#you know characters who just Get you like that? hung out with my partner last night and i just randomly got hit with so many Emotions abt h

[pawacelsus]

what gets you so much about bonnie dd2?

WOOF okay opened pandora's box here, but also I have NO clue if I'll be able to really... Word it properly? She is sort of just The character that my brain decided to latch onto. May be simple, just be that she's new and therefore unique! But at the same time, I think it's because we see her chance at happiness get ruined. For most of the hero shrines in dd2 (that I have played), we see this constant fall: Paracelsus plays god, Audrey robs her first grave, Dismas robs the carriage, but the story doesn't (as far as I know!) really frame them as being on the... Up. It's this constant downward spiral. Things are getting worse and worse for them.

But, fittingly enough, Bonnie finds that glimmer of hope. She runs away from Saint Martha's, and she finds happiness! She's taken in, she's adopted! She finds new parents! It is very explicit: She is happy and things are looking up.

And then she ruins that. She, by her own hands, kills the people who took her in, and now she is haunted by it. All her trinkets weaken her against Gaunt enemies, where you can find the Woodsman, where everything points to that being her dad, the kindly man that took her in, who she killed. Fell the Tree, Carve the Toy, Protect the Child.

What's the worst is how close she was to happiness, unlike... A lot of the rest of the cast. She was so close to it. But she, like everybody else, ruined it by her own hands. And now here she is. There's no heroic background to her. She doesn't know the ancestor. She doesn't have experience fighting off these eldritch abominations that spew forth from the mountain. But she's there. She's fighting anyways.

MANY months ago, I had a run with a Sunny Disposition Runaway. That team, to this day, has been my absolute favorite, but part of the reason I like her so much is because of that one Runaway. Back when act-outs were a thing, Bonnie would consistently take hits for other people, even when they were really fine, and multiple times she had destressed people down to a manageable level. Absolute mvp. So, we head up to the Denial boss fight, and... She's the first one to die. Stuck with me, having the most positive character on that team be the first one to die. Of course, that's just my brain being silly, but it's stuck with me, and remains part of how I write Bonnie to this day.

And in general, I just really like her design! I like how grubby and grimy she is, I like the way her clothes are all patchwork and little details in how she looks! Compared to the rest of the cast, she looks so minor, so plain. Love her animations, love her attacks, love her playstyle, I just generally adore her. Patting her on the head. Lovingly giving her a juice box. Taking her away from my fireplace. Giving her a warm blanket and a nice meal.

[byunpum]

Ghost girl | prologue

Pairing: Sully family x Albino na'vi!fem (for the moment)

Warning: All the characters are aged up 20’s, disaster, injured, death, neytiri being the mom we all need.

Note:I had this draft written, and it was taking dust. So I'm posting it, so you can read it and tell me what you think. You can see that I haven't paired the reader with any of the characters, and I think it's my first writing that the reader is not human. So I would like to know if you like it, and if so, who would you like to be Y/N's partner?

AVATAR MASTERLIST | Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5(final)

You felt short of breath, the more you ran. A wave of fire was coming towards you. Holding your newborn baby in your arms. Turning to see your village being burned. You had to run, you had to get your baby to safety. The great trees that were once cold, were ablaze with flames. Climbing up a hill, fighting with your feet stuck in the snow. Resting a little, seeing how everyone was gone. The ships of those humans had destroyed everything.

Their ships were moving away, leaving a desert of fire in the snow. You can feel someone touching your chest, bringing you out of your shock. Your baby touches your chest, starting to cry. You hug him tighter, trying to find some consolation. Your family, your people…they were all dead. Two attacks in less than 6 months, just for a piece of land, just for having that damn mineral. Tears welled up in your eyes, you were heartbroken. It was all over…you were alone. You stood for a moment, analyzing the situation. You could still hear the sound of falling trees, the burning snow and the horrible smell of death. You had several wounds on your hands and legs. But they were not as worrying as the open wound on your right thigh.

You had tried to bandage it, before running out of your family's hut, as it burned. But it was barely covered. Groaning in pain, you sit down in the snow. You had to think about what you were going to do, you were alone. You had no home…those demons had taken everything from you. Holding your baby, closer. Kissing his hair. "Easy…easy" you speak. You had to get shelter, and fast. From your chest hung a beautiful green stone that your mother gave you minutes after you lost track of it. She had told you that there was a jungle clan, the Omaticaya. That they could help me, that it was the safest place. Taking the stone in your hand, to now take a look at the opposite side of the landscape.

You were from the clan of the icy mountains, the trip was going to be hard and dangerous. You were not a hunter, or an explorer. You were simply a girl who had lost everything. But you had no choice, rising from the ground. Bowing in respect. "Eywa…take care of my village, my people…take them with you. Promise them that we will meet again. I promise" you make the 'i see you' sign. Taking a last look at what was once your home, and leaving for the unknown.

The jungle was quieter than usual, the wildlife could be heard sounding. That's what neytiri thought as she walked in search of an animal. She had gone out to hunt alone. She had to clear her head, and spend time alone like the old days. Playing and touching some flowers, when out of nowhere he hears a small whimper. Her whole body freezes, raising her ears to listen better. That noise was not coming from an animal. She stayed silent, waiting to hear it again. A few minutes later, she heard the soft whimper again, someone was in danger. She was confused, it could be a human calling for help. Or a wounded na'vi. She didn't want to risk it if it was a human, she only socialized with the humans on the base, far from that nothing. But something told her she had to go see what was going on. Taking a deep breath, she walked slowly to where those whimpers were heard.

Peering carefully through the bushes, her eyes widen. When she sees a na,vi leaning against a tree. But that was not what was impressive, what had caught her attention. It was the color of this woman's skin, you had snow-white skin. Just like your hair, the stripes that adorned your skin were almost a blue that faded into your skin. Neytiri stood watching, she had never seen anything like this in her life. She was in a state of shock, it wasn't until she heard a whimper coming from the girl's arms. Neytiri looked down, seeing how she was holding the baby. But the grip was lazy, watching as the girl tried to move her arm, but it was too weak. Neytiri decided to approach carefully.

Neytiri holds her bow close to her, still being suspicious. Just to get close enough, to make you look up. Neytitiri felt her chest tighten when she could see how young the girl was. According to her she had to be the same age as her children. She let go of her bow, noticing that there was no weapon on any part of your body. But that you were injured, with burns.

You lift your gaze, looking at the woman. She was strange to your eyes, just as she was the first time you had seen a jungle na'vi. Looking down again, you were so exhausted. You had no strength to go on, your thigh wound was serious. And you had barely eaten in two days. You watch as the woman kneels down in front of you. "Who are you?" says neytiri. Trying to sound calm. "I…my name is Y/N te noeä pauzu'itan" you pause to catch your breath. "I am from the clan of the mountains of…cold" you speak, in a low tone. Neytiri moves closer to you, now all had some coherence. Her mother had told her something about these clans.

"What happened…why aren't you in your lands?" neytiri speaks, daring to touch a piece of your hair. Her maternal instinct, not allowing her not to help you. "They…they killed everything…everyone" you speak. "They?" asks neytiri. "The demons" you speak, neytiri hearing this word, tightens her bow. Closing her eyes, in response. Neytiri moves closer, looking at your wounded skin. And notices the large wound on your thigh. "We must heal it…I'll take you to the village" she speaks, watching as you awkwardly raise your arm. "No…I can't" you pick up your baby as best you can. Bringing him closer to neytiri. "Please…take care of my son. I can't" you are on the verge of fainting. "No…I won't leave you here" says Neytiri.

"I will die…I just want him to be okay…take care of him for me" your voice is very low. Neytiri notices how your hands are shaking, taking the baby in her arms. Watching as yours fall to your sides. "Thank you" you speak, smiling weakly. "I'm not going to leave you here" neytiri orders, getting up to think better. She had to plan something…in a matter of minutes neytiri created a sort of bundle, so she could hang the baby on her chest. Coming up to bend his back in front of you, taking your weak arms. Climbing you on her back, holding you tightly. She knew you could barely breathe, how weak you felt. Neytiri knew that if she left you, you would die in a couple of hours.

Starting her way back to the village. She walked as fast as she could, she had a baby crying. While carrying a girl on his back. She could have ignored her, but no…she could not. Getting closer to the village, taking faster steps. "We're close" neytiri says, waving your hand a little, hearing a 'mmm' in response. Good, you were alive. Entering the village, seeing how everyone was shocked by the scene, while neytiri walked fast to the hut where her mo'at mother was working. "Help, mother!!!" neytiri shouts, near the hut. Mo'at comes out quickly. To see how her daughter was carrying, what looked like a dead body. "This one" speaks mo'at.

"No…she's really hurt," says neytiri, watching as her mother begins to help her take the girl in her arms. Mo'at holds you on her arms, rushing to take you inside to treat your wounds. "I found her alone in the forest…she told me that her village was attacked by the sky people" says neytiri, she was scared. She tried to get there as fast as she could. Watching as her mother, began to examine your body. " She is from the clan of the cold mountains," says Mo'at. Mo'at finds the largest wound, and removes the dirty cloth. "I need to clean and treat this wound. I need the help of more people. Tell kiri to come" mo'at orders his daughter. Neytiri runs out of the hut.

She had the little baby on her chest, who had already calmed down, but she could hear some whimpering " calm down, we are taking care of your mother," Neytiri cuddles him, as she arrives to her hut. Kiri was with her sister tuk, talking to her father. They all see how neytiri enters in a hurry, she was agitated and you could see how worried she was. "kiri honey…come!!! Mo'at needs us" says Neytiri, Kiri without thinking about it gets up and accompanies her mother. "baby what's wrong?" shouts jake, from his seat. Noticing how neytiri ignores him and continues on her way to her mother's hut. Upon arriving, neytiri could see how mo'at had already started with everything, placing some medicinal pastes on the girl's skin. Kiri is surprised to see you, she has never seen someone like you before, but she doesn't ask too many questions. She feels her mother handing her something in her arms.

Kiri looks down, and sees a baby. Just like the girl they were healing. "Kiri hold the baby" says neytiri, approaching her mother. "Mom…will she be okay?" asks neytiri, she sees how your breathing is vague. But you are alive. "Yes…she's weak and I have to monitor that wound. But look" mo'at points to the large wound on your thigh. "I already put medicine in it…I need you to go get these herbs. I will make a drink to bring her vitality back" mo'at says, watching as neytiri ascends with her face, getting up to get everything her mother asked for. Mo'at watches as kiri is cooing to the baby, and began to wonder what such a young girl was doing alone with a baby. She could see that the baby was only a month old. Looking carefully at the girl's body, observing how on her neck hangs a green rock. Holding it in her hand, she had seen that rock somewhere.

After a rather agitated afternoon, neytiri was sitting next to her mother. Holding the baby, and kiri was next to the girl. "So what are we going to do with him?" asks Kiri. "I think it will be best if you take care of him…for tonight. She is very weak, I will take care of her" says mo'at, arranging a few pieces of white hair. Neytiri reaches over and caresses the girl's cheek. "Kiri…come let's go to the house" speaks neytiri. Kiri gets up, following her mother. Just as they were about to leave. "Neytiri…later I will come by your hut" says mo'at. Neytiri ascends, and leaves the hut. Looking at the baby in her arms.

Arriving at the hut, she finds to her surprise that everyone in the Sully family was there. Tuk is still small, so she runs to her mother. She hadn't seen her all day, but stops when she notices what her mom is carrying in her arms. "Is that a baby?" the little girl asks. Neytiri smiles, "Yes…and it's very small." neytiri walks over to where jake is. "A baby? where did you get that?" the man is scared and worried. Neytiri sits down next to him, moving the piece of cloth covering the baby a little. Revealing a totally white baby, his eyelashes, hair…everything. This causes everyone in the family to move closer. Including the two youngest men in the family. "That's…what is it?" asks lo'ak. Touching the baby's tiny foot. "I found a girl." Neytiri pauses, telling her family everything that happened. "Those bastards" jake says, the demons were just destroying…he was thinking to himself.

"I'm taking care of him…until she's okay" neytiri says. "but" she pauses…as some tears streamed down her face. "She is so young…I think she is the same age as you" neytiri looks at neteyam. The boy just looks at the baby that his mother holds on her chest. "and she's alone…I couldn't leave her there alone. She offered me her baby…she told me to keep him. Assuming she was going to die." says neytiri. Jake hugs her, and kisses her on the hundred. "You did the right thing my love…you're great. I bet that girl will be grateful" Jake speaks. At that same moment, everyone hears mo'at enter the hut.

"How is she?" asks Neytiri quickly. "She is stable…but she is very sleepy. I was able to give her the drink…she looks better" says mo'at. Kiri puts her hand to her chest, sighing in relief. " Mom…where did that girl come from?" neytiri asks, watching as mo'at sits in the familiar circle.

" The clan of the cold mountains…one of the most ancient clans. Great warriors and hunters. Their white skin, perfect for being invisible in their territory. Prepared to withstand brutal cold. Ghosts in white. They are not like all na'vis. separating in the far reaches of the mountains, to maintain their lineage. They carry a beautiful magic in their being… they are the favorites of eywa." mo'at spoke, watching as everyone listened to her intently. "Your father and I met them… making a pact of peace. They cared for us and we cared for them. But we never had another close call…not until now." Mo'at pulls from his pocket a stone. "This was given as a sign of peace…she had it around her neck. I guess she came for help" there was a silence in the room.

"She told me there was no one left" neytiri holds the baby tightly. Remembering how hundreds of her clan were wiped out, how their home tree was destroyed. And now they had to live in these caves in hiding. "I imagine the worst has happened…but we have to wait for her to tell us everything" mo'at speaks, reaching up to caress the baby's cheek. "Where is her family? Where is her mate?" mo'at asks. Neytiri falls silent, she too had many questions…but for the moment she was going to take care of the two of you. Until she could figure everything out.

[thatoneyanderewriter]

ghostface!coriolanus snow

tw: dark themes, possessive behavior, coryo is insane, so in character lolz, implied murder and stalking, blood, lmk if there is more.

I might explore this au a bit more but I’d like to hear from you guys.

“Lucy Gray, what are you doing? You ask your sister. “Going out, just for singing and stuff, you know how it is, She kindly replied.”You can come too.”

“I know a liar when I see one, you’re going to a party tonight, aren’t you? You smirk. “Maybe, but I do plan on singing, music wise, Lucy Gray laughed.”Again, you can come.”

“Nah, it’s fine, Alcohol and I don’t work together well, and parties aren’t my thing, You politely decline. It was true. And your parents wouldn’t be home for another week or so. Business and all that. You had cousins, Maude Ivory and Barb Azure, but they lived a bit further from you.

Lucy Gray was always the life of the party. She had more friends than you, was a straight A Student. You were jealous happy for her.

“Well, you know the rules, don’t tell, bye! she said, and leaves. she wasn’t always honest with you, but at least she was right now, and able to trust you with that information.

you made some popcorn after dinner, with soda of course. this town was quite peaceful, and up until last year, there hadn’t been much crime. that was, until a murder happened.

ever since then, things had been paranoid. everyone and everywhere. but overall, the town hadn’t changed other than that. In the midst of the movie, you get a call. “I swear to fucking god… You begin, then pick up.”Hello? Who is this?”

“Is Lucy Gray home?”

You sigh, always for your sister. You knew people but were mostly invisible.

“No, I can take a message for her though.”

“Okay.”

“So, what’s the message? You ask, suspiciously.

“Just a friend from school, asking about the project she agreed to be partners on. Gave me the number for the project. Uh, you know when she’ll be home?”

“No, sorry, I’ll tell her though, bye!”

“Wait-“

You sigh, unpausing your movie when only a few seconds later, the phone rings again. You groan, but pick up anyway.

“Hello?”

“Hello.”

“I thought you were leaving a message for my sister, shouldn’t you call back later?”

“Yeah, but you’re much more interesting to talk to.”

“I’m flattered, you say sarcastically.”Listen, there’s not much to talk about. I’m-“

“watching a movie?”

“how did you know that?”

“lucky guess.”

freaked out, you hung up and locked every door. someone must be watching you. closing every curtain, you tried your very best, you really did. you’ve watched scream a million times, you know how to play smart. or so you thought.

the moment you heard footsteps you grab a knife from your kitchen, stepping forward but back with hesitancy. this better not be ghostface, you think. but just your luck.

suddenly, ghostface appears, knife in hand and blood on the mask, it was hard to tell on the actual costume. that’s when you bolt, and run as fast as you can while dialing 911, until your wrist is grabbed and your phone drops, surprisingly not breaking.

ghostface turns you around with the knife in hand. he’s found you, you’ve lost, and you’re about to be dead.

“I do love a good chase.”

despite the voice modulator, you could visibly recognize it a little, the voice. but you squeeze your eyes shut, hoping your demise comes faster if you do.

suddenly, you hear a laugh. and that’s when you know for certain who is ghostface. “coryo? you whisper, with a tone of relief and fear.

“that’s right, doll.”

you open your eyes, that nickname was once sweet, maybe even attractive when he said it, but now it made you feel sick. “why would you kill people? you said.

taking it off of him, he holds your face in his hands.”had to make sure they knew who you belonged to, that’s all.”

[silviakundera]

Did a speedrun through modern cdrama Everyone Loves Me because I'm a fan of both leads. A fairly well constructed romcom for a specific trope, AND also one of the most valid examples of the critique that cdrama storylines are pointlessly over-extended. This would have been a great modern drama at 12 episodes. Unfortunately, it's at least 10 episodes too long. The literal gaming (characters interacting while playing videogames) is very light - it's an initiating plot device piece but doesn't consume much actual screen time. The real genre is IT workplace romance with Hidden Identity trope.

Do you like:

* Capable & ambitious female lead x male lead with a competency kink whose turn-offs are white lotus & green tea girls and turn-ons are brash ladies who can cuss you out; dressing up to impress is not required

* Romantic dynamic of equal partners (2 strong personalities, not active/passive)

* "We don't know yet who is going to be the breadwinner. My goal is to be a CEO."

* Low heat (just a few kisses),

* modern workplace dramas (so much working)

[heavy spoilers below]

The actual set up & outline are:

* Online friend group who casually game together, in the last days of university. One of the guys starts catching feelings for the girl, our FL (let's call him Gamer Friend). FL isn't romantically considering Gamer Friend at all, because she has a crush on a guy from her uni.

* This crush is Gamer Friend in rl! 😮

* ML isn't open to being crushed on by anyone at rl uni, because he is already hung up on FL (as his online friend) 🙈

* FL asks for advice from her gaming buds on how to pursue her rl crush. Gamer Friend doesn't want her to succeed, because he wants to win her heart, so he keeps giving terrible advice to chase him by acting out the soft-spoken innocent maiden archetype (the opposite of FL's real boisterous & brash personality)

* This creates a comedy of errors where ML in rl is being pursued by the woman he's in love with, but he's shooting her down left & right. This culminates in her confessing and he publically rejects her in a harsh manner. When she comes crying (and vengeful) to the group, the guys all realize the identity confusion. Appropriately horrified, bros have no idea what to do. (This whole scene is gold tbh.)

* This plotline covers 7 episodes, but should have been dealt with in 4.

* Next 5 episodes (should have been 2!): Gamer Friend, toiling under karma, tries to be virtually supportive of his beloved while in person desperately making gestures to show remorse & have her less willing to obliterate his RL person. (this is all complicated by them both hired into the same company post-grad; there's a whole gaming dev & art design subplot - like in Lighter & Princess, the writers did the research so the setting is reality-based). This arc ends with identity reveal: she finally knows irl crush = Gamer Friend

* Next 6-7 episodes lead her from being (rightfully) furious and humiliated to them finally becoming friendly & supportive of each other. He waits to ask for more until he feels truly forgiven for the shakespearean hijinks that kept them apart. Includes work drama and fake-dating For Reasons. This arc, again, could have been 3-4 episodes.

* Final 5 episode arc is dating era and culmination of the gaming dev plotline. Heavy emphasis on work drama. Only 2 out of the last 5 episodes had significant romance material for the main couple, which was the major flaw in the drama. Avoided the separation cliche but also no marriage scenes at the end - we just see that they're still close, supportive partners a year later. Should have been 3 episodes ;)

The structure is right for a simple rom com set up of: one party pursues, gets rejected, then the other party pursues & corrects their mistake. The misunderstandings are logical enough; FL is assertive and we see evidence of her talent (not just told); ML likes her for herself & doesn't want a childish, obedient woman like the idol dramas represent; they are shown to make a good team & respect each other; the wronged party isn't a push over and their forgiveness has to be earned. It's clear why they like each other and that they work as a couple. (Though the emphasis is on compatibility & domesticity rather than sexual heat.)

The showrunner just needed to compress each arc and spend a lot less time on corporate minutiae. The way I engage with this type of drama is to binge, skip all 2nd couple scenes, and liberal use of fast forward ⏩⏩.

[pedroscurls]

Hold My Hand

Character(s): Frankie “Catfish” Morales , Reader (female, second person POV) Summary: For years, you have been in love with Frankie. Everyone else saw it, except him, and you never had the courage to tell him how you truly felt. Instead, you stuck by his side even when it hurt. And after Colombia, he hadn’t been the same. You knew he had demons (being a veteran and all), but this... This was different. Would Frankie finally open his eyes and realize that the woman he was meant to be with had been right in front of him all along? Word Count: 6,653 Author's Note: This is my first time writing this character, so if I’m a bit off, please let me know and give me some feedback! Anyway, I have been obsessed with Frankie and it might very well be my favorite character that Pedro has ever played. I hope you all enjoy this story. Enjoy and happy reading! (also this story may or may not be very loosely inspired by my own relationship with my partner). Warning: Mentions of death, killing, violence.

(song: Hold My Hand by Lady Gaga)

Present day

Francisco “Catfish” Morales. The man who had your heart. The man who you would do anything for. The man who had absolutely no clue how you felt. You had met Frankie and the rest of his group of friends five years ago and since then, you had always been by his side. 

You had seen him at his worst, at his best, even when he had proposed to, gotten married to, and had a child with his now ex-wife. Through it all, you pushed aside your love for him because you didn’t want to ruin such a great friendship you had with the man. After all, Frankie was your best friend. 

But now? Now, there was just something different about him. After his so-called “boys trip” with Will, Santiago, Benny, and Tom, he had been different. When you tried to pry out some information from the other men, no one gave you any details. They all stuck to the same story. You had thought asking Benny would be the way to go, but even he was tight-lipped, which made you wonder what this boys trip really was. 

The men had always come by where you worked (a hole-in-the-wall bar nearby a military base, which meant most of your patrons were either active duty or retired veterans). They always came by Wednesday night, every week, the same table, the same drinks, the same food. Their routine hadn’t changed, until the boys trip. Their weekly get-togethers became less frequent and you hadn’t seen Tom in so long. Even when you hung out with Frankie, all he wanted to talk about was how your life was going and his son, Mateo. While you didn’t mind, you missed him, missed the way he would smile and a dimple on the right side of his cheek would appear, missed the way his laughter would fill your heart, causing you to laugh too. 

“Hey, you there?” Frankie asked from over the phone, pulling you from your thoughts.

“What? Yeah, sorry. Got a lot on my mind.”

“Hm,” was all he said. “Are you working today?” 

“Like always. Are you and the guys coming?”

“Oh, is it Wednesday?” 

You could tell his mind was elsewhere. He was distracted. Frankie had noticed that his sense of time was all over the place, probably because he barely got any sleep these days. 

“Last I checked, yeah.” You bit your lower lip. “Still having trouble sleeping?” 

Frankie huffed. “I’ll be fine.”

“You keep saying that.”

“I’m managing.”

“Are you though?”

You could hear Frankie curse under his breath, which probably wasn’t a good idea on his end since he was holding the phone so close to his mouth. “Listen, I gotta go.”

“Wait,” you sighed. “I’m sorry if I pushed. I just–”

“Don’t worry about it.” 

“Frankie–”

“Gotta go.”

Before you could even object, he had already hung up the phone. You sighed and tucked your phone back into your pocket, standing from the table to head back to work. You hoped that you would see him today, see the rest of the guys actually. 

—

Five years ago

You had been working at the bar for a little over six months, moving to a new state for a new start. It was tough in the beginning, but you had come to enjoy the adventure that it brought. You had broken up with your long-term boyfriend after realizing that he hadn’t wanted to settle down, have kids– ultimately, you both just wanted different things. It hurt in the beginning, but the distance helped. Being in a new city where no one knew you alleviated most of the emotions you had felt when the breakup first happened. 

And the bar you had been working at was always a fun time. The men and women that came in were either active duty or retired veterans. While there had been a few mishaps that happened with some of the patrons, most of the time, it was calm, quiet, and even respectful. 

One Wednesday night, however, changed your entire life. Five men entered the quiet bar, deciding to occupy a table at the corner of the bar. You were taken aback. They were all so good looking in their own respective ways, but one man… One man in particular caught your attention immediately. 

“So, y’all coming to watch me fight this Friday or what?” Benny grinned, running a hand through his dark and dirty blonde locks. He was cute, had this boyish attractiveness to him and he definitely looked younger than the rest of the group. 

The other blonde-haired man looked over at Benny. Must be his brother, you thought. There were obvious resemblances, but you couldn’t help but notice how this one was a bit older, quieter, more reserved. “Yeah, we’ll be there, Ben.”

There was another man who spoke up and you noticed him standing from his chair. You immediately went back to focusing on cleaning the counter of the bar, trying to act like you weren’t just staring and eavesdropping. He was handsome, alluring, his salt and pepper beard neatly trimmed. He was definitely clean cut, walking towards the bar with a sense of confidence that you found sexy. 

“Um, excuse me?” He called out. “Can we get five beers?”

“Oh, sure. Of course. Keep the tab open or close out?”

The man glanced over his shoulder, looking at his friends with a smile. “Yeah, let’s keep it open.” He handed you his card and you took it without hesitation, turning your back to him to swipe his card. 

“You new here?” You heard him ask. 

After ringing up the drinks, you turned back to him and handed him his card. Then, you grabbed five glasses to fill with beer. 

“Yeah, but bartending has been something I’ve always done. Even back home,” you replied with a smile. 

“Oh, so this isn’t home?” 

You shook your head. He was friendly, easy to talk to, and it helped that he was also nice to look at. “California’s home.” 

“So, why Florida? Weather’s kind of the same, lots of beaches…”

“Relationship ended.” You said, handing him the glasses. “But I’m happier here.” 

“Well, I’m Santiago. You can call me Santi, or Pope,” he smiled. “If you ever need a tour guide, I’d be happy to be of service.”

You blushed, glancing over his shoulder to the table with his friends. They were watching you, but you couldn’t help but find yourself staring a bit longer at the man with a cap. 

“Pope?” You said with a smile. 

“It’s my callsign,” he replied. “Was in the service.”

You nodded in understanding. “Makes sense. Bar near a military base.” You smiled, telling him your name. “By the way, your friends are staring a bit too hard over in this direction.”

Santiago looked over his shoulder and chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. “Probably jealous I got to talk to you first.” 

“Ah, I see. This was all part of your plan, come over here, sweet talk the bartender?” 

He laughed quietly, glancing over at you. “Damn, you caught me.”

Looking over his shoulder again, your eyes met the man who was wearing a hat. You could tell that his dark curls were sticking out from underneath and he had this mysterious way about him. He seemed as reserved as the older, blonde-haired man, but you felt a pull towards him. Just something about him. 

“You wanna meet ‘em?” Santiago asked. “My friends, I mean.”

“Oh, you know…” You cleared your throat. “It’s fine. I don’t want to impose and–”

“Nonsense,” he smiled. “Guys!” He called over his shoulder, waving them over. Almost immediately, the remaining four stood from their seats and walked over to the counter of the bar. As the man with the hat came closer, you felt your heart beat faster, your cheeks slowly become hot, and all of a sudden, you were now looking at five good looking men. 

“This is Will,” Santiago said. Older, dark blonde-haired man.

“Benny, his younger brother.” You were right. They were brothers. 

“Tom.” Santiago pointed to the man with dark hair, his beard also tinged with gray. He was the only one wearing a wedding ring, but he had this permanent scowl that you found to be a bit intimidating.

“And this,” Pope said, wrapping an arm around the man with the hat. “This is Frankie.”

Frankie. 

He removed his hat, running a hand through his curls and he looked at you with such soft eyes, big, and brown that had you captivated instantly. He gave you a small smile and you noticed the dimple on his right cheek, right underneath the patchiness of his beard. 

“Nice to meet you guys,” you said, trying not to act too obvious that you were obviously more interested in one man. 

“She’s new to Florida. I figure we can show her around.” Santiago said, handing each man a glass. “You know, show her not the touristy areas.” 

“Santi,” Frankie mumbled.

“What?” he replied. 

Benny grinned. “That sounds like fun. I’m in. I’ve got a fight this Friday, you should come.”

You glanced over at Benny, watching him take a swig of his beer. He was leaning against the counter of the bar, flashing you a smile that felt welcoming and inviting. 

“A fight?” You asked.

“MMA,” Will responded. 

Your eyes widened, a small grin slowly appearing on your lips. “MMA? I’m in.”

Santiago arched his brow. “Are you a fan?”

“Huge fan,” you nodded. “Brings back a lot of memories with my grandpa.”

“Sounds like a good man with taste,” Benny chuckled. “Here.” He grabbed a napkin and a pen from over the bar and wrote down the details: the time and location. You looked down at the napkin and smiled, pocketing it into the front of your pants.

“I’ll be there.”

Benny smiled. Tom, on the other hand, was the one who interrupted the conversation by saying, “guys, we should probably head back, let the girl do her job.”

You cleared your throat, nodding in agreement. “It was great meeting you guys. If you need a refill, just let me know.” You turned your attention once the door to the bar opened, noticing two men entering and taking a seat at one end of the bar. You excused yourself, walking over to them to take their orders. 

“She’s nice,” Santiago said, following the guys to the table. “You think she’s really gonna show up on Friday?”

Frankie shrugged. “I’m willing to bet she was just being nice. You know, customer service and all of that.”

Benny rolled his eyes. “Seemed like genuine interest to me.”

“Will, back me up here,” Frankie added.

Will shrugged. “I don’t know, Fish,” he chuckled. “Hard to argue when her interest in the sport seemed very sincere.”

“Tom?”

Tom didn’t respond, just sipping from his beer.

“What’s the big deal, Fish?” Santiago asked. “She’s nice, she’s new to the area. Seems to me like she needs some friends.”

Frankie didn’t respond. He glanced over in your direction, taking note of how your smile lit up the entire room. There was something he hadn’t felt before, right in the pit of his stomach as he watched you move from behind the bar, making the drinks for the other patrons that had come in. 

“You got a crush, Fish?” Benny teased, letting out a quiet chuckle. 

“What?” Frankie whipped his head towards the younger man, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest. “Just distracted, is all.”

“She is single,” Santiago grinned. “And she didn’t show me much interest.”

“You tried hitting on her?” Frankie asked, feeling a sudden sense of protectiveness wash over him. He hadn’t even said anything to you, just a simple wave when Santiago introduced you, but there was a pull he found himself fighting. He didn’t even know you, yet he wanted to… It had been a long time since he had shown any interest in anyone. 

“I wasn’t hitting on her, Fish, jesus.” Santiago sighed. “I was just being nice, that’s all.”

“You’re wound up tight,” Tom chimed in. “And you didn’t even say anything to her. Next round, you should go up there and order for us.”

Frankie shook his head. “I’m good.”

The rest of the men chugged their beers, looking over at Frankie with smirks written on their lips. “We’d like another, Fish,” Benny grinned.

“Hey, I still have mine to drink,” he replied. 

“Easy fix,” Benny smiled, reaching for Frankie’s drink and downing the contents. “Now, go on.”

Frankie rolled his eyes. “You guys are assholes.”

The remaining four men erupted in a fit of laughter. When Frankie stood up, he straightened out his shirt and removed his hat to fix his hair before placing the cap back on top of his head. He exchanged a look with Santiago, noticing how the other man maintained a knowing smirk on his lips. 

“Dale,” Santiago whispered. “Go.” 

Frankie took a deep breath and walked over in your direction. He didn’t know why he was nervous, but when you turned to face him, a smile on your face, he felt himself suddenly relax.

“Frankie,” you smiled. “You guys went through those fast.”

Frankie shrugged, biting his lower lip as he nodded. “Yeah, can we get another?”

“Of course. On the same card?”

“Yeah, same card. Drinks are on Santi tonight.” 

“You guys seem like a tight knit group,” you noticed, grabbing five glasses and one by one, filling the contents. You still maintained conversation, looking up at him. “Lots of history there?” 

Frankie nodded, taking a seat at the bar across from you. “We all served together.”

“Ah, so all of you are retired veterans?” 

“That’s right,” he replied. “Santiago mentioned earlier that you’re new here?”

You smiled to yourself. Frankie was listening. “I am, yeah.”

“Where are you from originally?”

“California.”

“What’s wrong with California?” he smiled, feeling himself begin to relax as he continued to talk to you.

“Ex-boyfriend.”

Frankie arched his brow. “Ah. Bad breakup?” 

“Something like that.” You set the glasses on the counter of the bar in front of him, looking up at him. He was staring at you, his eyes piercing through you as everything around you seemed to disappear. All you could notice, could see, was him. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “You okay?” 

Ugh, he’s sweet. Your heart raced even further. You barely knew this man and here he was, showing genuine concern over your wellbeing. “Yeah, it was my decision. We wanted different things, wasted a lot of my years being unhappy, so moving to Florida without much of a plan seemed like a good idea.”

“And is it?” Frankie asked. “A good idea?”

“So far? It’s been challenging, but just what I needed.”

He smiled at that. Frankie liked the fact that you seemed so motivated, determined to make something of your life. You had noticed that life in California was no longer serving you and while plenty of people would have settled for the sake of being afraid of change, here you were, jumping feet first into the unknown. He liked it. 

“This might be too forward, but–”

“I was thinking–”

Both of you let out a quiet laugh, looking into each other’s eyes. 

“You go ahead,” Frankie said. 

You smiled. Since moving to Florida, you had stepped out of your comfort zone, doing things you had never thought you’d ever do. And this moment? You were going to take the first step and ask him for his number. 

“Can I get your number?” You asked quietly.

Frankie’s eyes slightly widened at that. He certainly wasn’t expecting that. In fact, he had thought that maybe you were interested in Santiago, Will, or Benny, but him? He didn’t see the appeal.

“Oh, um…” he began, hesitating.

You felt embarrassed, immediately shaking your head. “You know what, I don’t know what I was thinking. We barely know each other and–”

“I should probably get these beers to the guys,” he interrupted. Frankie didn’t know why he didn’t just give his number, maybe it was the fact that he had a lot of baggage that he didn’t want to share with anyone. This isn’t to say, though, that he wished he had the courage to just give it to you. 

“Right, sorry,” you sighed. “It was nice talking with you, Frankie.”

“Yeah, it was nice,” he smiled. “See you Friday?” 

You bit your lower lip, thinking back to Benny’s invitation for the fight night. You were a woman of your word and while you felt highly embarrassed, you still decided to go. “See you Friday.” 

And every Friday since meeting Frankie, Santiago, Will, Benny, and Tom, you had spent it with them, watching Benny fight. While the first conversation with Frankie had been awkward and embarrassing, every week your friendship blossomed and it had taken him three months to finally give you his number.

—

Three years later

You were spending Friday night with the guys again. For the past three years since meeting them, you had felt like you were now an honorary member of their group. Each of them had their own personality, differing from each other, but Frankie… Frankie was the one you were closest to. 

It was easy when it came to talking to him. He made you laugh, made you smile, and his efforts to always try to cheer you up when you had a bad day was welcoming, inviting, and it had been a long time since you had felt this way. 

But for three years, you were in denial of the feelings you had for him. Everyone in the group, however, noticed it long before you had. The way you and Frankie would hang out (just the two of you), the inside jokes you two shared, the look of longing you had whenever you were with him. It wasn’t until when something unexpectedly happened that it opened your eyes to the reality of your friendship with him. 

You were in love with this man, in love with Frankie. 

It was a Friday night. As usual, you and the rest of the guys were sitting in the front row, waiting for Benny to walk out to the cage. He had been on a winning streak lately and you were all so excited of the possibility that he may become something more than just an underground MMA fighter. 

Before Benny’s music came on, your phone rang. So, you excused yourself from the group and walked towards the back of the room where it was less quiet. Frankie had looked over his shoulder to watch you, both of you locking eyes. He let a smile line his lips and you nodded in his direction, letting him know that you were okay. 

But the moment you heard your mother’s voice on the other end, your smile faltered and tears instantly pricked your eyes. 

“What?”

“Grandpa’s – He’s gone,” you heard your mom say. “It was a heart attack. We need you to come home, baby.”

“But… I just talked to him a couple of days ago. He said he was fine, he sounded fine, he –”

“Come home,” your mom repeated, hearing her sniffle on the other end. 

“Okay, mom. I’ll – I’ll figure it out. I’ll see you soon. I love you.”

Once you got off the phone with your mom, you wiped your tears away and walked back towards the group. This was one fight night that you would have to miss and you knew Benny would understand. 

“Hey, Benny’s about to –”

“I can’t stay,” you replied to Santiago. 

“Is everything okay?” You heard Frankie ask. His brows were furrowed together and his eyes had softened a great deal. 

“N – No,” you whispered, tears slowly falling from your eyes. “My grandpa… He died and I just have to get home. I have to book a flight and pack and–” 

All of the guys knew how close you were to your grandpa. So without hesitation, they all understood, all muttered their condolences. But it was Frankie that had taken that extra step. He reached for you and pulled you into a tight hug, his strong arms wrapping around your frame. Resting your head against his chest, you let yourself cry, despite the loud crowd erupting in cheers when Benny walked out. 

“Let me take you,” Frankie said. “I can fly you to California.” 

“Fish,” Santiago said. “I think that’s a good idea.”

“You guys should leave tonight. Benny will understand. We’ll let him know after his fight,” Will said, his hand rubbing your back comfortingly. 

“Go,” Santiago said. 

“Frankie, I can’t –”

“It’s not up for debate. I’m taking you.” He pulled back, looking down at you once more with those soft eyes. It was in that moment you felt your heart skip a beat; the way he was looking at you and the way he was willing to drop everything to make sure you got home… You loved this man. 

You grabbed your things while Frankie said goodbye to the rest of the guys. Santiago pulled him in for a hug and you saw him whisper something in Frankie’s ear, which caused the other man to nod once he pulled away. After he said his goodbyes, you hugged each and every one of them. They all held you tighter and longer than normal and you felt like you could have broken down all over again. 

Santiago pulled back to look at you, cupping your cheeks and wiping your tears away with a swift motion of his thumbs. Everyone felt like your big brother. Everyone except Frankie. 

“Call us when you get there, okay?” 

You nodded. “I’m sorry I can’t stay and–”

“Stop,” he said with a small smile. “Frankie will take care of you.”

“I know,” you replied. “I just–”

“You be there for family,” Santiago interrupted. “And we’ll be here, waiting for you to come back.”

“I love you guys,” you whispered, your voice shaky and tears threatening to spill over again. 

Santiago smiled and kissed your forehead before letting you go. You turned around and noticed Frankie with his arms crossed over his chest, waiting patiently, but that look of concern was permanent on his features. Once you both left the building, he brought you over to his car and before he could unlock it, Frankie grabbed your hand and pulled you to him. 

“It’s gonna be okay,” he whispered. 

You nodded, your arms wrapping around him tightly. Being in his arms like this felt normal, felt like you belonged there. The feeling he gave you was nothing like you ever experienced before.

It was a couple of hours into the flight when Frankie spoke. He had been focused on piloting the small plane that he hadn’t checked in to see how you were doing. 

“So, I was thinking I can get a hotel once we get to California.”

“What?” You asked, looking over at him. “You don’t need to do that.”

“I wanna be there for you,” he said, glancing over at you. “Besides, how else are you gonna get back to Florida?”

“Hm, maybe just buy a plane ticket and –”

Frankie shook his head. “And spend all that money when you got a pilot as a friend?”

You sighed. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.” He reached out to rest a hand over yours. “We look out for each other, you know? Make sure that the other person is okay.” 

“Thank you,” you said, biting your lower lip. This wasn’t the first time he had rested a hand over yours, but this was the first time that you felt the love you had for him. 

“Do you wanna meet my family?” You asked hesitantly. 

Frankie squeezed your hand before letting it go to rest it back onto the steering of the plane. “Is that gonna be okay?”

“I have talked about you and the guys, so you won’t be a complete stranger.”

Frankie smiled. “Hm, you’ve been talking about us, huh? What have you been saying?”

Despite the circumstances, Frankie managed to make you smile. “It’s a secret.” 

Frankie didn’t push any further. He just gave you a single nod before turning his focus ahead of him. You didn’t know if you were ready to get back home, especially now that your grandpa wasn’t going to be there to welcome you. It hurt to know that the man who had always been there for you was now gone. He was a big part of your life and it just didn’t seem real that he wasn’t going to be here anymore. 

Later that night after you got to California, Frankie had gotten a rental car to drive you to your childhood home. You had been quiet the entire drive, aside from the quiet sniffles he heard. Once again, he reached over for your hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Hey,” he said quietly. “You’ve been quiet. Tell me what’s going on in that head of yours.”

You shrugged, keeping your eyes and attention out the window as you watched the houses pass as he continued to drive. “I’m just gonna miss him, that’s all…”

Frankie sighed. He never was good at talking about emotions or feelings, that was more up Will’s alley, but seeing you like this when you were usually always so positive, hurt and he wasn’t sure why he was feeling this way. Maybe because you were just a really good friend, but even after plenty of talks with the guys and especially Santiago, he had started to wonder if there was something more to this friendship. 

And as he continued to drive, all he could hear was Santiago’s voice before you and Frankie left. 

“You take care of her,” Santiago whispered, keeping his hold on Frankie as they remained in a hug. “She’s gonna need you.”

“Pope–”

“I’m serious, Fish. Be there for her.”

“I will,” Frankie nodded.

“That woman loves you so much,” he chuckled, pulling away. “I don’t even think she realizes it.”

“She loves all of us, man.”

“Yeah, but not in the way that she loves you.”

Frankie glanced over at you once he pulled up to your childhood home. He put the car in park and couldn’t help but notice that you hadn’t even looked in his direction the entire drive. He wasn’t sure if what Santiago said was true, but he knew that he couldn’t cross that boundary with you, and he certainly wasn’t going to take a chance on something that was possibly far from the truth. 

“Hey,” he said quietly. “I’ll be right here with you, okay?” 

When you finally turned to look at him, Frankie noticed your eyes were red and your lips were the opposite of what he was used to. You weren’t smiling. You weren’t happy. You were grieving and Frankie didn’t know how to handle that. 

“You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”

“I’m staying.” 

“There’s gonna be a lot of people crying.”

Frankie shrugged. “It’ll be fine.” He didn’t want to admit to you that death had been something he had gotten used to. Being in the military, he had seen his fair share of dead bodies, had lost plenty of friends along the way, and he had become numb to it. “Come on…” 

You nodded and climbed out of the car. Once Frankie was standing in front of you, you immediately wrapped your arms around him, crying into his chest as he held you. He didn’t like seeing you like this, didn’t enjoy the feeling in the pit of his stomach that gave him a clear understanding that his feelings for you were not just something a friend would feel towards another. This was different. 

And throughout the weekend, Frankie had become part of your family almost instantly. Despite the constant crying from your other family members and especially from you, he had been your anchor, keeping you grounded. He had met your parents, met your grandma, and it almost felt like he belonged here, with you. 

“Grandpa would have loved him,” you heard your mom say, watching as Frankie and your grandma were talking with each other. 

“I think so too,” you replied. When your mom wrapped her arm around you, you leaned in almost immediately. “He’s great, the rest of the guys are.”

Your mom smiled, looking down at you and back towards Frankie and your grandma. Frankie had managed to make her laugh and while you weren’t sure what they were talking about, you found yourself so enamored with the way he was so gentle and so caring towards her. 

“You love him,” your mom said. 

“What?” You asked, shaking your head. “No way. He’s just a really good friend.”

“You’re lying to yourself, honey.”

“Mom,” you sighed. “We’ve known each other for three years, so of course we’re gonna get close and –”

“I’ve never seen you look at a man like that,” she said. “Not even with your previous relationship and I thought you were gonna marry the guy.”

You rolled your eyes. “Mom, Frankie’s just a friend. Besides, even if I did love him, I wouldn’t want to ruin our friendship.”

“But what if he loves you too?”

You arched a brow. “He doesn’t.” But that would certainly change things. “We’re just friends.”

“Sure,” she chuckled, kissing your temple. “If your grandpa was here, he’d tell you the same thing.”

“I miss him, a lot,” you whispered, tears stinging your eyes again. “Hard to believe that he isn’t here anymore.”

“I know,” she sighed. “I know.”

Frankie had glanced over in your direction, flashing you a small smile before he turned his attention back to your grandma. Your mom noticed this and smiled, gently nudging you. “He’s a good one.”

You nodded in agreement, “he is.” 

Once you had said goodbye to everyone, you and Frankie were making your way back to the airport. It had been a weekend filled with a lot of tears, but also plenty of laughter as you and your family reflected on the moments you had with your grandpa. It also helped to have Frankie with you and seeing how he so easily fit in with your family made you reflect on what your mom had said. 

“But what if he loves you too?”

—

Present day

You were anticipating the guys coming to the bar, like they always had, but every time the door opened and it wasn’t them, you were met with disappointment. You didn’t know when everything changed, but you did have an idea that it might have had to do with their “boys trip” to Colombia. 

Throughout the rest of your shift, neither guys had shown up. So, when you had clocked out and left the bar, you made a note to visit Santiago. If anyone would tell you what’s going on, it would be him. It was late, but you knew that the guys had trouble sleeping, the cause of it due to being in the military. 

After twenty minutes, you parked your car along the curb to see Frankie’s car in the driveway as well. Confused, you walked up to the front door and knocked on it twice. It wasn’t long before Santiago opened the door and a confused, yet surprised, look spread across his features.

“Santi,” you said. 

“You okay?” He asked. “It’s late and –”

“We gotta talk.”

“Now’s not a good time.”

Then, you heard Frankie’s voice. 

“I think now’s the perfect time.” 

Santiago sighed and nodded, opening the door even further to let you in. Once inside, you walked towards the living room to see the rest of the guys – not only Frankie – sitting at the couch. 

“Wow,” you said. “So, this is where you guys go now.”

Frankie cleared his throat. Will and Benny looked at each other before turning their attention to you.

“We were going to stop by, but–”

“I don’t care if you guys don’t come to the bar,” you sighed, interrupting Benny. “But what I do care about is why in the hell you guys are acting so differently.”

Santiago had entered the room, leaning against his bookshelf. He glanced at the rest of the guys and sighed. He had to speak first. 

“Nothing’s going on,” Santiago said. “We just – It’s been a year since Colombia and we all just wanted to talk about it.”

“Ah, your boys trip. Where’s Tom, then? I haven’t seen him.”

The guys shared a look. It was a sad one. A look of regret, of disappointment, of failure. 

“Okay, I get it. You don’t wanna share the details, that’s fine. I’m not going to pry, but I just –” you sighed, your eyes falling on Frankie as you continued. “I just care about you guys and want to make sure you’re all okay.” 

“We’re fine,” Will said. “It’ll be fine.”

“But –”

Benny shouted. He had been four drinks in and was definitely feeling the effects of alcohol. “You don’t know what we’ve been through, what we’ve seen, what we’ve had to do! So please,” he said, shaking his head. “Don’t act like you can fix us.”

You cleared your throat. You weren’t expecting that and you were about to say something before Frankie stood up. 

“Let’s talk outside.”

“No,” you shook your head. “I’m okay. I didn’t mean to come in here and act like I wanted to fix you guys, so I apologize if it seemed that way. I do care about you all and I just – You’ve always been there for me. I figure I should at least return the favor, especially when I can visibly see how much all of you are hurting.”

Will gently shoved Benny, shaking his head. “Don’t listen to him,” he replied. “He’s not – We’re not okay, but we will be.”

You always knew Will to be the honest one out of the group and you gave him a nod in appreciation. You glanced over at Santiago and Frankie, biting your lower lip. 

“I’m just gonna go.”

Santiago called your name with a quiet sigh. “Listen, if we could tell you, we would.”

“I know,” you whispered. You spared another glance at Frankie, watching him sit back down. “Have a good night. I’ll see myself out.”

You didn’t bother to wait for a response. Instead, you turned on your heel and left Santiago’s house, shutting the door quietly behind you. Once you were in your car, you felt tears threatening to fall from your eyes. You let out a shaky breath and pulled away from the curb, making your way back to your apartment. 

“You should go check up on her,” Will said to Frankie after you had left.

“Why me?”

Santiago and Will shared a look, but it was Benny that spoke up.

“Because she loves you, Fish.”

“No,” Frankie said. “If she loved me, why’d she let me get married?”

Santiago shook his head. “Idiota.”

“What?” Frankie asked. 

“That woman has been by your side since the moment we met her five years ago and you’re telling me that the love she has for all of us is the same love she has for you?” Will replied, quietly chuckling to himself. 

“She didn’t want to ruin your friendship,” Benny spoke up, grabbing his beer. “She didn’t want to ruin something because she never knew how you felt.” 

“And let’s be honest,” Santiago added. “You love her too.”

Frankie tightened his jaw. All of the guys were right and it pained him to realize that he had let his fears – and yours – get in the way of what could have possibly been something great. 

“She’s one of my best friends,” Frankie replied. “Of course I love her.”

“Maybe,” Santiago said. “But you love her more than that.” 

“Go get her, Fish.” Will added. 

“She’s not gonna wait forever.” Benny chimed in. 

“She waited five years and watched you marry someone else… There’s gonna come a time, Fish, where she realizes that it might be better to move on,” Santiago finished. “You really gonna let her get away?” 

Frankie glanced over at Santiago. All he could think about was the endless amount of times where you had been there for him and especially the time where he had flown you to California after your grandpa passed away. It was odd to him how easily he fit in with your family and how at home he felt. 

Even with his ex-wife, he hadn’t ever felt like that. 

But with you? With you, it was different. Frankie felt like he could be himself, like he didn’t have to constantly impress you (or your family). With you, Frankie could let his guard down and be absolutely vulnerable with you and he hadn’t realized how much that meant to him until now, five years later. 

“I’m gonna call an Uber,” Frankie finally spoke up. 

“Finally!” Benny laughed, a stark contrast of how he had just reacted when you were here. 

“Go get her,” Santiago smiled. 

“Atta boy,” Will said. 

—

You had changed into your pajamas, dressed in an oversized t-shirt and shorts. Your hair was put in a hair clip and you had finished heating up your leftover pizza when you heard a knock at your door. It was well after midnight and you carefully looked at the peephole to see who it might be, but when you saw Frankie standing on your porch, hat sitting on his wavy locks, hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans, you felt your heart leap at the sight of him.

Slowly opening the door, he raised his eyes to meet yours. 

“Hey,” he said. “Can I come in?”

“Sure,” you replied, opening the door even further for him to come in. Once he stepped inside, he removed his boots and glanced around your apartment, smelling the aroma of pizza. 

“Frankie –”

“Is that –”

Both of you let out a quiet chuckle. 

“You go first,” Frankie said. 

“What are you doing here?” 

Frankie sighed. “Honestly, I don’t know,” he let out a nervous chuckle. “On the ride here, I had an idea of what I was going to say to you, but now… Now I can’t remember.” 

“If it has anything to do about earlier with the guys, just know that I –”

“No,” he shook his head. “It isn’t about that. We – We have a lot of baggage and we all know you come from a place of love, but sometimes, we just don’t think we’re deserving of it.”

“Frankie…”

“Why did you let me get married?” He asked abruptly. 

“What?” You asked, biting your lower lip. “You were happy. Why wouldn’t I?”

Frankie stepped closer to you. There were plenty of times where he had been so close to you, but this time… This time was different. 

“But were you?”

“What are you implying, Frankie?” 

He reached out for you, his hand reaching up to gently cup your cheek. Frankie watched as you leaned against his touch, your eyes falling shut. 

“You have always been by my side,” he whispered, taking another step closer to you. Mere inches separated your bodies and his thumb gently caressed you. “No matter what, you were always there.”

You opened your eyes, looking up at him. “Because I care about you, about all of you guys.”

Frankie bit his lower lip nervously. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m sorry it took me so long.”

“Frankie…” you knew what he was referring to, what he was implying and as his thumb brushed along your lower lip, you let it part. 

Frankie didn’t reply, but instead leaned in and pressed his lips to yours. You melted into him, your arms immediately snaking around his neck as his arms wrapped your waist. He gently lifted you off the ground, moving his lips against yours. Pulling away after a few seconds, he set you back down your feet and looked into your eyes.

“I’m never letting you go.” 

---

@pedrostories​

[cursedvibes]

Takaba, Higuruma, or Kashimo for the character ask!

Sorry this took a while, but here we go!

Takaba

favourite thing about them

I like that he's generally a good person, but also a bit morbid you could say. He doesn't want to kill or draw blood, but he's entirely fine with someone he likes doing it and doesn't shy away from getting violent if he needs to. Like kicking Hazenoki around or running Kenjaku over with a car or jet-ski is fine as long as there's not too much damage or blood. He was for example also in favour of killing the American soldiers because they could become a danger to them. He's also quick to forgive people for attacking him like in Hazenoki's case and with Kenjaku, where he tried to become friends with them. I love his overactive imagination, which makes his cursed technique so incredibly effective and gave us one of the best fights in the series (amplified by him having someone who played into his fantasies and sense of humour and expanded on it). I also really like his backstory. It's very realistic and something many people can emphasize with, I think. Also I like how he actually had serious problems with getting along with people and could get quite rough with them, it's very different from how we first get to know him. Gives him a more multi-layered personality. I hope he'll manage to improve his comedy carrier once all of this is over. Although I wonder how he will find a new partner and how losing the last good one he had will affect him, since he has already lost so many before.

least favourite thing about them

Don't really have any. I didn't pay much attention to him initially, although his introduction and the haunting look he had there always fascinated me, but I never really disliked him.

favourite line

"Marry me and be my Wi-fi!" (such a unique translation that even Japanese fans picked up on it and love it)

"Until when? Until I've done everything I think is interesting/funny."

"I had more and more friends, but could I ever find a partner?"

"I was trying to protect myself, so I just went with the interpretation that gave me the easy way out. I stopped confronting the idea of being a real comedian. I don't know when it happened, but I stopped taking comedy seriously. Because I didn't want to hurt myself any more."

"I will make you laugh so hard, you puke up your guts! That's my brand of comedy!"

brOTP

Hazenoki. I love how he saw Hazenoki through around his body parts and his attempted murder and was like "friend-shaped!" "we should team up!". He was even upset at seeing his corpse (although he got over that quite fast and certainly didn't blame Kenjaku for it). I wish they would've hung out together a bit more and that we saw more of them in the Culling Game and building some reluctant friendship. Hazenoki just lost a friend as well, Takaba could've given him some much needed company.

OTP

Pinchan! Actually quite similar to how Hazenoki and Takaba started out, except that Kenjaku and Takaba actually hit it off. Just like with Hazenoki, Takaba gets attacked, defends himself and then nags that person into going along with what he wants and building a reluctant bond. That other person just lost a friend and is feeling a bit aimless at the moment and is looking for company. Both of them end up losing their head in the end, leaving Takaba to find it. Except it went much better with Kenjaku, they actually formed a real bond and Kenjaku let themselves get swept along by Takaba, he actually managed to get through to them and found the partner he'd been looking for. Merely, the end is the same. But at least Takaba managed to leave a lasting impression on Kenjaku.

nOTP

Takaba/Megumi

random headcanon

He's quite involved in the queer community and has experience with drag. Contrary to his idol Centerman he doesn't tug, but I'm sure he could if he wanted to and he's no stranger to dresses and makeup.

unpopular opinion

I don't think he's stupid or an airhead who's entirely removed from reality. His backstory and life right up until the Culling Game show that, he just likes to overplay it because he wants people to like him and in experience that worked best when he played the fool. However, he's much more relaxed when he's allowed to take on the role of a straightman and let his true personality shine. Also, I hope he doesn't stick around much with the main group. Most of them don't really see him for who he is, take him seriously and see him more as a distraction who can sometimes be helpful/useful to them. Yuuji and maybe Hana are the exception, but the rest don't really care about him and for the most part just think he's weird and want nothing to do with him. He can find better people than that. Go back to Ken-san for example and start over.

Also he's hot.

song i associate with them

Glass Animals - Toes Particularly for the lyrics: "I’m a man, I’m a twisted fool" "I'm crooked but upright" "And all I ever want is just a little love, I said in purrs under the palms, And all I ever want is breaking me apart, I said to the thing that I once was"

Alphaville - Forever Young Vibe of the whole Baka Survivor arc, but particularly ch 243...

favourite picture of them

Higuruma

favourite thing about them

His bond with Yuuji and all the self-hatred and self-realization that comes with it. Yuuji makes him confront the parts of him he hates and also embrace his best qualities. Might be macabre, but I like them bonding over their guilt and suicidality. Besides that, I like that he isn't a born sorcerer and you can tell by his body and the way he fights. He's still quite athletic for your average lawyer, but he's not that physically strong, makes up a lot of it with cursed energy, he doesn't have as much stamina and relies more on his weapons and domain to avoid long fights. I'm so glad Gege didn't draw him shirtless and inevitably gave him a six pack that way.

least favourite thing about them

Don't really have anything I dislike about him. I wish his death had more of an impact though and stayed a bit longer in everyone's consciousness. I know this is the middle of a high-stakes fight, but if you compare it with Choso's death for example, it was brushed past very quickly.

favourite line

"I'm a man who has abandoned and been abandoned by the law. 'd like to be the one to punish myself in the end. It's just like you say. I think I should play my role to its completion and die in this fight."

"I've become someone who can't even look you in the eye anymore."

"I'd likely end up hating myself even more than I do now, if I were to stay by your side."

"All people are flawed and hideous. But at that time, at least until then, I believed this impurity that's not present in other organisms is something that should be cherished."

brOTP

Yuuji, for the reasons listed in "favourite thing".

OTP

I don't really have one for him. I generally don't really ship him.

nOTP

Again, haven't really seen a ship with him I don't like.

random headcanon

He doesn't eat very healthy, mostly instant food like ramen that's easy to eat while he's working. Or maybe he buys a bento at a street corner, but nothing that would be all that sufficient on it's own. And he tends to eat the same food or buy the same type of bento out of habit and doesn't think much about variety or nutrition.

unpopular opinion

I don't think his relationship with Kusakabe was all that deep. Like they're not a NOTP or anything, but I think people overemphasize Kusakabe's one sentence about risking his life.

song i associate with them

Couldn't really find one that fits.

favourite picture of them

Kashimo

favourite thing about them

They're a very fun, chaotic antagonist and I really like the two fights we got with them. The one with Hakari was super entertaining and had that type of eccentricity we otherwise only got in Baka Survivor and some of Mahito's fights. Love how gorey Kashimo is when fighting. Just ripping chunks out of Hakari, skinning his face, dismembering Panda, the battlefield we see in the past...that was some good fucking gore. Currently, we also get a lot of blood with people losing some body parts, bleeding all over the floor or Yuuji clawing into Sukuna's chest, but it doesn't quite measure up to what Kashimo brought to the table. It's not as viscous, you don't really see bones and intestines. They were also really innovative and surprisingly adaptive to such a modern technique as Hakari's. That battle had some good tactics. In my opinion their fight with Sukuna was also one of the best he had since switching vessels. It wasn't as technically impressive as Hakari's, but it gave us some very interesting lore about the Heian era and I think Kashimo's approach to the whole love topic was the most interesting because it felt more like an actual conversation where both parties listened to each other. They didn't end up agreeing, but the afterlife scene was really nice.

least favourite thing about them

Hm, they're not a very deep character, but I don't really mind that. Works well for them and I think their final fight also wasn't too short. Maybe half a chapter more would've been nice, but I think the pacing was good and I didn't feel like I was missing anything major. Better than unnecessarily dragging out fights...like the one that came right before... So yeah, nothing really to complain.

favourite line

"So if I can get out of this in 4 minutes and 11 seconds, I win. But that's what a small fry would think. Turn up the music and prepare your living funeral!"

brOTP

Hakari and to a degree also Kirara. They should've adopted Kashimo like a feral cat. It only makes sense. Hakari really knows how to bond with genderqueer people. There must be something about him that's like catnip to them. But I can understand it. Him and Kashimo had a lot of fun and fighting someone who is basically indestructible is basically Kashimo's dream scenario right after dying to Sukuna. Wish they would've learned something Hakari and Kirara's mindset, saw that there are actually people they could bond with right under their nose and that their loneliness is entirely self-imposed. They could've really spiced up the fight club. But alas.

OTP

Kenjaku. I like Kenjaku constantly showing up throughout their life and trying to wind them down to sell their soul to them. Like Mephistopheles and Faust. And the choice of their body when we see them together was no coincidence either I assume. Someone who's weak, so Kashimo would have no interest in fighting them, but young and seemingly healthy, showing Kashimo what they've lost and what they could gain back by making a deal with them. Also, they just look hot together.

I like Kashimo/Sukuna too, although more as fuckbuddies, I don't see them becoming anything more than that or either of them having interest in a long-term relationship. Kashimo's more emotionally invested, but I think with all that baggage about loneliness and love they'd have more interest in keeping it purely physical. Probably wouldn't know how to approach anything else.

nOTP

Haven't really seen a ship I don't like.

random headcanon

Kashimo seems to like animals, so I like to imagine them feeding stray cats back in the day and having a bunch of them who'd follow them around or show up at certain times to get treats. Maybe even did the same during the Culling Game. Kashimo asked Panda what he was doing there, when believing he was just a regular animal, so they definitely talk to any random animal they pass on the road.

unpopular opinion

Kashimo isn't a man. In Japanese Kashimo never once gets gendered and the official English translation for once is actually very faithful in that regard, so all the assumptions about Kashimo's gender are really only based on what they looked like in the past.

song i associate with them

Clarence Clarity - One Hand Washes The Other Kashimo and Sukuna. I feel the music also fits with Kashimo's electric powers and unstable mind.

favourite picture of them

[ohbo-ohno]

something I’ve had on the brain recently: Dlmliyh Ghoap X a Reader who was in a really REALLY bad situation before they found her. I’m thinking maybe she was already being held captive by someone, maybe she was trapped with abusive family or a really abusive partner, whatever the case she JUST got free when they find her and take her

And they’re shocked because not only is she just completely different from when Johnny first found her in the club, but she’s behaving a little too well, and freaks out whenever she even thinks she’s done something wrong, sometimes crying and apologizing and begging them not to punish her. They feed her regularly and love on her a little and she looks at them like they hung the stars because she’s used to having to beg for food and being hit at the slightest hint of disrespect. And when they do fuck her, they actually take the time to make her cum and make sure it feels good and afterwards she thanks them for showing that kindness and they’re like “?????!!???!!? Where the fuck were you before”

Idk I just really like the idea of them slowly teaching her that she’s safe with them and they won’t hurt her unless she gives them a reason to, and they’re so much more lenient than the last people she was with. She’s still held captive, and she has to endure their fuckings, but she’s kept warm and well fed and receives regular physical affection when she behaves and they make sure she cums at least once when they fuck her and she’s just so glad they’re not like the other people!!!!!

Idk something about a character getting put in a bad situation that is actually an upgrade from a way worse situation and their captors going “wait what the fuck what happened to you???” Sorry for the rambling it just lives in my head rn

~🦋

see i love this because it's like, going from a bad situation to a bad situation that isn't as bad but being so appreciative because you know it could be worse - that's such a good dynamic. idk if the sentence if just typed makes any sense at all but we'll pretend

obsessed with reader giving in super easily to everything (out of fear but very quickly out of affection) and ghoap just being like "....this feels too easy"

[lambsouvlaki]

For the Hell of it - 5 - Uncomfortably Honest

Character: Jason Todd x civilian! Fem!oc

Rating and Warnings: PG, discussion of past partner abuse (not Jason).

Word Count: 1,639

Summary: Jason and Andy talk about vigilantes who kill people. Andy wonders why he knows so much about these things. Jason wonders why she

Masterlist

Jason typed on his laptop, one handed, with his lips pursed and an irritated spike in eyebrows. His other arm hung in a grey sling with the ends of a bright red cast visible at his wrist. 

Andy sat next to him and restrained herself from grinning at his grouchy face. He had been in a rotten mood since he broke his arm a few weeks ago. ‘Fell off his bike’, he said. He couldn’t do his normal night shifts and was stuck doing admin in the meantime. She’d even gotten texts from him in the mornings. Things were getting dire. 

She’d demanded he join her in the library. If he was just going to be at home sulking over a laptop he may as well come sulk over a laptop with her.  

Outside it was raining, but there were no external windows in the study room, or any windows at all. The only lighting was yellow tinged from old fluorescent tubes. The old oil radiator ticked in the corner. She’d covered the large table they shared with reference books and loose notes, while Jason had only a slim laptop he hunched over. 

He took a disinterested bite from a stale croissant. He sighed and looked at her. 

“What are you working on? That essay on Dumas?”

She shook her head and finished scrawling out a sentence. “History paper today. I’m translating primary sources on the Reign of Terror.”

“Yeah?” He pushed his laptop away, happy to be distracted, and leaned his elbow on the table to face her. “How’s that?” 

“Linguistically fascinating. Thematically… really fucking grim.” She made a face. It was easy to forget the content sometimes as she focused on syntax and word choice. “I don’t mind three or four public executions, or even five or six, but I’m starting to think this is getting out of hand.” 

He snorted. “Not on board with the death sentence?”

“There isn��t a government on this planet I trust with the right to execute its own citizens. Or any other planet for that matter.” 

“Hm. What about the capes?”

She stared at him. “I don’t think they should be executed either? Jason, do you think-?”

“What? No!” He huffed a laugh. “I’m asking if you think vigilantes should kill people. They say that Batwoman with the red hair does sometimes.”

“Not my business.”

“Oh, come on!”

She shrugged. “What?”

He narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. “You live in the most cape infested city in the world, and the most crime ridden, in a suburb literally named ‘Crime Alley’, and you don’t have an opinion?”

“Do you?”

“I asked first.”

She sighed and leaned back. “You can be really intense sometimes, you know that?” It was like getting hit with a floodlight in the dark when he turned it on. It made her feel naked. 

His brow lowered. “Do you really not care?” 

She opened then shut her mouth. She hated the idea that he might think that about her. 

“What do you want me to say here?” she asked. “That I think criminals should be gunned down in the streets? Of course not. If you ask half the pricks in the Diamond District they’d probably tell you living in Crime Alley is evidence of being a criminal.”

“Probably.” 

“But what do the other vigilantes do? Leave you for the cops? How many people did the GCPD kill last year?”

“A few hundred,” he said. His expression was just as serious, but less troubled. She still felt like she was under a swinging interrogator’s lamp, and her indignation rose.

“And if you’re lucky enough to not get murdered by the fucking cops then welcome to the prison industrial complex, doing its best Hotel California impression. I hope you weren’t planning to do anything more than underpaid menial labour for the rest of your life, because you are never getting a better job than that. Congratulations. You have received Gotham’s mercy.”

“What else should they do then?” 

She heaved a sigh, letting old grief and anger fall away. It was hardly Jason’s fault. 

“I don’t know.” The Red Hood had saved her life once, and that guy had sure as hell killed people before. She didn’t know if he still did. The police hated him. That wasn’t the heart of the matter for her. “I never said I have all the answers. I’m not running around in a funny hat trying to save the world, I don’t have to have the answers. 

“Funny hat,” Jason muttered, with a quirk of his lips. He leaned back in his chair and studied her. “You feel pretty strongly about this.”

She threw her hands up. “First I don’t care enough, now I care too much? What do you want from me? And don’t think I didn’t notice you demanding my take while refusing to share yours.”

“I think Gotham’s vigilantes are too disconnected from the people they claim to protect. Association with the police has alienated them from some of the city’s vulnerable. I think the vigilantes forget that they’re criminals too.” 

It was her turn to stare. That wasn’t a stray opinion formed from half remembered headlines, that was a belief with conviction. Not that she was surprised he had a concrete position, she knew he was smart and thoughtful. For someone who, until now, had never expressed even a passing interest in Gotham’s crime problem, it was… not what she’d expected at all. 

“Yeah… I guess so,” she said, uncertain.

He ducked his head. He tapped a stray key on his keyboard.

She got the strangest impression she’d just seen something of his heart, displayed without pretence. She wondered what burned such an opinion into him. She thought about her own unplanned rant. 

He faced his laptop, idly scrolling through a text file. She stuffed a bite of her croissant into her mouth while deciding if she wanted to share something of her own heart. If she could bear it. Jason could mock and scoff with the best of them, but he wasn’t cruel, and there were things he didn’t make fun of. 

She screwed her courage to the sticking place and took a deep breath.

“I have a friend,” she said, into the silence that had enveloped them.

He looked at her questioningly. 

“Let’s call her… Stacy. She was abused by her partner. Not violently, but… it was still bad.” Her voice didn’t shake, and she was proud of that. “He controlled her money and made sure she had no one to turn to except him. She escaped, eventually, but not without getting an assault charge and six months behind bars for throwing a lamp at him while trying to get out. In the eyes of the law, he’s squeaky clean.” She bit the inside of her cheek. Her eyes felt damp, the traitors. 

“If someone in a cape and a mask had smashed through the window that night and killed Kieran for what he did to- to Stacy-” Her voice failed. She looked away to try and regather herself. 

Jason took her hand. She clutched on tight. 

“It probably wouldn’t have been right. But it would have made me feel safer.” 

“What’s so wrong with that?” he asked gently. 

She laughed and it was bitter and more pathetic than she liked. “Because he’d say the same thing. Why won’t anyone think of poor little Kieran’s safety?”

“Because he’s a liar.” 

“I know.” 

“Stacy deserved better,” Jason said, his voice unshakeable. 

She risked looking at him. He met her eyes and there wasn’t a hint of pity or disgust or discomfort in his face. He was calm. She saw understanding shining so staunchly in his eyes it was confronting. Her gaze dropped.

“I know,” she whispered. If she said it enough, one day she might even believe it. She took her hand back and sniffed. 

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, thanks.” She laughed weakly. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to dump all that on you this fine Tuesday morning.”

“I’m a big boy, I can take it. Thanks for telling me.” 

“I’m gonna get a refill,” she said, pointing at her empty water bottle and getting up. “Do you need-?”

He waved her off. 

She left the study room. She took a deep breath after the door closed behind her and headed to the bathrooms to wash her face and try to calm down. She was patting her face dry with a paper towel before she noticed she hadn’t even brought her water bottle. She laughed at herself, and knew without a shadow of a doubt that Jason wouldn’t call her out on it. She stared down her reflection, with her splotchy cheeks and red eyes. Kieran would have called her pathetic and melodramatic and attention seeking. He’d have told her she was misremembering. 

She smiled at herself and walked out with her head held high. 

She siddled back into the study room without a word. Jason was tapping away at his laptop and didn’t make any kind of fuss over her looking like a mess. She picked up her notes and tried to find her place. 

“What’d you say his name was?” Jason asked about ten minutes later, not looking up. “Kieran…?”

“Mcleod,” she replied without thinking. She paused. “Why?”

He shrugged. “Just wondered if I knew him.”

“Doubt it. He’s in Newark. Runs some stupid tech startup.” 

Jason grunted in reply. “You gonna eat the rest of that croissant?”

“All yours.” 

They fell back into the quiet and easy camaraderie they usually shared. Most of her drive to get work done had melted, so she just made notes to flesh out later on.

Jason, however, was deeply focused on his work for the rest of the afternoon. The staccato of one handed typing played a steady beat like a war drum.

Next>>

[tsuchinokoroyale]

Genuinely nonjudgmental ask: Does having unprotected sex ever make you nervous? Have you ever had an STI? I just opened up my relationship with my boyfriend, so I immediately got on PrEP. I still have been using condoms when I’m fucking with anyone that’s not my partner, but I’ve gotten skeptical responses from every guy when I bring up wearing them. I just want to protect myself and my bf from other STIs. I’m considering lying and saying that I’m not on PrEP just to get less pushback. Again, this is not a judgmental ask. I’ve just been out of the game for years, and it seems like the rules have changed!

There are 3 things I’ve always used to protect myself against STI’s:

1. Trust in your fellow man

2. DDF? Tested?

3. The Vibe Check

The first two are basically wet tissue paper level defense, but it’s basically the idea that someone who has the symptoms of an STD/knows they have one wouldn’t willingly go out and spread it. But some STI’s are communicable before they are detectable or symptomatic so they’re honestly weaker than wet tissue it’s more like semi-permeable membrane levels of protection.

I bank the hardest on the last one, which does employ a little bit of judgement but it’s my health so I do what I want to. I prefer to have sex with people that are selective with their partners, people that either don’t sleep around much because they have a primary partner or because they prefer fwb situations. Of note, its important that they mention that they still get tested frequently.

Most one night stands I have I’ll use protection unless they pass the vibe check so hard that my bottom instincts override my better senses and I need their DNA inside me.

Which leads me to

“The Backseat Sloppy Incident”

I had a fwb situation at one point with a friend who had recently become single. He hadn’t topped anyone since he broke up with his boyfriend, it’s been a few months, he didn’t really like hook ups, and of course he made me laugh and had a very shapely shape during sweatpants season. We hung out one night and I very coolly said “hey why aren’t we having sex with each other” and he was like “huh good point” and then we fixed that.

And then it suddenly started to burn when he peed.

We both freaked out and got tested. It was Gonorrhea. We both got our shots in the butt, or really he got two shots in his butt and I got ONE MASSIVE SHOT THAT HURT LIKE ALL HELL and when that was done I was back to taking his loads like I was a laundry machine.

But there was still the question of: How did he get it ?

See I tested negative for gonorrhea. I had em swab everything and test for everything but only he came back positive. I was completely clean.

We puzzled over this many a time because the only time he did anything was when he picked up a Tinder date from the train station who gave him head in the backseat of his car as thanks. He’d told me this had happened as well, to which I said “Damn instead of saying thank you I’m just gonna start giving backseat sloppy from now on”

But that had happened like a month prior. STIs can have a rather lengthy incubation period but a month is pretty long. And I won’t have any character assassination of this boy, I trust him with my life and he honestly still owns this hole if he didn’t live so far away but anyways the point is you truly just never know.

I haven’t had an STI as of yet, but I’m sure that’s mostly just luck. I’ve put myself in seedy situations and come out clean, and the closest I’ve come to catching an STI was a situation where I thought for sure it wouldn’t be an issue. Keep watch over your body, take ya meds, get tested frequently, and always use a condom unless you’re either 100% sure you don’t need one or you’re ready to reckon with any consequences that come your way. Anyone that gets pissy about you using condoms is being a brat who doesn’t respect your health boundaries. And what do we say to sleeping with people who don’t respect your boundaries?

🙅‍♂️🙅‍♂️🙅‍♂️

[thelastofharrington]

you’re the one that i want (pt 2)

pt 1!!

an: hi!! here’s part 2!! this is my first time writing slowburn anything lol so feedback is greatly appreciated! (posting on my phone again so sorry about any weird formatting!)

warnings/tags: eventual smut in later parts, king!steve, friends to strangers to lover, loosely grease inspired, this is gonna be fun

wc: 1.2k

You spent all of your homeroom in shock. Steve Harrington, your Stevie, is an asshole. “King Steve” they apparently call him now. Known for parties, womanizing, and overdrinking. He had a whole host of cronies he hung out with too, apparently. They traveled in a pack and it was almost impossible to get to him without getting through his laggies first. Complete delinquents, according to Nancy. 

You couldn’t believe this. Sure, nine years had passed, but you knew him at one point. At one point, you knew him better than anyone else. Maybe you were delusional to think that some things never change, it’s not like you thought you would pick up where you left off, but you never imagined that he’d be so far out of your grasp. 

You turn around at the feeling of Nancy tapping you on the shoulder and passing you a note. 

 “Forget about him!!!” It says. 

You sigh and write back: “It just doesn’t make any sense!”

She rolls her eyes and starts to write again, “What part of rich basketball playing douche bag is hard to understand?”

You turn around and shrug at her, a look of defeat on your face. She sighs again and make sure that Mrs. Peters isn’t paying attention before saying, “Look, I know he was your best friend, but that was nine years ago. Things are different now. He’s changed, you’ve changed, it will be for the best if you just move on.” She takes one more look at Mrs. Peters before continuing, “Men are rats. Worse than that, they’re the fleas on rats. You’re better off without him.”

Before you could respond, the bell rings. Nancy gives you one last sympathetic smile before heading off to her next class while you’re off to biology with Mr. Kaminsky. Nancy said his classes are ridiculously hard, but you’re up for the challenge. 

You walk in and take a seat at a lab stool near the front of the class. As the passing period approaches its end, the class fills up. It fills up to the point where every seat is nearly taken, besides the one directly next to you. You’re feeling self conscious as you look around and realize everyone is staring and whispering. You know that you’re new and that Hawkins is small, but is this really the response you’re going to be getting all day? You did not sign up to be the newest social pariah of Hawkins High. 

The bell rings and your lab partner is still missing. You’re fantasizing about a lonely year of dissections as Mr. Kamisnky drones on about lab safety when there’s a knock on the door. He rolls his eyes and groans before opening the door. Nothing could have prepared you for what was on the other side.  

“You’re late, Harrington.” Mr. Kaminsky scolds flatly before turning back to teach the class. 

And there he was, looking like a movie character leaning up against the doorframe. Cigarette behind the ear, arms crossed, backpack nowhere in sight. He was in tight light wash jeans, a tight polo tee, with perfectly coiffed hair. He was almost just like you remember, but with an aura that did not match the sweet boy you once knew on swing sets and ice cream truck pursuits. 

“Sorry Mr. K, I just didn’t want to come.” He saunters into the room, nodding at a few of the kids at the back of the class who were all trying to keep their laughter under wraps. The smile he flashed them was the only thing about his current appearance that did ring true. That smile was something you knew well.

“Lucky you, Steve, you get a front row seat for the semester since you finally decided to grace us with your presence,” Mr. Kaminsky says, gesturing towards the empty seat next to yours.

It’s at the point where Steve acknowledges you for the first time. You notice the smallest falter in his step as you make eye contact, his gaze zeroing in on you. It felt like a lifetime from the time between him stepping into the class to this moment right here, the moment you had been waiting for. 

He covered up the falter in his step easily and broke the spell he had cast on you by turning back to your teacher, “Thanks, Mr. K. You know I wouldn’t accept anything less than the best seat in the house.” He slides onto the stool next to you, practically ignoring that you’re there. 

But you know he recognized you, you just know it. You could tell by the way his eyes widened for a millisecond, the falter of his feet against the aging linoleum floor. For a moment his guard was down, for a moment he was your Stevie, but then he was gone. Then, he was just a stranger on the lab stool next to you. 

You tried to fight the feelings of loss all over again as Mr. Kaminsky starts your lesson. Normally, you’re a great student. Normally, you’d have your eyes glued and ears on high alert for this lesson, but instead you’re fighting every fiber in your being not to look to your right where Steve sat. Doing everything you can not to reach out and touch him, just to make sure it was really him. You were doing so much of this muscling through the lesson, you almost missed what Mr. Kaminsky had to say about your midterm project. 

“I know you guys are probably lightyears away from thinking about your midterm projects, but I don’t want you guys to waste too much time, so we’re going to go ahead and get our partners today.”

There is a loud groan amongst the class, including Steve. You see him look to you out of the corner of your eye when he does it, as if he’s gauging your reaction. You swear you see him straighten up and brush his annoyance off with a cough when he notices you aren’t in agreement. 

Mr. Kaminsky waves everyone down at the front of the class, silencing the herd of annoyed teenagers. “Yeah, yeah, you’ll thank me later when you’re not knee deep in thesis statements and dioramas. And just to make it easier on me, and probably to the delight of you guys, your partner is the person you’re sitting next to. Congratulations, don’t make me regret it.” And, with that, he turns around and writes today’s chapter information up on the board.

You’re sure he’s droning on about anatomy or earthquakes or whatever it is you learn in twelfth grade science, you really can’t remember because there’s two dark brown eyes peering into the side of your skull so intensely you’re sure they’re scanning your brain for your deepest, darkest secrets. After a solid minute of this, you grow brave enough to turn your head and look back. 

You are about to whisper something to him when he raises a hand and stops you. Your breath is caught in your throat at the size of his hand so close to your face. Close enough to reach out and touch, if you were careless and stupid that is. 

“We’ll talk later.” He pauses long enough to make you think that’s the end of it before he says, “We have a lot to catch up, don’t we?”

tag list: @luna-munson83

[spacesymbol]

anyways HI. its been uhh... two weeks since last post but about a month since any actual life updates. so im gonna do... that!

gonna split this one into tumblr specific updates and personal updates since i figure the latter is a little less important to some people. not trying to sound mean there, i get the feeling!

anyways, tumblr specific updates!

the big update is that i completely revamped my carrd. theres a lot more text now, and the layout doesnt look as good on mobile as it does on desktop, but i still like how it looks a lot better than the previous version.

i also added a new tag to my pinned. the tag is just this 📁 emoji, and its sort of a catchall tag for posts about media that i like. since i got rid of alter tags a while ago and i dont really like tagging specific franchises, i figured this works better for now.

my pinned post was also updated to reflect this change, and theres even a new tag guide/explanation!

okay now for the more personal life related updates. theres a LOT you have been warned!

where did i last leave off... right, the delaware trip! okay well i say that as if a lot happened on that trip. which is incorrect.

the only real big thing about the delaware trip was that i was kind of suffering for the whole trip since i had just been put back on adhd medication, and the dosage was WAY too high so my body did not adjust well at all and i was having like horrific symptoms for the whole week. and i wish i could truthfully say that the dosage of that medication is sorted out now but i cant!!!! 🥲

in the four days between the end of the delaware trip and the first day of school i went to a friends belated birthday party... which was the only time i hung out with any of my friends for the entire summer actually. but the party was still fun...!!

the rest of the updates are gonna be school related. since the next significant thing after that party was the first day of senior year.

my classes have all been manageable so far. i think the stress is definitely going to pile up soon with college application deadlines swiftly approaching, but the impending reality of that hasnt really set in yet. it is definitely nice to be taking classes i genuinely enjoy this year, even if the coursework is difficult!

i dont remember how much ive talked about my social standing at school on here but tldr it sucks. i dont have any genuinely close friends or a dedicated friend group that enjoys my presence at all. something something the we should call fiona interview quote... thats basically described my social situation for the past several months.

in terms of theater. hoo boy. well you see, our drama teacher (and shows producer) is on maternity leave. and not only did she switch the order of plays and musicals again (the fall show is a play this year), but she chose two plays for us to do this fall.

basically both shows are one act plays with no real lead roles since the scenes arent connected at all. performances will go like: show one, intermission, show two. and the "no lead roles" thing would be great except for the fact that this is one of my two senior theater productions with this school and i would like the chance to earn bigger roles, you know?

anyways auditions came and went and the cast list was released last thursday. and you will never guess who one of my romantic scene partners is. well. its my ex 😁👍

i mean besides the fact that i have to pretend to swoon over my ex, im really happy with my roles. i got double cast in one of the plays as opposed to one role in each play, and i like the play i got double cast in a lot better. and i only auditioned with two scenes from that play, and got cast in both of those scenes that i auditioned with, so i assume the director really liked my auditions?

also one of the scenes im in (not the one with my ex) is fully just an internalized homophobia turned "dude i think i love you" scene and its just SUCH a good scene. i really like my scenes and characters, i am just rightfully worried about rehearsing a romantic scene with my ex for two months...! but it will be fine. probably

okay this is getting REALLY long but uhhh general not-life-related updates.

undertale day!!! we split a chara less than 24 hours after the newsletter dropped 👍

my cats fifth birthday was last wednesday!!!!!! i could write a whole essay about how much this tiny beast means to me but just know i love her lots okay?

okay. okay. i THINK thats everything i have to say. uhh this is the part of the post where i talk about future tumblr updates and status.

idk. idk!!!!!!!!! the stress and busyness of senior year is kind of starting to get to me a bit so i might just disappear for a few months. or maybe ill continue updates every couple of weeks or every month.

i definitely want to return to posting here as regularly as i used to, but i always either avoid it for some reason or have other things i need to be doing instead. so whos to say how active ill be! i definitely dont know!

[scarisd3ad]

Found you | rewrite Steve harrington x f!hopper!reader

Decided to post this weeks posts on Saturday and Sunday so expect hp fanfic tomorrow!

Masterlist

Next

"Pulse is gone!"

"Start compression! We're losing her!"

Freshman year 1982

"Hey you alright?" I blinked back awake from my daze. Why was I thinking about it again, why now? Well I knew why now. it was almost the 5 year anniversary of her death. She had been gone for 5 years.

It's weird losing a younger sibling she was most definitely supposed to live longer than me, a long healthy life. She was supposed to grow old with me.

"Y/n?" My best friend Michele asked waving her hand in front of my face. "What?" My brows furrowed together as I cocked my head to the side a bit. "Are you alright?" She asked again. I nodded "yeah of course I'm alright shell" I replied.

I had known Michelle since elementary school her and her family were like my second family. We went to most of elementary school together until my family and I moved to New York for my dads job. But I obviously eventually moved back to hawkins after…well my sister died.

"Mkay, you're going to need to get into groups of two for this assignment so go ahead and figure that out for yourselves." Mrs. Bixton said as she wrote down the details of the assignment up on the bored.

Both Michelle and I looked up at each other almost as if we were reading each others minds.

"Nope, nope, nope, nope!" Most of us looked up at mrs. Bixton brows furrowed as she made her way towards of the back of the room. I looked back to see her walking over to steve harringtons desk. Steve was a sophomore but failed English the year prior causing him to have to retake the entire class. He sat at the back with some of his popular freshman friends talking his little life away, having no care in the world. Even though he would most likely not even graduate if he failed the class again.

"You're not working with Amanda again, Steven" He rolled his eyes as he leaned back in his seat, with his perfectly styled hair. God he looked so gorgeous but somehow totally stuck up at the same time. I had harboured a good long probably life long crush on Steve harrington since the end of middle school I would say. He just looked at me with his perfect chocolate brown eyes, and I was instantly hooked.

"Last time you guys had a group assignment you and Amanda talked through the entire class time. I AM NOT DOING THAT AGAIN!" She said raising her voice which just made him and his friends laugh. "You're gonna go work with y/n, who ever y/n's partner is will work with Amanda."

Michelle groaned as she looked over at me. I sent her an apologetic smile as she lazily got up grabbing her stuff and walking towards the back of the class. I guess this is what you get for being a good 'model' student. I wasn't necessarily a good kid I had my moments of course but I did definitely know how to sit, shut up, and listen while in class.

"Soo.." Steve said as he sat down in Michelle's seat. "Y/n, I'm y/n" Steve definitely had known me Michelle's girlfriend Liv was definitely a well known girl at hawkins high and even middle. They had been friends since they were in 7th grade and I even hung out with them from time to time. "Yeah y/n that's right, um do you think maybe I could come to yours? Tonight maybe?" I nodded as I leaned back in my seat. My dad wouldn't be home till late anyway so the 'No boys rule" would barely even be broken.

"Yeah so I guess we could do some planning I guess" he said with his signature 'pretty boy' smirk on his face as he pushed Michelle's desk towards mine. I nodded as I ripped a paper out of my notebook and began to write our names on it.

Y/n hopper, Steve harrington              9/10/82

"So do the project about how the main conflict between the two main characters impacted the story? That seems easy enough for you huh?" I asked not really trying to sound rude but it definitely did. "What'd you mean by that?" He asked with a chuckled. My cheeks flushed as I laugh "nothing, anyways is that fine with you"

"Yeah sweetheart it's fine" I rolled my eyes, "don't call me sweetheart" I said as I wrote down what we were going to be doing this assignment on. "Awe what's wrong with sweetheart? Huh? What about babe?" He was just teasing me something every teenage boy did if they definitely wanted to get laid or any type of female attention. I rolled my eyes and continued to write. "Oh you're ignoring me now huh?" He laughed, making me in turn giggle a bit.  

-

Once the bell rang I quickly gathered my things "okay so I'll be at your house at, 5:30? Is that alright?" Steve asked as I began to walk towards the door were Michelle stood waiting for me. I nodded not answering verbally as I continued to walk towards Michelle.

"He's coming to your house?" Michelle whispered as we began to walk down the loud hallway. "Yeah how else would we finish our project?" I asked shrugging as we stopped at my locker. I took the lock in my hand and began to put in my code.

2065

"How's you're dad gonna handle it?" Michelle asked as I opened my locker and grabbed my jacket I had stuffed in there earlier. "He's not gonna know" I replied as I shut the locker and put the lock back on. "You're bold as hell y/n. You're dad is literally chief of police." I rolled my eyes, she was saying this as if I haven't spent my whole life with my fathers, I've definitely learned a few tricks to make getting away with things a bit easier.

"Hey shell" Liv said as she walking up to us and grabbing Michelle's hand. "Hey y/n" she said with a smile. Liv had light blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She was also a cheerleader which made her the literal definition of popularity in high school, and she definitely was popular. Michelle pressed a kiss to liv's cheek as she muttered "hey babe" against liv's skin. Living in a small town in the 80s wasn't the best place to be gay. Most people were Christian or just plain old homophobes so they weren't very liked in hawkins community of older folks and parents. Liv was bi so she liked girls and boys while Michelle was a lesbian. I didn't really know what I was, I had only really had crushes on guys well one guy, but I didn't know if that was really all I was attracted to.

"Y/N's gonna hang out with Steve tonight" Michelle said as we walked towards the front of the school. Guys hooted and hollered as Liv walked by she was the 'Steve harrington' to the guys. Popular, well liked, and well everyone wanted her.  "Harrington?" Liv asked her face scrunching up in a confused look. "Yeah harrington isn't that crazy?" Michelle asked. I rolled my eyes "were not hanging out were finishing a project" i said as I pushed open the large metal school door.

I instantly spotted my dad who sat in his police car. My dad always picked me up even when he worked late, he'd leave work for 20 minutes to pick me up so I wouldn't have to walk.

"Bye guys love you!" I said as I began to run towards my dads car. Michelle and Liv both waved goodbye as I began to turn around so I wouldn't get hit by a car. "Hi dad" I said as I opened up the passenger side door and threw my bag onto the floorboard. "Hey kid how was your day?" He asked I shrugged as I got in the car and closed the door. He sighed as he shifted the gears and began to pull out of the parking spot he was parked in. "I'm not getting off till 10:30 tonight, so there's tv dinners in the fridge" dad sighed as he leaned his head back on the head rest. Dad hated working late.

"Don't wait up either" I nodded slightly even though I was definitely going to wait up. I always did even when he said not to. "Nobody over either" I nodded again.

We started down the street toward the cabin trees and houses flying by at how fast he was driving.

When we first moved back to hawkins we moved back into our old house, but quickly after mom, dad, and I moved back they divorced causing my mom to go back up to New York and dad and I to move into a trailer. I guess mom didn't care enough to at least try to take me with her. The trailer just didn't work out so we ended up moving into our cabin which we've been living in for about 3 to 4 years.

Just within a few minutes after he turned down the dirt road that led to our house, we arrived in front of the house. "There's dinner in the fridge,..and lock the doors right when you get inside" I nodded as I grabbed up my bag "I love you y/n I'll call as soon as I get to the station."

I pushed the car door open and slung my backpack over my shoulder as I stepped out. "I love you too dad" i said with a smile as I slammed the door shut. I ran up towards the house my shoes making a clomping noise as I ran up the first few steps up to the porch. I dug the house key out of my pocket and stuck it into the key hole. I twisted the key and pushed the door open before walking into the dark house, I pulled the key out of the door before closing it back and locking the door. I sighed as I heard dads blazer start up again and drive off. I pushed my shoes off of my feet before walking toward my room. I pushed the door open and turned on the light to reveal my twin bed the pink bedding draped over the bed. I dropped my bag onto the floor before falling back onto my bed.

I sighed again as I reluctantly got up from my rather comfortable bed and over towards my desk. I grabbed my backpack by the top loop of the bag and dragging it with me. I sat down and hiked the bag up into my waist, before unzipping the largest compartment, pulling out my math binder, and placing both down on the desk. I zipped my bag up, and placed it back on the ground before opening up my binder and pulling out my math homework.

Right as I closed my binder and pushed it to the side I heard the phone ringing from the kitchen so I quickly got up sprinting to the kitchen. I picked up the phone and held it to my ear. "Hello?"

"Hey honey just callin' to make sure you're alright" dad said on the other line. I smiled and hummed an "mhm."

"Did you lock the door?" He asked "yep I did" he hummed "good, I've gotta go, I love you."

"I love you too dad" I replied as I hung up the phone.

Somehow ten minutes of me sitting at my desk trying to figure out math problems turned into 30, then into and hour, and then somehow it was 5:30 and Steve harrington was knocking at the front door.

I quickly looked back at the alarm clock that sat at my desk to verify the time. It was 5:25 he was five minutes early. I sighed as I stood up fixing my hair in the mirror that hung about my dresser before sprinting towards the door shouting, "IM COMING!"

I unlocked the 4 locks installed on the door (by my door overprotective father) before opening the door. There stood Steve harrington his hair styled to perfection as he held his backpack in his left hand. I spotted his car parked out next to the large sum of trees. "Hey" he said his lips tipping up into a smile as he leaned against the door frame. "Hi" I said a smile also appeared on my face as my cheeks flushed.

I pushed the door open a bit more with my body as I made room for Steve to walk in. He walked in moving his eyes from side to side examining the house. "Nice place, where are we gonna work?" He asked.

"I..um just my bedroom it's the one opened" I replied as I closed the door and locked it back. Once I turned around he wasn't there anyone. Already in my room. I quickly walked back into my room to see his sat on my bed, his shoes sitting next to my door. "So where should we start?" He asked biting on his lip subconsciously. I shrugged as I sat down in my bed. "Maybe the poster first?" I asked, Steve's lips tipped up into a smirk as his eyes flickered from my eyes to my lips. My cheeks flushed. Then he leaned in pressing his lips to mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck playing with the hair at the back of his neck. He pulled away both of us panting a bit. "Do you wa-" I cut him off nodding before pressing my lips back against his.

-

Steve rolled off of me panting, "that was-" he cut himself off with another pant. I turned looking at the alarm clock that sat on my bed side table. It was 8:30 now. I turned back towards Steve who was now laying on his side, his bare body under the comforter. Then the realization hit, wasn't he dating Tammy hughes? Just last week I saw them making out at his locker, they had been dating since the end of last school year. "Wait" I whispered he hummed in response as he wrapped his arm around my waist pulling my bare body closer to him.

"Aren't you dating Tammy?" He chuckled before shaking his head. "M'not dating anyone" I furrowed my eyebrows "but I saw yo-"

"We broke up" he said with a laugh before leaning in for a kiss. He pulled away rather quickly before hiding away in the crook of my neck pressing kisses and sucking at my neck.

I let out small wimpers and moans as he sucked and bit at my neck. My fingers weaved themselves into his hair pulling slightly as he moved down slowly towards my breasts before moving right back up to my lips. He pressed a passion filled kiss to my lips.

Right when I pulled away to catch my breath I heard the phone ringing from the kitchen.

I sighed as I got up quickly grabbing my underwear off of the floor and pulling them on before walking out and picking up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, y/n I'm leaving a bit early so do you want me to bring you anything to eat?" Dad asked.

"Shit" I muttered under my breath. "What was that?"

I felt Steve come up behind me wrapping his arms around my waist and pressing kisses to my shoulder blade. "Nothing, nothing. Um I'll just eat what we've got here" i replied. My dad hummed in response "well alright I'll see you in a bit love you."

"Love you too!"

I quickly hung up the phone. "Who was that?" Steve asked as he let go letting me turn towards him. "My dad he's coming home soon you've gotta leave" Steve rolled his eyes a bit before replying with an 'ok."

We both returned to my room getting fully dressed before I walked him to the door. Steve wrapped his arms around my waist pressing a kiss to my lips. "You're so beautiful" he whispered as he peppered kisses on my lips. I giggled as I tried to push him off "you've gotta go my dads gonna be here any minute" I giggled. He sighed "mkay I'll see you tomorrow sweetheart" my cheeks flushed as I pressed one last kiss to Steve's lips. "Yeah tomorrow, now go!" I said pushing him out of the door before locking all the locks so my dad didn't have any reason to be suspicious.

About ten minutes later I heard my dads blazer pull in. I sighed as I stood up over looking my room one last time making sure Steve left nothing. Once I was sure nothing was left I walked out into the living room and fell back onto the old couch sat in front of the tv. I heard each lock unlock before the door opened. Dad sighed as he kicked up his boots and unbuckled his belt. He threw his keys onto the coffee table and draped his work jacket over the couch before sitting down next to me.

"Movie?" He asked and I nodded as a reply.

-

The next day at school I walked in with a jacket on to hide the light purple hickeys lining my shoulders and lower neck. I walked confidently up to where Steve stood with his friends Carol Perkins and Tommy hagan.

"Hey steve!" Steve furrowed his brows as he turned his head from Tommy to me. "Who are you?" I looked at him in confusion there was no way he'd forgotten so quickly. "Wha- y/n we..you came to my house ye-"

"Oh my god!" Carol laughed loudly. Her laugh alone tore out any of the self confidence I had mustered up just to walk up to him. "You hooked up with a freshman?!" Carol laughed. Steve rolled his eyes before scoffing "I don't even fucking know who she is."

That hurt. He tore my heart out and stomped on it right in front of me. Tears welled up in my eyes "who the hell are you I don't know you" Steve said. I quickly walked away blinking back the tears as I heard the roars of laughter emitting from them. "You made her cry oh my god!"

I quickly pushed opened the nearest bathroom door and ran to the first stall. Luckily no one was in there so it let me freely sniffle and cry as loud as I wanted. I wiped at my cheeks as I sat my bag down on the ground and sat down on the toilet seat. How could he do this to me? After all he said to me yesterday.

How did I even trust him?! He won, he had won. He got another naive girl to fall for his underhanded tricks. He got another girl to hand over their heart to him so he could destroy it. He humiliated me.

Once I heard the late bell ring I unlocked the stall door and walked out. I wiped my tears as I walked out of the bathroom and down towards the first entrance I saw. I pushed open the large metal doors and walked over to the payphones that sat outside of the school. The door slammed shut as I took one of my backpack straps off pushing the front of the bag towards the front of me. I unzipped the smaller pouch as took out a quarter. I took the phone off of its hook and pushed the quarter into the coin slot.

I punched in the number I’ve learned to memorize by heart from the ripe age of 12 years old. After a few rings the secretary at hawkins police, Flo answered. “Hawkins police this is flo how may I help you?”

“Hey flo” I sniffled as I wiped at my nose “can I speak to my dad?” She hummed “of course sweetheart I’ll send you over.” I could tell she had her signature comforting flo smile gracing her lips even though I couldn’t see it.

After a few seconds my dad picked up the phone. “Hello? Y/n why aren’t you in class?” Dad asked as soon as he picked up. “C-can you pick me up?” I stuttered out as I wiped my eyes. “Wha- y/n what’s..what’s wrong?”

“Nothing! Nothing alright just please come get me” I said tears threatening to spill over and down my cheeks. He sighed “oh..alright fine I’ll be there in 3 minutes” then he hung up. I sighed as I placed the phone back on the hook and sat down on the curb wiping my eyes. Why did I let Steve harrington of all men upset me. He was just a 16 year old boy who would probably have an std in the future if he kept to his reputation.

I wiped at the tears falling down my cheeks as I saw my dad pull up.

“What’s wrong?” He asked as he rolled down the window closest to me. I wiped the last remaining tear before saying “I’m fine, nothing happened” as I stood up getting into the car. “There’s obviously something wrong. Did someone say something?” He asked as he laid his hands ontop of my knee. I shrugged my usual response for questions like this which meant ‘yeah, someone did.’

“Who? I swear I’ll beat the ever loving shit out of them”

“Steve harrington” I whispered. It almost looks as steam was coming out of his ears he was so pissed. “Mother fuck me” he whispered under his breath as he pushed open his car door and stepped out. “Wait! No don’t say anything dad”

He shook his head as he said “I’ll take care of it don’t worry stay in the car.”

The next day steve harrington walked in sporting a brand new shiner on his left eye, and my dad was banned from the school for two months.

Taglist

@kleeixe @teddyylicious @band--psycho @fixtionlover @sbeve-chairington @hellojameshowyadoin @write-from-the-heart @sagejin @burn1ngw00d

[thegoldfishkid13]

Revenge part 1

Iceman x female reader

Warnings:Blood, fighting, swearing, drinking, smoking, guns , violence ect

Au: Mafia

Authors note: I will be posting a list of characters I will write for soon but if people wanna send in requests I will gladly write them if I know who it is. Also thank you for all the support you have given me on other posts. This is also going to be pretty short because I'm tired and don't feel like putting this in my drafts. I also ran out of ideas oops!

Masterlist

Standing in the bathroom connected to your room you flatten the dress you are wearing again. A knock on the bathroom door startles you, you have been on edge since you got Intel that the person who killed your father is in town again. The door opens and your husband's Pete "Maverick" Mitchell and Tom "Iceman" kaczynski are standing there.

"well don't you look stunning"Maverick was the first one to speak, he was the one sending you on this mission. He knew you wanted the revenge on the person who had taken your father's life far too early.

" Thank you mav."you spoke as you pick up your makeup brush to finish doing your makeup. Needing to leave soon for the party you and slider another co-worker of yours who is also in the mafia. He was accompanying you to this dance because he was the only one who you trusted with your life besides Iceman and Maverick. Cyclone the person who had killed your father would be attending this party and he knows that Iceman and Maverick want him dead. The last time you saw him you sat next to your father's dead body laying in the middle of the street.

"slider will be here soon. Be careful I don't want anything to happen to you. "Iceman smiles and leans in to kiss your cheek. You hear the front door open and shut and slider call out to see if anyone was home or where you guys were. The dress you were wearing was black silk with a slit on the right side that goes up to your mid thigh. With a deep v-neckline.

Grabbing your clutch you give a quick kiss to Maverick and ice and head out the door with slider. The ride was silent there was nothing to talk about you had all been in the meeting about it earlier. Nick Bradshaw AKA goose would be at this event helping you spy. He worked at the same law firm that you used for a cover story. He was with you the day your father died and he wanted revenge as much as you did. Your father was like a father to him.

"you look nice today Y/n"slider finally broke the silence. You opened up the glove compartment to grab the gun and slipped it into the holster that was attached to your thigh by a garter belt. Thanking him you get out of the car and wait for goose to get there. Goose showed up with his wife Carol. His son Bradley nowhere in sight thankfully. Walking into the building this event would be held at you spot cyclone and his partner warlock. Trying to keep a safe distance so they don't notice you staring you begin to interact with the others. Something's bugging you so you had to pay phone that was a little bit away.

"hey."he spoken to the payphone.

"Y/n is that you?"

"yes. I have a bad feeling about this."

" has her been doing anything out of the ordinary?" The person on the other line asks.

" he keeps scanning the room like he's looking for somebody. He has also been slowly making his way towards where we are but we keep shifting and turning so he doesn't catch on to us. He also has part of his gang with him. I just have a really bad feeling about this." You speak into the phone.

The man on the other side didn't answer. Just a clicking sound like he hung up. You hear a gun click behind you. You realize who you had just been talking on the phone with, he knew what you were up to this would be the end of you or so you thought.

[featherghoul]

You good?

Lee!Terzo x Ler!Omega

Warnings/Disclaimers: Comfort angst, strong language, parental issues, empty threats of murder, slight cardiophilia, and Google Translate Italian because I've been too lazy to keep up with Duolingo.

Word count: 1,563

//Author's notes

Holy shit, my first fic on this blog. No idea how well it's gonna do, but fuck it, let's gooooo! A quick thing I want to mention that I think is mandatory: any work of fiction I create centered in this fandom will never be about the people behind these masks, but about the characters they portray. With that being said, I hope this fic is enjoyed by at least one person. Another thing I wanna mention is that I do not proofread for whatever fucking reason—probably laziness— so there's probably mistakes here. Be patient with me. ;;

With a huff and a grumble, swearing and cursing in his native Italian under his breath, Terzo entered Omega's dorm unannounced and flopped belly first onto the ghoul's bed right next to him, who was practicing on his guitar, strumming whatever popped into his head. Omega's pointed ears perked up upon hearing Papa Emeritus the Third enter, though they quickly pinned back when he saw the mortal's disheveled state. "You good?" The ghoul asked as he paused and looked over his shoulder to face his human partner, who gave no response to him, lying limp on the bed, breathing deeply. "Terzo, is everything okay?" He asked again, a bit more insistently as he rubbed Terzo's shoulder.

"Just fucking peachy." Terzo grouched, his voice muffled due to his face being buried into the mattress.

"You don't seem fine." The demon replied as he stood for a moment to put away his guitar, putting it back on its stand so he could give his Papa his full attention. "What's got you heated?"

"Nothing! It's fine!" Terzo grumbled again, his tone more annoyed than the last response.

"Come on, talk to me, babe." He scooted close to the Anti-Pope, rubbing his back, "What's the matter?"

"...Fucking—" Terzo let out a long, loud groan as he flipped over onto his back, removing his mitre to comb a black leather gloved hand through his hair, "I'm so sick of the way I'm fucking treated by Nihil and Sister!"

Omega sighed as he pulled Terzo's head into his lap, running his black claws through his mate's dark hair that had subtle streaks of silver which showed his age, listening to Terzo get his ranting out, his pointed tail twitching as it hung over the edge of the bed.

"They both treat me like I'm some fucking incapable toddler!— Like I have no fucking clue on what I'm doing!" His mismatched eyes glared up at the ceiling as he spoke, his brows furrowed, "For once, I just want them to tell me where I am and where I should go instead of telling me what I'm doing is wrong! I want him for once to tell me I'm doing at least something right!" His eyes began to become a bit glossy. He sighed again, "Omega, you and the others know how hard I try to push this band and The Message forward in the right direction. You know how hard I try to stay on The Path, but it's so fucking difficult when the messages they want me to put out doesn't match what I feel needs to be said… It's so difficult when my best will never be good enough for The Ministry…" He started to choke up a bit.

Omega softly shushed him, caressing the smaller male's cheek with his knuckles. "They're fucking douches."

"Especially my fucking deadbeat of a father." Terzo let out a shaky sigh as he reached his hand up to clasp Omega's, kissing the ghoul's palm.

"He can fuck off. He and Sister both can fuck off. I think you're doing fucking incredible, and fuck them all if they can't see that. You've been doing your best, and it's gonna pay off. Like that Grammy, huh?" He smiled softly at Terzo, but frowned again when the only response given to him was a slight shrug.

"...I want to see them all fucking hang," Terzo growled after a moment, "I want to fucking strangle them…" He balled his hands into fists, though they soon released as Omega gently clasped them in his, kissing the mortal's knuckles. Terzo exhaled once more, "I'm fucking sick of this shit…" He closed his eyes, pulling away one of his hands to rub at his temple.

"Hey, I know exactly what will make you feel better." Omega grinned, his wolf-like fangs showing.

"What?" Terzo mumbled. When he got no reply, he looked up at his partner, noticing the look he was given. "...Oh, fuck you!" Terzo jolted up, glaring at Omega, "No! Fuck that!"

"Come on!" Omega snickered, "You can't deny that it helps!" His tail swayed behind him.

"What about my dignity!?"

"What dignity? You lost it when you started dating me!" The demon laughed softly as he scooted close to Terzo again.

"It's embarrassing!" Terzo argued still, backing away until he was almost falling off the bed.

"So? It's just us. No one else needs to know what we do here." Omega reasoned, his tail thumping a bit against the bed. Terzo was silent for a second or two as he glared at Omega before sighing, his face sweltering beneath his papal face paint. He crawled back over to the large demon, laying across his lap.

"I'm gonna fucking kill you when this is over..." Terzo grumbled.

"No, you won't." Omega snickered as he ruffled Terzo's hair, which made the small mortal huff and attempt to blindly fix his hair. "Ready?" He cracked his knuckles, the sound making Terzo tense. Before the Third Papa could say anything, Omega immediately began gently wiggling his claws into Terzo's sides, making the smaller man jolt and gasp, frantic giggles soon following. "Pfft— W–Wait!! I—Hahah— wasn't ready!!" Terzo brought his gloved hand to his mouth, trying to muffle his laughter and mask his smile.

"Well, if I didn't start now, you would never be ready!" Omega reasoned, pausing to attempt to grab Terzo's wrists. "And don't do that! I wanna see that pretty smile!" He huffed as Terzo tried to fight back, the Anti-Pope slapping at the ghoul's hands.

"F–Fuck you!!" Terzo snickered, letting out a panicked gasp as his wrists were caught and pinned down above him, unable to pull them away. He sank as he gazed fearfully at his partner with smiling eyes, giggling nervously. "...A–Abbi pietà!" His voice cracked, making Omega chuckle.

"Hmmm… No, I don't think I will." The ghoul grinned deviously as he walked the claws of his free hand up and down Terzo's ribs and side. At first, Terzo tried his hardest to hold in his reactions, his face scrunching as he did the best he could to keep himself from cracking, but that did no good as he broke less than four seconds later, Omega grinning triumphantly as Terzo crumbled. 

"There's that pretty sound." The ghoul murmured as the room quickly filled with Terzo's laughter, though it was clear he was still trying to hold back.

"Asshole!!" Terzo barked out through his laughter while he tried to hide his face in the pit of his elbow, not wanting to give his ghoul the satisfaction of seeing him break.

"Oh, don't be like that! You enjoy this!" Omega began to scratch lightly at the mortal's stomach, slipping his large hand beneath Terzo's papal robes to get as close as he could to bare skin. "F–Fuck off!!" Terzo swore again at Omega as his laughter increased in volume, now kicking his legs out as an attempt at coping with how badly it tickled. "No! You need this!" Omega scratched above Terzo's belly button to tease the poor mortal, which had the desired effect of making Terzo more frantic and try to suck in his stomach. "You're obviously stressed the fuck out and that needs to be fixed."

Terzo shook his head as he laughed, snickering as he kept trying to hold back. "It's— Snrk!— It's torture!"

"No, it's not. You're being dramatic. Think of this as a sort of intense massage!" The demon suggested as he scratched just right above one of Terzo's hips, making the human shriek. "N–NO!! NO, NO PLEASE!! NOT THERE!! OMEGA!!!" Terzo began to buck, much to the ghoul's amusement.

"Yes there!" Omega teased in a singsong-y tone, "This is the grand finale! It'll be over soon, babe." Omega's touch grew lighter and slower as he remained at that spot above the mortal's hip. This only made Terzo more hysterical, black tears now running down his cheeks from how hard he had been laughing.

"O–OMEGA, PLEASE!" Terzo squeaked, "I'M DYING!!"

"You seem very alive to me." Omega chuckled as he shook his head at his mate's dramatics, his claw slowly picking up speed and pressure before both of his hands at once attacked Terzo's hip bones, the smaller of the two now screaming with high-pitched and flamboyant laughter, thrashing about in Omega's lap and nearly falling if it wasn't for his boyfriend catching him. Terzo could no longer speak at Omega now, only being able to mouth pleas and curses at the other. Though, after what felt like an eternity, but was really about fifteen seconds, Omega let up, ceasing his attacks to allow the other to breathe and calm back down as he held him, bringing Terzo's head to his chest as he rubbed and patted his back. He chuckled alongside Terzo's leftover giggling, squeezing the other tightly and protectively.

"You good?" Omega smiled softly at Terzo, who nodded and tilted his head up to face him, his makeup smudged and his face stretched with a wide smile. "...Y–Yeah… Huff… I'm fine… Puff…" Terzo responded as he still gasped for breath. Omega gently massaged Terzo's scalp as the small mortal pressed his ear to Omega's chest, listening to the ghoul's heartbeat to help him calm down.

"... I'll get your ass later for this…" Terzo groaned, still embarrassed, which earned him a chuckle from the large demon.

"I'd like to see you try."

[shadylex]

Nine people you'd like to know better

tagged by @yansurnummu thank you so so much!

3 ships

Lets goooooo, starting off with one that lives rent free in my head is Yera/Teldryn.

I forgot when but I didn't immediately get interested in Teldryn even after the Dragonborn DLC came out. It was a fic that had him as a side character that got me interested, then I started looking up other Ao3 fics with him in it and it's all I think about when daydreaming about Yera.

Yera by the time she gets to Solstheim has already gone through two world ending events and is super tired and ready to kick this Miraak character's ass and isn't with her friend Lydia at the moment so she needs to hire a mercenary to guide her around on account she is blind and uh oh. Good with a sword with a handsome voice? Basically got a crush on him second 1 and it's downhill from there.

Working on like an intro fic for the two of them but I can never seem to get it right but it'll get there one day.

Next is Yera/Miraak funnily enough, I am not alone in wanting that old book man. I just think that with Yera's incredibly strong personality and also probably kicking his ass while saving him would mesh well with him. I also have the thought that if Yera hung around Miraak long enough, he would convince her of taking the Rudy Throne on the base that they both are Dragon soul so they ought to rule everything.

But what if Yera had two hands, and she held hands with Teldryn and Miraak in the same house wouldn't that be wild haha... unless?

And my last ship is silly, but only because I recently re-watched Full Metal Alchemist but it's Miles/Olivier Armstrong. I love the Briggs portion of the show so much, I usually start there when I want a quick rewatch of the show. I just think they're neat, and people write some fun fics about them together so I'm having a lot of fun going through them and yeah.

First ship Had to be my oc/canon pairing Lexen/Riku from Kingdom Hearts. Lexen is my oldest most precious OC who has gone through some drastic changes in life that she is unrecognizable in the beginning and I'm almost embarrassed by the ship but I was like 14 and Riku was edgy and that's the kind of characters I liked so I could never exist haha

Last song 6.24 by Danger (Furi OST) I heard this song being used as a fight montage song and I had to find the original and welp I'm listening to a bunch of synth songs now

Currently reading Nothing at the moment, however my partner has the Elric of Melnibone series I got them for Christmas and they're done with them now, so it's my turn to read them!

Last film Me and my partner went to watch Godzilla Minus One and omfg that was so so scary a movie but also how do you have a monster film be also about survivors guild its so so good I highly recommend watching it as soon as you can!

Currently craving

We have so many noodles in the house right now but I was craving some instant noodles something fierce a few minutes ago. I opted to go with some pico de gallo I made as a before bed snack but the noodles... they call for me in my dreams

Tagging @icicleteeth @scalecallerpeak @khajiitclaws and whoever else wants to join in

[justhere4kpop]

~Beautiful Stranger~

CHAPTER 3: A Gala, and a Mission

Pairing: Yunho x Reader. (The guys are involved at some point too but not romantically.) NonIdol! AU

Description: A lonely perpetually single grad student working at a museum is approached by a handsome man, he looks expensive. Maybe this is your chance to get swept off your feet. Maybe he wants something else.

Warnings: I don't censor myself so I don't censor the characters, so Language warning. SMUT IN THIS CHAPTER (probably not good smut, it's my first time writing it and I got nervous). Self-Doubt is hinted at. Let me know if I'm missing anything

taglist: @legohwa, @hwaightme, @starillusion13

w/c: 4929

a/n: I got inspired to write at midnight so this is what happened. This is my first time writing anything NSFW it's not a super long part but it's there. Thank you guys for the support! Hope you're having a good time reading. I'm having a lot of fun with it. Thank you to Sky and Bai who constantly listen to me babble about dumb things and get ideas for this series, couldn't do it without you guys, your friendship is something I'm most grateful for. (also Sky told me to add the smut...hehe) okay, I'll stop rambling.

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

“We’ve gotta find a way to get you into that Gala, it’ll be the perfect opportunity to plant the device we need to take out the security systems.” The 8 men met around the table.

“I think the bigger question is who do we send into the gala?” Seonghwa started.

“Actually I think the question is how many?” Hongjjong looked up. “We need at least San and Yunho there, we could probably use Mingi and Wooyoung as well.”

“But if y/n is there it might get suspicious if myself and Yunho show up.”

“Who?” Hongjoong looked at the tall man remaining silent. “I thought we agreed no relationships.”

“Oh come on hyung this is great she works at the museum and…oh my god” Wooyoung stood up.

“What?” Yunho and Hongjoong looked at him.

“Y/n! She can get Yunho is as her date, she’s always complaining about everyone bringing their partners to these things, and the employees get a plus one!”

“Wooyoung if she realizes what we do she’ll call the police in an instant.” Yunho hissed. “Besides we’re not dating, and we won’t be.”

“Oh so she works there?” Hongjoong looked at Yunho…glaring the man down.

“I-It’s just for show. She’ll never suspect me if we’re talking. I don’t even….I don’t even have feelings for her.”

“That’s not true at all. He's totally hung up on her, he asks me about her all the time. She’s really handy and I’m almost done with the painting and it’s not like anyone can tell the difference and then we lay low for a while until the next one comes in.” Wooyoung looked at him.

“It’s just for show Wooyoung! She has to believe it’s real so you do too!” he stood up from his spot on the table.

“Say you don’t mean it.” Wooyoung looked at the table. “Tell me you aren’t hurting my best friend just stringing her along.”

“So what, you don’t have to face her never talking to you again as you set her up on another failed blind date. Sorry Wooyoung looks like you’re the asshole again”

“Okay you two that’s enough” Seonghwa stood up

“And what about her feelings! She called me and told me about how special that first date was and you’re just going to let her be heartbroken? Never trust anyone again?”

“Why do you care so much Wooyoung?”

“Because she deserves someone who could give her the world!!” he threw his sketchbook at the man and San caught his arm. “I thought you’d do that for someone but apparently you just want to die a lonely old man!”

“Okay adjourned for today.” Hongjoong dismissed the group before it could get anymore heated, they didn’t need a brawl like last time. 

~~~~~~~~~

“Hello?” I answered my phone. “Woo it’s 3am.”

“Break up with your boyfriend.”

“Huh?” I groaned. “Wooyoung what are you on about right now?”

“He doesn’t deserve you and I don’t want you getting hurt. Dump him like the sack of shit he’s being.”

“Okay Woo. I’ll get right on that.” I moved my phone away. “I’m not going to be in between your fight so whatever it is, figure it out.”

“Please y/n……I couldn’t stand it if you got hurt.”

“I appreciate the concern Woo…we aren’t dating ok? He’s just some guy I'm seeing.”

“You like him though right? Like a lot?”

“Yeah. I thought that was obvious.” I blushed a little.

“And you’d say yes if he asked you to be his girlfriend?”

“I’m not…opposed to the idea.”

“I just want someone that’s right for you.”

“And weren’t you the one who set us up because you think he IS the right one? Woo I really don’t want to talk about this right now, it’s late I’m tired and you’re obviously very upset right now. Later ok? You don’t have to be worried.”

“You mean a lot to me y/n.”

“So you’d tell me if he actually did something to warrant a break up right?”

“Yes.” he sighed.

“I’m…I’m going to invite him to the Gala so I don’t have to work it this year.”

“y/n…I don’t know it…nevermind. You’ll be happier if you go.”

“You can come too Woo…if you want…I can probably swipe a few invites from work.”

“You? Steal from work?”

“Oh I’ve nabbed a few of those cheesy keyrings and cheap stuff before it’s fine.” I smiled. “Then you can keep an eye on us or whatever, ok?”

“Okay……..y/n?”

“Yes Wooyoung….I love you too.” I smiled into the phone.

“Yeah…I love you.” He hung up. Why did she have to be so happy with him.

“Last day for RSVP ladies.” Marcus said making his rounds. “Y/n I assume we can count on you working?”

“Actually I’m bringing someone thank you very much. I’ve been seeing him for a while now so I’ll have you know we’re coming together.”

“You?....Really.”

“Yes really.” I sighed. “Just because I don’t act like it I have been seeing someone.”

“Oh yeah he has a nice car too.” Lizz nodded. “Definately Mr. Moneybags.”

“Well….I look forward to meeting him.” he said incredulously.

“Yeah I’m sure.” I looked away and back to the computer as Marcus left.

“Is he actually coming?” Liz asked.

“I haven’t asked him yet.” I sighed and hit my head on the desk. “ow.”

Did I wait until practically the last second to ask Yunho to come with me…yes. Did he fortunately say yes. Thank God he did! Oh man it’s a good thing he’s rich or else I don’t think he’d have a suit ready in time.

“Do you have a dress?” he asked over the phone.

“No but I can get one it’s no big-”

“I’ll have someone send one over, you have to look good don’t you.” he chuckled into the receiver. That low chuckle sent a shiver down my spine. Just what has this man done to me already. “Let me know when you get it. This weekend right?”

“Yeah it’s this weekend.”

“Luckily I’m very free this weekend. I’ll see you then beautiful.” he hung up.

“Everything was working out” they both thought, for various reasons.

When the dress came a few days later I swore there was a mistake. I stood there with the man for a good 20 minutes telling him he had the wrong person, house, whatever. I couldn’t believe my eyes it…it’s too much.

“What the hell were you thinking?” I yelled into my phone. “This is way too much.”

“Think of it as a gift. You deserve a nice dress don’t you.”

“Yunho this is too much, way too fancy.”

“Nothing is too much for you.” Did he mean that? He felt no guilt when it came to spending money on her, in fact sometimes he wanted to ask Wooyoung if he thought she’d like what he was looking at…but those feelings weren’t real…they couldn’t be, this is just for a job.

“Yunho there is very much a thing as too much. Especially for me.”

“I’ll pick you up in 2 hours, can’t wait to see it on you.” he smiled.

2 Hours…oh god I’m never going to be ready in time “EMMA!” I called out. “Code Six!...See you babe” I hung up the word slipping out.

“Coming!!” she called from downstairs. “How much time?”

“2 Hours.” I looked at her.

“Lucky me, you just got out of the shower. Okay strip back down, you’re going to knock his pants off.” she smiled.

“It’s knock your socks off.”

“Honey when I’m done, you’ll be lucky you’re both wearing clothing.” she smiled and got to work. “Oh my this is a nice dress. Yeah…def a code six. Okay sit still.”

2 Hours flies by when you really don’t want it to. I felt like I just picked up the phone to call him and now here I am in the most gorgeous black dress I’ve ever worn, it had sleeves so I wouldn’t be too cold, a deep plunge in the front that was just enough it wasn’t a scandal, and a leg split up to my thigh. I wore the best pair of black heels I owned and Emma did a great, beautiful, fantastic job on my hair and makeup. Now all that’s left is-

“Y/n! Your boy toy is here.” Becka called out.

“Coming Becks!” I put in my earrings and left to hear the already long start of the interrogation he was receiving from all 4 of my new parents. “Okay you guys that’s enough, you’ll see him later at the event now stop pestering the poor man.”

“Oh it was really n….” he stopped once he saw me.

“Oh No.” he thought. “My god she’s beautiful. She was made for that dress.” he cleared his throat

“Careful bud, you keep staring like that people will think you fell in love.” I chuckled and nudged him.

“Okay! Get together picture time!” Emma called.

“What?! No Ems, seriously this isn’t prom or homecoming or whatever. We don’t need-” She took about Seven shots right there. “Emmaaa.”

“Smile! Okay now get close. Okay act like you like each other.”

“I think you lied when you said 2 hours wasn’t enough time.” he whispered in my ear and I chuckled only for a flash to go off in my face.

“Oh! That’s the one! That’s a keeper! Oh it’s going in frames and on the fridge!” Emma called out. “y/n’s first gala!”

“Okay okay, I’ll see you guys there before you start badgering the poor guy again now that pictures are over. Go on before they barricade us in.” I laughed and pushed him slightly leaving the flat.

“He’s in love.” Liz looked at Becka. “I know that look fairly well…she’s gone and bewitched the poor man.”

“I think poor is the wrong word here Liz.” she laughed. “He’s definitely got the big L on the brain.”

“I am so sorry about them, I just…I’ve never had a date while we’ve lived together and-”

“It’s fine y/n.” he chuckled and rubbed his thumb over my hand. “You look gorgeous.”

“Thank you” I blushed. “I really just think it’s the dress though.”

“No, you’re definitely wearing the dress. It’s just you.” he smiled. “I’m very lucky.”

“I think I should be saying that.” he helped me into the car. “Have you and Wooyoung made up yet?”

“We’re working on it, just a spat if you will.”

“Please don’t be too mad at him, he’s just…passionate and caring, and if it’s about me…don’t worry ok. I…I can handle myself.”

“y/n?”

“I’m just saying…like thanks for the dress and going with me but like I totally get it. You don’t have to pretend to like me. We can call it quits after tonight ok.”

“Y/n…I’m not pretending.” Was that a lie? Even he didn’t know anymore.

“Just, don’t be mad at him for being defensive, he’s a great guy and he just…he’s seen me really get hurt by some guys so he gets..brotherly.”

“Y/n. We made up it’s ok, I get where he’s coming from. Seriously, I’m more than happy to go with you.”

The gala was busy, I was pulled aside a few times to talk to some of the people there once they saw me walk in with a man like Yunho. He screamed money, practically begging the Museum to come and ask him to be a donor. So they kept me busy and off to the side to butter up the man since I would obviously tell him if it was a scam of some sort. I ran into a friend of Yunho’s named Mingi, he sure is tall and funny, must be a thing they have, he’s telling me embarrassing stories about the pair growing up, oh if only Yunho could be over here too, so I could see his face in agony as he tells me these.

“I can’t believe you’re going through with this.” Wooyoung whisper yelled at the tall man so as to not alert anyone.

“Wooyoung it’s not what you think ok.”

“No it’s exactly what I think it is. After all this you’re still just going to use her and throw her away while I get hurt too. I don’t want to lose my best friend because you’re a scumbag.”

“Woo seriously it’s not like that.” Yunho pulled the man back. “Please just listen to me ok!”

“And why should I? Hmm?!”

“Because I lied!”

“About.”

“Okay maybe it wasn’t a lie when I said it but…it’s a lie now okay. I can’t stop thinking about her, and now I..I bought her that dress and all I wanna do is take her home and tear it off. God she looks amazing, and my chest clenches everytime I see Mingi make her laugh over there, he’s totally telling her some corny pick up line I mean look at them. I can practically hear her laughing and it makes me want to punch him so bad.”

“...you’re jealous.”

“I’m completely jealous.” he looked at Wooyoung. “I really like her Wooyoung, it’s painful how much I like her…and she thinks I’m just going to…let her go after this event? No way.”

“Mr. Jeong?” a waiter said pulling the two out of the conversation. “This is from the director, he would like to make sure his guests are…welcomed.”

“Yes yes thank you.” he took the drink and waved the man off. “God and everyone here keeps pulling her away so they can talk to me and all I want to do is look at my favorite piece in this whole god damn gallery up close.”

“Oh Mr. Moneybags isn’t having any fun now…serves you right, toying with my best friend just to fall in love with her later.”

“It’s not love….Okay maybe it is I don’t know, god Hongjoong is going to kill me.”

“You’re right.” the man said from behind them. “I am going to kill you. She’s a danger to us Yunho.”

“I just….I am tired of being alone hyung. Wooyoung was right. I…her smile makes me feel…...happy.”

“Prove to me she’s useful and maybe..I’ll grow to be okay with it. Just know what you’re dragging her into Yunho, this world isn’t kind and forgiving….San has the device and is going to plant it.” he walked away to make sure the plan was being followed. 

Yunho started drinking, and by drinking I mean too much, by the time I finally made my way back to him after about an hour and a half he was pink in the face and giggling at me.

“You’re so pretty.” he smiled and held my hand.

“You lose your composure fast when drinking hmm?” I chuckled at the man.

“I’m tired of talking about money to these people.”

“Why don’t we go look around at some stuff then? Get away for a second.” I took his hand leading him away from the party to go and look at some of the art, so it could be quiet. We ironically made our way back to Room 43, where it all started.

“y/n.” he turned me towards him, here it comes, the “break-up”.....Why…why is he kissing me if he’s not interested.

“Yunho.” he kissed me again pulling me back in. “Yunho you’re drunk.” I chuckled and pushed him gently.

“You’re beautiful.” he kissed me again. “I don’t want you going anywhere not for a long time.” he mumbled and kissed me. “I’m an idiot, I like you so much it hurts. Please…please will you be my girlfriend?”

“Yunho.” I looked at him.

“I want to buy you everything those pretty eyes land on, take you out to Paris for lunch because I can. Wooyoung was right, I’m completely head over heels for you, and I really don’t want to let you go.”

“So that’s what you two fought over….you two really are idiots.”

“Please say yes.”

“Why me? There’s so many others.”

“Because in a room full of art pieces, you’re my favorite one to look at.” he leaned in and put his forehead to mine. “I’m an idiot but I want to be your idiot. Please say yes.”

“You really think I’m going to say no after you bought me this dress? God you really are my idiot aren’t you.” I kissed him this time and he pulled me in impossibly close. My answer was always going to be yes.

God men are stupid aren’t they.

“Oh is this the pretty thing Wooyoung was talking about?” the mysterious man came into the room.

“Go away San.” Yunho groaned.

“Oh a friend of yours?” I started to turn around but Yunho pulled me back in. “What? Don’t want me to see him come on Yunho.” I turned around and smiled to the pink haired boy. “Oh hey San.” I smiled

“y/nnnn” he drawled out and came over to hug me tightly.

~3rd Person POV~

San came in to hug Y/n holding the device meant to be planted on the system by the painting, he hadn’t expected to see the pair in the room so, they improvise. San quietly passed the device to Yunho going in for the hug so the man could plant it. Y/n turned back to Yunho to make small talk.

“I didn’t know you two knew each other, oh he’s part of the gang Woo was talking about isn’t he.” she chuckled.

San’s expression fell for a moment while Yunho made a recovery.

“Ah you got me, San is part of our little gang of misfits.” Yunho chuckled back.

“How’s you get in anyways? Oh did Woo bring you with the invite, I told him to be careful bringing people along.” Y/n sighed.

“Yeah basically snuck in you know.” San laughed nervously.

“Did you come up to look at the art?” y/n asked. “Yunho and I were just taking a break from the people.”

Yunho moved closer to the wall again since her attention was back on San.

“Oh yeah, you two sure looked like you were talking.” San joked only to have y/n blushing.

“Oh please it could’ve been way worse. Right Yunho?” she turned around to the man to step closer as he hid the device beind his back once again.

Y/n moved back over to him and San stepped closer once more to take the device back once more in hopes to finally get what he needed. Yunho pulled her in giving it back to San.

“Swapping notes?” she asked.

“Just a fist bump”

“Oh god not a bro move…really?” she laughed at the man.

“Sorry beautiful.” Yunho acted fast and decided it was best to try to distract her, maybe if she was flustered they could finally get this damn device on the security panel. It was RIGHT THERE.

“Anyways San-” Y/n began to turn again but Yunho not wanting her to see him fiddling with the wall grabbed her quickly 

“Y/n” he said and kissed her like his life depended on it…in a weird way it did.

While distracted San had to move with haste, he had to get the panel off the wall and….oh god why are there so many things involved in this! Ok he can do this he can get the panel off and-

“And why did you kiss me?” she asked.

“Can I not kiss my new girlfriend, we were doing that uninterrupted before.” Yunho smiled. “I just missed the feeling. One more?” he pouted and she leaned in and he gave San a look saying ‘I can’t do this forever hurry!’

If only San could just get the corner up and slide it under and

“Got it!” he said a little too excited and loud.

“Got what?” Y/n turned to look at him

Lucky for the boys San thought quickly and took out his phone to make it look lke he snapped a picture of the young couple.

“Just my new blackmail material is all.” he smiled.

“You’re such a jerk.” y/n laughed and hit his arm.

“Let’s rejoin the party?” Yunho suggested. They all made their way back while San and Yunho shared a look of ‘That was WAY too close.’

~Original POV~

“Why don’t I take you home?” Yunho offered.

“Hmm?” I looked up at him. “Sure you don’t want to hear more great offers about donating to the museum?” I chuckled at him.

“No I honestly would rather be Michealangelo and cut off my ear…..Why are you laughing so much.”

“Van Gogh cut his ear off after alcohol withdrawal…and other mental illness. Michealangelo had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.”

“I knew that I was just testing you.” he smiled.

“Maybe I should drive.” I calmed my laughter.

“Oh and let you see my place? Hmm I don’t think you’re ready for my big impressive house.” he smiled. “I can drive, I’m sober.”

“Well maybe I need to see this big impressive house to decide if I’m ready for it or not.” I winked at him. “Come on, these heels are killing me anyways.”

We got up and said our goodbyes, Yunho led me to the valet who brought the car around, both of my bosses Marcus and Henry, and the directors for the Museum came to see us off making sure to let Yunho know they’d love to see him at more events. (Give them more money). We got in the car, he put in the address and made our way back.

“My pretty girlfriend.” he smiled as we stopped at a light.

“Oh so I’ve downgraded from beautiful to pretty.” I chuckled and pinched his cheek. He took my hand and gave me a small peck on the back of my hand.

“Never.” he smiled.

We pulled up to the flat but didn’t move for a second. It was silent

“Everyone is going to be there for a while still, Will loves to attend those events for networking, and Becka and Emma are going out of town this weekend to visit Emma’s parents….if you’d…like to come in? Just for a drink.” I said finally breaking the silence.

“Yes.” he mumbled and got out of the car quickly rushing around to open the door.

We made our way inside and locked the door again. I poured a glass of Whiskey for the two of us and we practically took them as shots..One more for good luck?..... 

“I’m just going to change into something more comfortable now that we’re back.” I said motioning upstairs. “If you want to join me we can watch something on my computer?” he followed me up the small staircase and into my bedroom.

“Oh, it’s tiny.” he chuckled.

“Well it’s usually just me.” I flung my shoes off my feet and sighed in relief.

He pushed me up against the door to once again to capture my lips, they’ve probably started swelling from the bruising nature of the kisses.

“You look so fucking beautiful in this dress.” he mumbled against my lips. “It’ll look better on the floor.”

“Do you always use cheesy lines on girls?” I giggled.

“Just ones who think I’m funny.” he smiled.

“You know your friend Mingi is really funny.” I smiled into the kiss, pushing his buttons just a little. “Do you think he thought I was pretty?”

“He better, otherwise I have to knock some sense into him.” he chuckled pulling me back in.

The dress quickly found it’s way onto the floor revealing the matching set I was wearing.

“Black Lace? All for me.” he chuckled in between kisses.

“To be fair I didn’t know this would happen.”

“Oh but you wanted it to.” he teased.

“Don’t get a big head now, you might faint.”

Yunho’s hand moved to my thighs as I wrapped my legs around his waist, his hands groped what they could kneading the soft flesh he found there. He moved off the wall and made his way over to the bed laying me down and hovering over. I unbuttoned his shirt before he tugged it off the rest of the way, his lips never leaving mine until he started making his way down my neck nipping at the soft skin, surely he could feel my pulse racing.

“Nervous? We don’t have to-” I stopped him with a kiss this time.

“If you leave me high and dry I might stop talking to you for good.”

This man isn’t just good at talking, or looking pretty he knows how to use every part. He looked up at me from his spot between my legs for the last 20 minutes, he had me nearing my third orgasm of the night and I was seeing stars.

“That’s it beautiful, doing so well for me.” who knew I liked being praised.

“Fuck, Yunho.” I moaned and clenched around his fingers again. “Oh god right there, it feels so fucking good.” he was rubbing against that soft spongy part inside me, and fuck was my head spinning. “I wanna ride you baby please.” I moaned out as he held my hip down when it bucked up. “Fuck!” I yelped when his fingers curled again.

“Whatever you want baby.” he smiled and got up kissing back up my body. I could still taste myself on him when he kissed me again.

He helped me up since my legs were already giving up at this point, it’s been a long time since I last slept with anyone and he was making me feel like I was floating. He sat up against the headboard and I moved to lower myself onto him.

“Oh fuck.” I moaned and slipped him inside just the tip at first the stretch was harsh, he was bigger than any of my previous partners and now I realize why he was taking his time. 

“Relax baby, otherwise you’re gonna get hurt.” he kissed my temple. “I’ve got you, and we can stop whenever you want.”

“Fuck, you’re such a gentleman.” I chuckled and relaxed a little sinking down further. “Oh shit.” I bit my lip and pressed my forehead to his.

“You’re taking me so well baby. Feel so good.” he mumbled against my forehead as I rocked my hips forwards and back sinking down again. “That’s it pretty girl.” he rubbed my hips as I fell flush against him.

“Oh my god.” I mumbled and ground against him, my clit hitting his pubic bone, the friction felt amazing.

The minutes passed by as I grew more comfortable with the full feeling and the stretch between my legs, I’m going to be so fucking sore tomorrow. “Fuck I’m gonna cum.” I moaned into his ear as I began to bounce on him gently, if I thought his fingers hit my g-spot well, I was sorely mistaken. I was seeing stars in a matter of minutes, my walls clamping around him as I rode out my high moaning his name.

“Fuck baby I’m so close, come on, one more time.” he reached down to rub my clit with his thumb as I held onto my headboard for support.

“Fuck, Yunho…Yunho…” I moaned into his neck feeling overstimulated, my eyes began watering.

“That’s it baby.” he moaned into my ear. “Come on good girl.”

My eyes rolled back and I felt my hips jerk and a loud moan come out of my throat, fuck was he good. He laid me down and after a few more minutes of  hip bruising thrusts he pulled out and came on my stomach with a guttural groan of my name.

“Fuck.” he breathed out and held himself up on his forearms to keep from collapsing.

“You do this for every girl who works at an art museum?”

“Only the prettiest ones there.” he kissed me gently.

“That was amazing.” I kissed him.

“If you thought that was good just wait until you see how good the aftercare is.” he kissed me nose and helped me up carrying me to the bathroom to take a quick shower and clean up. He held me up practically the whole time since I couldn’t feel my legs and he didn’t let me move a muscle, he was extra careful where it was sore and sensitive, and he made sure to kiss me as many times as he could.

“Yunho?” I looked up at him from under the stream of water.

“Yes y/n?” he rubbed my cheek.

“Don’t go yet?” I nuzzled into his hand.

“I’ll stay.” he smiled.

He dried me off as best he could and went to grab something to wear for me, he came back and the little self doubt I had reared its ugly head.

“Shit.” I mumbled.

“What?” he put my shirt over my head.

“I don’t have any clothes for you to wear.”

“I’ll wear my boxers and then put my shirt and pants back on before I leave.” he chuckled. “Don’t worry.”

“Promise you won’t disappear before I wake up?” I looked up at him while he got in the probably too small for two people sized bed.

“I would never do that.” he took my hand and kissed it. “I meant it, I’m crazy about you and I don’t want to fuck it up……again.”

“Goodnight Yunho” I let out a yawn.

“Goodnight Beautiful.” he pulled me in close and rubbed my back.

They were both in deep, they just didn’t realize it yet.

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