#y’all need to stand up for black people more man

[tariah23]

Saying it here but nbs and whites need to read every last comment from black ppl on that post about fandom racism and their experiences.

[hauntedhowlett-writes]

𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐛 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐬

pairing: pre-outbreak!joel miller x female reader

rating: explicit

word count: 4.1k

summary: joel agrees to go out to tommy’s favorite bar, where he watches you ride a mechanical bull and wishes you would ride him.

warnings: explicit sexual content (18+ minors do not interact), no use of y/n, dual POV, no defined reader age or physical appearance besides outfits, alcohol use, joel getting slapped, tommy is a little shit, first date anxiety, oral (m receiving), dirty talk, praise, pet names, girl on top, couch sex, unprotected p in v, teasing, deep throating, more men whimpering and begging 2k23. let me know if any warnings are missing!

author’s note: look, i know i’m in the middle of my spooky specials but i saw two very specific tik toks that left me with the need to write this 😵‍💫 also this post layout is inspired by @bits-and-babs, whose works and aesthetic are chef’s kiss.

“Why did you pick this place?” Joel grumbles, hand wrapped around a sweating bottle of beer. People keep jostling him as they squeeze past, forcing him to keep his elbow tight to his side to avoid having his beer be collateral damage.

“You’ll see,” Tommy says with a cryptic wink. Joel rolls his eyes.

Tommy has dragged him out to a saloon style bar, complete with swinging wooden doors and longhorn skulls decorating the walls. Everything is shiny dark wood and western motif, down to the saddle style barstools. Most of the patrons have leaned into the theme, too — tassels, leather, cowboys hats, and ostentatious belt buckles.

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen!” A man’s voice calls out over the speakers. “The show is about to begin!”

“Show?” Joel asks dubiously. Tommy only grins at him, dragging him by the arm towards the back of the bar.

He weaves through the crowd until they’re only behind a few rows of people that have gathered around a mechanical bull riding ring, of all things. The floor of the ring is inflatable and in the middle sits the brown bull figure. Joel catches his first glimpse of you, a gorgeous woman in denim cut offs standing beside the bull. Your black leather halter top plunges low to expose your cleavage and stops short of the waist of your shorts, a tantalizing strip of your stomach on display. The black leather of the top matches your black leather boots and the cuffs snapped around your wrists.

“One of Salty Saloon’s very own has stepped up to take the bull by the horns tonight!”

You lift a hand to wave, bright smile on your face as you take in the crowd. Your eyes land on Joel and for a brief moment he swears he stops breathing. He can’t hear anything the emcee is saying, all the noise around him just a dull buzz as he watches you swing yourself up onto the back of the bull.

“Alright, alright, alright! Our rider’s goal is to stay on for one minute using only one hand! If she falls before the buzzer, y’all get nothin’. But if she makes it, shots are half off for the rest of the night!”

A cacophony of cheers erupts around Joel and you straighten your spine, holding your hand out with a thumbs up. The music starts, some pop song he’s heard on the radio in the morning when he’s taking Sarah to school, and the mechanical bull turns in a slow circle. You have one hand twisted in a leather strap, the other raised above your head as the bull bucks and swings, your hips moving smoothly with the machine.

“Goddamn,” someone says from behind Joel. “I ain’t ever wanted to be a bull so bad in my life.”

Me, too, he thinks.

Your thighs press tight against the sides of the bull as it swings around, turning you to face the section of crowd Joel stands in. You release the hand grip, both hands in the air now as you rely solely on your legs and core to keep you up on the machine. When the machine turns again, you manage to lift your body and swing your legs around to reverse your position, now seated facing the back of the bull.

“Alright, ten more seconds!” The emcee calls out. The crowd starts to cheer your name and Joel can’t help but join in, eyes glued to you as you continue to swing and sway like all the movements are nothing but second nature to you.

“Three! Two! One!”

A cowbell goes off, signaling the end of your ride. The bull slows to a stop and you sit there for a moment to catch your breath, waving at the crowd. The bar owner, Johnny, comes out onto the crash pad with a huge grin on his face.

“Great job up there, kid. Now go sell some half priced shots,” he says with a good natured pat on your shoulder.

You return to the bar, where the other two bartenders scheduled tonight field the after-show rush, lining up shot glasses and filling them in quick succession with the requested liquor. When you get behind the bar, a familiar head of curly hair catches your eye.

“Tommy!” You call, excited to see one of you favorite regulars. He shouts your name as you stop in front of him.

“This is my brother, Joel!” He says, slapping the back of the man beside him. You’d seen him in the crowd, a handsome guy with broad shoulders stretching a dark blue t-shirt, warm tan skin, and messy curls that speak to the family resemblance between him and Tommy. You reach a hand across the bar, Joel’s calloused fingers dragging against your palm as you greet the man.

“It’s nice to meet you, Joel. Can I get y’all anything?” You ask. Tommy grins.

“Let me get this man a slap shot!” He yells.

You glance at Joel. “That okay with you?” You ask.

His eyes are comically wide as he nods. You step back to ring the bell behind the bar, your fellow bartenders whooping and cheering, a chant of “SLAP SHOT! SLAP SHOT!” echoing around you.

Haley sets a glass of water on the bar for you and you grab a pint glass, filling it with ice and two ounces of Jim Beam and amaretto. You smack the steel shaker on top, grabbing both glasses and shaking them vigorously over your shoulder.

You strain the contents of the shaker into a shot glass, amber liquid flowing to the brim. When you’ve got everything ready, you leave the back of the bar and squeeze your way through the crowd until you’re in front of the two brothers and can hoist yourself up onto the bar.

“Alright, Joel, are you ready?” You shout. He looks a little confused, brows pinched tight over kind brown eyes, but he nods anyway, holding his hand out for the shot glass. Tommy watches with a shit eating grin. “Three! Two! One!”

Joel takes the shot and you follow it with a glass of water to his face and a slap across his jaw in quick succession. Tommy is howling with laughter and Joel’s face is one of pure shock, red blooming across the skin of his cheek. He turns to his brother.

“Tommy, what the fuck!” Joel shouts. His hand wraps into the neck of Tommy’s shirt. “You little fuckin’ shit!”

You have the sinking realization that Joel wasn’t prepared for what a slap shot entails. You had just assumed this was something Tommy had told him about, having been to the bar so much the last few months.

Joel looks mad as hell, his shoulders tense and you worry he may actually throw a punch at Tommy. You hop from the bar and get between the two men, pressing a hand to their chests and pushing them apart.

"You, come with me," you say, pointing to Joel. "And you," -- you jab a finger into Tommy's chest -- "are on my shit list."

You take Joel by the hand and guide him to the back office, shutting the door and muffling the noises of the bar beyond it. His face is still dripping wet and the water dripping from his chin has gathered into a sizeable spot on the collar of his shirt.

"I am so, so sorry," you start, rifling through the storage cabinet for a bar towel. You hold it out to him, avoiding his gaze. "Tommy comes here so much that I just thought he'd told you about what a slap shot was. I should have told you, oh my god."

"Hey, it's okay. I ain't mad at you," Joel says, running the towel over his damp face. "Tommy, though. I'm gonna kick his fuckin' ass later."

"Still," you mumble, twisting your hands together nervously. "I'm sorry. Is your cheek okay?"

He rubs the towel over his head to dry his hair a bit, the action leaving him adorable mussed, curly strands sticking up in every direction. You're staring at him, maybe a little too much, but who can blame you? The man is hot.

"Yeah, trust me. I've had worse," Joel replies with a laugh.

"You get slapped by women often?" You tease.

"The number of times ain't just one."

"Oh, a bad boy. Mama warned me about guys like you."

He laughs again, long and low, running a hand through his hair. "Well, thank you for the towel."

"Right. And your next drink is on me. As an apology," you tell him.

"I'd rather get your number," he says. "You know, as an apology."

You raise your eyebrows at him before turning to the manager's desk, grabbing a marker and tugging the cap off with your teeth. You slide a hand down his arm, lifting his forearm up so that you can write down your number across the smooth, tan skin.

"I'm off next weekend," you comment when you've recapped the marker.

"I'll keep that in mind," Joel replies with a grin.

Joel's nervous as he waits outside of your apartment building in his truck, fingers tapping a nameless tune against the steering wheel. It's Saturday night and he's here to pick you up for dinner at a restaurant in downtown Austin, one that required he dig out the old black button down he keeps shoved in the back of his closet for parent-teacher conferences and funerals.

The front door to your building opens and you emerge, dressed in a pretty red wrap dress and black heels. Joel gets out of the truck and jogs around to the passenger side to open the door for you and he's surprised when you lean up and kiss him on the cheek.

"Hey," you say in greeting, climbing into the truck and settling into the passenger seat, your purse on your lap. Joel can't help the dopey grin that's surely stretched across his face.

“Hey, yourself. You look nice,” he replies. He shuts the door and jogs around the the driver’s side.

“You don’t look so bad either,” you tell him as he starts the truck up. He can feel his cheeks get warm and he hopes that you can’t see him the proof of his nerves in the dark cab.

At the restaurant, the host leads you both to a small table towards the back of the restaurant, pristine white tablecloth topped with a small vase of flowers and a flickering votive candle. A waiter in a white button down comes by to take your drink orders before disappearing the the kitchen, leaving the two of you regarding each other in silence.

“Look, I gotta be honest about somethin’,” Joel says, leg bouncing beneath the table. “I’ve got a kid. Sarah, she’s thirteen. Light of my life, you know?” He takes a deep breath before finishing with, “And I don’t think I’ve even been on a date since she’s been born, so this is just…a little new to me.”

“You have a kid?” You ask. For a moment Joel worries that he may have ended this before it could even get a chance to begin, but then your face lights up with a sweet smile and you ask, “Will you tell me about her?”

Joel does. In between ordering and eating your delicious meals, you and Joel discuss anything and everything. He tells you about Sarah and his contracting work, while you tell him about your full time job as a pharmacy technician, the gig at the bar a part time thing on some weekends. He nearly makes you snort your water out of your nose with a story about rescuing Tommy from the bathroom of the girl he’d been seeing when her long distance boyfriend, who Tommy didn’t know existed, showed up at her apartment.

“Oh my god,” you exclaim breathlessly. “And he just jumped out of the bathroom window?”

“To be fair, she had a first floor unit,” Joel confirms. “His royal pain in the ass still made me take him to urgent care because he thought he broke his ankle.”

“You’re a good brother,” you say with a smile. Joel feels the warmth of it in his veins.

After dinner, the ride back to your place is quiet, the comfortable silence filled with the low music from the radio. In a moment of bravery, Joel reaches over and lays a hand on your low thigh, just above your knee as he drives. He refuses to look over at you, but from the corner of his eye he sees you look down at his hand before looking back out the window.

He counts that as a win.

He pulls up the curb outside your apartment and kills the engine. You speak before he has a chance to agonize over what to say.

“Will you walk me to my door?” You ask.

He feels relief and anxiety in one fell swoop. He agonizes internally over whether to kiss you goodnight as he follows you up the stairs to your apartment, the buzzing in his brain momentarily silenced while he watches your hips sway as you climb the steps.

You stop on the second floor, guiding him down a long hallway to a door marked with a black metal number three. You turn to face him, looking up at him through your lashes.

“This is me,” you murmur. Joel swallows nervously.

“Right. I, uh…I had a really great time tonight,” he says.

“Would you…want to come inside?”

Joel’s brain short circuits. “Would I—? Yeah.”

You turn to unlock the door, pushing into your apartment and Joel follows you inside. The apartment is dark but you quickly turn on the lights as you move further inside, illuminating an open living room with a dining nook. There’s a door off to the right that he assumes is your bedroom and an open kitchen to the left. It’s small, but it’s cozy, bursting with colors and fabrics and mismatched furniture.

“Well, this is home,” you say with a shrug. You set your purse down on the small circular dining table. “Can I get you anything to drink? I’ve got beer, some liquor on the bar cart over there if you want to have a look.”

“Beer is fine,” Joel says, taking a seat on the comfy looking couch. You return with a bottle of beer, passing it to him before settling in beside him, kicking off your heels and drawing your legs up beneath you.

He takes a sip, fortifying his nerves. He wasn’t lying when he said it’s been a long time since he’s been on a date, but even sex has been a distant thought for the last year or so. He doesn’t want to mess this up.

“So,” you start, your elbow pressed into the back couch cushion while you lean your face into the palm of your hand. “You wanna know what I think?”

“‘Bout what?” Joel asks.

“You.”

“You got a report card ready for me already?”

“I think” — you take the beer bottle from his hand, setting it on the coffee table — “you’ve spent a long time being a caretaker. Right? You’ve got Tommy, who was already a handful. Your daughter, who’s obviously priority number one. You’ve got a business to worry about, workers to care for.” You shuffle closer on your knees, swinging a leg over his and settling yourself onto his lap. “This okay?” You ask.

“Yeah,” he replies, probably a bit too enthusiastically. His fingers curl into the couch cushions and he wants to reach up to wrap his hands around your waist but he’s not sure if he should.

You play with the collar of his shirt. “What do you think about having someone take care of you for a change?”

Joel’s stomach flips, cock jumping in interest as the blood in his brain rushes south and leaves him only capable of responding with a mumbled, “Oh?”

“I just think you deserve someone treating you real nice,” you say with a shrug. Deft fingers work at undoing the buttons of his shirt. “Especially when I was so mean when we met, slapping you across the face like I did.”

“Told you not to worry ‘bout that,” he replies, head dropping against the back cushions. “S’not like I didn’t like it.”

“You like to be roughed up a little, Mr. Miller?”

“Maybe.”

Your grin is wicked as you drag your nails down the now exposed skin of his chest. He hisses at the sting of it.

“Interesting,” you murmur. You lean close, chest pressed against his, hands coming up to frame his face. Your nails scratch through his beard now and he groans his appreciation.

“Can I kiss you?” He asks. “Please?”

You respond by pressing your lips to his, chaste as first. Your mouths move together slowly, feeling each other out. It’s you that takes it deeper, tracing your tongue over his bottom lip and dipping it inside to tangle with his. He wraps his arms around your low back, holding you tightly in his lap as he consumes you, drunk on the feeling of your breath in his lungs.

You drags yours lips away from his with a slick sound, trailing them along his jaw and towards his ear. You nip at his earlobe, teeth gentle and breath hot before whispering, “Can I suck your cock, Joel?”

A whimper claws it’s way up Joel’s throat as he nods, already unable to form words. He’s no stranger to turning into a puddle for a pretty woman but he’s certain this must be a new record.

You slip from his lap and kneel on the floor, pushing his legs apart so that you can settle in between them. Your hands reach for his belt, tugging on the buckle and pulling it loose so that you can pop the button of his jeans and tug the zipper down, the metallic sound loud in the quiet room.

Your fingers curl into the waist of his jeans and Joel lifts his hips a bit to aid you in tugging them halfway down his thighs. His cock tents his boxers in an obscene way, a wet spot already staining the fabric. You run your palms up his thighs before bracketing his member between your hands, lightly running your thumbs up his length.

“Christ,” Joel says, teeth digging into his lip.

“That feel good?” You ask.

“Uh huh.”

You smile beatifically before leaning forward, warm breath on his covered cock as you press gentle kisses through the fabric. Joel’s hips twitch and he lets out a deep groan.

You tug the elastic of his boxers over his length, tucking it beneath his balls. He’s practically vibrating with need but you continue to take your sweet time, pressing more kisses along his shaft, tracing the tip of your tongue over the prominent vein.

“You have a pretty cock, Joel,” you say, wrapping your hand around the base of him to hold him steady. It’s a struggle to keep his eyes open but he doesn’t want to miss the sight of your tongue lapping at the bead of precum gathered on his flushed tip, or the way your own eyes flutter shut as you let out a little moan of appreciation.

You wrap your lips around his cock, taking him inch by agonizing inch into your warm mouth and Joel feels any semblance of sanity disappear from his lust clouded brain. Your eyes stay fixed on him as take him in as far as you can, throat fluttering around the sensitive head when you swallow before pulling up, twirling your tongue around the tip, and plunging back down.

“Christ,” Joel groans, reaching out to cup your cheek. “You look so goddamn good like that.”

You lift off his cock and take it in your hand, moving it across your lips as you ask, “Like what?”

“Chokin’ on my cock, sweetheart,” he growls.

“That was nothing.”

Joel’s about to ask what you mean when you lower your mouth over his length once more. He can feel you flatten your tongue, your throat and jaw relaxing enough to take him to the very base, your nose tickling the wiry curls on his pelvis. He moans as you swallow around him, breathing through your nose and holding yourself there for a moment before coming up with a gasp, tears gathered in the corners of your eyes and spit making your chin shiny in the low light.

“So…I could keep doing this,” you tell him, “or…”

“Or?” He asks.

“Or…you could let me make us both feel good.”

You stand up, your hands untying the knot that holds your dress together so you can push it off your shoulders, letting it fall to the floor in a heap. You push your panties down your legs and unhook your bra, leaving you gloriously naked in front him, every inch of you like a piece of art meant to be admired. Joel’s hands, greedy and unfulfilled up until now, reach up to grip your hips and pull you onto his lap, your pussy hot and wet against his cock. He lets his hands wander over every inch of exposed skin, relishing the way your ass fits in his palms and the way you hiss when his thumb caresses a tight nipple.

“You’re so fuckin’ pretty,” he moans, his lips against your rapid pulse, teeth ghosting the thin skin of your neck. “Need you so bad, baby.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you,” you whisper, reaching between your bodies to hold his throbbing cock steady, notching it at your soaked entrance and beginning a slow slide down.

Joel is panting against your sweat slick chest, mumbling desperate words into your skin as you take him inside of you as slowly as you can, thighs burning with the effort. When you’ve finally seated yourself on his lap, his head drops back to the cushion, eyes squeezed shut tightly and fingers nearly bruising on your thighs.

“Don’t move, don’t move, don’t move,” he begs. “Oh, fuck, feels so good.”

Where he’s desperate for you to stay still, you’re already desperate to move. His cock is perfect, thick and long with a slight upward curve, pressing up against your g-spot with stunning accuracy. You’re certain this won’t last long for either of you.

You rock slowly, forward and back, little movements of your hips. Joel lifts his head, looking down at where your bodies are connected with dark eyes. You wrap your arms around his shoulders, tangling your fingers in his hair and giving it a sharp tug that has him hissing your name.

You start to move more quickly, rolling your body in smooth waves over his. He’s panting as he looks up at you, sweat gathering at his temple, and his hands grip your ass and follow your movement reverently.

“So fuckin’ good,” he moans, “you’re gonna make me come, baby, goddamn.”

You speed up, bouncing on his lap now. Your couch creaks the slightest bit, protesting your movements, but you don’t care — all you care about is the man beneath you and the desperate little noises spilling from his lips as you make good on your promise to take care of him.

“Touch me,” you command. “I’m so close, Joel, please.”

He’s a good listener, your Joel, his thumb immediately finding your clit and circling it with messy movements that drive you wild, that tension in your muscles coiling tighter. Joel’s hips flex into yours with each drop down his length, the room echoing with the lewd sounds of skin against skin and the chorus of whimpers that spill from both of you.

“Joel, Joel, Joel,” you chant. He wraps his arms around you, really thrusting into you now as your own movements falter and you collapse forward, head buried against his neck as you come, trembling with the strength of it.

It’s not long after that he goes still, cock pulsing inside of you as the aftershocks of your orgasm wash over you. You stay slumped against each other, catching your breaths and waiting for your racing hearts to come back down to earth.

“That was…,” Joel says with a breathless laugh that shakes his chest. His fingers play up and down your back, soothing and gentle. “Goddamn, that was amazin’.”

“Yeah?” You ask, lifting your head. You smooth his messy hair back from his forehead. “You weren’t so bad either.”

He nips at your neck in retaliation, making you laugh and squirm away from him.

“Do you have to get going?” You ask.

“No,” he replies. “Tommy’s watchin’ Sarah for me tonight. He owes me one. Besides, I’m ain’t done with you yet.”

“No?”

“Not even close, darlin’.”

Joel Miller masterlist

All masterlists

[jamesmydeer]

christmas festivities hcs

masterlist

james potter

making gingerbread houses

- the potters are THE family when it comes to christmas traditions 

- james is like one of those dads on vacation with an itinerary for the whole month of december

- he will be partaking in every christmas festivity 

- and so will you, like it or not

- and he will be referring to anyone who complains even once as ‘scrooge’ 

- his favorite, without a doubt, is decorating gingerbread houses 

- because this man is competitive 

- he loves you, but there’s no way he will let you make a better gingerbread house than him 

- he wanted to bake his own like his mom used to do when he was a kid 

- but he is no longer a kid 

- and you are not his mom

- so he settles for the pre-assembled ones 

- gets soooo pouty when yours starts looking better than his

“i think they gave you better icing or something”

- excuses

- you leave for one second to wash your hands 

- and come back to his gingerbread house lights (mini gummies) actually flickering 

“jamie! we agreed no magic!”

“you can’t prove anything!”

- he’s such a sore loser omg

- says he doesn’t care whose turns out better 

- liar 

- insists that you do one together 

- more like he watches you do one and claims half the work 

- sits you in his lap while you work on it 

- his only contribution is a heart on the side with your initials in it 

- he’s so cute y’all 

- wraps his arms around your middle and snuggles into your neck 

- hums along to the christmas music playing in the background 

- gets bored and stands up, taking you with him 

- dances around the dining room to festive music until his parents return home

- and immediately asks them whose is better 

- doesn’t care my ass 🙄

“they’re both great jamie” 

“y/n’s.”

“…”

“what? i’m not going to lie to my son”

- will need to snuggle on the couch to a christmas movie after that 

- his poor little feelings :,(

sirius black

decorating the tree

(contemplating writing a fic for this, lmk what you think)

- sirius never got to decorate a christmas tree as a kid

- they always had one, and he helped put ornaments on

- but it always ended in him getting yelled at for putting them in the wrong place

- and they always had to match the theme

- if he brought an ornament home from school, it went straight into a box

- so when you get a tree for your place, he fully intended to sit back and let you do all the work

- you bring in a few boxes of ornaments and he tells you he’ll get all of them out

- he doesn’t want his baby poking themselves on the sharp part

- he goes through the first box and there’s nothing special

- some cute ornaments you made as a child that your family was willing to part with

- a cute set of a wolf, deer, dog, and rat that james insisted on everyone getting

- then he moves on to the next box

- and it’s full of ornaments from his family home that never got put on the tree

- he doesn’t even care how you got them, he just feels so appreciated for once

- he associates christmas with some not so good memories, and he loves you so much for trying to replace them

- sets the box down and hugs you so tight

- you swear you hear sniffles, but that’s neither here nor there

- lifts you up to put the star on top of the tree

“nice view from down here. star looks pretty good too”

- you step back to admire your work and he can’t stop smiling

- he’s so proud of it

- the tree is nowhere near as pretty as the ones he was used to

- but it was the best tree he had ever seen

- because it was yours

- and it showcased how much you love him

remus lupin

family christmas party

- oh he is NERVOUS

- he’s met your family before, but this is a big deal to him

- because it’s the holidays and your whooooole family will be there

- you try to tell him that there’s no way he could make a bad impression

- he has tea with madam pince once a week, older people adore him

- you offer to pick him up but he insists on coming over alone

- which was a BIG mistake

- he went to a christmas party at the potter’s last year and was severely underdressed

- how was he supposed to know you have to dress fancy for christmas parties?? they don’t do that in the movies

- he was not going to do that again

- but your family does not wear suits to a christmas party

- weirdo pureblood traditions

- when he walk in and everyone is in comfy clothes?

- he has never felt more embarrassed

- his face is so red it could pass for an ornament

“you have more christmas sweaters than anyone i’ve ever met, and today is the day you decide not to wear one?”

- aside from a few of your uncles teasing him, everyone thinks he looks quite charming

- i mean, he’s already an attractive boy

- he can only look better in a suit

- besides, he’ll take a few teasing comments if it means he gets doted on by your mom

- whines to you once you’re in private that you should have told him

- you’re so mean

- remus lupin is a big baby

- luckily, you have a few of his sweaters

- you lead him into your bedroom to change

“door open y/n!”

- as if remus would ever do something inappropriate in your childhood home!

- he so would

- will NOT stop sniffing his sweater that now smells exactly like you

- it gets to present time and remus doesn’t expect to get anything

- and he’s fine with that !!!!

- he’s just happy to be there

- rests his head on your shoulder and watches everyone pass around presents

- you play with his hair and that’s enough of a gift for him

- but omg remus this one has your name on it!

- and it’s from you and your parents

- he smiles so big and assured them over and over that they didn’t have to do that

- he opens it up and it’s a pair of pajamas

- you tell him they match the ones that you three have

- and that’s the sweetest thing he has ever heard

- you guys want him to match you 🥺

- after everyone leaves, you all change into them and watch a christmas movie

- you snuggle up on the couch and he holds you tight

- occasionally kissing your forehead and thanking you for tonight

“you know, they can’t yell at us to leave the door open if they’re asleep”

- he’s so cheeky

- but who are you to deny him

[justmediocrewriting]

“BEACH DAZE,” {v.s}

A/n: I owe so many thanks to @heartfully10 for this beautiful idea. Madam, please, feed me moar!! I read your idea and my brain fucking zoomed I tell you, it zoomed!!! I need more inspos like that <3

Summary: you were a fool to think the day couldn’t get any more perfect, because of course your handsome chef would make sure it did

Genre: fluff with spice

Pairing: Sanji x fem!reader

Requested: ❌ (suggested, requests are open!)

Word Count: 3.1k

Warnings/tags: some spicy themes, massages, established relationship, mixer!sanji, the man’s a chef of course the dude can mix drinks too, flirting, just two people being madly in love on the beach, crew bonding, whipped!sanji, whipped!reader, sensual application of sunscreen, teasing, fluff, it’s just really lovey y’all (and a bit more spicy than I originally intended)

{{:================================:}}

The sun’s harsh glare was tapered by the shadow casted by the umbrella above you, its warm rays only able to caress the skin of your ankles to your toes. Pounding feet over shifting sand, lapping waves, loud splashes, the squeals and laughter of children and adults alike, and the cries of gulls harmonized together to create a symphony that bled nostalgia from your heart — you missed this.

Your eyes had slipped closed some time ago, the warm, lively atmosphere of the beach settling deep into your bones and relaxing you from within, so the arrival of another person in front of you was only detectable by the sudden coolness their shadow offered your toes.

“You seem pretty comfortable there, sweetheart.”

A smile found its way to your face immediately, the smooth timbre of that voice slithering into your ears pleasantly and melting your already sun-baked brain. With a simple flutter of your eyes you were greeted with one of the best sights of your life; clad in only patterned swim shorts and skin glistening with a sheen of perspiration, one hand casting a shadow over his blue eyes and the other holding a sweating glass of something, stood Sanji. Your skin heated ever so slightly and your gut stirred, but you pushed away the sensations and merely patted the space beside you.

“Towel is big enough for two, if you're curious to see how comfortable it is.” You teased silkily, and Sanji’s lips immediately pulled into a smirk. Further prompting was unnecessary, the blond man sinking down almost immediately beside you without a word. You eyed the glass in his hand, curiosity brimming at the oddly brightly colored liquid within.

“What’s that?” You asked, propping yourself up to rest your weight on your elbows and procure a better look at the drink. Sanji glanced down at the drink before shooting you a dazzling smile.

“It’s a drink I made. I call it ‘Little South Blue’.”

“The name fits.” You murmured, eyes taking in the ombré blue of the liquid, neon bright at the top and abyssal black towards the bottom. Flicking your eyes back up to meet Sanji’s, you asked, “what was your inspiration?”

“Have a taste first, love, and see if you can guess.” Sanji tutted, bringing the rim of the glass to your lips. You opened willingly, maintaining eye contact with him as the liquid slowly coated your tongue. Despite its blue color, it carried a heady citrus taste, not tangy enough to be off-putting but just enough to leave a bit of an aftertaste. There were sweet undertones in the current, too, something reminiscent of vanilla buttercream. All in all, it was a perfect blend of flavors, with none overshadowing the next, or standing out blatantly in a way that made the drink hard to swallow.

Once you swallowed down the generous amount Sanji had given you he pulled the rim from your mouth, eyebrows raised and lips quirked in a challenge. You licked the remainder of liquid from your lips, the action of which Sanji immediately zeroed in on, the look in his eyes fanning the ever-glowing embers of desire in your gut, and you pretended to consider.

“It’s sweet, with a citrus aftertaste… rather fruity, if you ask me. Which leads me to believe your inspiration was…” you trailed off, furrowing your delicate brows and jutting your lower lip out ever so slightly in that pout you knew drove Sanji crazy and got you anything you wanted out of the chef, and then sighed deeply.

“Nami.” You deadpanned, amusement zipping through your chest at the look of pure disbelief that overcame Sanji’s features — it was like watching sunlight glisten off of a rainbow trout’s scales, the colors shifting with such speed that the human eye couldn’t dare to identify where or when the shift started or ended.

“I’m speechless, love,” Sanji jested, scooting his body closer to yours and placing a large hand atop your plush thigh. “That you would assume I could even think of another woman when I have all of this right in front of me, any time I want it.” Sanji ended this statement with a firm, yet gentle squeeze of your thigh, sending various feelings and thoughts rushing to the forefront of your mind — memories of similar touches in the dark, picking you apart molecule by molecule and then gluing you back together again, simultaneously.

You sucked in a sharp breath and pushed your thighs together, the habitual movement not escaping Sanji’s watchful eye, and he smirked, skimming his fingers along your flesh. Your skin pimpled despite the heat of the day, and those embers once more flared hotter — gods, how you wanted him right now.

It was dizzying how quickly Sanji was able to alter your moods — with one well placed sentence or touch, Sanji could turn you into a dripping puddle of want, no matter what emotion you could have been feeling at the time, nor the strength of it. It was the same story for every emotion, the man able to influence them so easily, as if they were attached to strings and he were the puppet master pulling them.

And, to be frank, you loved it.

You looked down to Sanji’s hand on your thigh, bringing your own hand up to run your fingers over the bumps of his knuckles. Glancing up at him through your eyelashes, you dropped your voice to a low murmur, the volume prompting Sanji to lean in towards you to hear your words.

“You shouldn’t tease me unless you plan on seeing it through.”

Sanji’s eyes widened fractionally before they clouded with barely-contained interest, orbs darting down to trace the shape of your lips. You mirrored his actions, eyes falling to his lips, electricity skirting along the flesh of your own as you imagined pressing them to Sanji’s. Their dance would be fluid and familiar, as always, consumed by the ever-present hunger you held for one another.

“This is a public beach. Get a room.”

The sudden onslaught of words sliced through the tension swirling around you, and you whipped your body around to face the source; you inadvertently knocked your elbow into Sanji’s arm, dislodging his hand from your thigh and upsetting his balance slightly. You snapped your eyes up to meet the face of Zoro, who wore an expression of mixed discomfort and amusement.

You couldn’t help but flush slightly. You’d been so wrapped up in Sanji that you’d completely lost awareness to your surroundings. That wasn’t much of a surprise, if you were being honest. It had happened many a time on the Going Merry, and you just knew it would continue to happen going forward. That was the effect Sanji had on you. You glanced around to see if your little personal moment with Sanji had drawn the attention of anyone else, but thankfully, everyone on the beach were too busy in their own worlds to really pay you any mind.

“Go mind your own business, mosshead. Take a swim, or something. You need a bath anyway.” Sanji retorted back, but the relaxation of the day must have affected Sanji in some way too, for his words lacked their usual heat. Zoro rolled his eyes but stalked away regardless; Sanji focused his attention on you once more, but Zoro’s appearance had bursted that bubble of intimacy around the two of you, and you couldn’t find a way to work up the same level of desire you had felt just seconds prior. You gave Sanji a morose smile, and the message was conveyed clearly to the man, who simply shook his head with a smile on his face.

No worries.

Despite no longer feeling the urge to clamber into Sanji’s lap and ride him til the sun set, you still felt the need to be physically close to him, so you once again closed the distance between the two of you. Your thighs and sides were bow flush against one another, and you looked out across the span of the beach and rested your head on his shoulder. Sanji responded by wrapping an arm around your waist and placing his chin atop your head. A perfect embrace, one that had your chest feeling light and fluttery.

“This reminds me of home, you know.” You said suddenly, blurting out the same thought you’d had since the Going Merry had docked on the island. Sanji hummed and fiddled with the knot on the side of your swimsuit bottoms.

“You mean back in the South Blue?”

You nodded mutely, lips pulling into a smile as waves of nostalgia crashed over you. “Mhmm. Many islands in the South Blue are a lot like this one; hot, sunny and sandy. Coconut trees as far as the eye can see and enough tiki bars that even Zoro couldn’t drink an island dry.”

Sanji chuckled at your analogy and released his hold on the knot, now tracing shapes into the skin of your hip with his fingertips. Pleasant pimples dotted across your skin from the sensation.

“Was your island like this one?” Sanji asked, using his free hand to bring his drink, Little South Blue, to his lips. You could feel the undulation of his jawline and throat as he swallowed.

You shifted your body closer to his, crossing your right ankle over his left and digging your foot between his. The heat was near scorching, and the proximity of your bodies wasn’t helping, but it felt too nice to not link your skin in some way.

“Somewhat. There’s a lot of activities that I’ve noticed are exclusive to the South Blue — surfing, beach volleyball, free diving. But there’s a couple here that I recognize from my island. The tiki bars, for example, and the sunbathing.”

You pointed to a group of women to the left, splayed out on large beach towels and soaking up the sun’s rays like hungry plants. Sanji made a strange sound, a mixture between a grunt and a chuckle, and before you could question its origins he said,

“Won’t they just burn? It doesn’t even look like they’re wearing sun screen.”

You narrowed your eyes and looked closer at the women; it was hard to discern from the distance, but you could just barely notice the lack of the tell-tale shine of sunscreen. You hummed deep in your throat.

“They probably forgot to reapply it. It does dry up, eventually.”

“Did you put some on?” Sanji asked, palm flattening around your hip and rubbing, as if he were trying to feel the slick oil on your skin. You burrowed your side deeper into his and reached across his lap to pluck the drink from his hand. Sanji unhooked his chin from your head so that you could pull a drink from the rim. That sweet vanilla-citrus bloomed over your tongue again, and you found yourself quite liking the taste.

“I rubbed some in earlier. It’s not too big of a deal for me, since I’m in the shade. This is actually pretty good, by the way.” You took another slow, purposeful drink, letting the liquid linger in your tongue for a few moments before swallowing.

Sanji clicked his tongue, and his other hand, now freed of its previous burden, slid over to connect to your thigh once more. He stroked the plush flesh with his thumb as he rumbled, “of course it’s good. Its creation was inspired by the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid my eyes on.”

You looked up at Sanji with wide, doe-y eyes, voice sickly sweet as you teased, “awww, that’s going to flatter Nami to the moon!”

Sanji rolled his eyes and pursed his lips, though you could see no real agitation in his expression when he reached forward and slipped the drink from your hand. With a light smack to your thigh Sanji ordered, “alright, that’s enough. Lay on your stomach.”

“What?” You said smartly, amusement flattening quickly to confusion.

“On your stomach. You said it’s been a while since you’ve put on any sunscreen, and there is no way I’m going to let the sun do any damage to your beautiful skin.”

You raised a brow and pointed up at the umbrella. “I’m under the shade.”

“I’m not taking any chances. Now lay down and tell me where the sunscreen is.” Sanji huffed, and you rolled your eyes but complied, rearranging yourself to spread out on your stomach. Sanji’s skilled hands rubbing sunscreen into your skin actually didn’t sound half bad.

“It’s in my bag.” You said softly, crossing your arms in front of you and resting your chin atop them.

Sanji shuffled through your bag for a few seconds before grasping and pulling out the circular container of your sunscreen. Sanji unscrewed the lid and placed the container gently near the side of your head, its strong vanilla fragrance quickly rushing into your nostrils.

Vanilla…

Sanji shuffled beside you then stood, placing either foot on each side of your legs before squatting down to cage your calves beneath his thighs; Sanji made sure to put most of the pressure and body weight onto the backs of his own feet so that he didn’t squash your legs, a rather gentle and endearing consideration of his. Silver glinted in your periphery as Sanji dipped his fingers into the container and scooped out a generous amount — a lot more than you’d personally use, but you didn’t utter an objection to it — and anticipation spiked in your gut when you heard the unmistakable sound of Sanji slathering his hands in the substance.

The first stroke across your shoulder blades had you sighing into the warm air, but when Sanji used his palms to smear in the sunscreen you were helpless to the sounds your lips released. Sanji put a gentle pressure into his hands, sliding his palms up and down your back — all the way from the tips of your shoulder blades to the dip of your lower back and back again — repetitive and slow, and your muscles were quickly turning to putty beneath his attention.

Sanji took immediate notice of this, and his intentions of applying sunscreen morphed into a delicate massage, splaying his thumbs so that they gently dug into the muscles close to your spine with every drag along the length of your back.

“You’re tense, love. How long has that been going on?” Sanji asked in a murmur, leaning his body over yours so that he could speak inches from your ear. The combination of sensations had your gut stirring, his deft hands turning your body to putty and his rumbling timbre doing the same to your brain.

“A little bit.” You answered breathily, eyes slipping closed as you allowed yourself to feel — to feel Sanji’s subtle weight against your legs, his hands on your skin, the breeze in the air, and the soft sand beneath the towel — it was a combination that made your chest feel floaty and full, the beach drawing out homesick nostalgia and Sanji’s presence supplying a different sense of home. A sense of home that you only felt with Sanji.

“You should have told me sooner, darling. I’d have been more than happy to massage you.” Sanji gently chastised, and in your dopey state, all you could do was hum in response. Sanji’s hands slipped up to your shoulder blades, his thumbs digging into the meatier sections with a gently firmness, and electricity exploded within your body — you could feel the tension melting out of your muscles, and it felt so good. Sanji repeated this action along the entirety of your back, rubbing and soothing out every kink in the muscles with hands that bordered on sinful.

“I’m sure you probably knew from the start, but Little South Blue’s creation was inspired by you.” Sanji wisped, hands never slowing or stopping their movements. “I’d read in a book long ago that citrus fruits were very common in the South Blue, and that they were the staple ingredient of all kinds of foods and drinks.”

You peeked open an eye just in time to see Sanji dipping his fingers back into the container of sunscreen before returning to your back — now his hands moved up further, grinding pleasantly into the muscle of your nape.

“Vanilla is your favorite scent, and you especially like the taste when it’s used in buttercream.”

Your heart constricted in your chest, adoration flaring strong and consuming. You remembered the vanilla-y undercurrent in the mouthfuls you’d swallowed previously, along with the tangy citrus.

“I decided to combine them in a base of your favorite alcohol; sweet rum. Then I named it after your home sea, so that you could have a little piece of it when we leave here.”

Your heart felt as if it would implode out of your chest; time and time again, Sanji was able to exceed any and all expectations with his generosity and romantic soul, but this felt like it was on another level — one that you were finding difficult to process at the moment. Sanji’s hands felt heavenly on your body, but if you didn’t get your lips on his this instant you were going to combust.

With Sanji essentially weightless on top of you, it was easy to roll onto your back quickly. The movement startled Sanji and he retracted his hands, still lathered in the sun screen, and you slipped your legs from underneath him and sat up on your knees. Grasping both sides of his handsome face you leaned in quickly, connecting your lips to his. As always, the contact sent ripples of electricity through your entire body, and when Sanji’s lips quickly responded by initiating a dance with yours, the chilled embers in your gut roared into an inferno.

You slid your tongue along his bottom lip, phantom traces of vanilla-citrus rewarding your movement, and you groaned against Sanji’s lips, which parted for you quickly. The beach and everything else faded into the background as you slipped your tongue against his, coaxing it into the same familiar dance you’d rehearsed time and time again. The flavor was even heavier on his tongue, and when understanding the very reason behind every ingredient, it tasted like pure heaven, enhancing the natural taste of Sanji that you’d come to love and crave.

You only pulled away when you found yourself getting a bit dizzy from lack of proper oxygen, and by that time you had subconsciously scrambled into Sanji’s lap and had your hands wrapped around the nape of his neck, fingers tangled in the blond strands at the base of his skull. Sanji’s pupils were blown and his eyes were hazy, a subtle hardness pushing into the flesh of your thigh, and you licked your lips.

“You taste a lot more like home than some drink, Sanji.”

Sanji smiled at you in a breathless daze, but the perfect, sensual moment was ruined by one phrase uttered with distaste from behind you,

“Seriously, get a room.”

{{:================================:}}

2 posts in under 24 hours??? I’m on a roll lmao. I just wanted to send a quick thank you to everyone who has sent in requests/suggestions. You guys really helped bring me inspiration and I appreciate it so much!! If you guys enjoyed this please consider liking/reblogging/commenting. Love you all and thanks for reading!

[madi-writes-things]

Nobody Pt. 9

(C.Sturniolo X Reader)

Summary:

Chris and Y/N never seemed to get along, but sometimes help comes from the most unexpected places

Word Count: 1.8 K

TW: Cursing, SH (not in detail, but it is talked about), cyber-bullying/mean comments, SMUTSMUTSMUT (P in V, Fem receiving oral/fingering, hickeys, heavy making out, pet names, protection used!!!), you can not convince me that Chris isn’t a whimperer, self doubt, Not Edited

A/N: I’m sososososo sorry it took so long, I wanted it to be as good as possible. If anything doesn’t make sense, just chalk it up to my virginal status lol.

-Madi <3

“”“”“”“”“”

Y/N’s POV

After patching things up with Matt, me and Chris decided to hard launch our relationship. It’s been two months since we went public, and the fans just seem to get more upset about it every day. Yesterday was our ten month anniversary, and the comments on our posts were horrific.

@ sturniolo.police

Do y’all think he just stays so she doesn’t kill herself?

@ Chris-Sturn-girlie

@ Sturniolo.police Probably, she treats her body like a kitchen counter… I would be scared too. I bet that’s the only reason why he even asked her out lol.

It was like watching a car accident, I couldn’t stop scrolling. I knew that it was stupid for me to think that dress was a good idea, but Chris picked it out specifically. The dress was a tight long sleeved crème dress. The issue was that it was fairly short, showing a large portion of my upper thighs. It was the first time since eighth grade that I felt comfortable wearing anything shorter than knee length, and less than 24 hours later I was severely regretting my decision.

“”“”“”“”“”

Now I stand in front of our mirror wondering if I should even go out with them tonight. The boys have a really important colab dinner, and I would hate for it to be ruined by people who don’t know how to be kind on the internet.

I look at myself and see someone I hate. The black short sleeve dress accentuates the jagged scars running across my wrists. I always tried to avoid spots that were hard to hide, but in that moment of desperation I couldn’t seem to stop myself. I’m so caught up in my thoughts, that I don’t even hear the door open.

“Is everything okay?” I look up to see Chris behind me, with his arms wrapped around my waist.

“I um… I don’t think I’m feeling up to going tonight… sorry.” He rests his head on my shoulder gently as he gives me a questioning glance. “I don’t want to ruin dinner, and everyone is already saying stuff about the scars on my legs… and if people find out I tried t-” I cut myself off before I could say the truth.

Chris turns me around quickly, looking deep into my eyes. “I don't give a shit what anyone else has to say, you are perfect for me… just as you are.” I try to protest, but he stops me before I can even get one word out. “But… if you don’t feel like going out tonight, that’s okay. I can tell my brothers to just go without us.”

I can feel my eyes burning, not from sadness or guilt, but from the realization that the man in front of me doesn’t care about anything but me. “You don’t have to miss it because of me, don’t feel like you have to stay home.”

In less than three seconds he’s putting his phone into his pocket. “Don’t be silly, I already texted the guys.” I hear the guys yell a quick goodbye and feel better from downstairs before the door closes and the car drives off. “Now… do you need any help getting out of that dress?” He gives me a quick kiss before turning me around so he can reach my zipper.

As soon as the zipper stops, my dress falls to a puddle on the floor. When I turn around I notice Chris’s eyes fall to the matching green butterfly set I have on.

When Chris finally meets my eyes again, his cheeks are a shade of red that I’ve never seen on him. “Like what you see, pretty boy?” Chris is a sputtering mess, trying to respond. I cut him off by quickly connecting my lips with his. His hands quickly find their way into my hair as he lifts me up by the backs of my legs, carrying me to our shared bed.

This wasn’t the first time me and Chris had ever made out, but something was different about this time. There was a hunger in each of us, that kissing couldn’t satiate.

Chris tossed me gently onto the bed before positioning himself above me and continuing our make out session. His lips slowly traveled down my neck, stopping for short moments, then continuing their assault until they landed on my collar bone. A moan left my mouth, much louder than I meant to, as my back arched off the bed.

“You like that baby?” Chris groaned into my ear.

“mhm…” My brain went blank as he made his way down to the valley of my breasts. “Please…”

“please what, ma?” He looks up to me with a mischievous grin.

“Touch me… please.” I practically whine out, upset that he stopped kissing me. Chris quickly taps my side, signaling me to lift up as he unclasps my bra in one swift movement. My bra is replaced with Chris’s hands before I even register that he removed it. He continues to leave wine colored marks across my breasts, while his hands squeeze in the most beautiful ways.

After what feels like an eternity, i feel Chris's hot breath moving down towards my waistline. He glances up at me quickly before turning his head toward my inner thigh. I feel him lift my leg up, over his shoulder, before he resumes his mission. "Did you know that your legs are my favorite part of your body?"

“no they aren’t.” I accuse with a small giggle. I never realized how ticklish my legs are. He quickly sucks on a spot, that will surely be a dark shade of red tomorrow morning, causing my brain to malfunction.

When he stops, I look down to see him looking at me with his big, blue, puppy dog eyes. He toys with my waistline, before finally opening his mouth. “Is this okay?”

I've never responded quicker, nodding my head aggressively while mumbling out a quick please and thank you. It takes him no time to get my panties off, and onto the floor. “You’re sure? I don’t want you to feel pressured or anything.”

“yes… just please touch me!” I’m practically begging when he decides to indulge me.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, seeing as I’ve never even ‘helped myself’. Whatever I expected, this was much better. The second he latched his lips onto my clit, I was seeing stars. My whole body felt warm and tingly, and I think I’m close. I quickly intertwine my fingers into Chris’s hair, pulling with the rhythm of his tongue. All of the sudden I feel a long thin finger entering, and I can’t stop the sudden sensation that was building inside me. I couldn’t even get out a full sentence without a loud, almost pornographic moan interrupting me. The second I feel a second finger, I loose all control over my body. My back arches off the bed, as my legs slam shut around Chris’s head. Once I manage to calm myself down, Chris slowly removes his fingers from inside of me.

“Having fun?” I see him wiping his hand against his pant leg, his lips still glistening with me. I don’t think I have the strength to speak, so I simply nod. “Was it… was that okay?” I can see the yearning for approval in his eyes. “… Like, was it good for you?”

I don’t really know how to respond to that question, my brain is stiff fuzzy from my orgasm. “It was amazing baby…” I don’t want this moment to end. “I want to… can we do more… If that’s okay?”

I swear Chris has the condom out in less than three seconds. “Are you sure?” He’s looking at me like he truly doesn’t care what’s in it for him. “We can stop… or do other things, you don’t have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable.”

I do my best to find his eyes in my dazed state. “I’m sure… if it’s anything like what you just did, I’m not sure I ever want you to stop.” He nods quickly before getting up and stripping.

The second his waistband hits mid thigh, his member is hitting his stomach. It looks painful, so red and hard. I don’t know how it’s going to fit, but I trust him. He slides the condom on, quickly climbing back on top of me.

“Are you sure the at you want this?” This again. “We can stop whenever you want to… and you really don’t have to do any-”

I cut him off quickly by grabbing ahold of him and making sure that he knows that my motives are purely selfish at this point in time. He finally gets the hint and lines himself up.

“fu-ck…” Chris practically whimpers as he pushes into me. I unintentionally clench around him, who knew that a man whimpering was so sexy?

“Babe… you gotta stop squeezing me like that, I won’t last.” I mutter a quick apology, before giving him the go ahead to start moving.

It’s an interesting feeling. It’s not necessarily painful or uncomfortable, just different. It doesn’t take long for the feeling to melt into pleasure though.

The house is filled with sounds of whimpering and moaning, as we reach our highs. Chris reaches down and starts rubbing heavenly circles against my already overstimulated clit, causing my orgasm to crash into me without warning. I swear my vision goes out for a minute while Chris chases his own high.

Chris slowly pulls out, making me cry out in pleasure. “I’m sorry, but I have to get you cleaned up. I’ll be right back.”

The second he leaves it hits me all at once. What if it wasn’t good for him? What if he realizes that he only wanted me for sex, and decides the rest isn’t worth it? What if he-

“Are you okay?” He pulls me from my doom spiral, as he starts cleaning me up. He crawls into the bed next to me, looking deep into my eyes.

“Sorry… my brain is just trying to convince me that you’re going to leave.” I see his eyes soften, as he realizes what I’m saying. “It’s not necessarily like I believe it, I just worry sometime that all of my flaws outweigh the things keeping you here… like what if you leave, or you only stay because you feel like I’ll kill myself if you don’t?” Chris stares at me, looking like he doesn’t fully grasp the concept. “Does that make sense? I feel like I’m going crazy sometimes.”

“Do you really think that I would do that?” The way he asks it makes my heart break.

It’s not like I really think that he would do something like that, but my brain just refuses to let me be happy. “No baby… I just find it so hard to trust anyone who says they care.”

Chris just pulls me into his arms, promising me that he loves me more than words could describe. After a few minutes in his arms we decide to put some clothes on and order some food. After dinner, I drift slowly into a peaceful sleep in his arms.

“”“”“”“”“”

@unbruisable @bernardsbendystraws @sturniolo-fann @jnkvivi @stasiesturn

@h3arts4harry @slutforsturniolos

[blackreaderfics]

Hygge | Nanami Kento x Tiana

↳ Pairing : Nanami Kento x Tiana

↳ Rating :  T

↳ Summary : Nanami breaks his well cultivated routine 

↳ W.C : 4.4k

↳ A/N: the voices in my head got me y’all… this is a purely self indulgent fic featuring relatable king Nanami (I, too, do not dream of labor✊🏾) and black girlbossqueen Tiana

↳ Tags + Warnings: xenophobia from a side character, fluff, set in Tokyo, next door neighbors, cultural differences, salaryman x cafe owner, they can speak each other’s languages but not fluently

🎵 A Commuter’s Trip (The Commuter OST) by Roque Baños

🎵 Hello Stranger by KAI

Hygge (n.) | Danish

“the feeling of calm, comfort, and contentment evoked by life’s simple joys”

Nanami had a simple routine. Wake up at 6, shower, get dressed, eat breakfast by 7:45 and be out of the door—at the latest—a minute before 8. He had everything calculated to the T. If Nanami had been a minute too late—let’s say 8:01— he would miss the morning train and therefore be late for work, and he was never late. He had taken into account all contingencies i.e. a train delay, traffic, inclement weather, and made sure he was prepared for any and all possibilities.

That’s why, much to his chagrin, he was “Employee of the Month” every month since he had been promoted from associate to advisor. Most workers would’ve taken pride in that, felt their presence valued at their company. But Nanami didn’t care much for awards or titles, in fact, he just hated working period. He made sure to always clock out at 6 p.m. on the dot. One minute more would be overtime and he didn’t want to give his thankless job a second more of his labor. 

When he left work, he always went straight home. When his head hit the pillow and he closed his eyes, thoughts about the next day would drift into his mind. 

Did the market close up or down? What reports did he need to finish? There’s a client meeting coming up; the presentation deck needs to be prepared… Just two more days. Get through two more days and it’s the weekend. 

And so on and so on. Wash rinse repeat. 

He presumed this endless cycle of corporate monotony would continue until the day he turned 40, after which he could retire and live modestly in a country like Malaysia or the Philippines to catch up on all the reading he missed. Perhaps even find a nice woman and marry her while he was there.

The marriage part was new—an afterthought after years of daydreaming—and he didn’t really think much about the kind of woman he wanted to marry. What she looked like or what she did was more of an amorphous thought, a vague idea in his mind. 

Until her.

He met her by accident. Nanami had been cooking, a hobby he only indulged in on the weekends, and he was just in the middle of making a rolled omelet when he heard a loud thump outside his door.

His apartment building was more of an office building which meant that his floor didn’t get much traffic. The people who rented rooms were not really tenants who lived there, but workers looking for an extra workspace.  He had assumed the thump to be a delivery man outside his door so, naturally, he was surprised when it wasn’t the post, but a foreigner woman standing outside the room next door.

The woman had a heavy bag of groceries balanced in the crook of her arm and another by her feet that he presumed had been the source of the sound. When they made eye contact, he had been so startled that he quickly closed his door. The apartment next to his had been empty for months, but it looked like it had finally been rented out. 

He thought nothing more of it until her very presence began to infiltrate his well-maintained routine. Every morning, if he was quiet enough, he could faintly hear her humming as he got dressed. Other times, he could hear upbeat jazzy music on the weekends if he opened his window.

Every night, he was surrounded by the fragrance of whatever she seemed to be cooking. Most of the time it was sweet, other times it was savory. It wasn’t an unpleasant aroma, just noticeable to the point where its absence would feel strange. There were days when they would leave for work at the same time, though oftentimes he would end up holding the elevator door open for her when she left her apartment a few minutes after he did. 

In the brief moments they encountered, Nanami made small observations about her: She was an American. Beautiful. Unmarried—Americans wore rings on their ring finger to signify marital status, he’d noticed she didn’t.

He couldn’t infer her job or what exactly brought her to Tokyo in the first place from her appearance alone, however. He’d seen a fair amount of young foreign teachers in the city. He wondered if she was a teacher. She looked young enough. A missionary? She dressed modestly and wore sensible shoes. Her curly hair was often tied into a low bun. From the very slim list of what young American women did for work in Tokyo, he decided on teacher and his curiosity was sated. 

One day he found out. After a long day of work, he walked his usual route from the train station back to his apartment building but was redirected due to construction at his usual subway exit. When he alighted from the escalator he was on a different street entirely. The extra few minutes from this detour would undoubtedly cut into the time he’d set aside to unwind, and subsequently, he’d have to make a few adjustments to still get a full 8 hours of sleep.

He loosened his tie and sighed inwardly as he walked on. Since he’d moved to this district last year he didn’t make much effort to visit any new places. For all he was concerned, he only really needed to know his route to work and the nearest Starbucks. 

So when he passed by a small cafe called “Tiana’s Place”, it didn’t immediately click that the jazz he’d heard playing softly from her apartment was the same music that was playing now. It was familiar enough that it gave him pause. Where had he heard that song before? When he finally caught sight of her—his neighbor— through the glass window, it finally registered that she wasn’t a teacher or a missionary, but a cafe worker, and from the looks of it, she owned the place. 

He watched her dimples deepen as she interacted with customers, giving each and every one of them a tireless smile. Before he knew it, Nanami found himself inside the cafe whisked into the after-work rush of impatient office workers. She was so busy already, the only indication of strain being a moment when she blew the hair out of her face before the next customer walked up to order. He planned to buy something small and leave; he wanted to give her time to catch her breath but inadvertently in his musings he was already holding up the line. 

She was…right in front of him? And speaking to him now? It was the first time he’d heard her voice and he decided it suited her. She spoke in Japanese and, though accented, was clear and practiced enough in a way that impressed him.

“Are you still deciding, sir?” Impossibly large brown eyes waited in expectation for him to order.

He broke out of his reverie quickly enough to make it seem like his stalling was deliberate, his unmarred poker face further upholding the charade.

He scanned the prepackaged foods and retrieved the first thing that looked like bread. “Just this.” 

“Good choice,” She looked positively elated as she scanned the barcode and activated the card machine. “Beignets are my specialty.” She was beaming at him. Not in a “thank you come again” customer way but like in a he’d just made her entire week way. She was so laughably easy to please that it discomfited him.

He muttered a “thank you”, taking the package and turning to leave quickly before he met her eyes again. The Fall of Icarus was a cautionary tale for a reason, he wouldn’t risk another trip into the sun.

Nanami’s routine had drastically altered over the next few weeks. Every morning he’d gotten used to riding down the elevator with her. They greeted each other regularly, albeit a bit awkwardly, in the shared space—A slight bow from him as he held the doors open, reciprocated by a grateful wave from her.

The last time they shared an elevator, however, they'd accidentally brushed hands while reaching for the ground floor button. For some reason, that unnerved Nanami. So now, most times, he avoided that, opting to wait and listen to the click of her door before he left the house. For good measure, he started taking the stairs. As a result, Nanami had added an extra 10 minutes to his morning commute.

The detour, having yet to be fixed, took him past the café every day. Though Nanami knew the process of waiting in line would add an extra 15 minutes to his after-work trek, he did so anyway, calculating that picking up a quick dinner bento would be a fair trade to taking the time to cook something for himself. 

“What can I get for you today, sir?”  

He knew her name now—Tiana, from the name tag she wore, and the sign on the storefront. He noticed from the way her eyes would widen as he approached, that she recognized him now too.

“Black tea. No sugar, please.” He placed his usual prepackaged meal and packet of beignets on the counter, taking out his wallet. Nanami didn’t always plan to add beignets to every order, but he found himself reaching for them every time, dreading her predictable delight when he did. Ordering tea was another stroke of impulse he didn’t account for, but it wasn’t so busy now, he could enjoy it before he went home.

He decided on a table by the window, savoring the warm liquid as the sun set to a melancholy soundtrack of brass and bass. It was like being transported to another time, outside of crowded subway cars and the hustle of his high-powered office.

Nanami closed his eyes and felt something akin to contentment. When he exhaled, the stiffness in his shoulders abated, and the strain behind his eyes subsided. Was this what it was like to finally relax? 

He was about to take another sip of his drink when he heard a loud bang. The front door to the restaurant had flown open, a bulky man with greasy hair and a lecherous smile stalking in. Nanami’s eyes trailed after the man’s movements, the cup still raised to his lip.

“I’d like a dozen of those powdered donut things. Ya got any of those?” The man leered at the part-timer manning the counter. He sauntered back and forth at the register, eying the self-serve pastries in the display. 

“Sure, would you like them fresh? There aren’t enough ready-made ones for a dozen, but if you’re willing to wait there’s a new batch being made—” 

The man picked up a package of beignets that had been warming under a heated case and without warning, ripped open the package and took a bite.

“S-sir! You need to pay for that first!” The part-timer sputtered.

“Well, I’m waitin’ for that new batch. I wanna try before I buy.” The delinquent guffawed and attempted another gleeful bite only for the pastry to be smacked out of his hand and onto the floor.

He whirled around to face Tiana, bursting into laughter upon seeing her. “And who the fuck are you supposed to be?” 

“Call the police,” Tiana stated calmly to her employee as she stared down the man. Her usual polite smile had been replaced with a stony-faced expression. “Sir, if you’re not going to buy anything then it’s best you leave.”

“Huh? What was that? I can barely understand you, foreign bit-AHh” A pressure on the man’s shoulder made him crumple in pain.

“Your ears must not be working. I can understand her perfectly well,” Nanami murmured, his vice-like grip squeezing at the juncture between the man’s neck and shoulder. While the delinquent whimpered pathetically at the deepening pressure, Nanami directed his attention to Tiana, motioning with a slight tilt of his head for her to step away. “It’s not worth your trouble, I’ll take care of it.” 

She nodded reluctantly and joined her staff member who was now waiting with a phone at her ear behind the counter.

Nanami appeared to be saying something to the man now, but in a volume that Tiana couldn’t hear. His face was calm, betraying no emotion while the delinquent paled gradually in terror, trembling under his grip. The moment Nanami released him, the man scrambled out of his grasp and prostrated himself on all fours.

“I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I PROMISE I WON’T DO IT AGAIN PLEASE—” He shouted hysterically and proceeded to do a fervent bow of penitence. 

Tiana looked at Nanami quizzically but was only met with a mild shrug. 

“Alright alright,” she stepped around the counter to placate him. If he could just stop snotting up the floor she just mopped and get out of there, they could just forget this all happened.

The tinkling bell sound of the cafe door opening interrupted the scene; everyone’s attention shifted from the blubbering man on the floor to the police officer who had just stepped in. 

Before anyone could speak, the man sprang up from the ground and ran toward the policeman. “OFFICER! IT'S ALL MY FAULT I ADMIT IT! ARREST ME, PLEASE! JUST GET ME OUT OF HERE!”

Within 10 minutes the offender was cuffed—willingly, to the cop’s surprise— and whisked noisily out of the cafe just as quickly as he’d burst in. Nanami, suddenly uninterested in the commotion, walked calmly back to his table and gathered his things. 

Tiana made her way over to Nanami, eyeing the man through the window. He was currently being escorted to a police car on the curb. Still in hysterics, he’d practically thrown himself into the back of the car.

“Ok…what on earth did you say to that man?” She quirked an eyebrow at the blonde businessman.

That this cafe is his one and only oasis in the heaping pile of shit called life, and if even so much as one insignificant waste of air like him tries to ruin it he’ll have no choice but to chop his fingers off one by one and shove them down his throat so hard he’ll be shitting fingernails for weeks…among other things.

It would’ve been improper to divulge this to Tiana, of course.

“I asked him to apologize,” he said instead in simple English, a far cry from the eloquently horrific threats he’d made in his native language. 

“Really?” She asked, accepting the sudden change of language in stride. Her arms were crossed, her hip jutted to the side, face incredulous. “Just like that?”

“I’m rather persuasive.”

After a beat she laughed. 

Nanami didn’t consider himself a funny person. And frankly, he didn’t understand why she was laughing now but he welcomed it, if only to see that the earlier disturbance hadn’t caused her too much distress.

“Well, thank you kindly,” she drawled in between giggles, her southern accent now unmistakable when she switched to English. “Mister…” 

“Kento.” He offered his first name, aware he was skipping over several customary stages of familiarity. In any other case, anyone less than an acquaintance addressing him by his first name would be extremely frowned upon. But it was common business practice to use given names when dealing with American clients; he thought it fitting to do the same with her.

He reached into his suit jacket, pulling out a silver business card holder, and passed over an impressive looking card: 

Nanami Kento, Investment Advisor

“If there are any similar issues please don’t hesitate to contact me.” He repeated an English phrase that had come in handy from past business dealings.

“Mr. Kento,” she repeated to herself with finality studying the card. Tiana faintly wondered why a guy with a fancy title—and the most expensive suits she’d ever laid eyes on— lived in the modest one-room apartment right next to hers. She pocketed the card and patted around for her own business card. 

“I would’ve given you my own card too. But if you ever need to contact me—”

“Boss!” Her part-timer called out, waving her over from where she stood next to a police officer holding a clipboard.

“I’d better go, you know where to find me.” She excused herself with an apologetic smile.

Unfortunately for Nanami, this little ordeal had cost him another hour of wasted time.

The next day Nanami waited for the familiar click of her door shutting before starting his commute. When he exited his apartment, he could still see the silhouette of her back walking towards the elevator bank. 

She left without an umbrella, he noted to himself as he walked part of the way down the hallway. He imagined walking up to her and bringing it up casually as they waited for the elevator. But as soon as she’d turned his direction he changed course abruptly, legs moving on their own through the emergency exit and down the stairs.

Work went on as usual. He sat at his desk going over the pitch deck, but his eyes could not seem to follow the text. Instead, he found himself gazing out the window, watching the clouds slowly darken in the horizon. 

“Fucking weather, right? News said it’s gonna rain like a bitch the next few days.”

His boss had walked up behind him, crouching at his eye level to see what Nanami was looking at. 

“Hope you brought your galoshes, rookie, we’re going overtime today for that big client meeting. Dinner’s on me.” His boss clapped a hand on his shoulder and went off to bother a different team.

He tried to return his attention to his work, but he couldn’t. Instead, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes against the blue light of his computer screen. All he could think about was the rain.

Tiana had hoped that by the time she closed, the rain would’ve stopped. But she found herself outside the doors of the cafe, reluctant to leave. The rain hadn’t let up, and it didn’t look like it was stopping any time soon.

It was a day of disappointments. On top of forgetting her umbrella, Nanami hadn’t come into the shop that day. She’d gotten used to seeing him enter the store at the same time every day, and perhaps even looked forward to it. 

She took one tentative step outside, shivering through the draft of wind. She didn’t live far, maybe it would be alright if she just ran home with a plastic bag over her head. Tiana locked the door behind her and raised the collar of her jacket, clasping it with her hand to protect her neck. On the count of three, she lifted the plastic takeout bag over her head and took the plunge.

After a few strides in the pelting rain, it suddenly stopped—She had run into something or someone. The rain made it difficult to see where she was going so she blindly sputtered a reflexive “I’m so sorry!” in English at whoever it was that she had run into.

When she wiped the rain out of her eyes she could see nothing but an impeccably tailored pinstripe suit in the dim of the streetlights. It was Nanami and he was holding an umbrella over her head. His collar was unbuttoned without a tie, and he looked utterly exhausted. The dark circles under his eyes were even more pronounced from where she stood underneath him.

“Mr. Kento? Are you alright? What are you—”

“I figured you could use an umbrella,” he said dryly and pretty pointedly at her makeshift plastic bag hat.

“Yea, I guess I could use one of those,” she laughed breathlessly and took the bag off her head, before giving him one of those heart-stopping smiles he loathed. “You saved my life.*”

The corner of his mouth quirked slightly, amused. Perhaps because her choice of words sounded highly literal, almost…cute?, in Japanese. He “saved her life” just by sharing his umbrella? Americans were known to have a penchant for the dramatic. But he didn’t bother to correct her, instead, he only hummed somewhat of an affirmative response.

They walked in a comfortable silence down a familiar tree-lined path leading to their apartment building. She noticed Nanami’s shoulder getting wet, and leaned closer to him. 

Feeling the imperceptible shift, he gave the woman beside him a sidelong glance. His eyes settled on the loose wisp of hair he’d always seen her blowing out of her face.

It bothered him.

Maybe it was the fatigue-driven delirium, but he was struck with the inane compulsion to brush that lock out of her eyes. He couldn’t have been more grateful for the umbrella currently occupying his hand, otherwise, he would’ve indulged it.

Tiana reached over and gently adjusted the umbrella closer over his side. “Wouldn’t want to ruin that nice suit of yours,” she said softly.

“I hate this suit.” The curt statement came off a bit more brusque than he’d initially intended, though, it was true. He hated that suit and everything it represented.

She looked at him curiously, wondering if this was another aspect of his humor. But from what she could see on his countenance, he was entirely serious. 

He glanced at her again, catching the confused look on her face. “I don’t mind if it gets wet,” he reiterated this time with the intended lack of severity, along with a kind of finality that implied an end to the discussion of his suit and his decision to prioritize her dryness. They continued the rest of the way, the umbrella above them biased towards her side.

When they got to the apartment he held the building door open, letting her walk through first. 

“Thank you again for yesterday. That man, he was—” she paused to conjure the correct word.

“He was being a nuisance,” he completed, pushing the button for the elevator door. Naturally, he had chosen the same number for their floors, and when they arrived at their floor he waited for her to alight before walking after her.

When they finally reached their neighboring doors, he set his umbrella on the hallway floor for it to dry and began to punch in the code for his door. 

“Mr. Kento, wait a moment.”

He stilled his movement and watched as she rummaged into her purse. 

Tiana pulled out a paper box from her bag and presented it to him, “I was going to give these to you earlier if you came in. Glad they didn’t get wet.”

It was a small gesture. Even so, he was reluctant to take it.

“You… didn’t have to,” he frowned, eyeing the box.

“You didn’t have to walk me home, either,” she shrugged. 

“We’re neighbors. We were going in the same direction,” he said plainly, though, he didn’t entirely believe the words as they left his mouth either. It was unlike him to go anywhere else except straight home after working overtime. He hadn’t run into her by some coincidence or divine guidance. He’d gone there on purpose, and he had a sinking feeling she figured that out already too.

“Then just think of it as a ‘thank you gift’,” she insisted, tugging gently at his wrist and nudging the box softly into his hands. “For being my favorite customer.”

He shifted uncomfortably to receive the box with both hands. It was an unfamiliar concept for him to be anyone’s favorite anything.

“Good night, Mr. Kento.” Tiana’s voice had an amused lilt to it. Nanami must’ve stood there frozen because she was already halfway through her door, a knowing smile on her lips.

He regained his composure and mumbled back a formal “Good night, Miss. Tiana,” —her name a bit alien on his tongue—before retreating back inside.

When the door shut behind him, he immediately shed his suit jacket. His body was much too warm despite one side being wet; his collar much too tight, despite his lack of tie.

Nanami stared at the assortment of pastries that Tiana had given to him. He couldn’t recall the last time he willingly ate dessert though he assumed if he had, it would’ve probably been with Gojo and his infantile palate.

Truthfully, Nanami didn’t really like sweets at all. The first time he bought those beignets, he’d just picked up the first thing in line that day and just…never stopped buying it. Over the past weeks, he’d amassed a bevy of unopened bags of the foreign confection and they were occupying the much-needed counter space of his kitchen. 

It was rather ironic for an investment advisor to be so frivolous with his money. Spending on foods he didn’t even eat when was supposed to be saving it didn’t make any sort of financial sense. He had been planning to retire by 40, and now he’d have to add an extra 5 years to his projections over mere fried dough.

Nanami turned over the yellow business card for “Tiana’s Place” that he had found wedged in the box. A simple “Bon Appétit ;) -T.” was written on the back.

He picked up a beignet from the box and took a bite—It was made for him, after all. He chewed it slowly, the consistency not too far off from that of a baguette. It wasn’t too sweet, either. In fact, it was…delicious? Better than any dessert he’s had before. Maybe everything he’d tried before this was just a crude imitation, a poor excuse for the craft of baking. 

Perhaps he did like sweets or even dessert right before bed. Maybe he didn’t even mind that he wouldn’t be getting his full 8 hours of sleep. If he concentrated hard enough, her faint humming as she got ready for bed filled the silence of his apartment. He could stay up even longer if at all possible.

When he finally closed his eyes, a rush of different kinds of thoughts flooded his mind. 

Some were more mundane: Maybe I’ll have a beignet for breakfast or It’s probably going to rain tomorrow. 

Some were imaginations: plump glossy lips curved in an oversweet smile meant solely for him. His fingers gently tucking that bothersome tendril of hair behind her ear. 

He finally drifted to sleep with one last thought just as simple as the others, a tiny hope that she would forget her umbrella again.

*A/N: Tiana’s words sound like a literal translation/unnatural because she’s a non-native speaker ex. “you saved my life” vs a more natural/colloquial “you’re a lifesaver”

©️ blackreaderfics // credit to cafekitsune for the dividers

[sacredjake]

Fast Times

pairing: Danny Wagner x Reader

word count: 4.6k

warnings: fluff, biker danny (bc yes that deserves a warning)

disclaimer: please, please, please be exremely cautious about riding motorcycles and always make sure you wear the correct gear. and please do not ride on the back of a strangers bike for the first time… or maybe in general? stranger danger y’all!

a/n: hi y’all! hope you enjoy biker!danny

should out to @malany-gvf for proofreading and allowing me to bounce ideas off her <3 and thank you to @gold-mines-melting for giving me feedback on the moodboard, i definitely think this is the perfect one :) thank you both so much!!! <3333 love y’all!

—————————————

The grocery store was fairly busy, it was a Saturday after all. People milled about getting their groceries, necessities and whatnot, filling most of the aisles you traveled down. You hated going to the store on the weekends, but you needed a few things and today was one of your few off days, so here you were. Thankfully you didn’t need more than a couple of items.

You muttered a few apologies as you pushed the cart past other customers down the aisle before stopping in front of the pasta. Your eyes raked over the shelves trying to find the specific pasta that you wanted. Finally you were able to spot it on the top shelf.

“Great…” You huffed with a sigh, realizing the box was just out of your reach. Taking a look around you noticed most of the aisle had cleared out, so you walked closer to the shelves, and stepped lightly on the bottom one. Even with the extra step up, your fingers barely grazed the box.

The more you tried to grab the box, the further you pushed it back with each sweep of your fingers. Just as you were about to give up, a hand plucked the box from behind your fingers. A very large hand. Your eyes trailed up from the hand next to yours to land on the man next to you. He was tall, with beautiful, dark brown curly hair, soft brown eyes, and he was wearing a crooked smile. He was very attractive. And he was holding the box of pasta out to you.

You cleared your throat as you stepped down, feeling the heat of embarrassment creep up your throat and into your cheeks. “Ah, thanks…” You carefully took the box from the handsome stranger and tried your best to avoid looking at him again. Your face was red enough already.

“No worries.” He gave you a soft smile before he walked away. You watched as he got further down the aisle and caught his eyes one last time as he glanced back at you from over his shoulder. He disappeared around the corner, shaking you from your deer-in-headlights state.

You pushed the attractive stranger out of your mind and continued your shopping by grabbing the last two things on your list. While you waited in the self-checkout line you spotted the man again at a register in front of you. You watched him scan the few items he had and pay for his belongings until it was your turn. He was wearing black skinny jeans, white vans, and a “The Church of Rock and Roll” shirt that had been made into a tank top, the slits on the sides easily reaching down to his ribs, with a pair of black ray bans hanging from the neck of his shirt.

Just as you were walking up to an empty register, he was packing away his things into a small bag. A few minutes later you did the same, and walked out to your car once everything was paid for and placed back into the cart. You unlocked your trunk and began carefully placing everything inside making sure nothing would fall over.

As you shut the trunk and walk the cart towards the corral, you could hear the sound of a motorcycle pulling in beside you. The driver had parked right next to your driver side and had set the kick stand out, letting the bike rest while still being on.

It was a small black Harley cruiser, nothing super fancy, but still very nice. You took special notice to the rider, recognizing the mystery man from the pasta aisle, but this time he had a helmet on. Suddenly the sound from the bike was cut off as you approached your car and unlocked it. You had opened the door and sat in the driver’s seat when the guy finally spoke up.

“Uh, hey, I’m sorry about this, but I just thought you were really cute and uh… Sorry… I uh… Was just wondering if maybe I could get your number?”

The bulky helmet covered most of his face, but you could tell underneath that he was blushing. His shyness almost caught you off guard seeing as he didn’t seem so shy inside the store. It was endearing in a way.

“My number?” You couldn’t wipe the stupid grin off your face even if you tried. He was incredibly cute.

“Yeah… If that would be alright?” The crinkles by his eyes gave away his hidden smile under the helmet. While the helmet covered most of his face you could still see the bridge of his nose, and the freckles that lived there.

“I’ll make you a deal…” You leaned towards him more with your left foot planted on the ground outside of the car. His right eyebrow cocked upwards waiting for your next move.

“And what might that be?”

“I’ll give you my number if you take me for a ride on your bike.”

“Deal.”

There was no hesitation in his reply and the confidence in himself made him more attractive.

“Really? Just like that?” You were amused that he had even agreed and especially more so that he did it almost without a second thought.

“It’s not everyday a pretty girl wants to ride on the bike and will give me her number. But I don’t have another helmet on me right now and there’s absolutely no way I’ll take you out on this without the proper gear.”

“I can wait.” The words left your mouth before you had even realized what you said. You didn’t know this man and you were going to get on a motorcycle with him? What the hell was wrong with you?

“You don’t have anywhere else you need to be? Nothing frozen in there?” He gestured to the back of your car where you had just finished loading in all your groceries.

“Nope, I am completely free and nothing frozen in the back.”

He said nothing for a moment and just continued to stare at you in awe. He shook his head with a chuckle before he spoke again.

“Alright, give me twenty minutes and I’ll be back here… You’re seriously gonna wait?”

“I’m seriously gonna wait.”

With that he started the bike up again and released the kick stand. Before he backed up, he shot you another smile with a look of almost disbelief that this was happening. Once he took off you shut the door to your car and turned the engine on to get comfortable. You made sure to text basically everyone you knew about your plans for the night in case he was actually an axe murderer.

You scrolled through various forms of social media while you waited for the mystery man to return. When you heard the loud rumbling of the bike around the corner you checked the time. Almost twenty minutes on the dot. He was good.

You waited until he killed the engine to the bike to turn your car off and step outside. He took his helmet off and stepped off the bike. His delicate curls didn’t suffer any damage or deformity during their time inside his helmet, looking absolutely perfect. The same crooked smile you saw in the store had returned and it made your heart skip.

“I can’t believe you waited.” He tucked his helmet underneath his arm while he held another one in his hand. It was red and slightly smaller than his black helmet.

“I can’t believe you came back.” You closed the car door behind you and clicked the lock button twice to set the alarm.

“Of course I came back. I’m not sure if this helmet will fit exactly, but it’s better than nothing.” He held the helmet out for you to take. You did as he silently asked and took the helmet from him. It was heavier than you expected, but at least you knew your skull would be safe in it.

“Ya know, before I put this on maybe you should tell me your name?”

A smile cracked across his face making his eyes sparkle.

“It’s Daniel, but you can call me Danny.” He held his hand out and waited for you to shake it.

“Danny… Nice to officially meet you, I’m y/n.” Your left hand dropped to your side with the helmet as you grabbed his hand. Danny didn’t squeeze your hand hard, but his grip was firm. You met the pressure of his hand, squeezing back slightly.

“Likewise.” His smile was contagious, and it never left his face. Every time he looked at you, you couldn’t help the grin that danced on your lips.

“Have you ever been on a motorcycle of any kind?”

“No, I’ve been snowmobiling, jet skiing and on ATVs, but never on a bike.”

He nodded his head in understanding and seemed to think about what he was going to say next.

“Hmmm… Right. So there are a few rules we need to go over before you put the helmet on.” You followed his previous action and nodded in response.

“You have to hold on to me at all times, so don’t get all shy on me. When we turn, let your body follow the natural pull, don’t fight it or that’ll end up badly. If you’re nervous or uncomfortable at any time, let me know. We’ll be able to hear each other through the bluetooth in the helmets, but sometimes it cuts in and out, so tap my chest three times, okay?” You continued to nod as he went on explaining the important things you’d need to know.

“When we stop, try your best to not lean forward on me and brace yourself as we slow. Try not to move too much on the back as well. Lastly, relax and have fun. I won’t go any faster than what you’re comfortable with. Sound good?”

“Yeah, I think I’ve got it. Hold on tight, don’t lean too much to one side, communicate by tapping your chest three times or talking, brace for stops and don’t lean on your back, and don’t move around.” You ran back through everything he had just said, pretty sure you got it all down. It was a little nerve wracking to think about the fact you were trusting a stranger with your life. And that he was trusting you not to screw up.

“Sounds like you’ve got it. Ready to put that helmet on?” You held the helmet up wordlessly between the two of you.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Alright go ahead and slip it on, and I’ll help you tighten and buckle it before I put mine on.”

The helmet he provided you fit perfectly, it was snug without being too tight, and it didn’t wiggle around your face. You could hear his muffled voice asking how it fit through all the padding. You gave the helmet a tap on the outside and a thumbs up. His fingers got to work on the straps underneath your chin, constantly asking how they felt. Once they felt good, Danny slipped his own helmet on and set up the bluetooth.

You hear the bluetooth dial up tone before you hear his voice.

“Can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear.” You saluted him jokingly, earning a chuckle that rang throughout your ears.

“Alright, I’m gonna hand you some gloves, go ahead and put those on while I hop on the bike.”

“Sir, yes sir.” He chuckled again, this time shaking his head.

“Easy now, I don’t know you that well… yet.” Danny winked at you as he handed you the gloves. Instant heat flushed to your cheeks and you were thankful that most of your face was covered. Damn him.

Once he was settled on the bike and you had the gloves on, he spoke again.

“Alright I’m gonna hold my hand out and I want you to use me to help you step on.”

“Got it.”

You walked around to the back of the bike and grabbed his hand around the top of his left shoulder. He kept you steady as you swung your leg over the seat and sat on the back of the bike.

“You’re gonna have to get a little bit closer than that.”

You scooted forward on the seat and tried to get more comfortable. However, you still must not have been close enough because just as you got comfortable, Danny’s large hands wrapped around the backs of your knees and pulled you closer until you were flush against him. You tried to ignore the proximity and where his hands just were, trying to focus on preparing yourself for the actual ride.

“Sorry…” You felt like you had let him down a little by not meeting his standards.

“No worries, this is your first time. Sometimes you just need someone to show you. Go ahead and grab on. Don’t be afraid you’ll hurt me, okay? Hold on tight.”

“Yeah, okay.” While being this close to a complete stranger was unusual, you felt safe with Danny. You snaked your arms around his midsection and held your arms with the other hand, locking them on.

A moment later the bike’s engine revved to life and you felt the vibrations roll through your body. It had just become very real to you. You were about to go on a ride with a man you literally met maybe forty minutes ago. You were in far too deep to turn back now though.

“Ready? We’ll start out nice and easy.” Danny’s head turned slightly over his left shoulder to peek at you. Instead, his helmet knocked against yours softly due to the minimal distance between you. He muttered a quick ‘sorry’ accompanied with a chuckle. You couldn’t help but let a small giggle out.

“Yeah, uh… Just promise you’re not some kind of murderer who’s gonna kill me and dispose of my body in the woods…”

“I promise I’m not a murderer. Just a guy who desperately wants a cute girl’s number. You’re gonna have to trust me during the ride, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. I’m good. I’m ready.” You were basically trying to hype yourself up. Trying to prepare for whatever was about to happen. Definitely too late to turn back now.

“Alright then, let’s go.” Danny released the kickstand and began to walk the bike backwards out of the spot. Your arms tightened around his waist out of instinct as Danny took off out of the parking lot slowly. You remembered what he told you to do during turns and let your body stay neutral, following the motion of the bike while he took a right out of the parking lot.

“You doing okay back there?”

“Yeah, I’m doing alright. If you want, we could probably kick it up a notch if we’re below the speed limit. I’m feeling good.”

You meant it too. Riding on the back was fairly easy and you adjusted to it quickly. Letting your body move in tandem with Danny’s and the bike felt natural and you were loving it.

“Whatever you say, doll.” He laughed with amusement and gave the right handle bar a twist, accelerating. You didn’t go much faster, but you appreciated it. Danny seemed to be cautious about keeping the ride safe.

Buildings and houses and schools blurred in your vision, zooming past. Everything went by at warped speed which made your ability to focus nearly impossible. You did your best to keep yourself upright, but still pressed against him to not leave too much room. Constantly, you fought the urge to rest the cheek of your helmet against his shoulder, but decided that may not be the best option. You didn’t want to be too close to him so that you wouldn’t be able to brace yourself for stops or pull away when you stopped at red lights or stop signs.

Eventually, Danny pulled out onto a quieter road surrounded by trees. There were little to no cars and no people walking around. He kept the speed steady for a moment before speaking.

“Ready to experience some real speed?”

You were definitely ready. You had trusted Danny this far and didn’t think he was reckless enough to endanger you both. Less traffic also made you feel more safe. You tightened your arms around his waist tighter, gripping your forearms with more strength.

“Yeah, I’m ready. Let’s do it.”

“That’s what I like to hear.” Just from the sound of his voice you could tell he was wearing his heart stopping crooked smile.

The build up of speed was gradual, but quick. One moment you were comfortable and the next you felt like you could fly off the back of the bike any second. But you were enjoying every bit of it. You hadn’t even realized that your small screams of enjoyment were now coming out as laughter. No matter how hard you tried to stop you just couldn’t stop laughing.

Your laughter finally died down with the speed of the bike as Danny started to decelerate. He pulled over on the side of the road, kicked the stand out, and killed the engine. You stayed on the back of the bike while he fumbled with the chin straps on the helmet and then slipped it off his head.

“Here.” He held his hand out like he did to help you get on the bike. You placed your left hand in his right using the leverage to pull your body up and swing your leg over the seat. Moving slowly, you were careful to not send your knee flying into his spine.

Danny didn’t let go of your hand after you stepped off the bike, and instead intertwined his fingers with yours to pull you in front of him. Both of his hands find the straps under your chin and his fingers release them swiftly allowing you to pull the helmet off.

“Not bad for a rookie.” He smiled up at you from his seated position on the bike. His discarded helmet sat between his legs, his large hands resting on top of it.

“I’ve been told I’m a pretty fast learner.” You shrugged nonchalantly, a smirk creeping its way onto your lips. Danny only smiled wider.

“Is that so?”

His eyebrow cocked as he spoke and his hand stretched out the short distance towards your hip, looping his index and middle fingers through the belt loop on your jeans. He tugged you towards him with minimal force, and you allowed your body to follow until his knee rested against your hip. You nodded your head slowly in response, teeth gnawing lightly on your bottom lip.

It was at this moment that you realized just how close you were to one another. You were so close to Danny that you could make out all the freckles that splayed across the bridge of his nose. So close that you could tell that his eyes weren’t just brown. They were hazel. Brown and green hazel. They were beautiful, and warm, and inviting, and they held you there, unable to look away.

His hand gripped your hip, the tips of his fingers digging into your waist, somehow bringing you closer to him. You rested your hand on his shoulder, a nervous knot of excitement twisting in the pit of your stomach. With bated breath you watched Danny’s eyes shift between your own before flicking down to your lips and back up to your eyes.

His eyes bore into yours with a silent question, your answer coming out in the form of a nod. The hand on your hip disappeared and came to rest on your neck, his fingers reaching the nape. He pulled you to him, pausing just before his lips brushed yours, his eyes flitting once more between your eyes and lips. He met your gaze again, his lips curled up in that soft crooked smile that made your knees weak.

When his lips finally touched yours it was with light pressure. Like he was afraid he’d hurt you. Soft and warm, his lips fit against yours in a way you couldn’t describe. As if they were made for each other. Your skin tingled with goosebumps and felt like it had been set on fire. Just when you began to melt against Danny’s lips they were gone. Your eyes open half-lidded, coated with content and need, to see Danny staring back at you mirroring your expression.

“It’s, uh, starting to get dark out. We should head back.” You were still so close to each other that his warm breath cascaded over your skin. He was smiling at you when he spoke, his hand still holding the back of your neck.

“Yeah, okay.” Your voice cracked in a whisper and you smiled softly back at him.

Danny helped you put your helmet back on, tightening the straps and making sure the bluetooth was working before starting the bike. He held his hand out just as he had earlier and you grabbed on, hoisting yourself onto the back of the seat. While you got comfortable, Danny put his helmet on.

“Ready to head back?”

You snaked your hands around his waist and squeezed lightly before responding.

“Yeah, I’m all set.”

“Alright then.”

——————————

The ride back to your car was fairly quiet. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. In fact it was completely comfortable, just enjoying the moment you were sharing and watching the night fly by. Soon enough you and Danny were pulling into the spot next to your car. The parking lot was mostly empty, the grocery store having closed nearly an hour ago.

“Here we are.” Danny killed the engine to the bike and helped you step off the back.

“Here,” You held out the helmet he had brought you, “Thank you for taking me out on the bike. I, uh, had a lot of fun.” He hung his own on the handlebar as he stepped off.

“I had fun too, I’m glad you asked for a ride.” He didn’t take the helmet from your hand and instead pushed it back towards you gently. The confusion written on your features was met with a soft smile.

“Keep it. I have a feeling this won’t be the last time I take you for a ride.”

You smiled back at him and tucked it underneath your arm.

“Oh is that so?” You gave him a sly, playful smile and laughed.

“I hope so.” He laughed with you, and stepped closer, his hand cupping your cheek. You leaned into his touch with your hand laying over his.

“I think that can be arranged.”

“Good, because I’d like to be able to do this a lot more often.”

Danny’s lips met yours for the second time that night, and still you felt the imaginary fireworks. Still you felt the tingle it brought to your entire body. Still you felt that same fire from before. It was almost as if you had never felt truly alive until today. And just like before, the kiss was brief. When you opened your eyes, Danny’s were staring back at you softly. That beautiful crooked grin adorned his face making your heart clench.

“I think I could get used to that.”

Another hour had easily passed. You were both talking, and enjoying each other’s company and swapping life stories. The night was beginning to turn chilly, your body shivering lightly. Danny being the gentleman that he is, handed you his jacket, which you gracefully accepted even though it was far too large for you.

Eventually the night drew to a close despite you wishing it would never end. You could’ve stayed with Danny the entire night, just talking about your lives. You loved learning all the little things about him like the things he loved, and the things he hated, his passion for music and his family. Being around him was like a constant nicotine high leaving your entire body tingling, and your mind fuzzy.

“Hand me your phone.” You held your palm out to him. He had opened your door for you and you were sitting in the driver’s seat looking up at him.

He just gave you a questioning look, but took his phone out of his pocket and handed it to you, unlocking it first. You opened the phone icon and began typing your numbers in on the keypad. You saved your number in his phone and gave it back to him with your contact popped up on the screen.

“I intended to keep my end of the bargain.”

“How do I know this is your real number? That you didn’t just put in a fake one and use me for my clearly awesome bike?” His tone was playful, clearly making a joke.

“Well you could text me now, make sure it’s right.” A light, breathy laugh sounded from his lips. He did as you suggested and typed out a quick message. To neither of your surprise, your phone vibrated in your pocket. You showed him the notification and saved his number in your phone.

“I told you.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Danny rolled his eyes, an amused smile on his face. He stepped closer to you and leaned down, kissing you a final time for the night. This kiss was a little different than the other two. There was the tiniest hint of passion and hunger behind the barely there force that came with his lips this time. Not letting either of you explore those feelings, Danny pulled away and grabbed your hand.

“I really need to get going, it’s getting late. Let me know when you make it home safely?”

“Yeah, I will.”

Danny placed a kiss to the back of your hand, and stepped back. He wished you goodnight, his voice coming out soft, and hushed. You said goodnight as well, shut your door and started your car. He waited for you to back out and leave the area you were parked in before he exited the parking lot too. The whole way home you couldn’t stop replaying the day’s events in your mind. It almost felt like a dream. A fairytale even. What are the odds right?

When you had made it home safely you remembered to text Danny.

I got home safe. Thank you again for a great day, it was perfect.

You went about your regular nighttime routine, washing your face, changing clothes, feeding your fish, etc… You also had brought in all of the groceries you had bought hours ago, and put them away. It wasn’t until you were changing that you realized you still had Danny’s jacket on. You slid into bed and picked up your phone to text him about it. He had already texted you back which made you smile.

I had a great time too. I’m glad today was perfect because that was just a scratch on the surface.

His text seemed promising of another… whatever today was. You weren’t sure if you would call today a first date, or a date at all considering you barely knew the guy, but you knew for sure you wanted to see him again.

Sounds like you plan on seeing me again?

You hit send before typing out another message and hitting send on that one.

Oh by the way, I still have your jacket!

When his next text came through, you were sure you were blushing bright red, and smiling at your phone like a lunatic. Or some kind of love-sick teenager.

I know, I didn’t ask for it back on purpose. I figured you could give it back to me on our second date ;)

————————————

taglist: @malany-gvf @dannyandthekiszkas @gretasimp @popejosh4ever @brujamagick @demolitionndann @hellowgoodbye @lipstickitty @ageofhearingloss @sunandthemoontwinflames @indigofallingsky @gold-mines-melting

add yourself to my taglist! :)

[brotherblaze]

JAILBAIT (redux) —simon 'ghost' riley

▹ simon 'ghost' riley/gn!reader

▹ part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5

▹ synopsis: The patrons of the bar they frequent are usually familiar, but you're a new face. You step in, ask for Ghost and - there's something almost intimate between you, in the way you move around each other.

▹ cw: n/a

▹ wc: 3,8k

▹ note: This is an edited & polished version of what I wrote last year. Also on ao3

There's a bar at the edge of the town the base is situated by.

The faces in the bar are somewhat familiar; if not soldiers from the base that greet them with a nod every time they pass in the hallways, then just the same old faces day in and day out. There are a few locals, too, like the nice lady that runs a small pizza kiosk not far from the base — it offers a discount to the troops stationed in the area and their in-house ice cream is to die for. In the far corner of the room, a young woman who Soap recognizes — she’d asked for help moving her shitty ex-boyfriend’s things out of her house a few weeks back, and a handful of men had happily agreed.

They're regulars; their presence is predictable and familiar.

Yours isn't.

Soap catches sight of you just as you step inside and pause at the door, angling your small suitcase out of the way of the other patrons. He follows the direction of your gaze as it jumps from person to person. A group of college-aged women at the pool table are being entertained by a few men and their shoddy excuse for teaching pool. You’re about their age, if he makes an estimated guess. You look away and Soap does, too, at the middle-aged man sitting on one of the barstools, the bartender pouring from a bottle of amber liquid. Your gaze shifts again.

Ah, you’re looking for someone, Soap realizes. He extinguishes the idea of introducing himself with an offer to buy you a drink.

He sees you turn and approach the small group of young men closest to you, all sitting at the table next to Soap’s. You’re all sultry eyes and curled, glittering lips when you stop in front of them and you have their attention instantly. 

“Do y’all know the one who religiously wears the black balaclava?”

A groupie? Soap thinks. Ghost with a groupie; now that’s an image.

There are a few nods from the group and your smile widens impossibly, eyes shining. (Soap finds himself calling you pretty in his head.) “Is he comin’ tonight?”

Groupie, Soap decides in his head.

One of the men, baby fat still clinging to his face, speaks up, “I can show you a much better time.” He winks, flashing what Soap thinks is supposed to be an attractive smile. It comes off looking more like a grimace. The man’s friends holler and whistle — one of them even pats him on the back.

A long moment passes where you simply stare at them, the smile slowly fading from your face. Finally, you settle on an expression like you’d bit into a lemon.

“I like my seats blond and shaven; rugburn’s a bitch.” 

Soap nearly chokes on his own spit and he takes a swig of his beer to wash down the cough that wants to escape. He places his fist in front of his mouth and swallows a few times to not give himself away. He doesn’t need anyone thinking he spends his evenings spying on people at the bar because he has no life of his own.

When he looks back, the group of men are laughing at their friend’s expense, throwing barbed jabs at him and his pick-up skills. Soap rolls his eyes and begins to consider leaving when he spots new motion at the door. He raises his hand to wave Price and Ghost over and points you out at the bar when they’ve sat down.

You’ve found a free seat right at the bar counter, idly tapping your fingers against the smooth wooden countertop.

“Bonnie at the bar was asking for ya.”

Ghost’s eyes snap to the bar just as you turn around in the swiveling chair and your eyes meet and your grin grows wide. You pat the bar countertop and turn towards the bartender and hold up two fingers.

Ghost doesn’t even seem to take time to consider joining you, but stands immediately, doesn’t even grace Soap and Price with a bye, and strides up to where you’re sitting.

“Go get ‘em, Romeo,” Soap mutters under his breath.

Ghost stops next to you just as the bartender places two shot glasses on the counter and tips a bottle of clear liquid into them. 

He leans against the bar, right next to you, so close your elbows might be brushing and you turn your head to greet him with a bright smile. You offer the empty barstool next to you and Ghost accepts. He settles into the creaky chair and you slide one glass over to him.

You're bold, Soap will give you that; he watches you place a hand on the Lieutenant's thigh, leaning in close to whisper something into his ear, glittering lips curled into a grin. When you draw back after a few moments, Ghost is looking at you intently, razor-sharp focus on you.

There are a few moments of silence and then Ghost’s shoulders sag, slight tremors rocking his frame and oh, Soap realizes, he’s laughing. It’s not a foreign sight, but it is rare. You’re grinning, as if you’re asking if whatever you said — a joke, probably — was any good. Ghost nods.

You down the shot in front of you all at once and lightning fast — like a snake unhinging its jaw to swallow prey whole. Then, you point to Ghost's glass, which he pushes towards you. It's gone as quickly as its companion. Ghost's hand strays to your face, to the corner of your mouth, thumb sliding along the width of your lower lip to bring the drop of vodka that escaped into your mouth. You place a kiss against the pad of his thumb.

Soap feels like he's looking at something intimate. He looks away.

Sometimes they bring girls to a motel for a good time, that's just how it is. It’s not the best kind of conduct but hey, everybody gets lonely.

And yet, annoyance seeps into his tone when he speaks. "People really dig the balaclava, huh?"

Price breathes a chuckle under his breath and mutters something about not wanting to know.

Soap nearly does a double take when he sees you slip into Ghost’s quarters in the morning. Which is uncanny, if not dangerous — they usually keep their hookups strictly off base. One, because their cots are possibly the biggest companion and/or sex deterrents, and two, because it’s prohibited.

He’s frozen in his steps for a moment, and then the door opens again and you emerge with a mug — Ghost’s mug — in one hand, a colorful lanyard around your neck. A black t-shirt hangs off your frame, too large to be your own, tucked into the waistband of your shorts. Small bruises litter your thighs.

Your eyes meet his and you smile and approach.

“Could you tell me where John Price is?”

Soap snaps to attention, pushes the obvious implications of your appearance to the back of his mind, and nods.

“I can take you to where he’s supposed to be,” he offers and you break out into a smile.

“Please. And thank you.”

He motions for you to follow and you fall into step with him, neither of you feeling particularly chatty. That’s fine; Soap doesn’t have to be in the know, but he supposes he’d thought he and Simon have made it to being friends. Then again, Ghost is a private person.

A few short minutes of walking at a reasonably slow pace, Soap points to the door of a room where Price should be meeting with someone in a few minutes. You thank him with a smile and Soap pulls the door open for good measure — if you are someone Ghost knows he should at least be nice. 

You pause in the doorway, tired eyes raking over the room as you hold the mug to your lips. There’s a small crowd in the room, all standing, killing time by doing absolutely nothing, if you had to guess. All eyes are suddenly on you and your smile falls into a  frown. The lights are too bright. Price isn’t here yet.

One of the rookies from yesterday, now with a clean-shaven face, whistles loudly to get your attention. He's wearing a toothy grin and makes a show out of rubbing his palm against his chin. "Saved you a seat right here. Should be fine,” his eyes flicker to Soap and his grin broadens, “y’know, barracks bunny and all."

More whistles, probably from the same group as last night. Someone howls a laugh like a hyena. Someone else leers at you and Soap minutely adjusts his stance to shield you with his body. 

"No, I like my men lookin' tired, borderline deceased from not sleeping. Those dark circles really do it for me, y’know? Also,” you grimace and click your tongue, “better not tell the big guy about the barracks bunny thing.”

“Who’s a barracks bunny?”

The room falls silent all at once.

He's told you he's a different man on the field, you know this, but there's a strange chill sinking into your bones when you hear Simon's voice and the hair on the back of your neck rises on its ends. This is Ghost, no doubt about it, this is the thing he keeps out of your home, your life, your time spent with him. You don't turn to look at him, just step to the side to fully fall into Soap’s shadow and allow Ghost entrance into the room.

He stops and turns to look at you and you take a breath in, hold it for a few short moments, and release.

“Me, apparently. If a barracks bunny is the same thing as a volleyball bunny.”

“It is.” He jerks his head to the side. “Which one?”

You purse your lips and let your eyes slide from him, unfocusing. “They all look the same,” you admit. There’s a hot flush of shame when you look at him again because shit, you could’ve at least glanced at the nametag on the man’s chest. Your ears begin ringing and you feel compelled to look away from him again.

Soap speaks up, says something you can’t quite catch over the aggressive ringing in your ears, and Ghost turns away. His footsteps are heavy as he approaches the group huddled together, now falling apart at the seams as they inch away from each other. The one in the very back of the group gets left out in the open and Ghost stops in front of him, posture stiff, arms at his sides.

His voice is clear and sharp, and it cuts straight through the ringing in your ears, right into you, and bounces around in your brain like a pinball hitting the obstacles in the machine.

"Repeat yourself."

"Sir, I—"

"If you said it to Jailbait, you'll say it to my face."

The man stammers. He’s pressing his palms against his cargo pants, hands trembling. Maybe his whole body is, too. You drop your gaze into the mug of cocoa in your hand and deliberate whether you should finish it. It looks cold.

"Speak up, soldier!"

You almost jump at the volume of his voice, the tone has you on high alert, like prey in front of a predator, staring into the eyes of certain death. Your spine straightens; your throat feels tight. You think you see the man’s eyes shining with tears. There is movement behind you and a hand rests between your shoulder blades — you nearly shoot out of your skin and another hand deftly snatches the mug before you can spill it or drop it, or both.

"I see you've met Jailbait."

Price steps past you, the mug still in hand, calm as can be. Your eyes jump from Ghost to Price, back to Ghost, and to the rookie for good measure. He's definitely going to cry about this later tonight. Maybe you should, too; for the morale.

"Jailbait," Price nods towards the door, “wait outside with Ghost, I’ll walk you to where you need to be in a minute.” You nod, slowly, like you’re trapped in a pit of molasses and maybe it’s just because it’s too early and you haven’t taken your medication yet or maybe you’re actively beginning to dissociate. Soap shuffles around you, careful to keep some semblance of personal space between your bodies as he angles himself out of your way to give you a clear shot for the door.

“Uh, yeah,” you mutter and turn, frigid like a wooden puppet on a string, to take the chance at escape.

“Did you need something, Soap?” Price asks. Soap shakes his head.

“Just…” he jerks his head towards you, “Jailbait,” he tries the name out and Price’s eyebrows jump and Soap is acutely aware of Ghost hovering in the corner of his eye, “asked if I knew where to find you.”

Price studies him for a moment, one that feels like it stretches on and on, then nods. “Thank you,” he says finally. Soap nods once and backs out of the room.

You and Ghost are hovering by the door and now Soap really is curious. He stops a few feet from you and turns to glance at the room but the door is slammed in his face.

You hear a “Didn’t you muppets see the fucking lanyard?” before the door closes. There’s a small window on said door to allow you a peek into the room. Price seems exhausted and you wince when you think of the bumpy cot you slept on; if it has your neck in seventeen different knots that probably require a professional masseuse, you wonder how he’s even surviving on it at his age.

Even if he is as tired as the dark circles under his eyes make him out to be, he doesn’t show it.

“Hey,” you begin, to neither Ghost nor Soap in particular, “what’s he telling ‘em?” On the other side of the glass, Price notices you staring and when you raise a hand to wave, he draws the blinds. You click your tongue in annoyance and turn away.

"Rule one: don't touch Jailbait, rule two: don't say stupid shit to Jailbait." Ghost's voice is rough, broad arms crossed over his chest, fingers digging into his own flesh. There’s many a small, crescent-shaped scars on his body. His shoulders are tense — his jaw, too, if experience is anything to go on — and you want to reach out, run your fingers down the long, jagged scar on his jawline, and remind him not to grit his teeth so hard.

Too many eyes. 

Simon, hidden under the layer of skull-printed balaclava.

So, you settle for a smartass remark.

"This is your fault, by the way,” you say, jabbing a manicured finger into his chest, “you not only told me I couldn’t use my own name, but you also wouldn’t let me call myself Ghost Rider, which, arguably, would've been so much funnier. And clear…er."

Some of the tension eases from his body, shoulders hunching forward slightly and then back again as if he’s rolling out a kink. Even then, he’s wound tight, like a toy whose spring is about to give. You flex your fingers, fighting the urge to just reach out and touch him, to run your fingers through his hair and tug at the strands.

More settling, then.

“Hey, Si, can I paint your nails? Pretty please?”

He’s silent for a long moment, eyeing you. Simon Riley, you’ve learned, is not particularly emotive — but then again, being outwardly emotive isn’t very high up on your priority list, either. He can be emotive, between the few moments it takes him to take in his surroundings first thing in the morning, and when he slows down to enjoy the food on his plate or the hot shower you drag him under. Other than that, he can be blank, expression smoothed over into a guarded neutral.

Finally, Ghost sinks into a nearby office chair with a low sigh. He leans back, legs parted, and pats his thigh. Dark eyes bore into yours and oh, there’s that chill again. It strikes up your spine like lightning and buries itself in your shoulders, in your collarbones. There’s a hollowness in your throat.

You roll your shoulders to shake it off and close the distance between you to sit so you’re shoulder-to-shoulder, legs thrown across his other thigh. His hand rests on your bare leg, fingers digging into the flesh, slotting over old bruises and bites.

"Should I file this under jealousy or possessiveness? Because neither one is a particularly… attractive look. What’s next: telling me I can’t wear a nice dress because it’s ‘too revealing’?”

“Wear whatever the fuck you want; I can fight,” he says and his prize is your smile, bright and wide as you rummage in his hoodie pocket for the black nail polish you’d slipped in there earlier. You give it a good shake once you find it, the metal ball clinking against the glass around it.

"Language," you gently reprimand as you take the hand he offers.

"I’m sorry, darling." He gives your thigh a gentle squeeze. You crack the nail polish open, hand the bottle to him, and begin your pampering on the down-low activity. 

Silence settles over you, the chatter in the background a pleasant filler noise.

You don’t notice Soap staring at you, slack-jawed.

Ghost does.

“Yes, Soap?”

His voice is rough and you glance up for a moment, then back to your project. 

“You two… know each other.” He motions between you and Ghost as if he’s having trouble processing what’s right in front of him. You hum an affirmative, careful not to get any of the black polish on his fingers as you coat Ghost’s nails.

“He’s my sugar daddy.” 

Ghost exhales a sigh that sounds suspiciously like a laugh and you feel the corners of your lips curl up. A quick glance at him from the corner of your eye confirms it; the way the corners of his eyes crinkle means he’s smiling. One of his more rare, full smiles you have the privilege to see. 

“Yeah, I pay for your expensive-ass fancy university degree." He gives your thigh a gentle squeeze.

"My second Bachelor's degree," you emphasize, holding up two fingers. "Oh, I got an offer, by the way — private firm. Pay’s a bit…” you shake your hand in a so-so motion, “iffy, considering the workload they’re trying to dump on me.”

“You’re greedy.”

“Hey, living is expensive. And maybe I want to pay for my own expensive-ass fancy university degree, ever think about that, hm? Anyway, I said I’d take a few days to think about it.” You turn to Soap again. “Yeah, he pays for my school. For now.” Back to Ghost, and you grin. “How’d you feel about being a sugar baby?”

Ghost huffs. His fingers begin massaging lazy circles against the bare flesh of your thigh.

“And what would I be doing all day long, then?”

“You can dig holes in the backyard or whatever it is men do.”

It’s not a no, you think.

Ghost sighs.

It’s not a no.

“Yes, MacTavish, we know each other,” Ghost finally says.

"Yeah, MacTavish, we're friends, that's all—he talks about you a lot, by the way, says you're like… besties."

Ghost gives your thigh a harsh squeeze and you almost yelp from the sudden force of his grip. "You're a pain in my ass, you know that?"

Friends don’t act like that. Friends don’t pay for an entire Bachelor’s degree worth of university fees. Friends don’t imply a relationship wherein the receiver of said Bachelor’s degree performs sexual favors.

At least not any friends he’s ever had.

But the other thing…

"You… ‘besties’?" Soap asks, a finger pointed at himself. 

"Man, for military men, y'all are gullible as hell." You chuckle to yourself and continue your quest of hopefully making black nail polish a permanent staple in Simon's life. It’s simply one more of those things you think look good on him and he’s willing to accept your little dress-up games. (No, he doesn’t wear rings when he’s not on a job solely because you can’t keep your eyes off his hands when he does; absolutely not.) "But I do have a Bachelor's in comp-sci, and now I'm working on a Bachelor's in English 'cause maybe I want to go into the translating field one day. And Si is, for now, paying for roughly half of my tuition. Price called me over for a favor. And he does, sometimes, talk about you."

"You look really young for a second degree,” Soap blurts.

A chill settles deep into his bones when he meets Ghost’s dark gaze. He finds himself wishing for a time machine to spontaneously appear right here and now. With or without a future version of himself to shake some sense into him.

If a look could kill, Ghost would be shoveling Soap’s body towards the Earth's core right now.

Your sharp guffaw cuts into him and shakes the metal image of Ghost repeatedly stabbing him with a tactical shovel. When he tears his eyes away from his Lieutenant’s, he sees you hiding your smile behind the hand that had been holding Ghost’s. 

“Simon didn’t believe — for, what, a year? — that I was 21 when we met.” You raise a brow at Ghost. “Literally it took some American asshole working at a bar and cutting my ID into pieces for him to believe me; asshole said it was ‘obviously fake’ — fuck you, dude, do you know how expensive it is to order that thing to an embassy? Very. Point is, Simon said my high school graduation photo looked like it was from middle school; believe me, I’m used to people saying I look like a really tall 12-year-old”

Ghost grumbles something under his breath and looks away. You'd pry more if you were in a cruel mood. Maybe you will pry more later. 

“Jailbait!”

You lean to the side until you catch sight of Price in Soap’s shadow. He jerks his head in the opposite direction and you hastily cap the nail polish and slide it back into Ghost’s hoodie pocket. Before you slide off his lap, you pause, place your hands onto his balaclava-covered cheeks, and press a chaste kiss on the tip of his nose.

“Got your pocket knife?” he asks.

“Yes.”

“Call me when you’re done; I’ll come pick you up.”

“Okay.”

A second kiss, this one to where the corner of his mouth should be, and then you stand, spare Soap a little goodbye wave, and bound over to Price. 

There’s a pep in your step as Price leads you wherever it is you’re supposed to be. They fall into silence once you’re out of sight and Soap abruptly feels like a fish out of water. What does one even say about this? He doesn’t know but it would feel a lot more awkward to not say anything.

“They’re nice,” he says because he doesn’t know what else to say. Ghost grunts. “Congrats, Lt., you deserve someone who makes you happy.”

[sluttyhollow]

It's cuffing season, And all the girls are leaving to get a big boy, I need a big boy, I want a big boy...

Toshinori Yagi (All Might) x black f!gn!reader

warnings: size kink, rough sex, short reader, oral (f+m recieving), brat reader (reader won't submit without a fight ), dom all might, pre all for one fight (beef cake toshi), fem bodied reader with gn pronouns, full Nelson, mirror sex, unprotected sex (use condoms kids), little fluff and aftercare, use of baby/ little one/ brat, reader gets picked up (Toshi weighs at least 400lbs in muscle form he can pick you up), reader has a time suspension quirk

Notes: somewhat proofread, reader is descriptively black! But y’all feel free to read if you want 🤷🏽‍♀️

It's not even that you were small, just a little on the shorter side. At least compared to normal people you were just short but compared to him... Well he made you look and feel small because everything about him was so big...

Walking next to your man you always wondered what people thought about the two of you, not that you cared or would change anything but he was standing 7 feet tall body made of pure muscle compared to your 5 foot frame. Plus his hero status and the fact that you were obviously a foreigner, with brown skin and textured hair, you two probably made quite the sight.

Never the less, though it made things like kissing and dancing harder, there benefits of being with a man this big extended far past safety and comfort.

The first being how effortlessly he held your thrashing body into the bed. Arms pinning your thighs flat to the bed adding just enough weight to them to prevent you from running from the assault his tongue was giving to your pussy. You were useless against everything he was giving you and fuck he just kept giving you more.

Gripping the two peaks of his hair and trying to pull his head away from your body proved to be even more of a pitiful attempt. He simply moved one big arm across both of your legs and the other one made its way to your hands gripping both in one hand before pulling his self from his meal to look you in the eyes

"You'll Keep still for me won't you, behave, be a good little baby for me and take what I'm giving you"

You were never one for listening to Toshi, it's not that you didn't respect him, he was All Might for fucks sake, but something about him asking you for something made you want to tell him no. Tell him to make you, make him make you. You couldn't help it, he was always so nice and warm, like a teddy bear even when he was fighting dangerous villains he was always smiling. You just really needed to work that smile of his face sometimes. So you did what you do best,

"No" which followed with you squirming more to break free of the hold he currently held you in. Wiggling your lower half trying to scoot further up the bed which ended up putting your pussy right back in his face. Smile still plastered across his face he nipped the side of your thigh those blue eyes fixing you with a pointed look that said behave or else, before he dove face first back into his meal. When he felt like you weren't going to thrash around anymore you felt the arm holding your legs back move and two thick fingers begin to poke at your hole. Licking a strip from the bottom to your clit he kept his tongue working there while his fingers finally slipped in to start working you open for him. He was just too good, the thickness of his fingers and the way his tongue was working against your clit you felt your first, of many to come, orgasm creeping upon you. Before you could peak completely, you shoved your foot in Toshi's face kicking him back from your body just slightly enough to break contact.

A deep sigh ran through the man before he fixed those blues on you again "I thought I told you to be good little one" still smiling though those eyes were starting to harden into something a little more dangerous, a little more feral. A clicking of his tongue could be heard before you were being drug off the bed by your ankles which were quickly thrown over his shoulders as he stood up with you dangling from his neck like a necklace. A low chuckle leaving his mouth before he shoved his face back between the pillows of your legs and resumed his task, this time with much more vigor. Biting your lip to hold every noise he was pulling out of you in, your muscles kept rapidly contracting as he pushed you into your orgasm. Mind going blank as white noise filled your ears you barely managed to hold the deep moan your body wanted to release within your throat. Mouth opening in a silent scream.

“Tsk” large arms wrapping to release the hold your ankles had formed around his neck before gripping your waist and unceremoniously dropping you back on to the bed. Gaining your whereabouts, you opened your eyes to see Toshi standing above you, arms crossed, eyes squinted just a tiny bit and that smile of his starting to drop into something much more akin to a smirk

“I asked you to behave little one and here you are finding another way to disobey me” his hands reached down to pull his shirt over his head revealing his perfectly toned upper half to you before undoing his belt buckle and sliding his both his pants and underwear down in one motion. Springing free and standing at rapt attention his dick was now right in front of you. Intimidating in its size and girth with a flushed red tip that was leaking the smallest drops of pre from it.

Which bought you to number 2.5 his dick was so big and so pretty you just couldn’t help but develop an affinity for having it in your mouth whenever you could.

“Come here little one” this time you moved without much of a fuss, for now at least, lest he stop you from putting him in your mouth. Dropping to your knees in front of him you wrapped one of your hands around his base and placed the other one firmly on his thigh. Opening your mouth just wide enough to let your tongue out you started kitten licking the length of his shaft that your hand wasn’t covering. Running them rough surface if your tongue across his tip a few times you ducked in between your lips before letting it slide into your mouth causing Toshi to groan above you. Grabbing either side of your head he held you still letting you continue your exploration of his length with your mouth. It was a pa to you already knew well but continued to traverse as new territory every time.

“Look at my sweet baby, feels so good having that mouth around me” his words causing you to moan around him. Losing yourself in the feeling of him on your taste buds you had been gradually speeding up your ministrations causing Toshi to start bucking into your mouth to meet your movements. He was getting close, coupious amounts of your combined mixture leaking through the cracks in your pretty lips making a few groan rack through his body. Not wanting to release himself just yet, he made to pull you off of him only to realize you’d used your quirk on him, temporarily suspending his movements. Moving from between his hands and pushing his thick cock further down your throat until your nose grazed the blonde hair spread across his abdomen. You kept your head there barely moving away before coming back down. Toshis moans growing deeper and his breathing breaking into a rapid staccato before you felt his cum shooting fast and hot down your throat. You quickly released your quirk allowing him to grab your hair and yank you back causing the rest of his milky seed to paint the pretty brown skin of your face.

“Insolent little brat” opening your eyes that had fallen closed you noticed that you’d gotten what you initially wanted, Toshis smile was gone. Blue eyes cutting through you with lustful rage, teeth bared as if he was geared to attack at any second. “I let you get away with it all night, gave you chance after chance to be good for me but you just couldn’t do that for me could you” a big hand grabbing your cheeks, squishing them between two large fingers and shaking your head no for you. “I even gave you a treat that you didn’t deserve and you took advantage of it baby” the last word falling out of his mouth with a coo before you were once again lifted from the ground. Your back hit his chest, his arms coming to fold your legs to your chest before his hands were interlocked firmly behind your head. In the time it took him to set you up, he’d also moved to stand right in front of the custom wall length mirror on the far side of the room.

“Look at yourself, now”

Your eyes quickly shot up meeting his through the glass and letting a moan drip out from the sight of yourself. Spread open for his viewing your leaky sex on display front and center. Your face every bit of sinful and his matched perfectly and Cock standing at attention right below the globes of your ass

“How pitiful, you’ve gotten so quiet” he leaned his head right next to your ear before whispering “lose your will to fight that fast baby” chuckling lowly before moving to impale you on him.

Which bought you to number 3 and 4. He always filled you so well, so perfectly and fucked you so good you couldn’t disobey him for the next few days even if you wanted to. Broke you down so pleasantly you would have to listen to his every word so he could put you back together.

“Toooshiii fuuck I’m sorry” head lulling back against his sweat covered chest, eyes flittering closed half way. The words were barely audible over the incessant wet smacking of him against you. The flushed red of his cock looked so pretty nestled between the pink of your inner lips, sliding in and leaving a trail of semi translucent slick across his length as he came back out, a little white ring forming around his base.

“There’s my good little baby, taking me so well, being so good for me” his words of praise for your finally obedient behavior causing you to clench down around him harder pushing you closer to your next orgasm. Feeling the change, he released his hands from behind your head, moved one arm to the front to hold your legs up, forearm falling just across the space between your neck and collar bone. The other hand snaked it’s way to your clit rubbing quick circles into the little nub causing you to arch your back and release on of the sexiest moans he had ever heard

“Come for me, now” And you did, squirting covering your thighs and his hand as it dripped down to cover your ass increasing the sound of wet skin slapping

“So fucking good for me, I’m going to use you to cum okay, just sit there and take it for me” adding just the slightest bit more strength to his thrust, he continued to fuck up into you before he finally released himself into you. It was so good and so much, another perk of having such a big man taking care of you. Filling your womb and belly satiating the remaining desire inside you and leaving you all too satisfied. Once you both started breathing at temporal rhythm again, he slid himself out of you, a fat glob of his cum sliding out with him staining the floor, and laid you across the bed. He momentarily walk away to grab the necessities to clean you up before sliding clean underwear on you both and climbing in bed and pulling you beside him.

Which bought you back to the beggining. He was so soft even with planes of muscle that one he wrapped you in his arms, your were falling asleep soon after. Whispering a barely audible thank you to your man before tapping out completely while he planted barely there kisses across your face.

[dilfl0v3rss]

how men reacted to dwight howard vs keke palmer

dwight howard

keke palmer

y’all don’t gotta agree with me but ima say it anyways. there’s nobody on this earth that dislikes black women more than black men. they be so quick to jump down our throats for literally anything and when we defend ourself and make them look stupid it’s always “this is why we always prefer to date outside our race. bc y’all don’t respect us like white or latina women do.”

keke palmer’s ex was literally recording her fit before she left and switched up so fast when he saw she was having fun.

this nigga dwight howard doing this bs and the niggas is loving it. defending this man with their lives as if that little boy not crying. saying “he’ll thank him later” and “he needs this”. now if he grow up to dislike his father then what? those same black men gon call him “ungrateful” and “soft”.

and don’t get me started on how they straight up lying ab who he getting more criticism when it comes to parenting. niggas can have five baby mothers and get praised for it but god forbid a black women has more than one bd. there are so many rappers outside at strip climbs and allat wit mad kids and niggas is worried about keke and usher…

niggas honestly get away with anything and it’s sick. they don’t like seeing black women happy and im standing on that bc the first thing i be seeing em say when a black women date outside her race is “she’s lost” but then proceed to be come out their mouth and say “if it ain’t snowing i ain’t going.” at the end of the day ik it’s not all black men and ik not all black women are great people either, but dragging this woman like this over an outfit while this man get to record his kid crying like this on the internet is honestly crazy.

i just needed to get that off my chest bc the comments was really gmt

[babiebom]

Ranking Nerdy Prudes Must Die songs

A/N: because I need something to post and I’ve been obsessed since the musical came out. Also merry Christmas and happy holidays!! Also PLEASE DONT HATE ME

Tw:some sexual mentions, cursing, lyrics might be wrong bc I’m going off the top of my head, mentions of murder etc

Wc: idk it’s headcanons so like 3 points for each song

Misc Masterlist

15)The Best of You

I just don’t listen to this as much as I listen to the other songs

Like it’s not bad

I just don’t really listen to it

It sounds like a high school musical song and the child in me loves it

14)If I Loved You

Idk y but the first time I watched this song made me uncomfy

Well not the whole song literally just the “don’t need lover boy need lover man” part even though Mariah KILLS it idk what it is about that part

But also their voices are immaculate

like Actually I love their voices so much

And the song itself is VERY good

Again I just don’t listen to it as often as the others

OH BABE ID LET YOU KNOW

PERIOD

I also really love the chaos that would be watching two people do this in a cafe

Like how they’re standing at the door like “you leave” “no you leave” actually funny.

13)Cool as I Think I Am(Reprise)

SADGE

I DONT LIKE SADGE

But also they again kill this Mariah and Joey are top tier

The whole “you’re not as cool as you think you are” “you’re as smart as I know you are”

To the “IF I LOVED YOU I WOULD SHOW IT”

IMMACULATE

Would be higher up if I listened to it more often but alas like the ones before this I just don’t listen to it enough.

12)Just For Once

Tbh this is only this high up because of the iconic parts that I listen to over and over

Like I think the only time I listened to the whole song was while watching the musical in its entirety

I literally only listen to VERY specific parts of this song

I’m gonna skip around some of the lyrics but y’all know the parts

The “I wasn’t upset about the attention I ensnared JUDGE ME”

“It fucking worked, I’m fucking here, he’s fucking her, I’m disappointed”

“Should I let the coals burn out? JUST FOR OOOOOOONCE” LAUREN LOPEZ IS A GODDESS PLS

“The other day the Johnson’s borrowed my tap shoes. I used to dance”

Like actually makes my heart clench

Like I’m 23 and this song makes me feel like it’s too late to do what I want because there’s all these things I used to do when I was younger and now I’m just….living but not really.

11)The Summoning

THE CHAOS

HELLO FWENDY-WENDS

Out OF THE DEPTHS OF HELL AND BACK

I LOVE THIS SONG

Stephanie yum yum

I love the lords in black (especially because they’re so colorful)

Also the beginning of this song is iconic

Literally their chanting and voices are so good.

Honestly if they remade this musical into a movie with all sorts of cgi I feel like this would be a VERY CHAOTIC PART

I love it

Also I think I just love when it’s a bunch of noise that allows me not to think

Which is what this song is when they’re singing the repetitive parts

And I know people hate the repetitive parts but I love them

Like so good

10)High School is Killing Me

Again don’t listen to this as much as I should

But I should mention that I listen to this at least once a day so we see how much I listen to the songs after this one

IM DEAD!!

I’m scared someone comes for ME I’m unprepared

Jon and Lauren sound so good here and I honestly think this was the perfect way to open a musical

Like yeah it’s a little spoiler but it’s so GOOD

It’s hell on earth you know? I’m tweeting all about it!

The way Angela covers her mouth every time they curse is funny

AND the part where they’re like “is god the one giving the test” and Angela (Grace) is in the middle with the light shining down on her is imagery I love

Like idk why people aren’t mentioning that she’s literally a Christian and is highlighted in that part.

Stephanie was up late last night and couldn’t study bc she was arguing about the homophobic dog

Also crypto?

Also I think this song perfectly embodies what it’s like to be in high school?

Like it was killing me and I swore that I wouldn’t miss it after I graduated, and that I would always hate high school and that idk how I survived it

But now as an adult I’m like damn while I hated going to school it was something about those days that I miss so much. And I only graduated 5 years ago.

09)Bully the Bully

BE COOL BEANS

Keep the beans cool

Bean school

Also I think we’re starting to show that I have a very special place in my heart for Angela

I love how she performs and portrays characters

Also the fact that they’re just singing about bullying the bully for all sorts of different reasons is funny to me

Petey gonna jump on out ✋😐🤚

Jäeger gonna Jäger out 🤘🤪🤘

Also actually was a funny plan that probably wouldn’t work irl but would be funny to watch on a school fight page

Also the fact that Max says that it’s the nicest thing anyone has done for him

08)Bury The Bully

Oh no 😥 she’s snapping again 😟

Please let this be a normal field trip

Give off same vibes

Also I love the layers in the song

Mariah does a good job

HACK ALL HIS LIMBS OFF (did you say hack all his limbs off?) YEAH!

Also very funny

Like Grace’s descent into madness is entertaining

RUTH IS GONNA CUT OFF HIS NIPS

Also shows how stupid they are because they literally could’ve said that it was an accident

It’s literally 5 of them

Just be like yeah we brought him here to scare him and his stupid ass decided to stand on top of some old ass wood and it cracked under him and he died.

But no listening to Grace they become criminals.

No one is gonna make Ruth their bitch

“Do you wanna get the fullest ride? Then start CUTTIN RIGHT ABOVE THE THIGH!”

07)Cool as I Think I Am

Song that shows up throughout the musical

Like it’s in almost every single song if you listen closely to the background

And honestly it’s so good

Because it makes me feel something inside

Like it plays as Richie dies

As Pete and Stephanie realize that she’s gonna have to kill him

At the very end in dirty dudes must die

It’s just an iconic song

Also Joey’s voice is AMAZING

“If I could finally break the rules I would know that IM NOT A LOSER”

Of HIS WORLD HE IS THE RULER

He’s as cool as she thinks he is and she’s as smart as he thinks she is

It’s so cute

Like it’s inspiring in a way

And it’s like he’s finding himself.

LOVE IT

OHHHHHHH SHUT UP-Max

06)Go Go NightHawks

ITS LIKE THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL YEAH

N

I

G

H

T

AHH AHH 🦅🦅

FIGHT 🥊💥

Fuck YOU CLIVESDALE GO GET FUCKED

YOU FUCKING LOSERS

I literally just love this song and that’s why it’s high

Like literally no other reason other than this song gets me crunk

I wanna whoop clivesdales asses

Bitch ass hoes

Like I did not like my own school rallies this much

But I would love to aten one of these football games

05)Hatchet Town

He is Dan Reynolds with Action News

WHOS SWINGING THE HATCHET NOW?

I think her name is Bryce I am not sure

But the pretty woman who sings the slow part

So beautiful and her voice is literally out of this world

“I REMEMBER BEFORE THE LOCKDOWN THE SUN WAS SHINING ON OUT TOWN AND OUT KIDS COULD WALK THE STREETS”

Literally I was blown away when I heard this part

And I honestly just really like this song

Like it perfectly portrays how people act when anything happens

Like shifting the blame and causing hysteria when all you really need to do is be vigilant and listen to what the professionals are saying

But then also the people in charge don’t know what they’re doing so it’s like WTF do we do

“YEAH ITS GOT TO BE DONNA”

It’s a chaos song that depicts people properly

I feel like most of their songs depict people pretty well.

Like yeah it’s exaggerated but it’s accurate as well.

I also like dancing around to this song like I’m being sneaky and gossipy

“Someone’s got their hands on the hatchet handle” 🕵️‍♀️🕵️‍♀️

04)Literal Monster

I LOVE THIS SONG

The only reason it’s not higher is because I listen to the other songs more

But OH MY GOD

everyone’s vocals immaculate

The dancing?

Amazing

Like actually literal monster is so good

“HE ROARS AND WE CRY HES THE REASON WE RUN AND HIDE”

Is her name Kim? I think this is Kim

I LOVE HER VOICE

Also everything about this song is just like YES this is how you do a musical

Also I think the guy who plays Max is named Will?

This is my first time ever hearing him sing and actually it’s so good

He’s the goofiest bully to exist like HUH

His little dancie dance is so funny

He’s like a Fortnite character

He doesn’t need anyone to tell him high school will be his peak

Also his obsession with Grace is so funny and comes out of nowhere.

And the fact that he hates nerds like her but somehow wants to smash even though there are more than enough people who are probably willing makes me think he genuinely likes her but would never admit it.

He’s a literal monster (lmao rip bozo)

03)Dirty Dudes Must Die

BROTHER

When I tell you I am obsessed

I mean I am literally listening to this song like a dozen times a day

And I sing it at the top of my lungs

I’m actually in love with this song

The only reason it’s not number one is that I like the vocals of the other songs better

“WHO WILL PRAY FOR YOU WHEN YOUR BODYS GONE? THIS IS THE CONSEQUENCE FOR WHAT YOUVE DONE”

Like YES

“ARE YOU HARD BC YOURE STRESSED?” (What?) “OR IS THIS A POWER I NOW POSESS?!”

Like yes girl use your haunted poosay to kill everyone YES

Like actually her arc is so good to me even though it’s like not what you’d expect/think would happen

Like you would be like oh Christian girl has sex and realizes that it’s not that bad and that she doesn’t have to be a radical religious person

But instead she’s like yeah okay I’m gonna use my new evil powers for GOD and now no one is gonna stop me

She goes from crazy to crazier and I love it

Angela is the love of my life

Like actually she makes me wanna act

And also be absolutely insane but that’s a different topic

Good song gets me hype.

02)Dirty Girl

YESSSJSJAKWOWKNSKWLA

I know this song makes people uncomfy

But I am a horny girl and this song literally gave me whiplash when I first watched like

GIRL ME TOO

Their vocals and just the song itself is so good

Like her struggle with staying true to her religion and herself but also now feeling lust and want for someone that she previously never would’ve thought about before

And it does prove that Max is right about Grace being kinky af because as we see her descent into madness the things that she’s into are things that I know Christian people would be horrified at

Like when they bring him to the Waylon house and he’s aggressive and she’s like OH YEAH THIS IS GOOD

This song is just like look at her try to deny what she’s feeling and look at her struggle with something that many other people religious or not struggle with and look at how badly she handles it

Like if her parents would’ve handled this better Max would not have died

She is hungry for more and now her judgement is all cloudy because of ONE BOY

Everything could’ve been avoided if she was raised to believe that lusting is okay, feeling those feelings is okay

You don’t have to act on them but LORD they aren’t something that is wrong to feel.

It just makes it worse when you try to suppress things

But alas she lives in a no moan household.

01)Nerdy Prudes Must Die

IM SO SORRY RICHIE BUT THIS SONG IS ICONIC

Literally the name of the musical

And rightfully the best song

Jon’s acting and voice is AMAZING

Will sounds amazing

Like actually I could not stop repeating the “will you pray for me, when I’m gone?” Part for WEEKS

Like I’m still singing it to myself

It’s so good

IM NOT A LOSER

Like brother how he just sings that part is like OH MY GOD

Like everything about this song is good

And the fact that Max is like Yeah I couldnt care less how you actively dismembered me and defiled my body(his nipples) and buried him in an abandoned old house.

Like everything about this song is also tragic

Because everyone is celebrating his disappearance

And at this point I feel like he has to have seen that they’re celebrating.

And he was so close to changing

We see that he’s an asshole because of his family life which is tragically the reality of a lot of bullies and hurt people in general

So to have him on the brink of maybe changing and then dying and being dismembered and buried in a place no one knows he’s buried in

Is so sad in a way

Like we don’t even get to see if he would have changed because he does

And when he comes back as a literal monster he’s hurt and angry and wants revenge on the people and people like the people that got him killed even if it was an accident.

This musical is genuinely so good UGH

[blues824]

May I request the obey me brothers with an undertaker like mc from black bulter? Who is an reaper like Thirteen also an 100+ years old with an large weapon & sleeps in an coffin, can pull out memory in an shape of a something (I ended up forgetting)

Also don't stress yourself out too much and remember to take care of yourself!

If Undertaker ever asked me to marry him, y’all would never see me again. He’s just so beautiful, and happy, and I’m in love with this man.

ANYWAYS, I’ve been working on finding a balance between schoolwork and hobbies, and I think I found a middle ground. Take care of yourself, too!

Lucifer

You seem rather joyful for such a somber occupation. Since you couldn’t exactly run a funeral parlor in Hell, you would travel to the Human World whenever necessary. He understands that the majority of your fascination with the dead is that you can obtain information much more easily.

Once, Diavolo and Lucifer were working on finding why demons all over have been going missing, and they tried to pay you with actual money. You spat out your refusal and told them you would only give them what they needed if they made you laugh. The latter thought that this was absolutely ridiculous, but the former gladly told a few jokes.

One time, Lucifer needed to talk to you about something when he saw you experimenting on the corpses in the parlor. One of them was actually moving around, and he was concerned. You just giggled and told him that you wanted to see if you could bring them back to life. Unfortunately, you still lacked the ability to form a new soul, so it was basically just a zombie. Lucifer had never been so worried.

You and Thirteen seem to get along well. He’s glad that you are getting along with other exchange students, but could you please talk about something other than the funniest “times you went to harvest souls? It is not a proper dinner conversation. And it is certainly very rude to show off your old scythe at the table as well, Y/N!

Mammon

He’s honestly vibing with you on the happy part. However, we all know how much of a scaredy cat is. You owning a funeral parlor makes him a tad terrified. He doesn’t do well with dead bodies, especially if they’re real. 

He remembers one time where he went to you for information about one of the witches he made a deal with. You see, she had died, and she was sent to your funeral parlor. She was part of a coven that Mammon was involved with, so he needed to see where they are now. However, you weren’t about to give information out for free. You told him the price, and he thought you were being ridiculous as well. However, he paid, you laughed, and you gave him the info he needed.

Another time, Mammon came by to drop off some stuff for you when he noticed you were talking to someone. He creaked open the door and saw what looked like a corpse standing up. He slowly walked backwards, but then one of the floorboards creaked. You opened the door fully and caught him, dragging him to the room to tell him about your experiments. He was genuinely terrified. You told him that the bodies were the equivalent to zombies since they didn’t have a soul.

He’s glad that you’re making friends, Y/N. But could it be anyone other than Thirteen? He’s seen you both in action because she invited you to do one more soul reaping. You, loving to partake in old hobbies, gladly accepted. He’s seen you take the film of the soul you took. Is this what happened to everyone?

Leviathan

You remind him of the Old Reaper from “My parents have perished in a terrible fire, and to seek revenge I made a deal with my demon butler to help”. It was a good anime, too bad they haven’t made a new season.

He has never seen you in your domain, so he can only rely on his brothers’ words. He’s heard of your strange bargain, info for a joke. However, he will agree that it’s better and more reliable than paying actual money for it. Plus, you see people getting back-stabbed for money, so it’s not as upsetting to tell a joke to get you to laugh.

He’s also heard from his brothers of your… experiments. The countless times they’ve heard you talking to a corpse as though it were alive, until they heard footsteps that weren’t yours. You would refer to them as your ‘dolls’, which is even more unsettling. 

He definitely gets jealous whenever you say that you have plans with Thirteen when he asks you to hang out. He’s the Avatar of Envy, after all. However, you with your scythe is his new terrifying nightmare. You and Thirteen with your scythes is even scarier (extra points if you have your cloak).

Satan

He’d say your too joyful for your job, but to be fair he does enjoy a good murder mystery story. He wouldn’t be concerned about you and your profession. Everyone has hobbies, after all. He would be concerned about how you talk about it so eccentrically. 

Your way of an information exchange is rather unusual for someone who remains on Earth. Usually, humans want money in exchange. However, when Satan visited to gain info on something, you told him your price. He doesn’t have a problem with it, but it’s odd.

Another time, he went to drop off some lunch for you when he saw you and two bodies walking around. He would have dropped the food if one of the bodies didn’t catch it before it hit the ground. You are more than glad to explain your experiments and the inability to create a soul that you have.

I think he’s on pretty good terms with Thirteen. The two don’t seem to have a problem in the game. He would like to accompany the both of you as you help her harvest souls. Mans is probably shocked between the differences of technique, since you view the film of the life and Thirteen just harvests the soul.

Asmodeus

He’s glad that you find joy in your job! You don’t see a lot of that. Plus, there is a macabre sense of beauty with the dead, and a lot of classic novelists as well as painters would agree. I mean, look at him! On Earth, he’d be described as something undead and supernatural.

I’d say that he likes your way of exchanging information. He’s used to having to pay money to gain information about witches, but when one went to your funeral parlor for something and Asmo went by to gain info on said witch, all he had to do was tell a joke. He appreciated the easy atmosphere you put on in such a grim place of business.

However, every positive thought he had about you disappeared when he visited and he heard you talking to someone in the next room. He called to you and opened the door, where he saw a corpse walking around and you sat there in deep thought. Upon discovering that he was there, you smiled and told him what was going on. He was disgusted at the sight, to say the least.

It doesn’t specify, but I think he’s also on good terms with Thirteen? He’s glad that you both bond over past experiences of being Reapers. Don’t tell Thirteen, but your version of reaping a soul is much different and more appealing than hers. The film of their life made him tear up.

Beelzebub

He’s glad that someone is optimistic around here. It’s not everyday you see someone so happy to be in Hell, literally. To be fair, you do get to visit your funeral parlor whenever a body arrives, but for the most part you reside in the Devildom.

He also enjoys your way of exchanging information. You prefer laughing rather than somber situations, so it only makes sense that you’d rather take jokes rather than actual money. The trick is to tell a joke good enough to get you to laugh.

However, it was one day where he came to take you to eat somewhere in the Human World. It was a rather normal day, until he saw you ‘resurrecting’ a corpse. He suddenly felt sick, as though the snacks he ate on the way were coming back to haunt him. You then saw him, ran and gave him a hug, and explained that you were trying to make your dolls come back to life. You further told him that since you couldn’t create a soul, they were basically just animated bodies. He threw up.

He’s kind of scared whenever you and Thirteen go out with each other. While it’s typically for business, you do get happily nostalgic about your time as an official reaper. Thirteen stands in the back just hyping you up, though. The both of you paired together are an unstoppable force. He’s probably still traumatized by her because of the whole ordeal with her causing his life candle to burn quickly.

Belphegor

No one has the right to be this happy, Y/N. Not even on a billion cups of coffee with a trillion shots of espresso. How are you so happy-go-lucky? And especially with a job such as yours. You’re surrounded with death and misery.

He finds your way of exchanging information rather annoying. Like, can’t he just pay you and get it over with? But nOoOo, you have to do something unique to make yourself stand out. Wait… it’s not that? It’s because you love to laugh and you think it takes tension away from the situation? Now he feels like shit. 

He remembers once where you had to visit your parlor because someone had arrived and he had to accompany you so that you were carrying out your promise of no nonsense. He walked into your parlor exhausted from the day, but gets suspicious when he hears your sinister giggling. He peaked in and saw one of the corpses in the room walking around. He was wide awake for a few weeks after that.

I feel like he also gets jealous whenever you go hang out with Thirteen. Like, how dare you choose reaping souls with her rather than cuddling with him? Another part is that both you and Thirteen are much more powerful than he is, so he gets that small sense of inferiority and powerlessness. He doesn’t like it at all.

[shayshaybiscuit25]

I no longer support white celebs or people//

How do people not realize this is basically birthing hatred in your own heart. It makes one no better than the people they claim to hate. All white people aren’t the problem, majority, to the point racism is still ramped, yes, but to blindly go around claiming to not like or support every single white person based on the actions of others makes you seem childish asf anon. I get mad at racist, not all white people.

I suggest you go to you local library and take a deep dive in history, if it weren’t for certain white advocates even in small numbers, a lot of risked their lives along with our black leaders, a lot of things would not have occurred nor improved.

Go learn about the White Panther party.

I get so tired of people looking at things on the internet and basing conclusions without realizing you obviously know very little about our history let alone the world to make a baseless statement like that,even reading this you’re probably thinking I’m “standing up for the white man” 🙄

Some of you need to learn what’s happened. I know things are bad now, but sweetheart they’ve been worse they’ve also at one point were amazing. Many of you weren’t born to know there were three beautiful decades where black folks THRIVED!! We everywhere, music, tv, etc. We were and forever will be IT! ✨ unfortunately racist and some black people who chose money over the betterment of our people (Hi BET 🖕🏾), shut that down and now we have the entertainment industry as you all know it now. This is why many of us that you all think are “haters” say music, tv and movies aren’t the same. We had multiple talented black women across genres, not just one or two. We had every skin tone represented. Many of you truly don’t understand how y’all fall for some of the most mediocre stuff nowadays yet call it “talent”.

The standard has dropped significantly to the point everyone and their mama are getting famous now.

I may sound like a prude, but the over sexualization of black women ain’t it. They are trying to have our young girls and immature grown women thinking certain types of behavior and attire is appropriate when it’s not. No one is saying cover up head to toe, but many do not understand there’s a time and place for things. Most of our celebs are focused on money and not the influence they are putting out there. It’s all going to blow up eventually. We went from artist standing up and using their talents and platforms to better our community, go listen to L-Boogie “That Thing”, and listen to the lyrics. Nina Simone, BillieHoliday, etc to now where people can say a basic quote that sounds nice and people automatically label them an advocate. Don’t even get me started on various white artists using black artist to boost their careers or eras. (Miley Cyrus now claims to be embarrassed by her Bangerz era, yet claimed back then that was her authentic self, stop letting people use us)

I understand the times change, but said change isn’t always good. We’re still being used in ways many can’t comprehend.

Idol worship is seen as “normal”. People really be out here worshipping other humans who mock God, yet claim to be “Christian”, I don’t care if someone claims to “love” God with their mouth, actions speak louder than words. Too many baby Christians out here getting easily influenced because they lack knowledge of HIS word. I’m serious, people better stop playing with God and making excuses for their actions. God don’t play that. He shows us love, grace and mercy, yes, but putting demonic affiliation in music videos, calling God the n-word, Calling God out his name in general, mocking him, etc.

Showing every single inch of their bodies and trying to claim it’s for expression or women rights, nah you can love you and be sexy without doing all that. There’s a reason the black women of the 70s, 80s and 90s were top tier, sometimes less is indeed more.

Just because someone is rich and famous doesn’t mean they are “blessed” by God. People don’t think Satan will be crafty enough to have you believing you’re doing great, not realizing lukewarm Christianity is not good. God will spit them out of his mouth.

Don’t allow these entertainers have any of you out here drifting away from God all because you love your fav. These music artist today display the darkness right in front of us all, but get praised. Go watch the videos of early 2010s to now and tell me they haven’t gotten darker and more revealing in various ways.

Y’all stay blessed and just keep your eyes and hearts open. Developing the gift of discernment is a true blessing. People think because we’re saved we can do anything, but God knows all. We speak in love and truth. His word is Truth.

Oh wowwwwww

Anon to Anon.

[cloveroctobers]

bloodwar — JOEL MILLER

A/N: Y’all voted and so shall you receive! Im nervous writing for such a loved character but here goes nothing! If you’re not familiar with my work…I always provide the angst. You’ve been warned.

GIF BELONGS TO: @pedrohub

WARNINGS: I’m always writing my characters with black or POC in mind yet you’re somewhat welcome to imagine whomever as the character/reader is not fully described, fem! Reader, language, lightly paraphrased sexual themes, trauma/lost, & hints of a toxic!relationship the deeper I went into writing this thing. I do believe Joel can find some healthy love romantically but there’s things within himself that needs to be worked through. I am no therapist, I’m simply a girl who likes to make people feel some things with writing so I’ll stfu! Again this is my first time ever writing for this man so I was trying to get into the mind of his character as I wrote so don’t slander me too much if you feel this isn’t right. Lastly this focuses more on uncertainties? That’s it!

˗ˏˋ╰┈➤ ´ˎ˗ ˗ˏˋ╰┈➤ ´ˎ˗ ˗ˏˋ╰┈➤ ´ˎ˗ ˗ˏˋ╰┈➤ ´ˎ˗

The bruises and Lambrusco weren’t enough for her to forget or to catch her off guard. She noticed him way off, through the fence and across what once would have been pretty pale blue water, turned murky and brown. Getting around that lake would take some time and that time was granted as she left the watch tower with her bow and arrow. The only reason she came down from the watch spot was to retrieve the mischievous lamb that loved to escape the barn.

“Got you, you little shit.” She scolded as the animal kept up the banter; while she scooped it up from underneath the belly.

Her senses then allowed her to hear footsteps before he spoke, “Do you?”

Tension filled her shoulders as she took a sharp inhale before she spun on her heels, revealing the lamb and her new weapon of choice.

“Joel Miller,” the name pushed through her lips, “can’t say it’s a pleasure to see you.”

The man scoffed, “that’s no way to treat the man of your dreams.”

A roll of her eyes was immediate, “you and I both know you weren’t serious.”

This much was true and if it were any other time and circumstance, the words probably would have stung as they left her mouth.

“Yeah, you’re right about that.” Joel muttered as he began to stare, which always irritated the woman.

“Can I help you with something or are you just gonna stand there being a creep with your beady owl-like eyes?”

Joel laughed to himself, almost liking that his presence was getting underneath her skin but also at the fact that she wanted to get right to the point.

“What? I can’t enjoy the view and the luxurious secluded home you’ve got for yourself here?” Joel attempted to tease but the woman didn’t appear to be in a joking mood.

Which the man didn’t bother to take offense to—even if he wanted to, he received the emotionless expression that remained on her oval face and assumed his own features showcased the same, although the little twinkle in inky eyes felt like he attempted to make the mood lighter.

It was her turn to trail her eyes over him and she could tell how much life passed him by. It had been years since she last saw Joel. Their history was shifty and rough from the beginning, since everyone was trying to get adjusted to the downfall of society—being thrown towards a new virus and death filled life it was safe to say, they got into some shit together to survive. They both were not as alone at the start since Joel had his brother Tommy, where they ventured from Austin to the east coast and on their way, they met a woman with no filter and her kind but no nonsense having father in Memphis. It was war from the very moment the Millers stepped onto the Lemelle’s riverboat but a truce between the families brought an unlikely path in their relationship. Eventually she, her father, Joel, and Tommy made it to Boston.

After the death of Kendy’s father, the realization that the QZ was not all it cracked up to be, she made the decision to leave first back in the year of 2010; in search of a place with no restrictions. Yet sharing that news with Joel that summer the sun burned down in almost a red hue and instead of just simply disappearing into the night without a word…was something she wished she would have done instead.

“Tommy or Maria sent you?” Her chin lifted in curiosity.

Joel exhaled, “I’m sure you know the answer to that already. I get the sense Maria and I are not gonna be the best of friends.”

“Whaaat? Don’t tell me you never wanted a sister?”

Joel just blinked at her, “fuck off, Kendy.”

“Hey you came to me,” her face held mock innocence, “what you see is what you damn get. Also mind you, I’m the one with the weapon.”

“Yet I’d probably get to that thing before you can even aim to shoot. Lamb chops sounds pretty darn good to me.” Joel warned but Kendy looked more offended than horrified.

The lamb seemed to tilt its head at Joel’s statement as well, floppy ears almost appearing alert.

Which was weird to witness…

“you sure about that grandpa?” Kendy cooed as she pulled her knee up to balance the weapon before adding, “what’s the matter, they’re not feeding you well out in Jackson?”

Joel scoffed and folded his arms as he peered out into the distance of Driggs, pretending to think about it. Of course the food was good, real good considering back in Boston the lbs for food were mostly scraps and back out into the destructive world with Ellie was way worse. Sure he stuffed his belly until it became bloated and uncomfortable but he didn’t want to get used to it, regardless of settling—staying—stationing? in Jackson.

There was no use in complaining about the way things are.

Joel was always about action.

“Why here?” Joel steered the conversation elsewhere, “You’re a great distance away from Wyoming.”

Kendy hummed, “forty-four minutes by car. Longer by foot, which is just fine by me.” Before carrying on, “Did you really expect me to be there too, waitin’ around?”

“I don’t fucking know,” Joel exasperated, “it’s a sense of community, belonging or whatever they’re trying to go for. Something that would have been good for you and—

Kendy almost stopped breathing, the gears turning in her head, thinking Joel was first hinting at some sort of relationship that wasn’t platonic with his brother, taking into consideration that the pair got along well, however the way he rubbed at his mouth in frustration told her his words were aiming at another topic.

“Ah, now I see why you felt obligated to be here. Trust me, I don’t need this.” Kendy hissed, turning back around to head to the barn.

Joel hesitated because part of him didn’t want to do this either…yet it’s been a long time coming. Thirteen years to be exact. He’s in a whole other state and he didn’t travel all this way, by himself (persuading Ellie to stay back with Tommy for at least a couple of days, was hard work and he expected the freckled face girl to find a way to keep close. However Joel didn’t miss how Ellie was starting to spend some time with a certain girl named, Dina.) to not get the answers he deserved.

“Trust?” Joel stomped after her, “I dunno how you want me to do that darlin’ when you’re the one who ran from me, knowing you were carrying a child. My child.”

She whipped back around, making Joel almost bump into her but she shoved him back with a fist pressed to his chest. Her eyes were heated as she met his stare, “it didn’t matter! I wasn’t your problem anymore, ‘good riddance,’ remember? You really think a child would have fixed what we were? We couldn’t get along if we weren’t on top of each other.”

“You still should have had the decency to tell me something. It’s not right how you did it. How I have to find this shit out from my baby brother but even still…he didn’t tell much. So you better start talking.” Joel glared, pointing a finger in Kendy’s face.

Kendy slapped his finger away, “I don’t know who you think you are, Joel Miller but you don’t get to show up here and make demands. This time, I won’t hesitate to put one right in your chest if you keep pushin’ me.”

“Will you put the damn lamb and arrow down, Robin Hood, so we can have a decent conversation?” Joel snorted, finding this image almost humorous, if his blood wasn’t simmering, “I can’t take you seriously.”

Kenny scoffed, “well you better! Seeing you again and talking to me crazy is making me want to go back to old Kendy.”

Joel deeply inhaled and pinched at the bridge of his straight but hooked nose. He was aware what that means, the whole shoot and ask questions later was what life was like at the start of the outbreak and it only increased once they crossed paths.

He still had a bald spot, that no form of nioxin would cure! thanks to the woman throwing an axe at the top of his head (it happened sometime in January of 2004, Joel remembered Tommy slipping on the ice on the boat floor, surprised the younger man didn’t catch that in their stealth—although it seemed he didn’t get much sleep before their arrival to the water. Which caused quite the commotion before the real physical events transpired) , temporarily trapping him against the door the minute he got close to where she was located on the boat. Joel recalled the burning sensation of his hair being ripped from his scalp as he yanked himself from the wall, axe still having a hold on his thick hair, as he struggled to pull the axe from the wooden door.

“And here I thought Jackson was all for redemption, guess Maria isn’t as convincing as she seems.” Joel mumbled.

Kendy gave him a blank stare for a moment before she replied, “not too much on Maria now. Yes she’s opinionated and we don’t always see eye to eye either but shes a great asset to that community and she makes your brother happy. So accept that or talk that shit out when you get back because I won’t continue to listen to anymore jabs you want to toss out while you’re here.”

Joel raised his brows, “you’re gonna let me stay?”

“It’s getting dark out and I’m guessing you left your car across the lake so…you can stay in the barn or the tower. Your choice.” Kendy decided while she entered the said barn.

Joel shook his head, “I’m not sleeping with the damn farm animals.”

“We’ve all slept in much worse places, don’t get uppity on me now, Miller.”

Joel crossed his arms, “You get a one star for hospitality, Ken’.”

“Which is exactly why I put my two weeks in after three days of working at this hotel during my college years so thanks, sugar.” Kendy clapped back, making Joel shake his head in disapproval but not surprised.

Joel watched as Kendy showed almost this nurturing demeanor with the lamb and sheep, silently wondering what she was like with their own child…that was still bizarre to process and Joel was unsure if he even processed this although he was standing face to face with the woman he created another being with! It had been days since he found out this piece of information and now he was trying to do something about it. When they were intimate with each other, Joel foolishly never thought of the possibility of Kendy becoming a mother. He never brought it up because he obviously had no intentions on being that ever again, or spoke much of their past lives once their bodies fell into each other’s hands. It was a after thought when she sat down on him, so warm and sturdy. He was cold, this he knew but falling in love was never in the cards for him, especially with the world crumbling with the little pieces it had left.

What he had left.

He’s seen Kendy and how she was tender to her father once he got sick, he knew Kendy still had soft parts inside of her despite the jagged scar that trailed from the corner of her left eye and down the apple of her cheek, the delicate was still there—just don’t tell her that.

Part of her found something to care for to keep going, even if it were deemed as little things or “nothing” at all in her eyes. Did that also include a child?

Which is why Joel battled with himself on seeking answers. He didn’t speak to Tommy for days after the curly haired man blurted out the secret Kendy withheld from the older Miller. Joel was the one who brought Kendy up, at the saloon one late night, after everything failed at the hospital with Ellie. It was hypocritical of him—sure—but this secret was way before Ellie had been a thought of being the cure.

Joel still wasn’t entirely sure what he was expecting to get out of Kendy. The idea of becoming a father again, scared him shitless but he wouldn’t show it. Kendy didn’t create this child all by herself and they had to be grown now, however fatherhood was never a easy task and life after the outbreak was just as stressful; throw a fourteen year old into the mix and it was constant worry from there. He initially wanted to warn Tommy about this and actually deemed him a, “dummy,” for bringing a kid into this fucked up time, until tommy let the news slip from his lips when it really wasn’t his place.

Drops of rain were cool against the Idahoan spring before they started to pelt. Joel shielded the top of his head, standing at the entrance of the shelter as Kendy made her way through the barn, locking and boarding it up just in case she got any other visitors tonight.

“Come on,” Kendy waved the man to follow her to the back entrance of the craftsmanship home, just as the wind began to pick up.

Yanking the blinds down over the glass door, she made sure to lock it and set her bow down by the rest of the archery kit. Joel took the invitation as he scanned the home, straight ahead held an ajar door, he then walked through the small entry way on his left, noticing a set of stairs to the right and headed into the next area which held the kitchen and living room with two other window-framed doors that lead outside, suddenly peaking around for any other source of life.

“Where’s—

“Joel,” Kendy clipped, “take off your damp shoes, you’re tracking mud. Do you want some wine or coffee first before we tackle this, since you’re so adamant to talk?”

Joel peeled off his jacket and bag, before using the couch arm to kick off his shoes with his feet. He then held them up silently asking where he should put them and Kendy pointed at the front entrance door.

He then replied, “Coffee.”

“Black, no sugar and no cream.” Kendy whispered to herself as she went to the kitchen, fighting with her intrusive thoughts to tell him to make it his damn self.

Joel silently watched her for a moment before he headed over to the wood stove which seemed to be going already. His eyes still searched the walls for any pictures or sculptures just like Tommy and Maria had in their own home but the walls were empty besides it’s horrible aqua color.

His attention was brought back to Kendy, walking by him, reaching for the handle on the stove, opening it to reveal the fire behind. She squatted down, mitten reaching for the tray to place the mug right on top, before shoving it back over the center of the fire. She counted sixty seconds before pulling back out, closing the stove and moving back to the side table to place the black coffee down.

“Give it a few minutes,” Kendy told the man who dipped his head as he moved back to the spot he claimed on the sofa.

Kendy soon made her way around, taking a seat on the opposite couch, bottle of Lambrusco and wrapped herself in some fur blanket that probably belonged to one of her many sheep.

Sorry animal lovers, desperate times call for desperate measures and you’re supposed to help the sheep shed their fur from time to time!

Taking a swing from the bottle, Kendy deeply inhaled after swallowing before her eyes set back on Joel, “okay. Ask away but don’t ask to respond. Listen, or else we won’t get far tonight.”

Joel rubbed at his pants legs, hearing Kendy and decided to not pick that response apart.

“…when did you know?”

“Not long after you and Tess.”

Which happened once after they both had too much to drink and Kendy wasn’t in the mood.

Believe me, Joel’s knows how shitty that was, he was the one who lived it.

“There was no Tess and I.” Joel uttered, not getting the chance to further explain that relationship but they were friends who spent time together as smugglers.

There was chemistry there regardless.

“So just like us, got it.” Kendy snapped her fingers, breezing over that as she ordered, “Next question.”

Joel scratched at his salt and pepper beard, “was the…baby also the reason why you wanted to leave? Did you think I’d ever find out?”

“A small part of it yes. We already know what the main reason was: Boston’s QZ was becoming dangerous and suffocating just staying there, I needed to get out whether you knew i was carrying or not.” Kendy answered, taking another sip from the bottle.

Joel could understand that but he figured it wasn’t any easier being out there on your own especially with a life growing inside of you, her elderly father was deceased and Tommy was debating on another trip out (with the damn fireflies and Joel wasn’t sure which pissed him off more!) ; although they shared hushed conversations about their exit…part of Joel still didn’t understand why she put herself through that on her own.

“Well how did that work out for you?”

Kendy let out a humorless laugh at the sarcasm that radiated off Joel, pulling one leg up onto the couch, “just dandy. I’m living the dream with my sheep and this eye-blinding house.”

Alone.

He breathed out a laugh through his nose, mind fuzzy, heart not feeling as steady as it should as he fidgeted with his hands. Before he got the next question out, he turned to grip the mug by the handle and brought it to his lips. The steam mists his nostrils as he took a sip of the coffee, the heat not bothering him in the slightest while the dark liquid slid straight to his stomach, igniting the impulse to see some action.

“Was Idaho the place you envisioned to raise the kid?”

Kendy closed her eyes briefly as she said, “No. I didn’t see myself as a mother because I didn’t have much of one in my life. It wasn’t really a goal of mine. I stayed in Pennsylvania for awhile, three months maybe? made a friend that was once in the medical field and thankfully she helped me through it all.”

“She helped you deliver and then what?” He pried.

Joel rested his elbows on his knees, eyes set on the woman not so far from him this time. He felt the shift in the room rising as he continued to ask whatever popped into his head. He noticed the woman rack her nails against the black bottle, plump bottom lip with a beauty mark on it moving to the right as she bit down on it out of habit.

This was something she commonly did, Joel remembered that.

“Joel…it’s been thirteen years.” Kendy averred, “I couldn’t do it.”

Joel tried to keep his breathing steady, “meaning what? You got rid of it? Let this friend take care of them…what Kendy?”

He was never a man with patience.

And Kendy had time to cope with this.

So instead she got to her feet, holding the neck of the bottle to place on the coffee table before she set her eyes back on Joel. He leg began to bounce as it seemed Kendy was almost playing a game with his mind right now. A frown of his brows appeared in between them while she began to unbutton her jeans, pulling them down some and yanking up her shirt to reveal a scar underneath her navel.

“It was a ectopic pregnancy. I needed surgery, I was bleeding out and Kristi did what she had to do. I almost died and I kinda wished I did, along with that baby. And finally away from all this shit.” Kendy vented.

Joel felt a smidge of bile rising in this throat but taking another swing of coffee pushed it back down. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to feel, or if there was a right way to feel.

“So…this was for nothing then.”

Kendy blinked, “what?”

“Coming out here, seeing you, and almost having wishful thinking when you killed the baby that you originally didn’t want and I wasn’t sure I even wanted.” Joel told, placing the mug back on the table.

Kendy couldn’t help the cackle that escaped her lips. She had to press her fingertips to her lips as she pointed her pointer finger up and down at the man.

“Nothing’s really changed with you and this is the exact reason why I should have put an arrow right through your chest where your heart is supposed to be,” Kendy seethed, “you’re a very broken person with no ounce of mercy. I saw it in your eyes the day I met you and I should have believed that then.”

“If that was true then you’d already be dead, back in Memphis, on that boat. So don’t stand there and try and tell me who you think I am.” Joel lowly stated.

Kendy huffed, pulling her jeans back up her wide hips and buttoning them before raising her hands, “why not when you’ve already shown me exactly that? You’ve never given a damn about me and certainly wouldn’t give a damn if the baby lived! Nobody compares to—

“Shut up! You don’t get to speak her name!” Joel was also on his feet now, absolutely aware what wanted to leave her lips.

The room was quiet for a mere second, besides the crackle of fire in the wood stove and the dash of rain outside.

Kendy tilted her head to the side, framed piece of hair sliding to cling to her eyelash, “Sarah.”

And that set Joel off, a forearm going to Kendy’s throat and his hand slapping against her mouth. He harshly breathed into Kendy’s face as he glared down at her. The rings of bags underneath her eyes showed just how tired he felt. He’s never spoken to Kendy about Sarah but it didn’t take her long to figure it out with his nightmares when they slept in the same space, going city to city.

Tommy only implied that he and Joel lost someone prior to their role of survival and Joel’s said her name a few times in his sleep.

“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” Joel gritted, “you think I haven’t changed when it’s you who hasn’t. You’re a know it all without actually knowing anything. You run any chance you get, always thinking about what’s best solely for you and nobody else. What a lonely life, don’t you think?”

A fist went to the side of his neck first, catching the man off guard, followed by a knee going up into his abdomen, leaving Joel fighting to catch his breath. He let go of Kendy who circled around and crouched to get into Joel’s face.

“Why would I stay? Imagine me having a normal pregnancy in my forties and having a child with a screwed up man that can’t love? Or doesn’t even like me enough? I’d say I dodged a bullet here and I thank god.” She rested a hand on his shoulder, using her other to bring the cross around her neck to kiss with a wicked smile.

Once Joel got his breath back, with the quickness, he swooped his arm underneath Kendy’s, locking her in his hold as he yanked her side to his chest by the shoulder. Kendy winced as she tried to spin her body out of his hold and when he wouldn’t let go, she tried to ram her shoulder into him but with his grip, he merely stumbled.

“Get off me!” Kendy yelled, ready to jam her foot right into Joel’s.

He kept hold of her shoulder, knowing it wasn’t at its strongest, even after all these years, hearing it click from scar tissue as he freed one hand to grip the side of her head, bringing her ear to his lips.

“If I didn’t like you…I wouldn’t have followed you that night to make sure you made it to Connecticut’s state line back then, if I didn’t like you I wouldn’t have accidentally called Tess your name once while looking at her but not really seeing her, if I didn’t like you I wouldn’t picture you when I touch myself, if I didn’t like you I wouldn’t have numbed myself out of missing you since you left, I wouldn’t have asked Tommy about you, and I damn sure wouldn’t have thought about you and I with Ellie, the kid, and Sar—on the ride here. like I said, you don’t know.” He then shoved Kendy away from him.

Kendy felt a lump in her throat at Joel saying this. Sure these were his words and it sounded nice, although she didn’t know who this Ellie person was but that didn’t mean he never hurt her and with his back to her now, she tugged on his belt loops, getting him to face her again. She wasted no time, moving her hands to grip the collar of his long-sleeve shirt to bring his lips right to her’s.

Joel hesitated feeling Kendy’s lips against his after all this time. It wasn’t unfamiliar so he was only shook for a second before the desperation settled in. His hands rested on her cheek, then down to her backside, then back up to her cheek, the pad of his thumb touching where her jagged scar ended and the other on the back of her coarse hair.

He tasted the Lambrusco, she tasted his precariousness, his left ear rung as the tip of her tongue traces his bottom lip, and he lets out a groan as a form of a unsaid apology. Until Kendy nipped his bottom lip—hard to the point she drew blood and Joel had to pull back to test his theory.

“Did you just—

Kendy deeply inhaled and exhaled with her lips raw and puffed from the pressure, “I want you gone by the fucking morning, Joel.”

He wiped the blood with his thumb as he watched the woman move around him, snatching up the wine before she made her exit.

Snorting he shook his head at her retreating form and moved to take a seat back on the couch with a exhale. This is what it used to feel like with Kendy leaving his sight after whatever interaction they had but this time felt a little different. There was no way in hell he could say this was a new beginning. He stared up at the ceiling in thought, quite conscious how this all played out and that this was a trial and error—when wasn’t it with the two? However this battle was not something he wanted to entirely give up on just yet.

Not anymore.

He had the time to get it right and part of him wanted to with Kendy.

And if they couldn’t…it’ll be a fair one this time.

No it didn’t make any sense and no this probably wasn’t the healthiest of relationships but Joel was never perfect, the flaws: scars, the bruises that were black, blue and sore, and the blood were okay with him as long as he was doing it with Kendy, he never wanted perfect.

Perhaps fighting, getting it all out into the open field was the answer and you can ask anybody: when has Joel Miller ever been afraid of getting his hands dirty?

And so he sat in the quiet with Kendy upstairs in her bedroom lost in her own thoughts, her back against the door when a crooked grin appeared on his own lips.

Here’s to additionally another round with Kendy Lemelle!

But…Who’s counting?

˗ˏˋ╰┈➤ ´ˎ˗ ˗ˏˋ╰┈➤ ´ˎ˗ ˗ˏˋ╰┈➤ ´ˎ˗ ˗ˏˋ╰┈➤ ´ˎ˗

Continue along with my spring anthology series here.

[forestgoblinvibes]

Ch. 2 TASK FORCE 141 x MALE!READER (PLATONIC) SHIFTER!AU

MINORS DNI!! 18+

CHAPTER TWO: Saviors and new beginnings

WARNINGS: The following chapter contains mentions of, blood, consumption of blood, death, shootings, injuries, torture, stitches, the word bug

A/N: chapter two is here!! I’m so happy so many people enjoyed the first chapter and hopefully y’all enjoy this one to. And I may start taking some one shot request so if y’all have anything you’d like to see between chapters let me know! I’ll be making a post of my rules soon if it’s not out before this!!. And Y/N/N stands for of course, your nickname! And the 141 characters may be a bit ooc. But agin! This is just my version of these characters for this story

-

‘PROTECT HER’

It’s the only thought that ran through your mind as you lunged, body that of a hulking black panther.

This caused the attacking man to become distracted. Who wouldn’t when a man is suddenly a beast? Dennis used this to her advantage and quickly ripped the gun from his hand before he could pull the trigger.

Not that he would have been able to. Not while your fangs ripped into his throat and claws dig into his spine with vicious snarls.

Blood. That metallic taste should have disgusted you, should have deterred you away. But it never once bothered you. Call it the animal within but it didn’t taste bad.

Now you didn’t crave it, nor regularly consume it. You can and do live without consuming it. But on the occasion it did happen, you were unbothered.

Once the man stopped fighting you released his corpse and stood tall. Crystal green eyes flicking to Dennis as she stared at you. She’d never seen you this large and was rightfully intimidated.

You let out a soft growl, almost a baritone hum as you lower your head and inch towards her.

‘Keep her calm, stick to the plan’ you think while lowing to the ground, internally wincing as several wounds had reopened while shifting.

“Holy shit..” she mumbled after a moment of gathering her own thoughts and stepping forward. Gun in hand as she limped to your side. “Get us out of here yeah?” was her comment as she carefully climbed into your back and you stood up. Taking a moment to adjust to the added weight and forign feeling as she placed one hand between your shoulder blades for balance.

With the door now open you cautiously made your way out of the hell hole you’d been in. You discovered you’d been locked in some old off room, turned torture chamber, of what seemed to be a warehouse. You were cautious as you rounded corners and tried to find a way out. It was quiet, the air still and as you moved through hallways you didn’t find any guards or soldiers. Then you figured out why as the sound of guns firing rung through the warehouse.

Your enemy was distracted. This was your time to escape.

-

They landed about ten miles from the warehouse and made the distance on foot. The decision to travel on foot was made to lessen the chances of alerting the enemy.

 Price of course lead the group and once they reach their abjective he started to give orders.

“Alright, Ghost and Soap. Take the north side and head towards the middle. Clear every floor and room, call for backup if needed. Gaz and I will take the south side and meet you two in the middle. Radio in if you find any of the team members” he barked before both teams separated to their respective locations.

Price and Gaz made their way through the first two floors of the south side with relative ease. Taking down enemy soldiers before they knew what hit them. But the more levels they climbed the more soldiers they began to run in too.

Soap and Ghost where the same, each level becoming increasingly full of soldiers until the entire warehouse was inevitably made aware of the invader. Ghost calls it when while soap shoots down enemies left and right.

“Price! We’ve been made, we need to move quickly!” He said into the coms while ducking for cover as more gunfire erupted.

-

Your ears perked up from the gunfire and shouting from the floor below. It made your heart quicken and body tense as you make your way down another hall, and met with stair and a railing to the floor below.

Dennis heard the gunfire as well as you reached the stairs. “Why are they shooting? You think someone came?” She questions weakly a tinge of hope in her voice. It made you peek up on her current condition, you look back at her and a soft worried growl is released at her state.

She was pale, sweating and shivering at the same down. Exhaustion hit her quickly when her adrenaline disappeared and the full effect of her own injuries began to take over, you didn’t check over her injuries before hand, but you could tell she was bleeding from several different wounds.

And while not deadly the wounds had became infected making her sick and now you could hear how rattled her breathing was, see how she swayed side to side and gripped your fur to stay steady on your back.

You replied to her with soft chuffs. Drawing her attention back to you as you looking over the railing, now you could see a few enemies shooting, back not at what. It both worried you, for the fact that getting in the cross fire meant death or being captured agin. But also gave you hope that maybe you both were saved.

Slowly you make your way down the stairs, large paws taking three steps at a time. You could feel your own body weakening, shifting while wounded and already weak took a lot out of you. Made your wounds worse as it wasn’t a recommended task for shifters unless dire.

Your only reason for pushing forward was the woman on your back, your best friend.

Somehow, be it the luck of the gods you manage to sneak your way behind the enemy. You could take down a few while they were distracted. But Dennis was struggling more now to stay awake. She was almost laying in your back, to tired to stay sitting up and the gun clattered to the ground. Alerting the enemy to you.

‘Stay awake bug’ you mentally chant, not that she could here you. Upon noticing your position had been made you crouch down and carefully rock Dennis off your back, she slides to the ground with a weak groan and curls in on herself. But at least the crates kept her covered as you kept forward agin.

-

141 had finally regrouped in the middle of the warehouse. Taking cover between crates and pillars. It wasn’t supposed to turn into a full on firefight but of course they endured nonetheless less. Dropping bodies like flies without being hit themselves.

“We still got one last floor to check. They gotta be here!” It was Gaz who shouted over the gunfire, ever the hopeful one. Despite them being rather outnumbered.

He ducked down to reload his gun, Soap started shooting. It was like a dance between the team. Two shoot, two reload and gain new cover. A back and forth dance of calculated killing.

Price was the one to notice you first as some enemy soldiers stopped firing at them and you launched out of hiding to attack. Ghost was the first react though, quick to aim his gun at what he could though could be another threat.

“Fuckin’ hell! Fuck’s that?!” He shouted gruffly, none but price knew you were a shifter. It was confidential and ‘Need to know’ even for his team. Shifters in the army are rare, Laswell wanted it kept secret in case anyone in task force 141 wasn’t found of the non-humans.

“Don’t shoot him ya muppets!” Price commanded, seeing as his men quickly perceived you as another giant threat. Which of course was understandable, a seven foot wild cat isn’t something one sees on a daily!

But dispite their questions they didn’t second guess their captain. Not now, if their mission was to protect you. Then they would. The team moved forward from their position and continued to press to towards the enemy.

-

You took down soldier after soldier, briefly managing to avoid bullets through the element of surprise. But that was short lived, the first bullet managed to graze your hind leg, causing you to hiss out in pain but you still kept fighting.

The enemy was on their last legs, only a few still standing but quickly being dropped like flies.

It was now when you finally got a glimpse of who the enemy was shooting at. The first he noticed was a large soldier with a skull mask balaclava which did in fact worry you that the soldiers were not friendly. The second soldier you noticed was one wearing an old fisherman’s hat, immediately you knew who that was. You’d heard the stories of Captain Price.

And you then knew team came for you both. Captain Price and his Task Force came for you.

But through your distraction you earned the bullet in your side. You felt it pierce through your dense muscle and couldn’t tell if it hit anything vital. The sudden pain caused you to growl out and struggled to stay standing as you eyed the soldier who shot you. But before either of you could react the soldier dropped dead with the bang of the captains gun.

Looking at the Task Force as they eyed you cautiously you turn away. Limping back to Dennis, who much to your relief was miraculously still breathing. It wasn’t tell the firefight ended and the last of your own adrenaline flickered away that you noticed how much pain and exhaustion you were in. Your large form was trembling as you stood protectively over the the woman you cared about so much.

Your happily die protecting her, for while you knew, deep down that the Task Force, meant no harm.

Your mind was foggy and pain made everything scream “danger!”

-

“Soap, call for evac. Gaz, get the med kit. See if we can patch them up a bit. Ghost keep your eyes out for anymore enemy soldiers” Price listed off orders in an especially calm tone while eyeing you. He was cautious and slow with his movements, knowing you’d been through a lot and didn’t want to risk anyone getting hurt if you reacted negatively.

“Kid, i need you to step away from her yeah? We are here to help” he spoke to you calmly but still held the athoritive tone. He was met with hesitat warning growls as you swayed, blood dripping from your fur in several spots the most sever being your side and leg. Your lips curl back to bare large fangs, claws unsheathed as he makes a move to step forward.

Gaz came back with the med kit and eyes you for a moment, surprised and concerned filling his gaze with a hint of fear for such a large beast.

“How are we doing this cap?” He asked cautiously as you visibly tense and growl.

“Evac is ten clicks out!” Soap announced agin drawing your attention towards him. You were jumpy, muscles twitching at the ready to protect Dennis.

-

“Kitty..” it was a weak call out, breath and sluggish. But all your attention was to her in an instant.

You lower your head so she can see you and make a soft chirp like sound, letting her know your there.

“..gettin’ us out of here?..” she asked tiredly while reaching out for you. You looked towards Price and gaz. Price seemed to understand the unspoken question you had and nods well stepping a bit closer.

“Yeah, we’re getting you both out. Just hang on for us kid” he spoke to Dennis and you finally stepped away to alway them to assess her injuries.

Gaz assessed her, getting her on her back and patched up when wounds he could while keeping her stable.

You stumbled a bit now, taking the opportunity to sit back. Breathing was becoming increasingly more difficult and keeping your eyes on Dennis felt like a whole new challenge. Pain seemed to seep into your very bones. Your head hung low and jaw parted slight as you struggled to breath.

It was then, you realized the bullet in your side as moved closer to your lungs.

Price noticed and stood up, this time getting in your full view.

“Son your hurt pretty bad. Think you can turn back for evac? Your friend here is stable, now it’s your turn” he spoke, and though it sounded like a hurried order you knew why he requested you to shift back.

Not many people were trained for medical in shifters, let alone in their animal forms. They weren’t equipped for it. Neither was evac.

But gods above the idea of shifting sounded so exhausting.

“Evac is here we gotta go!” A gruff, accented baritone voice called out. Bringing your thoughts back to prices request. You offer a small nod, now internally grateful for the skin tight under armor you’d been wearing since your failed mission.

This time the shift was anything but pretty between your old and new wounds it hurt like hell. The bullet wounds especially, which stretched and moved as your body changed. Pain growls became cries and screams as you managed to return to your human form.

But it took the last been of fight out of you, your body felt like lead and you had no strength to hold yourself up. Price caught you before you hit the floor and the last thing you rember seeing is Dennis being carried away.

-

“Y/N/N!!” You could here her small scream before seeing her run towards you, small arms raised in the air as she ran.

You drop your duffle back and kneel down in time to scoop up your little sister. Laughing softly as she wrapped her small arms around your neck and almost immediately started to sniffle and cry.

“Aw little tiger! I missed you” you exclaimed while hugging her and doing your best to not become choked up.

You stand up as you see your mother and father make there way. Your mother was already crying and your father wore a proud smile.

“Hi ma” you said softly and embrace her tightly before facing your father who pulled you into a tight hug.

“Glad you came back to us son” he whispered.

-

Beep beep beep

It’s insistent and you try to open your eyes to find the source of the annoying sound.

The first thing you notice is the soft bed your in. The next thing was the smell of sterilization, and then the numbness in your body.

You finally work up the strength and slowly open your eyes, your meet with bright lights that make you turn away. And movement is heard to the left.

“Your awake, good. Had us worried for a moment” a woman speaks, her voice kind and soothing.

You open your eyes agin once adjusting to the light and see the doctor checking over your vitals. You look around to see no one else in the infirmary which makes your heart drop.

“W-where is she?” Your voice hoarse from being unused.

“Who?…ah yes your friend. She woke up a few days ago. Should be in the mess hall. Now focus on yourself” the doctor informed while checking your bandages.

For a while you let the silence fill the room, your mind going through what bits and pieces you could remember. Back to the warehouse and your rescuers.

Your owed them your life, and hoped you could find someway to repay them.

“How long? Have I been out?” You finally ask while working up the strength to fully sit up, with the doctors help of couse.

“Since your arrival, almost two weeks. Lost a lot of blood, you were dehydrated and on the verge of starvation, and you lung had almost collapsed when you arrived. To list a few things . Your friend, she was discharged after the first week. Just a few sprains, some deep cuts. I’ll let you go tomorrow if your vitals stay stable. For now just rest. I’ll let your team know your awake”. The doctor gave you no room to ask questions as she left the room, leaving you with your thoughts.

“Team?” You mumble to your self with a deep frown. Other then yourself and Dennis your team was gone. You’d be placed transferred to a different team, probably infantry after recovering.

But you had no current team in your mind.

-

It was about thirty minutes when you picked up on the sound of boots coming towards the infirmary. One set quicker then the rest, the second pair were heavy and swift.

You’d dozed off before hand and jumped when the infirmary door swung open. Greeting you with a bright, shit eating grin and a laugh.

“Your awake!!!” Dennis all but yelled while making her way to you, she was limping a bit but seemed other wise fine. And had all her strength back from the bone crushing hug you received.

“You scared me, didn’t think you were goin’ to wake up” she whispered and you wrapped your arms around her, ignoring the pull of the stitches.

“I’m ok…I’m here” you assure and hug her even tighter if possible. “How are you feeling bug?” You ask and she pulled away now. Her smile small.

“I’m alive, thanks to you. I can start training next week as long as I’m careful” she said and wheezed your hand.

That’s who she was, someone quick to get back in the field when she had the chance. She was a person full of light, even now. After everything you’d both been through you could tell she still had that bright light in her. But today, she seemed especially giddy.

Someone cleared their throat behind you, drawing both your attention to the man with that fisher hat.

“Good to see you awake kid, gave us a scare for a moment” he said with his arms crossed, a gentle smile gracing his features.

“I’m Captain John Price, you can call me Price” he introduced and stepped forward to hold out his hand. You shake it after a moment’s hesitation.

“Your the one who rescued us? Thank you…how can I repay you” yku ask and price seemed surprised and shakes his head.

“You don’t have to repay us for anything, it’s what we do, I’m just sorry we couldn’t find your team sooner” he bowed his head, a show of respect as your mind flashes back to your Nova and Lana. Nova has a wife and son, Lana had their husband.

“Their funerals? I missed them?” You ask and Dennis squeezed your hand even tighter while nodding.

Agin silence filled the room, you missed their funerals. Didn’t get a chance to apologize to their families for failing to protect them. You lean your head back as Price speaks agin.

“Listen kid, I know you just woke up. But I have an offer for you both, dagger here already knows. But I’d like you both to join my task force. I believe your skills as a shifter and her knowledge of working with you while an..animal will be good for the team. Not to mention my team could use the experience with a shifter in combat. I’ll give you the day to think about it, rest up” Price spoke with authority and while his tone was gruff he meant his words kindly. After he gave you the proposition he leaves you with Dennis and your thoughts.

-

Once alone you sigh and shake your head before glancing at Dennis who had moved to carefully sit on the bed beside you.

“So, what do you know about the task force? I can’t assume you’ve spent the last two weeks not getting to know them?” You ask with a small chuckle, making her smile and begin to spill what she had gathered.

“Well there is Price, he’s the captain. He seems nice enough but definitely strict. Then there’s Sergeant Mctavish. Goes by soap, definitely your type, tall annoying but funny. And Scottish” she teased making you laugh and swat at her arm.

“And then there is Sergant Garrick, they seem to call him gaz. He’s sweet, kind of a tense guy but still cool, he’s around our age I think?. Oh! And then there’s the mystery man, also your type. Tall, brooding and mysterious as hell. They call him ghost. And absolutely scary looking fucker if you ask me. Always wearing this skull mask, and it might be real! But to each their own” she sighed dramatically and laid across your legs, making you wince a bit but you made no move to get her off.

“Ya think I’d be into any of these men? Who are all probably twice our age?” You ask, faking a hurt expression as she laughs.

“I think you’d be into any man. Especially if he’s older then you” she hums, making you scoff and shake your head. Though was she wrong?

You’d quickly grown close to Dennis when first meeting, she joined with no family attachments. Either she’d been disowned or the family that did accept her had long passed. She’d become a friend to you, she was family. You both had agreed during a mission that you did indeed love each other but not in a way for a relationship to grow and both of you were happy with how everything turned out. More than friends but not together.

“Mhmm and like your any different?” You counter making her laugh. She sighs and sits up, becoming serious after a moment.

“What do you think? About the offer?” She asks while getting more comfortable beside you, which involved you being pushed to one side of the already small hospital bed.

“Truthfully I don’t know, it doesn’t sound like a bad idea. I mean he said they need a shifter, and they don’t have experience with one. So you’d be teaching them what you know. But I mean, being on a task force with THE Captain Price? Or Ghost? Who’d throw that away? Their all legends” you gush a bit as did she in agreement.

“So we take the offer, see how it goes yah?” Dennis said to which you nod in agreement, a yawn being pulled from you.

There was this silent agreement between the both of you to just take a nap as she pulled the thin blanket of you both. Despite only just waking waking up you had grown tired and didn’t fight sleep when it took you.

-

A few days had passed uneventfully after being released from the infirmary, you still had to take it easy and walked with a slight limp dispite trying to hide it and much to your disappointment shifting was out of the option until you healed more so you didn’t rip open your stitches.

For you, your animal form was most comfortable, especially when in unfamiliar areas surrounded by people you didn’t know. Being a seven foot tall panther scared others, and made you fell more safe.

The most eventful thing was being able to video chat your family, after nearly three weeks of hearing nothing from you, when you’d at least call once a week, they began to fear the worst.

-

You were sitting in your new room, after officially transferring to Task Force 141 you learned each member had a private barrack, a nice change from bunking with several soldiers.

A laptop sat in front of you as your finally connected to the internet and called home. It rang one, twince and then connected.

“Y/N!? We’ve been worried sick!” It was your father who answered, his tone full of worry and some anger. Your mother came over with your sister who lit up when she saw you. Your mother was teary eyed but said nothing for now. Giving your sister a chance to gush about the things you’ve missed.

“Y/N/N!! Guess what!?” She said excitedly while wiggling out of your mothers grasp to sit on your fathers lap.

“What’s up little tigger?” You question curiously seeing her grin grow impossibly wider to reveal small but sharp fangs. It was only now that you noticed the black and orange tail that swayed behind her and your eyes went wide as tears swelled.

“I shifted!!!” She practically screamed with glee, she was eight, not entirely young but still younger then when you first shifted at fifteen. You chuckled and cough to hide the choked up noise that came after. You missed her first shift, something you’d promised to never miss.

“That’s amazing! I’m sorry I wasn’t there Lyra ..” you’d apologize a thousand more times if you could but she didn’t give you the chance.

“It’s ok! Mama said you were saving people! But now we can go to the forest together when you come home!” She was happy, excited, speaking quickly. And while you knew at one point your sister was probably upset she held no anger.

“Hey Ly, I gotta talk to ma and da, how about you pick a book and I’ll read it to you yeah? I know it’s almost bedtime for you” you suggested and the young girl excitedly ran off to her room to find a book. Your mom was the one to speak, her tone shaky and full of worry.

“Y/n, where have you been? You never called, emailed, we never got any letters….” She was on the verge of crying, you could tell. The thought of losing her only son scared her.

“Ma I’m sorry. I uh, my team got in some trouble, mission went wrong…It was bad ma. But I got out, I’m ok…” you didn’t go into details. They understood and your parents faces went from worried to terrified to worried and relived.

“Well, when will you be home? Your sister has a class presentation for “what do you want to be when you grow up” next month and she wants you to be there” he questioned just as your sister returned with her book of choice. Harry Potter.

“I’ll try to be there, I’ve been transferred so I don’t know how things work here” you say while grabbing your phone and opening the books app.

The rest of that night was spent reading and catching up with your family.

-

The fifth day out of the infirmary was when you and Dennis were officially introduced to the rest of your new team.

You were all sitting in a meeting room when Price started to talk.

“Alright men, I’d like to officially introduce you to Dennis Evanstien, call sign Dagger. And Y/N L/N, call sign is kit-” you interrupted a bit stiffly.

“Only Dennis can call me that” you said, which earned you a kick to the ankle from your friend and a quick glance from price. Who at this moment let your interruption pass.

“Anyways, these two will being joining Task Force 141, for now on a test run. And then they will either stay or go. Now, as you men saw, Y/N here is a shifter. First to our team. In the following weeks you will all be training together, you lot need to learn how to work with and against him while in his animal form” the captain explained while handing the rest of the team yours and Dennis’ files.

You watch the team carefully as they scan through the files. Watching for any looks of disgust. Soap, looked intrigued, gaz seemed excited, either be for the fact that he wasn’t the only young one on the team for that you were the first shifter he’s met you couldn’t tell. And then there was ghost, thanks to his mask you couldn’t read his reaction as his eyes remained neutral.

“We have a mission in six weeks time, if not sooner. So I need everyone working fluidly. Take this time to get to know each other through training or recreationally. If there’s no questions, your dismissed” Price finished and Dennis was the first to stand and speak, half dragging you up with her.

“Well! I know that I look forward to working with you fine men! And knocking some of you on your ass” she said rather confidently which earned a laugh from soap and gaz.

“Aye Las, is that a challenge?” Soap asked curiously while standing and you could already tell where this was going.

“It is Scotty” she said, mocking his accent with the added nickname and crossing her arms with a confident grin. Always quick and sharp with her words.

“Ten bucks on Soap” Gaz laughed agin as Soap scoffed and stared at her.

“Twenty on Dags” you add with a small smirk for the shorted nickname you knew she’d give you hell for.

“So, Suds. Accept the challenge” she tilts her head and you can’t help but snicker while glancing around the room. Price was grinning while watching the banter and Ghost was seemingly brooding in his chair. You couldn’t tell, but he was indeed intrigued.

Soap seemed to think for a moment, he could let the teasing pass. Or he could test her skills. And seeing as their day was uneventful he chose to accept.

“Alright Dagger, I’ll see you on the mats” he chuckled before walking out of the meeting room. Slowly after he left so did everyone else, heading their own way until it was time to watch the “competition”.

-

“You cocky spider!!” You tease while slapping Dennis’ shoulder making her laugh and dramatically flop onto your bed. You both bunkered down in your room for a few before the sparing between Soap and Dennis started.

“What!? I wanna know what skills these men have if we will be working with them. Plus, I’ve done nothing but sit around the last few weeks and I’m itching for action. I know your feeling the same way” she teased and started to poke your sides.

You laugh and bat her hand away, wincing at the tender area where a bullet was once imbedded in your side.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m itching as well. But he’s like, six foot something. Your the shortest one here and he has more experience. I don’t want to see you get your ass handed to you” you laugh making Dennis sit up and scowl at you.

“Yeah? And your a six foot two shifter no less. And yet any time we spar I always hand you, your ass” she smacks your leg.

“We both have the same amount of experience, plus. I hold back for you” you mock while sitting up, staring at her with your now feline like eyes and sharp toothed grin.

Dennis stares at you in shock and stand up while crossing her arms.

“You better be lying” she grumbled while turning her back towards you, every the dramatic one.

But your tone turned serious while you pulled her by the waist back into bed.

“I’m not bug and you know that. Naturally Im a lot bigger and stronger then you. Your human, and while I’ll never doubt your skills and strength. I hold back because I don’t wish to hurt my friends. I mean it as no insult” you explained while she leaned back against you and rolled her eyes.

“Mhm fine. I suppose your right. But do you think you’d hold back against them?” She asked curiously and you grin, agin revealing your fangs. Something you always preferred to have exposed.

“Well I don’t know. I don’t think I’d hold back against the big guy with the mask, Ghost? No I’d probably go all out if I were fighting him. As for the rest, at first Yeah. Until I knew what they could handle. Or at least until you teach them how to spar with me” you say and shrug your shoulders before poking her sides making Deniss laugh and squeal. Then you perked up to the knock at your door.

“Uh..soaps waiting for you at training area…sorry for interrupting” it was Kyle. Who sounded rather awkward and then you both put together why. Making you both bust out laughing.

“Alright kitty, come watch me kick a Scotsman’s ass” she said triumphantly and dragged you out of bed with her and to the training area

-

Alrighty!!! I’m stopping this here because of the fact that it’s quite long, and I don’t want to make it drag on! Let me know how you like this chapter as not to much is going on. And I hope you look forward to chapter 3!!! Also!!

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@jasperthechaosgremlin

[oiladgivememoney99]

MD-5 Cruelty Squad: Big Pharmakokinetiks

Tari walked into the Cruelty Squad headquarters, the building was as raggedy as ever… I mean it had only been a single day since she had been hire, so else what did she have to expect?

She sauntered through the grimy, yet somehow still blank white halls of the HQ into the meeting room. Still as quaint as ever with a table, some chairs, and a blackboard being the only real features in it.

The rest of the team was also in there: Masa, Sofia, Lamar and Lucinia.

“Hey, wonderin’ when you were gonna show up,” Lamar said, leaning back in his chair like he wasn’t about to be told to go kill someone. (Or maybe that was a normal reaction, Tari never really spoke to a lot of people at TASCorp)

Sofia was practically shaking in her chair, to the point where it nearly fell over at like three different points. “I am so excited for this oh my god! We haven’t had a good hit in years,”

“Our last job was a week ago, Sofia,” Lucinia deadpanned, staring at the fidgeting, now pouting blonde with sisterly smugness.

Tari casually sat down, Masa was standing in front of the blackboard with a piece of chalk.

“Settle down everyone, now that everyone’s here we can begin,” He said blankly. “Pharmakokinetiks LLC owns the vast majority of the pharmaceutical industry,”

“Booooo, we hate monopolies,” Sofia made a megaphone with her hands.

“Actually, they’ve hired us to solve a problem for them. Sigismund, the manager of their nearby Cancer City location has embezzled a large sum of money, and spent it on… fucking Slurpcoin,”

“Fuck’s sake, they hired a Biocurrency Bro?” Lucinia facepalmed.

“Listen man, Weebcoin is gonna blow up soon… then y’all will be worshippin’ me,” Lamar chuckled.

The rest of the crew stared at him silently before going back to listening to Masa.

“We’re going in to kill him, along with his accomplice Jerry who’ll be in the conference room, they’re holding a meeting today,”

“Should be easy… should we head off now?” Lucinia asked.

“Yes, does anyone have any questions before we leave though?”

“Why aren’t they doing it themselves?” Tari asked. “Why are they hiring us,”

“They need it to look like a terrorist attack; their stock value will go down if they get caught killing their own managers,” Masa blankly explained. “Anything else?”

Tari shook her head, adjusting her green shades as the gang headed into the outside of the base. They got in Lucinia’s car and prepared to drive to the building…

---

The drive was short and boring, Sofia spent the whole thing trying to get under Lamar’s skin; Tari was silent as ever as they stopped outside the Two story Pharmaceutical building. It looked clean on the outside with windows leading into a flat interior with a couple security guards dotted around wielding standard SMGs alongside a couple of “Dogs”, at least that’s what they were called. Stange quadrupedal creatures with overly large large mouths on the front of their bodies, and putrid rotting skin.

“Alright, I’ll be here if you get injured, die, or when you need to leave,” Lucinia reassured, little emotion in her voice as Tari, Sofia, Lamar and Masa got out of the car. “You kids have fun!”

“We will Lucy!” Sofia smiled as she put on a segmented black and orange vest, Lamar put on a yellow jacket with extra pockets sewn into it over his garish anime shirt.

“Alright, what’s the plan Masa?” Lamar asked as he pulled his sniper rifle from one of the deceptively deep pockets: the rest of the team pulled their respective weapons from the slots embedded into their arms. A couple black grenades for Sofia, and a silenced pistol each for Masa. Though the pistol looked more like an SMG that was mangled into a pistol. And a standard SMG for Tari.

“I’ll sneak through the back to get Sigismund. You three deal with everything on the bottom floor. Lamar give me a piggy back ride,”

“What?” The man raised an eyebrow, Sofia snorted, Tari didn’t react at all.

“Just do it,”

Lamar sighed and did as asked, the surprisingly light man jumped onto Lamar’s back.

“Alright, jump to the top of the building behind us, there’s a vent that leads straight to the top floor,”

Lamar used his robotic legs and jumped all the way up to the small building. He then placed a boombox next to him, making himself comfortable on the top of the roof as he pulled placed his sniper rifle on the ground.

“Alright, when I give the signal you two head on in and shoot at whoever you think is a security guard,” Masa spoke through a radio in each of the other team member’s pockets. “Lamar, focus on anyone armed with more than an SMG,”

“You got it, man,”

“Yessir Mr. Butcher of Melbourne,”

Tari nodded.

“Tari?”

“Tari also says yes!” Sofia beamed.

“Alright good, I’ll give the signal soon,”

Masa crawled through the vents, hearing radio chatter at the end of the cramped tunnels as he slowly made his way through them.

He looked through the grates, seeing that it lead to the upstairs bathroom of the place. Inside was a single member of Security Redefined™, wearing a gas mask, and a far better looking green uniform than the rest of the security guys. Masa shot him in the back of the head through the grate, the man fell to the ground without as much as a peep.

Masa slowly got out of the vent, somehow making zero noise as he moved over to pick up the dead man’s gun.

The Karl and Heinrich X20, a boxy looking assault rifle with caseless ammunition, a huge magazine and a scope. Perfect.

He went to the bathroom door and peeked through a peephole; the top floor was actually had a large area in the middle where the couple security guards up here could look at the floor down below, he moved his radio towards his mouth.

“Everything you’ve got, now,”

“Full hog, Tari!” Sofia yelled as she ran head first into the building, Tari following closely behind.

As they entered the security guards looked at them, the lobby of the building was also unsurprisingly enough filled with civilians, a couple tables, chairs and a counter near the front.

“Hello, welcome to Pharmakokinetiks, your one stop shop for human experimentation, how may I help yo-”

BANG

Sofia shot the cashier straight in the head with a completely unsilenced pistol of her own. The security quickly began to fire on her as she ducked behind the counter, Tari following soon after.

“Sof, what the hell was that?” Lamar chided over the radio.

“Masa said to get their attention!”

“He said to give it all you… just start shootin’ em already,”

“Haha, I win!” Sofia instantly bolted out of cover and began to gun down several of the Security guards, weaving through bullets as she ran towards a table. Her inaccurate shots took out a couple security and the odd civilian here and there. Tari peeked her head over the cover, and began to take out individual security guards focusing on Sofia: one, two, three, a fourth finished off by Lamar, a fifth that began to come down the stairs to Tari’s left, a sixth-

“Agh!”

Tari yelped as a dog jumped over the table and forced her to the ground, she punched the thing in the mouth to little effect as it screeched and whined. Tari looked blankly at the thing as she-

BANG

The thing was shot through the mouth and quickly fell to the floor.

“You’re welcome, Tari!”

Tari nodded as she went back to taking the security out, she saw a large explosion in front of her probably caused directly by Sofia-

“Gah!”

Speaking of the blonde woman, she groaned in pain as she got shot in the shoulder from the floor above, she ducked behind the table more as-

The security guards shooting from the top quickly fell over the balcony, all shot from behind by Masa, who ran towards Sigismund’s Office as he quickly mopped up the guards.

“Thanks boss!” Sofia said excitedly. “We’ll go murder that Jerry lickety split!”

“I’ll guard our exit!” Lamar promised.

Tari said nothing.

“Good job,” Masa said as he kicked down the door of Sigismund’s office.

He saw the towering man, his mouth wide open and his face deformed.

“Alright, you freak shit. I’m here to-”

“BIOCURRENCY, BIOGURRENGRY I AM GOD AND MONEY AND GOD!” The man screeched erratically, Masa covered his ears. “SLURPCOIN.NET INVEST INVEST, INVESTIGATE THE BIOCURREN-”

Pew.

The man fell to the floor, dying instantly as Masa shot his head clean off with the silenced pistol.

“Sigismund down,”

“Nice! We’ll have Jerry dead in like 2 seconds!” Sofia said, huge smile on her face. “Right Tari?”

Tari nodded, Sofia pouted a little at the lack of noise, but elected to let it slide for now…

Tari and Sofia ran into a hallway at the end of the lobby, shooting several Security Guards before they could even react, Tari crouched down and picked up their discarded ammo as the two women ran through the hallway to top up her own supply. They another hallway, a door at the end being labelled “Conference room”

---

“Alright, so this is the Fleshrat,” Jerry announced, grimacing while motioning towards the glass container filled with the bizzare human-rat hybrid they had created. “A uh… mix of human and rat DNA,”

One of the other people in the conference room cleared their throat, besides that the entire room was silent.

“They can poison people, and appear just like standard pests; perfect for any secret operatio-”

Jerry was interrupted by the door to the conference room being kicked down by Sofia, who quickly dashed onto the table in the middle of it.

“Excuse me, ma’am. What the fuck are you doing here?” Jerry asked, sounding confused, not angry.

“I’m here to kill you…” Sofia smugly smiled as she reached into her pocket.

“Oh… could you kill my boss too on your way out?”

“Already done don’t worry!” Sofia threw two of the grenades she got from her pockets and-

BOOM

Threw them to the floor. The explosion killing every single person in the room except for her; it merely knocked Sofia out of the room back into the hallway, Tari managed to catch the blood covered woman in her arms.

“WOOOOOOOOOOO!” Sofia cheerily screeched as she removed herself from her disinterested teammate’s arms. “That was FUCKING AWESOME!”

“I assume that means Jerry’s dead?” Masa asked over the radio.

“Yepperooni! Dead, super ultra mega dead. I am absolutely covered in his blood!”

“Great, I’ll set up a towel so you don’t get blood in Lucinia’s car,” Masa chuckled. “Get outside quick by the way, Lamar’s panicking over his Biocurrency crashing,”

“For real? Run Tari. This is always funny to watch!” Sofia giggled like a schoolgirl as she ran out of the building. Tari elected to walk slowly through the building. Through the bodies that she and her new coworkers had left in their wake.

The didn’t smile, she didn’t cry, she didn’t grimace… she merely walked.

...Admittedly watching Lamar cry over Weebcoin was pretty funny.

---

1 DAY LATER

A blonde man sat in his overly large office, impatiently tapping his pencil on his desk; anticipation was evident in his movements as he repeatedly looked down to look at the tablet in his lap.

Finally, the door opened, and in walked a woman. With pinkish-orangish hair tied into a ponytail, pink shades, and an augmented, red cybernetic arm.

“Oi, I just got off a mission, what’d ya want me for, Lucks?” Belle grumbled as she walked into the office, sitting in the chair opposite of the man’s desk.

“I understand the inconvenience, Belle,” Lucks cleared his throat. “But we need to discuss the recent terrorist attack on our partners in Pharmakokinetiks,”

“A terrorist attack?” Belle slouched in the chair, wrapping her arms around the chair’s arms as Lucks placed the tablet on the table. “What makes this our problem? Every building we own is terrorism proof,”

“It’s not the terrorism itself, it’s who did it,” Lucks hit a button on the tablet, the security footage from Pharmakokinetiks played.

“What the fuck?” Belle tensed up as she looked at the footage. “That’s Luce’s sister… and some random chick,”

“Murder Division Five resignation from the company has left us wondering where they went,” Lucks paused for a moment. “We see where they are now,”

“Now what? When do I get to deal with ‘em?”

“Please don’t let your… former relations with Lucinia cloud your judgement,” Belle gritted her teeth a little as Lucks spoke. “We’ll try to investigate them where possible… TASCorp’s best agents will get to the bottom of this,”

“Good,” Belle’s face curved into a smirk. “Thanks for telling me, give me the call and they’ll be dealt with,”

“I will, Ms. Fontiere. TASCorp thanks you for your service,”