#yes i know the summary is super short but the fic is what it says on the tin

[firsttraintovictoriaville]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Welcome To The Table - Ben Brainard (Web Series) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Nevada/New Jersey (Welcome To The Table) Characters: Nevada (Welcome To The Table), New Jersey (Welcome To The Table) Additional Tags: Tattoos, Schmoop, They/Them pronouns for Nevada, T rating because New Jersey got a pouty mouth and garden state of mind, Ficlet Summary:

New Jersey got a special tattoo.

                                                           *****

You leave me alone thinking about New Jersey and Nevada for five seconds  and this happens smh. 

[feyascorner]

until I come back alive

summary. in which you come back injured from a particularly unlucky battle, and Astarion realizes his feigned affections for you are not feigned at all.

warnings. angst, fluff, Astarion being bad at feelings

pairing. Astarion x GN!reader

a/n. this is super long omg ALSO TYSM for the love on my previous fic! It was my first post so I didn’t realize more than like two ppl would see it!! Kind of scary but also I can write more astarion so oh well 🙏

“The way they look at you is different from the way they look at us.”

Astarion raises a brow at this, glancing at Karlach who adjusts a log in the campfire paying no heed to the flickering flames brushing against her skin. She smiles to herself, genuinely, and he questions if she’s finally gone mad.

“So have you said the big ‘L’ word yet?” she asks excitedly, turning to him with a big grin. He shifts away from her, the increasing heat radiating off her body but she doesn’t seem to care, too busy staring at him expectantly.

“The what?”

“You know! The ‘L’ word,” she says the last part in a hushed whisper, as if it’d be a sin for anyone else to hear. Occasionally it baffles him how childish she can be, though he’d never voice these concerns out loud considering she could snap his poor body in half if she really wanted.

He also knows that she’s more emotionally capable in how she approaches these relationships (though one could argue it’s just innocence)—in ways he’s lost over the past 200 years. Though, he makes an effort to shove these thoughts to the deepest corners of his brain for the sake of his own sanity.

“If you’re speaking of ‘love,’” He emphasizes it with a strange accent. “No. I have not. Nor have they.”

She appears puzzled. “Why not?”

He sighs irritably, bringing a hand to adjust the cuffs on his hand. “Must everything be put bluntly? So glaringly obvious?”

“You love each other, don’t you?”

At this, he falters, just the slightest before plastering his usual grin that doesn’t reach his eyes. “Love is a wide spectrum, dear. Tav and I are whatever they want us to be.”

A late night partner would be the most positive thing he could refer you to. A fling, an amusement, or whatever words people described the arrangement between the two of you as, he didn’t care for it. He’d given himself to you, and you to him—-physically, at least, and you’d seem more than content with it. In return, he received protection, which was a sufficient payment in return for his hushed words of affection and kisses. A fair trade, he deemed.

Sure, he could’ve chosen anyone else in the camp. But he’d seen the way your eyes lit up at the sight of him, surely dazed at his flirtatious tendencies. You’d been an easy target. A survival tool.

And yes, maybe he’d played with your innocent feelings, but could you really blame him? He’d given you the nights of your life, for something so simple in return. It was a transaction.

Karlach waves a dismissive hand which brings him back to the present, propping herself on her arm behind her. “Life’s too short for that bullshit. Either you love someone or you don’t.”

“Fortunately for me, I have all of eternity,” he snorts. “Unless I were to suddenly lose the unwanted visitor inside my head and step into the sunlight, I’ll be here to watch the world fall and rise a dozen times over I’m afraid.”

“But they don’t,” Karlach frowns. “Tav doesn’t have eternity.”

He ignores the way his jaw clenches. He’s afraid, he thinks, of losing the freedom he’s just gained.

“Did you call me?”

Both the vampire and tiefling turn to your voice, where you stand blankly with an armful of logs clutched to your waist. Karlach opens her mouth to respond, but Astarion is faster.

“Nothing, darling. Just answering a few curious questions from Karlach here.”

“Oh,” you blink at him, shrugging before setting the logs beside the fireplace. “Well, Gale, Shadowheart, and I are going to the village across the forest tomorrow morning to check on the goblins appearing there recently. Won’t be back till noon so don’t wait up.”

“Don’t worry,” Karlach laughs. “I’ll keep the camp in order while you’re gone. If Astarion tries to bite Lae’zel, though, his fate’s inevitable.”

He rolls his eyes, opting to stand from his spot and take your hand. “Come along, darling. Any longer near this damned fireplace and my skin may melt.”

You nod with a smile, waving at Karlach before you follow him into his tent without a word of protest.

Easy, he thinks. Too easy.

He soon finds himself staring up at you from his place, laying his head on your lap as you read through a few scrolls you found throughout the day. He clicks his tongue and you look down, offering that sickeningly sweet smile again. “What’s wrong?”

“You have the most handsome person in this camp on your bloody lap and you want to read?”

You snicker at this, setting the scroll down beside you. “What do you suggest I do? Worship the very eyelashes on your face?”

“My body deserves much more praise than just the eyelashes.”

“Hm…” you pretend to be in thought. “That mole on your face is very obvious too.”

He gasps, immediately shooting upward as he grabs at his own face. “Tell me you’re lying.”

Your laughter rings throughout the tent, airy as you pull his hand away from his face. “I’m kidding, mostly.”

He stares at you as you recollect yourself, finding himself gazing at you far longer than he’d like to admit. Quickly, he adjusts, fiddling with the hand mirror he always keeps under his pillow as he watches you through it. “Karlach spoke of something ridiculous today. She said you were in love with me.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really,” he rolls his eyes. “That woman lives in a fairy tale I tell you. How she went through 10 years in Avernus is beyond me.”

There’s slight hesitance in your voice, and if he’d not learned your body language early on in your arrangement, he wouldn’t have even noticed it. “Astarion, have you ever been in love?”

He pauses at this, meeting your eyes head on now. There’s a heavier thickness in the air between the short distance between the two of you, and he immediately gauges what you want him to say. A lie readies itself at the tip of his tongue, his gaze searching yours for whatever fantasy that lives behind them.

Instead, your expression is blank. He finds nothing.

“No.” He’s not sure why he responded honestly, but it’s too late to take it back. “Have you?”

You look to the side. “I’m not sure anymore.”

“Anymore?” He shifts his head when you turn your chin further away, avoiding confrontation. “Has someone captured your impenetrable heart as of late? How intriguing—do tell.”

His teasing tone drops when you don’t smile at his usual antics. He’s not stupid—far from it. He knows you’ve begun to fall for him. It’s an obvious result from the 200 years of instinctive flirting he has tucked away in what remains of his soul, and it’s what he intended. What he needed.

The more enraptured you are, the longer he has protection.

He gently tilts your chin toward him, his fang visible through the grin that stretches across his face. “Tell me, pet, do you love me?”

Your eyes drop to his lips. “Do you want me to?”

A bunny caught in the fangs of a fox. It would be so easy to indulge—to go as far as to make you nothing but a puppet he toys with for his own personal gains. He can sense the way your finger twitches, itching to lace them with his own, and the crueler side of him forces his hand to stay put.

He wordlessly leans toward you, his lips grazing against the side of your neck. You shiver at the touch and he smiles wickedly to himself, drinking in the gasp that escapes you when he tilts your neck to the other side, where he usually drinks.

He doesn’t even have to ask. “Just—be gentle. Please.”

“Of course.” He unhinges his jaw, ready to plunge the knives of his teeth into where the sweet liquid gold rushes to your face, his shoulders finally relaxing when—

“I love you,” you whisper under your breath.

He stops.

Though unsure why, he freezes. Completely and utterly freezes.

“Astarion?”

He pulls away slowly, staring at you for a long moment before offering another smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.

“You look exhausted, my dear. I think that’s enough for tonight.”

“But you didn’t even feed?”

“I can handle myself, darling, as much as I appreciate your worries,” he stands and holds the flap of the tent open, practically a silent demand for you to leave.

He should be ecstatic. Gleaming with joy from being offered a drop of your blood, but instead, he feels knots forming in his stomach. And the longer he watches you, the worst they seem the get.

Hurt flashes across your face and he ignores the sudden tightness in his chest.

“Okay, well,” you say, stepping out hesitantly. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, my dear.”

And as he lies wide awake in the middle of the night with nothing to accompany him but his own thoughts, he finds that all of them are overruled by his endless need for warmth. Not just anyone’s but the one he’s become accustomed to the past few months. No matter how much he curls up in his bedroll, all he can feel is the chill of his own body.

And he hates it more than he expected.

——

By the time he awakens, you’re long gone.

He’s rather productive. Taking walks, gathering supplies, catching up on his reading, he refuses to sit and lie around as the others await for you and your companions to return from the goblin village.

He even entertains sitting through one of Karlach’s dances, which somehow ends up being more entertaining than he’d imagined. While she didn’t fall flat on her face (which he admittedly looked forward to), it burnt through time regardless.

The peace is broken when he hears footsteps rushing toward the camp. He’s memorized everyone’s intervals when sprinting or pacing, so he’s quick to identify Gale and Shadowheart. He listens keenly for your own footsteps.

There are no third pair of footsteps at all.

Shadowheart stumbles into the camp, in a panic compared to her usual self, as she points toward a spot on the ground and snaps at Gale to put something down.

He only sees when she moves out of the way that this something, is rather someone.

You’re writhing in pain, eyes shut in an unconsciousness that’s surely preferable to what you’re feeling. You’re sweating, groaning in your sleep and everyone is immediately rushing to you.

His face would’ve gone pale, if it weren’t for the fact that he was already as ghostly as a sheet.

“What happened,” Lae’zel demands in place of him, and he opts to mindlessly push Gale to the side, who doesn’t say a word from the expression on Astarion’s face. He doesn’t know what he looks like, but from Gale’s reaction, it’s better he never know.

“Damned poison arrows,” Shadowheart hisses. “I’m completely out of magic for today. I need to make an antidote by hand before their condition gets any worse than it already is.”

Astarion brushes the back of his knuckles against your cheek. The creases between your brows soften for the slightest moment before they’re back again.

Lae’zel and Shadowheart are arguing again—something about how one thing would’ve happened if another thing hadn’t. He’s not even sure what they’re arguing about, but in an instant, rage flickers in his chest.

“Do something!” He snaps, suddenly making the camp go quiet. “Or are you just going to stand there and watch them die?”

He suddenly feels a hand grab his, and his eyes shoot down to see your own. Even in your sleep, you reach out to him. Even in the deepest part of slumber, you search for him. It makes him feel like the shittiest and luckiest person alive, especially as the your hurt expression from last night flashes in his mind.

“Help them,” the words spill out against his will, his tone breaking down into something more desperate. “Do something. For God’s sake, anything.”

In the moment, he doesn’t care about protection. He doesn’t give a shit about any of that because the second he’d seen you in genuine pain, it was all he needed to completely forget about the stupid reasons why he approached you in the first place.

All he cared about was your life.

Everyone glances at one another knowingly, but even Lae’zel doesn’t break the silence. Shadowheart spares him a furrowed glare before rushing to gather the antidote.

You only awake hours later. Certainly during the middle of the night, to the ceiling of a tent that’s certainly not your own. You slowly urge yourself to sit up, a pounding headache ringing in your skull, but your worries about it vanish when you hear his voice.

“Quite the nap, darling.”

You snap around to see him on the other side of the tent, albeit only a few feet away from how crunched it is. Fascinating, he thinks, that even with your disheveled hair and bloodshot eyes, he finds you more beautiful than before. “What happened?”

“You nearly died.”

“…how?”

“Poison,” he’s fiddling with his dagger, refusing to look at you. He can’t. In fear of what he might say. “Caused a reasonable panic too. Seems like our companions have grown more attached to you than anyone’s expected.”

You purse your lips, and he quickly mortifies at the exceeding need to part them with his own. You don’t seem to notice. “You too?”

“I was certainly worried our esteemed leader may kick the bucket earlier than anticipated, yes.”

“No, I mean,” you scrunch your eyes sheepishly, and he thinks it’s adorable. Gods he must be going insane. “Have you…grown attached?”

He raises a brow. “You just woke up from a life threatening experience and that’s what piques your interest?”

Your cheeks turn a shade darker. He wants to touch them. “I just…I was worried all day. About us. I got too distracted and of course, that’s on me, but one of the goblins took advantage and—“

He wants to climb into a coffin, guilt eating away at what remains of his organs. But when you fidget with the ends of his bedroll blanket, he can’t tell if his stomach is churning from shame or something else.

You stop, close your mouth, then open it again. “When I passed out, I was just thinking about how I would hate for us to part like that. I didn’t want last night to be our last moment.”

“No,” he says firmly. “While you’d been asleep, I’ve had quite some time to think, darling. And more time to wallow in my self pity for being stuck with an actual weirdo. I mean, do you hear yourself? Worrying about such a stupid encounter while on your deathbed? You should’ve been cursing me with all the strength you had left if you were going to think about me of all people!”

You smile a bit, and he grits his teeth at the way his throat goes dry. “I’m just glad.”

“For getting poisoned?”

“No,” you roll your eyes. “I’m glad I didn’t scare you off by telling you I loved you. I was afraid we wouldn’t talk like this anymore.”

His body wills him to freeze up again. To push you away, and to force the fantasy that his feelings towards you were nothing but manipulative. That you were nothing but a way to survive to him. But no, he couldn’t stand such cowardice any longer. Not after nearly losing you.

You offer him a pathetic laugh. “I don’t expect you to say it back, nor for you to feel the same way. I just—felt like you needed to know. It doesn’t change anything between us I hope. It just felt wrong to keep it to myself any longer and the way you reacted just made me regret it so much-“

He wraps his palm in front of your mouth, his other hand pulling you closer to his side in an instant. With your faces inches apart, he sighs irritably. “As much as I’d like to keep hearing your voice, I can’t stand its contents any longer I’m afraid.”

He lowers his hand, staring straight at your wide eyes as he narrows his own. “I do. Like you, I mean. A lot more than I’d like to admit, quite frankly.”

You blink as if you’re staring at a miracle.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he mumbles with a scoff. “I’ve had these feelings for a while now, I just didn’t wish to face them. When you said that to me yesterday, I just didn’t know how to respond, and for that, I am sorry. But losing you—I’m not sure what I would have done, but it’s certainly not a pretty sight.”

Your eyes soften and he’s certain he can lose himself within them for years. “I’ve never heard you sound so—sincere.”

He raises your knuckles to his lips, keeping them close even as he speaks. “I approached you out of necessity, I’ll admit. But it seems you’ve grown on me in a way I haven’t experienced since I’ve turned into a spawn. What you are to me—it’s difficult to describe.” He pauses. “Sometimes, I can still feel my heart beating with you.”

As your fingers brush against the side of his face, he swears he can feel it again. He almost feels warm, maybe even safe. And he’s sick and tired of denying himself of your embrace when death is around every corner.

You’re soon curled up into his chest, with his chin atop of your head. He’s not sure how much time passes—maybe hours, or even days as he continues to observe your face, committing each and every detail to his memory. And when your breathing steadies, falling into deep slumber, he finally has the courage to whisper the words against your hair.

“I love you.”

[ddaz3d-and-cc0nfused]

aaron hotchner x jacks nanny/babysitter

she’s got a crazy ex that stalked and threatened her so she moved far away to live a simple, under the radar life and started working for hotch. he knows her situation and does his best to look out for her, maybe she’s like a live in nanny ? neither of them is bold enough to make a move first until her ex finds her and hotch and the team race to save her. ends with love confessions and all the sappy stuff

could be a one shot or a short lil series i’m sure whatever you write will be amazing !

༉‧₊˚. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨-𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 || 𝐚𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐫

— pairing: aaron hotchner x plus size babysitter!reader

— summary: your new life as a live-in nanny was wonderful, and with your dark past behind you, there was nothing that could ruin this. but as they say, what goes around comes around.

— warnings: heavily detailed violence BEWARE, surprisingly light angst, fluff, hurt/comfort, emotional hurt/comfort, physical hurt/comfort, mutual pining, abusive ex's :[, guns, and a horribly written action/fight scene (forgive me).

— wc: 1965

⋆ a/n: okay this is a heavy fic so beware once more, but aside from that this takes a fully turn! i don't really have anything else to say besides enjoy!

masterlist | AO3

“Backpack? Check. Lunchbox? Check. Shoes are tied? Check.” 

You placed your hands on your hips triumphantly, a proud smile on your face as you examined the little boy. 

Being a live-in nanny came with being organizational and making sure that Jack was ready for school everyday without fail. It wasn’t like Aaron was super strict on you; he understands when you have your days where things are a bit out of place, but honestly it was a personal preference, and totally not because you have a big fat crush on the FBI agent.

You had been very skeptical about your babysitting position at first because of your ex who was absolutely bat shit crazy. It was a situation you had barely escaped from, and it had taken almost everything in you to get where you were now, so you were a little afraid of men in general. But Aaron was kind, and welcoming, and fatherly, someone that you felt safe with.

And then, you fell in love.

It had scared the shit out of you of course, but now it was a feeling that you welcomed with open arms, even if you couldn’t act on it. 

Your phone began to ring as you searched for the car keys, the contact name read ‘Aaron <3’.

“Morning!” You greeted with a smile as you picked up. “Good morning. How are you guys?” The older man asked. “We're doing just fine, as always,” You successfully found the keys. “How are things?” You knew better than to ask how he was, because if you had the kind of job that he did, there was no way you could answer positively. 

“We pretty much have everything we need, so we’ll probably be able to wrap this case up early.” 

“Oh Aaron, that's great!” You cheer happily and make your way back to where Jack was waiting for you. “You ready to go, little man?” Jack looks up at you from his toys. “Is that daddy on the phone?”

“Yeah buddy, you wanna say hi?” 

“Yes!” Jack’s answer was full of excitement, and you can’t help but smile. “As much as I enjoy talking to you, it looks like I’m handing you over.” You swear you could hear Aaron chuckle.

Yeah, this was a life that you could get used to.

Having the house to yourself was weird.

With Jack away at his aunt’s for the weekend, it was strangely quiet due to the emptiness of the child’s presence. You suppose you’re grateful for the break even though taking care of Jack really isn’t as tiring as one might think. 

Despite Aaron rarely being home, he’s managed to raise the boy well when he could, and it’s honestly very admirable. It’s one of the many things that made you fall in love with him. You gaze down into the wine glass at the thought, a small smile tugging at the corners of your lips.

Ugh, why does love make you such a loser?

Your bashful train of thought was stopped by a suspicious thump coming from the back of the house. Your smile dropped and a feeling of anxiety and worry twisted in your gut as you grabbed your phone that was lying on the kitchen counter.

You’re quick to dial Aaron’s number and your fingernail finds itself in your mouth as you chew on it anxiously. It’s an old habit, one that you had picked up back in your old relationship.

“Hello?” Rasped Aaron. 

You knew he had just recently flown in from wherever he was because you could hear the foot traffic of everyone grabbing their luggage from the plane’s storage.

“Hey,” Your greeting was nervous and it was something that Aaron easily picked up on. “What’s wrong? Are you alright?” He asks with a furrowed brow. “Yeah, just um - I’m just hearing some weird things so I just wanted to know when you think you might be getting home.” I miss you.

“Honey what type of weird things?” Before you were able to answer, there was a loud crashing sound. You instantly dropped to the floor to hide behind the counter; you cradled the phone to your ear, “Okay uh - change of claim,” You attempted to joke. “Someone is most definitely in the house.”

Aaron tries not to panic at the way his insides turn cold, “You remember what to do, right?” He asks with a hardened voice. You gulp, stretching slightly to peer over the marble. You stare out into the darkness and a frightened shiver shoots up your spine. 

“Get to your room and enter the safe.” You reiterated what he had told you almost a year ago when you had first moved in. You’ve never shot a gun before but tonight might be the night where you learn how too.

“That’s right, and do you remember the code?” 

As you went to answer him, you were snatched up by your hair and a scream rang out and into the phone. Even though you weren’t on speaker the others that were currently standing outside with Aaron could hear it.

Aaron desperately calls out your name, and with your silence he takes off without any explanation, but his team knows to follow close behind.

“So, this is what you’ve been doing since you tried to leave me?!”

You cried out as another blow was delivered to your gut but a heavy boot. Your lungs burned and there were tears streaming down your face. He had pulled you so hard over the counter that it made your scalp burn, a blistering headache beginning to form at the base of your skull.

“Fuck you!” You spat as you attempted to prop yourself up on your elbows. 

There was a fine line between anger and fear, and this was one of those moments where they blend together. If you ended up dying tonight, at least you didn’t go down in vain.

This time he punched you in the face before snatching you up by your arms. There was a metallic taste in your mouth, a bruise already developing near your eye. “Why’d you leave me, huh?! We had a good thing going and you just… you just ruined it!”

“I didn’t ruin shit asshole!” You screamed and pushed at him but it was no use. “We were gonna get married but you… but you wanted to play house with an old man, really?!”

“You’ve been watching me.” You said in disbelief. It made your stomach twist in nausea and horror at the thought of him watching Jack, what he could’ve done to him. You had actively put the man you loved kid in danger and it devastated you.

“I had no choice!”

“You’re fucking crazy!”

“Put your hands where I can see them.” Aaron’s voice rang out throughout the house.

Before you knew it you were spun around with a gun to your head, his arm locked against your neck, faintly strangling you.

“Aaron!” You called out in relief, but it turned into a grunt as you tugged further into your ex’s chest.

Aaron’s gun was raised steadily, his eyes focused on your attacker, but he doesn’t hesitate to cast you a reassuring look. When he sees your bloody and bruised face his jaw tightens, the vein in his neck popping and visible through his skin.

“Boyfriend to the rescue, huh?” Your ex sneers into your cheek. You shudder. 

“Put the gun down.” Aaron continues to coax, and out the corner of your eye you can see Morgan approaching through the darkness. 

“Why do you want to save this slut? Don’t tell me you’ve already -” A shot rings out into the fair followed by a scream of pain.

Your ex collapses to the ground, cradling the gunshot wound in his knee as blood spills through his fingers. Aaron was the one that pulled the trigger and Morgan is already in the kitchen by the time he’s tugging you away and into his arms.

“Oh God.” You finally cried. “You came, you came…” His arms are wound tightly around you, purposefully tucking your face into his chest. “I’m here, I’m here.” He shushes and rocks you side to side in order to try and lull you.

Aaron – softly – orders you to sit down while he cleans up the blood when the rest of the team has already left.

You can’t help but watch him from where you’re sitting on the couch with his sleeves of his white button up rolled up and his hands gloved. “I’m sorry.” You decide to say, because you really were. “I’m sorry for everything.” There was so much more you wanted to say, but you felt your throat tighten with unshed tears.

“No, don’t apologize.” He says softly, abandoning the rag that he was using to scrub up said blood. “No Aaron you don’t understand. I put you and Jack in danger because of my bullshit and I thought that I had put it all behind me and I don’t -” 

“Stop.” It’s a bit firmer this time. “I knew exactly what I was getting myself into when I offered you to live with me and my son. Nothing that has occurred tonight has swayed my trust or opinion about you, you know that, right?”

“Right.” His hand holds your cheek and strokes the soft skin of it. “Good.”

Your eyes flicker down to his lips before peering back into his eyes, “If I asked you to kiss me, would you?”

“I’m not sure.”

“I promise this isn’t like a trauma bond thing. I’ve liked you for as long as I’ve worked for you and I didn’t want to tell you because I have nowhere else to go if you say no. Plus,” You sigh, “I just don’t want to make things difficult or uncomfortable for you.”

“You could never do that, feelings reciprocated or not.” He reassures.

“Well are they?”

He grins at your question, “I’d be an idiot not to feel the same way.” You laugh and he leans forward to join your lips together.

A warm feeling spreads in your gut and you knew that this is what love was supposed to feel like.

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[winstonsns]

hiii i was wondering if you could do a dally fic where the reader is a part of the gang and her and dally are super close and the gang is making plans to go to the drive in but reader doesn't wanna walk so she asks dally for a piggyback (he obviously says yes cause he's down bad for her) but anyways, he gets super cocky by saying stuff like "askin' old dal for a ride, huh?" and then the gang starts teasing them for it (this is my first req ever so sorry if it's bad lmao😣)

baby i’m yours (request)

pairings: dally x reader

summary: you are too tired to walk to the drive in, so dally carries you

warnings: cussing

authors note: i looked forward to this request so this is one of my favorites i’ve ever been asked to make! thank you so much for requesting this. i decided to change the layout a bit but does it look ok? also sorry this is kinda short💗 i hope you enjoy

word count: 0.5k

you and the gang were sitting on the couch in the curtis house, bored out of your minds. you sat next to dally, your legs laying on his lap as you stared at the ceiling.

steve then asked, “hey, you guys know about that new movie that’s comin’ out today? it’s gonna be on in ‘round an hour, i’m goin’.” soda chimed in, saying he wanted to join too. soon, the others began to voice how they wanted to see the movie too.

everyone had spoken besides you, dally noticed and looked at you, placing his hand on your calf. “you gonna go too?” he asked, looking at you up and down.

you responded, “not sure, my legs are really sore… i was walkin’ around town with my friend the whole day.”

dally began to rub your calf in a caring way, he softly suggested, “how ‘bout i carry you or somethin’? that way you can still go, yeah?”

you thought for a second before nodding your head and thanking him. you and the gang had around twenty minutes to spare before you had to start heading over to the drive in.

you continued to watch the movie you were already watching, it ending around fifteen minutes later. two-bit suggested, “should probably head over now, it’ll take around… what, ten minutes? so then we’ll be like… half an hour early? is that right?”

the gang responded in different ways, nodding and talking. all of you stood up from the couch, stretching and groaning before walking out the door. dally turned to you as you stood up, taking a moment while you cracked your back.

“get on my back.” he says, bending down slightly as you jump on his back. he walks out as you rest your cheek on his back, tired and still wanting to rest.

“needed old dal to help you, huh baby?” he asked, teasing you. as your arms are wrapped around his neck, you let go to lightly push his back, mumbling, “shut up…”

he thought for a second, smirking as the gang was looking at the two of you. he decided to tease you again, “couldn’t do it on your own, huh? and out of all people, you decided to choose me to carry you. could’ve asked anyone else…”

“maybe i should’ve asked someone else… but you’re so strong, dal. so handsome, manly…” you tease, he blushes as the gang begin to tease him too.

“god, get a room, you two! don’t have to be all lovesick all the damn time.”

“why are you guys kinda cute together…”

“dally’s got the hots for y/n!”

“man, dally probably thinks he’s her knight in shinin’ armor!”

he rolls his eyes, still walking as the both of you are blushing, “shut the fuck up, man.”

[loganlermanstanaccount]

RM! Miguel O'Hara headcanons (SFW)

(Wattpad) Series Masterlist, Main Masterlist

College roommate!Miguel O'Hara x reader

summary: In light of the most recent chapter of my college au fic, Rigor mortis; here are some headcanons I have for this version of Miguel <3 .

warnings: none, just fluff :)

a/n: trying to get out of bad writer's block with some drabbles. looking through my asks and making my way through them rn!

wc: 0.5k

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He's meant to wear reading glasses but literally never does. You see him squinting at shit all over the apartment, and it only really clicks when you catch him early in the morning (because I know he wakes up at disgusting hours in the day to be productive) and he's got a pair on.

He gives amazing gifts. I feel like he's really detail oriented so he'll take forever to choose meaningful gifts. Not even necessarily expensive; just something that shows he pays attention to conversations: like that item of clothing you loved but can’t afford, something super specific for your hobbies, a whole bunch of books you like because you just mentioned a specific author or genre you love.

Conversely, he's the kind of person that's really difficult to buy gifts for. Everything that he could possibly want, he'll just buy for himself; his interests are too niche for you to buy him tools and things; and he'd give you absolutely bs answers when you ask him straight up. You'd be like, hey, I know your birthday’s soon, what do you want; and he'll say oh, I just want you to be happy, or I have everything I need right here, baby. And you'll be like ok cool, is that yes or a no on the ipad? 

Coffee addict. Has all the expensive machines and fancy filters. He lives pretty modestly, but it is the one thing he'll really invest in. 

Similarly, will collect old tech and gadgets just to fiddle around with. He has a box of junk underneath his bed that lowkey he’s been building up since he was a kid. I feel like he was such a curious kid and all his tías and tíos would pinch his cheeks and pat his head and give him all their old junk because he shows an interest.

Sleeps like a dad on the couch. Especially after a long day. He stretches out on the sofa like a cat with his hand on bare belly and it is simultaneously super fucking funny and kind of hot??? Like you can see his happy trail and that peek of tan skin and you just knoww that v line is sharp asf.

He talks to himself. Especially after a frustrating day, and it's pretty funny to watch. He becomes so animated and will have a whole ass conversation with himself whilst chopping veg, or something. He'd wave the knife around, playing both sides of a situation. It helps him to decompress and logically reason with difficult problems. It's something he will 10000% deny if you bring it up. 

He's funny. Not necessarily laugh out loud, quippy one liners; but he has a super dry sense of humor. He's fond of a deadpan, and will often play it straight whilst saying something ridiculous. I feel like no-one usually gets when he's being sarcastic, but for some reason you do, and it makes his eyes go wide the first time. Like you catch something he says under his breath and laugh; and he's stuttering because people don't usually have the same kind of humor as him. 

long story short, he's a big ol' softie. more bark than bite :)

_

_

_

[navybrat817]

When you want to tease Bucky, you send him pics involving a peek of your underwear.

When he retaliates, he sends you a video of him devouring a peach 😂

UGH. Yes, please. I may have changed the fruit though.

Starving, Darling

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female Reader Summary: You tease Bucky and he retaliates in the best way. Word Count: Over 800 Warnings: Teasing, plum eating (bahaha), s/exy times implied, Bucky Barnes (he's a warning, okay?). A/N: Happy FriYAY, lovelies! Not beta read and written on my phone, so any and all mistakes are my own. Please follow @navybrat817-sideblog for new fics and notifications. Comments, reblogs, feedback are loved and appreciated!

It was rare for you to finish up work early on a Friday, but you had worked over the previous four days and your boss didn’t like you going over your normal hours. You weren’t going to complain when it meant you had the afternoon off. You were, however, not thrilled that Bucky didn’t play hooky with you this afternoon. Like you, he was a hard worker and you knew he had a few things to finish up before he could join you at home.

It didn’t mean you couldn’t play.

What else were you going to do to get through the afternoon?

“Sure you can’t get off early?”

The text was innocent enough. The photo beneath it of you was not. Sprawled out in the middle of the bed with your hand down your panties, you wondered if his super soldier eyes picked up just how wet you were through the fabric.

“Or should I get off by myself? Lick my fingers clean and tell you how good my pussy tastes?”

A heartbeat later, a message from Bucky popped up. God, how fast was he typing? “Don’t you fucking dare. Only one getting you off is me.”

You smirked, wondering how far you could push before there were consequences. “Don’t know, old man. Might need to break out my blue friend. This pussy isn’t going to fuck itself.”

Bucky left the message on read.

A few minutes passed and he still hadn’t responded. You frowned as you checked to see if he was typing anything. You almost apologized for the “old man” remark. He knew you didn’t mean that, right?

The ding of a new message was one of the happiest sounds you heard all day. Would he tell you off for your sass? Tease you back? Your heart raced a bit when you realized he sent you a video. Maybe whatever he had to say was too much to type out.

You recognized the break room when you clicked on the video, gasping when Bucky’s face came into view. Even though he couldn’t see you through the screen, it was like his blue eyes stared into your soul. You could make out the gray hairs on his short beard from how close he was to the device. You wished you could bite his chin.

All in good time.

“You know what a good fruit for old men is? Plums,” he said, a bit of hair falling in his face as he looked down.

…what?

“Good for bone health and improving your memory,” he went on, the rumble of his voice mesmerizing you as he looked back at the screen. “Not to mention they’re delicious. So fucking sweet.”

As Bucky brought a plum to his mouth, he kept his eyes on the device and ran his tongue along the piece of fruit. His hand dwarfed it, a subtle reminder of how big your man was. Your clit throbbed when he bumped his nose against it and gently inhaled. It was the only warning you got before he sank his teeth in to devour it.

“Oh, fuck,” you whimpered as you watched him have his fill. Juice spilled from the corner of his mouth as he growled, reminding you of how eager he got whenever he ate you out. He was relentless when it came to your taste, demanding you give him more. And you’d give it all to him. “Fuck.”

“And still doesn’t taste as sweet as you,” he said, digging his thumb into the plum as deep as it could go. “Bet your pussy’s clenching right now, wishing I was there to fill it up. Maybe I’ll make you ride my tongue before you ride my cock. Show me how good I know you are.”

“Yes, please,” you moaned, your hips shifting on the bed and wishing he was there to relieve the friction. The first time you sat on his face, you hesitated. You’d never forget how he grabbed your hips and helped guide you up and down, moaning as you coated his tongue with your release.

Champion pussy eater and best cock I’ve ever had.

He sucked the digit clean as he narrowed his eyes. “So be good ‘til I get home, keep your legs open so I can dive right in, and don’t you dare touch my cunt again before I get my mouth on it,” he ordered, his voice deep and knowing before he took one more bite. “And I expect an apology for getting me hard during a meeting when you weren’t under the table to suck me off.”

You licked your lips, wishing he was there to slide the heavy weight of his cock to the back of your throat.

“Love you, doll,” he added, licking the last drop from his lip before the video ended.

Well played, old man.

You smiled as you typed back, “Love you, too, and I'll have your dessert waiting.”

“Good because I’m starving.”

This man. Love and thanks for reading! 💙

Masterlist ⚓ Bucky Barnes Masterlist ⚓ Ko-Fi

[joelmillerisapunk]

hiii!! i’m not sure if you take requests but i LOVE your daddy joel fics!! i was wondering if you could write daddy joel overstimulating reader w a vibrator?? maybe making her squirt? love ya!! ❤️

Daddy, please!

Daddy!Joel x f!reader

Masterlist

Wordcount: 1,211

Summary: It's that time of day, the one where Joel edges you for as long as he can.

Warnings: 18+, f!oral recieving, vibrator usage, 'daddy' kink, use of good girl, etc. Light bondage,

Notes: idk how i feel about this one, but I hope someone enjoys it. This is not super beta'd or edited so please excuse. And I hope I did your request some justice, sweet nonnie. 🥰 ty @saradika-graphics for the divider

You sit on Joel's lap, your heart pounding in your chest as his fingers trace patterns along your inner thigh. His touch is electric, sending shivers down your spine.

"Daddy..." you whisper.

His free hand wraps around your naked body, as he pulls you in closer. "Yeah, baby?" he responds, his voice is deep and so, so soothing.

"I - I need..." you trail off, unsure of how to voice your want.

His hand moves higher, his fingers brushing against the damp fabric of your panties. "This?" he asks, a smirk playing on his lips.

You nod, biting your lower lip. "Yes, but... more."

He chuckles as his fingers slide under the waistband of your panties. "More, huh?" he says, pulling them partly down your legs. He helps you lay down on the bed, and with one swift move, he takes your panties off the rest of the way, leaving you completely naked. You feel exposed and vulnerable. But there's also a sense of safety and trust. You know Joel won't push you further than you can handle.

He leans in and kisses your forehead, then gets out of bed and walks over to the small table in the corner. He opens the drawer and takes out a purple vibrator. He walks back over to the bed and sits down next to you, holding the vibrator up. "You know the rules, sweet girl. You have to wait till I say so," he says.

Your eyes widen as you recognize the vibrator and what's about to happen. "Daddy..." you protest, but he silences you with a kiss, he's already been teasing and edging you all day. You don't think you can handle much stimulation.

"Shh, baby. S’okay. Do it for daddy, you're safe," he murmurs against your lips.

He presses the vibrator against your clit, and you gasp at the intensity. It's too much, too soon. But Joel doesn't relent. He keeps it there, his other hand gently caressing your thigh.

"Daddy..." you whimper, your body tensing up.

"It's okay, baby. Let daddy take care of you, make you feel good. " he coos, his voice soothing. But he doesn't let you come right away. He keeps you on the edge, his fingers deftly manipulating the vibrator in slow, deliberate circles around your clit. You're writhing beneath him, your breath coming in short, sharp gasps. You're so close, so impossibly close, but he won't let you tip over the edge.

“Please," you whimper, your voice thick with need. "Please, I can't."

He leans down, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead. "I know, I know it's hard. Just a little longer, baby. You're doin so good for me. Daddy knows what's best for his pretty little pussy. He'll make her feel real good real soon.”

His words are soothing, but they do little to quell the ache between your legs. You're desperate for any release.

"Please, Daddy," you beg, your voice breaking. "Need to - fuck."

He shakes his head, a small smile playing on his lips. "Not yet, baby.” he finally takes the vibrator off your desperate clit. “Wanna make sure you're good n’ ready. Now m’gonna kiss every inch of your body till you're beggin and writhin, till you can't take anymore. And then, I'll letcha come. Let daddy have some first baby."

You nod, your breath hitching as he pulls away.

He stands up, placing the vibrator beside you on the bed, walking over to his wardrobe. He takes out a silky soft tie and heads back over. He gently takes your hands and fastens them together with his tie. The fabric is soft against your skin. The restraint sends a thrill through you. You're completely at his mercy now.

He sits back down, his eyes meeting yours. "Ready, baby?"

You nod, your breath coming in short, sharp gasps. "Yes, please.”

He leans down, his lips brushing against your neck, then he moves down, kissing your collarbone, your breasts, your stomach, your navel. Never missing a step. He takes his time, his lips explore every single inch of your skin. He moves down, his lips brushing against your inner thigh. You gasp, your body tensing up as he moves closer to your aching core. But just as you think he's going to touch you there, he moves away. He moves up, his lips brushing against your hip bone. He's driving crazy, making love to your skin. He kisses his way up your belly, slowly moving to your breasts. Your nipples pucker into peaks at his touch, and you bite back moans of pleasure as he bites each one delicately.

Joel continues his slow and deliberate exploration of your body, his lips and tongue tracing patterns on your skin. He moves down again, his lips brushing against your hip bone before moving down to your inner thigh. This time, he doesn't move away. His lips meet your core, and you gasp at the contact. His tongue darts out, teasing your clit before he starts to explore your folds. You writhe beneath him, your breath coming in short, sharp gasps.

Suddenly, you feel Joel's mouth pull away and the vibrator replace them. Your eyes fill with tears. You feel like you're going to implode as you close your eyes.

“Look at me, pretty girl.” Joel's voice breaks through the haze of pleasure, and you open your eyes to meet his gaze. His eyes are filled with a fierce intensity, and you feel yourself getting even closer to the edge. "I've got you, baby. I'm right here with you," he murmurs, his voice soothing.

He presses the vibrator against your clit again, and you can feel yourself teetering on the brink. But Joel doesn't let up. He keeps the vibrator there, his other hand gently caressing your thigh. "Let go, baby. Let daddy make you feel good," he coaxes.

You feel yourself start to fall, your body tensing up as the pleasure washes over you. You cry out, your back arching off the bed as the orgasm crashes through you. Joel doesn't stop, he keeps the vibrator against your clit, drawing out the orgasm until you're left breathless and trembling.

Finally, he pulls the vibrator away, and you feel yourself coming down from the high. Joel leans down, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead. "Good girl," he murmurs, his voice filled with pride.

He unties your hands, and you wrap your arms around him, holding him close. You feel safe and loved in his arms.

Joel pulls back, his eyes meeting yours. "You okay, baby?"

You nod, smiling up at him. "Yeah, I'm m’good daddy,” you reply, your voice still thick with pleasure.

Joel smiles, his eyes softening. "I'm glad, sweet girl.” he says, pressing a soft kiss to your lips before untying the restraint.

As the two of you lay there, basking in the afterglow of your release, Joel wraps his arms around you, holding you close, your head resting on his chest as you listen to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. The room is filled with a comfortable silence, the only sounds being your soft breathing and the occasional whisper of the wind outside.

After a while, Joel breaks the silence. "I love you, sweet girl.”

You look up at him, your eyes meeting his. "I love you too, Daddy," you reply, your voice soft and sincere.

[angelfrombeneth]

OBLIVIOUS - L . BERKSHIRE

A MINI FIC

Lorenzo Berkshire x F!Reader

Summary: *REQUESTED* In which, Enzo and Y/N are best friends and Y/N finds out about Enzo sleeping around with many girls and questions, what exactly IS sex?

Warnings: Talks of a sexual nature, otherwise fluffy Enzo and Reader relationship.

A/N: SUPER SHORT!! Do not expect a whole fic, its a tiny conversation between friends.

Sex.

What even was the point, how did it work. Why did people want to do it so much, so badly?

You pondered about those very questions while you layed across your bed waiting for Enzo. He had promised you, you both would study for Ancient Ruins after your dinner but he seemed to had been widely occupied juggling the Ravenclaw Twins.

"Sorry- I know- an hour late! Im sorry!" Enzo barged in, pratically breaking down your door as you sat up in stick shock of the loud bang of the door pratically swinging off its hinges.

You looked at Enzo, his neck meticulously patterned with various dark purple bruises, scattered all down his jawline to his collarbone. His shirt was messily buttoned, missing a few making him look extremely disheaved.

"You look messy" You smiled, giggling as you relaxed back into the comfort of your plush pillows.

"Don't even, the twins are like leeches" He laughed as he threw his blazer on the back of the desk chair as he shut your door and jumped onto the bed beside you.

"Ah ah- Shoes!" You yelled.

The sound of him flicking off his shoes by pushing his heels together sounded the room as the pair clomped to the floor.

"What you been up to, today then?" He smiled, throwing his arm around your shoulder as you instinctively snuggled into him laughing at his actions.

"Studying, as we should be doing right now" You peered up at him.

"We can study another time, let's talk" He smiled, kissing your forehead softly.

You groaned before setting aside your textbooks and turning to look at Enzo while still snuggling into his side.

"Just studying the whole day? That's boring" He laughed as he poked at your cheek with a pencil.

"Well I like to be top of the class Enz, you know this" You shrugged, tying your hair up into a messy ponytail of sorts as you flicked your legs out from below you to lay infront. You looked at Enzo's neck again as he began to tease you for being such a teachers pet when you took the pencil he hand and poked the end into his neck.

"Whats all these bruises?" Your eye rows scrunched as you looked at him.

"They're hickies- You know what that is right-" He laughed.

"Of course I do, but why so many" You laughed.

"Twins, what can I say" He shrugged and you laughed, rolling your eyes.

"How does that even work- How does.. the whole thing even work" You flayed your hands around as you spoke.

"How does what work?" Enzo chuckled as he stopped your hands from moving about.

"You know.." You flashed your eyes, nudging at his hickies yet again.

"Hickies?" He raised a brow.

"No. You know-" You started to grow agitated, poking at his neck and flashing your eyes.

"Sex?" Enzo said.

"Yes that-"

"Why won't you say it" He laughed at you.

"I dont know.." You looked down.

"Are you a virgin?" He laughed, looking at you.

"Of course I am, you think I.. stick myself about like you Berkshire?" You liked at his body with the pencil.

"Ow- Touche" He rubbed his arm. "Its just I don't know, fun? Pleasurable? It's just a nice activity for both parties" He shrugged.

"But why?" You tilted your head.

"I guess in a sense, everyone has pleasure points they wanna scratch and sometimes they can't get that alone so the seek put others to help. It's enjoyable but it's always important to make sure everyone is comfortable with anything you do" He smiled.

You reached forward, ruffling his hair as you smiled. "I see.. I still don't want to- what if I did something wrong or embarrassed myself?"

"You just need to trust the person, don't have flings if it's not your thing. I mean- I know I'm a whore but atleast I'm safe about it unlike Mattheo. He fucks anything that walks, with or without a condom" Enzo groaned.

"Jesus Christ" You laughed.

"You know, I can always show you" He placed a hand on your thigh, smirking as he winked at you.

"Ugh- Absolutely not" You laughed as you swatted him away. "Begone you- sex devil!" You threw your pencil at him as he laughed.

-

A/N: Sorry it wasn't long, I just didn't really see smut for this and it was kinda just a super short mini fic of Enzo and Y/N's relationship. I didn't want to romanticise it I guess? Hope you enjoyed.

If you enjoyed this fic and want to buy me a coffee, you can do so here!

[naughtyneganjdm]

Turn That Frown Upside Down

Summary: Billy is at home having a hard time dealing with his visions of Kessler. After trying to determine why Joe Kessler is the man that his brain conjured up, Joe reminds Billy why he's certain Billy chose him.

Characters: Billy Butcher, Joe Kessler & Hughie Campbell

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/57520939

Warnings: 18+, Swearing, Smut, Slash, Mocking, Dubious Consent, Butcher banging his imaginary best friend, etc.

Notes: This is a short little smutty slash fic that was inspired by this tumblr post made by @shirley-girly. Plus, I'd like to see Joe Kessler & Billy Butcher f*ck. I'm not gonna lie. Enjoy.

“You can’t ignore me forever you know,” Joe’s voice echoed in the back of Butcher’s mind again causing Billy to groan out in frustration. “You can’t get rid of me. Not with all that fun little super cancer growing inside of you. I’m here and I’m here to stay.”

“Ignoring ya has worked so far you cunt,” Billy pinched at the bridge of his nose, scoffing as he sank further into his couch, his thighs separating when he let out a frustrated breath. There wasn’t an escape from this because Joe was always there. Always mocking him whether he wanted him there or not.

“Aw, you’re being mean to me,” Joe spoke in a condescending manner as he dropped down on the couch beside Billy, his eyebrows bouncing up in amusement. “There’s the Butcher I know and love. The bastard of the man I always knew.”

“You’re not even real,” Billy blurt out as a reminder to his vision of his friend that he had lost back in the war. Maybe it wasn’t even a reminder to Kessler as much as it was a reminder to himself. The excitement of seeing Joe Kessler was something that had brought him some of the greatest happiness he had experienced in a while. Finding out he wasn’t real? Well that was an unfortunate event. Knowing that Kessler was part of him and the darkest parts of him was worse.

“I’m as real as you are motherfucker,” Joe reached out to curl his arm around Billy’s shoulders causing him to scoff. It was strange how he could still feel the touch and presence of Joe. It felt like Joe was really there even though Billy knew he wasn’t. “I’m as real as that cancer inside of your head.”

“Fuck off you wanker,” Billy snapped when Joe poked at his temple and he swatted Joe’s hand away. It had Joe snorting, his deep rumble of a laugh drawing chills down Billy’s spine.

“You say that now, but you don’t want me to leave,” Joe suggested, sliding down in a similar position to the way that Billy was sitting on the couch beside him. A long sigh fell from Joe’s lips when he wiggled his legs back and forth. “You want me here. You know that.”

“Oi, when I say fuck off, I mean fuck off,” Billy insisted, throwing his hand up again to give Joe the middle finger. It had Joe’s nose wrinkling in amusement before he shook his head.

“See, you say one thing, but your brain thinks another,” Joe lifted his hand to point at his own head, tapping at the temple. Unhurriedly, Billy tipped his head to the side to glance over Joe. “You keep forgetting that I am you. I’m a part of you. You don’t want me to go. You want me here because you miss me.”

“You’re a cunt, Kessler. You’re not even fucking real,” Billy retorted stressing once more what he knew to be the truth. “I don’t even know why my brain picked you. Of all the people in the world. It could have been Lenny. It could have been me dad. Instead, it was fucking you.”

“You know why it’s me,” Joe suggested which had Billy shifting on the couch, his eyes narrowing when Joe’s dimples became more prominent. “You may have left me there to die, but we both know how you felt about me…”

“I…” Billy paused, a lump growing in his throat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes you do,” Joe grunted, reaching up to loosen the tie around his throat. A wince fell from his throat when he adjusted his positioning on the couch again. “You focus pretty heavy on that waitress you fucked, but you were still with Becca when you did the things you did with me.”

“Shut up,” Billy sneered, his eyes narrowing at Joe from where he was smirking beside him. “Nothing happened.”

“Oh, right. Sure. Nothing happened,” Joe mocked Billy, his head nodding about before a big, wolfish smile expanded out over his features. “Is that what you try to tell yourself at night to feel better about leaving me to die or is that something you’ve truly tried to make yourself believe? Because fuck, I sure as hell have a different memory.”

“I don’t get why I’m even bothering talking to you,” Billy tried to force himself to look away from Joe who turned on the couch to keep his stare locked on Billy. Joe’s hand outstretched to lay across the back of the couch behind Billy. It had Billy’s breathing growing louder with how Joe was locked on him as if expecting him to act a certain way. “Fuck off Kessler.”

“Maybe I can help you remember,” Joe’s voice was quiet and it had Billy sucking in a sharp breath of air. “I’ll go with the first time. Maybe that will fucking help you stir some shit up in your brain. It was late at night. We were alone in the tent. Drinking. Drinking a lot…”

“Stop,” Billy demanded, his voice raising with every muscle in his body tensing up.

“I remember distinctly you talking about missing the touch of someone. How you’d wake up with your cock hard every morning. How much you missed fucking,” Joe continued and in that moment it had a breath catching in Billy’s throat when he felt Joe’s hand lowering in over his thigh. “We started swapping stories, when…”

Billy’s eyes came to a tight close when he felt the warmth of Joe’s breath lingering at the side of his face. A tremoring exhale escape his throat when Joe started kissing at his jawline toward his neck. It had Billy’s lips parting, his Adam’s apple bouncing in his throat. The sensation had Billy’s heart kickstarting in his chest and it felt like the room was spinning. Leisurely, Joe’s hand slid up further until Joe reached between Billy’s thighs cupping him firmly. Tipping his head back gave Joe room to start nipping at his flesh. The rough sensation of Joe caressing over his length had Billy holding back making a sound.

“Stop,” Billy screamed, shoving Joe back hearing his laugh fill the air when Billy knocked him away. “Enough.”

“You were uncomfortable then too. But I saw it. I saw it in the way you looked at me. The way you would watch me when we’d fucking shower. Stealing glances at my fucking dick every chance you got. Asking me to pull it out so we would have our dick measuring contests,” Joe hissed, moving forward again to grab a firm hold of Billy’s face to get him to lock in on him. “The way you followed me around like a lost fucking puppy dog, listening and doing everything I told you. You may pretend with others, but with me you couldn’t hide that fucking part of you. No, you couldn’t.”

“It was a mistake,” Billy winced surprised with the pain he actually felt from Joe’s grasp on his face.

“A mistake happens once. Not multiple times,” Joe claimed, his eyebrows furrowing when his lips pressed in closer to Billy’s. Sliding in closer to Billy, Joe’s fingers pulled apart Billy’s belt in a swift movement. Next was forcing open the button of Billy’s pants and then Joe’s rough fingertips tugged at the zipper. Instead of fighting him, Billy’s hips arched up when Joe’s fingers sank beneath the material of his pants. Once the strength of Joe’s fingers curled around his cock, Billy groaned out and closed his eyes. “Any chance we were alone, you were always crawling in beside me wanting me to play with your dick while you played with mine.”

“This isn’t real,” Billy tried to remind himself with a slur, his moan filling the air with Joe jerking him off. Grunting, Billy felt Joe releasing his face to help get the material of his pants to the bottom of his waist allowing Billy’s hard cock to bounce free from the prison it was behind.

“Tell that to your rigid fucking cock,” Joe teased Billy, hovering his lips over Billy’s. When Joe’s lips came crashing down over his, Billy didn’t fight him. In fact, he kissed him back. Hungrily. Wanting the sensation that it brought forth. Joe wasn’t gentle in the way he was stroking Billy’s manhood. Yet it had Billy thrusting his hips up toward the movements. “It’s just like it was then. You being a little bitch, yet inside your pants you couldn’t hide your erection. Thrusting your hips up into my grasp like the thirsty little fuck that you are.”

A deep rumble of a moan escape his lips when he felt Joe biting at his bottom lip, giving it a firm tug. It was rough and after Joe did it, Billy was certain he tasted his blood in his mouth afterward, “This was always how it started off. Drinking, getting close, being bitchy and it would lead to my hand down your pants and yours down mine. Jerking each other off. And once we came you’d run off at first. Until you started wanting more. There was always that curious side to you Butcher. The one that wondered what things felt like. You were such an alpha male that you needed to have that power taken away sometimes.”

“Don’t,” Billy whined when Joe started kissing down over the side of his neck. There had been so much pain lately from the way that he was feeling that the pleasure from the hand job was welcomed. Yet, he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear this. To think about this.

“I promised you then that I wouldn’t tell anyone how you liked sucking my cock and having me do the same for you,” Joe grumbled, his nose nudging slightly at Billy’s jawline. Grasping tightly to Billy’s neck with his free hand, Joe forced Billy to tip his head back and bit at Billy’s neck having him wincing out. “Or how you would crawl into my cot sometimes to ride my cock.”

“No,” Billy tried to reach for Joe’s wrist to get him to stop.

“No? No to what Butcher? I’m part of you. And the real Joe would know the truth too,” Joe’s face scrunched up. A grunt fell from Butcher when he felt Joe tugging at his leg getting him to slide down onto the couch. Growling out, Butcher felt the strength of Joe turning him over onto his stomach. Pulling him up onto his knees. It had Butcher’s face pressing into the couch cushion when he felt the material of his pants being tugged down his thighs. “Come on Butcher. Let’s turn that frown upside down.”

“This isn’t happening,” Billy’s eyes slammed shut when he heard the sound of Joe’s belt being pulled open. There was shifting behind him, a weight change on the couch bringing him in closer to the warmth that was pressed against his bottom. Lazily opening his eyes, Billy watched Joe’s hand outstretch to reach for the drawer in the coffee table. Pushing things around had items falling to the floor before Joe grabbed a small bottle. A moment later, there was a pressure at the back of Billy’s head pushing him further into the couch. “This isn’t real.”

“Tell yourself whatever you have to make yourself feel better,” Joe’s voice rumbled from behind him with the slick sensation of the lube that had been grabbed pouring over his ass. It had Billy’s forehead clenching, his lip sucking into his mouth. “But notice you ain’t running from the idea Billy. You know just as much as I do why I was the person you conjured up.”

“Fuck,” Billy arched forward when he felt fingers prodding at his ass. It had him wincing out when he felt one finger being pushed inside of him before another working to open him up. It had been a while since he felt something like this, but he wasn’t rushing away from the idea of it. Joe wasn’t wrong. That was a part of him that he tried to push away for so long and hide. At first, Billy’s fingers dug into the material of the couch, wincing with the way that Joe’s fingers thrust inside of him. He was fighting just how much he truly wanted this. How much he needed to feel this.

“You were always my little bitch Billy,” Joe growled out, pulling his fingers from Billy’s body. There was another pop of the lid from the bottle that Joe grabbed before he was throwing it on the coffee table again. “And you loved every second of it.”

“Bloody hell,” Billy felt the fingers digging at his flesh pulling him back. Wincing out, there was a pressure at his tight hole with Joe lining himself up with Billy’s body. Groaning, Billy’s eyes squeezed shut when he felt the warmth of Joe’s cock pressing into him. It had him fighting to not make a noise. Joe was not one for subtle or taking time. In fact, the moment he thrust into Billy, he only gave him enough time to get used to the sensation of Joe before Joe’s hips were thrusting fast from behind. The sounds of flesh smacking filled the room and it had Billy humming out. “Kessler…”

“This is the Butcher I know,” Joe grunted from behind Billy, his hands bringing Billy firmly back against him while he fucked his former friend. “People would be so shocked to know that the Butcher they knew used to beg for me to fuck him in the middle of the night while pleading with me to let him come.”

“Shut up,” Butcher winced, his hand reaching back to squeeze at Joe’s flexing hip while the thrusts were forceful bouncing Butcher upwards. Keeping his eyes closed helped Billy focus on the pleasure of what it was drawing from him and he moaned out when he felt Joe’s left hand curling around him to wrap his fingers around Billy’s swollen cock. When Joe’s movements stopped it had Billy hissing out. “Keep going…”

“You want to come Butcher?” Joe leaned over Billy, biting at Billy’s earlobe before snickering. The warmth of Joe’s breath had chills running down Billy’s spine. “Then make yourself come. Fuck yourself on my cock like the bitch that you are.”

“I hate you,” Billy maintained with an angered sound after Joe pressed into the back of his head firmly burying it against the couch. Using the strength that he did have, Billy started rocking his hips backward taking Joe in. Then gradually pulled forward allowing him to pull out. It had a breath catching in Billy’s throat and with each movement Billy was able to make it stronger. At the same time, it had his hips bouncing forward toward Joe’s hand that was curled around his hard cock jerking him off. So he was getting stimulation both from his prostate and from fucking Joe’s hand.

“It sure looks like you don’t fucking hate me,” Joe’s moan was loud in Billy’s ear, the grasp Joe had on Billy’s hair growing tighter while Billy worked to fuck himself with Joe’s cock. “You always did love riding my cock Butcher. And you looked good doing it. Just like you do now. Sick and all…”

“Fuck…” Billy’s face grew hot, both of their breathing labored while Billy controlled the movements and the tempo that was set between them. He wanted it hard. He wanted it rough. He wanted to feel everything. There was a tightness in Billy’s testicles with his thighs tensing up. He was nearing an orgasm.

“That’s it, almost there,” Joe urged him on, his moans matching Billy’s with his fingers that were in Billy’s hair digging so tightly into his flesh that it felt like it would leave a mark. “Come on Butch…show your old friend just how much you hate him.”

Joe bit at Billy’s chin with Billy growling out when he felt the first line of his cum cover the couch beneath him. Keeping up with his movements, Billy rocked back against Joe until he reached the end of his orgasm. At the end, Joe took control pumping his hand furiously over Billy’s cock drawing him to moan out at the sensations it drew deep from within him.

“Uhm, Butcher,” another voice pulled Billy from the moment, drawing his head to turn to see that Hughie was standing at the door to his apartment holding onto the doorknob. Breathlessly glancing back over his shoulder, Butcher grumbled to himself when he saw that his vision of Joe was snickering and buckling his pants back together as he sat down. “I can come back if you’d like me to.”

“What did ya see?” Billy shakily stood up, his body weak when he pulled his pants together. Hughie’s face was red, his eyes doing their best to avoid making eye contact with Billy.

“Nothing,” Hughie stammered, waving his free hand up in the air to avoid the conversation.

“Oi, don’t be a cunt,” Billy called out, noticing that his cum was covering his hand and he reached for a tissue from the coffee table. “Tell me what you saw.”

“Well, you were on the couch…” Hughie pointed in the area of the couch, it had an amused expression over Joe’s face while he kept his hazel eyes locked on Billy. “You were humping what looked like the air while jerking off.”

“Oh,” Billy adjusted his clothing and sat down on the couch attempting to catch his breath.

Billy could have been embarrassed that Hughie found him in a fairly sexual position, but it wasn’t the worst position someone found him in so there was no reason to feel bad about it. He knew Hughie had seen worse, so it was what it was.

“Was I supposed to see something else?” Hughie stepped into the apartment, cautiously closing the door.

“Like what?” Billy cleared his throat, shrugging his shoulders when Hughie moved across the room to sit on the coffee table before him. “What are you doing?”

“Sitting,” Hughie was quick to respond, his face scrunching up in confusion.

“There is a spot next to me,” Billy looked to the couch to see that the cushions were covered in his seed. Hughie made a disgusted face when Billy snatched another tissue to clean things up. “It’s not like it’s the worst thing you’d ever had happen to ya. Sitting in a bit of cum.”

“Right…” Hughie shifted uneasily on the coffee table before Billy. Tossing the tissue at the garbage, Billy missed by a long shot and grunted. “So you like the ass thing with the fingers. Annie has been trying to get me into the pegging thing. Started with one finger, worked her way to two, but…”

“I don’t need to hear about starlight fingering your asshole,” Billy was disgusted, scoffing out and waving his hand in the air.

“I just figured since you like ass play maybe you could give me some tips,” Hughie rambled when Billy groaned and got up from the couch. “You were using your fingers there and…”

“The boy has no idea how much you like ass play,” Joe snickered from behind Billy and it had Billy tensing up. “How do you think he would feel to know that you like being fucked in the ass by your imaginary fucking friend.”

“Shut up you wanker,” Billy retorted hearing Joe snort when Hughie went pale. Realizing that Hughie thought he was talking to him, Billy threw his hand up in the air and tried to think quickly of something. “If you like it. Do it. If you don’t. Don’t. It’s not that hard. It’s just a few fingers in your ass. How hard can it be?”

“Smooth,” Joe joked, stretching his legs out from where he was seated on the couch. There was a sense of arrogance flooding over his features and Billy realized there was no getting rid of this part of him. But Joe was right, he wasn’t sure he wanted him to go. After what just happened, Billy knew there was a part of him that he would have to start embracing and accepting. It didn’t mean he would tell anyone about it. He was fucking nuts after all. But there was a reason he picked Joe. As fucked up as it was, the answer was always right there for him to see.

[pjmparadise]

3:23 am (don’t go, stay) Pt 1 || JJK

Pairing: jungkook x f! original character

Word count: 12.1k

Genre(s): fluff, romance, strangers to lovers, slight angst if you squint; neighbor au, pre-debut Jungkook au, pre-debut au, comic book artist Jungkook au, apartment au, neighbor au

Warnings: cursing, mentions of jungkook’s penis (yeah yeah... he sleeps naked ofc), brief injury (jk hurts himself bc he’s a dork); descriptions of anxiety and fear (jungkook is scared for a sec, oops); nudity mentions, jungkook is a little horny (what can I say....), jungkook gets a hard on lol; he’s also down bad pathetic crushing and is super clumsy, and brief mentions of home robberies (lol this feels random, but it isn’t I swear), very heavily dialogue based

Audience: 18+ (minors, DNI!)

Summary: Jungkook has had a couple of awkward run-ins with his pretty upstairs neighbor, who he may or may not be secretly pining over, and one night, she pays him an unexpected visit.

“My patio, though. Did you fall? I heard a thud.”

“Are you flirting with me? I’ve heard that pickup line before, but yours sounds a little different.”

He smiles. “I wouldn’t use pickup lines like those with you.”

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⋆✦⋆ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

A/N: WOOO! my first jungkook fic!! We recently got his birth time, and thus this title was born lol! I’ve been working on this baby for a few months now, and it’s finally finished!! After a long time of contemplating, i decided to make our female character an original character, and i know it’s kind of a rare thing in the community, but i felt it worked best with my story. It’s been a bumpy ride with this one since it’s my first lengthy fic (over 12k words... sheesh!) that will be a part of a short series. I’m very excited and a little nervous, but if you’re here, I’m glad to have you here. Thank you for giving my work a shot <3 (ps. italics indicate jungkook’s inner thoughts as well as flashbacks)

a big thank you to my lovely beta’s: @cherrysoulth @the-boy-meets-evil​ and @jeonjcngkook​ you’ve all helped me shape my fic and have been so helpful, and I am so so grateful. truly. seriously. thank you for brainstorming with me, for reading my work, and for being so sweet and so supportive.

a special thank you to @itaeewon​ for the lovely banner! I love it so so much &lt;3

Jungkook is awake to hear the sound of a muffled thud nearby.

His bedroom is dark and silent save for the alarm clock resting on a bedside table flashing bright red numbers at him. ‘It’s late, it’s late, you should be asleep,’ the time says. Jungkook shuts his eyes, groaning and rubbing a hand over his face. “I know, fuck, I know,” he mutters. He’s fully naked, lying on his back, eyes wide open and boring into the ceiling, blanket kicked off to the side, and arms folded behind his neck–still remembering a phone conversation with Namjoon earlier in the day.

“So she walked toward the elevator as it closed, and you didn’t open it for her?” Namjoon scoffs over the phone, shaking his head and clicking his tongue to show he’s disappointed. He knows Jungkook froze, Jungkook already told him he wanted to reach out and push the button for her, but Namjoon asked again anyway—he likes to give him a hard time. “Every time you see this girl, things just kind of go wrong. I’ve noticed.”

“Yeah,” Jungkook says with a sigh. “I’ve noticed too. Is it a sign? Should I give up?” In his apartment, he sat curled up on his couch, his chin on his kneecaps. He’s fallen silent in thought.

“No, nothing like that. Maybe she didn’t get to see it was you, so she thinks it was someone else, or maybe she doesn't even think about it anymore. You know, like things that happen in your day you forget about later unless something reminds you of it?”

“Yes!” Jungkook relaxed, falling back against the couch with a hand over his forehead. “That probably is what’s going on. She went on with her day; other things have to happen, right?”

Namjoon was quiet. In his apartment, he was opening mail and reading over a proposal he was meant to sign soon. A project he hasn’t mentioned to anyone else, Namjoon folds the letter and sets it aside. “Sorry, yes. Yes, don’t worry too much. It will ruin your day. I mean that. Sorry for the pause. I just opened some mail.”

“Ah, okay. Well, you’re right.” Jungkook rose from his seat then. “Namjoon-hyung?”

Namjoon nodded even though he couldn’t be seen. “Yeah?”

“Thank you. I don’t know if I say that enough, but you’re always helping and guiding me when I don’t even realize I need it.”

“Thank you, Jungkook. Finish your comic tonight, and submit it tomorrow. I know you’ll place in the contest and do well. You haven’t scrapped it have you?”

Jungkook sighed. Rubbing his eyelids, walking distractedly around his living room, he spoke with his eyes closed. “I have it. I finished it; I just don’t feel too good about posting it, even with the pseudonym; it feels like too much. Too much with what we already have going on as a group even. We’re trying to do something together, and the comic stuff is just… I don’t know. I don’t want it to distract me.”

Namjoon was on his back patio, leaning over the railing and looking out at the park across from him. “Jungkook, I’m going to tell you something and think about it however you want to. I respect your life, but I think—and these are just my opinions. I think you doubt yourself too often and need to take some chances. Luck turns out; it does.” Namjoon folds his arms over the railing, leaning his body against it. “No rush, bro. At all. The music we’re trying to pursue, it’s not going anywhere, you know?”

Jungkook nodded from his living room.

“Like, okay, look.” Namjoon fixed his gaze on a flock of birds rising from the trees. “The guys, we all have our passions. Yoongi with his piano, Jimin is passionate about his dancing, Taehyung with his instruments, Jin and his gaming, and Hoseok he’s been designing his own clothes lately; with me, you know I like poetry and painting, but we all share music. That is for the team, for a part of us, but we each have so many parts. You like art and storytelling; your comics are so cool, bro. You love watching Taehyung practice the trumpet, and Jimin dance after practice. We like to see you pursue your other dreams too.  Pursue it, and don't worry about the group, is all I ask.”

Jungkook almost cried. He stopped pacing. His heart was racing; it was all he had heard momentarily. If Namjoon were there in front of him, he’d hug him. Maybe he’d even cry. “Ah, Namjoon-hyung…” he swallowed hard at the saliva in his throat, blushing. ‘Namjoon always knows what to say,’ he thought. “I will think about it. I will set an alarm, just in case. I’ll decide in the morning, you know it’s my style to do that the day of. If I think about it now, it will be like this all day, and I’ll stress too much.”

“Good, then. Just think about it.” Namjoon smiled.

Jungkook lies motionless with his eyes shut, eyebrows furrowed in concentration, mouthing along to Namjoon’s words. “We like to see you pursue your other dreams too.  Pursue it, and don't worry about the group, is all I ask.” He sighs. How could he not worry about the guys? He’s twenty-five. Most idols start out much younger, and the mandatory enlistment is already so near for his hyungs. It’s bad timing, is all. My comic book can wait.

He wants to sleep, so he turns over, laying flat on his stomach, facing his wall. Resting his full body weight on his flaccid penis is slightly uncomfortable, but he ignores it. It’s the type of restless night that he has no chance up against, and even with his eyes closed, he feels painfully awake. Jungkook is thinking of her again—her pretty smile, the pink sundress she wore in the elevator, her ability to look him in the eyes and not shy away—and it’s almost like she's here, in the same room with him. He pictures the sundress again, the way it clung to her frame, highlighting every curve. Man, I want her. He shifts his hips around, surprising himself with a massive erection.

The thud strikes again suddenly, and he sits up, alarmed. Shit, is that here? Like outside my apartment? Jungkook squints in the darkness, bringing a hand to the nightstand to fetch his glasses. Any sign of arousal is now extinguished.

“Bam?” He calls out in a sluggish voice.  The clock beside him flashes bright red numbers at him. 3:23. “Ah, shit,” Jungkook mumbles, turning the clock away. A sound he can’t distinguish comes from his left, directly outside his bedroom. “It’s like home alone,” he says to no one.

Jungkook rests his head against the wall, the texture cold against his feverish face. He can hear the sound of a muffled conversation. “Shit, that’s right here, right outside,” he mumbles, stepping back. He reaches over mechanically to switch on the lamp beside him.

Now, Jungkook is painfully aware of his nakedness and frenetically searches for bottoms to change into. He’s thinking about how his legs don’t feel like his own as he walks to the chair by the door, where he sees basketball shorts. It’s like sleepwalking. Even though he’s awake, Jungkook feels as though he might’ve actually fallen asleep, and this is some strange anxiety dream he’s creating to cope with his qualms about submitting his comic. Still, he goes along with it, quietly changing into the shorts, walking out into his living room, and ducking his head when he passes the glass patio door.

Cursing under his breath, annoyed at himself for forgetting to throw on a shirt, Jungkook shakes his head at himself. I don't want to fight an intruder shirtless and commando in basketball shorts, damn... A part of him feels a rush of adrenaline as he crouches behind a potted plant and, chewing on his lower lip, fantasizes about a robbery gone wrong, one where he puts his boxing skills to the test—the other part of him wants this to be a dream, a sign from the universe that he ought to submit his comic. I’ll fucking do it if I survive this.

Jungkook stays like that for a while until he hears a sound again. Rising from his crouched position, he walks toward the back patio window, pulling back the curtain to peer out. He feels a tightness in his chest, and his hands tremble slightly. A shameful part of him is relieved that he’s alone and no one is around to see how shaken up he is.

He whistles quietly, calling to Bam, forgetting his brother is watching over him tonight. Craning his neck, he glances around his balcony patio and sees nothing. “Bam, come here,” his whispering is frantic. He whistles again, patting his leg lightly. Nothing. You���re okay. It’s nothing. It’s probably the cats again tipping over the plants. Just fix it tomorrow. Now, go back to bed. You need it. Jungkook is about to whistle once more when he remembers. His eyebrows knit together; shaking his head, he places his fingertips on his eyelids, murmuring a lamented, “Ah.”

Thinking better of it, he draws the curtain back again and sighs with relief before taking note of a figure crouched behind a chair with a hand shooting up to rub their head. Panic washes over him. His inner monologue consists of a string of every curse word he can think of as he ducks out of view. Fuck, fuck, fuck, that’s a person. If he’d been scared earlier, now he’s downright petrified.

Desperate, he begins to look around the room for a weapon. Anything. Jungkook stands still, breathing in heavy gulps of air, cradling his head as he adjusts his vision to the darkness of the living room. ‘Can’t even turn a fucking light on,’ he thinks as he drops to the ground and crawls around his living room. His home’s silence unsettles him. Jungkook can hear the nothingness aside from his ragged breathing, so he pinches the skin on his arm and hisses at the sharp pain. Okay, real life it is. His bare knees skid against the hard flooring, and his clammy palms slip beneath him; his heart is thudding hard and fast, the blood pooling between his ears. He’s scowling, chewing his lower lip, his chest heaving as he fumbles a hand under the couch; he fingers a cold object and remembers what it is. Aha! He comes up with a golf club Taehyung left behind a few nights ago. I love you, Taehyung!

Jungkook grips the golf club until his knuckles take on a pale color. Having a weapon gives him a newfound sense of security, and like before, he’s fantasizing about kicking someone’s ass. “You come to my house at three in the morning? My house?” he says as he walks through his living room, rolling his shoulders.

He draws the curtain again, allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness; he sees the figure facing away from him and hunching over, a phone glowing against their face. He can call the police, and he almost wants to, but to avoid the drama of a police visit at three in the morning, he decides against it. Imagine the guys find out I called the police? He shudders at the thought. The stranger looks small anyway.

Jungkook reaches for the doorknob and pulls back the door. It’s a lot chillier than he’d anticipated. He folds his arms over his bare chest instantly, the skin covered in goosebumps—his teeth chatter of their own accord.

“Don't move!” He raises the golf club in a mid-swing position, ready to strike. The person shifts around, holding up the hand with the phone. “I said, ‘Don’t move’!” He sounds ridiculous, but he doesn't care. In the shadows, he watches the phone’s glow shut off. “I called the police, so don’t try anything. They’re on the way.” His voice doesn't even sound like his own. He takes a few steps toward the stranger, his grip tightening around the golf club. His heart feels heavy in his chest.

It’s hard to make out the features of this person, but they rise, walk toward the dim light spilling from the neighbor’s window, and he can see them now. The stranger looks straight at him, and he’s met with wide eyes staring at him. She’s standing, squinting at him with a hand on her hip, and she smiles wide. Damn! If this were an animation, she’d have a halo effect.

Jungkook has seen her a total of seven times—he can’t help it; he likes to keep track of these things. It’s his upstairs neighbor, their interactions before tonight being brief and in passing (the most recent engraved in his mind and tormenting him), and he’s thought of her tirelessly and has fantasized about a time they should meet, and things go well for a change.

Jungkook doesn't know her name, but he could recognize those beautiful dark eyes anywhere. He’s looking into them now, his body anchored, mouth turning into sawdust.

She’s talking to him; he’s just not listening. Not really. He can't grasp the reality that it’s actually her, and she’s standing on his patio, and she looks so beautiful. Should he be thinking that?

Her long black hair is in a loose ponytail, her eyebrows arch as her deep dark eyes blink at him, and her lips move. “Please tell me you didn't really call the cops,” she says, bursting through his trance.

Damn, I sounded so stupid! Jungkook blushes. He hopes she can’t tell from where she stands.

“I was trying to call my friend; I swear I was not snooping or breaking in.” She smiles, but her voice sounds worried. Her eyebrows furrow like she’s trying to read him. “Honest,” she says in a small voice as she leans on the railing and raises her hand with the cell phone for emphasis.

She’s wearing a dark gray sweatshirt twice her size and sandals with white socks, and he can’t tell if she’s wearing shorts or if the sweatshirt is all. He can feel his face reddening just from the possibility of her nakedness underneath the sweatshirt, so he decides not to focus on that.

Jungkook rubs the nape of his neck, abashed. The cold air surrounds him, and he folds his arms across his chest, remembering his exposed chest. His empty threat echoes and bounces around in his head, and he looks away from her. “I didn't call the cops, sorry. I didn't know what else to say. It’s what they say in movies.”

“You would be right anyway; this is your patio.” She laughs a little at that, and his heart rate picks up. She pushes herself away from the railing, smiling, and walks toward him with an outstretched hand. Her nail polish is glittery, and he doesn't notice, but this small detail makes him smile. “I’m Rei. I live upstairs. Maybe you’ve seen me before.” There’s a coy look on her face as she says this, and it makes him nervous.

So her name is Rei!!! Fireworks set off, exploding behind Jungkook’s wide eyes.

“Huh, maybe,” Jungkook lies. He shakes her hand slowly, his hand enveloping hers entirely, the contact sending a warm shock through his body.

“Maybe a few days ago,” she says, with a finger to her chin, like she’s thinking over something. “Oh, yes, have I seen you on the elevator?”

“The elevator?” He feigns innocence as he tongues his lip ring anxiously. “That’s strange. Every day is a blur for me.”

“For me, too,” she replies. She’s almost smirking, watching Jungkook lie. He can tell she’s caught him. “You just look sooo familiar.”

“That’s a first.” Still, he denies it.

“Maybe you just look like someone I’ve seen,” she says, looking into his eyes as if searching for something she placed there. “You have one of those faces, you know?”

Jungkook raises his eyebrows, lips parted to speak, but nothing comes out. 

Is she flirting with me or giving me a hard time? DAMN!

“I have an ordinary face?” Jungkook wonders after a moment.

“Either that or my memory is failing me,” she says, sighing and shaking her head. “Which do you think it is?”

“I don't have an ordinary face,” Jungkook says in a small voice, “I have piercings on my face.”

“That’s true…” she’s watching the ground and suddenly looks into his eyes again. She holds his stare unblinking, and then her lips pull back into a big smile showing off cute bunny teeth. Just like me. “I’ve always had a good memory; I was just kidding.”

“Oh,” Jungkook says, blushing.

He can smell her perfume when a cold breeze blows past him, carrying her real-life presence and enveloping him in it. It’s sweet and mixed with a scent of detergent he recognizes, and he’s watching how strands of her hair float beside her face. She’s so cute. Damnnnn.

“You should open the door for the ladies,” Rei says, raising an eyebrow, and stepping closer, she says, “Just harmless advice. Stranger .”

“I will consider that,” he replies, avoiding her fixed stare, attempting to ignore how she’s riled him up with a loud clearing of his throat. But his chest is on fire, his heart thudding hard against his rib cage at her closeness. “My patio, though. Did you fall? I heard a thud.”

“Are you flirting with me? I’ve heard that pickup line before, but yours sounds a little different.”

He smiles. “I wouldn’t use pickup lines like those with you.”

She laughs, and he internally swoons. If he were a cartoon, his heart would burst out of his chest in comical dramatic thuds, his pupils heart-shaped.

“I’m kidding. I know I’m giving you a hard time when I’m on your patio at three in the morning, but I can explain why I’m here,” Rei mimics Jungkook’s movements by crossing her arms across her chest, her lower lip trembling, “but can I come in? It’s cold out, and I'm in the worst attire for this weather.” She gestures vaguely at her exposed legs, and Jungkook’s stare lingers before she notices—so he responds with a nod as he gestures for her to follow him inside. “Though you might have me beat. You came out here without a shirt, damn.”

Leading the way, he blushes at her comment and gives his head a light shake. She’s so talkative! Yoongi was right about her.

With a dreamy air about him, he remembers Namjoon’s words. Except now, all he remembers is: “You need to take some chances. Luck turns out; it does.”

Inside, Jungkook excuses himself to his room to change into a shirt. He reaches for his glasses beside his bed and goes to the closet. “Shirt, shirt, shirt,” he mutters as his hands sift through empty hangers. When was the last time he did laundry? He groans. “Shirt?” he reaches to pick up a heap of white clothing in the deep corner of the closet. He brings the shirt to his nose, sniffs, and walks back into the room, raising an eyebrow and nodding with approval. His hands are shaky as he maneuvers his head through a t-shirt sleeve in a panicked rush. He yanks the shirt off again, the t-shirt now inside out and knotted up in his grip; he groans as his fingers work the fabric. What if she’s gone when I go back out there? Agh, what if I’m dreaming all of this up, and lack of sleep is finally getting to me?

Rei’s voice comes through the walls, and though this is their first official meeting, he knows she’s smiling as she calls out to him. “You okay in there?”

Smoothing out the wrinkles on the shirt, he glances at his reflection behind the bedroom door before stepping out, his chest heaving and his nostrils flaring. “I’m okay; all is OK. Sorry.” He offers her a thumbs up and a big goofy grin that makes her laugh.

“Did you go on a hike without me?” She asks from her seat on his couch. She rests her face on her palm, looking up at him as he walks past toward the kitchen.

“Hike? I just put the shirt on; it was fighting me, though.”

“No, I meant,” she shakes her head, laughing. “I meant that as a while for changing into a shirt. Bad joke, sorry.”

“Ah,” Jungkook says.

“You’re wearing glasses,” she comments, her eyes looking over his face.

“I am,” he says, glancing her way.

It looks like she wants to say something else but doesn't.

He raises his eyebrows, nodding and tonguing the inside of his cheek. It doesn't happen often, but he doesn't know what to say. He walks into the kitchen with his hands in his pockets. “Do you drink tea?” He wonders as he fills a kettle with water and sets it to boil.

Rei nods, stretching her legs before her and craning her neck back to look up at the ceiling. “Chamomile or whatever you have, I’m not picky.” She points a finger above her head, motioning for him to look. “Those are stars. Is this wallpaper? It looks pretty. Is it glow-in-the-dark?”

Jungkook is in the kitchen, his eyes watching how her finger moves in a swift motion of the length of the ceiling. He thinks about how her hand felt in his grip and wishes he’d been more present. “It’s… I don’t know, actually. It’s not a wallpaper; it’s carved into the ceiling, and yes, it glows but not like the bright green; it’s softer.” He looks at her, and she scrunches her eyebrows in confusion. “Want to see?”

She twists her body to look at him, her smile so big he can’t help but return the affection. “Yes. Show me.”

“Grab the remote beside you; turn off the lights with it.”

She clicks the lights off, and the gasp she lets out makes his heart flutter in his chest. Aside from the hard thudding in his chest, the only sounds nearby are the buzzing of the refrigerator, the ice machine rolling out handfuls of freshly carved-out cubes, and the bubbling water in the kettle. Jungkook doesn't dare disturb the quiet; he’s leaning against the kitchen table, wanting her to stay. He looks for her in the dark, his eyes finding her silhouette on the couch, his lips pulling back into a smile. She’s better than in his daydreams; she smells sweet and of detergent, and she feels like a real person just like him, so near but out of his reach. And here, in the same room as him, so close to him, Jungkook realizes she could’ve left by now but hasn’t.

“I’d love it if I had this on my ceiling,” Rei pouts, “want to trade?” She clicks the lights back on, and Jungkook blinks, slowly adjusting to the brightness.

He pretends to mull it over, humming and tonguing his cheek. He puts on his best-thinking face. “No way, but you can come over and look at the stars when it's overcast or raining outside.” He walks toward the stove, where the water boils in the kettle. With his back turned to her, he’s hiding his blushing face as he sets two cups out before him.

“I think that sounds nice,” she replies, surprising him. “So what, I walk outside sometime, see a gray sky, and come downstairs to see you? ‘Hey, neighbor, can I see the stars?’ and you say, ‘Come in, I’ve just made cocoa, would you like some?’ and I say, ‘Thank you, are you sure?’ and then you say, ‘Sure’ except I never leave because I like the stars so much and you don’t know how to tell me I should go home.”

“Oh, that’s a good conversation. Is that what you’d like me to make? I like hot cocoa,” Jungkook says, brushing the hair out of his eyes. “You think I'd want you to leave?”

“Well, if I were here all the time….” she looks at him through her lashes, and he catches her eyes and raises an eyebrow at her, a playful smirk on his lips. And she shakes her head, laughing. “Do you mean it, though?”

“About you coming to see the stars whenever you’d like?” Jungkook asks, leaning against the kitchen island. She nods at him in two slow motions of her head. “Yes, I mean it.”

“The skies are unusually gray these days, aren’t they?”

“I’ve noticed that too,” he says, opening the fridge. He grabs a box of cherries and shuts the door with his elbow. “But no rain.”

“Exactly, I told my friend Kimi; she lives with me upstairs and is almost a sister to me, except we have different parents. Well, I told her, ‘Haven't you noticed how it looks like it’s going to rain every day, but it never does?’ and she says, ‘Rei, it rains. It just happens to be when you’re asleep,’ and can you believe it? I woke up yesterday, and it was early, not like tonight, but early for me, and I looked outside my window, and there was dew sticking to the glass, and it was all sweaty when I touched the windowpane, and I realized she was right, it rained during the night, and I just missed it. Isn't that something so lame?”

“Huh,” Jungkook says, chewing on a cherry and offering the box to her. She shakes her head no and mouths a ‘Thank you’ to him. “So we’re off asleep and just missing the rain, so it always works out that we’re missing out on something during the day. It’s always like that. Kimi sees the rain, and you’re off sleeping, but you probably get to see other things I miss when I’m taking a nap and on and on.”

“That’s true. But I thought about catching it tonight. When I went to bed hours ago, I kept thinking about the rain and wondering if I stayed up, I might see it, and it wouldn’t just feel like I kept missing it and living the same gray day.”

“It’s like Santa Claus,” Jungkook says, scrunching his nose as he tongues a cherry stem in his mouth, “waiting up all night for him to show up just for you to see your dad dressed up as Santa and realize he’s been putting the presents down there for years.”

Rei laughs at this and covers her face with her hands like she’s protecting her laugh from anything sharp. “Your dad did that? For real?”

Jungkook scrunches his eyebrows and pinches his nose bridge, and with a tone of feigned affliction, he says, “Yeah, he did. I knew the truth before a lot of my classmates.”

“How old were you? When he ruined Santa Claus. Do you remember a thing like that, like how old you were?” She rests her chin on her palm like she’s weighing her head. He thinks she looks cute like that but doesn’t say anything.

“I don't know exactly, but I was in the third year of school,” Jungkook says, suddenly thinking back on his infancy. He chews his lower lip when the answer suddenly comes to him, and he remembers the conversation he had with the guys a while back. They’d all taunted Seokjin when they found out Seokjin didn't know the truth about Santa until he was thirteen. “I was seven. I can't believe I remembered that. I was seven….” His mouth hangs open, and he remembers what he wore when he first saw his dad hunched over behind the tree with a gift in hand— a white flannel pajama set and his mother’s slippers. Where has this memory been hiding?  “Damn.”

“I was six,” she says, smiling. “My childhood was ruined a year before yours. Or wait, are we the same age? I just assumed we were.” She laughs again, bringing a hand up to her face to hide her smile.

“I assumed the same thing,” Jungkook admits, feeling his cheeks redden. “I’m twenty-five.”

“Oh wow,” she says, almost to herself. “Me too.”

He doesn't know what else to do but clear his throat and nod.  He never imagined getting this far (whatever that means). He’ll struggle to explain this later when Namjoon asks—Jungkook knows he’ll ask.

The kettle begins to whistle, and he’s reaching for the two coffee mugs as she says something behind him he doesn't catch. And he turns his head over his shoulder and nods at her. “What happened? Sorry, I didn't catch that.”

“I said, ‘You don't have to do that for me.’” She turns her head away as she says this, her long hair cascading along her profile, hiding her.

“I have a visitor,” he says, turning over to look at her with a grin. “I have good manners.”

“Oh, sure, manners,” she replies, rolling her eyes at him like a friend he’s known for years. “Is that my tea? It smells amazing.”

“It is, but it’s hot, so let’s leave it here.” Jungkook offers her a tight-lipped smile, shyly making his way toward her. “Mind if I sit next to you?”

“No, not at all; come, sit.” She pats the spot beside her and scoots over to make room for him. “Thank you for the tea and for letting me in. I know it’s late.”

Jungkook glances at the clock on the kitchen stove. 3:55. “It’s not that late. I was awake anyway, so I didn’t mind.” He’s toying with his lip ring again. “Why were you out there anyway?”

It’s been some time since Jungkook’s been this close to a girl. He feels his heart thudding away in his chest, her presence stirring up a desire that’s been dormant. Loose strands of hair frame her face, and his eyes follow her movements as she brushes the strands away. She looks embarrassed, her cheeks reddening. Still, he finds her so cute. “Truth?”

“Yes.” He scrunches his nose when he smiles at her.

“I locked myself out of my apartment. Before bed, I stepped out into my patio for a smoke and to read more of my book. I was also trying to test my rain suspicions to see if I could catch it while it happened. So, I’m out there romanticizing my life, pretending I’m in a movie; you know how we act when we’re alone and suddenly want to be poetic?” She looks at Jungkook, and he nods lightly. “That was me, except I got cold right away and said, ‘Oh fuck this, I’m going to bed,’ and that’s when I realized I’d locked the back door, and I was so mad I almost cried.” She places her fingertips against her forehead, continuing her recounting. “So, of course, I get the idea of calling a locksmith, but they’re closed; I don’t know what people should do if they need help during the night.”

“Most people sleep, I think.”

She clicks her tongue. “Right, some people do, but you and I are not those people, right?” She draws an imaginary line with her forefinger from her chest toward him. He nods and feigns oblivious as his leg brushes against her bare thigh as she shifts in her seat. “So, not only is every locksmith not available, but my service is horrible, so I am standing on my tiptoes trying to get a bar, and my phone slips. My heart almost burst.” She brings a hand to her chest for visual effect, and his eyes watch her chest as it rises and falls with each breath. He’s smiling at her—a wide smile that hurts his cheeks. “If it weren’t for your patio, my phone would be shattered to hell on the ground. I look over my balcony, and for the first time, I notice how close our balconies are.” Rei presses her hands over her thighs, leaning forward in her seat and fixing her eyes on the glass patio door across from her. “I mean, I’m sure you’ve noticed, but I don’t go out there much. Anyway, I’m rambling. I noticed I could jump directly into your patio because there’s a mattress out there, and well….” She makes a motion with her hands that says: ‘ Ya know?’

“You weren’t scared of jumping? The balconies are close, but we’re still six stories up.” Jungkook rests his hands on his knees, fully invested in this story; his eyes never leave her. She forms a tight line with her lips and gives him a serious look that makes him laugh. “Ok, so you were scared.”

“I was scared! But there’s a mattress out there, you know,” she says in a small voice. She’s blushing and scratching at the side of her nose to avoid his eyes.

Jungkook notices this and clicks his tongue, leaning back in his seat.  “So it was not an accident, then?” He raises an eyebrow at her, sucking his teeth in feigned disapproval.

The truth is, he’s not mad about it; he wants her here. He almost feels like he is in a dream.

“Not entirely. Don’t ask me how I thought about returning to my place after retrieving my phone because I didn’t think that far ahead.”

“Oh, there’s a mattress out there. You could’ve just slept there; no big deal,” Jungkook says with a laugh. Rei brings a hand to her face to hide behind, making a groaning sound. “I’m sorry; I don’t mean to laugh at you. I just don't know what to think— this has never happened before.”

“And it won’t happen again; let’s hope.” She laughs, and it’s different from before; it sounds deeper like she reached into herself and decided to really show him. And Jungkook likes the sound of her laugh but does not comment. She moves a few strands of hair from her face and rests her cheek on her hand, leaning on the couch's armrest. It’s slowly dawning on Jungkook how badly he wants her. What am I supposed to do with her this close to me? Damn. “So, what’s your name? You didn’t say when I told you mine.”

He rises from the couch, remembering their tea.

“Jeon Jungkook,” he says as he pours the tea, “I guess I forgot to introduce myself. Huh.”

Rei’s looking at him with her chin in her hand and a serious look on her face as he’s walking toward her with an outstretched hand in offering. “It’s chamomile,” Jungkook announces.

“Jeon Jungkook,” She repeats with a light smile. “I like it. I don’t know any other Jungkooks.”

“Yeah? I’ve had this name for a long time. I like it too.”

She takes the cup and brings it to her face, inhaling the scent and shivering, and says, “Thank you again. This tea smells sweet. It reminds me of this tea my grandmother used to make my sister and me when we were kids. She would put a little bit of honey, the real kind, and peppermint leaves; it was….” She sighs longingly. “I miss that tea; this smells like home.”

Sitting beside her, he takes a sip of tea, his gaze on her unmoving. Her lips part as she blows gently, the steam rising from the cup in lazy strokes. Jungkook’s heartbeat quickens when she matches his stare with her deep dark eyes that seem to look for something in his.

“This tea has honey, but I doubt it’s the real kind you mentioned, but I still think it’s good.” He clears his throat, looking away as he adjusts his glasses on his nose bridge.

“I like your glasses. I wanted to say that earlier,” Rei comments, taking a sip of her tea, “I don't know why I didn't say anything.” She moves around in her seat, tucking her legs beneath her, then asks, “Can I wear them? Are they prescription?”

“They’re just reading glasses. You can wear them. I put them on sometimes just because they suit me,” he pulls his glasses off, wipes the lenses on his shirt, and hands them over.

“Ah, so you like how they look on you,” she says, her eyes gleaming as she takes the glasses from him and sets them on her face. “How do they look?”

If he were a cartoon character from one of his comics, he’d have melted into a puddle, exploded like dynamite, turned into stardust, and returned to his original self. Except, she’s a real person just like he is, flesh and blood and so beautiful, and he’s off in space being reborn.

“Look at me,” he motions for her to turn his way. She looks straight at him, wearing his glasses and blushing at his attention. She begins to unfold in front of him, her playful demeanor softening. “You look pretty. If they weren't my prescription, I would give them to you.”

“Here, they’re hurting my eyes,” she says, laughing. She removes the glasses and starts rubbing her eyes with closed fists. “You’re sweet, though. I couldn't take a guy’s glasses. How will he go on drinking his tea and letting me in to watch the stars?”

Jungkook feels a warmth spread in his chest. God, how is she real? He runs his fingers through his long hair and coughs once, then again. His nerves are getting to him. She’s too close to him, her bare thigh soft against his leg. He begins to count backward in his head.

“Were you really awake already, or did I wake you?” She asks him all of a sudden. Her eyes stay on him as if waiting for him to say something else.

“You don’t believe me? I was awake. Swear.” He raises his free hand at his side.

She appears to mull that over for a bit, bringing her cup of tea to her lips but not taking a sip. “What were you doing?”

Jungkook is silent, and she sits unmoving until he speaks.

What was I doing? Besides dreading another deadline? Thinking about a comic I might not submit or thinking about not having a shot in hell with a girl like you? Images of the times they’ve run into each other flick by in his head like a slow PowerPoint slide. The registration office, desolate stairwells, crowded evacuations, elevators closing, Rei standing in front of him in a summer dress with a strange look on her face; Rei on his back patio, hunched over with a phone near her face; Rei in his apartment, on his couch, next to him. He feels the adam’s apple in his throat rising and falling. He’s been quiet for who knows how long.

“Thinking, I guess.” He breathes out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “I don’t know why I took so long to say that. It sounded boring in my head, so I had to think if there was something else I forgot about.”

“That is pretty boring, just thinking. But that’s life, though, isn’t it? Kind of boring sometimes.”

Jungkook nods, blushing and avoiding looking at her. What if she can read minds? He straightens his posture and runs his fingers through his hair again, his eyes fixed on the ceiling of carved-out stars. It’s OK. It’s OK. She’s still here.

The living room is almost dead silent. Jungkook notices how Rei sips her tea and looks over the area. It’s neat, for the most part. Bam’s toys lay scattered near the laundry room entrance, along with some of Jungkook’s dirty socks the dog likes to chew on, and Bam’s food bowls are resting up against the wall beside his doghouse. The potted plants Namjoon gifted Jungkook are still alive and pop against the beige coloring of the walls in front of them. The TV is massive, his Playstation console resting on its side. Her eyes find the corner shelf where Jungkook’s Marvel figurines are on display behind glass doors, and she turns to look at him with a sparkle in her wide eyes. “Are those yours?” She gestures with her thumb. He nods, chewing his lower lip anxiously. “Can I look?” She rises from her seat when he motions for her to go on. Like standing in a museum, she silently peers into the display with her hands clasped behind her back.

“I just got that case a few days ago when I got that plant next to you,” Jungkook remarks, joining her.

“I remember,” she says distractedly.

“You remember?” His eyebrows raise, and he looks at her fixedly, bringing a fingernail to his mouth. He scrunches his eyebrows, rubbing at his forehead with his fingers; he remembers, too.

He’d bumped into Rei on his way upstairs, both arms holding the bonsai trees obstructing his view, taking long strides up the stairs, chanting to himself and grunting in rhythm. He was on the 50th stair.

“Hey!” A voice shouted at him. “What the hell?”

Jerking to the side of the staircase, flattening against it, Jungkook jumped at this voice. “Sorry! You’re okay?”

The voice struck him as familiar, but mostly, he was surprised he wasn't alone on the staircase. The person laughed a lively laugh, and he felt his chest tighten. He lowered the plants, meeting her eyes. “I’m okay,” she said, shaking her head. She grinned at him, and his heart gave a squeeze. “These things happen. I should take the elevator next time.”

“The plants, I mean. You walked past me going up the stairs and hit me on the head with it.” She glances to her right, catching his eyes briefly. He groans, nodding lightly. She continues, voicing their shared memory, “You were carrying two pots of plants that day and lost your balance or something like that.”

He nods with his eyes closed, his eyebrows drawn close together as he tongues his cheek. “I remember, too,” he opens his eyes to look over at her as he continues, “sorry again. My friend told me not to do that, and I didn’t listen.”

A Spiderman figurine holds her attention, and she’s smiling. He feels his cheeks burn at her sincere gesture. She pretends not to notice and says, “You like running into me like that, then?”

“Like how? It was an accident,” Jungkook says, standing beside her and stretching his arms behind his head.

“Riiiiight,” she says, smirking. “Accident.”

“I didn’t know you were in the stairwell. No one takes the stairs,” Jungkook counters, his voice taking on a defensive edge.

“I take the stairs, I like the exercise, and it’s less embarrassing for me,” She admits. “Running in front of people just looks so stupid. I get too worked up about it and think people are just laughing at me, and they might be, but this way, I can do it in private.”

“Running across the street when cars let you pass is very embarrassing for no reason,” Jungkook says with a laugh. “And okay, fair. I took the stairs that time just because the wait for the elevator was so long. I didn’t mean to hit you that time either.”

“Jungkook, we have to stop meeting like this.” She gives her head a light shake and looks down at her hands. She picks at the glitter on her nails distractedly. “So many accidents. We’re too clumsy.”

“I know what you mean. Namjoon told me to leave one of the plants in the lobby, but I was too impatient. I’m like that sometimes.” He can’t seem to stop blushing.

But Jungkook has to agree. There have been too many accidents in their run-ins with each other, and he remembers each encounter with extreme detail.

Jungkook saw her for the first time when he moved in and face-planted into her back as she stood by the entrance of the registration office. But it didn't happen right away, at least.

The office was big and bustling with sounds. Jungkook walked in, asked out loud if there was a line, and someone nearby replied that yes, there was a line, and he was right at the tail of it. He bounced on the heels of his feet, humming a melody to himself, tapping his fingers against the sides of his legs. A TV across from him played a K-Pop music video of a group he’d never heard of. Beneath the TV was a table with a Terra Kaffe espresso machine accompanied by a spread of dan-pat bbang, songpyeon, bingsu, and reusable cups. His stomach grumbled, but he kept still, willing himself to look away.

Rei stood in line, a foot or two in front of Jungkook, sporting her hair pulled back, secured neatly with a clip the shape of a butterfly. She wore casual clothing: a black long-sleeve sweatshirt, baggy pants, and white Nike shoes. She had earbuds in, and he could hear the muffled sounds of a guitar, and though he did not fully understand why, he smiled.

“Next in line, please,” a woman behind a glass window called out, taking an uninspired sip of her iced coffee as she waved a hand toward her. “Come on, next in line.”

Jungkook wore a black t-shirt, navy plaid bottoms, and socks with slides, though standing there, he began to regret his attire. His eyes looked over the office, and mentally, he tallied the number of girls he spotted. Nine. He felt his cheeks warming up, his neck growing hot, and when he looked over to his right, a girl waved at him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. He blushed, nodding at her. Why hadn’t he worn something nicer?

He was adjusting his sock, balancing on his right leg, when a dog ran past him, toppling him over. He hopped on his right leg, his arms flailing at his sides, and his face instantly smashed into Rei’s back. If he had a chance to do it over, he wouldn’t have cried out so loud. Even now, months later, he cringes at the memory. He’d turned away, cupping his aching nose after she whipped her head over her shoulder at the sudden impact. Their eyes met briefly, her pupils dark and wide; she mouthed something to him, his ears ringing, all of the sounds around him muddled into incoherence.

“I’m so sorry. Excuse me,” Jungkook mumbled, turning at his heel and speed-walking past a group of girls that giggled when he passed them.

Jungkook thought about her all day after that first day. While he unpacked, walked Bam, and cooked for himself later in the evening. She was pretty, sure, but there was something else. Something he couldn’t break apart and understand— it was new and brought on a strange sensation and desire to know her. He didn't know it then, but he’d see so much of her it would become nearly impossible not to think of her.

And here they are, five months later.

“You agree, don't you?” Rei prods. “Maybe you’re the clumsy one, Jungkook. I was just standing there.” She says that like she knows what he’s thinking. That first day they saw each other. She’s thought of it too.

He swoons at the sound of his name escaping her lips again. “Jungkook,” he mouths, taking it in—not wanting to forget how it sounds when she says it.

She turns on her heel, returning to the couch and fetching her phone from between the cushions. Her backside faces Jungkook, and he shyly lowers his gaze when he catches a glimpse of her ass in shorts that do a poor job of hiding anything. “I’m impatient too, as you know now,” she offers, looking down at her phone, her face illuminated with the screen's glow. She reads something and has a serious look on her face. “It’s getting late, isn’t it?”

He squints at the clock on the stove. 4:27. “Yeah, I guess so,” he replies, trying to hide his disappointment.

“Your figures are cool, by the way. They look like the real deal. Are they?”

He nods silently, tonguing his lip ring. Jungkook watches her with a gut-wrenching desire to step forward and take her face into his hands and kiss her.

“You’re a Marvel geek. I'm guessing,” she says, staring down at the ground. It’s like she’s suddenly shy. Her voice is quieter. “I like some of the movies. I saw the new Spider-man with my friends last week. I’m late, I know.”

“I have Disney plus,” Jungkook says, his eyes looking her over. “And I’m not trying to say anything like the ramen stuff, you know, all that stuff people say to each other recently to get together. It’s a real offer.”

Rei laughs, bringing a hand to cover her face. “So you don't want to get together?” She looks at him with a deep intensity in her eyes and smiles coyly, making Jungkook swallow hard.

“I said that, didn't I? That’s not what I meant. It’s just that nowadays, words have different meanings. Let me rephrase-”

She takes a step closer to him, and his chest feels ablaze. She’s so close he can smell the fragrance of her clothing much clearer than before. We use the same detergent.

“I’d like to come by sometime,” she says, her eyes lingering on his hands holding his cup, “for a movie, no ramen.” Now she smiles warmly and takes a step back.

She likes doing this to me. It’s torture.

“Really?”

“Yeah, why not? You seem nice. I don’t think you’d be a freak, right?”

“Right,” he says, nodding.

“I know we’re technically strangers, but you have a good vibe,” she says, shrugging. “I show up here so late, and you serve me tea. You’re a nice guy.”

“Am I?”

“I think so. Are you?” She quirks up an eyebrow, twitching her lips between a smile and a laugh.

Jungkook smiles at her. He feels his cheeks growing warm. “I am. I don’t know why I challenged you about it.”

“Because you like to flirt with me, I think,” she retorts, crossing her arms across her chest.

“I’m just a nice guy,” he says as he places his palms  against the kitchen counter for balance, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Uh-huh.” She glances at her phone screen, reading the time, and Jungkook does the same with the time on the kitchen stove. She's going to leave. I can feel it.

“I guess I should get going…”. Rei looks apologetic for some reason. A pink shade colors her cheeks, and she brings a hand to her forehead and lets out a deep breath as she says, “Kinda hot in here, no?”

Jungkook wants to tell her she doesn't have to go and that he doesn't want her to, but he only offers her a timid smile and looks away, nodding in agreement. “A little. I’ve been feeling it too,” he says, looking at her and catching her eyes.

Should I move now? Is it now? My move? Will she kiss me back?

Still, he brings his cup of tea to his lips as she stores her phone in the pocket of her hoodie, and she pauses as if remembering something. “And why is there a mattress outside?”

He’s drinking his tea and begins to choke. Coughing, his chest on fire, and his throat closing in, Jungkook rushes to double over his sink, and she’s standing behind him with a wrought-up look.

“Are you okay?” She steps closer to him, lightly touching his arm.

Jungkook coughs, clearing his throat; he can feel the blood rushing to his face as his eyes instinctively shed tears. The feeling of her touch on his arm feels like fire. “Sorry, I don’t know what happened. The uh, the mattress?” He looks toward his patio, a panicked look in his eyes behind the tear-stained glasses. He pauses, looking down at the floor. “I have them all over, so I can nap when I feel like it.”

She throws her head back and laughs, not taking him seriously until silence hangs between them. She raises an eyebrow. “Wait, really?” With that, her phone goes off in her pocket, and she reaches for it. “Sorry, one sec.”

He leaves her to talk on the phone with whoever and walks over to pick up Bam’s toys and dirty socks to throw in a hamper. Jungkook can hear the muffled phone conversation a room over, so he hums a song. She speaks in a hushed voice, but he hears his name mentioned.

He coughs before he reappears in the kitchen.

She’s humming to herself, lingering by the door, and his heart squeezes. ‘Don’t go,’ he wants to say. ‘Stay.’

“I should go…” she says, not budging from where she stands, chewing her lower lip, looking at Jungkook through full eyelashes. Almost as if waiting for him to interject, and him, not knowing how to.

“If you want,” Jungkook says. He swallows hard at a lump in his throat. The plead to have her stay pushed down into his chest.

DAMN!! 

A look he can’t decipher takes over her face, and then the next moment, she’s smiling at him, reaching for the doorknob just as he does. They share an embarrassed exchange of looks when their hands touch, and he shakes his head, an anxious chuckle escaping him. His face feels warm as he pulls the door open for her. Rei steps out into the hallway, turns over her shoulder, and raises her hand to wave at him slowly.

Again, he yearns to kiss her and again lacks the courage.

“Bye, it was nice meeting you, Jungkook.”

“Goodnight, Rei,” he replies, leaning on the doorframe, his heart sinking into his stomach.

The next day, Jungkook is cooking for himself. He submitted his comic in the morning and has endlessly replayed last night’s events in his head.

“I should’ve kissed her,” he says to Bam.

Jungkook’s phone pings a few times and is followed by a call. He answers, distracted as he serves himself bibimmyeon and pork belly. He props the phone between his chin and ear, tilting his head comically as he walks back and forward to the table, setting down a steaming bowl of sticky rice. “‘Ey, Namjoon-hyung!…” He drags the chair out from underneath and settles in front of his plate. Jungkook reaches over the table, yanks a paper towel, grabs his chopsticks, and begins digging into the rice. “Wait,” he glances at the clock on the wall. 6:47. “It’s almost seven,” Jungkook says, confused. “Your meeting with the record executive started at six… it ended that quickly?”

Namjoon smiles. “The meeting was quick. I have really good news.” He pauses for effect. He’s in the studio, eyeing the email on screen. “Hold on,” he says, placing the phone on the desk and turning the speaker on.

 Jungkook is chewing his cheek, the chopsticks loosening in his grip. He lets the silence exist for a few seconds, then he rubs the back of his hair, leaning back in his chair, his spare hand fisted over his mouth. “What?” He grumbles into his fist.

“He liked my demo. He had some comments about it but said it would do well. He said everyone else liked it; whatever that means, we’re in. He said we can come in for a group meeting where we introduce the guys, and that way, we can all talk about what we want to do going forward.”

Jungkook is speechless; they’re in. All seven of them. He can’t believe it. He stares wide-eyed at Bam, who tilts his head quizzically. “No way. No way. Is this for real?” Jungkook’s heart is thudding so hard he can see it beneath his shirt.

“I swear, Jungkook. It is.”

“Do the guys know?” Once more, Jungkook meets the eyes of his dog, and he’s smiling so hard he feels his nose scrunch.

“Some of them do, yeah. I was with Jimin earlier.”

“Yoongi,” Jungkook says, bringing his palm over his forehead. Smiling with his eyes crinkling, he feeds himself rice. “Yoongi will be so happy. We all are, you know but him .” Jungkook makes a sound with his teeth. “He’ll be so proud of all of us.”

“I know, I know. Yoongi hasn’t slept well since we first submitted our demos, and when I mentioned I had a meeting with an executive, he grabbed his jacket and took off to the studio. I don’t know what he’s been doing when he comes in, but I know he might cry.”

“I might cry too,” Jungkook admits in a hushed voice.

Namjoon wipes at his eyes, and a silence hangs between them. They’re both sniveling on the receiving end. After Jungkook clears his throat and allows himself another sniffle, he starts eating again.

“What did you make?”

“I have a lot of rice left. I made bibimmyeon and pork belly, but I have some noodles, too, if you want me to make them. Come and eat with me if you’re free. Let’s celebrate.”

“Can I leave my bike outside?” Namjoon asks. Namjoon shuts off the shared laptop in the studio, grabs his puffer jacket and the book he’s been reading, heads over, and flips off the light switch. His phone remains on speaker as he locks the door and shoots a glance down the hallway. From a distance, Yoongi does a quick two-finger salute in passing. Namjoon’s heart gives a squeeze.

Jungkook thinks it over. He’s never seen anyone leave a bike outside. “I don't know, honestly. Bring it to my apartment; it’ll be fine. I have something to tell you, by the way,” he says, referring to the previous night.

“Just saw Yoongi,” Namjoon says, jingling the keys on his finger and making his way out of the building. “I have to tell him, but I think he’s already in his studio locked up. You know how he gets.”

“He won’t let you in,” Jungkook says, scrunching his nose and stifling a laugh through a mouthful of steak.

“Exactly. And what is it? I’m bringing my bike, I thought about leaving it chained, but it’ll stress me out.”

“He’s almost done with his demos, Hobi said the other day,” Jungkook replies. “But it’s about her, bro. You won’t believe me.”

Namjoon laughs through the phone. “Mystery-neighbor-crush her, you mean?”

“Neighbor stuff, am I that annoying? Don't answer that. I’ll leave the door unlocked for you; just come in because I have to wash Bam.”

“All right, bro, give me twenty, and I’ll be there.”

Jungkook is sitting across from Namjoon, who raises an eyebrow at him as he chews on his steak. “So she came in here,” he swallows his bite and continues, “was on that couch?” he signals with his chopsticks, “and she went home after that?”

Jungkook nods. The moment he’s been dreading: admitting he chickened out. He’s not proud of himself and debates whether to omit a few things.

“Yeah, what else could’ve happened?” He takes a drink of his water, avoiding Namjoon’s gaze.

“So many things, bro. But, the very least that should have happened is that you got her number or something like that. Did you ask?”

Jungkook is quiet. His cheeks are flushing with heat. He’s chuckling at himself, remembering how he clammed up around her.

“You just let her leave, right? She walked out, thanked you, and you probably made her a tea she didn't drink.” Namjoon is laughing when Jungkook groans and shakes a fist above his head. “Ah, Jungkook!”

“I know!” Jungkook shakes his head. “But I got a name. I got a name; that’s something, isn't it?”

“Well?”

“It’s Rei. I don’t know where she’s from and all that, but that name just suits her, doesn't it?”

“It does, it does. But come on, bro! This girl lives so close!  For starters, she stuck around. She could've just left after explaining herself. Instead, she sat down right where you’re sitting and stayed .” Namjoon feeds himself rice as he shakes his head and continues while he chews, “She looked at you the last time we evacuated; I saw her. And how many times have you bumped into her already? She probably thinks you’re out to get her.”

“I know. I kept thinking the same. I thought: ‘She could've left by now, but she hasn’t. I don’t know, hyung, I just froze. I just kept nodding; it was so stupid.” Jungkook closes his eyes and places his fingertips over his eyelids, shaking his head in lament.

“Not stupid, bro,” Namjoon offers, swallowing his bite. “I’ve seen her around too, and she’s really pretty, but it’s a weird sensation when she’s nearby; it’s like her beauty is different. I don't mean it like I want her now, nothing like that, but it sort of feels like I am stuck too. Like, what can I say right now?”

Jungkook nods, understanding the sentiment. “It knocks the wind out of me sometimes when I see her,” he says, reaching for a napkin. “I wanted to say so much more, but I couldn't. It was different being close to her like we were. This girl is killing me, Namjoon-hyung. You said she looked at me?”

Namjoon smiles warmly. “She did, at the evacuation a week ago. Was it a week now?” He wipes at his mouth and looks at Jungkook expectantly. Jungkook nods at him. “Well, a week ago, I went out last and caught her looking your way. She had her hand like this,” he brings his hand up to shield his eyes against nothing, “and she was smiling. She didn't see me noticing.”

Jungkook scoots closer. He rests his chin on Namjoon’s knee, looking straight at him until he’s cross-eyed. “At me?” he asks, loving that this happened.

Namjoon shakes his leg free and takes a sip of his water. “I think she likes you. She was looking at you the same way I’ve seen you look at her,” Namjoon reaches for his phone, checks a text, and continues, “so she would’ve been into you. Did she flirt with you?”

Jungkook mulls it over. He doesn't want to read too much into it, but he thinks she did flirt. “I could be wrong, and I’d hate to be wrong,” he says, “but I feel like she was into me, like, actually into me, and I thought about kissing her. Would that have been too forward?”

“Hmm,” Namjoon says as he chews his food. “Maybe. I have to see you two in action, to say. I think you can trust your gut, and if you felt that way, maybe she was giving you those vibes on purpose, you know? Sometimes girls are so forward that it's confusing. Like, ‘am I reading this wrong?’ When the whole time there was only one way to read it.” He gives his head a light shake.

“She was talkative like Yoongi predicted.”

“Oh, was she now?” Namjoon looks surprised. “I sided with Jimin when he said she seemed shy and kind of mean. Not mean, but you know the mean look girls have that makes them look kind of cool?”

Jungkook nods with a mouthful of steak.

“That’s actually interesting that she was talkative. That’s good. I think you’d do bad to get with a shy chick again.”

Jungkook once dated a girl in high school he didn't know how to talk to, and when he meant to break things off, he’d just ignored her for the entire year. She was too shy, too quiet, too reserved. He was everything else but.

“I agree with you on that,” Jungkook says honestly. “Back to Rei, she’s even prettier up close, hyung. I thought I was in a dream, that sounds so cheesy, but it’s true.”

“It was, what, four in the morning?”

“Three. Close to four.”

“Exactly. I would think that's a dream too. Seems like it. Are you sure you’re not messing with me?” Namjoon elbows Jungkook lightly.

“I want her. Is that so pathetic?”

“A little bit,” Namjoon teases, bringing his thumb and pointer finger to a slight pinch. “Like this tiny little space right here is where you live.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes as he walks into the kitchen for a beer.

“Honestly, Jungkook, I think she likes you back. Pass me the rice. Want some of the steaks?” He shows Jungkook his bowl, and Jungkook accepts, opening his mouth to be fed. “You can feed yourself.”

“Ah,” Jungkook says, mouth agape. “Just one piece.”

Namjoon is feeding Jungkook rice when the doorbell rings. The two exchange bewildered looks, and Jungkook shuffles from the ground, sliding on the flooring with his socks as he peers through the peephole. He falls to the ground as if shot, crouching with a deathly look about him.

Namjoon shifts in his seat on the floor and, stretching his neck, asks Jungkook who it is. Over and over, quietly, he’s asking who’s at the door.

Jungkook doesn't answer until Namjoon stands. He shoots a hand up to grab Namjoon’s sleeve, motioning him to crouch beside him. Whispering, he says, “It’s Rei; what do I do?”

“Get up!”

“I can't. I can't. I don't know what she wants. What if she knows?”

“Knows what? Get up; I’m opening the door in 3, 2,...”

Jungkook stands. He can feel his heart beating viciously, and his hands are sweating. He glares at Namjoon, raising his hand and motioning for a cutthroat. “I’ll kill you,” he mouths as his friend walks away.

Jungkook peers into the peephole and sees her turning away. He pulls back the door quickly, causing her to turn around. She smiles, and he wants her all over again. His relaxed demeanor vanished. “Hey, what’s going on?” are his first words.

Rei laughs, and he can feel himself blushing. He drops his head when he remembers Namjoon is a witness.

“Hey, neighbor,” she says, smiling the same coy smile she lent him last night. She pulls a paper from her pocket, extends it to him, and says, “It’s an invite to my birthday party this weekend; if you don't have any plans, I thought it would be nice to hang out and see you again. I’ll have friends over, and of course, you can bring yours.”

A party? Wait, see me again?? “I will be there. This weekend. I’ll make an appearance.” He stops talking when she laughs. He can feel the blood boiling on his face. What the hell is going on with him? “Sorry, yes, I mean, thank you.” Jungkook can feel Namjoon’s burning gaze behind him—he can picture how his friend stifles a laugh into his fist.

“No problem. Who’s that?” She points inside the apartment.

Namjoon waves when Jungkook turns around to see him standing behind him, a smirk tugging at his lips. Jungkook widens his eyes at him, mouthing for him to stop laughing. Stepping aside for his friend’s introduction, Jungkook signals toward his friend with a swift movement of his hand. “Namjoon, this is Rei. Rei, this is Namjoon, a good friend and gifter of bonsai trees.”

“I’ve seen you, no?” she talks to Namjoon, who nods, flexing his pointer finger, indicating that she has. He’s chewing cheese puffs, and Jungkook raises an eyebrow at him, silently questioning him: ‘Where did you get those?’ His stare says.

“At the evacuation, I was there.”

“Ah, yes, you had bright green hair like a highlighter pen then.”

He laughs. “That was me, yeah! You were with that girl, the…one with the red hair in pigtails.”

“Ah. That’s right! You have a good memory.” She sounds impressed.

Jungkook tongues his cheek, shaking his head beside them unnoticed.

“You too, you too. Cheese puff?” Namjoon offers a bag of cheese puffs.

“You’re tempting me, but I will have to decline. I just had lunch.”

“Your friend, the one with the pigtails, will she be at this party?”

Namjoon is nervous, but he plays it off well. Only Jungkook can tell.

“I think she can be there,” Rei replies, her eyes shifty and full lips pursing. She seems to think it over, anxiously looking at Jungkook and chewing on her lower lip. It’s as though she’s waiting for Jungkook to glance her way. Only Namjoon is seeing this.

Jungkook is annoyed. They’re talking so easily. He shifts uncomfortably, his fingers gripping the door. He watches how Namjoon chuckles and how she timidly looks down at her hands. The glittery nail polish made his heart feel like a stone in his chest. He wants to interject. But how?

“I’m sure the guys will be free this weekend too; we might celebrate our little accomplishment here sometime soon, so Jungkook can tell you about that and invite you when the time comes, right, Jungkook?”

Jungkook only nods. That’s all he seems to be capable of when she’s around. He feels so strange around her. He feels the same way each time, like he’s coming down with something suddenly. Didn’t it just get so hot out here with the door open like this? He wonders. Is anyone else sweating?

Their voices continue around him. He nods a few times when the conversation shifts toward him, but he feels lightheaded. He wants her so badly.

He doesn’t mean to, but he clears his throat, turning the conversation around him to a simmer.

“So, Jungkook, Namjoon told me he’d come this weekend and bring your other friends. There’s a theme, by the way.” She pauses for dramatic effect. “It’s fairytale-themed!” She raises her arms above her head like a big reveal and holds her pose, awaiting their reaction.

Namjoon laughs, turning away; he says: “I’ll give it good thought! Thank you for the invite, Rei!”

“And you?” She looks at Jungkook.

“Me?” Jungkook swallows hard at a lump in his throat. His brain seems to forget how to form sentences when she’s around.

“Yes, you. Do you have any ideas, JK?” she smiles, lopsided.

Is she flirting with me? Here? Namjoon-hyung! Come back!

“I have to rewatch all of my favorite fairytale movies to have an idea,” he says, bringing a hand to his head. He feels the heat emitting from his forehead. “I’m kidding. I think something cool like Dracula.”

“Is that a fairytale?” She laughs.

“Define a fairytale. Isn’t it just make-believe?”

“You don’t think vampires are real?” She raises an eyebrow at him, but he can tell she’s intentionally giving him a hard time. Her smile is surfacing and betraying her.

“I do, actually. Ah, okay. Give me time. I’ll think of something. What about you? Who are you going as?”

She pretends to think it over even though she already has an idea. “I won’t say; you’ll have to see.”

He’s fully leaning against the doorframe, his foot slipping under him, and he almost falls over. He mutters something to himself, and she’s biting back a laugh. “You want tea or something before you go? If you’re not busy.”

“Ah, I want to say yes, but my friends are upstairs; I just stopped by real quick but thank you.”

He nods. “That’s okay, next time.”

“I’ll catch you two later,” she says, waving.

She turns to walk away, and Jungkook doesn't know what takes over him, but he shouts after her: “Thank you!”

He’s too embarrassed to see if she turns around. He closes the door immediately.

He doesn't even want to look at Namjoon. He stands facing the door for a while, his head hanging low, eyebrows scrunched up in physical anguish. He chews his lip and winces at himself, remembering.

“I said that out loud,” Jungkook says, incredulous with himself.

“You said that out loud,” Namjoon reiterates from somewhere in the room.

Sighing, Jungkook turns over, and flinches at a grape Namjoon tosses at him. His nose scrunching, he catches another grape mid-air and chews noisily. “She wants to know me properly,” he says, with a dreamy air.

“So be her prince charming,” Namjoon jokes, plopping down on his couch, busy on his phone.

“So I will be,” Jungkook says, tilting his head back to look up at his ceiling. She’s up there, walking around, talking to her friends, and he’s beneath her, dreaming of the weekend. “What day is it?”

“Wednesday.”

“Let’s go; I need an outfit.”

“Now?”

“Now, get up! Get up!”

“Let me finish my grapes; I just washed them,” Namjoon whines, still not glancing from his phone’s screen.

“Okay, but after, we’ll go.” Jungkook walks into his room, grabs his glasses, and steps back out.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

Jungkook nods, biting the corner of his lip distractedly. “Oh, I’m serious.” He reaches for the car keys on the table beside him. “I’ve never been more serious.”

And he is. He’s never been more serious about anything else. He wants Rei, but he wants her to want him, too. He can’t help but feel as though his luck is turning out.

taglist: @vsualitae​

A/N: thank you for being here! I hope those that looked forward to the full first chapter have enjoyed this! It's my first lengthy fic, as I've already stated, so any feedback is greatly appreciated! reblogs, comments, and anything that lets me know you've enjoyed this will make me the happiest writer :') I appreciate you for giving my work a shot <3 Let me know if you'd like a second part, what you liked, etc. I'd love to hear from you, reader >.< until next time!!

[kandisheek]

FIC REC WEEK 28 – HISTORICAL FICS

In Amore Veritas by FestiveFerret

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: T Words: 3,903 Tags: Truth Serum, Class Difference, Reconnecting

Summary: Prince Tony creeps down to the stables one night to meet with his best friend, Steve, one of the stable boys. It's something they do often, but this time, Tony has something special hidden in the wraps of his cloak.

Reasons why I love it: Oh, you poor, silly boys. I'm so glad they cleared up their misunderstanding in the end, because those two idiots deserve each other. This fic is super sweet and fluffy, and I bet you'll love it just as much as I do!

as you have honored them by Areiton

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: M Words: 1,734 Tags: Fantasy AU, Forced Marriage, Protective Steve

Summary: He sits in his chambers, silent as the three serving automans paint his body, gold and crimson. There are the sigils of the Crown that is his birthright, and the ones of Stone’s own kingdom. There are, too, the traditional sigils, of a bride, of the nine gods and the six kingdoms.

Reasons why I love it: Don't mind me, I'm just over here, screaming incoherently into the void. This fic is SO GOOD, oh my god! I love all of the symbolism and the blessings and the ENDING, fuck yes! I really hope you go and read this one if you haven't, because it's phenomenal!

Tribute Given, Treasure Gained by sphagnum

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: E Words: 12,051 Tags: A/B/O, Power Imbalance, Tribute Tony

Summary: “Steve,” the Captain said, hand over his chest. Tony licked his lips. Was he supposed to give his name, or remain silent until he was asked a direct question? The Captain--Steve, apparently--already knew his name, he had to, it had been included on the settlement he and Stane had signed. Was this a test? Time was passing and Steve was still waiting with his hand on his chest but Tony had to figure out the right answer fast or when Steve moved he might-- “Tony,” he blurted. “Tony,” Steve repeated. He hadn’t come any closer. He said something short that might have been pleased to meet you or you look good on your knees. Tony had no way of knowing and he wasn’t going to risk echoing it. He kept quiet. See, Howard? I do know how to shut up when my life depends on it.

Reasons why I love it: The language barrier gives this story so much tension and intrigue, it's amazing! I love how gentle Steve is with Tony, mindful of his nerves to the very end, and Tony's musings about whether or not he can trust Steve are perfect. I love this fic so much, and you should definitely read it!

a myth to many by nanasekei

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: NR Words: 8,660 Tags: Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Medieval AU, Angst

Summary: “What I’m about to ask you has no relation to our alliance,” Rogers continues, his voice a lot steadier now. “I come here only in behalf of myself, and what I’m about to ask, I ask as a man, not as a soldier.” Howard feels as if he can see the anticipation growing in the room, almost as a cloud forming over them. The guards don’t bother hiding the shock in their expressions, and even Jarvis can’t fully disguise the curiosity, his eyebrows quirked. Rogers takes one short breath before locking his eyes with Howard’s. His blue gaze is almost peaceful in its resoluteness, as if there’s an element of inevitability in what he’s about to say. “I’m here to ask for your son’s hand.”

Reasons why I love it: Aaaah, the ending is so ominous, I love it! The choice to tell this story from Howard's perspective is brilliant. His inner monologue is fascinating, and it reveals so much about Tony's life as his son. And the last few paragraphs are an absolute gut-punch. I adore this one, and I hope you give it a shot for yourself!

Clan (of the Stranger and the Outcast) by greymantledlady

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: M Words: 5,778 Tags: Stone Age AU, Hurt Tony, Protective Steve

Summary: The Stranger holds out his huge hand towards Tony, palm outwards and upwards. Tony watches him warily, baring his teeth a little, not yet a snarl but a warning. But the Stranger simply holds his hand there, waiting, waiting; and his knife is lying on the ground between them, and there is no threat in the lines of his body. Tony lets out a little breath he’s been holding. And he’s trembling, but he slowly reaches his own hand out, tentative and uncertain, and brushes the fingertips against the Stranger’s calloused palm. And the Stranger smiles a little, his eyes soft, and wraps his fingers around Tony’s. (The one where Neanderthal!Steve and Homo Sapiens!Tony imprint on each other like baby ducklings.)

Reasons why I love it: The way they communicate with each other in this one is so precious to me. I love the whole setting and how their culural differences come into play, it's super intriguing. Definitely check this one out, it's wonderful!

[theycalledmebaby]

LOVERS AND FRIENDS

| harringrovson x fem!reader |

-ALWAYS BE MY BABY

summary: Just a little flashback about meeting each of our boys. Super short lol 672 wc

warnings: idk, bad writing? none yet. This is just the beginning but still 18+

a/n: Hi! this fic is my baby and something that's been brewing in my drafts forever. I am not a writer by any means and this is simply self-indulgent/therapeutic for me. You can feel free to come along if you want!

series masterlist | series mixtape(coming soon)

Somewhere in 1995

Always Be My Baby by Mariah Carey quietly playing in the background

"But do I have to go, Mom? Wha... what if—" "Yes, baby, you have to go to school. We already talked about this," your mom says as she pulls into the parking lot. "Besides, Stevie will be there! You get to see him at recess, and I will be here to pick you both up after school."

You don’t remember the day you met Steve Harrington. Maybe it was childhood trauma blocking out memories before the age of 4. You’re unsure, but you know he’s always been around.

Your mom had you at a young age and struggled to make ends meet when she started working for Robert Harrington. Robert Harrington was a sleaze, but his wife, Jen, was an absolute sweetheart. She befriended your mother immediately and soon found out they had babies around the same age.

To make extra money, your mom started babysitting for the Harringtons. Your mom didn’t mind always having Steve with her. The Harringtons paid her very well, you guys got to stay at their very nice house most weekends, and you had someone to play with. It was a win-win.

No, you don’t remember meeting Steve Harrington. -But you do remember that day. The first day of kindergarten. The first time Steve Harrington kissed you.

He had met you in front of your new classroom. You told him you were scared; he grabbed your hand, gave you a light peck on the lips, and told you everything was going to be okay. You didn’t know it then, but from that day on, you were his.

You were always going to be Steve Harrington's baby.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Somewhere in 1999

You may not remember the day you met Steve Harrington, but the day you met Eddie Munson is etched in your memory forever.

It was early February, maybe late January. An early chilly Saturday morning, and you were sitting in the backseat of your mom's car, immersed in Mariah Carey's "Fantasy" playing on your Discman. The car was parked in front of a house you had never been to—the home of your mom's new girlfriend. Apparently, her friend had a son around your age, and the plan was to carpool together to visit your stepdad in prison since her husband(Eddie's dad) was also in the same prison.

As Eddie hopped into the backseat with you, a distinct scent of laundry soap and the faint aroma of the smoke shop your mom frequented enveloped the air. He smiled at you, and you couldn't help but notice his big, beautiful brown eyes. He asked what you were listening to, chuckled at your reply, and declared, "No, that shit is pop garbage. This is real music." With that, he placed his headphones on your head, and you were introduced to Metallica's "From Whom the Bell Tolls."

In that very moment, as this something-year-old boy gazed into your eyes and you listened to Metallica for the first time, something shifted within you. You didn't quite comprehend the depth of it then, being just a kid, but you knew deep down that this boy was special. He made you feel something you had never felt before, a feeling that lingered long after that day.

Yeah, you were never going to forget that day.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Somewhere in 2001

The summer sun beat down on the neighborhood streets, casting a hazy, golden glow over everything. You found solace on the porch steps of your new house, shaded from the heat, Eddie’s “The Marshall Mathers LP” CD playing softly in your ears.

Moving had its perks—peaceful surroundings and friendly faces—but you couldn't shake the nostalgia for the old apartment complex and memories of Eddie. Even if he was no longer your friend, you missed the sound of his skateboard rolling by or his obnoxious laugh when he and his friends were up to no good.

Lost in thoughts about Eddie, you barely noticed the sound of a skateboard approaching. The wheels clicked against the pavement, drawing your attention. Glancing up, you saw a boy about your age, his blond hair catching sunlight as he effortlessly maneuvered on the board.

He spotted you and skated over, coming to a smooth stop in front of your driveway. His gaze was cool, almost calculating, as he looked you up and down. Yet, his smile was warm and genuine, lighting up his face and his ocean blue eyes.

"Hey," he said casually, tinged with curiosity.

"Hi," you replied, unsure whether to be wary or friendly.

"Billy," he introduced himself, tilting his head slightly.

You hesitated before responding, "Nice to meet you, Billy." You shared your name and mentioned you had just moved into the neighborhood.

Billy nodded, his expression unreadable. "Us too," he replied cryptically.

"Us?" you echoed, intrigued.

"Yeah, me and my stepsis Heather. Just moved here from Cali," Billy explained, his tone nonchalant yet somehow aloof.

The way he looked at you with those dreamy blue eyes made you feel like you were in one of those cheesy teen rom-com movies Steve always tried to make you watch.

"What are you listening to?" he asked.

"Oh, um, it's my friend's CD, Eminem," you replied nervously.

"Cool," Billy said simply, then skated away, saying "Cya."

"Uh, see ya," you managed to respond.

That was the day you met Billy Hargrove. Little did you know then, what an impact that blond, blue-eyed California boy would have on you for the rest of your life.

[theapangea]

Kiss Me

Pairing/Characters: Jay Kelso x Reader, Gwen, Ozzie

Word Count: 1.1k

Summary: Jay offers to be your first kiss.

Warning: None

A/N: First fic with Jay Kelso!!! Seriously so exciting to start writing for him. My request are always open if you want more!! Sorry if there are any typos!!!

*Also posted on AO3: theapangea*

The loud bang of the door shutting behind you was definitely not ignored by anyone in the basement. Your body plopping onto the couch, the audible groan escaping your lips as the trio look between each other, contemplating who should say something.

Huffing while lowering the magazine he was holding, “Is this the part I’m supposed to ask what is wrong?” Ozzie’s voice says to your left.

Your eyes scan the ceiling, head tilting towards him before answering, “Yes.” The whine in your tone was soft, even making your own heart break a little.

Gwen makes her way to you, her body pushing the rough fabric down, her arm resting on the back of the couch, “What’s up?” 

“I have a date with Tommy Horn tomorrow.” The whine is still noticeable. The room losing tension at your not-so-serious dilemma.

“Hey good for you” Her smile is radiant, stroking her fingers through your hair.

“No.” You sit up quickly, your whole body turning towards her, “Not good for me.” Your hands doing the speaking for you before lifting yourself off the sunken spot, heading over to the cooler. 

“Why?” Jay follows you.

Lifting the cooler door open, grabbing your favorite flavor of popsicle and handing him a grape one.

You sign, not wanting to tell him your real reason for not wanting to go on this date. Sure Tommy Horn is super cute and you can’t believe he asked you out. But there is one thing about him-

“Tommy always kisses on the first date.” Gwen teases.

There it is. You shut your eyes, hoping that this whole situation goes away but when you open them again you see them all staring at you. Great. Your shoulders slump as you lean against the cooler. Feeling the cool box through your denim shorts.

“So…” Jay still not seeing the problem, taking a taste of his popsicle.

It’s so cute when he’s oblivious you thought.

Rubbing your hand on the back of your neck as you begin to mumble some inaudible words.

Jay leans closer to you, “Yep, caught none of that.” He says before holding the popsicle in his mouth as he lifts himself onto the cooler.

“I'VE NEVER KISSED ANYONE BEFORE, OKAY?” You basically shout, “Don’t laugh Jay.,” you plead, catching him before he could, your pointer finger on his lips. Feeling the hot breath escaping through the open part.

Then there’s Ozzie. His laugh echoing through the basement, probably even the whole house. The embarrassment floods through your body.

Gwen stands up, “On my god, we are leaving since you can’t behave.” She grabs him by the arm practically dragging him out of the basement before he can object.

The tragic walk of shame back to the couch as you and Jay are now the only occupants of the basement. 

“Wait, you seriously haven’t kissed anyone before.” You shake your head no at his comment as you sit down, silently wishing the couch would engulf your entire body.

Hopping off of the cooler, saying, ‘What about Daniel Peter’s party in 7th grade? Didn’t you kiss him?” He tries to recall, his popsicle almost gone.

“I chickened out while I was in the closet with him. We promised each other that we would lie since neither of us have had our first kiss yet.” You confess, still holding onto the melting popsicle in your hands.

You name softly rolling off his tongue, “It’s been almost 5 years and you still haven’t had it yet?” His analysis is deafening. 

And that’s when the idea hit him. He wasn’t sure if it was actually a good plan or not, he can’t really tell when one of his ideas is. “Kiss me.” 

“Jay Kelso say what?” His tone is so casual you almost didn’t believe what just came out of his mouth.

“Kiss me and I’ll tell you if you’re good or not.” You can’t help but look anywhere but his face, “So like you know what to do on your date.” He stumbles on his words. Did he finally realize what he said to you? Was the tension in the room making him nervous?

“I really don’t think I can do that.” You try to focus on the tv, wishing the volume would drown out this conversation.

“Why not?” He brings his leg onto the couch, his arm hanging on the back, his grape popsicle slowly being forgotten about.

You laugh, forcing any sort of embarrassment away, “What if you end up falling completely in love with me? Then what?” Crossing your arms over your chest.

“I’m like 99% sure that won’t happen.”

“But that 1% seems a little too big for me.” You quickly counter.

“Seriously, get over here and kiss me right now.” His demanding tone sends a shiver down your spine. 

Your heart rate increases by the second as you breathe out. Taking a gulp before moving closer to him.

Situating yourself in front of him. “Ok so like how should this go, like you go left and I go right, or is that the same way for the both of us. Or maybe we both go left?” You start to ramble on.

“Just be quiet and close your eyes.” His voice is steady. Placing his hand on your thigh making you shut up instantly, his thumb ever so slightly rubbing circles on your bare skin. The goose bumps on your legs becoming prominent. 

You take a deep breath before closing your eyes. 

Waiting.

You can feel him move on the couch, his other hand placed gently on your cheek, pulling you toward him. His lips brushing against yours as your breaths become one. The sweet taste of grape popsicles swirling through your mouth. The kiss was soft and meaningful with every last second. Leaning into the warmth of the kiss.

And then it’s over. Your lips suddenly lost without him.

Your heart rate is still high as you never wanted it to end. Was that supposed to be how every kiss felt? Cosmic, breathless, absolutely unbelievably out of this world?

Gaining the courage to open one eye before asking, “Did you fall madly in love with me?” 

He ponders your question. “I think I'm fine.” He smiles before settling back into the couch, his mind resting on the tv as he reaches for the remote to turn it up.

His demeanor was so casual and normal. You couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking and how this whole kiss thing didn’t affect him. You can’t help but be completely intoxicated with the taste of him. Realizing now that you were actually the one falling in love with Jay Kelso.

~~~~~~

Let me know what you think!! <3

[midnightsnyx]

paper rings

pairing: ajax x reader

requested: yes summary: idk how to summarize this it’s just rly fluffy as per request word count: 617 warnings: none this is just super fluffy!! also sorry it’s so short

authors note: guys!!!! tysm for the love on my Xavier imagine. I hope you guys like this one. if you didn’t notice 99% of my fic titles are from songs cause I suck at coming up with them so this one is from tswifts song paper rings. thanks again for reading <3 masterlist link

You’re sitting in the Quad reading when you feel a pair of arms wrap around you. You almost jump but you recognize who’s arms they are right away, so you put your book down and lean back, tilting your head to see your boyfriend, Ajax smiling down at you.

“Hello, love.” You say, accepting the quick kiss before he settles down next to you. He watches you pick up your book, intent on finishing the chapter before he drags you off somewhere. Unlike yourself, Ajax can’t sit down for long so while you read, you notice him fiddling with a piece of paper. You don’t think much of it, finishing the chapter and when you look up at him again, he has the paper folded up in some shape. 

“For you.” He says dropping it into your hand and you look to see a makeshift ring made out of paper. 

When you raise an eyebrow at him, he just shrugs.

“Wanna walk to class together?” He asks and you nod, absentmindedly tucking the paper ring in your bag, not thinking much of it.

. . .

It has become a habit. You’ll be somewhere, and out of nowhere Ajax presents you with a paper ring. At the Weathervane, they are made out of paper from the disposable straws. In class or in the Quad, they’re made from a piece of scrap paper. 

You don’t realize how many he’s made until Yoko is searching for something, tearing apart every drawer and cabinet in your shared dorm when she pauses and looks up at you.

“Why do you have a bunch of paper rings?” She asks, looking confused but also amused. 

You walk over and your eyes widen when you realize how many he’s made you. You never really thought much of the rings, thinking they were just something to kill time.

“Ajax made them for me.” You tell her, picking one up and sliding it on your finger.

“Next thing you know, he’ll be giving you a real one.” Yoko jokes and you laugh, brushing off her joke because there is no way the two of you are anywhere near ready for marriage. You still had to finish high school and then hopefully go to college.

However, the paper ring thing was starting to make you curious, so when the two of you were hanging out in your dorm (you tended to ignore the no boys policy and Yoko didn’t spend a whole lot of time in the room anyways), you decided to bring it up. 

You’re laying with your head in his lap, reading while he runs his fingers through your hair and scrolling through his phone when you put your book aside. 

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

He tosses his phone to the side and smiles down at you. “Yeah, of course.”

One of the things you love about Ajax is that when the two of you are talking, he always gives you his complete attention and vise versa - you give him yours. You’re a firm believer that it makes relationships stronger. 

“The paper rings…” you hesitate, “why do you make them?”

He shrugs and says, “it’s just a hobby.” 

Unconvinced, you sit up and raise your eyebrows. “Just a hobby?”

He shifts uncomfortably. “Well, I mean, it started out as a hobby. You know, something to kill time while you were reading.” He gives you a lopsided smile that makes your heart beat a little faster before continuing. “But then, I wanted to see what it looked like. A ring on your finger. A specific finger.” 

What, are you planning on popping the big question?” You joke and he grins.

“One day, you’re damn right I will.” 

[floofweaver]

Happy 107th for the Sergeant of the 107th

Fic for @buckybarnesevents Bucky Birthday Bash event!

Base: TFATWS/Post Endgame Bucky | Filling: Friends to Lovers | Frosting: Reader | Toppings: Carnival (Blue/Gold technically as well, but it wasn't my intention initially pfff)

Fandom: The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Marvel Cinematic Universe

Rating: Not Rated (There's some swearing and this is aimed for adult audiences, but nothing explicit happens beyond cuddling)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes/Reader

Tags: Friends to Lovers, Bucky Barnes's 107th birthday, Implied Sam Wilson, buckybarnesevents' birthday bash, Birthday Cake, Carnival, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Fluff, Confessions, No use of y/n, Bucky Barnes's Birthday, happy birthday bucky barnes

Summary: Bucky isn't entirely optimistic about his birthday. He's surprised to be alive, really. But then you show up with a handmade cake and a suggestion to go to the local carnival, and he finds it hard to say no. After all, what kind of friend wouldn't say yes to a totally platonic outing on his birthday?

Wordcount: 6k! (Wowee, okay, this is post-edit Kai here. I uh... This went from a short 1k fic to 6k! I wasn't expecting that aaa)

Snippet:

Upon opening his door, he was greatly surprised to see you all dressed up. You were wearing a pastel coloured sundress with your favourite colour and your hair done up in your favourite hairstyle. Bucky quickly took note of how you were holding your arms behind you, like you were hiding something. “Morning Sergeant Barnes! Glad to see you know better than to keep a lady waiting.” You greeted him with a smirk. Bucky felt the claws of depression and pessimism leave him as he glanced at your face and getup. Something about your presence this morning made him feel comforted.

Read the rest on AO3!

Moodboard was quickly made by me with images from Google, so uhhh... I guess you can use it if you want? I'm not too familiar with moodboards, usages, credit, etc on here ^^

Note: I'm scheduling this post in advance because I'm going to be up late proofreading this super-duper last second. I've never really participated in something like this before, and I'm just getting back into fanfic writing, so if this all seems rushed or hectic, that's why! Sorry in advance &lt;3

Bonus: While I don't NORMALLY listen to two things at once, I was listening to this Bucky Barnes playlist and this Carnival ambience video at the same time while writing this. It really helped me immerse into my writing. It's not necessary to read the fic though

[ynscrazylife]

Jessss can I pls request a sort of angst fic but like one of the ‘how the avengers would react to...” lists with it being R being like a young avenger but like they get affected by some kinda chemical or weapon or something on a mission and is really sick and no one knows how they can help them bc it’s like alien tech or something that did it? I just think it’d hit a spot in my heart rn and there’s never anyone better to ask than youuuuuu bc you literally know the character’s so well everything always hits lmao

Sick Days 

Summary: The Avengers get worried after you get mysteriously sick from alien tech.

Author: You said a fic but you also said a “How the Avengers would react to” list so I wasn’t sure what to write, so I went with a fic. If this is not what you wanted, please let me know!

Request to be on a taglist (or multiple) here! (Taglists are at the end of the fic)

Main Masterlist | MCU Masterlist

PSA: Do NOT copy, steal, translate, plagiarize, republish, etc any of my works on Tumblr or any other platform. Also, do NOT claim any of my works as your own. All of these works are either requests I’ve gotten that people have wanted me to write or original ideas I’ve had for works. If you happen to take inspiration from anything I’ve written and want to write something inspired by that, please a) ask me firstand b) IF I say yes, credit me as inspo in your post by tagging me and link whatever work of mine that inspired you. Thanks.

Being an Inhuman has never really been a problem for you before. It gave you some pretty cool powers and allowed you to join the Avengers team during the five year blip. S.W.O.R.D. had gotten word of when you accidentally activated your powers and, since they were still dealing with half of their agency being dusted, asked Natasha Romanoff if she could take the lead on this one and check it out. She found you, a young teenager at the time, frightened and confused. After realizing that you were an Inhuman, with Captain Marvel’s help, she explained to you what happened. It turned out - you had nowhere else to go, so Natasha ended up taking you in. She had a soft spot for you.

Long story short, once you got a little bit older, Natasha began training you in combat and allowed you to join the team. Once the blip was over and everyone returned, you met the others and were officially declared an Avenger. Despite being the only not-fully-human-person on the team (Thor had gone to the Guardians), you fit in perfectly. Everything was going smoothly.

That was . . . Until patrol one day. Where things took a turn.

“Hey, Y/N?”

You had been patrolling the streets of New York City for a little while now when the voice of Natasha chirped in your ear. Excited, you said, “Hey! Can I finish patrol early? There’s nothing really going on.” As much as you loved patrol, wintertime was nearing and you couldn’t exactly wear a coat with your suit, so you were getting rather cold.

Instead of a positive answer like you had hoped, Natasha chuckled. “Not just yet, kid. We actually just got a tip off from the NYPD. A break-in was reported at a nearby storage unit and none of their patrol cars are close. You’re actually the closest to the situation, it’s only two blocks away. Think you can check it out?” She asked.

Your desire for warmth was overshadowed by your curiosity and more-pressing desire to actually do something. “Who would break into a storage unit?” You asked, confused.

“That’s what you’re about to figure out. It’s two blocks to the east,” Natasha said.

“Alright. I’ll see you afterwards, then,” you replied.

With that, you turned to your right and began walking. Unfortunately, being Inhuman did not grant you super-speed powers. Instead, you had light powers.

You got there in no time. On the outside, everything looked fine. If you were just walking down the street and passing by (which a couple of people were), you wouldn’t have thought anything of it. But you were no ordinary civilian. You managed to sneak inside and used your light powers to make yourself invisible. It was a large floor, with lots of storage units, but it was also quiet, so you took your time inspecting each and everyone.

Reaching the other side of the floor, you were about to report that it must have been a false alarm or something as you couldn’t find anything, when you rounded the corner only to spot a masked man lurking around an open storage unit. Spotting the broken lock on the floor, you knew that this had to be your guy.

Still invisible, you quietly sneaked up beside him, preparing yourself to show yourself and give the guy a chance to surrender, but wanting to stop him from being able to escape, too. Just as you inched close so you were right behind him, the man suddenly turned around and blasted you with the weapon he was holding.

This took you completely by surprise - there was no way for him to have known that you were there! You were flung into the air and hit the wall of another storage unit, before falling to the floor. “Hey!” You yelled as your invisibility disappeared and you struggled to sit up. The wind had been knocked out of you and your head was throbbing, but if there was anything to know about you, it was that you were relentless.

The guy broke off into a run, leaving the rest of the storage unit behind. You stumbled to your feet, trying to follow him, when a combined wave of dizziness and nausea pushed you against the wall. Your vision swarmed and your arms wrapped around your stomach, as you suddenly felt horrible. More sick than you had ever been in your life.

Whatever that guy had blasted you with - it had done something. Something bad.

As much as you tried to fight it, your body sank until you were curled up on the ground. Beads of sweat laced your forehead but you shivered at the same time. You had just the amount of strength to be able to press on your comms. “I need help,” you said, but it came out as a croak. “The guy surprised me. Blasted me with something. Please-”

You weren’t able to get anything else out as you fainted, your body succumbing to the attack of exhaustion, pain, and sickness.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Natasha heard your plea, the feeling of panic crashed into her. “Y/N?” She said when you stopped talking, already typing away at her computer to track your location. When she only heard static, she pursed her lips, frustrated. “Y/N, c’mon!”

“What’s going on?” Clint asked, poking his head into the living room as he had been walking by.

After finding your location and reading your stats provided by your suit, Natasha glanced up at Clint. Despite the hardened, blank look on her face, Clint could tell she was worried by the way she pinched her eyebrows and the frown tugging her lips down. He patiently waited for her to answer, his face growing solemn and more serious.

“Something happened to Y/N on patrol. You need to gather the team. I’m going to go get them,” Natasha said, rising from her seat and going to leave without another word.

As she passed him, Clint gently grabbed her arm. “I’m sure no matter what happened, the kid will be okay,” he said, wanting to provide some comfort. He shared her worry - heck, everyone would, they all adored you - but was able to be more calm about it. A skill he had developed as a dad to four children.

Natasha forced a smile. “I hope so,” she said, and gave her best friend’s hand a small squeeze before leaving to suit up. She couldn’t afford to waste any time.

When she left, Clint had F.R.I.D.A.Y call the team down to the living room. It took a couple minutes, as they were all in various parts of the building, but eventually everyone was gathered. Clint refused to tell anyone the purpose of this impromptu meeting until everyone was there, which was a little frustrating for people.

(People as in Tony)

“Will you just tell us already, Legolas?!” The billionaire exclaimed, as he and the others stood watching Clint pace back and forth, occasionally checking his phone in case Natasha had texted any update.

Finally, seeing Wanda and Vision walk in, who were the last to arrive, the archer explained. Shooting Tony a glare, he said, “Something happened to Y/N on patrol,” he repeated the words Natasha told him. “We’re not sure what, but Nat’s going to find out.”

Everyone’s faces softened. “Something happened? Like an injury?” Wanda inquired, frowning.

Clint glanced over at Natasha’s computer, which still displayed your stats. “Maybe . . .” he trailed off, his eyes catching something on the screen. “Wait - it looks like they’re sick or something. See? Y/N has a high fever.” The rest crowded around him.

As they all watched the screen, Bruce said, “I’ll go get the medical bay set up. Dr. Cho should still be here,” before briskly exiting the room.

“Y/N displayed no signs of illness this morning. In fact, they seemed to be quite well and excited for patrol,” Vision noted.

“They did say they were blasted with something,” Clint murmured, trying to connect the dots.

His phone’s ringtone interrupted the team and Clint scrambled to answer the call. Seeing that it was Natasha, he put it on speakerphone for everyone to hear.

“Y/N’s sick. It’s bad. They’ve already thrown up on our way back and I’m carrying them,” Natasha rushed out almost as soon as Clint accepted the call. They could all hear her controlled breaths as she was walking as quickly as she could.

“Bruce has gone to get med set up for when you arrive,” Steve said.

Remembering how you sounded on comms, Clint asked, “Is Y/N conscious?”

“They’ve been slipping in and out for now. They were passed out when I found them,” Natasha answered.

The team exchanged looks of worry. “Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out,” Tony tried to answer confidently, but his concern overshadowed his tone a bit.

Minutes later Natasha had burst into the tower, you still in her arms. She made a beeline for medical and the rest of the team were hot on her heels. As Natasha had said, you were definitely awake, but unaware of your surroundings nor the state you were in. You were still sweating and shivering profusely and would occasionally mumble something incomprehensible or let out small whines of pain. It broke everyone’s hearts to see you like this - if not for the pressing danger, they weren’t sure they could stand it.

Once at medical, Natasha gently laid you down on a bed where Dr. Cho quickly got to work. The Avengers were allowed to stay in the room (they surely would have put up a fit if not), but needed to stay back so Dr. Cho could work. They all watched as she hooked you up to monitors and assessed you. 

“Y/N’s defiantly gotten very sick quite quickly,” Dr. Cho confirmed as she worked. 

“It must be that damn blast,” Natasha muttered. “We need to figure out what that was.”

“I can get the storage unit’s company to send us the security cam footage,” Tony offered, but didn’t wait for a response before dashing out. 

“Can someone get some cool compresses? We need to bring their temperature down, it’s dangerously high,” Dr. Cho requested as she set up an IV. 

Sam and Wanda immediately complied, rushing to get the compresses. They returned and draped them on your forehead, neck, arms, anywhere they could. Up close, they could see how pale and fragile you really were, eyes half-closed. It was scary. 

“I’ve given them an IV with fluids and medicine,” Dr. Cho said, letting out a huff. “That and cool compresses is all we can really do for now except to continue monitoring them.” With a gesture of her hand, the Avengers all flocked around you, drawing up chairs to sit. No one wanted to leave your side. “Let me know if their condition changes.” Dr. Cho smiled sweetly at them before leaving and letting them have some privacy. 

No one said anything for a little while, stewing in their concern as they watched you. You had fallen asleep, but it didn’t seem restful, with your pinched eyebrows and scrunched up nose. Wanda continued to dab your forehead with the compass while Steve and Sam would occasionally go to get more. 

After some time, you woke up a bit and let out a whine. “What is it, hon?” Wanda asked softly.

“It’s cold . . . Can I have a blanket?” you croaked, voice hoarse. You squirmed a bit, pouting. 

“I’m sorry, darling, you can’t. We need to get your fever down,” Natasha explained. 

Tears at how awful you felt came to your eyes. You curled up on the bed. “Please . . .” you said. 

This shattered everyone. Natasha frowned, gently petting your hair. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. 

You moaned before letting out a few coughs that shook your entire body. Clint went to grab you a glass of water while Steve glanced at the clock. “Shouldn’t the IV and meds have kicked in by now?” He whispered. 

Clint helped you drink some small sips of the water while Vision answered, “yes, it should’ve.” 

Everyone looked around. “I’ll get Dr. Cho,” Sam decided, keeping his voice low so as to not disturb you. 

A couple minutes later, he came back with the doctor in tow. You were still curled up, looking miserable. “Hi, Y/N,” Dr. Cho said. “How are you feeling?” She was pretty sure she knew the answer, but still wanted to ask. 

“Hot and cold at the same time . . . My head, throat, and stomach hurts,” you said, voice so small that the others had to strain to understand you. 

Dr. Cho nodded and looked over the monitors, frowning. “The meds should have kicked in by now,” she muttered. 

Everyone felt defeated and even more worried. What the hell had you been blasted with?! 

“Maybe a bath might help? My mom always had us take warm baths when Pietro or I got sick,” Wanda suggested. 

The rest nodded. At least it was something. “You feeling up for that?” Natasha cooed, seeing how tired you were. 

“I want to try,” you mumbled, trying to sit up. 

Natasha and Wanda helped you. They wrapped wrapped one of your arms around them and one of their arms around you, half-carrying, half-leading you to the bathroom. Clint followed behind to be able to open the door. 

You leaned against the wall, supported by Natasha, while Wanda started the bath and Clint returned to the rest. The redhead had to keep you from dozing off a few times which worried her a bit about leaving you alone. When the bath was ready, Natasha said, “We’ll check on you every ten minutes or so, okay?” 

You nodded, although it was a small nod so as to not aggravate your headache. Wanda and Natasha then left you alone, walking back to the medical bay. When they returned, they saw that Tony had come back, too. 

“Did you find anything?” Natasha asked anxiously as she and Wanda resumed their seats.

“There was nothing much the footage could tell us,” Tony admitted, standing in front of the team and Dr. Cho. “We saw Y/N using their powers to make themselves invisible, but it seemed like the guy who attacked them knew that or something because he turned around and blasted them while they were invisible. I’ve talked with S.H.I.E.L.D. about it - Fury says it might have something to do with Y/N being an inhuman.” 

This got everyone’s attention. You being an Inhuman had never interfered with anything before, so what was the problem now? “Fury had some of his agents look at the rest of the tech and stuff from the storage unit the guy had been lurking in. Apparently - it’s all tech that belongs to the Kree. It would make sense why it’s effecting Y/N, since the Kree sorta invented the Inhumans. He’s contacting Carol now to see if she might know anything about it,” Tony continued, and then grabbed a chair and sat down while everyone processed this. 

“Let’s hope she does,” Bruce said, receiving murmurs of agreement. 

They sat around until the ten minute mark hit, when Natasha went to check on you. She returned a couple minutes later, her arm wrapped around you. You looked quite sleepy, and the Avengers would of aw’ed if you weren’t so sick. Your hair was still damp but you were wearing Avengers-themed pajamas.

“They fell asleep in the bath,” Natasha told the team, before helping you get situated back in bed. 

Seeing as the sickness wouldn’t be contagious if it was indeed an Inhuman once, a couple of the Avengers gladly cuddled you, wanting to prove some comfort. Really, they all would’ve, if the bed had been big enough. Natasha and Wanda laid down on either side of you and Clint sat at the end of your bed. 

Natasha pet your hair while Wanda simply had her arms wrapped around you. Sam was waiting with a glass in his hand in case you got thirsty. When you dozed off for a little bit, Tony couldn’t help but snap a picture. “Sorry, they’re adorable,” he said, not sounding apologetic at all and shrugged.

After waiting with you, Carol drew everyone out of their thoughts by walking in. She was wearing her usual suit, but held a vial in her hands. 

Hearing her footsteps roused you and when you could make out the blonde, you smiled. “Carol!” You said, having missed her. 

Carol smiled warmly at you. If there was anyone who could break the space captain’s tough exterior, it was you. “Hey, little one,” she greeted. “Long time, no see. I’ve got something for you that will help.” She handed Natasha the vial. “It’s the cure to your sickness. The sickness was invented by the Kree to infect the Inhumans. From what I can gather, the guy was a Kree man who had a device on him that could detect Inhumans - that’s how he knew you were there.” 

“Interesting,” Steve mused, as Natasha handed you the vial. 

Not caring about how bad it might taste and just wanting to feel better, you gladly drank the entirety of the vial in just a couple gulps. 

“It’ll make you quite sleepy, but-” Carol cut herself off as your eyes quickly fluttered shut and you fell into a deep sleep, head falling against Natasha’s shoulders. “They’ll wake up in a few hours feeling better.” 

She turned around to grab a chair. “You’re staying?” Sam asked, as they watched her. 

“Of course,” Carol said, scoffing as she sat down. She looked at the Avengers. “What, is anyone planning on leaving?” 

They all smiled at each other as a series of “no’s” went around. They were more than happy to sit with you and comfort you. 

“That’s what I thought,” Carol said proudly, smiling. 

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