait,” Wanda interrupts him abruptly. She knew you were attracted to Bucky, but never knew of any encounters between you two, “when did you meet her?”

“I haven’t,” Bucky starts, which causes a look of mass confusion on Wanda’s face before he follows up, “formally. I haven’t met her formally, but I’ve seen her at a few parties and at the award show...I was just nervous to walk up to her,” the words just kept flowing out of his mouth and he inwardly cringed at how awkward he might’ve sounded.

Sam was amused by his embarrassment, but Wanda was pleased with this result. Bucky was good at what he did and that included him trying to play it cool, which he did well on screen, sometimes.

“You know she was actually thrilled to find out she would be working with you,” Wanda said, stretching the truth. The truth was, you hadn’t verbally confessed that, at least not yet.

“Really?” Bucky asks all too hopeful, his mood noticeably perking up.

“Yup! Ever since she won Best New Starlet of the Year, people have been lining up to book her, but she chose this project. You were the deal breaker, Barnes,” she fabricated and hoped this all worked out for you two in the end.

“Wow, who would’ve thought this has-been still had it in him?” He jokes at himself. His humility would get the best of him in every situation.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself! You didn’t win Best Male Performer of the Year again for nothing!” Wanda says and then steers the interview to a close.

After wrapping up Bucky’s scene, he’s allowed to stay in another room with a monitor. At first, he thinks it’s to help him prep for the scene, but to his surprise it’s a live feed of your interview and he starts clinging onto your every word. Enthralled by your journey, work ethic and he gets flustered all over again hearing you talk about your equal eagerness to work with him.

“You know, if anyone is the lucky one in this situation, it’s Barnes,” Wanda reminds as your interview comes to an end.

“Right,” you sarcastically remark.

“Are you ready for us to bring Bucky in?” She asks.

“It’s now or never,” you reply. 

You watch the doorknob twist and the door open to slowly reveal Bucky. Where do you even start with him? He just looked like the total package. His gaze immediately on yours. As he makes his way towards the bed you’re still sitting on, when his knee comes in contact to the edge, you maneuver your body in his direction, sit up on your knees to meet him halfway and welcome him in a hug.

“Hi, it’s nice to finally meet you,” he says when you pull apart. The both of you don’t break away completely. Your arms are still wrapped around his neck, his hands placed just above your waist, you can feel his fingers that slipped under the fabric rub your skin.

“It’s nice to meet you,” you respond, giving him a genuine smile and can’t help but stare at his pretty face. You had to remind yourself he’s just another guy, except he wasn’t. You didn’t know how he felt, but you wanted this, wanted him. You also don’t know if you’ll ever work him again after today, so he was going to get the real you.

A small, subtle clearing of someone’s throat shatters the staring contest between you and Bucky causing you both to sheepishly break away from the other, not realizing you’d both allowed dreaded dead airtime to pass by. You scoot over to make room for him next to you on the bed. After he pulls his footwear off, he sits cross legged in front of you, you have one leg tucked in and the other extended in front.

Bucky’s not entirely oblivious. He not only witnessed you backstage reveal you were actually nervous to work with him, he could feel it, so at an attempt to help ease both your nerves, he places a hand on your shin and absentmindedly run his hand up and down the fabric, fingers sometimes stopping to mess with the cuff of your leggings and at the skin of your ankle, while he listened to you speak.

He congratulated you on your achievement as you did with him, both a blushing mess before diving into different topics like traveling and other interests.

Wanda stood proudly behind the camera watching the scene unfold. Everything was so candid and real between you and Bucky, the chemistry was clearly evident, she didn’t foresee there would be much directing on her part today, which was going to make her job easy.

“Wanda said you were excited to work with me,” Bucky teases, wanting to see if what you said was just for the cameras or if it was really true, but also, he found out he liked to see you get all hot and bothered in more than one way.

Your jaw drops and you look directly into the camera, breaking the fourth wall, calling out to Wanda. You playfully chastise and curse at her for revealing your secret. She tells you it was going to come out anyways, and while that was true, you’d hoped it was later and much after you’ve slept with him, hoping it doesn’t ruin the shoot, but Bucky assures you that it’s actually a flattering to hear or in his words, “assuring” for someone like him.

“Are you kidding?” You say, lightly shoving him back, “you’re like a legend! Of course, I was excited! I’m surprised you agreed to work with a rookie like me!” Now that the cat was out of the bag, you might as well own up to your secret.

“Everyone wants to work with you,” he makes clear, leaning in closer. Fuck, he didn’t even need to initiate foreplay because with the way he was looking at you right now, you could come swear you’d come undone for him in an instant.

“Oh really?” You challenge, your body gravitating like a magnet towards his.

“Yup, Steve wouldn’t shut up about you and even Sam said he can’t wait to someday work with you,” he said, voice slowly dropping in decibels and his hands sliding up your thighs.

“Did he?” You ask, but you don’t really care about Sam as your eyes look dead into Bucky’s blue ones, swirling into a darker shade full of deep want and desire.

“Yeah, but let’s see if he still wants to try to outdo me after I’m done with you,” he whispers, finally closing the gap between your lips in a sweet kiss. It was about as sweet as it could last because after just one taste of your lips, he was a starved man, hungry for more. You tried your best to match his pace and the kiss turned sloppy very quick.

You moaned at the pressure of his lips pressed roughly against yours, and you do your best to keep up, but you’re already finding yourself short of breath. However, the more you try to pull back to regain some oxygen, the more he’s unwilling to part as he grasps your face in both hands to keep you still, so you lightly squeeze at his biceps as a warning in hope he gets the message.

Lucky for you, he does and lets up. He’s also noticeably breathless, his warm breath fanning against your kiss-swollen lips, his forehead resting against yours. Bucky’s hands are still on your face.

“Sorry,” he apologizes, and you let out a small chuckle at the sincerity. He was cute.

You take his hands in yours and bring them back down to begin undressing him starting by helping him slip his shirt over his head, the fashionable dog tags around his neck clank as it slaps against his toned chest, you let him keep them on though.

Bucky sits up on his knees as he watches you settle on your stomach, propped up by your elbows, hands getting ready to work on his lower half. He patiently watches as you unbuckle his belt, pop the button of his jeans off, and drag the zipper down.

With his pants hanging loose off his hips, you begin to plant soft kisses along his navel down the defined lines that lead to his cock. Each contact of your lips sends a ghostly tingle and the blood to rush even quicker down his lower region. The imprint of his endowed member doesn’t leave much to your imagination, you can already see the stain where the tip is through his tight boxer briefs. It gives you a little boost of confidence knowing you’d caused this and would get to take care of it.

You hook your fingers into the undergarment and tug them down his muscular thighs. His cock springs out, almost hitting you in the face causing you to jolt back a little and a smile to spread across Bucky’s.

Your clumsiness was also a part of your charm. It wasn’t on purpose, you were still learning after all, and that’s what made it so unique and fun to work with you. Your partners just felt a real, genuine connection, citing it felt less choreographed and of a porno with you.

A little embarrassed about that move, you’d watched what he can do with that cock, but nothing could’ve prepared you for it face-to-face. You don’t waste any time on getting your hands on him and wrap your fingers around his half-hard cock and start pumping him sensually.

He’s hot and soft in your hands before getting gradually heavy. The look in your eyes grows more predatory as you watch him grow and feel him getting harder with each pump causing more and more pre-cum to ooze out. You spread it all over the head of his cock with your thumb then daring to look up at him, hoping he was indeed enjoying your work, before you pucker your lips and kiss at the crown. Bucky curses when he sees your lips shining, coated in his pre-cum, with a string connecting you to his cock.

You gather the fluid up in your hand before spreading it all over his length, when it’s not enough you start not only pumping him faster, but also licking up and down, from the base to the tip, hoping to effectively slick him up. The way your tongue scrapes along over Bucky’s sensitive flesh stirs him up. Your other hand joins in to fondle with his neglected balls, massaging and pulling at them in the right moments, sometimes you travel a little south and take them in your mouth. It all but drives Bucky wild and it’s confirmed with each swear that leaves his mouth.

Bucky wants nothing more than to lodge himself deep in your throat, but he remembers he needs to go at your pace, and once you’re broken in a little more, you could follow his, so he’ll bide his time for now and watch you work.

When you’re ready to take him in, you regain his attention and he watches you slowly take in his inches down your mouth, stopping halfway before your wide-open mouth hollows out. Your full mouth immediately waters around him and it doesn’t take long before you’re a drooling mess all over his cock. You pull back torturously slow, looking back down watching his cock reappear and loving the way it disappears back in, and especially how it feels when it drags through your mouth, taking note of the veins and unique ridges.

“Don’t be like that, doll,” he says, wiping some of the hair away from your face, “come on and show me why they don’t stop talking about you,” he coaxes, now gathering some of your locks in his hand to completely give you both a clear view. He tries his best to not take the lead, but you don’t disappoint as your mouth works faster on him. The gagging and sucking, mixed with Bucky’s moans of pleasure soon become the soundtrack.

You’d gradually take him more and more in, close to deep throating him, and you’re just ready to let up, but he can’t help it and before your last round, he holds your head in place.

“Don’t quit now, baby,” he encourages you, placing his other hand on the back of your head, keeping you still and carefully starts to thrust his hips, urging you to take him all the way, “...that’s it, you can do it, you can take it,” he releases a big sigh feeling the tip of your nose bump his lower abdomen. The moisture builds up in the inner corner of your eyes and you do your best to mind your breathing and not choke.

“Fuck!” He can’t help but shout when he feels your throat contract around him. You just looked so divine, mouth full of his cock. He keeps you there for a few seconds, before releasing his hold, and you immediately pull back, drool dribbles down your chin, and you’re desperate for oxygen to return back into your system. He grabs your face by your chin forcing you to look up at him.

He uses his fingers to scoop up some of the mixed fluids of his arousal and your saliva at your chin before presenting it in front of you. You easily read his mind, look up at him with big, watery eyes, and take his coated digits in your abused mouth sucking the juices clean off him. 

He growls and commends you, “...such a good girl.” When he slips his fingers out of your mouth, a small pop could faintly be heard, he gently yanks at your hair, craning your head back further, it’s almost painful but you don’t care, “do it again,” he demands.

You bite your lip and reposition yourself. Bucky settles in a more comfortable position on his back, completely rid of his pants and underwear, his legs spread open for you to lie between them. Before you get back to the job, you slip your tight top off, all-natural breasts spilling out and on display for him. His cock twitches at the sight and he lets his head fall back when he’s once more fully encased in the warm, wet cavern of your mouth.

When he finally starts begging you to let up, you pull back slowly pumping him and watch his every move, the rise of his chest as it heaves from the activity, the way he runs his hands over his face. He’s absolutely stunned by your performance so far.

“On your back,” he says, and you do as he commands, and forget who is supposed to really be in charge. He yanks your leggings and panties all the way down, chucking them behind him somewhere in the corner of the room.

“You’re so sexy,” he compliments, eyes taking in every inch of your naked body, hands getting their fill. His body dips, lips latching onto your breasts, kissing at the skin and sucking on each nipple before they make their way up the juncture of your neck and claim your lips again.

You feel his tongue run along your bottom lip, and they part to grant him full access. You barely notice how he takes a hold of one of your hands, he pulls his face away to bring the hand in his grasp up to your face, using your fingers to trace the outline of your lips. You see him inaudibly instruct you to open your mouth, you do as you’re told.

“That’s right get those fingers nice and wet,” he coaxes you to suck on your own digits until he deems you ready for the next move. When he finally does pull your fingers out from your mouth, he extends your arm, ghosting them just over your pussy.

“Play with that clit,” he tells you and you don’t need to be told twice. Your pussy was begging for any kind of attention. You let your wet fingers roll over the bundle of nerves, puffs of breath escape your body as you’re finally attending to your own needs.

Bucky sits back and watches you intently, fascinated by your every move. He instructs you to close your eyes and listen to his voice, instructing you to go slow at first, “does that feel good?” the only reply he gets is a fast nod, “yeah? Make yourself feel good...that’s it,” his words only encourage your fingers to soon work faster, “let me hear how good it feels,” he demands, and you moan and whine like the true pornstar you are, your circular motions speed up, the lewd noises egg him on and soon enough he wants a taste.

“Let me help you out,” and you feel the bed shift a bit, “spread those wet lips for me,” he requests. You use both hands to invite him into your wet, glistening hole. You pick your head up to see his face buried between your thighs, you watch just long enough until each broad lick up and down your pussy sends you close to the edge.

He no longer needs the support of your hands, and they find purchase in his dark, fluffy hair as he starts sucking on your clit and tonguing your folds. At first, you’re doing a good job keeping your legs apart to accommodate him, but it gets harder and harder for them to not clamp around his head, with every nudge the tip of his nose makes at your clit and it doesn’t help your case when he inserts a finger inside you. With a good curl, his finger scratches dangerously close to your sweet spot, causing your legs to start quivering.

The sudden hitch in your breathing catches his attention, and Bucky tests the waters more by digging in deeper and curling in further. He notices the increasing agitation and knows he’s found the trigger.

“Bucky,” you whine, hoping he doesn’t push you over just yet. You want to last longer, and so you reluctantly attempt to scoot back further away, but the sudden strong grip  he has around your leg locks you in place. You pick your head back up and find Bucky’s eyes trained on you. You see the stoic look in his eyes laced with determination. Oh no, he wanted you to come now. You feel a hum from his full mouth, only pushing you further.  

“Don’t hold back,” he says against your pussy, “let go,” and the gruff in his voice, vibrating against you, his thick digits still curled deep inside you, you can’t hold back the floodgates from bursting any longer.

He laps up your arousal as you desperately try to regain composure. He really pulled one out of you, proving he was as every bit good as he put out and you’re not even close to the end of this scene.  

“Come here,” he says, getting back on his knees and pulling you up by your arms so you’re in an up-right sitting position once again, but with Bucky still towering over you, “open up.”

You comply and open your mouth wide, tongue out, not understanding his motive, and you’re met with full surprise when he spits in your mouth, a firm grip on your face, he holds you still.

“Don’t swallow,” he gravely warns. You feel and probably look stupid not knowing what he wants you to do with your mouth open wide and full of his spit mingling with your arousal, just trying to keep it all contained. Bucky was testing your patience and obedience and you passed every test so far. You were just the right amount of submissive, absolutely perfect.

You can feel his hard cock pressing up against your sensitive pussy, it slides up between your folds and the base rests on top of your mound. “Drool it out...on my cock,” he instructs. Oh. He guides your gaze down between your bodies, you purse your lips, and both watch as the liquid cascades down onto his erect member. He uses it to lube himself up before he pushes you down to lie flat on your back.

Bucky slowly but easily slips inside your wet channel but notices your slight struggle. He was big, and he gets it. The way your eyes are tightly shut, hands pulling at the sheets, you struggle to breath and your walls cruelly grip him tight. Normally, he’d just pound away until his partner got used to him, but he didn’t want to do that with you. He wanted you to enjoy feeling him.

He tries to help you relax by rubbing your thighs a little with soothing motions, when they fall limp on either side, he leans down, you feel the cool metal of his dog tags against your heated skin, his weight sort of comforting on yours, and arms entrapping your head. He lovingly calls out your name, and your eyes flutter open, your attention refocusing on him.

“We’ll go at your pace, alright?” he assures you. You curse yourself for allowing your heart to swell at his concern, but you nod giving him permission to move slowly. Your whimpers soon transition into pleasurable moans, the more your body begins to adjust to his.

“Damn, you’re so tight. You’ve never been stretched out like this by anyone before have you?” he dares ask, once he sees it’s a safe playing field once more, his hips moving slow, his cock sliding in and out of you. You attempt at a laugh between your ragged breathing and the intense sensation coursing through you.

“No,” you respond and kiss at his chin, the light stubble pricking your soft lips, “you’re so big.” You feel his cock twitch inside and you want to curse yourself again at the comment that unintentionally riles him up because he was nestled close to your spot again. Fuck, he could reach just the right depth in you.

“Fuck, Bucky,” you don’t want to go slow anymore. Fuck Wanda and this movie, you wanted all of Bucky now, “please fuck me,” you resort to begging. He inwardly growls and his hips start snapping forward, thrusts growing hard and uncalculated. You just lie there and allow him to use your pussy for his pleasure.

Bucky’s movements falter a bit in this position, so he steers both your bodies on their sides, still facing each other, he slings your leg high up over his hips, and resumes his task. His cock glides right back in your pussy and the new angle causes you to yelp and walls to clench around him.

“You feel so good,” his voice riddled with so much lust as he brings your body closer to his with a hand behind, full of your plushest asset. Your head rests on the bicep of his other arm that was underneath it.

Bucky’s expressive eyes ask you if you're close, and the more your walls continue to grip him, he starts begging for you to come with him. “I’m gonna cum,” he warns, giving up and letting you take the rest of the lead.

“Yeah?” you huff out, your fingers digging into the side of his hips, “you want to cum inside me?” You know he does; you can feel and see it written all over him, but you want to just poke at him like he had with you, “I want you to...I want all your cum inside me, Bucky,” and you wanted him to cum hard, deep inside, “fill my tight pussy up, please,” you plead.

With one more jab of his hips, your back arches and head is thrown back, you can’t help but let out a scream as your orgasm rips right through you like it’s never before. Bucky’s body on the other hand caves into yours, feeling almost paralyzed as your tight walls hold him in place and all he can do is bury his face into the sweaty skin of your neck.

His mouth hangs open, a plethora of profanities coming out of him, and he waits for his cock to finish spewing ropes of his hot, thick cum into you. Your walls can’t help but to involuntarily contract in small aftershocks, especially when he’s still coming.

Bucky continues to moan as he does as you hoped, he came hard and deep inside you. When you’ve both finally come down from the high, it’s silent, and even though you’d both long forgotten you were on a set with multiple people watching you two, they were also quiet, completely taken back by the performance.

Incoherent cries come out of each of you, when Bucky agonizingly pulls his cock out. For the most part you’re able to keep him inside, but he’d proven to come so much some of it seeps out and runs down in streak fashion along your thigh, staining the bed sheets.

In your last act, as your gazes meet each other again, your fingers dip inside your soaked cunt and coat them. Hypnotized by you, Bucky watches as you greedily suck off his essence from your digits, and you evoke a small hum in his favor at the taste bursting in your mouth.  

Bucky bites at his bottom lip, trying to not lose it again. When your hand disappears, he tenderly wipes the matted hair away from your face, smoothing your hair back before pulling your body close again, swooping your lips for a deep kiss.

“Shit, you’re good,” he admits, when he pulls away, effectively breaking the blissful silence. You bust out in a fit of giggles beside him and it’s the cutest thing he’s ever seen. He’s not sure what he’s feeling, but it’s not something you’re supposed to feel towards your co-star, especially in the porn industry.    

He smiles at you, basking in your afterglow and all he knows is that he wants to feel this high with you over and over, so he decides to risk it all, “I hope this doesn’t ruin the moment, but can I take you out some time?”

You try your best to read him, wondering if he was just still in the heat of the moment. Either he’s really good or he’s being sincere, you can’t tell and you’re hoping you’re not overthinking it, but his eyes, this whole time, were what gave him away. He performed with them and he definitely spoke through them.

Before you could accept and give him a definite answer, you’re both brought back to reality, “we’re still rolling here!” Wanda reminds.

A/N: Thank the pain meds for this. I think I effectively used up my vacation days the right way, won’t you agree? Likes, reblogs and comments/emojis are appreciated! 

[junghelioseok]

clandestine. | 04

↳ forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest.

◇ jungkook x reader ◇ smut | fluff | brother’s best friend!au ◇ 6.5k [4/6]

notes: we finally have a set chapter count! did this fic really need to be 6 chapters? absolutely not, but here we are! i’m hoping to have this fella finished up in the next month or so, but we’ll see how that goes given my track record. happy new year, everyone!

warnings: a little underedited bc i’m lazy, shower sex!!! mild? exhibitionist tendencies??? reader is dumb and jungkook is slutty, but what else is new 🤷🏻‍♀️

⇢ 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 

“I swear to god, I am going to amputate your arm with a rusty hacksaw if you elbow me one more time.”

Undeterred, your brother prods you again, pouting at you from his spot in the driver’s seat. “I just want another chip, Noona. Don’t be so mean.”

“Are you a baby bird?” you ask in disbelief, gaping at the way he opens his mouth and sticks out his tongue. “Seriously, I’m not feeding you. Get your own chips if you want them so badly.”

“But I’ve gotta keep both hands on the wheel,” he replies cheekily. “Ten and two positions, at all times.”

You frown. “Didn’t they change it to nine and three?” Nonetheless, you reluctantly reach into the bag in your lap, pulling out a potato chip and delivering it to his waiting mouth. “Next one’s going straight into your nose,” you warn as he happily crunches down on the snack.

Jimin simply offers you a beatific grin in between chews. “Love you too.”

“Nope, I changed my mind. Next one’s going up your ass.”

Your brother has long since grown used to your threats. “Kinky,” he chuckles as he merges smoothly into the next lane over. The song on the radio shifts into something more upbeat, and Jungkook is quick to start humming along under his breath from his spot in the seat behind you. Within minutes, it’s morphed into a singalong, and the offkey warbling of all seven passengers—no matter how dissonant—is a perfect soundtrack for the remainder of the drive.

The beach, when you arrive, is awash with tourists and locals alike, all clamoring to lay claim to a prime stretch of sand and a decent parking space. Jimin manages to snag a spot just as someone else is pulling out, and the rest of you are quick to disembark and scope out the beach for somewhere to set up camp. Plopping your bag down onto the sand, you rifle through it until you find your sunscreen, mentally patting yourself on the back for buying the spray instead of the cream.

“Can I borrow that when you’re done, Noona?” Taehyung asks, watching you wrench off the cap.

You nod, squinting against the sunlight. “Sure. As long as you help me get my entire back.”

“Deal.”

Flashing him a grateful smile, you shimmy out of your shorts and begin applying sunscreen to your arms and legs. Taehyung peels off his t-shirt, and you spray him down too, making sure to coat his entire back before he takes the bottle and does the same to you.

“I might have gone a little overboard,” he admits once he’s done, capping the bottle and tossing it back into your bag. Warm hands settle onto your exposed shoulder blades, deft fingertips rubbing the excess product into your skin. “There, that should do it. All better.”

“Thanks, Tae.” You turn around and reach out, wiping at a stray fleck of the white lotion on his bicep. “You’ve got a little bit here too, hang on—“

“Mind if I borrow this?”

You turn at the sound of Jungkook’s voice. The dark-haired young man is standing there with your sunscreen in hand, his gaze zeroed in on the way your fingertips linger on Taehyung’s bare skin. Awkwardly, you pull away and nod, hoping that neither of them can hear your heart pounding erratically against your ribcage.

“Yeah. Sure. It’s all yours.”

Jungkook grabs his white t-shirt by the collar, tugging it up and over his head in one smooth motion, and you swallow at the way his taut abdomen flexes as he tosses it aside. “You’ll help me get my back too, won’t you, Noona?”

You nod, moving before he can even finish his sentence. Your feet carry you across the sandy ground on autopilot, and Jungkook exhales audibly as your palms smooth along the golden expanse of his muscular back, dipping down to the waistband of his black swim trunks. Ever since his visit to your bedroom last night, you’ve been itching to touch him—to feel every last inch of him. It’s impossible with your watchful brother and group of nosy friends hovering around though, so you settle for this—rubbing sunscreen into his warm skin while he sprays down his arms and legs.

“Thanks, princess,” he murmurs once you’re done, soft enough so that only you can hear and raising gooseflesh on the back of your neck. “Maybe next time, you’ll let me repay the favor.”

Then Yugyeom is calling his name, and Jungkook sprints down to the shoreline to join his friend in the crashing surf, his face creasing with laughter. Each time he emerges from the waves, droplets cling to his skin like glistening diamonds in the sunlight. It’s impossible to look away from the sight, and your tongue darts out to moisten your lips as you watch water drip off his hair and down his nape, pooling in his collarbones before he shakes his head like a dog and sends it spraying in all directions.

All that sunscreen is going to waste, a tiny voice in your head points out, but it’s hard to worry about that when you’re too busy following the path of the water streaming down past his dusky nipples to the ridges of his abdomen. And it’s almost as if he feels your gaze on him, because he’s suddenly staring right back at you, a wicked smirk tugging at his lips.

“Come on, Noona,” he calls, raking a hand through his drenched hair. “The water’s fine. Don’t make me drag you in.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” you call back, immediately regretting it when something equal parts mischievous and dangerous flashes across his face. There’s a glint in his eye that wasn’t there before, and you back away nervously as he emerges from the waves and saunters toward you. “Jungkook—”

“Yes?” he asks, his voice dropping down into a low purr. “What is it, princess?”

You edge around the towel that you’ve laid out in the sand, as if such a flimsy barrier could stop him in any way. “Just—just don’t dunk me under,” you plead.

Jungkook looks genuinely offended by that. “I would never,” he says, laying a hand over his heart and grabbing yours with his free one. “Now come on—let’s get you wet.”

You groan at the innuendo and try to tug free from his grip, but Jungkook only tightens his grasp, cackling the whole way down to the water.

///

The sun is just beginning to set, streaking the blue sky through with wispy strands of orange and gold, when Jimin raises his hand and declares it dinner time. For the past two hours, you’ve all been engrossed in a very tight three-on-three volleyball match with Jimin serving as referee, and upon hearing your brother’s declaration, Minho looks about ready to chuck the ball into the ocean.

“Dude, are you fucking serious? We’re literally two points from winning!” He gestures wildly at an invisible scoreboard only he can see. “No way we’re stopping here. I refuse on principle.”

“Yeah, I wanna see who the real winner is, too,” Jungkook drawls from the other end of the court, where he’s flanked on either side by Taehyung and Yugyeom. “I mean, we’ve been leading for most of the tournament, so…”

Minho scowls. “And we’re about to win the whole damn thing. Just you wait, Jeon.”

Behind him, you and Taemin exchange helpless glances. It isn’t the first time you’ve seen Jungkook and Minho squabble over the years, and you’re sure it won’t be the last. Both possess a razor sharp competitive streak and a certain pigheadedness that only emerges when it comes to athletic endeavors, and luckily, your brother knows this just as well as you do. Heaving a sigh, Jimin wearily gestures for them to continue, resuming his post at the end of the net. “Fine, fine,” he mutters. “Next point wins.”

On the other side of the net, Jungkook’s eyes narrow. “I’m good with that if you are.”

“Oh, I’m good,” Minho retorts. “It’s our serve. You ready?”

Jungkook smirks. “Bring it on.”

Minho cracks his knuckles and tosses the ball over to you for the serve. “All right then, let’s fucking do this.”

You sigh. Taking a deep breath, you heft up the ball, testing its weight before hitting it smoothly over the net. Yugyeom jumps up to intercept, batting it back over to your side, and Minho attempts to spike it back and into the sand. Unfortunately, Jungkook is too quick, and dives down to bump it back over to you. The back and forth continues like this for a while—you see Jimin boredly scrolling on his phone out of the corner of your eye—and you’re strongly considering calling it quits when Jungkook smashes the ball over the net and into the ground right at Minho’s feet.

“And that’s game,” he declares proudly, raking his sweaty hair off his forehead with a triumphant grin.

“Are you finally done?” Jimin asks, rolling his eyes and pocketing his phone. “Thank god. Can we eat now?”

Jungkook claps him on the back in affirmation, ignoring Minho’s loud, adamant protests that your team still technically won. Together, you head back to where your towels and bags sit in the sand, grabbing bottles of chilled water out of the cooler and fishing for snacks. Jimin pulls a package of hot dogs out while Taehyung rips open a bag of chips, and you follow their lead and grab the hamburger patties and buns. “Huh, I swear I bought ketchup,” you mumble to yourself as you rummage through the half-melted ice in the cooler. “Is it not in here?”

“I have it.” Jungkook materializes at your side, proffering the little red bottle. He’s pulled his white t-shirt back on, the material a stark contrast to his tanned skin, and you silently rise to your feet to take it when a sudden wave of lightheadedness rushes over you and sends the world spinning.

“Whoa,” you gasp, swaying on your feet. “Oh, god.”

Jungkook frowns and drops the ketchup bottle, steadying you until most of your weight is leaned against him. “Noona? Are you okay?”

You swallow, hard, and try to shake the unexpected bout of dizziness away. “I don’t know. Got dizzy, all of a sudden. I think I might have stood up too fast?”

Gently, Jungkook presses the back of his hand against your forehead. “You feel pretty warm,” he murmurs. “Have you had enough water today?”

“I thought I drank plenty, but maybe not,” you admit, and he nods decisively and gestures for you to follow him.

“Come on,” he says. “Let’s grab some water and go somewhere quiet so you can rest. Minho isn’t going to shut up about that match anytime soon, and it’s cooler down by the water.”

You laugh weakly. “We did technically win, you know. We had one more point than you guys.”

“God, not you too,” Jungkook sighs, casting you a playful look over his shoulder as he digs two bottles of water out from the cooler. He uncaps one and hands it over before taking a swig out of his, and you take a grateful sip, relishing in the cool liquid that trickles down your throat.

Nearby, your brother and the rest of the boys have commandeered one of several firepits scattered around the edges of the beach. They’re piling up pieces of driftwood and some of the long, tall sea grass that Taehyung has found, and Jungkook waves at them as he slowly guides you toward the ocean with a hand on your back. “We’re gonna go find some more wood!” he calls, and Jimin raises a hand in acknowledgment before turning back to the firepit.

Water laps gently at your toes as you and Jungkook walk along the shore, washing away all traces of your footprints. The sun dips below the horizon at last, illuminating the sky in one last burst of red and orange and gold that slowly fades into deep purples and blues as night falls. The temperature dips as the moon ascends to her lofty throne, accompanied by a smattering of starry pinpricks. Most of the beachgoers have packed up and left by this point, and here, with nothing but Jungkook’s quiet, familiar presence and the lapping waves, you feel more at peace than you have in a long time.

“You know, I’m really glad I came this weekend,” you say softly, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen between the two of you. Your gaze drops down to your toes, fixing your attention on a pearly white seashell that’s sticking out from the wet sand. “I think you were right—I really did need a break from everything.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t quite catch that,” Jungkook says, swirling his pinky in his ear. “Could you say it again? Something about me being right?”

You roll your eyes. “Oh, shut up.”

Jungkook casts a quick look over his shoulder, and when you follow the trajectory of his gaze, you notice just how far you’ve gotten from the firepit where the others are sitting. Darkness has settled over the beach, the sand painted a wan silver from the light of the moon, and you flinch when Jungkook’s hand finds its way around yours.

“Jungkook—” you begin, but trail off when he twines your fingers together and gives your hand a squeeze.

“They can’t see us, Noona,” he murmurs. “Relax.”

Easier said than done, you want to say. Nevertheless, you suck in a deep breath and take another sip from your water bottle, trying to ignore the way Jungkook swings your interlocked hands between you as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.

“Shouldn’t—shouldn’t we be trying to find more driftwood?” you ask after several long seconds have dragged by. “We need way more if we’re gonna keep the fire going.”

Jungkook hums softly and veers inland, until the sand beneath your feet is dry and starts sticking to your wet toes. You come across a few scattered pieces of wood, dried out by the sun, and tuck them beneath your arm. Likewise, Jungkook gathers a few pieces of his own, hefting them up before reaching out to take your hand once more. His fingers slot all too comfortably into the spaces between yours, and your heart stutters a few times in your chest before plunking down into your churning stomach.

Nighttime has well and truly settled over the beach by the time you and Jungkook start picking your way back over to rejoin the group around the firepit. You pull your hand out of Jungkook’s well before you reach the ring of orange light that the flames cast across the sand, your arm now swinging free at your side and your fingers cold from the loss of his warmth. Silently, you hasten your pace and plop down onto the towel that Jimin has spread out, stretching out your legs toward the fire and wiggling your toes.

“Where have you guys been?” Jimin asks curiously. “You just kinda wandered off.”

“Getting more driftwood,” you reply, gesturing at the small pile you’ve dropped at the edge of the towel. “We told you that’s where we were going.”

Jimin frowns for a few seconds before the memory resurfaces. “Oh, right. I forgot.”

Jungkook snorts and takes a seat beside you, dropping his stack of driftwood on top of yours. “Dumbass.”

“You’re a dumbass,” Jimin retorts.

“You’re both dumbasses,” you sigh.

The fire crackles merrily, sending orange sparks up into the velvety black sky. There’s a grill situated over the flames, loaded with hamburger patties and hot dogs, and you watch as Jimin tears open a bag of hot dog buns and begins to place them around the edges.

“Hey, can you throw me the hamburger buns?” he asks you. “I wanna try toasting them.”

“You’re gonna burn them,” you tell him flatly. Nonetheless, you locate the second bag and toss it over, watching as he makes more room on the grill.

Dinner is a loud, chaotic affair, filled with laughter and conversation and plenty of booze to go around. Jimin has procured a flask of whiskey from somewhere in his clothing—an impressive feat in and of itself, considering he’s only wearing swim trunks and a thin blue t-shirt. You wave him off when he offers you a sip, and he shrugs and throws back a generous swallow himself. Then he offers it to Jungkook, who shakes his head and raises his water bottle. “Designated driver,” he says. “I’m sticking to water tonight.”

Curiously, you glance over at him. “You don’t have to do that. I wasn’t planning on drinking, so I can drive us back.”

“With the way you were looking earlier?” Jungkook fixes you with a look of pure disbelief. “Not a chance. Besides, we’re going back to the real world tomorrow, and the last thing I need is to be hungover. I have to get us back home in one piece, not to mention the entire menu I still have to memorize for work.”

You hum. Jungkook has mentioned his new job a few times—a summer stint working as a server at a new restaurant opened by a family friend named Seokjin. “Right, I remember you saying that. You start on Monday, don’t you?”

“Dinner shift,” Jungkook confirms. “I stole a whole bunch of pens from Junghyun’s room the other day in preparation. Jin said I’d probably end up losing two-thirds of them by the end of the week.”

“That sounds about right,” you tell him with a laugh. “Some guy stole my favorite pen last summer when I was working at that diner on Main. Lesson learned, forever.”

Jungkook laughs. “Yeah, I bet.”

You grin. “But, hey, seriously. If you need me to quiz you on that menu, I’ve got time to spare.”

“Honestly, I might take you up on that offer. I have flash cards, and everything.” He uncaps his water bottle and takes a long sip, his throat bobbing with each swallow, before glancing back over at you. “What about you? You ready for your internship?”

You sigh and offer him a helpless little shrug. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready, to be honest. I don’t think I’m going to stop stressing about it until I get through my first day. The entire thing still doesn’t feel real.”

“I get that,” Jungkook hums. “Well, I can imagine it, at least. I won’t pretend to know exactly what you’re going through, since I’ve never had an adult job, but—“ He shrugs a shoulder halfheartedly. “I can kind of relate, I guess.”

“All jobs suck a little bit,” you tell him, and Jungkook lets out a derisive huff of agreement.

“I’ll drink to that,” he says, and the two of you tap your water bottles together before rejoining the conversation with the rest of your friends.

///

The drive back to the lake house is shorter than you remember it being—though that might be because you spend most of it watching Jungkook drive. He steers with one hand slung carelessly over the wheel, his expression relaxed as he sings along to whatever pop hit plays on the radio. Unloading the car is a team effort, though you hear no shortage of complaints from Jimin as he heaves the cooler over the threshold of the house before collapsing atop it in a pile of limp limbs.

“Thanks for leaving me to carry this thing by myself,” he snarks, not even bothering to raise his head. “Really appreciate it.”

“Don’t be a baby,” Taehyung scoffs, tossing a game console at him. “Have a beer and pick something to play. We’re waiting on you.”

You watch as your brother immediately hops up and darts over to join the rest of the boys lounging in the living room, fighting back the sudden wave of exhaustion that washes over you. “I think I’m going to head to bed,” you tell them, hiding a yawn behind your hand. “Goodnight, guys.”

A chorus of goodnights and see you in the mornings rings out in response, and you wave before heading down the hall to your room and into the adjoining bathroom. Your hair is crusty from being submerged in the salty water of the ocean, and a shower to rejuvenate your dehydrated skin is just what you need. Turning on the tap, you wait until it’s flowing warm before stripping out of your clothes and tossing them onto your bed to deal with later. Then you step into the shower and tilt your head back, letting the water stream down your face and soak into your hair.

You’re midway through squeezing a generous dollop of shampoo into your palm when there’s a soft knock on the door. “Noona?” Jungkook’s voice filters through the sound of rushing water, low and lilting like a song. “You left kinda fast. Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

You cap the shampoo bottle and replace it on the shelf, peering out from behind the shower curtain. “I’m fine,” you call, hesitating before you steel your nerves and continue. “You can come in, if you want. I don’t like yelling through the door.”

Slowly, the bathroom door eases open, revealing Jungkook standing in his and Jimin’s shared bedroom. His brown eyes are wide as he takes in the sight before him, and you have no doubt that he’s thinking about just what the palm tree patterned curtain is hiding from his view. Your lip finds its way between your teeth when you notice him shuffle his feet awkwardly for a moment before stepping a little closer to where you’re standing beneath the spray, his mouth opening to speak.

“Join me?”

The invitation slips past your lips, unbidden, but you have no intention of taking it back. Not when Jungkook’s gaze darkens to obsidian at those two simple words, his mouth snapping shut and his hands already reaching for the hem of his white t-shirt. Not when he strips it off in one smooth motion to reveal all the dips and ridges of his abdomen, his skin golden even under the harsh fluorescent bathroom lights. And certainly not when he pulls aside the shower curtain and joins you beneath the spray, his dark eyes appreciatively raking up and down your bare figure.

“Hey,” he says, his voice a low purr.

“Hi,” you respond, reaching out and trailing a fingertip down his chest.

And then you’re dropping down to your knees, your tongue darting out to tease at the tip of his already rising cock. One hand finds its way to his balls while the other traces the line of his pelvic bone, and you smirk when you feel him let out a shuddery breath.

“Fuck,” he rasps. “Someone’s eager.”

You wrap your lips around the tip of his cock, humming, and Jungkook’s fingers fly into your dampened hair. “Oh, fuck. You’re really trying to kill me, huh, princess?” he asks, and you respond by taking a little more of him into your mouth, laving at the vein running along the underside of his length before hollowing your cheeks. Jungkook throws his head back, a deep groan escaping his parted lips, and you preen under his encouragement as he urges you to take him deeper.

You’ve just begun to settle into a rhythm—figuring out exactly how much pressure he likes and what makes his hips buck—when he suddenly pushes you away. “Jung—” you begin, only to have him silence you with a searing kiss, grabbing you around the waist and hauling you to your feet.

“Wanna fuck you properly,” he rasps. His hand finds its way between your legs, experimental fingers sliding through the wetness that’s gathered there, and your cheeks heat up when he brings them to his mouth and licks them clean. “Just let me go grab a condom,” he whispers urgently. “Don’t move a muscle, okay? I’ll be righ—”

You silence him with a hard kiss. “Don’t,” you mumble. “I’m clean. Are you?”

Jungkook nods slowly, his eyes wide. “Does that mean… I mean, are you…?”

“I’m on the pill,” you murmur. “Fuck me raw, Jungkook.”

A sharp gasp escapes you when Jungkook cages you against the cool tiled wall of the shower, the slick surface dampened by the spray from the showerhead. He grabs ahold of your thigh and hoists it up to wrap around his waist, and you’ve never been more thankful for the ugly fish patterned shower mat that your mom insisted on putting down to prevent slipping. Jungkook nestles into the newly created space between your legs, his cock hot and slick against your center, and you keen when he grinds against you in a slow, deliberate motion.

“You feel that?” he rasps into your ear, his breath hot against your cheek. “Feel how hard you get me, Noona?”

“God, Jungkook,” you breathe back. “Just fuck me already, will you?”

His answering chuckle sends a shiver from your toes to your crown. “So needy,” he murmurs, his hand sliding from your thigh to your hip. His mouth seeks out yours as he positions the head of his cock at your entrance, meeting little resistance as he slowly begins pushing inside. Your walls part willingly for him and your lips do too—his questing tongue slipping inside when you moan and beginning his seemingly endless task of mapping out every corner of your mouth.

“God, I forgot how big you are,” you breathe when he bottoms out—the entirety of his hot, heavy length sheathed within your walls. Your head falls back against the tile as he rolls his hips experimentally, a moan that sounds vaguely like Jungkook’s name escaping your lips. Your arms come up to brace on his shoulders as he picks up his pace, but he intercepts one of your hands and twines your fingers together, settling them onto the wall just to the left of your head. His other hand returns to your thigh to keep you stable and spread out for his increasingly harsh thrusts, and you whimper helplessly in his ironclad grip.

“That’s it,” he whispers, groaning when you clench around him. “God, you’re so fucking tight, princess.”

“Fuck me open, then,” you moan back, squeezing his hand and meeting his next thrust with one of your own. Jungkook’s breathing stutters, and you laugh breathlessly at the way his mouth falls open at the spike of pleasure. Emboldened, you grind against him, the spray from the shower easing the movement. “Jungkook, please.”

He chuckles hoarsely. “Careful what you wish for,” he purrs against the shell of your ear, punctuating the warning with a harsh roll of his hips that sends all remaining thought flying out of your head. In this moment, there’s only Jungkook—his dark hair dampened and dripping, the spray from the showerhead slicking his chest and pooling in his clavicle before trailing down each ridge and dip of his honeyed skin. His lips find yours again, and you sigh into the kiss as he begins to fuck you in earnest.

“Hey, Jungkook! You in there?”

Your eyes fly open at the new voice, your body tensing when there are several loud bangs on the door. Jungkook freezes mid-thrust with an expression that can only be described as a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck, his throat bobbing nervously as he fights to find a response. You can practically see the gears whirring in his brain, and shove uselessly at his chest in an attempt to escape his steely embrace.

“That’s Jimin,” you hiss urgently, turning his face toward yours and prodding his cheek until his gaze refocuses. “What the fuck are we going to do?”

“Dude.” Jimin’s voice is laced with irritation. “I wanna brush my teeth! What the hell are you doing in there?”

Jungkook hesitates, glancing between you and the closed bathroom door. Then he inhales deeply, pressing a light kiss to your furrowed forehead before pulling the shower curtain closed, ensuring there are no gaps. “I got you,” he murmurs softly, his brown eyes boring into yours. “Don’t worry, okay?”

Your eyes flutter shut at the gentle pressure of his lips against your skin, but they fly open again when Jungkook breaks away and yells for Jimin to come in. Warm palms slide soothingly down your sides, but that doesn’t stop you from tensing up when the bathroom door creaks open, your brother’s soft footsteps approaching the flimsy palm tree patterned curtain.

“Have you been showering this whole time? Jeez. Leave some hot water for the rest of us, will you?”

Jungkook chuckles. Ever so slowly, he pushes forward until he’s fully seated inside you again, and you do your best to level a glare at him even as pleasure flares at the base of your spine. “There’s plenty to go around,” he says. “Relax.”

You get the distinct feeling that he’s not just addressing Jimin anymore. Jungkook pulls back until only the top of his cock remains nestled in your folds, and you open your mouth to berate him but all that comes out is a low moan when he sinks back inside you in one swift push.

On the other side of the curtain, you hear the faucet turn on. “Man, I can’t believe we leave tomorrow,” Jimin says over the sound of running water. “The weekend flew by.”

“Mmm,” Jungkook hums, brushing a thumb across your clit. The pace he’s set is slow and deep, and is made all the more sensual by the steam that’s steadily building up in the small room. You try once more to push him away—to quell the growing ache between your legs—but it’s all in vain as he chuckles softly into the crook of your neck, his bare shoulders quaking. “I got you, princess,” he murmurs, his voice a wicked little whisper that’s immediately lost in the spray of water. “Just let me take care of you, yeah?”

You don’t have a chance to answer. Jimin starts speaking again, this time accompanied by the sound of toothbrush bristles scrubbing against his teeth. “I’m starting up at the studio as soon as we get back—isn’t that crazy? I mean, I’ve never taught anyone how to dance before. Not really. Not for real.”

Jungkook snaps his hips up so sharply that you nearly mewl in surprise, forced to bite down into his meaty shoulder to muffle the noises that threaten to escape from your throat. “You’re a great tutor, man,” he says, his voice steady even as he resumes his slow, lazy thrusts, his cock dragging along your fluttering walls. “You’ve been helping people with math for, what, two years? What makes you think it’ll be any different with dancing?”

Jimin spits into the sink and sighs. “I don’t know. It’s scarier because there’ll be more people, I guess. Tutoring is one on one, y’know? And at the studio, I’ll have a full class of people watching me. Every single move I make, they’ll be looking at. That’s fucking terrifying to think about.”

Slowly, Jungkook’s hips still, his cock buried to the hilt in your cunt. Your heartbeat drums in your ears, backed by the relentless spray from the showerhead, and Jungkook leans down to plant a wet kiss on your cheek, his hair dripping.

“You’re a great dancer, Jimin,” he says once he’s pulled back and straightened back up to his full height. “Best one I know. You’re also one of the smartest people I know, but right now, you’re being really fucking dumb.”

There’s a clatter that sounds like a plastic toothbrush being dropped into the sink, and Jimin lets out an affronted squeak. “Hey!”

Jungkook just chuckles, his shoulders quaking. “It’s true,” he says easily. “Seriously, man. You don’t have a thing to worry about. You’re gonna kick ass out there, and your class is gonna be awesome. You’re already, what, almost maxed out on the number of registrants? You’re already killing it.”

Your brother lets out an unintelligible grumble on the other side of the shower curtain, but you can still hear the smile in his voice no matter how hard he tries to mask it. “All right, you fucking sap,” Jimin says at last, his soft footsteps padding toward the door. “Hurry up and get out of there, yeah? You’re really gonna use up all the hot water.”

The door clicks shut behind him, and you immediately smack Jungkook in the middle of his stupidly toned chest. “Oh my god!” you hiss. “Are you kidding me right now, Jeon? We could’ve been caught!”

“But we weren’t,” Jungkook replies easily, shaking his dampened hair out of his face and fixing you with an indolent little smirk. “So why don’t you be a good girl and cum for me now?”

///

The next morning brings with it a whirlwind of frenzied packing, and you mentally congratulate yourself for preemptively gathering all of your belongings together last night. Minho is wandering every last inch of the house with a piece of half-eaten toast dangling from his mouth, and you can hear Taehyung in the distance asking if anyone’s seen his strawberry body wash. Jungkook is seated on the floor near the front door, his brows furrowed and his lower lip jutting out in a pout as he fights to close the zipper of his suitcase.

“Got it!” he exclaims after a few seconds, triumphant. “Where’s your stuff, Noona? I’m gonna load the car.”

You begin to stand up from your spot on the couch. “It’s in my room, let me go get—”

Jungkook is on his feet and halfway down the hall before you can even finish your sentence. He returns a moment later with your luggage in tow, shooting you a grin and a wink as he passes by. “I got you, princess,” he murmurs. “Remember?”

Of course you do. You remember like it was yesterday—because, well, it was yesterday and you haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. You remember the moment you shared at the beach and the way his hand felt so right wrapped around your own. You remember the way you’d dropped to your knees for him so readily in the shower last night. And you definitely remember the way he’d fucked you afterward—slow and deep in the best possible way, even with your brother’s untimely interruption.

After what feels like an eternity, both cars are finally packed and ready to go. You bid goodbye to the boys who are riding with Jimin, promising to stay in touch, before climbing into the passenger seat of Jungkook’s beat-up sedan. Jungkook himself is already lounging behind the wheel, his sunglasses perched low on his nose as he fiddles with his phone. He looks up at your entrance and flashes you a smile, tapping his screen a few more times before holding it up so you can see.

“I changed your contact photo,” he says. “Like it?”

You peer at his phone, and something in your chest clenches when you see the photo he’s selected. You’re on the beach beside the volleyball net, illuminated by the setting sun. The sky is streaked through with pink and orange behind you, but through some editing magic, Jungkook has made it so that you are glowing even brighter in the foreground—with laughter etched across your face and the wind in your hair. It’s a beautiful photograph, and you tell him so, unable to contain the dangerously warm affection blossoming in your chest.

“I love it,” you say. “I usually don’t like having my photo taken, but wow. You have a talent for this.”

Jungkook’s smile grows. “I have a pretty muse,” he replies, and your cheeks warm.

The door to the backseat opens with a bang, and you nearly jump out of your skin at the sudden sound. “Yo,” Yugyeom says, plopping down and buckling his seatbelt. “We ready to roll?”

Jungkook scowls and puts his phone back into his pocket. “Careful with the door, man. I need this thing to last through the summer.”

Yugyeom puts his hands up in apology, and Jungkook turns back to face the front, starting the ignition with a flick of his wrist. The engine sputters to life, and Jungkook waits for Jimin to pull out first before following after him, tailing the van out of the driveway and onto the winding road that will take you back into the city.

“Music?” you ask, gesturing at the stereo.

“Go for it,” Jungkook replies. “You want my phone so you can put on the roadtrip mix?”

“Sure.”

With the help of the upbeat music and Jungkook’s tendency to drive just a touch over the speed limit, you make it to the winding roads of Yugyeom’s neighborhood in what must be record time. “You missed the turn,” Yugyeom says lazily from where he’s sprawled across the entire backseat. “Turn left here—we can circle around and approach from the other side.”

Two more turns and a descent down a steep hill later, Jungkook manages to successfully drop Yugyeom off at his house. The drive across town takes no time at all, and before long, you’re cruising into your neighborhood, coasting past Jungkook’s driveway and straight into yours.

“Looks like we beat Jimin back,” you remark, looking at the empty spot where the van usually sits.

Jungkook hums. “Makes sense. He has more people to drop off.”

“Mm. Yeah.”

The sudden awkwardness that falls doesn’t go unnoticed by you. Clearing your throat, you reach for your purse, grabbing it from where it’s fallen to the ground near your feet. “I guess I’ll see you around then,” you begin, turning to open the door.

A strong hand wraps around your wrist, forcing you back into your seat. “Is that it?” Jungkook asks, and there’s an edge of something you can’t quite place in his voice. “Are you gonna go back to pretending like there’s nothing between us?”

You shake him free. “There isn’t anything between us,” you whisper. “We’re not on vacation anymore, Jungkook. We’re back home. Back to real life. We can’t do—whatever it is that we’ve been doing.”

“But you’re attracted to me,” Jungkook growls. “You like me. So why do you keep running away?”

A sigh escapes you. “Jungkook, it doesn’t matter if I like you or no—”

He interrupts before you can even finish your sentence. “Yes it does. It’s the only thing that matters.” And then he’s pulling you into his chest, taking advantage of your skewed sense of balance, and crushing his mouth to yours.

This kiss is different from the others you’ve shared so far. It’s hungry and passionate, and yet it’s tinged with something else—something that feels strangely akin to desperation. Jungkook kisses you with urgency, and it’s so raw and unbridled that it steals the very breath from your lungs and leaves you lightheaded.

Jungkook doesn’t say a word when he pulls away. Instead, he reaches down, popping the handle that opens the trunk and stepping out to pull your suitcase from within. Silently, he presses the handle into your hand.

And then he’s turning—climbing back into his car and leaving you with nothing but the memory of his lips and a whirlwind of thoughts in your mind.

[lizbotw]

hi! could u pls write how kuroo,bokuto,semi and oikawa would react to going to the beach with their gf and teammates and getting jealous when everyone’s staring at her in bikini?💖

Kuroo, Bokuto, Semi, and Oikawa When Their Teammates are Staring at Their S/O on the Beach

hey!!! i hope you enjoy these ♡ even though you said girlfriend, all of them ended up being gender neutral!

Kuroo Tetsurou

He's used to people admiring you from afar, and actually he takes pride in the fact that he managed to snag someone who's just all around perfect in his eyes, so he’s never outright confronted just anyone he sees looking at you (that is, as long as they don’t appear to want to harm you in any way because you’re still his precious baby, no matter what)—at most putting a protective arm around you and pulling you to his chest, or giving you a kiss while staring at the other person dead in the eye until they look away, a playful smirk on his lips.

Sort of a “they can look but can’t touch sort of deal”—although that's mainly because he knows the second anyone looks at you funny you're the one ready to tell them off, not him.

He's had to stop you his fair share of times from starting something in public because you thought someone was scrutinizing you too closely. However, even for all the times Kuroo knows you can look out for yourself, he can't help but turn up his protectiveness in certain situations.

A beach day to boost team morale (read as: an excuse to skip out on practice on yet another hot, sticky summer day)—that was the official description of the situation you now found yourself in.

After dealing with quite a few whines of "Babe, come on, it'll be fun," from Kuroo, you eventually caved, bidding farewell to your wonderfully air conditioned bedroom for the day.

As the team had arrived, Lev and Yaku went straight to work getting a volleyball game set up (beach volleyball? yes); Kenma found himself sitting on the towel he had spread under a beach umbrella, game in hand; and everyone else was focused on their own activities, getting everything ready for the day of fun.

That left you and Kuroo standing next to each other, surveying the work of the others.

You felt a tug on the end of your shirt and looked down at the hand that had grabbed the fabric, following the curve of the toned arm upwards with your eyes until your sight landed on Kuroo's grinning face. "Come on, you're not going to keep this on all day, are you?" He gave it another small tug for emphasis and then released it. "You know, overheating can cause your body to-"

“Yeah, yeah, I get it, Tets.” You already knew he was about to go off on one of his science tangents again—how he could still think about that sort of thing even in this heat was a miracle in and of itself.

Now that he had mentioned it, you realized you were hot. Acutely aware of the unconformable sticking off your clothing to your skin, you quickly moved to shed the extra layers, shimmying out of them and revealing the bathing suit you had worn underneath.

At the same time, Lev came over to ask Kuroo a question about setting up the volleyball net. "Hey, can you help with the poles? Yaku won't let me near them, but between you and me, I don't think he's strong enough to push them down into the sand himself. I swear that thing is about to blow over and-"

Of course at that moment you had been pulling your shirt over your head, leaving you in only your bathing suit. The sound of Lev talking had been muffled when the shirt passed over your ears so you weren't sure who it was at first, but now that you were free of the clingy clothing, you noticed him and gave him a small smile.

You were confused though because it seemed as soon as you were able to hear properly again, he had stop speaking—and that was because he had, sentence caught in his throat because he hadn't been expecting you to do that. He hadn't even noticed you standing next Kuroo at first so it was a bit of a shock to now be suddenly facing you like this.

You looked up at Kuroo, curious about why he wasn't saying anything either, and found him staring at Lev intently.

It seemed that Kuroo had decided the other boy's gaze had lingered a second too long, even though only a short moment had passed and Lev was more so giving you a surprised glance than a leering stare.

Kuroo crossed his arms. "Lev?"

“Yeah?” Lev seemed to straighten up at the mention of his name and quickly tore his eyes away from you to give Kuroo his full attention once again.

Watching the exchange, you could see Kuroo lips curl up into a smirk. "Remember what I said about you needing to do more receiving practice?"

Lev's expression fell instantly, eyes widening. "Wait-"

Kuroo glanced over Lev's shoulder towards where Yaku was still trying to set up the volleyball net and called out to him. "Yo, Yaku! I have something I need you to do."

Once Yaku dropped the poles he had been wrestling with into the sand and came jogging over to the three of you, you were pretty sure you saw Lev's spirit leave his body.

Bokuto Koutarou

King of getting-distracted-because-Kuroo-challenged-him-to-a-sand-wrestling-match-(whatever that means)-and-Akaashi-and Kenma-were-betting-on-them-(using seashells as currency because the rules of the real world don’t apply on the beach).

It was meant to be a Fukurodani beach day but somewhere along the way Nekoma had caught wind of the invitation and now here they were (everyone knew it was Bokuto who had revealed the plan to Kuroo but they were too scared to confront him, lest he get depressed at being called out and go running off somewhere on the beach, wanting to be alone—no one could handle organizing a search party for the giant expanse of the beach to look for him right now so they just let him be).

You were used to Bokuto’s overexcited nature though and couldn’t help but grin at seeing him run off with his friends, him giving you a kiss on your forehead (that was more so a peck with how fast it was) with a quick, “I’ll be back soon, babe!” before he was off.

Dating Bokuto meant you were well acquainted with his “best bro’s” team and you easily took up hanging out with a few of the Nekoma and Fukurodani members, Yukie and Kaori at your side.

At some point Yukie and Kaori seemed to have grown bored being on land and watching the boys splashing around in the water without them, so they asked if you’d like to join them for a dip in the ocean.

You agreed easily, wanting to cool off yourself off—the shade of the giant umbrella you were sitting under hadn't done much to fight off the heat that hung thick in the air, and laying down on the blanket you had spread was definitely less than comfortable than being able to lounge on your bed at home.

You followed Yukie’s and Kaori’s lead when they stood up to shrug off their cover-ups. You did the same, untying the thin wrap you had been wearing and leaving you only in your swimsuit.

The sight of Yukie, Kaori, and you walking together towards the water definitely had heads turning, but Bokuto, with his back to the action, barely noticed until Kuroo pointed it out to him.

Once the three of you got closer to the shoreline, some of the boys who had been splashing around before came out of the water to meet you halfway and you fell into conversation with them—that is, until you were suddenly shoved out of the way.

Stumbling a bit, you regained your footing after a moment and found yourself facing none other that Bokuto's back—he had pushed you behind him and now had his hands on his hips in a protective stance in a face-off against the guys you had been talking to.

He had a whole protective spiel he gave them while trying to be your knight in shining armor, but of course the other guys gave up pretty easily because, honestly, the goal here was to just keep Bokuto from falling into a depressive state (once again, beach rescue missions were not on the agenda for today). Bokuto seemed pretty satisfied with their response though and once he had gestured for them to go away because he was here to protect you now, you had to make sure to hide your smile behind your hand when he whirled around to face you. Instead, you provided him with his well deserved praise.

"Woo! The ace strikes again!" He did a fist pump and then grabbed your arm, taking off in a sprint.

"Wait, Bokuto-" You were struggling to keep up with him as he ran ahead and once you realized he was heading towards the ocean, you unsuccessfully tried to pry your arm from his grip.

"Swimming time!"

You two splashed into the water with one final tug from him and you stumbled on the shifty sand, softened by the water, shivering at the sudden feeling of the tide as it raised around your legs as you moved deeper. Yukie and Kaori had already gotten into the water on their own and now they snuck up on you and started splashing you with water.

The rest of the day was definition of fun, and Bokuto continuously switched between sticking to your and loudly going around proclaiming how much he loved you. It seems like the "incident" from before was a much needed confidence booster for him and the others let him have this victory for now because as a result he had also spontaneously volunteered to treat everyone out to ice cream once you all were winding down for the day—sun low in the sky as each person started to pack up—so really everyone was a winner here.

Semi Eita

It was Tendou's idea that the team should take a trip to the beach and Ushijima agreed, but only because he wanted to play beach volleyball. Ushijima’s approval obviously got Goshiki on board and one by one the rest of the team slowly gave in, and of course that meant you were coming too.

Everyone started setting up their own towels, umbrellas, and beach chairs, so Eita wasn't at your side for the first few minutes of the get-together aside from when he had greeted you earlier with a kiss to the forehead.

He was rummaging around in his bag for sunscreen when Shirabu came up to him.

"Hm?" Semi was confused to see the shadow that was cast over him while he was kneeling on his blanket and turned to see what it was that was blocking the sun, finding his teammate standing there. "Oh, what do you need?" Semi stood from his crouched position, crossing his arms as he listened to Shirabu speak.

While he was doing that, you had already finished laying out your things and stood up with a content sigh, hands on your hips as you looked proudly upon your work. Now all that was left was to actually go have some fun on the beach. First order of business was to kick off your casual clothes and tuck them away safely into your bag so sand didn't get on them.

By the time you had done that, only taking a few minutes, Semi was still talking with Shirabu and you bounced over to the two, slipping your hand into Semi's. "Ready to go?" you asked him, impatient with how long they were taking.

The sight of you instantly had him beaming and he squeezed your hand in reply. "Yeah, just a sec."

You playfully rolled your eyes and released his hand, telling him to catch up to you whenever he was done, and went over to talk with Goshiki while he set up Tendou's umbrella for him (no doubt the redhead had told him it would make him a better ace and who was Goshiki to question his upperclassmen).

Semi watched you go, his gaze lingering on you, before he crossed his arms again and turned back to finish off his conversation with Shirabu. However, he found the other boy still looking over at you. Semi felt his eyebrow twitch. "Earth to Shirabu, hellooo?" He hit him on the upside of his head and Shirabu went reeling back, rubbing at the sore spot.

"Hey! What was that for?"

Rather than say anything, Semi just tilted his head in your direction as an indication.

"What? Oh-" Shirabu followed Semi's gaze to you and shook his head in disbelief. "Don't tell me you thought I was..." His sentence trailed off in the middle because one look at Semi had confirmed that he had, in fact, thought that Shirabu was checking you out. "Oh, come on, Semi. Have a little bit more faith in me?"

Semi cocked an eyebrow. "Then what were you looking at?"

"Well, Goshiki seems to be really struggling with that umbrella, are you sure he's going to be okay?"

A look back at said first year confirmed that he was, in fact, struggling. Semi squinted, trying to make out the scene in front of him. "Wait, is that Tendou's extra large beach umbrella? Didn't I tell him not to bring that anymore?" You were trying to help Goshiki wrestle the umbrella into place—a difficult feat with the wind blowing and with the pure size of the umbrella.

As if to top everything off, a pair of seagulls could be spotted circling overhead and when one of them moved to dive towards Goshiki, Semi tensed up and then took off running towards you two, Shirabu in tow.

"Will someone, please just call Ushijima over already?"

Goshiki’s screams were already racketing through the air as he crouched low to the sand, hands thrown up around his head as the seagulls pecked at him. "Leave me alone! The tuna sandwich in my pocket is mine!"

Oikawa Tooru

As soon as you get to the beach, he’s showing you off and teasing the rest of the team about how he's dating someone so cute while most of the others can barley look at an attractive person without getting flustered (Kindaichi), but at the same time hiding you from their view because he doesn’t think they deserve to see you looking like that??? Getting mixed signals here, Tooru.

You manage to shake him off at some point and he’s pouting as you run away from him, just wanting to get some peace and quiet so you can eat ice cream and build sandcastles, until Iwaizumi steps in and drags Oikawa away.

“Don’t worry about him, I’ll take care of it,” Iwaizumi says over his shoulder, not even bothering to take his eyes off of the the direction he's heading in. You had sought refuge by hiding behind Makki and Mattsun when Oikawa was chasing you around, and now the three of you fell into a fit of laughter at Oikawa's expense at the sight of the scene in front of you.

It's still grinning that Mattsun invites you to spend the rest of the day with him and Makki instead, citing the fact that you deserve a much needed break form your clingy boyfriend. You agree and they decide as the first order of business that you three should build a sandcastle. A singular collective sandcastle eventually turns into a sandcastle competition with the three of you each building your own (somehow you manage to rope Kunimi into judging with the promise that you'll stop bothering him after that), which then turns into burying Makki under the sand.

You're putting the final touches on the sand mermaid tale you had given Makki (per his request of course), when Mattsun suggests you two go take a dip in the ocean and leave Makki for high tide.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea!" Makki is nodding his head along with you two until he remembers that he's buried under a mountain of sand and the meaning of the words sinks into his mind. "Wait-"

While Makki wallows in distress over that statement and you two ignore his futile struggles as he squirms under the sand and tries to get out (Mattsun had packed the sand tightly around him so you might as well give up while you're ahead Makki—there's no escape), you consider the proposition, eyeing the sand that's sticking to you all over your arms, hands, and legs from kneeling down and building with it.

It seems like a good idea because you've been playing in the sand the whole time, so this would be the perfect opportunity to wash all of that off. Also, what good is a little time at the beach without a dip in the ocean?

And with that in mind, you nod to Mattsun and bid Makki farewell, leaving him to his fate. Just as you're about to walk off and follow Mattsun, his long strides taking him ahead of you in only a matter of seconds, you remember that you still have your beach wrap on.

"Oh, Makki, here. Watch this for me, will you?" You undid the wrap and moved to drape it over a nearby rock so it wouldn't be left in the sand.

"Uh, sure."

You thought his tone sounded pretty weird and when you turned to him, you found that he wasn't looking at you, but rather at Mattsun, the two sharing a collective glance that definitely looked like they were planning something.

"I give it at least three minutes."

"Three? Two minutes tops."

You were about to open your mouth to ask them what in the world they were talking about when you were cut off by a high pitched yelp.

"(Y/N)!!!" You could recognize that whiny voice anywhere and the familiar arms that wrapped around you confirmed your suspicions. "I knew I shouldn't have left you alone, who knows what would have happened if I haven't come in time."

"Tooru- mfph- Tooru, let me go-," you attempted to get out, voice muffled and your face being squished into his chest.

"Woah, that wasn't even a minute."

"A new personal record."

You could hear Makki and Mattsun exchanging remarks of surprise at your boyfriend's quick appearance and you realized what this was about.

You groaned. "Tooru, I'm fine." You squirmed out of his grasp enough that you could peek your head out and craned your neck, spotting Kunimi laying on a towel under an umbrella with sunglasses on, having ran off to there after he had finished judging the sandcastle competition, and Iwaizumi next to him, reclining on a beach chair in the shade and snoozing away—so that's how Oikawa managed to escape.

It took a while to pry Oikawa off of you with how jealous he was being with others seeing you like that, but you managed to do it—Mattusn and Makki placed bets on how long they thought it would take (Makki ended up winning—as his prize, he forced Mattsun to dig him out of the sand because he was still scared of you guys leaving him for high tide).

Tooru was overall extra clingy for the rest of the day, which was saying a lot for him, and was especially so when Mattsun bought you ice cream later (in retaliation, Oikawa bought you two more, despite your protests that there was no way you could possibly finish all of them).

[drabbles-mc]

Burnt

Kozik x OFC (Tawnie Trager)

Inspired by Day 16 of the July Prompts: sunscreen

Part 2 can be found Here

Warnings: language

Word Count: 1.4k

A/N: Me? Back at it again with another slice of life fic? It’s more likely than you think! In my head this takes place on the same day as my other SOA Beach Day fic Say Cheese but the stories exist separately from one another. Also, if you’re interested in this pairing you can check out these fics: X X

SOA Taglist: @garbinge​ @masterlistforimagines​ @adela-topaz-caelon​ @chibsytelford​ @mijop​ @xladymacbethx​ @i-just-read-stuff​ @jitterbugs927​ @kkim120​ @toni9​ @unicornucopia-fuckers​ @shadow-of-wonder​ @punkgoddess-98​ @paintballkid711​ @black-repunzel99​ @lexondeck​ @mrsstevenbuchananstark​ (If you want to be added just let me know!)

“Dad,” she aggressively shoved the bottle of sunscreen into his hand, “Dad just put it on.”

“No,” Tig tossed it over onto the towel, “I’m not putting that on. I don’t need it. I’ll be fine.”

Rolling her eyes, she picked the bottle back up. She squeezed a generous amount onto her hand and then proceeded to slap it onto his chest, “You’re tough but you’re not tougher than the fucking sun. Get over yourself.”

He groaned as he looked down at the mess of lotion that was on him now, “You fucking kidding me, T?”

“Nope,” she shook her head as she rubbed some into her own arms and legs.

Once she was done, she looked around to see who else was close. She loved all the boys in the club, but she would be the first to tell them all when they were being idiots. She was adamant about the whole sunscreen thing ever since they all decided to do a beach day together. The guys had given her shit about it at first, wondering when she became so concerned with those kinds of things, but when it came down to it the last thing they wanted was the pain that came from serious sunburn. So, most of them silently put some on, refusing to make eye contact with each other and acknowledge the situation.

“Kozik!” she called over to the man who was laying out towels for each of them.

His head whipped up, instantly looking over at her, “Yea?”

“You got some on?” she waved the bottle in his direction.

“Let him get burned,” Tig mumbled under his breath as he wiped away the last of the lotion that his daughter had caught him with.

Tawnie ignored the comment, shaking her head slightly as she waited for Kozik’s answer. He made his way over to her, reassuring her that, yes, he had put some on the second they got to the beach. He knew that there was no way she was going to let him get away with anything else, and she was the last person that he wanted to be pissing off.

“Can you get my back?” she asked as she handed him the bottle, pulling her hair out of the way.

“Um,” he could feel Tig’s eyes boring into him, “sure.”

Kozik silently prayed to whatever gods there were that Tig wasn’t going to pick him up and drown him in the ocean. He tried to focus on the task at hand, but he also wondered if that would make things worse. And she must’ve sense the tension, too, because she glanced back over her shoulder and looked at her father, eyebrows raised.

“You want him to get your back too, Dad?” she asked.

Kozik’s entire body froze up as he waited for the fallout. Surprisingly enough, Tig just sighed and shook his head before turning and walking down towards the water, “Those hands go below her shoulders and you’re a fucking dead man, Kozik.”

She chuckled quietly as he finished applying the sunscreen, “He’s full of it. You know that, right?”

“You sound pretty confident but I’m not so sure,” he chuckled as he closed the bottle and tossed it back into her bag.

“If he was going to kill you, he totally would have done it already.”

“That’s…that’s not as reassuring as you think it is.”

She laughed as she pressed her palms flat against his chest and pressed a light kiss to his lips, “Just relax. Who knows when we’re going to be able to all have a fun day together.”

“And what are you going to spend your fun day doing? Besides assaulting people with sunblock?”

She gave him a playful shove, “Shut up. I’m gonna go fucking swimming, duh. I haven’t been to the beach in ages,” she paused, tilting her head slightly, “What’re you gonna do?”

“Watch you swim,” a smirk crept across his face.

She couldn’t stop herself from laughing. It’d been an interesting, and slightly bumpy, road for the two of them to get to where they were at now. But she was happy about it, about him. And despite the constant pushback from her father, there was a certain type of ease and comfort that came from being with him. She knew that she wouldn’t have ever been able to be with someone who didn’t understand the type of life she lived, and no one understood it better than a man who was actually SAMCRO. But as she stood there looking at him, smiling with a few streaks of sunscreen still on his cheeks, he was more than just a guy from the MC. She never knew what it felt like to date someone who was your best friend until then.

She snapped herself out of her sappy thoughts with a shake of her head, “Don’t let my dad catch you leering.”

“I thought you said he was full of it?”

“I mean,” she laughed as she skipped off towards the water, “nothing is a hundred percent.”

He shook his head and watched her as she took off to go swim and cause whatever kinds of trouble she could manage to stir up along the way. Being with a Trager was a lot of things, but it was certainly never boring.

The afternoon sun was beating down on all of them. Most of them had found their way back to their chairs and towels and started digging into the food and drinks that they had brought with them. Tawnie was camped out on her towel, watching the volleyball game that was happening. Her father and Opie were pitted against Jax and Kozik, and to all of their credit it was shaping up to be a pretty competitive game. But she did notice the fact that Tig’s shoulders were getting redder and redder as the minutes went by—clearly he hadn’t put any extra sunscreen on except what she had forced on him. She shook her head silently, a smug smile creeping across her face. He’d have to learn the hard way, the way that he did with most things.

“Game point!” she called out before taking a sip of her beer.

“Better win this one for your girl, Kozik,” Jax quipped with a laugh.

She chuckled but she could see it on her father’s face that he was not at all amused by the comment. He dove, saving the ball from hitting the sand. There was now a new level of determination and desire to win. He never wanted Kozik to win at anything, but now there was an extra layer on top of it all.

The four of them were going back and forth for a while. Tawnie sat back, unable to hide the fact that she was incredibly impressed by them. Her eyes went wide when she saw Kozik jump up, spiking the ball down onto the other side of the net with an incredible amount of force. She couldn’t contain her laughter as she started clapping.

“Way to bring it home!” she beamed over at him.

“Lucky shot,” Tig said, already shaking his head.

Despite the tension that had been present during the game, once it was over everything went back to business as usual, which Tawnie was incredibly thankful for.

Tig was walking ahead, talking to Jax and Opie while she hung back with Kozik. She slipped her hand into his as they walked, smiles on both of their faces.

“You think it’s alright that I didn’t let him win?” he asked with a smirk.

She laughed, nodding, “It’s good for him. I’m thinking of it as karma for not using sunblock.”

“I think the blisters that are gonna be on his shoulders tomorrow will be karma enough.”

“Maybe,” she laughed, leaning against his side.

He glanced down at her, admiring her still-damp hair and the little patches of sand that were still stuck to parts of her stomach and arms. She looked so at home at the beach, and he had never felt more at home than when he felt her pressed up against his side.

“We should do this shit more often,” he said as they walked along the shore, waves lapping at their feet.

“Yea, well,” she chuckled, “When you guys take a break from your life of crime, we can do big family beach days whenever you want.”

“I’ll bring it up in church next time.”

She laughed, “Well,” she lifted their interlocked hands and kissed his knuckles, “you gotta let me know how that conversation goes.”

“If I live through it, you’ll be the first to know,” he smiled as he wrapped an arm around her waist.

The sound of Tig’s voice cut through the softness of their moment, “Hey! I said no hands below the shoulders!”

[tashas-life]

Summer Shenanigans

Paxton and Devi spend the summer together and have a banging playlist

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Nothing really.”

“I’m outside, let’s go to the beach.”

Devi threw her bag through the back window of Paxton’s jeep and jumped in the front seat.

“Did you bring my suit?” Devi asks as she pulled on her seatbelt. Devi’s mom would never let her wear a bikini so she had to save up her money from working at the summer camp to buy it. She usually hid it at the back of her underwear drawer but since she’d been going swimming with Paxton more days than not, she just kept it in his car.

“Yep, I threw it in the laundry.” Paxton pulled out onto the road and Devi started messing with the music.

Her and Paxton were both working at the same summer camp so they spent most days together. Paxton had spent the last two summers working at the camp and Devi wanted to make her own money so she had applied too. It was also convenient because she always had a ride to work instead of asking her mom or Kamala. Paxton had promised to teach her to drive this summer but she always chickened out whenever he offered.

Devi always insisted on picking the music when they went anywhere and Paxton didn’t mind. She settled on Ariana Grande’s album and turned up the volume as Motive filled the car. Paxton rolled down all the windows and stuck his arm out to feel the breeze. It was one of the hottest days of the summer so Paxton’s shirt was mostly open and Devi had her new sunglasses on. This was the first summer that Devi was making real money and she tended to spend most of it by the time the next pay day had rolled around.

Once they got to the beach Devi jumped in the backseat and Paxton got out to stand guard. Devi was a pro at the quick change at this point and quickly shimmied into her bikini without having to take off her dress completely.

Once Devi hopped out of the backseat, Paxton grabbed the drinks cooler and Devi grabbed their towels and a speaker. Usually the beaches were packed on hot days but Paxton had a special super power of finding an empty part of the beach to spend the day. They found a spot to settle and Devi started applying sunscreen.

“Did you hear Kenny is sick again. Mono.” Paxton said with an eye roll and Devi groaned.

“You think he’s going to be out all week again? Taylor should just fire him and hire someone else at this point.” Devi tossed Paxton the sunscreen and laid down on her towel.

“Yea right, Taylor probably gave him the mono. He’ll never fire him.” Devi laughed and closed her eyes.

“I don’t even understand how they find the time to mack. Those kids never stop.” Devi said.

“Yea well, next week they’re going to be our problem again.” Usually each camp leader had about 5-10 kids to watch but with Kenny constantly gone they always ended up with more kids.

“Honestly, fuck Kenny.” Devi grumbled and Paxton nodded. “Did you see Eleanor’s insta post? Her and Trent are like embarrassingly in love.” Devi asked as she pulled out her phone to show him a boomerang of them kissing on some hike.

“I think it’s cute.” Paxton grinned as Devi made a vomiting face. “I invited them to come today but apparently they would rather be aloneeee.”

“That’s so nasty.” Devi said and Paxton laughed.

“I’m going in, you coming?” Paxton asked but Devi shook her head.

“Nah man, I’m working on my tan.” Devi said but really she just preferred laying on the sand and watching the water than actually being in it.

“Your loss.” Paxton replied, shoving her as he got up to go swimming.

……

“Okay, the thing is that I just don’t think I’m coordinated enough for this.” Devi said as she stood on Paxton’s skateboard. She felt a little embarrassed at how wobbly she was and that she was wearing her bike helmet that she got when she was ten. Paxton had his car door open and Lizzo’s album was playing. Juice blasted into the street and Devi knew people would complain soon.

“I’m literally holding on to you. You can’t fall.” Paxton said as he led her down the road.

“I feel like I could still fall.” Devi said as she started tipping back and Paxton’s grip tightened as he pulled her forward.

“I won’t let you fall Devi. Would you just trust me for once?” He asked playfully annoyed.

“Shut up, I literally trust you all the time.”

“You shut up.” Paxton countered.

“Wow, real mature.” Devi replied sarcastically.

Devi was too busy arguing to notice them start to go faster. Of course that is until she did notice. Then she was falling again and she was falling fast. Paxton managed to grab her before she fell on her face and swung her off the skateboard. Devi held onto Paxton as the skateboard started rolling down the street without them. They looked at each other and immediately started laughing.

“I think you might be right about the coordination thing.” Paxton said and Devi shoved him away from her.

“Or maybe you’re a bad teacher.” She grinned at his shocked face as she ran to grab the skateboard.

“I’m never teaching you anything ever again” he retaliated.

“Come over here and help me loser.” Paxton crossed his arm in defiance.

“Tell me I’m a good teacher.”

“Stop being a baby.”

“Wooooow, even more insults. Bad teacher and a baby.”

“Fine, you’re a good teacher. Now let’s get on with this.” Devi said as she started to get on the skateboard again.

“Thank you.” Paxton replied satisfied. He grinned and went to help her again.

……..

Usually, they were separated during their days at camp since each group rotated through activities but on Fridays all of the kids got to go to the community pool. Those were obviously Paxton’s favourite days because he got to hang out with Devi but he also loved getting to teach some of the kids how to swim.

Usually, Paxton stayed in the shallow end with the younger kids and Devi sat at the deep end with the older kids. Vacation by Dirty Heads was playing over the pool speakers and Devi had her legs in the water as she chatted with some kids.

“Yea, high school kind of sucks. What you gotta do is find a popular kid and force them to be your friend.” Devi told some kids who were going to be freshmen in the fall.

“That’s terrible advice.” Paxton laughed as he came to stand next to her in the pool. He had switched with Kenny who was now watching the younger kids. They had given up on learning to swim and were mostly just playing and splashing water at Kenny.

“Really? You got anything better?” Devi asked crossing her arms.

“Yes. Find something that makes you excited to go to school, for me that was swimming, for D it was being my best friend. And also don’t give a shit about what other people think of you.” Paxton told the kids and Devi kicked his arm. “Oh shit, I mean just don’t care what other people think.”

“I meant the best friend thing.” Devi rolled her eyes.

“You were literally obsessed-“ before Paxton could finish Devi had jumped in and shoved Paxton’s head underwater.

Paxton managed to push Devi away from him and had his arm out separating them.

“Hey, you better stop or your top is going to fall off again.” Paxton laughed and Devi’s face started burning up. Yes, the bikini was cute but it wasn’t the most reliable bathing suit she had. Rough housing had led to a very embarrassing incident that Devi was trying to forget.

“I’m going to kill you.” Devi lunged at him and Paxton managed to grab her arms.

“Hey anger issues, chill out.” Paxton said with a grin. Devi managed to pull her arms away and splashed Paxton.

“Go do your job loser!” Devi yelled as she turned to go back to her post.

……

Devi swung the door open and was surprised to see Paxton. Usually he just texted her when he got to her house.

“Let’s go for a drive.” Paxton said as he held up his car keys.

“Okayyy.” Devi said as she grabbed her backpack from the door.

“Here ya go.” He said as he tossed the keys to her. She just about dropped them and didn’t move from her front door.

“Naaaa, I don’t think today’s the day.” Devi said nervously. She had failed her drivers test last month because she hadn’t practiced enough. It was the first time she hadn’t prepared and it was also the first time she had failed a test.

“Come on D, your test is in a few weeks and don’t you want to have your licence by the time school starts?” Paxton asked as he opened the drivers side door. He motioned for her to get in and she groaned before going to the car.

It wasn’t legal for Paxton to teach her how to drive but her only other option was her mother which hadn’t worked out. Devi was pretty sure she failed her test because driving with her mom had made her so anxious that getting behind the wheel made her want to throw up even when her mom wasn’t around. She had even done drivers ed but that apparently wasn’t enough because she still failed.

“Are you sure? What if I scratch your car or something?” Devi asked as they both got in the car.

“Then I’ll literally kill you, so don’t scratch my baby.” Paxton said as he gently caressed his dash.

“That’s not really helpful.” Devi muttered as she nervously changed the seat settings.

“We’ll go to the school parking lot. It’s just down the street and the lot will be empty.” Devi nodded as she turned the car on. She kept her foot on the brakes as she looked at Paxton desperately.

“Listen to Tai, you’re going to be A-O-K.” Paxton said as he turned up the music. “Also, don’t forget to signal, you lost so many points for that.”

Paxton didn’t look nervous at all which made Devi feel a little bit better. If he could be confident in her driving skills than so could she. Devi signalled and did a very exaggerated shoulder check before she pulled onto the road. There were no cars around the whole way to the school so the only thing she had to deal with were some stop signs and one set of lights. She totally could do this.

Devi’s whole body relaxed once they pulled into the parking lot and she didn’t have to worry about hitting things or people anymore.

“That was pretty good actually. How did you fail?” Paxton asked.

“Probably because I suck at driving?” Devi told him as she put the car in park.

“Shut up, you had issues with the parallel park right?” Paxton asked as he got out of the car.

“What are you doing?” Devi asked as he closed the door.

“Im going to teach you how to parallel park.” Paxton grinned sticking his head through the window.

Devi waited as he grabbed stuff from out of his trunk. A bin full of blankets and an empty cooler he had forgotten about. He set them up as pretend cars and he went to the drivers side.

“Okay, line yourself up.” Paxton said as Devi slowly moved the car so the bin of blankets was lined up with the back of the jeep.

Paxton gave her instructions and ran around indicating for her how far to back up and how much to turn the wheel and eventually she got into the spot.

“I don’t think they’re going to let you guide me into a spot on the test.” Devi said annoyed that it took so long.

“You just gotta keep practicing, eventually it’ll just be second nature.” Paxton said as he got back in the car. “Pull out and this time I’m not going to help you.” Paxton said as she groaned.

“I hate this.” Devi said getting frustrated.

“You won’t hate this once you can drive yourself anywhere you want. Now start moving before I force you to practice highway driving.” Paxton said as he relaxed into his seat.

Devi wanted to hit him and get angry but she knew he was her only hope of passing her test in a month so she contained herself and kept practicing.

When the day of Devi’s test came around she felt pretty confident she was going to fail again. Paxton had given her a pep talk before he left her house the night before but it hadn’t helped with her nerves.

“You got this, okay? Just make sure you signal, and don’t forget the emergency brake when you do the hill park.” He told her as he held her shoulders. “By this time tomorrow, you’re going to be fully licensed because you’re a great driver.”

Devi was just as shocked as her mother when she pulled into the DMV and had almost no deductions on her test. Nalini didn’t know about Paxton teaching her to drive but she managed to convince her that is was because the tester was a lot nicer than the last one. She had smiled the entire time she got her new license and had raced back to the car. She knew Paxton would be waiting for her at her house and she was beyond excited to tell him that his methods had actually worked.

Paxton was leaning on his car checking his phone when they got home. She had to stop herself from running to Paxton to tell him the good news. She got out of the car and Nalini kissed her head before going into the house.

“How’d it go?” He asked as she crossed her arms and pretended to look disappointed.

“I passed babyyy!” She screamed as she whipped out her temporary license.

“I fucking knew it! You never trust me.” Paxton grabbed her and spun her around.

“Where do you wanna go? I’m driving.” Devi said and Paxton laughed as he got in the passenger seat.

…..

“Can you spot me ten bucks?” Devi asked as she searched through her backpack for some money.

“You have literally worked all summer, how are you always broke?” Paxton muttered as he pulled out some change from his console.

“I just don’t have any cash on me.”

Paxton gave her a handful of change and Devi looked at him annoyed.

“Quarters? Really?” Devi struggled to hold all the coins and Paxton shrugged.

“Take it or leave it, but if you want boba I suggest you take it.” Paxton grinned and Devi rolled her eyes as she realized she couldn’t open the door holding all the change.

Paxton laughed as he leaned over to open the door for her. “Get me a milk tea.” He said as she hopped out of the car.

“If I even make it there without any hands.” She grumbled.

By the time she got back with their drinks, Paxton had all the windows down blasting Young Dumb & Broke by Khalid.

“Really?!” She had to scream for him to hear her over the music. He lip synced to the lyrics as he pointed to her and dramatically danced to the music. “You’re so annoying!” She screamed as he took a big sip of his tea. He pointed at the drink as if to say that it tastes good and gave her the ok sign with his fingers. Devi just rolled her eyes and sipped on her mango slush. She guessed it was worth the embarrassing amount of quarters she gave to the cashier and having to listen to Paxton call her dumb and broke.

“Are you going to make it to Trent’s this weekend? Last party of the summer.” Paxton asked as he turned the music down.

“Have you met my mother? She’s not going to let me go to Trent’s house for a party.” Devi replied looking through Paxton’s Spotify.

“Since when do you tell your mom about going to parties?” Paxton asked snorting.

“I’m trying to turn over a new leaf this year. No more lying, especially to my mom.” She said as she put on Savage by Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé.

“What if she knew I was taking you?” Paxton knew the party would suck without Devi there.

“Yeaaaaa, my mom might like you now but not that much.”

“Come on D, it’s the last party of the summer. You have to go!” Paxton pouted as he pulled out of the parking lot.

“Fine, fine, I’ll figure out a way to go out but there’s no way she’ll let me stay out past 11.” Paxton smiled at her and agreed to be DD so he could get her home by 11.

By the time the weekend rolled around, Nalini didn’t even seem bothered by Devi leaving. Her and Kamala had been going crazy planning her wedding and Devi tended to be unhelpful in that area. She was only good for the grunt work, which she was sure there would be a lot of once it got closer to the day.

All she had to say was that she was going to Eleanor’s house for a back to school hangout and Nalini quickly agreed to get her out of the house. Technically she wasn’t lying because they had to pick up Eleanor at her house and they were having a back to school hangout. It was just a hangout with most of the school and alcohol.

Devi acted as casual as possible as she closed the front door but she sprinted as soon as the door closed. She didn’t want to risk her mom seeing her actually getting in Paxton’s car instead of Fabiola’s. Devi had been asking her mom for a car for weeks but still nothing. Her mom was convinced that she should have enough money saved since she had a summer job but summer camps didn’t exactly pay top dollar and Devi was pretty irresponsible with her money this summer. She figured she had two more summers to hustle before she went to Princeton.

“You look so pretty in that dress.” Paxton said as soon as she got in the car.

Devi blushed and couldn’t control her smile. “Shut up loser.”

Paxton smiled back at her as they went to pick up Eleanor and Fabiola.

Trent’s house was packed full of people but he was standing at the door waiting for Eleanor. He hugged her tightly and dragged her off to the back of the house.

Paxton went to grab them some drinks and handed Devi and Fabiola beers. “Bread soda.”

Devi rolled her eyes and shoved him away. Fabiola had learned a long time to ignore their inside jokes and she wandered off.

Paxton was always treated like a god at parties and everyone wanted their time with him. Paxton gave people his typical cool guy head nod and pulled Devi outside where it was less crowded.

“So, you excited for school to start?” Paxton asked and Devi looked confused.

“Sure, I guess.” Paxton looked nervous which made Devi more confused. “Why are you making weird small talk?”

“I just guess this is the last time we’re hanging out before school starts.” Devi’s confusion became anger very quickly.

“What is that supposed to mean? Like things are going to change when school starts?” Devi questioned starting to get upset.

“No, chill Devi. I mean I do want things to change but not the way you think.” Now Devi was back to confused.

Paxton looked frustrated and looked around them. No one was around or paying attention to them. Paxton turned back to Devi and got way closer to her than she was used to. Kiss Me More by Doja Cat and SZA was playing in the house but it sounded far away.

He touched her cheek and lifted her mouth to his. “Is this okay?” He asked nervously.

Instead of answering Devi pushed her lips against his. Paxton smiled against her and pulled her tight to him.

……

“You want me to pick you up tomorrow?” Paxton texted and Devi smiled when she saw the message.

“Sure, if you don’t mind.” She replied quickly.

“No worries, we’re both going to the same place. Better for the environment and all that”

“I’ll make a driving playlist.” He sent back a smiley face and an ok hand.

Devi couldn’t wait for tomorrow. This was going to be the best summer of her life.

[calpalirwin]

Crush, Crush, Crush

Summary: As if having one crush wasn’t complicated enough.

Word Count: 3.4k

And away and away we go!

__

Delilah let out a loud shriek, flinching away as an ice cold water bottle was pressed against the back of her neck. “Mikey!” she kept shrieking as the boy burst into a fit of giggles, pressing the bottle firmer against the girl’s neck, water droplets running down into the back of her shirt. “I’m gonna kill you!” she laughed, turning around.

Michael dropped the bottle and ran for his life, Delilah giving chase, their socked feet sliding around on the hardwood floors, both of them screaming wildly. As a last ditch effort to catch him, Delilah pushed off with her right foot, launching herself towards Michael’s back, her arms instinctively wrapping around his neck, and his hooking under her legs so they wouldn’t fall.

“Um… wish I could say this usually doesn’t happen… But uh… that’d be a lie,” Calum’s voice sounded from in front of them and both Delilah and Michael snapped their heads to the sound, finding Calum, Luke, and a boy Delilah had yet to meet standing there.

“Didn’t know Mike had a girlfriend,” the boy said, rubbing at the back of his neck.

Delilah let out a high pitched giggle as she climbed off Michael’s back, who scoffed, “D’s not my girlfriend.”

“Oh,” the boy said, brightening slightly.

“Yeah, she’s actually my girlfriend. Mike, how could you?!” Calum cried with fake dramatics.

Delilah fake gagged. “Not even in your dreams, Hood,” she told him before focusing her attention on the boy whose name she still didn’t know. “I’m Delilah. And you are?”

“”M Ashton,” he smiled softly.

“Oh, the drummer!”

“Heh,” Ashton giggled nervously, a dimple indenting his cheek. “Yeah, that’d be me.”

“Cool!”

“Yeah, and now that we have a drummer, can we get our other guitarist, and practice?” Luke quipped.

Delilah rolled her eyes at the boy. “I guess you can borrow, Mike. But you owe me one, Hemmings.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know.”

As the group of five made their way into the living room, Michael nudged into Delilah, “Stop staring at Ash,” he teased, low enough so only she heard him.

“I am not staring,” she whispered back. “But if I was…?”

Michael chuckled, understanding her only the way he could. “Two grades above us. Different school. No girlfriend. Good drummer. Definitely sticking this out with us.”

“Fuck, that doesn’t help me not like him, Mike.”

Michael chuckled more. “Yeah, I know.”

~5 Years Later~

Ashton spotted Delilah and Michael already lounging in the sun, sighing internally. How was he ever supposed to think he stood a chance at having either of them, let alone make a move when those two were always joined at the hip? His phone pinged in his hand, and he hoped it was either Calum or Luke saying they were finding parking. Fortunately it was both Calum and Luke. Unfortunately it was both of them saying that something had come up, and they couldn’t make it. “Fuckin’ great…” Ashton muttered under his breath, trudging the last few feet across the sand towards Delilah and Michael. “Hey, guys.”

Both of them shielded the sun out of their eyes as they looked over at Ashton, bright smiles on their faces. “Oh, hey Ash!”

“Hey,” he repeated. “Um, did you see what Cal and Luke said?”

With frowns, they both looked at their own phones. “God damn it…” Michael groaned. “They do this all the time… They wanna hang out, and then they bail on us.”

Delilah shrugged. “Well fuck them. We don’t need them to have fun, do we?” With that, her fingers tugged up the hem of her shirt, to pull the fabric free from her body. “Can one of you help me get my back?” she asked, digging through her bag for a bottle of sunscreen.

Michael almost dropped the bottle, as Ashton gulped, both men sharing a glance. Taking the path of least resistance, they both shared the job of covering the woman’s back in shoulders, Delilah sighing in content as the way their fingers gently massaged her skin. “Thanks guys.”

“No problem…” they mumbled in a rush, their cheeks bright red.

“Um, I can do your guys’ backs if you want…” she suggested.

“Yeah! That’d be great!”

Delilah had to bite down on her lip as both men discarded their shirts, and all three of them took a small moment to clear their throats. “Um… Wanna help me with Mike first, ‘Lila? He might burn quicker than me…” Ashton all but squeaked.

“Good idea,” Delilah giggled, squirting the sunscreen in Ashton’s waiting hand, and then her own. She shared a covert smile with him as they started covering Michael’s back, their fingers knocking into the other’s.

When it was Delilah and Michael’s turn to get Ashton’s back, Ashton shuddered at the way his friends’ fingers carefully went over the tattoo on his neck, before moving to get the rest of his back and shoulders. “Fuck, that tickles,” he giggled airly. “Maybe you should think about getting a spray.”

“Aw, where’s the fun in that?” she started to flirt, then immediately felt bad at the way Michael’s face scrunched. “I don’t have a lot of faith in spray sunscreen. Every time I use it, I get burned,” she added quickly as an explanation.

After they finished applying the sunscreen to the rest of their exposed skin, Ashton glanced out towards the water. “Shall we?”

“Let’s go!” Delilah said, skipping off ahead of them.

“You should go for it,” Michael mumbled to Ashton as they walked together at a slower pace. “You and D… You’d uh… be cute together.”

“What? Pfft… Nah… You think?”

Michael shrugged. “I see the way you look at her. And if I trust anyone with her, it’d be you, ya know?”

“Thanks, Mike. That, um… means a lot. But, I don’t think she sees me that way. Pretty sure she’s into someone else.”

“Shit that blows…”

It was Ashton’s turn to shrug. “Eh, it’s alright. Can’t say I blame her. She has pretty good taste.”

“That she does,” Michael nodded.

~~~

“So, you ever gonna ask him out?” Delilah asked Michael as they sat on the shoreline, watching Ashton still out in the water.

“What do you mean?”

“What do you mean what do I mean? Ash! When are you gonna ask him out?”

“Uh… never? Cuz he doesn’t like me.”

Delilah snorted, “Yeah, okay. And I’m the Queen of England.”

Michael shook his head, then sighed. “I’m serious, D. Would it be great if Ash liked me the way I like him? Yeah. But that’s not reality.”

“How do you know?”

“Because he likes someone else.”

“Aw, fuck. Sorry, Mike.”

“S’alright. Can’t say I blame him.”

~~~

“You know,” Ashton said to Delilah as they waited for Michael to come back with food for them all. “With Mike, you might have to make the first move.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, c’mon, ‘Lila. You know him better than anybody. You know how shy he can get with stuff like this. Be brave for the both of ya. Make the first move.”

“Waves knock you around a lil too hard there, Ash? You’re talking nonsense.”

“You’re really gonna sit there, and tell me you don’t like Mike?”

“Of course I like Mike. He’s my best friend. But it’s… complicated. There’s a lot of layers that I haven’t figured out. That I don’t think I ever will.”

“You’re telling me…” he muttered under his breath.

Michael approaching with food put an end to the conversation, all three friends sharing a tight lipped smile, more confused than they’d ever been.

~3 Years Later~

Delilah checked the time on her phone, sighing and feeling tears of frustration brim up in her eyes. She had been five minutes early to her date nearly an hour ago. She wasn’t sure which stung more: her messages asking where her date was being left on read, or the look of pity in the waitress’ eyes as Delilah ordered her third glass of wine.

So, rejected, a little tipsy, and unsure of what to do, she called the one person she knew she could always count on.

“Hey ‘Lila,” Ashton’s voice picked up on the second ring that had Delilah feeling even more flustered.

“Oh… H-hey Ash… S-sorry I didn’t mean to call you… um…” she fumbled over her words as she scrambled to hit the end call button.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Aren’t you supposed to be on a date? Are you alright? What’s going on?”

The weight of concern for her in his words was the breaking point. “I got stood up…” she whimpered, a tear rolling down her cheek.

“Okay. Sit tight. I’m coming.”

“Ash-”

“Shh, it’ll be alright. I’m already on my way.”

“You’re heading out?” Calum questioned as Ashton placed Michael’s phone down on the table.

“I have to.”

“No. Mike has to. She called Mike, Ash.”

Ashton narrowed his eyes pointing into the sound booth where Michael and Luke were laying down tracks. “He’s a lil busy at the moment, and she needs someone now. What am I supposed to do? Not go to her?”

“No, of course not. It’s Del. But… Ash, it’s not a secret that things are all a little complicated between you three. I don’t want to see you get hurt because you played hero to her when it was supposed to be Mike.”

“I’m not doing this to swoop in, and take Mike’s hero moment away from him, Cal. She’s my friend too. And she needs somebody. So you really think I’m gonna let you stop me?”

Calum raised his hands in surrender. “Look, I’m only trying to protect you from getting your heart crushed if this doesn’t match up to the fantasy in your head.”

“And I appreciate that. You know I do. But I got this, Cal. Promise.”

“Alright. Go on then, I’ll explain to them what happened when they’re done.”

“Thanks, Cal.”

“Yeah, yeah. Now get out of here already.”

Ashton made it to the restaurant in minutes flat, hitting the ground running. He muttered a few apologies and “excuse me”s as he weaved through the people in his way, before finally spotting Delilah staring dejectedly at her empty glass of wine. He steeled himself from the thoughts swirling in his head about how if this had been their date he’d never dare leave her waiting on him. That wasn’t a road he needed to go down right now. “Hey,” he said softly as he took the seat across from her.

She raised her eyes slowly to look over at him, a tearful smile coming to her lips. “Hey…” she whispered.

“C’mon. Let’s get you out of here.”

“I have to pay my bill… Shoulda stuck with water…”

“That’s alright,” he told her, flagging down a waitress. While Delilah got lost in her mind, Ashton settled the bill in hushed tones. “Okay. C’mon,” he said, resting a hand gently on top of hers to get her attention.

“The bill…” she repeated.

“It’s taken care of. C’mon.” He helped her up from her seat, taking off his jacket to drape it over her shoulders, his fingers brushing against her exposed skin.

“You wanna know something?” she asked numbly as they headed for his car.

“What’s that?”

“If I told you how many times I imagined you rushing in to save the day like this… well… your head would spin. And now that it’s real… my head’s spinning.”

“That might be the wine,” he chuckled lightly, opening the door for her. “And uh… I didn’t know you felt that way.”

“How do you not know? Everyone else does…” she sighed, relaxing against the leather of the seat.

“Everyone else knows what?”

“That I like you.”

In his shock, he closed the car door with more force than he meant to. When he got in on the driver’s side, she was giggling. “What?” he asked nervously.

“Well that was dramatic,” she continued to giggle. “I like you, slam!”

“I- Wasn’t expecting it, that’s all. I thought you still liked Mike.”

Delilah sighed somewhat dreamily, and Ashton’s stomach churned. “Yeah. I like him too.”

“Yeah, I kinda gathered as much.  I mean… you did call him, not me. I was just the one who picked up. Still not sure why. I just saw your name and...”

“Had to?” she supplied the rest of his thought.

“Yeah. I mean, it’s you. I wasn’t going to not answer, even if it wasn’t my phone.”

“Just because I like Mike, doesn’t mean I can’t like you too, Ash.”

“Yeah, but it’s different kinds of like.”

“Says who?”

“Says the obvious. You two are the closest, you always have been. And look, I get it. I’m not mad. I get what you see in him, because I see it, too. I just also happen to wish sometimes you saw that in me, too.”

“I do! It’s…” she scrambled to find the words to finally lay this all out on the line.

“Complicated. I know. I remember.” The words came out bitter, and they both hated it. Delilah for not having the words to fix it, and Ashton for the crushed look in her eyes when she was already having a shitty night. He let out a slow sigh, collecting himself. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “We shouldn’t be doing this right now. This is a conversation we can have at a different time. I should be taking you home.”

“No,” she pressed. “I want to have this conversation now. Ash… I like both of you. I’ve liked Mike my entire life, and I’ve liked you since the minute I met you. And… the reason I haven’t been brave enough to do something about it is because I also know that you two like each other. And… I like you guys too much as my friends to ruin the dynamic I guess? When I don’t choose, it’s only me who gets hurt. Because I’d rather have neither of you, than have one and the other feel jealous.”

“Oh… Damn… That adds a whole ‘nother layer to this, doesn’t it?”

“Yep… They don’t have books or movies for how to deal with love triangles like this… this is… uncharted territory.”

“Yep… Well fuck. If all three of us like each other, why don’t we all just date?” Ashton suggested.

“How would that dynamic work?”

“No idea. But, if anyone could figure it out, I’d bet it’d be us.”

“And if Mike doesn’t… Would you and me still…?”

“Yeah. I’d like that.”

“You don’t… feel like that makes us consolation prizes to each other? Like we can’t both have Mike, so we’re settling for each other?”

“Nothing about being with you is me settling for you, ‘Lila. I want you.”

“I want you, too.”

“And we just happen to also want Mike,” Ashton couldn’t help but giggle at the absurdity of it all.

“Do you think he wants us, too? I mean, I know he wants you. I just don’t know if he wants me.”

“Oh, he does. Trust me, he does. Anybody would be stupid not to.” Ashton let out his next breath slowly, running his hands through his hair. “Can I kiss you now?”

“Please,” she breathed, leaning across the center console towards him. He met her in the middle, his fingers gripping lightly on her chin to guide her lips to his, her own hands coming up to cradle his face. “Thanks for coming to get me,” she murmured as they broke the kiss.

“Of course,” he smiled softly. “You hungry?”

“Starving.”

Ashton giggled and started the car. “Alright, we’ll grab some food, and then I’ll take you home.”

“We should get something for Mike, too. He’ll have known by now that I called, and that you came to get me, so he’ll be waiting for us. Right?”

“If he’s done laying down tracks with Luke, yeah. That’s probably a safe bet.”

They fell silent, Delilah finally breaking the silence only after they had picked up food for themselves and Mike. “Hey, Ash?”

“Hmm?” he hummed, reaching out to lower the volume of the radio.

“Are you scared?”

“Terrified,” he nodded. “It’s uh… not every day you tell the girl, and the boy, you’ve been crushing on for years that you’ve been crushing on them for years, with the follow up being if it’s cool if you can all date each other.”

Delilah giggled, “God, this is fuckin’ crazy…”

“100% certifiably nuts,” Ashton giggled with her as he pulled into her driveway, next to Michael’s car and spotting the man waiting for them on the porch. Ashton shut off the car and turned to look at Delilah. “Ready?”

“God, no.”

“It’s Mike. He’s our best friend.”

“I know. But I’m still…”

“Scared? Yeah, me too. His hands grabbed hers, brushing soft kisses across her knuckles. “But I’ll be right here with you. C’mon,” he coaxed. 

They left the security of the car, and walked up to where Michael was waiting. He rose slowly to his feet, eyes locking on Ashton and Delilah’s hands that were clasped together. “Oh… I see you two have uh… that’s great. Happy for you guys…” His gaze flickered over to the food bag in Delilah’s other hand. “And I’m intruding, so I’m gonna head out. Glad your night worked out.”

“Mike, wait,” Ashton said, reaching out to stop the younger man. “There’s something we wanted to talk to you about.”

“No offense to either of you right now, cuz I love this for you guys, I really do. But uh… I’m a little tired and hungry from the studio. I just stopped by cuz I saw you had called, D, and wanted to make sure you were okay. And you are. So um… can we save the ‘we’re dating’ conversation for tomorrow?”

Delilah shook the bag of food. “We picked you up something, too. Please, Mikey?”

~~~

“So… let me see if I got this right. In addition to crushing on each other, you both also have a crush on me?” Michael asked, after Ashton and Delilah brought him up to speed.

“Pretty much, yeah,” Delilah nodded, leaning forward to set the now empty take out food container on the coffee table.

Michael looked over at Ashton with a raised eyebrow, “How drunk is she?”

Ashton giggled, while Delilah gaped at Michael and gave him a small shove with an indignant “Hey! I’m not that drunk. Anymore…”

“Well fuck! So we’ve all just been crushing on each other, and swallowing our pride, so nobody gets their feelings hurt except ourselves?”

“Can’t leave out the stupidest part of how all of us at some point encouraged someone to make a move on someone else.”

“Fuck, no wonder Cal and Luke bail on so many plans with us… This shit is infuriating… But now that it’s all cleared up, what do we do? How does this… work exactly?”

“I don’t know… I have enough trouble figuring out how to date one person…” Ashton admitted, making the other two laugh in agreement. “But if anyone can figure it out, it’s us, yeah?”

“Exactly,” Delilah smiled at him, squeezing his hand reassuringly. “We’re all friends first. There isn’t anything we keep from each other.”

“Minus the crushes we all had on each other, that is,” Michael amended. Then, “So… have you guys kissed yet?”

“We did, yeah,” Ashton told him, with a sheepish grin.

“Fuckers…”

“Aw, poor baby,” Delilah teased, leaning towards Michael to press a kiss to his cheek. At the last possible second, Michael turned his head, so her lips locked onto his rather than the intended target of his cheek.

He sighed in content against her lips, tasting the barest traces of wine still leftover, sweet and savory. “Can’t begin to tell you how long I’ve been wanting to do that,” he murmured as they broke apart.

“Well, now you can do it whenever you want,” she smiled.

Ashton cleared his throat. “Still here.”

Michael’s cheeks flushed. “Right. Yeah… erm…”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Ashton groaned, hooking his fingers under Michael’s chin to get them to look at each other. “It’s a kiss, dumbass, not rocket science.”

“Calling your boyfriend a dumbass isn’t very nice of you,” Michael teased lightly. 

Ashton shuddered as his lips crushed into Michael’s, “Fuck, say that again.”

“Boyfriend,” Michael grinned against Ashton’s mouth.

“My boyfriends,” Delilah beamed proudly at them.

“Our girlfriend,” they chorused back.

__

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[yuzukult]

effortlessly pt. 4 || jungkook & reader

title: effortlessly  pairing: jungkook x reader genre: fluff, romance, school!au, smut (not in this chapter) words:  3.8k on the shorter side note: again, i may need to do some proofreading!!! enjoy :)

series: part one || part two || part three || part four || part five || part six || part seven || part eight || part nine || part ten || epilogue 

The sun shining through the blinds warms your skin as you groan while rubbing your eyes drowsily at the contact. Sliding off Jungkook’s body and cloaking your face into the pillow, you sigh heavenly. Although still exhausted, after confessing your feelings to the sleeping Jungkook the night before, you felt relieved. 

Jungkook? He thinks he hasn’t slept a wink. There may have been a moment or two where he dazed off to the point that he thought he fell asleep but in actuality, he could barely get himself to close his eyes long enough. 

Well, you did tell him you loved him last night. 

How else was he supposed to react? He spent the entire 8 hours with a billion thoughts running through his mind incessantly. Sure, he constantly showered you with affection, occasionally slipping in some pick up lines, and flirting ceaselessly but he never believed that you would ever reciprocate those same feelings... or even come close to the point of potentially realizing how you felt. A hopeful dream was what it was and the only way to prevent heartbreak was to prioritize his aspirations to become a swimmer. 

Regardless of that... he’d been in love with you for over a decade, so what does this mean now?

You confessed to his sleeping body, or well— “sleeping.” Does he tell you that he heard everything you said? Would that be too much? It felt like he was eavesdropping on a conversation he shouldn’t have listened in on, even if you were saying it directly to him. But you said those things unfiltered, assuming that he wouldn’t hear anything.

Chewing his bottom lip with his brows wrinkled, he pondered in silence as your body beside him is shifting constantly under the covers, switching in different positions. Edges of his mouth twitching into a soft smile at the sight of you, he runs his fingers through his messy locks, finally coming to a decision.

Jungkook is going to take this opportunity to tell you that he loves you. The proper way, of course, since technically he isn’t supposed to know about your confession. He’s going to make up for what happened with what should have happened.

“You’re awake?” You grumble, voice husky. He chuckles at the sound, pinching your cheek gently. “Yeah, been awake for a while. Getting up any time soon?”

Shaking your head, you drop your face back into the pillow, muffling your words. “I just wanna sleep all day. Did you have any plans for today?” 

He hums a moment in thought, glancing over at you. “I didn’t initially, but I think we should do something today. Did you have anything in mind that you want to do lately?”

Turning your head, you glare at your best friend. “You’re the one who wants to go somewhere.”

“True but I wanted to give you the option to pick.”

Rolling your eyes, you purse your lips in response. “Let’s get pizza and go to the beach.”

“Beach?”

“Yeah, you said you wanted to give me an option to pick. I heard it’s going to be nice and hot outside, and if you’re not letting me stay indoors in the amazing AC, you’re taking me to the beach to cool down.”

“Sassy,” He says, pushing a strand of your hair away from your face and behind your ear. “But okay. We can do that. I’m down for it.”

“Just us two?”

“Just us two.” You liked the sound of that.

The sun barely pecks your skin in the morning but it’s noon now, and the sun hates you. Toes digging into the sand as Jungkook leads to find a spot to put the umbrella, you’re weeping from the heat under your feet and the sun scorching your skin.

“Jungkook, I’m fucking melting.”

“Yes miss, we are all melting in this heat. We are all bitches to the sun right now.”

You’re grumbling, dragging your legs with you as you fix the straps on the duffle bag that sits as a crossbody on your frame. “Jeon, hurry up and pick a spot before I become one with the sand!”

“Quit being such a drama queen.” He rolls his eyes playfully, finally deciding on a spot that wasn’t too far from the water but wasn’t close enough to be swept in by the tide. “This seems like a good spot.”

“It only took months.” He flicks your forehead. “I said quit it, drama queen.”

After sticking the umbrella into the sand and setting up the rest of the necessities for the day, you throw your body onto the mat, groaning loudly in relief that the tasks had been completed. “I enjoy this, other than the sun burning my skin before I even got the chance to put on sunscreen.”

“You’re still in your denim shorts and T-shirt,” Jungkook comments, now shirtless with just his swim trunks on. “That’s why you’re sweating like that. Hurry and get ready, I’ll put sunblock on you.” Abiding by his instruction, you strip yourself from the shirt that clings to your body in sweat and the thick shorts that absorbed most of the sun’s heat. Left in your bikini, you turn yourself around to lay on the mat.

His breath hitches again— it seems to be a common reaction from him lately to anything that has to do with you. He wishes he could press butterfly kisses against your soft and supple skin but he shakes away the urges before squirting some of the sunscreen in his hands and rub your back.

“Hold on.” You say and he pauses, hands stopping in midair. Your arm reaches around to your back, pulling the strands of your black bikini to unravel, exposing more of your back and he clears his throat when he loses control of his breathing patterns. “What are you doing? We’re in public.”

“Tan lines,” you respond casually, resting your cheek on a folded towel. “Go on.”

Jungkook felt like he was having an inner argument with himself. Everything you did was almost in a teasing manner, and especially with the newfound knowledge that you’re in love with him— he can’t help but find you even more attractive than before. Maybe he was delusional, but he was starting to feel like you were doing this on purpose.

“Thanks.” Retying your top, you turn yourself around to lay on your back, lathering the lotion onto the front portions of your body. “You want me to do yours?”

“No.” He quickly replies, face flushed pink. The thought of your hands touching his skin... he didn’t think he’d be able to handle it. Realizing how suspicious he sounded, he corrects himself. “I mean, no... I’m okay.”

Wrapping your fingers around his wrist, you tighten your grasp before pulling him onto the mat and forcing him to lay on his stomach, squirting a decent amount of the product onto your hands. He’s groaning at the sudden impact, face pressed against the toughness of the mat, rubbing his face with his hand. “What was that for?”

“You’re just being so weird today.” Applying the sunscreen onto his back, you move in motions as his body tenses under your touch. “Can you just relax? You’re starting to be even more weird. Weirder than usual.”

“Weirder than usual?” He reiterates, words a bit muffled from his cheek being crushed. “I’m not being weird.”

“Yes, you are.” You retort sternly, slapping his lower back to insinuate your completion of the task. “All morning. You said you slept, but I can tell you didn’t because well... look at your eyebags! Jeon, what’s wrong with you?”

“Don’t worry about it! Let’s enjoy the day.” He says, finishing up the rest of his body before giving you a wave and jumping into the water.

Jungkook is and always will be insufferable.

Your favorite part of any beach trip is when the sun begins to set, the breeze from the ocean kicking in, and the fragrance of the salty sea is inhaled into your lungs, bringing you a sense of peace and tranquility. The best view along with this is Jungkook, who sits in the sand, feet and lower half of his body submerged in the water, enjoying the weather. The top of the evening was that both your stomachs are full with pizza for dinner.

Standing up from the little area that the two of you had made for yourselves, you invite yourself into a spot beside your best friend, resting your head on his shoulder. “This is nice. The weather, the water, just us. We haven’t had this in a while.”

Turning his head to glance at you, a soft smile appears on his lips. “We’re always together.”

“Not alone, not like this.” You sigh, fingers drawing shapes along the sand. “We’re usually with someone. Your team, Yura... anyone, really. I miss when it’s just the two of us. It feels like you’re afraid to actually be alone with me or something.”

“We have sleepovers though, what about that?”

“Do we ever really talk during movies? Then we sleep right after.”

Lately, it had occurred to you that despite all this “time” that you had been spending with Jungkook wasn’t really any time. Lunch had been inhabited by engaging with girls who crushed on Jungkook, and the remaining times were dedicated to socializing with Yura and his teammates. Movie nights were great, but silence would burden the room, and afterwards, he’d be too tired from a swim meet that he would fall asleep instantaneously. There was no more ‘you and Jungkook’ time. It felt like only just you.

“I guess... I really never thought of it like that.” He admits, fingers threading through his dampen locks. He senses the tenderness in your voice at the topic, a tightening feeling in his chest knowing that he’s the one making you feel this way. “I never paid attention to any of that. Did you feel that way for a while?”

“It’s alright though, just something I have to get used to.” Tearing your head off his shoulder, you lay your body completely onto the sand. “Sometimes I forget that we’re not together. It’s hard because there’s...” Sucking in a deep breath of courage, you continue. “... there’s a fine line between friendship and relationship. That’s why I didn’t want to... you know, have sex again. It felt as though you only wanted to do this because of sex.”

“What?” He interjects immediately, head snapping in your direction. “That’s crazy. I wanted to do it again because I was afraid I ruined it for you.”

“I thought I told you it was good enough!”

“But ‘good enough’ isn’t good enough for me. I love you, and I want to make you feel good, I want to make you feel what you’re worth, and that it wasn’t just some deployment to get rid of our virginities. I meant what I said, I really wanted to give mine to you.”

“Jungkook, you know I love you too. But don’t you want to do it with someone else?”

“No, I don’t. I don’t think you know what it means when I say that I love you.”

Furrowing your brows questioningly, you prop your head onto your arm. “What are you talking about.”

Sighing frustratedly at himself, he positions his body down completely beside yours, head resting on top of his forearm. “I’m in love with you. I thought that you’d never feel the same way about me. I know you thought I was sleeping last night, but I heard what you said.”

Your body is stunned rigid. Jungkook doesn’t stop. “You were my best friend since grade school, and I enjoyed every minute I got to spend with you. Truthfully, I think the time I started to fall for you was when we hit early high school and I realized that guys were chasing you. I never noticed it before, but seeing it then sparked a fire in me. I hated every one of them, even if they were a friend. Then again, who was I to tell these people that they couldn’t have you? I didn’t even have the guts to tell you how much I love you.”

Mouth agape, you inhale deeply. “I... you heard me last night?”

“Of course. I just... didn’t know how to react because what if I make you uncomfortable?”

“Uncomfortable? You’ve vomited, farted, and took a shit in the bathroom as I was showering, and now you’re worried if I’m uncomfortable?” Sitting up with sand sticking to your skin, you ignore the discomfort and lock your gaze with his. “Jungkook, I really meant what I said last night. I... didn’t think you’d ever like me back because you seemed like you weren’t interested in any relationship, honestly.”

“And I meant what I said when I told you that you’re the only girl in my life.”

Lips pursed in the reticence, you dig your toes into the ground, hesitant about speaking. “What does this make us now?” 

Hair pushed back from swimming earlier and cheeks flushed pink from either being sunburned or from finally confessing his feelings for you, he watches your actions. “Would you like to be my girlfriend?”

Everything is marginally outlandish on Monday morning after spending almost every waking moment with Jungkook over the weekend since the confession. There had been heated kisses, multiple cuddling sessions, and deep conversations that lasted through the hours of the night until one of you fell into a deep slumber.

But Monday morning? This means that the time together will include other people. Maybe less PDA, sure, but the thought of people finally knowing that the two of you were an item was... exhilarating, and if you were being forthright, you wanted to show off to the entire school population who Jungkook belonged to.

He’s standing outside of your house, waiting patiently with his car grunting after the start, leaning against the hood with a bright grin spread across his face. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

“You look beautiful today.” You think he looks cute smiling cheekily like this. He actually looks like an idiot in other people’s eyes because of how dorky he is.

“I look like this everyday.”

“I know. That just means you’re beautiful everyday.”

Clicking your tongue at the cheesy comment, you make your way down the steps of your front porch as he opens the passenger door for you. “Well, this is new. You’ve never done this before?”

“I’ve also never had a real serious girlfriend before, and here we are.”

“If I knew what I was signing up for, I don’t think I would’ve agreed to this.” He’s in the driver’s seat at this moment, eyes still darting hearts in your direction as he gives your nose a gentle peck. “I’m just happy you’re mine now.”

“So... I take it as you told him you love him?” Yura’s doing the thing where she’s stuffing food in her mouth as she talks, but this time it’s some type of Japanese bread she raves about. “Yura... you’re getting bread all over my desk.”

She rolls her eyes in response, showing you her hand before swiping the crumbs off the surface. “Done-zo. So what now? You guys are dating? Are you going to be one of those girls who will wear their boyfriend’s varsity jacket all around the school? Possibly flaunting that you were able to claim the untouchable Jeon Jungkook?”

“You’re being dramatic.”

“No, you’re not being dramatic enough. What? How long has he been head over heels for you and you had no clue? Not even an ounce?”

“A decade?”

“A fucking decade, my dude. Don’t you just want to show off your new relationship because you’ve waited so long for this moment?”

Pulling off a piece of Yura’s bread, you shove some in her mouth. “Stop talking please, this is so embarrassing.”

“What’s so embarrassing about it?” She accidentally spits a bit of the bread in your face as you scrunch your nose in disgust, wiping off your cheek. “Yura!”

“Sorry. Anyway, what’s so embarrassing about it? You’re acting like he’s some guy who has done bad things and you were desperate enough to settle for a loser. This is your best friend, a potential professional swimmer, who is now your boyfriend. What’s up?”

“I’m kind of scared that all these girls are going to hate me now.” Yura scoffs at your response, shoving the remaining portion of bread in your direction. “You need some sweetness in your morning if you’re going to have such negative thoughts this early in the day.”

“And what about you? Didn’t you also say you had some crush on a guy?”

She waves her hand in dismissal, grabbing another piece of the carb. “He’s my brother’s best friend, not even an arms reach. Let’s switch the topic back to you, though.”

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore!” You grunted. “Well, too bad because Mr. Stole-Your-Heart is walking here now.”

Shooting your head around, you’re met with a beaming Jungkook with his swimming duffle slung over his shoulder as Hoseok trails behind. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

“We keep greeting like this.”

“So we have.”

“Am I missing something here?” Hoseok impedes into the conversation, perplexity written all over his face. “Why are you guys talking like you haven’t been friends for years now?”

“Well,” Yura begins, eying the male. “They haven’t been dating for years so it’s still fresh. Hence the awkwardness.”

“Wait— you’re dating each other?” Appalled, he stumbles onto a desk behind him, hand over his chest. “You actually told her you loved her? This is crazy. Does this mean that you’re also the girl he keeps talking about that he lost his virginity to?”

Blood rushes to your cheeks, glowing coral. “Potentially.”

Adjusting the straps of his backpack on his shoulders, he straightens himself before twirling his body around to exit the classroom. “Sorry bro, I gotta let the team know. I can’t believe you actually went through with it!”

“Hoseok—” Jungkook rubs his face tiredly when his friend leave before giving you an apologetic look. “I’m going to chase after him. I’ll see you after class?”

“I’ll see you after class,” You confirm, and surprisingly enough, he leans in to give you a quick goodbye kiss before waving at Yura.

Yura’s eyes bulged to the point it looked like it would fall out of its sockets. “He— he actually did that? How much did I actually miss? Did you guys do it again?”

“How many questions are you going to ask?”

“All of them. Any single one that pops into my head. How could I not ask you any of these questions? What’s the point of being your friend if I can’t!” Yura jokes and you retaliate by throwing a pen at her.

“Look at who has arrived! The woman who has tamed our special Kook’s heart!” Namjoon exclaims brightly at the sight of you entering the pool’s arena, backpack over your shoulder as you make your way to your designated spot in the bleachers. “Jesus, stop embarrassing her.” Jungkook counters, pushing the guys away from your seat.

“Aw, come on. We never got to interrogate her as your girlfriend!”

“Isn’t interrogating her as my friend enough?”

“No,” Jin chimes in. “We didn’t get to ask her the girlfriend questions yet.”

Jungkook scowls at his teammates who bluster him at five against one. “What are you going to ask? I’ll answer for her.” 

“Is she the one you lost your virginity to?”

“When did this happen?”

“Is Jungkook even good in bed? He just looks good but what about his delivery—“

“Whoa, whoa whoa!” Jungkook interrupts, dropping his bag onto the ground. “My delivery? You’re questioning my performance?”

“Performance?” Standing beside you at the bleachers, the entire swim team turns their heads in unison at the voice, faces gleaming at the owner of the voice.

“Taehyung!”

“What’s wrong with Jungkook’s performance?” He raises a brow quizzically, adjusting his own bag that hands across his chest. “He’s a great swimmer.”

Hoseok has his arm around the other male, leading him toward the locker room. “Our little Kook has a girlfriend now, and we’re trying to interrogate his girlfriend about his performance.”

“Jungkook has a girlfriend?” When Jimin responds with your name, Taehyung’s gaze meets your figure as you’re leaning comfortably in the spaces between the bleachers, legs pressed against your chest with AirPods occupying your ears and a book in your hand. 

He never said, but Taehyung always had a slight crush on you. The rest of the swim team, including you, had all been around the same age, but he’d be ahead of the crowd in regards to education, therefore graduated earlier than the rest. Earning a swimming scholarship to study abroad restricted himself from ever letting you know his true feelings, but coming back around meant he could take the opportunity to at least let you know how he felt.

But he was too late. Or so you’d think.

“I got this for you, from the States, that is.” 

“A mug?” Lifting up the Starbucks cup in your hand that he wrapped in a bow so carefully, you’re afraid that you’d accidentally unravel it. Grinning from cheek to cheek, your eyes meet with his. “New York?”

“I visited New York for a little bit before coming back here. Thought of you when I saw that. Figured you would like it.”

Gingerly placing the gift back into its bag, you pull out another item that Taehyun has packed for you. “What— what’s this?” He has a mischievous smile washing over his face, tugging at the bow tie around the plush in your hands.

“A sloth.”

“A sloth?”

Taehyung nods in return, hands slipping into the front pockets of his jeans. “You remind me of a sloth. Always so tired, moves slow sometimes—”

“Tae, are you insulting me?” Laughing at your reaction, he immediately shakes his head in discrepancy. “No, it’s a good thing really. You’re cute, and sloths are cute. Grounded, even though they’re in the trees, relaxing to be around, and you can’t help but to like them.”

Nodding in response, you hold the stuffed animal in your arms, content with his answer. “I’ll take that. I really like this, Taehyung. You didn’t have to bring this back for me.”

“Of course I had to bring you something back.” He bends forward, playfully pinching your nose. “You were always coming to our games to support us. Anyways, there’s a letter in the envelope when you get the chance to look more thoroughly.”

“Yep. Well, if you’d excuse me, they’re going to nag at me for leaving the locker room so suddenly instead of getting dressed to practice with them. I’ll catch you later?” You bow your head in agreement as you watch him run in the route of the locker room before searching through the bag before your fingers meet with a thick piece of paper.

Your name is written on the front of the pink envelope. Something makes your stomach churn at the appearance of the item. Inhaling deeply, you tear off the flap, a little too aggressively that the note falls out and onto the floor.

“What’s this?” Jungkook asks, picking up the mysterious paper, handing it to you. “Who gave you that?”

“Uh... Taehyung.”

[husbandograveyard]

Healthy Habits - Marco x reader

One Piece of summer challenge - week 11

part of the challenge hosted by @doctorgerth​ & @laws-yellow-submarine​ I’m attempting all 11 weeks, 11 different prompts and 11 different characters! And this is the last one! Hella grateful for this extra week because the past one has been beyond exhausting! Thank you for hosting such a wonderful event, giving amazing feedback and allowing me to challenge myself and grow my writing skills!! 

Prompt: Sunscreen - Character: Marco the phoenix  - Word count: 940  2nd person. gender neutral reader. 

It was a beautiful summer day. Sun was up high in the sky, warm rays making your face tingle in the best possible way, a light summer breeze making the warmth bearable. You wore your nicest light summer clothes, it was a rare day off of any physical chores and you decided to help your boyfriend catch up on some paperwork out on deck in the sun. The breeze was not hard enough to blow any of your papers away, and it would be the ideal way to enjoy an almost day off without getting stuffed indoors. 

A dull thud pulled you out of your focus on the letters and calculations on the paper. A shadow looming over you announced the presence of someone else, and the signature spikes at the head of the shadow made it no surprise that it was Marco standing next to you. You smiled as you looked up.  “Hi, what’s up, thought you were going to be in the infirmary all day?” 

“Just thought I’d come up and check up on the love of my life and their unhealthy skin” you rolled your eyes as you noted that the dull thud from before had been a bottle of sunscreen nonchalantly placed next to you on deck. “Really Marco?”  “Yes y/n, did you put anything on already today?”  You reluctantly shook your head.  “Will you do it for me?” You looked up from your seated position, giving the man your sweetest puppy eyes. Not that you needed that trick, as you were only halfway through your sentence when he sat cross-legged behind you and put some of the sunscreen in his hands.  “What would you do without me y/n?”  “Enjoy my life without any of your nagging.” 

Marco only chuckled in response as he placed his hands with the cool cream on your shouders and started rubbing it in. You sheddered at the sensation, putting the papers away properly for a bit and relaxed. His hands felt so good rubbing your arms, shoulder and neck and you mad a mental note to remember that sunscreen needs to be reapplied regularly if you want it to take effect, and who better to apply it than then man now sitting behind you, softly huming the tune of a shanty that was frequently sung by the crew at parties. 

“You know”, you started, “You’re not really one to talk though, lecturing me about unhealthy habits; The only reason I am out here doing part of your papework is because you insist on doing all of it on top of your first mate duties and division commander duties and then you barely sleep or eat. Great doctor you are.” “Oi oi oi y/n, I am here using my free time to help the love of my life, and yet here you are criticizing me and my habits” “Well you came out to comment negatively on mine” “Force of habit, doctor’s things yoi”  “Well then, doctor, how about this: I return the gesture, rubbing some sunscreen on that nicely sculpted body of yours” - Marco chuckled at your choice of words - “and we tackle some of that work together for the afternoon. We stop in time for dinner, and who knows, maybe we’ll be able to sleep together for more than two hours tonight”. 

Marco closed his eyes, pretending to overthink your preposition, but you had already seen the sparkle in his eyes behind his glasses before he had closed them. There was no reason for him to refuse this offer, he had to admit he had been neglecting you more than he should have in favor of work, and this was the ideal solution to get his work done -albeit a little less efficient than he probably would have in his infirmary- and spend some quality time with you. So when he was done ‘thinking’ and rubbing the sunscreen all over your exposed skin, he handed you the bottle and took of his coat, neatly folding it and putting it to the side of the paperwork. You laughed and took a generous amount of the liquid into your hands to rub into his back and chest. Even though you didn’t necessarily think suncreen important, this step of the proces was certainly one you enjoyed. 

The afternoon of doing paperwork together was pure bliss, didn’t even feel like working at all. You sat close to Marco, going over the paperwork, exchanging information, helpful thoughts and plenty of small kisses and other affectionate gestures, not enough to disturb anyone (if you don’t count Ace and Thatch making all kinds of annoying noises in the background to get on your nerves but the warm sun and good company made it so nothing could ruin the atmosphere. 

A little after you saw Thatch retreating to the kitchen to start dinner, and the sun was slowly sinking in the sea, turning the sky all kinds of pink, purple, yellow, orange and red, you carefully took the papers right out of Marco’s hands, and formed a nice stack with them. He was about to protest when you put a single finger over his lips, effectively shutting him up. “No talking. No nagging. No working. Just enjoy the view, enjoy my company and get ready for dinner”.  You didn’t even give him a chance to reply, turned around a bit to snuggle into his chest as you watched the sun set in the horizon. 

“What would I be without you?”  “An overworked doctor”  He chuckled, wrapped an arm around you and pulled you even closer. “I love you y/n”  “I love you too Marco” 

[beck-a-leck]

since you did kindly offer... arthur frey no. 12 (please)

Welcome back Nonny! As you asked, here's some in-game canon Frey/Arthur Smooches!

Send me a Smooch Prompt and some characters and half all your self-indulgent wishes come true!

#12 Sneaking away to a hidden place for a secretive kiss

The summer sun was out in all its glory and strength for the first day of the season, and the residents of Selphia were more than happy to flock to their lake to spend a day relaxing and playing and cooling off with the first swim of the season.

The young adults in town had set up camp about halfway down the shore, spreading out a motley collection of blankets and towels and a couple large umbrellas to offer a bit of shade. They were close enough to the lake to made a quick run to the water for a dip to cool down, but far enough that even the rowdiest splash fight wouldn’t wet their belongings. For a while, they had been divided, the boys and the girls, but as the day crept on their groups mixed more and they shared snacks and drinks and sunscreen and towels got hopelessly mixed up.

Arthur sat with Forte and Clorica in the shade of an umbrella, watching the game of chicken that was taking place in the lake. They were the only three sitting out. Forte still didn’t swim very well and refused to go in deeper than waist-deep. Arthur needed to take a break from the sun, he burned far too easily, despite the copious amounts of sunscreen applied, and his shoulders were already starting to look a little pink. Clorica was fast asleep with her head resting in Forte’s lap.

There was a chorus of shouts and giggles as men picked their battle partner and hoisted her up on their shoulders. Arthur scanned the pairs with amusement. Kiel and Amber had teamed up – the smallest girl on the thinnest shoulders, he didn’t think they would last long, but he knew Amber could and would employ her wings if it gave them an advantage. Xaio Pai was trying to clamber onto Vishnal’s shoulders with as much grace as she could manage, which, unfortunately, wasn’t much. Vishnal got a foot in the face a couple times before she settled unsteadily. Doug and Dolce were snapping at each other over the best strategy for winning chicken, and Pico wasn’t helping cement their team-up as she was buzzing around the two of them probably whispering threats to poor Doug or teasing poor Dolce – most likely both. Dylas and Margaret had partnered, the two of them looking rather focused as they prepared for battle and sized up their only real opponents, Frey and Leon.

Arthur’s heart gave a funny lurch was he watch Leon lift Frey up onto his shoulders and he laughed and pulled gently at his ears. It was just a game. The two of them teaming up for chicken didn’t mean anything. Frey was dating Arthur, and quite happily so. She and Leon were friends, but really that was in between them.

Forte nudged Arthur with her shoulder. “You sure you don’t want to join in?”

He laughed, “No, I think if the two of us paired up we would be the shortest-lived team.”

Forte nodded and laughed in agreement. “Probably true. Those weak things you call shoulders wouldn’t hold me for very long.”

“And it’s a little too deep for you.”

Forte nodded, still smiling as the competitors squared up. “Wanna take bets though? Bet Vishnal and Xaio Pai don’t last five seconds.”

“There’s no contest there.” Arthur scanned the others again. “Hmmm last groups will probably be Dylas and Meg, and Leon and Frey.”

“I don’t know, I think Amber and Kiel might have some tricks up their sleeves. They might make it to the final two.”

The Chicken Fight began. As predicted, Xaio Pai tumbled off Vishnal’s shoulders before she really even had a chance to try and shove anyone else. Doug and Dolce didn’t last much longer, though Arthur suspected there might have been some Pico-interference in that regard. The other three couples grappled for a bit, and Amber and Kiel put up a rather good fight, but in the end, they were upended and eliminated from the competition. The final two couples were left, Dylas and Leon circled each other, saying nothing, while the girls on their shoulders traded taunts. Their former competitors were watching, egging on whoever they decided was more worthy of a win. Then with a battle cry, they charged at each other, locking into a grapple as both the boys and the girls tried their best to send the other topping into the water. The fighting may have gotten a little dirty under the water, Arthur was certain Leon and Dylas were kicking each other, but as neither of them were complaining, nobody was going to call foul play.

Then with a yell and a surge of power, Frey gut the upper hand on Meg and sent the elf tumbling off Dylas’ back and into the water with a splash. The winners hooted and howled in victory to a chorus of cheers or jeers. Then with a grin, Leon let go of Frey’s legs and she let herself fall off his back and into the water. Leon scooped Frey from the water, loudly declaring them the champions, while she laughed, and then, in true Leon fashion he unceremoniously threw the Princess back into the water. Frey reemerged laughing and wiping hair and water from her eyes. She playfully shoved the guardian, making half an effort to dunk the much taller man beneath the water. When he didn’t budge, the other men in the water saw fit to ‘avenge’ their princess and they piled onto Leon. A scuffle broke out and a lone figure quickly retreated, stumbling on laughter-shaken legs into shallower water as she wrung out her long green hair.

The men’s wrestling match continued as the women decided it was time to take a break and get a drink or have a snack. They migrated back to the blankets and settled in the sun or under the shade of the umbrellas.

Frey plopped down right next to Arthur, pressing her cool, wet body against him. She pecked him on the cheek. “Enjoying the shade?”

“Actually, it’s quite lovely.”

“Hmm,” she poked his shoulder, watching a white mark appear and then fade quickly. “You are looking a little pink. Let me put more sunscreen on your back.”

She turned to dig through the collection of bags and supplies and said with a small huff, sitting back on her heels, “Huh, it looks like we’ve used up what we brought.” She grinned at Arthur. “I do have more back at the castle. Come with me.”

Arthur opened his mouth to inform her that actually he had a bottle in his bag, but Frey was on the move before he could get a word out.

She took his hands and pulled him to his feet. They both stepped into their sandals and promised the others that they would be back soon, they just needed more sunscreen. Then they were hurrying away from the lake, back into town, and towards the castle. While most of the townsfolk were at the lake today, not everyone was, and Frey looked distinctly disappointed each time they rounded a corner and saw someone outside enjoying the beautiful summer day.

They did end up all the way back at the castle, slipping through the door into Frey’s quarters and finding it blessedly empty.

“Finally,” she sighed, spinning around and pulling Arthur close. “I love Beach Day, but it gives us so little time to spend together.” Frey leaned in close and brushed her lips against Arthur’s once, then twice before stepping back a little.

Completely unnecessarily, Arthur said, “Something tells me you didn’t actually drag me back here for sunscreen.”

Frey grinned impishly. “I mean, you’re inside, technically you’re protected from the sun.”

“Ah, well my complexion thanks you then, darling.” Arthur put his hands on Frey’s waist and pulled her close to him. She twined her arms around his shoulders as he leaned in for another kiss. Her bare skin was warm under his hands, and smooth, though he felt goosebumps erupt from where his fingers grazed. Frey pressed against him; her still damp swimsuit was cool against his flush skin.

They broke apart just for a moment to breathe, and Frey whispered, “I thought you would prefer this to me throwing myself at you on the beach. I know how much you value your privacy.”

Arthur chuckled. The whole town knew they were dating, but sometimes, being a Prince, there were certain rules of conduct he was expected to follow. And making out in public was on the no-no list. In private, though, hidden away from prying eyes…

He bowed his head to plant a kiss on Frey’s neck before whispering in her ear, “Well, we all know how much you love a public spectacle.”

He could feel Frey grinning before she said, “Let’s save that for the firefly festival, shall we?Really blow this town away.”

She hated public spectacles almost as much as Arthur did.

He pressed another kiss to her lips. “As you wish, darling.”

[sanderssidesfanfiction]

If There’s a Place I Could Be - Chapter Sixty Eight

If There’s a Place I Could Be Tag

June 23rd, 2000

Emile looked at the surprise on Faith’s face with glee. “Do you like it?” he asked her.

“Emile...you set up this entire thing for me?” Faith asked, looking over at him.

“Yeah, of course!” Emile said. “You said that you couldn’t have a party because you broke your wrist and you wouldn’t be able to set one up in time when you were holed up in the hospital, so consider this a double party! A welcome home and a birthday party!”

Faith shook her head, grinning and crushing Emile in a hug. “Oh, Emile, I love you so much,” she laughed. “I’m going to miss you after this summer.”

Emile grinned and hugged her just as tight. “I’m going to miss you too. Never stop writing.”

“Never,” Faith promised.

  July 28th, 2002

Emile turned as he heard snickering behind him, but he wasn’t quick enough to avoid the big wave of water that was aggressively shoved into his face before he was promptly tackled by a very excited Remy. Emile laughed, even as he sputtered and spat out salt water. “Was that really necessary, Rem?” Emile asked.

“No,” Remy said with a shameless grin. “But it was really funny.”

Emile laughed and shook his head, just as a wave rose up behind them, easily as tall as Emile was, and both of them were rather unceremoniously shoved onto the shoreline. Emile laughed hard enough that the wave retreating was starting to pull him back into the water before Remy grabbed his hands and kept him lying on the sand. “We should have come to the beach ages ago,” Emile laughed.

“Agreed,” Remy said with a grin, sitting down next to Emile. “Especially because I get to see you in boardshorts.”

“You’ve seen me in less,” Emile said, frowning.

“Yeah, but there’s something about the beach that makes everything and everyone look good,” Remy said. “Especially this one guy in particular...”

“I agree, the beach does make you look good,” Emile said.

Remy squeaked and whacked Emile. “I was talking about you, doofus!”

Emile laughed and offered Remy a wink. “Oh, come on, you know you look good in swim trunks, don’t deny it!”

Remy was blushing furiously and crossed his arms. “This conversation was not supposed to be about me, mister!”

“Well, it is now,” Emile said with a huge grin. “And you look positively stunning when you’re all happy and giggly at the beach.”

“No. Not allowed. Illegal,” Remy said, shaking his head. “You cannot compliment me like that.”

“I can, and I will,” Emile threatened. “If you don’t acknowledge your beauty yourself, someone else has to do it for you.”

Remy huffed and stood with a stretch, and Emile got to his feet as well. “I’m not that pretty, Emile,” he huffed. “Besides, I’d rather look handsome today.”

“Descriptors aside, you’re attractive,” Emile said simply. “I will fight you on this.”

“Then fight me, loverboy!” Remy said, shoving Emile before running into the water.

Emile stood there in shock a moment, just registering what Remy had said, before he laughed and ran after Remy, shoving water into his face with a laugh. Remy sputtered and shoved water back at Emile, but Emile blocked most of the spray. He grinned, jumping through the water and clinging to Remy like an octopus. “Emile!” Remy exclaimed with a laugh. “Let me go!”

“Nope!” Emile exclaimed, laughing.

“Come on, Emile, let go!” Remy laughed, pushing and tugging at Emile’s various limbs, but Emile would not be moved.

They continued like this for a while, Emile giggling as Remy tried to break free of Emile’s grip, before Remy got a light in his eyes and he walked out of the deeper water, causing Emile’s legs to drop. “Hey! No fair!” Emile exclaimed, still laughing.

Remy walked out of the waves to the shore, and undid Emile’s grip on him. Emile groaned. “You just sucked all the fun out of that!” he exclaimed.

“Well, I need to reapply sunscreen, and so do you,” Remy said, walking back to their towels.

Emile sighed but followed Remy and sat down on his towel, fishing in their bag for the sunscreen. He passed it to Remy, who immediately started to apply it. “I am not getting sunburned on our day trip to the beach,” Remy said. “I don’t mind a tan, but I refuse to get sunburnt.”

“Yeah, I get that,” Emile said. “Sunburn sucks, especially if you have it where you normally wear clothing.”

Remy hummed his agreement, before asking, “Can you get my back?”

“Sure,” Emile said.

Remy knelt down and Emile rubbed a coat of sunscreen onto Remy’s back, about as thin as the layer Remy put everywhere else. Emile spoke idly as he rubbed in the sunscreen. “We should do this again sometime.”

“Agreed,” Remy said. “It’s nice.”

“Where do you think we should grab lunch?” Emile asked.

Remy hummed as Emile finished applying sunscreen. “I’m always a sucker for pizza by the beach,” he said.

“Sounds like a plan,” Emile said.

“Put sunscreen on yourself, too,” Remy said, turning to look at Emile with a stern face.

Emile rolled his eyes. “Come on, Rem, I’m not going to burn!”

“You’re right, you’re not. Because you’re reapplying your sunscreen. I’ll do it myself if I have to,” Remy warned.

Sighing, Emile put on a thin cover of sunscreen himself. “You know, I’m pale, but I don’t burn easily.”

“Whatever you say,” Remy said. “You’re still reapplying it.”

“Because you threatened to treat me like a toddler and smear it on yourself,” Emile scoffed, passing the bottle back to Remy. “My back?”

Remy obliged and Emile looked around, noticing a family setting up nearby, with a little girl staring at them. Emile smiled and waved, and she waved back. She turned to the woman putting up an umbrella, asking something, and the woman glanced over to them before saying something Emile didn’t catch. The girl ran up to Emile and Remy and asked, “Are you two best friends?”

Emile and Remy looked at each other and laughed. “Something like that, yeah,” Emile said. “Why do you ask?”

“I don’t usually see two men putting on sunscreen for each other,” the girl said with a shrug. “And I figured you must trust each other a lot.”

“You’re right that we trust each other a lot,” Remy spoke up. “We’ve known each other for almost two years now.”

“Has it really only been two years?” Emile asked. “It feels like it’s been forever.”

Remy laughed and kissed Emile’s temple. “It’s really only been two years,” he said.

The girl looked shocked. “You just kissed him!” she exclaimed.

“Yeah,” Remy said. “I can do that. We’re dating.”

The girl’s mother walked over and grabbed her by the hand, glaring at Emile and Remy. “Don’t go putting ideas in my daughter’s head!” she hissed.

Emile and Remy glanced at each other when the mother was gone, and they started to giggle. “Oh, boy, is she in for a surprise,” Emile said. “The next town over is a college town. The gays are everywhere, and they’re open about it.”

Remy snickered. “Not only the ones who have summer semesters, but the ones who come back from their studies and work as lifeguards or have jobs on the boardwalk, too.”

They continued to laugh for a minute before Remy sighed and Emile yawned. “Man, we’ve only been here a few hours but I’m exhausted,” he said.

“Well, maybe lunch would help with that?” Remy offered. “I think it’s about noon.”

Emile grabbed his glasses and watch from the bag and checked the time. “It’s closer to one-thirty, actually.”

“Oh, we’re definitely getting lunch, then,” Remy said, standing up and shaking the sand out of his towel. “Come on, babe, we’ve gotta eat before we pass out.”

Emile stood and folded up his towel and grabbed their bag, and together they went back to the parking lot to put away their beach stuff. They both pulled on shirts and headed to the pizza parlor they had eyed on the way over here.

When they walked in they were directed to seats and Emile looked around. It was a nice place, over all. But here was the perfect chance to get some more ideas for the project. “Hey, Rem.”

Remy looked up from his menu and groaned. “Come on, Emile. This, again? Why are you so insistent about following through with this game?”

Emile shrugged. “I just want your opinion on a couple things,” he said innocently. “What do you think of the layout of the restaurant? Compared to the shop that you have visualized in your head?”

“Well, I probably wouldn’t have booths,” Remy said, looking around. “They’re usually difficult to move for cleaning, and so much dust and dirt and stuff gets stuck under them or really close to them because it’s hard to clean the nooks and crannies.”

“So, only tables with chairs?” Emile asked. “Would that be an accessibility issue?”

“I’d have different heights,” Remy said definitively. “Regular height tables around the edges, with some tables higher up for people who are able to stand and climb up onto seats. And this is gonna sound weird to you...”

Emile tilted his head to the side, silently asking Remy to continue.

“...But I would have rectangular tables at the edges and circular ones in the middle, if at all possible. Less space to take up, and more potential space for a line, which I doubt would go out the door, but it’s whatever, you know?”

“It’s forethought. I like it,” Emile said, nodding and making mental adjustments in his head.

Remy ran a hand down his face and sighed. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Sorry for insisting we do this, like, every time we go out, but...you need a solid layout before you start a shop.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Remy said with a weak smile. “I’m just very tired, and I don’t want to talk or think shop right now, you know?”

“Yeah, I get it,” Emile said with a nod. “I’ll let it drop.”

A waitress came over and took their order, returning with their drinks and promising that their pizza would be out shortly. Remy was fiddling with the paper wrapper from his straw and he hummed. “Okay. I know I said I didn’t want to talk shop, but can I just...like, vent over something really quick?”

“Sure,” Emile said, faintly surprised. Remy never brought up this sort of stuff unless it was really bugging him, so it had to be important.

“I don’t get why so many people in so many coffee shops go out of their way to buy the expensive coffee grounds and advertise where from the world it came from. Like, ethically sourced? Yeah, of course, promote that. But a lot of the time they spring for expensive grounds and they just...don’t do anything different with them. And, sure, some grounds will taste better than others. But if you don’t do anything original with it to adjust the flavor, what’s the point? Most people won’t tell the difference between the different kinds of bitter, and you have to raise prices to boot because of the cost of the grounds going into the coffee.” Remy shook his head and took a long sip of his soda. “It...it doesn’t make sense to me.”

Emile nodded along. “That makes sense. So your shop, you’d use regular coffee grounds, whatever that means?”

“I’d use the basic stuff, probably, yeah. At least at first, because that’s what I’d be able to afford. And I’d want it to be ethically sourced, ideally. Which, I know is a bit more pricey, but not out of the price range entirely. But basic coffee grounds with other ingredients still make a mean mocha if you know what you’re doing,” Remy said.

“I don’t know the first thing about making coffee, so I’ll leave you to that part of the business,” Emile said with a laugh.

Remy offered a sly grin. “Yeah. I wouldn’t ask your opinion on that without doing extensive research first so I can simplify things for you. And because you don’t know the terminology.”

Emile laughed unapologetically. “Thank you for being aware of that,” he said with a grin. “Means a lot that you would at least try and get me to understand.”

“Well, of course. It’s nice to have someone to run your plans by,” Remy said simply. “And since Theo graduated and has started doing his own thing, my pool of options has gone down by one. And when you don’t have a lot of options to begin with, that’s a big hit.”

“Maybe so,” Emile allowed. “But I’m willing to bet that your network is bigger than you think it is.”

Remy shrugged. “Maybe,” he allowed. “Maybe.”

[trekchik]

Steve has no fucking idea what he’s doing. Well, he does, he’s just not sure why he’s doing it. It being attending his pool while wearing his best - and tightest - blue swim trunks that hug every bit of his butt and bulge on his small frame. The ones he only wears when he sunbathes on his patio and no one else is around. 

He takes a deep breath, pushes the club door open and it’s official. He’s at the pool. And he’s hating every second of it. He shouldn’t have worn these trunks. He does his best to not tug on them. He knows they won’t cover anything else. 

He spots a free lounge chair and makes a beeline for it. He lays his towel down and straddles the chair, giving his can of sunscreen a shake. He applies a healthy layer to his front - he’ll worry about his back when he flips over. 

He’s been seated for all of five minutes when Steve sees him. The man climbs the tallest diving board and Steve is hooked. There’s just something about him that Steve is drawn to. It could be the Speedo the man is wearing or his long dark hair that flows behind him. 

The man reaches the top of the diving board and elegantly walks to the edge of the platform. He turns around and hangs his heels off the edge. A moment to adjust his form and the man does a perfect backwards flip, landing feet first into the water with hardly a splash. Another few seconds and the man resurfaces at the edge and pulls himself up and out of the pool. 

And heads right for Steve. 

Steve manages not to stare outright at the dripping wet man in the Speedo with defined abs and thick veins down his arms. Mostly, anyway. 

“Hey,” the man says sitting on the lounge chair next to Steve. He towels off his chest and arms as Steve’s mouth waters. 

“Hi,” Steve replies. “Nice dive.” 

“Thanks. You dive?” He lays out his towel at the end of the lounge and scoots back to stretch out. Steve thinks his stare can be counted as friendly, not creepy. He hopes. 

“Nothing more than a cannonball.” 

The man laughs at that. “Nothing wrong with a good cannonball.” He holds out a hand to Steve. “I’m Bucky.”

“Steve.” 

They shake hands and Steve settles into his chair, thinking the conversation is over, congratulating himself for not making a complete and utter fool of himself in Bucky’s presence. Bucky apparently has other plans. 

“Hey, would you do me a favor and get my back?” 

Steve looks over and sees Bucky holding a bottle of lotion up. He swallows thickly. Okay. Sure. He can do that. Just a little friendly suntan lotion application between dudes. Nothing erotic about that. He feels his dick twitch and he silently curses it. 

“Yeah. Sure,” he says, going for casual. He may have succeeded. 

He takes the lotion from Bucky who turns around so his back is to Steve. Steve opens the bottle with a snick and pours a generous amount into his hands. He rubs them together to warm it up a little before touching Bucky’s back. 

He does his best not to let out a groan as he spreads his hands out along the other man. His hands run up and down and side to side across Bucky’s body, rubbing the lotion into his skin. 

“Don’t forget around the suit,” Bucky says helpfully. 

Steve slides his hands down closer to the waistband of Bucky’s suit. He thinks he hears a sharp intake of air on Bucky’s part, but he can’t be sure. At least he doesn’t do it himself. 

Bucky abruptly pulls away. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

Steve rubs the extra lotion along his arms, massaging it into his skin. “Sure. No problem.” 

“I could do you,” Bucky says. 

And Steve knows Bucky is talking about putting sunscreen on his back, but his mind just can’t help but go to lewd and lascivious places. He’s also not entirely certain he can survive Bucky putting his hands on him, but then he remembers he’s got a spray can of lotion, so crisis averted. 

He passes Bucky the can and Bucky blanches. “Oh, that stuff hardly works at all. Here. You can use mine.” Bucky pours some of the lotion into his hands. “Turn around.” 

Steve takes a shaky breath, but turns anyway. He can do this. He can survive Bucky touching him. He thinks. 

Bucky doesn’t warm up the lotion first, just slathers it on Steve’s back, and he lets out a tiny yelp at the cold feeling. Bucky chuckles. “Sorry, babe,” he says. Did he just call Steve babe? Huh. 

As Bucky’s hands begin to roam over Steve’s body, Steve has to bite his lip to keep from groaning out loud. Christ, has it really been that long since he’s been touched by another man? Apparently it has. And Bucky looking the way he does doesn’t help matters. 

Steve feels Bucky’s hands going lower, towards his waistband, and then his fingers dip just under it. “Gotta make sure we don’t miss anything,” Bucky purrs into his ear. And just before Steve can take anymore, Bucky says, “There you go. All done.” Like it was no big deal. 

“Thanks,” Steve says, barely a whisper. He survived. Barely. 

“My pleasure.” Bucky winks at him and rubs the extra lotion on his legs, dragging his hands back up their length slowly. Steve is certain he’s making a show of it on purpose. “Let me know when you’re ready and I’ll get the backs of your legs, too.” 

“Sure. Thanks.” He tries to relax, but he’s not sure he can with Bucky right there. 

“So Steve,” Bucky starts. “You come here often?”

“I - what?” 

Bucky turns to face Steve. He drops his voice low. “Because, someone looking like you do in those trunks, I’m sure I would’ve noticed you before.” 

Steve can feel the blush creeping into his face and down his chest. Before he can even formulate even half a response, Bucky continues. 

“Bet they’d look even better offa you, sweetheart.” 

And Steve has no idea what to say to that. Yes? 

“You don’t have to say anything.” Bucky goes back to reclining on the lounge. “I’ll wait til you’re ready.” Bucky reaches under the lounge for his sunglasses. He slips them on as if nothing in the world is amiss. 

Steve has no idea what to do next.

[artificialqueens]

Cruising for a bruising, Part 3 (Branjie) - Q-Tip & TheDane

Authors note: Hi everyone! We’re very sorry about the wait, but here is chapter 3 of Cruising for a bruising finally! Q-tip and I had a lot of fun writing it, and I hope you will all enjoy it! A huge thank you to ArtificialMeggie and VeronicaSanders who beta’d, and please leave some love in the comments!

“I called for help and you didn’t come! What good is dating your hot Canadian butt if you don’t come to my aid like some prince on a white moose!”

—-

They had taken their sweet time, enjoying each other before Vanjie got up. He had quickly ran a wash cloth over his body before throwing it at Brooke who had laughed and cleaned himself up too. Vanjie had been ready to go out again in minutes, speedos discarded and forgotten in favor of a pair of blue shorts that were much more appropriate. However, Brooke still wasn’t done, insisting he had to use the bathroom.

“Brock! Come ooooooon.” Vanjie knew he was whining, but he had never been above acting a fool to get his way. “Why you takin so long?” he asked, a series of rapid knocks on the bathroom door interlacing with his words. “The sun ain’t gonna shine all day.”

“Go on up,” Brooke called back. “I’ll join you in a sec.”

“Why’s the door locked? You taking a shit or something?”

Vanjie could hear the deep belly laugh. Vanjie knew he was often overreacting, but few things got him going like a locked door, and it was even worse if he knew Brooke was on the other side.

“Something like that.”

Vanjie laughed. “Fine! I’ll leave without you, but don’t you go taking too long, I need you to come show me off like the fine fucking catch I am.” Vanjie grabbed his phone, making his way to the door, yelling, “Love ya!” before he closed it behind him.

/

It was truly incredible how Vanjie could switch from being the sexiest little minx to crass and hilarious in the span of minutes.  Brooke chuckled softly to himself as he rubbed sunscreen onto his face in gentle circles, making sure he covered each inch of skin. He had managed not to get burned yet, and there was no way he was risking his streak, even if Vanjie was more impatient than a toddler sometimes.

Brooke went back into the room, ready to do the hardest part of the day. Picking what to wear. Nina had pointed out a few personal faves, and Brooke ended up grabbing the floral shorts that both Nina and the shop assistant had said looked good on him.

Brooke took a look in the mirror. The swim shorts - which he did get a size up, thank you very much - were decorated liberally with various hawaiian flowers. He felt like himself, though a slightly more bougie version. Brooke grabbed a sky blue shirt, not bothering to button it up since it stretched tight across his chest. Nina had called it fashion and said he looked swole .

/

The sun hadn’t always been a friend of Nina’s. However, generous amounts of sunscreen - SPF 50, of course - had allowed him the luxury of basking in the sun while on this cruise. If only he were careful and applied a new layer at regular intervals, he was golden. Literally, which he had every intention of getting.

“This is so unfair.”

Vanjie’s voice never failed to catch Nina’s attention. Brooke was smothering Vanjie in sunscreen, running his broad palms down Vanjie’s arm, and from the whine in Vanjie’s voice, Nina knew this was a prime chance for a story to evolve.

“I thought this would be some sensual shit.” Vanjie fretted, legs bouncing up and down as he shifted impatiently. “You could at least butter me up with some oil instead so I can get my tan on.”

Vanjie was full of golden nuggets, little pieces of information that Nina was carefully putting aside for future use. His podcast thrived on stories of Vanjie’s adventures and crazy theories, and Nina had to thank his excellent memory for allowing him to tuck every word aside, so that he could write it down later. His most listened to episode of the podcast so far had featured Vanjie, his friend agreeing to come on and explain a few of his most popular quotes. Nina’s co-host, Patricia, had been all up in arms, excited and even more bubbly than normal while displaying her sincere disappointment in the fact that Vanjie was not only taken, but also gay, as she had never met a man she had wanted to marry more.

“Just sit still.” Brooke ran his hands across Vanjie’s arms, tongue poking out from between his teeth in concentration. “You’ll burn if you don’t let me put this sunscreen on you. And then I’ll have to put up with your whining.”

“Pfth. Sunscreen. That’s just some marketing mumbo jumbo. I don’t need this just let me go.”

Brooke looked as if someone had just slapped him squarely across the face.

“… Are you saying you don’t believe in sunscreen?”

Nina had rarely seen Brooke look so dumbfounded, Vanjies mouth already running, babbling like a waterfall. “It’s like the florade in the water-

“The what?”

“The florade. You know that mind control shit that the government put in the water. Sunscreen is the same.”

“Do you mean floride?”

“Sssh Brooke, let her finish.” Nina waved her hand at Brooke in an effort to silence him, perching up in her seat.

“I ain’t ever used sunscreen and I’m fine. Rays from space? Who even made that up?”

Nina sat up straight, throwing her legs over the side of her chair in an effort to look closely at Vanjie. “Tell me more, tell me more.”

“Nina don’t-“

“Besides, even if them UN rays are real.”

“UV. It’s UV rays.” If looks could kill, Nina would already have been dead, Brooke shooting daggers at him.

“Even if they are, I’m Latinx! It’s like, the protection is in my blood, you know?” Vanjie held his head high and proud, and Nina could feel her cheeks straining from the insane smile that was plastered there, Vanjie clearly on a tangent. “Everyone be talking about skin cancer, but there ain’t no person in my family who has ever used sunscreen and my Abuela lived to 105!”

Nina had to bite her lip, breathing deep not to fall into a full on crackle. “So, just to be clear. You’re saying you can’t get skin cancer because of your race?”

“I might have to reeducate myself.” Vanjie smiled, his eyes sparkling. “Cause when you say it like that, I usually put my foot in my dang mouth. Damn Nina, you always make me feel like a dumbass.”

“You’re not dumb,” Brooke reassured him, squeezing his biceps teasingly. “You’re just horribly misinformed.”

“You still love me?”

If Nina didn’t know them both so well, she might not have noticed how Vanjie’s face visibly fell before morphing into the mirror image of a relaxed grin. She might also not have noticed how Brooke - the Brooke she had known for so many years, the canadian queen of solitude - pressed the most tender of kisses to the patch between Vanjie’s shoulder blades.

“I’ll always love you.”

/

Ariel licked the side of his ice cream cone, catching a drop of vanilla flavored liquid that was making it’s escape. He had been enjoying the sun when noise from the pool had distracted him. Silky had accidentally fired a beach ball into Detox’s face, the queens quickly breaking up into factions, the water fight of a century starting as everyone got dragged into it, or at least, nearly everyone.

Ariel spotted Brooke near the railing, his sister standing with his phone and taking pictures.

“Look at you.” Ariel smiled, licking his ice cream. “Out here, thotting it up while the world has gone into madness.”

“.. What?” Brooke looked up from his phone, and Ariel realised with delight that Brooke had no idea about the water fight.

“Nothing, I just wasn’t sure you knew what patterns were until now,” Ariel commented, nodding towards Brooke’s shorts.

“Have you not seen my drag?” Brooke huffed, although there was nothing but jest in his voice.

“Do you need help?”

“You’re offering me help?”

“Why not?” Ariel shrugged. “Besides, it’s not like there’s anything more fun to do.” If Ariel played his cards just right, he would secure his entertainment for the rest of the day. Keeping Brooke distracted would mean there was no one who could break up the fight, and if Ariel was lucky, Silky was getting annihilated by the pool as they spoke.“New day, new me.”

/

“Twist your back.”

Brooke had laughed when Ariel had insisted on oiling his chest, but as Brooke looked over his shoulder, he was sure it would look great. Soju had called Brooke’s Instagram thirst central several times, and while Brooke loved it, he couldn’t help but hope that his fans would notice something else this time around.

“Are you sure this is a good look?”

“Trust my vision, big guy.” Ariel smiled, clapping Brooke’s abs before he tucked the string of his shorts into the waistband. “There is a reason I’m an Instagram queen.”

/

“I can’t believe you left my ass hanging!”

“I told you.” Brooke laughed, Vanjie ready to explode like a little cartoon character as they ran down the hall to get to their room. “I was busy.”

“I called for help and you didn’t come! What good is dating your hot Canadian butt if you don’t come to my aid like some prince on a white moose!”

Brooke snorted. Vanjie had acted like he had been forgotten on the battlefield when Brooke had finally returned. From what Brooke had gathered, the entire thing had turned into a major shitshow, Vanjie jumping on Silky’s team the moment Detox had teamed up with Nina and A’keria, the fight quickly migrating from the pool to cover the entire deck. Ariel and Brooke had returned to Silky and Vanjie in a giant fort, built out of sun chairs, while A’keria had just returned from the gift shop with hands full of water balloons. “I was there for Untucked Papi. You can hold your own.

“I nearly died! What if I had died?!”

“I’ve never heard of anyone dying in a water fight.”

“I could have been the first!”

“If you had,” Brooke laughed, grabbing Vanjies arm and pulling him in, spinning them around before he pushed Vanjie against the wall. “I would have mourned you appropriately.”

“Just kiss me you fucking asshole.”

/

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Best idea I ever had.” Vanjie smiled, excitement radiating off him. “It’s gonna look sick.”

“Unless you break your neck.” Brooke smiled back, Vanjie’s good mood almost infectious though the other man had no reason to be as excited as he was. They were stuck in rehearsals, the cruise company wanting every queen to participate in a big finale show at their end destination, and while Brooke wasn’t opposed to it, he was again and again reminded why he prefered to work alone. Brooke and Vanjie had been the last to slip into the room, Raja laughing at them, but thankfully none of the staff had pointed it out. “Just because you saw it on Youtube, doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.”

“If I fall and break my neck, Imma come back and haunt your dick so I’m fine either way.”

“Come on then.”

Vanjie ran, bare feet touching the floor, extending his arms, Brooke catching Vanjie’s hands and using the momentum to swing Vanjie over his head, Brooke clicking his elbows into place as Vanjie tried to find his balance, Brooke’s boyfriend doing a handstand above his head, both of their arms stretched. Vanjie flailed a little, his legs not fully up, and Brooke moved forward instantly, counterbalancing Vanjies weight, his neck bend backwards to watch Vanjie, making sure he was safe. Brooke squeezed Vanjie’s hand, pushing up and using the movement to swing Vanjie down on the other side of his body, his boyfriend landing clean on his feet.

“You ok babe?”

“That, was, awesome!!” Not even a foghorn could have competed with Vanjie in that moment, Brooke almost blown backwards. “Again!”

“Again?” Brooke smiled, Vanjie’s pure excitement contagious.

“Yes bitch again!” Vanjie jumped in place, giddy with the fact that the trick has almost worked perfectly. “Wait, let me find my heels! God this is gonna look fucking sick!”

/

“Concentrate please!

Brooke peeked over the top of his book, Lord of the Flies the latest paperback he was working his way through. It had always been a habit of his to have something with him during his ballet career in case there was downtime, an inevitable part of working in a company. Since Drag Race had aired, he had however raced through his bookshelf, every forgotten copy from strange little stores or shitty airport shelves getting picked up and thumbed through to keep him entertained.

Brooke had picked the choreography up almost instantly, the instructor letting him go after two rounds, Brooke nailing the entire thing on the second go. The same couldn’t be said for Cracker or Nina though, who were still struggling through it, Vanjie caught in the background with Silky which was the exact reason Brooke hadn’t left yet and why he was spread out over a shitty bar booth instead of napping or enjoying the sun.

That, and the fact that his fingers were itching to look at his phone, the smallest part of his brain that he couldn’t control fully spiraling over whenever or not his fans had picked up on his new shorts on Instagram.

The fans were terrifyingly intense sometimes - Brooke sure, without the shadow of a doubt, that if he ever needed to be hospitalised he could ask twitter for his blood type, social security number and medical history and receive it within minutes.

“Hi stranger.” Brooke looked up, faintly recognising the voice. It was Justin, the guy from the clothing store, now carrying a case of beer. “Missed me already?”

“Oh absolutely.” Brooke laughed, a short sound coming from him as he sat up straight, Justin putting the case down on the table. “Didn’t realise this was your bar.”

“So, you’re not just a regular guest, huh?” Justin smiled, his white teeth bright in the half dark of the room.

Brooke felt a brief surge of unease. It had been nice chatting to a complete stranger, and Brooke was already mourning the loss of that a little bit, the days on the cruise making him feel like he was an animal at the zoo. “Who told you?”

“Doesn’t take a genius to figure that out when you’re in a closed bar during the day. You’re one of the dancers, right?”

Brooke smiled, quick relief coming to him. “Or maybe I’m just a really enthusiastic alcoholic?”

“That’d be the first alcoholic I’ve seen that reads Lord of the Flies and goes on cruises for fun.” Justin sat down, Brooke moving over to make space. “How do you like it so far?”

“You’ve read it?”

“Of course!” Justin smiled. “Required reading and all that, though I disagree with the idea of human nature being this uncaged animal, just waiting for a chance to get out.”

“I think I’d be pretty uncaged too if I had to survive on badly cooked jungle meat prepared by preteens.”  Brooke thumbed through his copy. “How do you feel about the conch?”

“As a symbol for society?”

“It could appear that way.” Brooke smiled. “But in Hinduism-“

“Wasn’t the story published in like.. 1951?”

“1954, but in Hinduism conches were believed to be able to banish evil. Blow the conch, the kids have to listen, seems like a classic metaphor to me.”

“Because the banishment of evil worked real well for the boys.” Justin smirked.

“Better than a symbol of society.”

“If you insist on being contrary, let me just point out that the fragility of the material could be a metaphor for the weakness of-“

“Structured power!” Brooke laughed, quickly folding down the page in his copy so he could save the note Justin had given him.

“Exactly!” Justin laughed. They continued talking, shooting back and forth, Justin apparently still in college part time where he was finishing up a creative writing degree, their taste in books almost identical. Brooke didn’t even realise he had completely forgotten his phone, he and Justin quickly getting thrown into a rapid discussion on what the story would have turned into with all female characters

/

“It’s so fuckin hot back here.” Vanjie grumbled, fanning himself with his hand. Nina was still struggling, the cocktails he had had in the sun earlier that day affect his already slow ability to pick up a routine. “Can’t believe we gotta be stuck for this shit.” Vanjie was only wearing a loose t-shirt and shorts, the drawstring tightly secured since Brooke’s fingerprints had started to appear after their rut after lunch. Vanjie secretly loved it, his darker skin not picking up marks as easily as Brooke’s, but there was something special about carrying an imprint around, five perfect fingers blossoming on his right hip.

Silky laughed, his best friend sweating like a sinner in church. Cracker was going through it again, the choreographer showing him the steps, and they had the briefest of breaks. Vanjie would have gotten off stage, but he was sure he was caught in some Sisyphus nightmare, the rock he was hurling up a dumb hill Cracker’s two left feet and Nina’s Disney dancing ass.

“Here.” Silky handed Vanjie a bottle of water.

“Nah I’m good.”

“Come on cyst, gotta stay hydrated.” Silky grinned, holding the bottle to Vanjie’s lips.

Vanjie hit the bottle, water almost spraying everywhere. “My hydo- huda- hydaration is fucking fine, besides, I don’t want no sloppy seconds.”

“Oh so you’re a nice girl who only has premium meat?” Silky wiggled his eyebrows, making Vanjie snort.

“Fuck off.” Vanjie laughed. “Brock! Babe, where you at!” Vanjie held his hand above his eyes, blocking out the stage lights, scanning the dark bar. “Can I have a water please?!”.

Normally, Brooke would come running right away, his boyfriend the most caring person Vanjie had ever met from the moment they had stepped off the race, but as he waited one beat and then two, nothing came. Vanjie had expected Brooke to be somewhere, happily reading whatever nerd book he was into right now, but what he saw was something completely and gut wrenchingly different. Vanjie saw Brooke and someone else, a stranger, sitting together in a booth, open beer bottles in hand, Brooke openly, happily and loudly discussing something, the smile on his face so bright he might as well have been looking at the sun.

“Give me that stupid bottle.”

[justcallmebrock]

1 - Lost

“Zoey!!” I’ve been shouting for the past thirty minutes and nothing.

I sighed in annoyance and continue to walk the dirt path I’ve been on. I was suppose to be exploring with two of my best friends but I stopped to take pictures and they left me behind. Now I’m lost and can’t be found apparently, or is it the other way around? I have no clue but I feel alone and it isn’t a good feeling.

“Where the hell did you guys go?” I say to myself and feel the nice warm breeze on my shoulders and sweaty back.

It was in the end of October in California and it was still hot. My face felt sunburnt and so did my shoulders which I kept applying sunscreen but I knew it wasn’t working. I continue further down a pathway and seen a small river so I walked over to have a seat and just rest my legs a little. The sun was setting soon and if I can’t find anyone, I’m screwed and alone.

I tried once more to call them but once I found zoey’s number, my phone decided to die. Great.

I put my dead phone back in my bag and just laid back against it, I needed to close my eyes for a moment.

That’s when I started to hear very faint voices from off to the side of me and I jumped up, thinking it was Zoey and her boyfriend Alex. I stand to my feet and grab my bag, wrapping it over my shoulders and feeling a tingling from rubbing on my, for sure now, sunburned shoulder. I winced as I walked toward the voices but then I stopped, realizing that those voices were not Zoey or Alex. I turn around to hide behind some huge rocks but being careful not to run into any snakes or big ass spiders.

“I know dude, I looked into this place. Supposably, people came here to do like rituals and satanic stuff.” I hear a deep voice talking about the devils caves.

The devils caves is a “make believe” story which I never believed. People said a long time ago people would come here to sacrifice and kill animals to please Satan and then leave them in the cave so the devil could eat them. Basically people murdering people and animals because they’ve gone nuts from the heat because getting to the caves, you have to walk a long distance to get to it.

“Dude I’m kind of scared.” I hear another voice, more scratchy then the other one.

“So am I.” I hear that same deep voice but closer.

The sun finally settled down behind the mountains and my heart started to rattle in my chest. I wasn’t scared but I was curious as to who these guys were.

My friends and I came here because they did YouTube channels on exploring abandon places and other things too. I didn’t though, I basically do their research for them. I read into the stories and background of the places they want to go too and what to bring and pack just in case. I didn’t care for the YouTube fame or the social media.

“Hello?” I hear that deep voice closer.

Did he hear me?

I start to crouch more down but my foot slipped and I slid down the small hill into the stream I was just at.

“What was that?” I hear the other guy say, his voice sounded scared.

I smiled a little but reacted fast and rushed over to a bush on the other side of the small stream.

“I swear I heard it over here.” That deep voice said.

“Maybe its an animal? Let’s go, Colby.” I hear that scratchy voice say.

Colby must be the curious one because I finally seen him come closer. The bush I was hiding behind was very see through so I seen his figure walking around.

“Dude I swear I see someone.” Colby said looking straight at me.

I dug in my boot for my pocket knife and swung it open, getting ready if he tried anything.

“Colby? C’mon man. It’s getting dark and we were suppose to be at the caves already.” I hear his friend say.

“Hey! Come out!” I hear Colby shout.

“Colby?!” I hear his friend shout.

I jump out and ready my stance, these guys better not try anything. His friend was carrying a camera that shined a very bright light and Colby held his hands out as of telling me he meant no harm.

“Woah, woah! We aren’t going to hurt you. We’re explorers.” Colby says with a very stern tone.

“Yeah, we mean no harm.” His friend said with a shaky tone.

“I’m lost. I was looking for my friends.” I explain but not loosening my stance.

“We can help you find them. I’m Sam and this is Colby.” Sam explains.

Colby smiles and I then relax, “Why are you up here?” I ask.

“We could ask you the same thing?” Colby said with a mocking tone.

I roll my eyes and put my pocket knife away, “I came up here with some friends to go find the devils caves.” I explain, “I heard you guys talking about it so I’m assuming you guys are here for that too?”

Sam laughs, “Apparently you didn’t need to ask. You knew.”

“I just wanted to make sure. Can’t be to careful nowadays.” I smile.

Colby chuckles and looks at his blonde friend, “Well, let us help you find your friends. They’re probably at the caves already. Have you tried your cell?” He asked.

“My phones dead.” I say as I lift my hands up in defeat.

“Well c’mon, let’s get walking.” Sam says as they both start walking back up the hill.

I follow without hesitation, I didn’t know what else to do so I didn’t have a choice in the matter or having a feeling that my friends weren’t even trying to find me.

—Thank you for viewing. I hope you enjoyed and any feedback, good or bad, would be great! I’m open to new ideas and just anything. I have other short stories I also would love to post but I’m going to start with this one and see where it leads me. I’ll try to updated every Monday! 🤗

[vesperlionheart]

UnDeR- the-MirRroR

An old monster!Saku prompt I found! Just in time for MerMay, too.  Thank @thefreckledone and her Mermay prompts

The metal of the railings was cool against her forehead as Sakura leaned her face down and starred at the waters passing by underneath her feet. She sat on the edge of the yacht with her feet free to dangle as the rest of the people her own age laughed and moved about the deck. It was so close to twilight in the summer and the air was heavy with more than just expectation. The humidity had girls stripping down to the strings of their bikini’s and laughing at the boys until they followed suit and made it a swim party where no one touched the water.  

Hinata’s family owned the lake, just like the yacht and half the town, but the superstitions and folk stories of the lake belonged to no man. No one would go swimming in the lake until they passed over the sunken town from the early 1900’s that was evacuated and flooded to make a dam later on in the decade. It had been a case of the government coming in and playing the ‘imminent domain’ card so they could use the lands for their own hush hush work. Or at leas they could until funds dried up in the mid 90’s.

The story was ridiculously famous among the youth with good reason. Local gossip flared and died in popularity, but the stories of the ghosts of the town of Mizu and the things ‘let’ into the waters would always be a hot button in a town of folks who had lived and died around the lake. Households spanning more than three generations would swear up and down that there was something wrong with the lake; weather that meant ghosts or lake monsters, almost everyone believed it was safer to avoid.

One of the girls squealed when a boy came up behind her and faked a move that made it look like he was going to throw her over. The rest of her friends slapped him away with giggles and friendly jokes. No one seemed too honestly freaked about going over, but Sakura knew they would all wait until they passed over the old dam walls before swimming. During the Monsoon season it was easy to pass over the wall, but when the water level went down, the walls seemed to rise up. Last year there had been a drought so bad the steeple’s point on the old church was visible, like a saber standing out of the water pointing to the sky.

“Where’s your sexy bikini?” a chuckling voice asked from over her shoulder. Sakura looked back to see Kiba holding out a bottle of sunscreen. He smiled wide when their eyes met and shook the bottle. “Need me to rub you down?”

Sakura made an effort to show how she rolled her eyes at his offer. “I have a spray, thank you, and I already applied before we left.” She turned around, facing the waters once more and leaking her back turned towards him. “But thanks for the offer. See if Ino needs help.”

“You’re not hanging out with us anymore,” Kiba pouted, crouching down alongside her.

Sakura just kept staring out across the lake, trying to see the outlines of the places they never bothered to tear down before the flood. When Kiba fidgeted she sighed. “Sorry, I’ve only been back a month. You’ve known each other since diapers. What’s seven childhood years in the face of that?”  

When it looked like Kiba was going to open his mouth and say something in kindness that wasn’t necessarily true, she resolved to cut him off with another fake laugh. “Oh don’t make a face. I’m just tired. Finals, you know?”

Kiba grinned and it was an easy sort of grin. “Yeah, but who cares about those. I think you’re the only one.”

“Junior year is just as important as senior year. Collages look at those grades too.”

Kiba laughed again and said something about, ‘ah, that’s why we all love you,’ before standing up again with his sunscreen still in his hands. “You’re so driven. Don’t you think you need to relax and live life a little bit more. School is done, we don’t have to be back in classes for another two months. Enjoy!”

“I will,” she lied with an easy smile. “I just want to watch the water a little more. I’ve not seen it like this in years.”

Kiba frowned, good mood deflating a bit. “Ah, it’s in poor tastes that Neji is making us cross this section of the lake just because he doesn’t want to look like the rest of his superstitious family. I don’t like it, but it’s the safest place to shoot off fireworks.”

Sakura’s brows furrowed in confusion. “But it’s pretty to look at, like you can still see the roads and stuff,” Sakura hummed, eyes trained on the water. 

There were plenty of long shadows, but not enough to make it hard to see. Every so often she’d spot a sparkling tail fin or school of fish gliding through what was left of the roofless houses and buildings. It was a destruction of sorts, but to Sakura it was still beautiful.

“Yeah, well take your good long look, we’re nearly out of it now, and none too soon. I plan on putting these babies to good use,” Kiba joked, turning his back to the waters and flexing his arms so every line of his stood out in tanned detail. He grinned and Sakura rolled her eyes at his bravado.

He might have stayed longer, but one of the girls called out to him with an encouraging woo hoo, and the young boy was off like a puppy, eager to please. Sakura recognized most of the kids along the railing, they had all been friends back in grade school, but when she had turned seven her parents had packed up and traded in the small old town for the big city. Sakura had been able to adapt easily enough, but coming back to the old town of Konohagakure was a different story. It didn’t help that she was coming back with just her mother. Dad had died a year ago leaving the women of the family to move in wither her maternal grandfather. No one else would take in such a broken woman.

A shrill cheer broke Sakura off from her thoughts and she looked up to see the dam walls. Neji eased their speed as they passed over the lowest point of the wall, the broken bit. The waters were high enough that no one had to be worried about scraping the bottom against cement. Still, it was neat to watch.

As soon as they were over, one of the girls ran to the tip and threw both her legs over. Someone yelled at her, but she hung by her friends until Neji cut the engine and let their vessel glide through the calmer waters. Sakura blinked at the sight, not at all surprised to see it was Inoi who drew the most eyes.

“Damn impatient woman,” the Nara boy grumbled, taking his time to undo the buttons to his loose cotton top. From beside him Choji chuckled in understanding.

Sakura tried to remember the two boys as anything other than Ino’s close family friends, but it was hard. Shikamaru Nara had little personality outside of his extreme laziness, or if there was a personality there, Sakura couldn’t see it yet. Choji, on the other hand, was shy and kind around his friends. With Sakura he was still gruff, but not as gruff as he was with those who he didn’t know anything about at all.

The girl on the end dropped off with a squeal and a splash. Seconds later a few of her friends joined in, screaming and hollering all the way down. The loudest was a boy named Rock Lee who Sakura tried her best to avoid once she recognized how lively and upfront he could be. He didn’t think anything about it when he hugged people or shook their hands or touched their shoulders because he was a boy built out of innocence. He was kind and polite and passionate about things like working out and exercise, but he was still a boy and she still didn’t like it when people touched her anymore.

About half the group was in the water now, with the other half pulling out food and drinks to serve now that they had stopped. Hinata tried her best to make everything nice looking, and Sakura could see the small girl was fretting about every little detail  when it was obvious no one was going to care by this point. For an heiress, she wasn’t very confident in anything.

“Here,” Sakura said, taking a stack of napkins. She laid them out and then showed Hinata how she used her fist to flare them out in a decorative way before dropping a polished stone weight on the top to keep them from flying. “Anything else I can help you with?”

“Our cousin needs a girlfriend, you interested?” Hanabi asked, poking out from behind her elder sister. The younger girl’s smile was impish and wide.

Hinata blustered and Sakura mentally exhaled before faking another laugh. “I’ll get the plastic forks then. Let me know if the table needs any more help.”

Sakura took her time in the cabin’s kitchen pulling out all the things that had been specifically packed for the trip. Plastic forks, decorations, bowls, dry snacks, and in the very back was a stash of Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey. She put everything but the booze out, hoping it had been a mistake.

It took a few trips, but when she came back out from throwing the empty chip bags away she nearly ran into a solid wall of skin and jerked sharply backwards to avoid running into Naruto. He saw who she was at once and the way his eyes lit up was easy to catch.

“Sakura, I should have known you would be the smart one who put out the food!”

“He-hello Naruto,” Sakura said after a swallow. He was almost as touchy feely as Lee and just as just as loud, if not more so. Also, before she had moved away, Naruto had been her best friend along with Sasuke Uchiha-the boy no one talked about. With few others being able to stand the hyper active blond, the pair had been joined at the hit until her last day. It didn’t help that Naruto still had a little crush on her.  

“Did you see me jump? I got a bigger wave than Rock Lee. Ha, you should have seen his face. He’s exhausted himself trying to keep up with this.” Naruto flexed comically.

“Somehow I doubt that is even possible,” a new voice interrupted. Naruto scowled when Sakura looked back over her shoulder to see Neji Hyuga carrying out a bowl of fruit jello. As stoic as he was, Neji had been close to Rock Lee and defended the overactive boy whenever he was being put down by others. Naturally, Naruto thought Neji was an ass.

Neji looked cooly past Naruto’s shoulder and then glanced sideways at Sakura before addressing Naruto again. “Where is he, anyway?”

Naruto shrugged, grin growing. “He was looking for Sakura, so I told him she’s somewhere in the water.”

“But I never went swimming,” Sakura said, watching as Naruto’s grin grew wider. Neji scowled.

“Yeah, I know that, but I don’t think he did.”

“You’re dishonest in the most frustrating ways,” Neji bit out before moving pass to put his food on the table and head towards the railing.

Naruto rolled his eyes before watching him go. Once he was almost out of sight, Naruto grabbed Sakura’s elbow, making her jerk. He didn’t notice, but took the chance to drag her away, back into the kitchen.

“What are you doing?” Sakura hissed.

“Neji’s family always has some booze stored away somewhere. We should find it.”

“Why?”

Naruto laughed. “To make sure it’s still good.”

“You’re going to get into trouble one day,” Sakura sighed, reaching up and running a hand through his wet hair, making it stick up. He stilled, looking up at her from where he crouched with eyes as blue as the lake around them. It was enough to make her remember how he had been a child with her, and forget how they were past all that now. She pulled her hand away and looked back at the cabin they were inside, ignoring the way he still looked at her.

“Yeah, but you’ll be able to save me from it, right? You’re not going away again.” He didn’t say it like it was a question, he said it like a wish.

“Where would I go like this?” Sakura asked around a yawn. Outside it was getting dim. Soon there would be fireworks.

“I’m tired of my favorite people leaving me, is all.”

Sakura looked over at Naruto again and understood what he didn’t say. No one talked about Sasuke, and she hadn’t asked, but she knew his leaving wasn’t a clean sort of leaving. Sasuke left something bitter in the memory of all his friends and now was her chance to find out what. Naruto would tell her, he probably wanted to.

Sakura almost opened her mouth to ask him for it, when she remembered how little she liked people knowing about her and where she’s been.

“How about we skip the Jack. I’ll go swimming with you instead.”

Naruto’s grin was bright enough to make something in her heart hurt. The pair approached the railing on one side of the ship just as a couple of swimmers were climbing up the opposite side. Naruto saw Rock Lee and cursed, making a dive for the water’s surface. He had reached for her, to drag her along with him, but Sakura weaved out of reach and dove in on her own, making her hands a cutting point that divided the waters in front of her.

The lake was crystal and cool all around her, and Sakura found her body moving all on its own as lack swim memories  came back to her. She cut through the water and glided with ease, a little too in love with the feel.

When she looked back Naruto and Lee were water wrestling. The waves around them were foaming and loud, even with the muffled acoustics. Kiba was close, swimming closer to the boys with Neji trailing in his waves.  

Sakura peaked for air and then dove back down, turning towards the end of the dam they had passed over earlier. No one swam past it, but Sakura had been a bit too fascinated with what she saw to follow their example. She had to peak for air once more before swimming over the submerged dam that separated one side of the lake from the other.

Sakura took a lungful of air from the surface and then bent into the waters again, pumping her legs to force her body down to the deep parts of the lake that had once been streets between houses. She could still see the stone outlines of where foundations were set from some of the most damaged buildings. Following the road she swam bast structures that were more intact than others. Some still even had doors hanging on crusted over hinges.

She swam up for air once more but then came back down, swimming past the steeple of an old church. She circled the bell tower, not surprised to find it void of the bell it had been suited for.

Sakura swam close enough to touch the church, feeling the wood as old as history beneath her fingers. With a kick she swam through an open window and out a hole in the side of the church. She laced through again, delighting in the sensation before having to swim up for more air.

She moved to kick up just as something caught on her ankle. She choked on a mouthful of lake water as she cried out in surprise. Water bubbled around her as her moves turned frantic. She caught sight of a fin and something silver and scaled. Her heart burned in fear, knowing she was the intruder in something else’s habitat.

Sakura kicked frantically and felt whatever was around her ankle slacken. It was enough for her to propel herself through another window and kick up off the sill up, up, up, up towards the glassy surface of the lake. She reached and the water broke as she came up, lungs gasping for air.

She didn’t stop. As soon as she could, she kicked off and swam with all the speed fear fed her, until she was over the dam’s wall and back in sight of the yacht.

The boys weren’t fighting anymore, but Naruto had Kiba on his shoulders while Rock Lee lifted Neji up to wrestle Kiba into the water. Ino and several others cheered from the railing, but no one seemed to have missed her.

All the better for her to not suffer the embarrassment of someone’s chastising.

Sakura turned around in the water and glanced back as far as she could see, into the ruins of the sunken town. It had been fun to explore and exciting to see. Her fear was still fresh enough to taste, but something else warmed her heart.

Maybe she had imagined it. She probably just got caught on some weed and saw a fish in her panic. She had over reacted after hearing the other kids talk about superstitions and curses.

‘The people who refused to leave were drowned when the dam was put in. Dozens died and were turned into watery ghosts who drown anyone who dares invade their home.’

“Silly,” Sakura said outloud to herself.

She turned and headed back to the party, pumping strong arms without fear or knowing what watched her leave. She didn’t look back, and she didn’t see the silvery body or wide, wounded eyes that watched her go.

[newgeht]

Binding Ink

Summary: Everyone had a name forever embellished on their wrist. This was the name of their mortal enemy… Or at least it was supposed to be. MinLu (Minerva x Lucy) AU

Wordcount: 4,650

AO3 FFnet Wattpad

She awoke, the sun blinding her doe brown eyes upon opening them. She cringed from its brightness, slinging her burnt, pink forearm over her eyes. How long had she been out for? “Natsu!!! Why didn’t you tell me to move into the shade!!!” The blonde whined, blistering pain shooting through her whole body. 

Maybe she should have thought about bringing sunscreen on the school’s trip to the beach. Then again, she wouldn’t have put it on because she wanted a nice tan. It also didn’t help her situation due to the fact that her whole back side was seared from the great big ball of fire that hung in the sky. Her tan would be so uneven.

Natsu ran over at her call, innocent hazel eyes peering into her. “Gray calls me a sun bum, but look at you.” He burst into a fit of laughter, slapping his knee as he looked over Lucy. 

“You were supposed to keep that from happening,” she exclaimed, throwing some sand at the pink haired teen. “Look at me, my back is as pink as your hair!”

He chuckled, “I didn’t want to wake ya up, Luce. Last time I did something like that, ya gave me a black eye. Don’t cha remember that?”

She pouted, pulling her sunglasses down over her eyes.

“You could have at least dragged me under the shade. I thought best friends were supposed to keep one another from getting hurt.” Yes, best friends. Not lovers as everyone constantly thought they were. Can’t a girl just have a male in her life without believing they were involved somehow? The same thing happened with her close friend Gray, but their relationship was a little complicated…

A hand came down on her ass, the blonde yelping.

“Damn, Luce. The sun got you pretty good.” She recognized that dark and cool voice anywhere, Gray Fullbuster. “You ever heard of something called sunscreen?”

“Ow! You…” She didn’t want to curse him out in public. “I swear Gray, if you do that again, I’m going to make sure you regret it!” She huffed, looking at the both of them. “If you two are going to stand there and ogle me, can you get me some aloe vera or something?”

Natsu ran off, not wanting to endure the wrath of Lucy. Gray sat next to her, crossing his legs and patting her head. The touch wasn’t foreign, but now she felt uneasy whenever they touched. Like it was taboo somehow.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure your tan will even itself out soon enough.” He began to dig a small pit in front of him, sand flying everywhere. His musings with the sand caused the blonde to do the same, her hands roving through the warm grains.

“No shit. I’m not that butthurt about it, plus,” she threw some sand his way, “I thought you would have been more likely to come save me.” She regretted saying it as soon as it came out of her mouth. She swore she would never try to bring up their previous relationship, she’d never meant to hurt him. They were only messing around, wasn’t that what high school was for?

She cringed as memories started to resurface, and she looked over at Gray. His face was as stoic as ever, his jawline just as tense as their current atmosphere. What else could she do to ruin this day?

“Could’a, should’a, would’a, but I was occupied with socializing with the other high schools that are present. You should be too, but you decided to take a nap instead.” The coolness of his voice turned sharp, patronizing her.

A sigh spilled from her lips and she decided not to say anything in return. It was hard to know that he was still into her, and she was sad that she couldn’t return his affections. Gray was really a nice guy, it just sucked that she was gay. Like, super-duper unbelievably gay, loving other girls as much as she loved her spirits. She wished that she hadn’t had to fuck around with Gray to find that out.

As soon as she had officially come out, everything between them had become different, but she couldn’t quite place her finger on it. He had never fully recovered, and now they were stuck in a stale silence. A frown formed on her lips, digging her feelings into the white sand.

A thump resounded through the air, sand splashing onto her back and into her hair.

“There ya go, Luce.” Natsu plopped down beside her, just as Gray had done not long ago. “Some sunscreen and aloe vera for your back.” The fire mage squeezed the sunscreen onto her back, a small groan of relief coming out of her. It didn’t matter that there was sand everywhere; him tending to her red back was enough to make her happy at the moment.

“Thanks, Natsu. Make sure you rub it in well, along with the aloe vera.” She was glad Natsu didn’t notice anything was amiss - she didn’t want to explain her and Gray to him again. Dense as he was, her best friend was the first to notice the awkward tension between them. She mainly blamed it on that keen nose of his.

As he smeared the cold substance in her back, she lifted her wrist up to her face. The black printed letters still baffled her everytime she looked at them. The lettering was only seen by her and the person whose name she was looking at. Minerva, the name contained power and it made her anxious for the day she was to meet whoever it was; a female, she assumed.

The ink held a purple tint -  as if that would give any indication to who it would be. Calligraphy letters fitting on her wrist so perfectly, it was amazing that such a magic existed.

From how she understood it, long ago the first great sorcerer enchanted his pupils with the same magic that tattooed her wrist. He ordered this group to fight against the one who had been imprinted upon them -  this allowed only for the greatest wizard to live. This tradition continued from generation to generation, only the strongest in the pair surviving to create the greatest wizard offspring. This enchantment applied only to mages -  not that it surprised her.

Nowadays, their teachers said that this enchantment was to keep the magic population from growing too much. It made sense considering the possibilities of what the world would be like if there were too many mages. The school faculty along with many other scholars theorized that the world would be in chaos without this magic.

If the ratio of mages were to be close to that of the normal population, things would go haywire. It was hard enough for the Magic Council to control the current mage population, just imagining the doubling or tripling of said population would give her a headache. No one would be able to control a tidal wave of magic users, she shuddered at the thought. Envisioning the world in utter discord wouldn’t do good for her “good day at the beach.”

Now that she realized it, the hands on her back were much too gentle to be her best friend’s. Natsu’s hands were calloused and hard, but these were tender. Whoever’s hands were roaming around her back definitely were not Natsu’s.

Not noticing the switch in the person made her smile to herself. She had gotten lost in her own thoughts, yet again.

The fingers were working absolute wonders but their positioning wasn’t the best. Thighs clamped around her own, pelvis sitting right on top of hers. Soft and delicate fingers ground into the muscles of her back, being soothed and relieved from all the tension.

Lucy’s hair swayed over her shoulder, the blonde catching the bobbed, pure white hair before her brown eyes met another pair of the same ones. It was none other than her good friend - and Natsu’s girlfriend - Yukino Aguria. She was an absolute angel to be doing her a favor like this.

“Yuki~,” the celestial mage cooed, “how come you didn’t tell me you were here? I thought Sabertooth wasn’t coming.”

She thought it odd for the other celestial mage to be here - Sabertooth never interacted with any of the other high schools. Ever. For them to be here was more perplexing than a surprise, where did the sudden change come from?

“We weren’t, but we decided a senior ditch day today would be best. Natsu told me all about this little beach trip you guys were taking,” the light blue-haired mage responded, her thumbs now pressing deep into Lucy’s shoulder blades. A groan came from the blonde as the girl continued to speak. “We would have been here earlier, but Natsu didn’t tell me until this morning.” She turned her head to the side, looking at the fire mage sweat drop.

“I totally forgot about it babe… until you said you didn’t want to go to school today.” He rubbed his head behind his head, an awkward laugh coming from his chapped lips.

Her best friend’s relationship was beyond her understanding, but at least he managed to be successful with someone. Unlike herself, whose romantic affairs always ended terribly. Gray was not the first to endure her crazy antics. She didn’t have a great long list, but it seemed as if nothing was going to ever work in her relationships with others. It always was one thing after another when she tried to be with someone, with recent events causing her to stay off the dating scene for the time being.

Being in a relationship right now would be almost impossible with rumours of her and Gray’s minglings getting around to the student population. Doomed is what she was. Absolutely doomed.

A cool finger tapped her shoulder, and Lucy found her eyes meeting Gray’s. “You want me to go grab you a drink, Lucy?”

Without thinking, she nodded. The ice-make mage left, leaving the three of them baking in the hot sand.

“Yuki, we should probably move somewhere with more shade,” the celestial maiden suggested, propping herself up on her elbows.

“Thank goodness you said something, I was about to suggest that myself.” The girl got up off of Lucy, helping the blonde up.

“Thanks for giving that massage too, it was super nice.” Lucy leaned over to scoop up her towel. “So who else came with you today? Anyone we would know?”

Yukino shook her head. “I think you would only recognize Sting and Rogue. But there’s more than those two.”

Lucy remembered the pair well. The said duo was caught multiple times sneaking together around campus after hours. It amazed her how they thought their relationship was a deep secret, but everyone knew about their little shenanigans behind closed doors. She was glad none of the underclassmen ever caught them. The Twin Slayers loved each other very much behind closed doors. Thinking about it made Lucy chuckle to herself.

Natsu punched his hand, a small flame forming over it, “Ya mean to tell me there was people to fight, and ya never told me?!” He began to spurt flames from his mouth as he berated his girlfriend with questions.

“N-Natsu, calm down. I told you I was bringing people with me, namely my group of friends.” She stayed a good distance as his body started to de-flame.

The pink haired boy punched his fist into the air as his resolve grew. “Let’s meet them then, I’m sure they’d be good to spar with.”

Both celestial users shook their heads at his silly idea, sighing in unison. His hot-headedness would never change, and Lucy hoped it wouldn’t. It was one of the things she loved about him - she hoped that his childish antics would never change either. She smiled as her friend led her to the spot where the Sabertooth group had set up.

The spot was mostly deserted aside from a very long-haired blond clothed in regular swim trunks, but with a very large red hat sitting on his head. He certainly had quite the style, as he sat in a blue fold up chair reading a hefty tome.

“Hey Rufus.” His hazel eyes only looked at her before returning to his book. Yukino wasn’t fazed by this, she just continued to speak, “This is Lucy, and as you know, my boyfriend Natsu.”

“I’ll commit that to memory,” he flipped the page, not looking at them.

Lucy’s first impression of him wasn’t the best, but Yukino seemed pretty pleased with the way he responded. Brown eyes darted around - there were supposed to be more Sabertooth students than her fellow celestial mage and Rufus.

Closer to the beach, a group of four was divided by a net. Sand was flying about as the duos were scrambling to hit the white ball back and forth over the net. They comprised of three males and a girl, and instantly she recognized Sting and Rogue. The blond and dark haired boy effortlessly worked together to pop the ball back to the other team. She knew them from the student mage exchange program the schools hosted. Which was how she also met Yukino, it was a blessing to have her over at Fairy Tail for that short period of time.

But wow…

Dark hair caught the sunlight as the only girl on the team slid across the sand for the ball. Brown eyes were trained on this mystery girl, looking anywhere her eyes could get ahold of. From this distance the girl was definitely a looker. Hair up in identical and perfect buns and nice curves out in display in a cute purple bikini. How had Yukino kept this friend of hers from Lucy?

She felt absolutely breathless as she observed the dark haired beauty. Hopefully she wouldn’t be different in person, that would be a real disappointment.

A small tinge of pain was felt on her forehead.

“Earthland to Luce.” Natsu grinned as he looked down at her, “You ok? You seemed to be dazed for a second, you sure you only got a sunburn while taking a nap?”

Flustered, Lucy waved her arms around. “No, no, I was just thinking about something is all.” Yeah, how to get that girl’s number. “Let’s go meet the rest of Yukino’s friends, I’m sure they would love to fight you too.”

Overly satisfied by her answer, Natsu grabbed Yukino’s hand, practically dragging her down the rest of the beach to the volleyball game. Sand kicked up behind her as she ran to catch up to the couple.

Minerva would have been a fool to not see the voluptuous blonde walk up to their area with Yukino. Sadly, she couldn’t look over her thoroughly as she was trying to win this game against her classmates. Orga wasn’t much help in their struggle because his hand eye coordination sucked. She was glad he never took up any sports that involved a ball, only wrestling. When it came to pinning an opponent to the floor he was a total beast, but when it came to struggling for the ball the slippery texture of the sand was not doing him any favors.

All she could do was hit the ball as hard as possible so that Sting and Rogue would be too scared to go for it. Thus far, her intimidation tactic wasn’t working, but she did manage to spike the ball a couple of times. Just like what she was about to do right now.

Lifting her arm up, she jumped and with as much force as she could manage and slammed her palm against the ball. The poor volleyball flew forward, its velocity splitting the Twin Dragons apart as it hit the sand between them.

It bounced away, steadily coming to roll; its little adventure ended up at the blonde’s pink toes. Minerva’s hazel eyes surveyed the blonde again -how did her best friend know this girl without telling her? But she had heard Yukino tell stories about her time with a celestial mage in her residence at Fairy Tail. Maybe this was that same exact girl.

Her best friend didn’t give much of a description when giving details about her temporary transfer to the fairy school. Since Yukino rolled up with her boyfriend and the girl in tow, she could assume that the blonde was a fairy as well. Minerva was going to have her fun with her before the day was up -she was almost sure of it.

“Hey, Min-Min,” Yukino chirped as she picked up the volleyball. She dropped the ball, perfectly kicking it back to the group of tigers.

She gave the platinum haired girl a small smile as she caught the ball, getting ready to serve it. “Who do you have with you, Yukino?” Swiftly she popped it back over, making sure to keep a close eye on the ball as it quickly came flying over the net.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Yukino opening her arms to gesture to the kids on either side of her. “As you know, my boyfriend Natsu and my good friend-”

“Aye! Why did you run off?” Another voice overpowered Yukino’s, deep and obnoxious--to her at least. Minerva turned her head to see who it was, a dark-haired boy.

Bad idea.

In her peripherals the ball came flying back and there was absolutely nothing she could do before it hit the side of her head. Her hearing went fuzzy, as she held her hand to her ear. Big ouch - the twins were out for blood with that punch and she definitely felt it. She held her head as everyone began to burst out into laughter, including the ones who had served it.

Just to set a good impression on the blonde, she wasn’t going to do anything to the boys - yet. She turned her head slowly, sending a malicious smile at them as she chuckled darkly to herself. Maybe if she had been more focused it would have never hit her in the first place, but she needed to know who interrupted Yukino.

Then she felt something cool up against the side of her head, small drops of condensation falling down her face.

“That wasn’t nice of them, was it,” a fruity voice camefrom next to her. When did she get here? “This should help you, I think. I hope that hit wasn’t too hard.”

Minerva laughed, turning to see hair as bright as the sun waving enchantingly over the girl’s shoulders. She managed to keep her jaw from dropping in awe of the blonde’s beauty, she was so much better up close. “It wasn’t, don’t worry about it too much.”

She took the soda can from the fairy’s hand, holding it to her head. “Thanks for the makeshift ice pack.” Sarcastically she said, “It should help the swelling go down a bit.”

A light laugh spilled from the blonde’s lips and it made Minerva smile, effortlessly. “It’s no problem, really. You mind if we join in?”

The territory mage shook her head. “Not at all, the more players the better. Right?”

“Of course, I’ll play on your team. You have a really nice spike.” Though she knew she was good at spiking, the blonde’s comment made Minerva’s heart flutter. She turned her head, the blonde calling the rest of her group over.

Natsu spoke up, “I’m going against those two.” He pointed at Sting and Rogue, standing aloof in all the current excitement. They stood on the other side of the net, making small comments to one another., that lay on the other side of the net. “All by myself!” The fairy hit him on the back of the neck, a smack resounding through the air.

“We’re all playing together, so be a good sport,” the blonde chided him as she set herself up next to him.

Orga took one for the team and switched to the other side so that Natsu and Yukino could play together. Funny, all the girls were on the same team. The dark haired boy who distracted her earlier was also on the other side; she could get revenge on all of them at the same time. A devious smirk wiped across her face as she got ready to serve the ball once again.

The opposing team seemed to notice her dark intent, readying up for the ball. Orga held up the back as he was the tallest, and so did the other fairy; the dragons were practically inseparable. Minerva held the ball out, her toes digging into the warm sand as she swung, sending the ball flying over the rope.

It was returned almost immediately, the blonde popping up to send it right back over. It was nice to know that she was somewhat athletic.

The ball was hit back and forth over the net, sometimes the players hitting it or going out of bounds. The group of teenagers werehaving a blast as it went sailing back and forth; some diving for the ball and others (Yukino mostly) shirking away when it came at them aggressively. This was the most fun she’d had in awhile, and she never wanted it to end. She didn’t know how fun a friendly competition could be, especially against the fairies.

Once every couple of matches, she would turn her head to look as the brown eyed fairy gracefully hit the ball. Or, with the most valiant effort, she would go flying for the volleyball even if it was going over the line. Though her back seemed to be sunburnt (Minerva wasn’t completely sure if it was that or a bad tan), she was still beautiful in the sun’s rays. She found it somewhat odd that there was black lettering on her left wrist, the same one that had her future guild mark upon it.

Now after their countless rounds the game was getting a bit more heated, quite literally. She didn’t know how her own best friend could stand Natsu bursting into flames whenever he wanted to. His spontaneous combustions were starting to make the ball super hot, making it harder to hit. It was almost like instant death if your hand stayed on it for too long. This began to make the matches shorter and shorter, which she didn’t approve of.

“Okay, okay,” the dark haired girl exclaimed, “Final match, I’m getting pretty tired.” It was a lie, but she didn’t want to touch the ball anymore. She was much more interested in the pretty blonde beside her. Winning this girl’s affections was more important than winning the game.

“Whoever wins this match wins the whole game!” Sting exclaimed as he twirled the ball on his finger, waiting to serve it. The tiger could agree to that, and she was surprised no one had used their magic the whole game (not including the buffoon, Natsu).

In frightening unison, the rest of them nodded. “We’re going to beat you guys down to the ground!” The unnamed blonde fairy proclaimed, standing proudly in her spot. Minerva looked through the roped squares, glaring at the dark haired fairy, whose gaze was always on the blonde. They didn’t appear to be together, but his longing for her left a sour feeling within her.

Sting chuckled when he served the ball, sending it straight toward the fire mage. Natsu let out his famous line, “I’m all fired up!” When he hit the white ball, it seamlessly transformed into a ball of fire. The other team scrambled out of the way as it went riding toward them.

They all screamed the pink haired boy’s name in lament. It was such an anti-climatic finish to the match, but they won. Now Minervacould rub it in the Twin’s face in retaliation for hitting her in the head with the ball.

She slapped the blonde’s hand as she came by, giving the rest of the group high-fives as well. The fairy’s sportsmanship was refreshing to her, and she congratulated the rest of the team for their efforts. Even Natsu, because of his “accidental” win.

In all the commotion, she looked upon the neverending body of water in front of them. The waves rolled onto the beach, coloring the sand a darker shade than it was previously. Colors burs across the sky as the sun finally came to rest for the day. It was really a sight to take in and it brought a small smile on her lips. She really did love the beach.

The tiger failed to notice the keen eyes upon her as her gaze drifted across the beach. The tiger’s smile looked absolutely perfect, she wished she could have managed to get it on camera. Lucy was enveloped by the perfection in the moment as she saw the unnamed girl lightly smile.

Turning away from her, Lucy cleared her throat, “We should go down into the water now guys. I’m sure we’ll cool down from that match faster that way.”

Gray immediately hopped on her suggestion. “That sounds perfect!” He inched closer to her, not noticing her dodging him when he tried to wrap his arm around her shoulder. Lucy turned to the dark haired tiger.

“Does that sound good to you?” This grabbed the other girl’s attention and she nodded.

“The beach sounds like a wonderful idea at this time,” she answered in a low tone that sent goosebumps all over the celestial mage. Without another word, the dark-haried girl left for the siren’s call of the waves.

“Wait for me,” Lucy said, chasing her sand prints down to the water. Everyone else followed after the pair, scattering into different groups to play in the rejuvenating sea water.

They hardly noticed the cold blue eyes staring Lucy down as she chased after the tiger. They were  unforgiving and sent unwarranted chills down Lucy’s spine as he stood there, the turf hitting his calves.

Soon enough, the fairy stood beside the tiger as they made their way down the wake of the beach. Lucy pulled a strand of hair behind her ear, shyly looking at the dark haired looker next to her. She could feel the blush crawling across her face as she opened her mouth to speak, shutting it closed.

The girl beside her chuckled, kicking the water as it came up over their feet.  Little holes formed in the sand as the little sand crabs dug their way back into their home as the wave was dragged back into the ocean. The dark-haired girl turned her head, her hazel eyes dawning on the celestial mage’s face and she blushed even harder.

“Your name?” They inquired simultaneously. Both looked away, their laughter filling the air.

Her counterpart cleared their throat, “Sorry I didn’t hear your name earlier, your friend cut Yukino out. Please tell me he’s not as annoying as Natsu.”

Lucy giggled as she shook her head, “No, Gray is perfectly fine. Like a more refined version of Natsu.”

“Is he your boyfriend? He couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off of you during the game,” she sounded almost jealous of him.

Now Lucy shook her head vigorously, “N-No.” Her blush deepened as she thought of what to say. “It’s complicated, but it’s over now.”

“Good,” the word slipped from the girl’s mouth so fast. Was that a good or bad thing? She smirked as she continued to speak, “I’m Minerva, by the way.” Her head blocked the blending pallets of the setting sun, her face darkening.

The blonde stopped in her steps, looking at the back of Minerva’s head. She continued to walk, her steps getting slower and slower like Earthland was stopping. The world around her seemed to fade, aghast as she pulled her wrist back up to her face. The black lettering almost haunting now as her eyes wavered over her wrist.  

Minerva.