#° ✧ ⇢ [ OV ;; traveling through space and time ]

[zeltqz]

𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒 [𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐄𝐃] ONE

| coming back after leaving the country for eight years, you reunite with old friends, family, and ex boyfriends.

pairing. ex!ran x fem!reader

word count. 7.9k (long sorry not sorry)

series synopsis. bonten is forming and in the midst of it all, you find yourself caught in the sticky webs of your ex boyfriend and current bonten executive, haitani ran.

content. angst, first meetings, mentions of alcoholic mother in rehab, drinking mentions, bonten timeline, smoking mentions from Ran in flashback

a/n: nothing too bad this chapter but there's smut next chapter, promise 💯😎

November 2005

“Shion,” you groaned and rubbed your head, massaging your scalp to try and tame your roaring headache. “Is your room available? I drank too much.”

“HUH?!” he yelled in your ear, unable to hear him over the music. Given your location, you didn’t get mad at him for screaming at you considering the fact you’re at a party with loud music. But still, it was probably the worst thing he could’ve done. 

“I said—” You raised your voice slightly, moving to speak in his ear. “Can I go to your room?”

He took another chug of his drink and nodded, pointing up the stairs. “First room on the left.” You planted a kiss on his cheek and thanked him before stumbling up from the couch. Following his instructions, you were on your way upstairs but the amount of moving bodies as they danced took up space, making you confused so you opened the first door you saw and locked it behind you.

You wasted no time before flopping onto his bed, fisting his sheets as you groaned when your headache thumped again. The sheets were so comfortable and warm you almost fell asleep. The door opened again suddenly and you fought back another groan when the booming music from downstairs passed through and blasted your ears. 

“Shion, close the damn door,” you said tiredly, uncaring about the aggression in your voice.

“Hot girl in my bed, that’s new,” the voice said suddenly and you stilled. Using all your strength, you blinked up at the man in the doorway. He was tall, holding onto a lighter in one hand, braids slipping past his shoulders. 

“This isn’t your bed…it’s Shion’s,” you groaned, explaining slowly. The headache makes your tone sound more annoyed than you’d planned on using, especially  with meeting a hot stranger. “Now shut the door.”

He snorted. “Shion’s is next door. This is my room.”

Your head pulsed sharply when you sat up instantly, spitting out rapid fire apologies as you knelt on his bed and redressed the sheets you crumpled from its neat position from lying down starfish on his bed. “I’m so so so sorry.”

"'S cool." His eyes were only focused on one thing, the sight of your dress riding up your thigh as you reached forwards, sliding your hands across the sheets to smooth them down and fluff up his pillows. The sight of your bare thigh was sensual, making him wish for nothing more than to reach out and run his fingers along it. He bet your skin was soft, inviting even, and his hands itched to sink his fingers into its warmth. The hunger stirred within his body as he watched you push the dress back down, covering your thigh once again as you slid off his bed, locking eyes with him. His eyes travelled up your body quickly until they stopped at your face, the intensity caused you to look away, flustered.

"So..." you started, swinging your awkwardly stiff arms by your side. "I'm gonna go..." you said, unable to handle the awkward situation.

"There's no point. There's a couple in there, you know how parties get."

"Oh," you breathed out, an expression that can be interpreted as sadness or defeat crossing your features.

"You can stay here though. As long as you don't mind smoking," he gestured to the lighter in his hands, and the unrolled joint tucked between his two fingers.

"I don't mind."

"Cool." He kicked the door shut behind him and moved to sit on his bed and pat the spot next to him. You were a little hesitant before stepping over to the bed, shifting backwards until your back pressed against his cold wall and crossed your legs.

"Why're you so far back? Come closer," he said, reaching out a hand, motioning with his free hand for you to come forward. You shook your head meekly, lightly scratching your nails down your arm. "C'monnn," he insisted, reaching out a hand and gently pulling you towards him.

Your protests were ignored before you sighed and allowed him to pull you forward. You sat next to him, intimidated by the proximity of your skin to his. His scent washed over you, causing goose bumps to rise on your skin as you plucked at the loose thread on his blanket.

He put the joint in his mouth, and nudged at your knee to grab your attention. "Do me a favour. Grab that candle in my drawer for me."

You obediently got up and crawled to the end of the bed, idly pulling down your dress when it rode up too far and opened his drawer. You were oblivious to his gaze down your legs, his strong eyes now turning red as he took a hit, blowing smoke through his nostrils.

"Is this the candle?" you asked, bringing out a lavender scented candle and waved it around.

He squinted his eyes to get a better look at it. "Yeah," he muttered, shifting onto his back, kicking a leg up and lacing his hand behind his head.

"Why do you have so many candles? Do you smoke a lot?" you asked, handing it to him and fitting yourself back next to him.

He was still relaxed, inhaling the smoke deeply and shook his head. "Only when I'm stressed," he exhaled, lifting his head back and blowing the smoke out into the air. You shifted on the bed, nervousness clawing at your insides as you found your eyes drawn to his lips wrapped around the joint. He was quite skilled, keeping his lips taut while smoke puffed out and his jaw clenched. Your heart rate picked up, beating heavily against your chest as you stared at his lips with longing.

As if sensing your unease, his eyes locked with yours, staring at you intensely for several seconds before he cleared his throat and removed the joint from his mouth.

"Why are you so nervous around me?" he asked, noticing the change in your behaviour.

You glanced up at him, surprised at his question. "Um, I'm not."

His eyebrows rose up to his forehead. "Sure you aren't. You're practically running away whenever we make eye contact." He reached out to poke your knee, laughing when you jumped slightly. "See? You're so jumpy, relax." His laughter calmed you down somewhat, allowing you to meet his gaze for longer than five seconds. He offered you the joint and you shook your head.

"You nervous? Never smoked before or something?" he asked, tilting his head to the side as he spoke.

You looked down at your lap, shaking your head. "Yeah, never. I can't handle the smell."

"No one likes the smell. It's about how it makes you feel," he responded, the words coming out slow as the joint began to take its course inside his body. He rolled his neck, working out any tension he felt and ran the tip of his tongue along his bottom lip.

You snorted, hiding a giggle between your palm. He looked over at you, raising an eyebrow at you but smiled and asked, "What's so funny?"

"You sound like a hippie," you giggled again, recounting his words and lowering your voice to match his pitch. "It's about how it makes you feel," you said between laughs.

He was too high to really understand what you were saying, but found himself laughing anyway. Eventually the laughing slowed down and the both of you sat silently. You were watching intently as he took another hit before offering it to you again.

Feeling more comfortable, you accepted and shifted closer to him as he sat up, leaning his body weight onto one elbow. Ran held it up to your lips and your eyes met as he instructed you on what to do.

"Inhale," he said, pausing briefly to watch your lips purse around the joint before continuing. "Slowly...hold it...now exhale," he finished, smiling encouragingly when you sucked in deeply. The smoke filled your lungs and you panicked, pulling away before exhaling and coughing harshly as your lungs protested the smoke.

Ran burst into laughter and shoved the joint back into his mouth, taking an easy hit as you doubled over, fighting to catch your breath as you tried to breathe properly. A heatwave flushed over your body when you looked back up and heard him laughing at you.

"Stop laughing! It's not funny," you protested, opting between smacking him or suffocating him when he didn't stop laughing. A pillow was right there and nobody would know it was you...but you shook the thought away and grabbed the pillow instead, throwing it at him.

He swatted it away, breathing heavily from laughing. "Alright, I'll stop, I'll stop." He shifted so he was sitting upright against the headboard. "Wanna give it another try?"

"Fuck no," you hissed, shaking your head and pointing and the tiny joint. "That's a whole murder weapon. I don't know how you do it."

"Your lungs are just weak, sweetheart."

"Sweetheart?" you blinked, caught off guard for a moment and flustered from his teasing.

"Well, I don't know your name so," he shrugged, taking another hit, blowing the smoke in your face and laughing when another round of coughs erupted from your lungs.

"You never asked for my name," you retorted, placing your chin on your knees. "Do you wanna know?"

"Is it necessary?" he questioned, lazily playing with the thin strands of hair sticking to his forehead. "How badly do you wanna tell me?"

"Not that badly. I don't really care," you shrugged.

"You just want me to keep calling you sweetheart. I can see right through you," he grinned widely, flashing his teeth at you. You pursed your lips, trying to keep them in a straight line before failing, breaking into a wide grin of your own.

"Maybe I do... so what?" you lowered your voice suggestively, feeling the failed attempt at hitting a joint float through your system, your body and mind feeling lighter by the second. "Besides, you never told me your name."

His tongue traced the edge of his lips, distracted by the way your eyes were staring at him, full of lust. You took the opportunity to lower your gaze to his mouth, wondering if it tasted as good as it looked. You saw his eyes follow your path and wonder crept in when he stared intently at you.

"C'mere," he whispered, beckoning you over. . When you leaned in close enough, your nose brushed his, sending sparks through your entire body. You instinctively pulled away when he whispered his name into your ear.

"Nice name," you responded, searching his eyes and staring deep into them. He was leaning in slowly, his lips touching yours before stopping just short, creating a confusing mix of emotions within your body.

A fire burnt somewhere in the pit of your stomach as all you could think was his lips against yours. You gripped his shirt tightly in your fists and closed the gap between you, pressing your lips firmly against his. When he felt your lips part, his tongue swept in, running along the edges of your mouth.

Your fingers dug into the sheets when his arm traced down your side, resting against your hip. A low moan rumbled from your chest as you tilted your head to the side, accepting the gracious slide of his lips against yours.

He pulled away after a moment, resting his forehead against yours. He stroked his thumb across your cheek before dragging it down to your lips, wiping the wetness away before leaving his hand splayed on your cheek, forcing you to lift your head up and meet his gaze.

"You gonna tell me your name now?" he demanded, staring directly into your eyes.

You parted your lips to speak before the door burst open and a very worried Shion stumbled through. "What the hell?! Why didn't you tell me you were in here! I thought you died or something!" His words were slurred, the alcohol he'd been drinking kicking into full gear as he did a dramatic double take at the sight of you and Ran on his bed. You were sitting next to him, your dress ridden up your thigh so high you might as well be naked. His eyes travelled up to your face, glaring at the grip Ran had on your cheek. "What the fuck are you doing?"

You pushed yourself away from Ran and fixed up your dress, clearing your throat. "Nothing."

His eyes narrowed and he stepped towards you, gripping your face until you looked up at him. Your eyes were slightly red and he frowned. "...you're high."

"Nah," you scoffed, swatting his hand away. "I'm not."

Shion ignored you and directed his glare over at Ran who was watching the situation with an amused smirk on his face. Shion grabbed onto your arm and helped you slide off the bed and fix your clothes. "Come on I'll get Mira to drive you home."

"Okay," you hummed, turning around to wave at Ran before waiting outside the door.

Shion turned to look at his friend and scowled. "There's hundreds of girls in this house. Sleep with any of them. I don't care, just not her. That’s my fucking friend, okay?"

Before Ran could respond, Shion already turned around and slammed the door behind him.

PRESENT DAY—2015

The entire drive from the airport to your brother’s house was filled with anticipation and silence. Your leg bounced restlessly, chewing on the inside of your cheek as you looked out the window. A familiar feeling of nostalgia washed over your body and reminded you of the last eight years you spent away from this place. Studying abroad was not easy, but definitely worth it. Without the distractions, family drama, (ex) boyfriend drama, you were able to focus on yourself for once, and put your own needs and interests first. You were able to meet new people every day, able to properly form new relationships in university without the fear of people judging you for the mistakes you made in high school. One thing about the neighbourhood you grew up in was that it was a tight-knit community. Everybody was well acquainted with everyone, meaning any gossip or secrets spread around like wildfire. One small mistake and everybody knew within a week. 

Pushing the unpleasant memories aside, it was still good to be back home.

“We’re here,” the driver announced, parking his car outside your brother’s house. His voice snapped you out of your haze, blinking yourself back to reality. The driver was looking back at you, smiling.

“Oh! Thank you so much,” you said heartily, digging in your pockets for your change. You handed it to him and thanked him once more before sliding out of the car. 

Grabbing your suitcase, you took in a deep breath, mentally preparing yourself for the butload of questions your brother will ask you for disappearing randomly for eight years. Your fist hesitates before knocking on the door, biting your lip when you hear the tv inside pause, then a flurry of footsteps.

The door opened and for a moment, the two of you just stared at each other. He’s blinking rapidly, probably busy trying to distinguish the difference between reality and delusion.

“Hi Hiro,” you decided to speak first, worrying your lip between your teeth as you waited for him to say something.

“No,” he shook his head, backing away from the door. “No this isn’t real.”

“It’s real, I’m back.” You smiled, letting go of your suitcase to hold your arms open. Your heart warmed when he pulled you in for a hug, gently swaying you side to side as he took a moment to drink this information in. You don’t blame him for being this tongue-tied, if anything it’s a positive reaction when you were prepared for yelling and arguments. 

“Holy shit, I missed you so much,” he spoke into your shoulder, fighting back from lifting you off the floor. He pulled away and looked at your face again, squishing his hands against your cheeks just to make sure once again he wasn’t hallucinating. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back?! I was so worried!”

He finally let you go and stepped aside as you wheeled your suitcase in.

“I was nervous. I thought everybody hated me for leaving,” you admitted, looking guiltily down at the ground. 

“Yeah, that was so uncool,” he responded and you felt a wave of remorse flush through your body. “I just woke up one night to a million calls from Mom telling me you left the country. I didn’t even get to say goodbye, man.”

“I know, Hiro. It was a stupid mistake. I just…” you paused, melancholy flickering on your face, then looked up at him staring you down with a soft look on his face. He knew you were going through a lot back then, but due to your obsession of keeping your personal life a little too personal, he was unable to know anything about you until it was too late and you were already gone. 

You took a moment to take a deep breath, voice shaky as you continued, “I got into an argument with someone, then I fell out with Mira not even an hour later and I just lost it that night. So I checked my emails and saw that University abroad, the one I applied to as a joke, actually accepted me. So I just said fuck it and left. Obviously I regretted it but it was too late for me to go back with the limited money I had, so…yeah.”

“Who did you argue with…?” he asked, fiddling with his hands anxiously. “Who was it?”

You wiped a stray tear that slipped from your eyes and faked a smile, speaking through a watery laugh. “I’d rather not discuss this right now. How have you been?” 

Hiro frowned, disappointed you still didn’t trust anybody enough to talk to them about stuff that’s clearly bothering you, but sighed all the same. “It’s good, man. I got into university too. In my second year right now.”

“Oh my god, which school?” you asked, stepping aside as he carried your suitcase further into the house. “Wait, no. What do you study?”

“I study Computer Science, obviously.”

“Oh yeah. I forgot you were a nerd,” you fake grimaced, laughing when he muttered for you to shut up. “Are you at the top of your class? You always liked computers and…hacking and stuff.”

“Should’ve hacked into that airplane and turned it back around.”

“Yeah, wish you would’ve too,” you sighed, flopping down on the couch. The leather sunk in when you sat, and you inhaled sharply, closing your eyes and taking in the familiar scent of your childhood home. 

Looking around now, the house was fairly empty and dull. It was like the aura had changed, now eerily and dreary. “Hey, Hiro,” you called out to your brother in the kitchen, the sounds of plates being brought out of cabinets comforting you. “Where’s ma? I tried to reach her when I landed but her phone went straight to voicemail.”

“Oh about that…” He stilled for a moment, and you froze, unlike the sound of his tone. 

“...Hiro..?”

There was a sound of footsteps as he walked back into the living room, leaning against the door and folded his arms over his chest. “She’s back in rehab.” A scowl crossed his face and he cursed under his breath. “She’s been in and out for the last eight years but I haven’t been speaking to her like that.”

“Are you kidding me?” You sat upright, frowning. “When? Why? How?”

He waved his hand flippantly. “I don’t know. Don’t care either. She can rot inside that damn building for all I care. Anyway, you hungry?”

“Yeah. Plane food sucks ass.” The two of you grinned at each other as he ran upstairs to grab a Chinese food pamphlet. The doorbell rang and you sat up to open the door, thanking the delivery man for handing you a letter. When Hiro came back down, you handed him the letter, urging him to open it.

“You’re so nosy,” he complained, tossing the pamphlet at you along with his phone. “Oh shit.”

“What?” you responded, scrolling through the menu.

“My friend’s getting married in two weeks. They’re inviting to come.”

“Ooh, what friend?” you ask, curiously, mentally deciding between the spring rolls and the chow mein. “Are they nice?”

“Yeah, her name is Hinata Tachibana. She’s really nice.”

“You both in the same class?”

“Nah,” he shook his head. “I’m friends with her boyfriend’s friend. So when we hang out, I see her sometimes. I’m not really close with her though, so I’m confused why I’m invited.” He slumped against the couch, deep in thought. 

“Don’t think about it too much. Just go, eat loads of cake and have fun. You deserve it.”

“Thanks,” he smiled, picking at his nails before sliding his eyes in your direction. “Do you wanna come? It’s been a while since you’ve been back so I assume you have no friends.”

“Damn. Straight in the heart, huh?”

He grinned and looked down at the couch. “I didn’t mean it like that…”

“I know what you meant, don’t worry. But you’re right though.” Your shoulders slumped down as you pinched your lips together. “I’m too scared to contact any of my friends right now.”

“Understandable. So, you wanna come?”

You thought about it for a moment before agreeing. It wouldn’t be that bad. You spent the last year perfecting and moulding yourself into a more social being, no longer that super awkward antsy pushover teenage girl that went along with anything anyone said because you were too scared that they’d dislike you.

The food came twenty minutes later and you spent the next hour or two eating and laughing with your brother whilst watching shitty movies on Netflix. Words couldn’t explain how much you missed him, how much you missed your old home, your old life. Though your phone was dry, no new notifications, nobody to text or call, just being at home with your brother was enough for you. 

The next day on your way down to the kitchen to grab some water, the doorbell rang. On the list of people you were initially hoping you’d run into eventually, versus the list of people you planned to avoid like the plague, Shion happened to fit in the middle of both of them.

You stared dumbfounded at him, watching his eyes widen as he mumbled, “You’re actually back…”

You swallowed a lump in your throat, your question along the lines of, “How’d you know,” being interrupted as he stepped forward, sweeping you in his arms. Your body felt like it was suffocating, your poor bottle of water twisting and spilling onto the floor as your fist enclosed it. 

He fought back on the urge to pick you off the floor, wanting to keep things as friendly as possible, for now… before stepping away, planting his hands by his side. He blinked at you again, you blinked back, the both of you just waiting to say something other than hey…

Your brother came down the stairs just in time and wrapped an arm around your shoulder, pulling you into his side. “Dude. When I said she was back I didn’t expect you to come over right away,” he grinned at Shion, thus momentarily snapping him out from his daze.

He was hesitant to look away from the face he’s missed for over eight years and it took him a second before gathering his wits, his mind slowly coming back from its spiralling haze to respond. “I had to see it for myself. I still don’t believe this.”

You swatted his hand away when he reached out to poke your cheek. “I’m not a ghost.”

“I know. I know. It’s just—wow. You look good.” He forced an awkward smile at you. His words, to those that don’t know the context of your relationship, seemed innocent enough; your brother seemed to be pleased with the compliment, happy that he wasn’t here to lash out at you for leaving. But to you, your heart skipped a beat in your chest as you remembered the last incident between you two before you left. 

For a split second, you swore you could feel his hands again as they ran down your sides, could feel how strong his shoulders were as you gripped onto them with everything you had. 

Shion could tell you were thinking of the same memory and gave you a crooked smirk as you were unable to retreat your eyes from his face. 

“Why is it so awkward…?” Hiro broke the awkward silence and you cleared your throat.

“Nothing. Shion come in.” You stepped out of the way to let him inside.

“Nah, nah I can’t. I just came by to see if it was true. I gotta go to work.” Your face fell at the news and a flash of guilt crossed him momentarily. “But I’ll come see you later tonight. I promise.”

“Okay,” you whispered back, giving him a long searching look in his eyes. His breath stuttered for a short moment, his hand just aching to reach out and touch your cheek but the presence of your brother held him back. 

Shion left with a wave not long later and you shut the door, pressing a hand over your heart and fighting the urge to bang your head against the door. 

“Did you both hook up or what?” Hiro asked as he opened the fridge door.

“Sorry, what?”

“You’re both awkward as shit and you look embarrassed right now.” He reached for the milk at the back of the fridge door and stepped over to the cabinet to grab a bowl.

“I’m embarrassed because I don’t want to talk about the topic of sex right now with my younger brother.”

“It’s not a big deal. I slept with your friend once,” he said casually, pouring his milk into the bowl, and you cringed when you saw him pour the cereal last. 

His words took a minute to sink in. “Excuse me, WHAT?!”

He took a spoonful of cereal and shrugged. “What’s the big deal?”

“Which friend? Hello?! When was this?! Why—oh my god ew.”

He frowned at you. “I’m not repulsive. Chill out.” He took another spoonful and wiped some milk spilling past his lips. “It was Dona.”

“Dona—” you paused for a moment. “When was this?”

“I dunno…like two years ago? Or like three? To be frank, I lost track of time years ago. Could’ve been last week for all I know.”

You shuddered at the thought of your old friend with your brother, but pushed that sick image away from your mind. “Have you spoken to her recently?”

“Yeah. We talk from time to time. Why? Don’t want me to tell her you’re back?”

“I’d appreciate that. Thank you, Hiro.” He nodded in your direction then refocused his gaze back onto his cereal. “Now if you excuse me, I’m going to wash away that mental image from my head.”

“Oh whatever.”

 ~*~

Weddings in all honesty weren’t something you truly cared about. It was bizarre, growing up and seeing all this talk about getting married to the ‘one’ and spending the rest of your life with them. Sure, for some couples it was a main goal they wanted to achieve, but with you, it wasn’t something you truly cared about. Women would freak out that their time was soon coming to an end because they weren’t married and still didn’t find the right man. But truthfully, how did someone know who was the right man? Is there some sort of criteria box to tick off? Nobody actually knows someone from the get go, and you can hide your true self for years so it truly doesn’t matter how well you think you know someone, you will never know if they were the right one. 

That all changed when you met Haitani Ran though. He was the right one for you. If someone asked you how you knew, you’d have to tell them you don’t know. It was more of a gut feeling. That lonesome feeling you got in your gut whenever you were away from him. That feeling could just be anxiety, scared he might not come back home alive doing what he does. But he reassured you time and time again that he would be okay. That he’s fine and doesn’t need you worrying. It was a natural instinct to worry. Especially with the countless times you had to help clean his cuts, bruises, and scratches on his pretty face. 

That feeling you got was indescribable. Being with and around him changed you for better and for worse. He made you truly understand what it was like to love someone no matter how toxic it may have been. But he also managed to bring out your worst, the side that you wanted to shove down and stomp on before you left the country. 

Being back now, you feel that side of you inside just chilling down there, as if waiting for the right moment to come out. It’d been successfully tamed for eight years, so the shackles were tight and it was properly chained up, and you hoped that you wouldn’t love someone else like him, hoped that nobody else managed to bring out that side of you again. 

Standing here in this chapel right now as you watched Hiro congratulate his friend Hina and her now husband Takemichi on their new marriage, you couldn’t help but wonder just how perfect their relationship was. If they had brought out any bad sides in the other and had to take month long breaks in order to piece themselves back together.

The wedding photos make them seem happy enough, and you even shed a tear despite not knowing who any of these people are. They just seemed so…perfect. The perfect bride and groom. The perfect couple. 

It was…revolting. Seeing them so happy and smiling constantly made you sick to your stomach. It wasn’t fucking fair that they managed to find each other, find the ‘one’ on their first try without any hardships to come between them. Guaranteed you were purely projecting, and you were aware of that, but still. It was better to assume given all the pictures you saw in the photo album of them still dating when they were 14 years old.

You couldn’t properly enjoy the wedding without tearing up slightly, wondering just what went wrong in your life that made you such a bitter human being. These people were happy to enjoy a new stage in their life and you were just being a sulking mess in the corner of the room, wishing bad on everybody as they smiled. 

Seeing everyone happy with their friends, dancing, smiling, drinking, it made you jealous. The only friends you have in your life right now are your brother (if that can even count) and Shion. The loneliness never sunk in more at this point. Seeing the crowds of people in this wedding having fun…you never felt more alone in that moment.

Your mind travelled back to when you had friends, were stable in your life, had a boyfriend, and most importantly you were happy. Before you fucked it all up when you struggled on balancing all four. 

JANUARY 2006

You grabbed your lunch tray and practically bounced over to your friends table, blinded by delight to notice the way Mira and Dona were shifting in their seats, uncomfortable with your presence. 

“Hey guys!” You sat down on the bench in front of them, a wide smile on your face. 

Mira mirrored your smile, mumbling a hey back as she poked her food with her fork. Dona didn’t bother to cast you a smile, instead choosing to frown and roll her eyes.

Sensing some sort of tension, you swallowed awkwardly. “What’s up? How’ve you guys been?”

“Fine,” Dona responded sharply.

You deflated slightly, mood turning damp. “Why’re you acting so weird?”

Mira peeked over at Dona with a worried expression. Dona was never good at hiding her emotions, always being an open book unlike Mira who mastered the art of acting happy even when she wasn’t. In that moment though, you could tell that you were clearly missing out on something because the distance between your trio had never been further. 

“We didn’t hear from you for the whole holiday. We just missed you, that’s all,” Mira spoke carefully, watching your expression attentively.

Oh. So that’s what this is about. You scratched your neck, lightly dragging your nails along the skin. “Yeah…about that. I’m sorry, I was busy. You see Ran took me—”

“Of course he did,” Dona interrupted, practically spitting the words out. 

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean, Dona?”

“Nothing.” She put her fork down on her tray and looked at you for the first time today. Her eyes were sharp, the irritation practically radiating off her as she continued speaking. “It’s just that he’s literally all you fucking talk about now and frankly it’s getting annoying.”

“I’m sorry,” you blinked, getting yourself ready for defence mode. “Weren’t you the one who was pressuring me to pursue him? I was the one hesitant to talk to him but YOU wanted me to start dating him.”

“Yeah but it doesn’t mean you should be acting like this! Abandoning your friends for WEEKS without a single word!” Dona’s voice was getting higher to the point that it started to gather people’s attention from other tables. Mira wanted to sink into a puddle on the floor when people started staring, praying silently that you both would keep the volume down, but then Dona continued, eyes practically flashing red. “You didn’t even go home! The entire holiday! Your mother was worried sick!”

You scoffed. “Who gives a fuck what she thinks.”

Dona paused, her mouth open and her eyes wide. “What the hell happened to you?” The two of you stared at each other for a moment and you both couldn’t recognise each other. Mira desperately wanted to intervene, ask you both to keep your voices down and stop attracting attention but whenever she opened her mouth, Dona continued. “You know she started drinking again right?”

You stiffened and Mira noticed. 

“Dona, stop,” Mira whispered, looking over to her friend desperately. “Now’s not the time.”

“Nah,” Dona shook her head. “I’m tired of her shit. She needs to hear this.” Her volume started to rise again. “You hear that, (Name). Your mother started drinking again. Because of you.”

“How do you know?”

“My mother goes to the same AA meeting as her. She was there. She heard all the stories your mother said during those meetings and told me.”

There was a moment where a look of shock flashed over your face, but Dona wasn’t having it. “Oh, don’t look surprised. I don’t know what was going through your head to think stumbling in the house drunk at 3AM was a good idea. You thought she wouldn’t notice? Or what about that tattoo you got on your stomach that you also thought she wouldn’t notice? You think this is the kind of stuff your mother wants to see from her daughter? Not even a year ago you were acting normal, going to school ON TIME, getting perfect grades. What the fuck happened to you?”

You stood up abruptly, slamming your hands down onto the table with a loud slam that definitely caught the attention of everyone in the room this time. Mira wanted to explode. 

“I’m not gonna sit here and let you talk about my mother like she was a saint. In those dumbass AA meetings, did she ever discuss the ugly parts of herself or only sit there and bad mouth me? Hm?”

Dona swallowed harshly, arms crossed over her chest. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh so I’m guessing she didn’t. Let me update you then.” You brought your finger out and started counting. “Let’s discuss the fact she thought it would be a great idea to bring over different guys at the SAME TIME and sleep with them on the goddamn couch when I was trying to sleep upstairs. Did you think my thirteen year old self wanted to see that? Or my brother? Or, oh yeah this is a good one,” you brought your second finger up, “the time I had to drag her unconscious body up the stairs and help her bathe because she decided to drink herself half to death that night? Or the fact she passed out on the sofa, blacked out for DAYS and I had to sit there and cry next to her because I thought she died? My whole goddamn life was dedicated to taking care of HER. Now I finally want my own fun and go off the rails one time, that’s enough to send her spiralling and crying to her alcoholic friends? How the fuck do you think I feel?!”

You finished ranting and clenched your jaw as you waited for Dona to continue talking. She had so much to say about a situation she knew nothing about. Now everybody knew your dirty business because she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. Embarrassed, you dropped back down to the bench and began stabbing at your food with your fork, pretending the chicken was Dona’s fucking head.

Mira cleared her throat, the sound echoing in the silence of the cafeteria. “I’m sorry that happened to you. I really didn’t know.”

“Yeah well there’s a lot of shit you don’t know,” you responded harshly.

Dona swallowed heavily and fiddled with her fingers under the table. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want your fucking pity.” You stood up abruptly, grabbing your tray. “And maybe shut your fucking mouth and stop speaking on shit that doesn’t concern you.”

“But Dona was just looking out for you,” Mira started.

“Looking out for me, how?! By bringing up my mother in an attempt to catch me off guard and make me feel guilty? Or basically call me a bitch and a useless friend.”

Dona stood up also, pointing her finger in your face. “Maybe stop acting like both and you won’t get called that.”

“You know what. Fuck you both. I’m done. Consider me gone.”

“Yeah, it’s not like we aren’t used to you being gone anyway,” Dona muttered under her breath. 

You shook your head, glaring at the both of them once more before dumping your food in the bin and storming out the room. The doors slammed loudly and everyone’s eyes were back on that table. Mira felt like there had been a spotlight shining on them the entire time.

Dona slumped back down to the bench and stabbed viciously at her food. “Fuck her. She’s so fucking damaged, I can’t deal with that right now.”

Mira frowned. “Don’t talk about her like that. She’s clearly going through stuff. You’re just saying this to cope with the fact she chose a boy over us.”

“I’m not coping with anything. She can go fuck off with Ran, I don’t care.”

Mira touched her friend's arm gently, trying to soothe down her anger. “She will be back. The second things turns out rough with Ran. I promise you that.”

PRESENT DAY

“(Name), is that you?” A soft voice called out from behind you. You froze, wondering who on earth at this wedding might possibly know you.

Turning around, you met the familiar eyes of Mira who looked at you confused for a moment, then widening her eyes before dragging you in for a hug. “Oh my god. I missed you so much.”

You raised your hand awkwardly, unsure what to say, what to do to her. You haven’t spoken to her since that fight in the cafeteria and that was months before you left the country. “...Hi…” you settled on that, mentally slapping yourself for not showing more emotion.

She pulled away and dried her eyes, wiping them with her sleeve. “I honestly didn’t expect to see you…ever again. This is…woah.”

“Yeah,” you cleared your throat, shifting awkwardly on your feet. “Neither did I. Also, what are you doing here…?” While she was wiping her face, you caught a glimpse of the ring on her finger and grabbed her hand. “No way.”

“Yes way. I’m engaged!”

“What the hell?! I’m so happy for you, Mira,” you said with a smile on her face, watching her go red at the mention of her fiance. “Who’s the lucky guy?”

“He’s on the police force. His name is Naoto. He’s actually related to the bride, Hina. You know her?”

You shook your head. “No. I’m here because Hiro wanted to get me out of the house but I’ve been out of place since I arrived.”

“I don’t blame you. I also feel a bit out of place, being here as a plus one too.”

“Oh, that sucks…” you said softly, chewing the inside of your cheek thinking what to say next. A comfortable silence fell over the both of you, which was expected. Eight years of no contact, this was sure to happen. “So…how’s Dona?”

“She’s…er…to be honest, I don’t know. We stopped speaking shortly after you left the country.”

“Oh,” you deflated. “Why? I wasn’t holding you guys back anymore.”

“It’s a long story.” A man approached Mira from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her backwards for a hug to whisper in her ear. Must be the fiance. “Really?” she mumbled to him, craning her neck in order to hear him a little better. “Are you sure he’s going to be there?” Naoto nodded.

As the two of them spoke, you couldn’t help but feel a little jealous at how secure they seemed to be in their relationship. They were cute, and looked good together.

She turned around and grabbed his hand. “Can I bring my friend? I want to catch up with her.”

At that moment, Naoto seemed to just notice your presence. His black eyes met yours and you felt a tremor race through your body for some reason. He nodded at you and you bowed slightly, fiddling with your fingers as the two of them continued to whisper to each other. 

“Okay, baby.” Mira planted a kiss to his cheek and he smiled, returning the kiss to her lips before walking away. Mira approached you slowly. “Want to come to this party with us? Naoto has business there and is meeting someone so I’m coming with him.” When you looked hesitant, she pleaded. “Please? I really miss you and I want to talk to you more.”

A voice in your head was telling you to just suck it up and go. You’re not in a position to lose any friends right now. “Okay, fine. I’ll go.”

At the after party, you ended up spending majority of the night with Mira and with the influence of alcohol, the conversations flew smoother, the both of you slowly getting back in touch with each other. She told you about how law school almost ate and swallowed her whole, and you told her all about living abroad in a dorm campus and how homesick you felt sometimes. Eventually during the night, Naoto joined the conversation and you found out more about him and his job at the police force. With the help of Mira’s big drunken mouth, she accidentally mentioned a special super top secret case his division was working on called Bonten and how one of the executives is apparently going to be here tonight, and he quickly slapped a hand over her mouth, laughing awkwardly and her eyes widened when she realised.

“Oh my god Naoto I’m so sorry, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to say that,” she was almost crying out of frustration and Naoto spared a pity glance in your direction.

“Sorry about her, she gets very emotional when she's drunk.”

You nodded, muttering it’s okay and watched him whisk her away from the table. You were unsure why he reacted that way. It wasn’t like you knew anything about Bonten or whatever that’s supposed to mean. Without the presence of Mira, you began to feel overwhelmed in this big room with nobody to talk to, the alcohol in your system making your brain go fuzzy.

The room started to get too hot and you were beginning to feel beads of sweat begin forming on your forehead. Standing up, you grabbed your bag and went out through the back, grabbing a metal doorstop and placing it on the door. You sat on the staircase outside, taking in the night time view outside, the beautiful way the street lights lit up the streets and the sounds of cars passing by did wonders to your hazy mind. 

“Ain’tcha cold?” 

It took you a moment, too preoccupied with breathing in the fresh air outside that you failed to notice the presence of a man behind you. You turned around and looked up at a tall man, a black shadow casting over his face and body making it hard to see him clearly. He leaned against the wall, holding the metal door open with his foot, arms crossed over his chest and curled an eyebrow up at you, waiting for you to answer.

“I mean, kinda? But I don’t care,” you turned back to face the front and fiddled with your phone on your lap. “I’ve experienced worse.”

“Hm,” he hummed and lifted himself from the wall, taking a couple steps forward. He sat down next to you on the stairs and you got a whiff of his expensive cologne from the action. His body next to yours was overwhelming, and your shoulders nearly touched. “Do you remember me?” he asked a couple seconds later.

You turned to look at him for a split second then shook your head. He let out a short chuckle. “C’mon try harder. Dig deeper.”

With a word heavy sigh, you turned to look at him again. The first thing you noticed was he was attractive. His sharp jawline caught your attention first, his tattoo next. Then you met his eyes. Those goddamn eyes that no amount of alcohol could make you forget. You blinked for a couple moments, the movement slow as you tried to regain control over your muscles. “No way.”

TAGLIST: @escafhwiluv @lyniana @haitanifxn @rindougf03 @mvteria @hisan-na @luvhaitani @mishueb @Dreamxies @yuma404 @sleeplessreader @shinichirolover @illusorysmut @Lxvephxbic @obsessedwreiner @ililailii @insayninthamembrayn @missgab @reihimbo @l0velikethis @lollevi @danasaan @tenjikusstuff4 @midoriapologist

#—tr </3 #series : wasted times #ran x reader #tokrev x reader #tokyorev x reader #haitani ran x reader #ran haitani x reader #haitani ran smut #tokrev #ran smut #ran angst #tokyo revengers x reader #tokrev smut #tokyo revengers smut

[hubbvrd]

I love you | Joe Burrow

summary — joe takes you to a bengals team party for the first time and on that day he tells you for the first time that he loves you

pairing — joe burrow x reader

words — 1769 words

Once a year, the Bengals team held a not exactly small celebration to which the players brought their girlfriends, wives and children.

This year it was the first time that you would be attending this party alongside Joe as his girlfriend.

From time to time you had already met some of his teammates like Ja'Marr, Sam, Logan, Trey and Tee.

Of the players' partners, you've got a pretty good connection with Morgan, Logan's wife, and Jess, Sam's girlfriend.

You hit it off with both of them right away, so you've been traveling with them quite a bit lately and you've watched a Bengals home game or two together.

Even though you already knew one or two of them, you were quite nervous, so you kept running a hand through your long hair, which you had curled especially for the party.

"You don't need to be nervous, y/n. They'll love you," Joe repeated his sentence again as he skillfully put the car in the parking space and then looked over at you.

His gentle gaze was on you and his lips formed a soft smile as he reached out and placed his hand on your bare knee.

For today, you had put on a bright summer dress that you had bought with Joe at the mall a few days ago.

His thumb ran over your knee in a circular motion and made you start to relax a little.

Joe's touch had a miraculous effect on you in situations where you were quite nervous or tense, so you immediately started to feel better.

In response, you just nodded and swallowed down all the negative thoughts that were running through your head.

Today's celebration was your first public appearance together in front of his team. Even though you had been to the stadium from time to time to cheer on Joe and the Bengals with Morgan and Jess, Joe and you had taken it pretty slow so far.

Not because you didn't want to appear together in public, but rather because Joe wanted to protect you.

Protect you from the public. Because he knew exactly how nasty and hard life in the public eye could be with the fans and the media, which is why he wanted to keep you out of it as much as possible.

Until now, only a few people knew that Joe and you had been dating for five months.

Every now and then, rumors that Joe was back in steady hands would spill out into the public, so that the media literally ran their mouths for a few days until things calmed down again.

But not once has your name been mentioned. You knew that this would soon come to an end, as you were now firmly at Joe's side, but you didn't want to worry about that for the time being.

"Are you ready?" Joe asked you after you got out of the car and he grabbed your hand.

His warm, slightly rough fingers intertwined your fingers with his and you immediately felt a pleasant security that let you know that Joe would be by your side the whole evening.

Before you had driven off, he had even told you repeatedly that he would leave the party early with you if it got too much for you or you started to feel uncomfortable.

It was really sweet and incredibly thoughtful of Joe to be so attentive to your well-being and to care about you.

You weren't used to these little things from your two previous relationships, so you appreciated these small gestures from him all the more.

And that was one of the reasons why you fell head over heels in love with the Bengals quarterback.

"I'm ready," you assured him after taking another deep breath in and out.

"If you need some space from the party or want to leave, give my hand a big squeeze and let's get out of here, okay?"

Joe pulled you a little closer to give you a gentle kiss on the forehead, which made you smile.

"I will," you promised him before you walked hand in hand to the garden of the large property where the party would take place.

In the middle of the lawn, a large white table had found its place, at which over a hundred people were sure to be seated.

There was also a huge buffet, a bouncy castle for children and other child-friendly activities, such as a photo box and beautiful, bright and friendly decorations.

A few children were playing together, while small groups had formed here and there, chatting and having a drink together.

"Everything all right?" Joe asked you as he gently stroked the back of your hand with his thumb.

"All good," you replied honestly, with a smile on your lips.

Because everything really was fine. At home, you had imagined countless thoughts of panic, but now, as you stood here and saw this peaceful atmosphere, you began to feel directly that everything would be fine.

"Let me introduce you to a few people."

Joe gently pulled you over to a group consisting of a few men and women.

And you knew that you would certainly be shaking countless hands over the next hour, but you didn't mind because you were looking forward to meeting Joe's teammates and their partners.

- - -

"And what's your first impression of the others?" Morgan inquired curiously as you sat next to each other at the buffet and enjoyed the delicious appetizers.

"They're all really super nice, but I've forgotten more than half of their names," you admitted with a laugh as you reached for a brownie and placed it on your plate.

"It took me a really long time to even remember names. But I actually still don't know who one or two of them are," Morgan replied with a laugh, making me giggle.

You understood this all too well. Because there really were an incredible number of names to remember.

"You and Joe really are a cute couple, by the way," Morgan spoke up after a few seconds of silence, during which you loaded several things onto your plates.

You noticed how your cheeks took on a slightly rosy hue as you sheepishly wrapped a curl around my finger.

"He's been really happy again for a long time. Logan and the other boys have so many positive things to say. Joe sometimes just runs around with a beaming smile."

"Oh yes, do I?" you suddenly heard the voice of your friend next to you, who was snatching a brownie and popping it into his mouth.

"Yes, you are," said Logan suddenly, who had now also joined you and put his hand on his wife's stomach and stung it.

The two of them would soon become parents for the first time and indeed, whenever you saw them, Morgan talked almost non-stop about her unborn daughter, so that for weeks now your joy had been washed over and you could hardly wait to meet baby Wilson.

Joe wrapped his arms around you from behind, so that you snuggled up to him with a smile and then lifted the plate a little higher so that he could take another piece or two.

In fact, you loaded the plate with all the sweet stuff more or less just for Joe, because you knew how much he loved sweets.

"Thanks, babe," Joe said and pressed a gentle kiss to your hair before taking something from the plate again.

Shortly afterwards, the four of you started talking again, joined one by one by Ja'Marr, Tee, Sam and his girlfriend.

It was a really relaxed and fun conversation, so you started to feel more and more comfortable and relaxed with every minute that passed in the conversation, so that you started to talk more and more and at some point it felt like you had known everyone forever.

Joe had his arms wrapped around you the whole time as he kept pressing a gentle kiss to your hair.

At some point, he put the now empty plate down on a table behind him before reaching for your hand.

"If you'll excuse us for a moment, we have a little date with the photo box," he said, pulling you along with him towards the photo box before you could even say anything.

As the photo box was currently occupied, you both took a look in the box, which contained a few disguise options, such as hats, scarves and funny glasses.

"That's funny," Joe mumbled with a broad grin as he began to rummage around in the box.

You watched with a grin as he kept pulling things out of the box and then shaking his head again and again until he finally found something he was reasonably happy with.

Joe put a pair of oversized glasses on your nose, while he put a pair of alien glasses on his own nose and then pulled you into the free box.

"So how does this work now?" you asked as you pushed the goggles back onto your nose and looked at the large screen, perplexed.

"Just a second," Joe replied intently as he tapped the screen a few times until he said, "There, done." he said.

The two of you positioned yourselves in a funny pose as the seconds ticked down and shortly afterwards the photo was taken.

For the next few photos, you fooled around a bit more until Joe pulled you a little closer for the last one.

3

2

1

Before the photo was taken, Joe opened his mouth and uttered the three words that set off the butterflies in your stomach.

"I love you, y/n," Joe said, surprising you so much with these words that your eyes literally became the size of dinner plates and your mouth opened slightly.

Joe put his hands to your cheeks and gently stroked your cheeks with his thumbs as he moved a little closer to you and murmured the three words against your lips again.

"I love you so much, y/n."

And before you could even begin to say anything back, Joe had already placed his lips on yours.

While the butterflies in your stomach wouldn't stop fluttering around, your hands slowly moved up to Joe's neck as you gently returned the kiss until your lips became a little more demanding.

And this moment would forever be one of the most wonderful and amazing memories with Joe.

And very soon, when the kiss ended, you would say those three words to him too and you would kiss again.

#joe burrow #joe burrow imagine #joe burrow imagines #joe burrow x reader #joe burrow x y/n #joe burrow x you #nfl imagines #nfl imagine #nfl #cincinnati bengals #nfl fic #joe burrow fan fic #joe burrow fic

[thefallennightmare]

One Night: Noah's POV-four[END]

*gif created by me. feel free to use, simply give credit*

Pairings: Noah Sebastian x Reader

Warnings: lots of smut(mask play, spit play, bondage, anal, fingering, oral(m/f receiving), choking, unprotected sex), swearing, angst, fluff.

Summary: Noah's POV of his one night with Reader.

Authors Note: OMG IM CRYING! I cannot believe this is the end to the very first Noah fic I wrote! I know it's supposed to be in Noah's POV but I had to throw in the readers pov a few times.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO READ/COMMENTED. MEANS SO MUCH.

NOW ENJOY THIS CHAPTER FILLED WITH STRAIGHT FLUFFY FILTH.

Tags: @thescarlettvvitch @sammyjoeee @shilohrosechicken @malice-ov-mercy @thebadchic @niicoleleigh @lma1986 @dsireland86 @bellaboo967 @cookiesupplier @whenthesummerdies @bngurngheart @laurpartyprogram @thisbicc @lyinginbetween @princessmarshmallowx @loeytuan98 @cncohshit @lacktoesandtoddlerants @notingridslurkaccount @calleyx13 @jessiskyee @mrscevans @spicywhenspeaking @myownthoughts12

NOAH

Turning over in my bunk with a sigh, I reached for the warm body that usually would be there but touched cold, empty space. I raised my head from the pillow, half-lidded eyes searching for her then looked at the time on my phone. 

2:32 a.m. 

Running my hand over my tired face, I rolled out of my bunk with a groan as my long limbs stretched. Almost three weeks into the tour my body was screaming at me to sleep in an actual bed rather than the small bunk that before would barely fit me. However, with Y/N on the road with me, it was a tight squeeze for both of us. The first night, she offered to sleep in her own bunk so I could have as much space as I could but immediately I declined. I wanted her to be as close to me as possible. While none of us said it, both of us were worried about what would happen to our relationship when this tour ended. Although we both agreed to work on it even though we lived in different states; we would put in the same amount of effort. 

Craning my neck to the side, bones popping, I walked to the front area of the bus, knowing exactly where she was and what she was doing. Y/N sat on one of the couches with her legs crossed, laptop perched in her lap. The lights were off, only a blue light emanating from her screen illuminated her face; glasses resting on her nose. She wore my yellow hoodie, her drowning in it as the skin of her legs peaked through the bottom of it. I hummed to myself at the sight, enjoying how she looked. This was the first time in weeks that I saw her wearing glasses. 

“Angel,” I muttered quietly while rubbing my bare chest. “Do you know what time it is?” 

She glanced up at me with a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry. I know I said I was coming to bed like three hours ago but I got a surge of inspiration. I only meant to write for a little bit but before I knew it, I finished two chapters.” 

I fell onto the couch next to her and left a soft kiss on the side of her head. “How’s the book coming?” 

“If I’m being honest, I didn’t expect it to be so easy to write a novel while traveling. I thought with all the excitement of tour life, I wouldn’t be able to find time to write but it's been the opposite of that.” 

I hummed. “Well, it helps that you’re writing about our night together.” 

Y/N shifted next to me. “Does that bother you?” 

I raised a brow at her. “Why would it?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “I only want to make sure you’re comfortable with it. I didn’t use our names and I created two different characters. But everything else is the same as what happened that night. I mean, the guy is a rockstar and kind of resembles you. Maybe I should scrap the idea.” 

Y/N was rambling on and I knew what this was; she was beginning to doubt her novel, something she did a few times now while with me. 

“Hey.” I lifted her chin so I could force her to look at me. “Stop doubting yourself, alright? I’ve read what you have so far and it’s amazing, angel. I don’t care that you’re using something that happened between us. It inspired you to write a book, use that. Create a world from that one night.” 

She bit her bottom lip and I internally groaned at the sight of her; glasses and wearing my sweater. Truly in this darkness of the bus as it moved along to our next destination, Y/N looked like an angel. 

“Thank you for supporting me, Noah. I know we haven’t been together long but your support means a lot to me.” 

I left a chaste kiss on her lips and then on her nose. “I’ll always support you. Even if you start writing fanfiction about me.” 

“You know,” she started while going back to typing away on her laptop. “It’s kind of cool that it doesn't bother you that people write about you.” 

I shrugged. “It was weird seeing it at first but I realized it helps people escape the reality world for a bit to create this entire universe, all because of our band. It’s pretty special if you think about it.” 

We sat in silence for a little while as I lounged next to her, watching her fingers type furiously against the keys of her laptop. My gaze flicked upwards at her face, drinking in the sight of her and my heart pounded hard against my chest. I was afraid she could hear it. 

“You’re staring,” she muttered with a smile, not taking her eyes off the screen. 

“I didn’t know you wore glasses.” 

“Oh, these old things,” Y/N adjusted them on her nose. “I don’t usually but I think I’ve been staring at my screen too much because my eyes have been feeling a bit strained.”

“You look cute,” I mused while resting my head against her shoulder and peering down at her laptop again, stifling a yawn behind my hand. 

Y/N brushed her lips over my forehead. “You should go back to sleep, Noah. It was a long night and you’ve got a big day later.” 

Our show tonight was filled with problem after problem it seemed. My voice wasn’t up to par, even though everyone reassured me I sounded fine. Our tech wasn’t working which made things incredibly hard for Matt. Then not to mention the constant fights happening in the crowd tonight. We were all so upset that we ended up skipping two songs tonight only because having to stop the show a few different times for the tech issues and fights, the time we were allowed to play was stretched thin. 

Later today, we were taking a break from our normal tour schedule to play a festival in Missouri. But before that, I had two solo interviews and one with the guys lined up before our set. 

“Only if you come with me,” I poked Y/N’s side before looking up at her through my lashes.

“Alright,” she sighed with a playful roll of her eyes. 

As she began clicking out of her tabs, one immediately caught my attention and I placed my hand over hers to stop her. 

“Inspiration, huh?” I smirked and pointed to the picture on the screen. 

Her cheeks flushed red and Y/N pursed her lips. “Can you blame me? You look fucking hot in that mask.” 

On her screen was a picture of me sporting a Bad Omens sweater and a yellow mask. 

A low noise rumbled in my throat as I gripped her chin, forcing her to look at me. Her bright eyes shined in the darkness and my heart stopped in my chest. 

“Do you want me to wear the yellow one, angel?” 

Y/N swallowed thickly before slowly nodding. “Please.”

My cock twitched in my joggers at hearing her beg. We had a quick fuck in the bathroom of the green room before the show but it wasn't enough. I wanted to be able to taste her on my lips later today. 

I peered over her shoulder to the front of the bus, noticing the door that led to where Jake, our driver, was shut. Then I looked over my own shoulder to see if anyone was up, moving around in the back. 

All clear. 

I then took her laptop from her, setting it on the kitchenette table behind me, and motioned for her to lie back. 

“Noah,” Y/N’s brows furrowed as she shook her head. “What if someone hears us?” 

I gently pushed her to lie down on the couch. “Then you’ll have to be quiet, angel.” 

Adjusting myself so I was kneeling on the couch in front of her, I slid my fingers underneath the bottom of her sweater; my sweater. When I continued to touch her skin and not the fabric of her shorts, I raised a brow. 

“Were you sitting out here in nothing but my sweater, Y/N?” My voice was low. 

She grinned. “I have panties on.”

I hooked fingers in the waistband of said panties and slowly slid them down her legs until they hung around her ankle. I spread her wider for me, mouth salivating at the sight of her slickness, with one leg up against the back of the couch and the other foot perched on the floor. 

“Noah,” she whined while arching her back. 

My tongue rolled over my bottom lip. “Can you be quiet for me, angel?” 

Y/N quickly nodded before going to take off her sweater. 

“No,” I held her hand. “Leave my sweater on. You look heavenly in yellow.” 

With a flick of my tongue, I licked up her arousal with a hum of delight. She always tasted so fucking good. Y/N had her own specific taste and scent, and it drove me absolutely mad. My teeth grazed over her sensitive clit and the noises that fell from her lips made my cock throb. 

Her nails raked through my hair, scraping along my scalp, and I shivered under her touch. I sucked hard on her clit, earning a loud moan from Y/N, so I smacked the inside of her thigh. 

“Shit, Noah,” she hissed in pleasure when I slipped one finger between her folds. 

I pumped in and out of her in fast strokes as my tongue flicked over his clit, then added another finger, spearing the two inside of her. 

“Fuck!” Y/N panted as she gripped my hair tighter. “Shit. ‘M so close.” 

“Cum for me, angel,” I ordered, removing my lips from her only for a second then went back to tasting her arousal. 

Her body shook underneath me as she screamed out her release and I reached up, smacking a hand over her mouth. Her cries were now muffled as I licked her through the aftershocks. 

“Good girl,” I praised while leaving a gentle kiss on the inside of her thigh. 

I helped Y/N to a sitting position and wrapped my hand around the back of her head, pulling her into a heated kiss. She moaned as she tasted herself on my tongue and folded into me, hands resting on my chest. 

“I’m so sleepy now,” Y/N sighed while adjusting the glasses on her nose. 

“Let's go to sleep, angel.” I reached for his discarded panties and pocketed them. 

“Hey!” 

She tried to reach for them but I threw her over my shoulder as I stood to my feet. Thankfully her sweater covered her bare ass as I began walking back toward our bunk. 

“You don’t need them,” I said. 

“Noah,” she giggled. “I can’t sleep without underwear.” 

Gently, I tossed her into our bunk and looked around at the others, making sure her cries of pleasure hadn’t woken anyone up. 

“I need to make sure I have all of you when I wake up,” I winked while crawling into bed with her, pulling the curtain closed tight.

“Such a perv,” Y/N joked while smacking my chest. 

I wrapped her into my embrace by lifting her leg over my hips as she rested her head against my chest. We lay there for a little while, just basking in the solace that we created ourselves. 

“Noah,” Y/N spoke quietly while running a finger over the tattoos on my chest. 

I hummed, enjoying the way she felt against me. 

“Do you honestly think my novel is good enough?” 

I shifted us a bit so I could gaze down at her with a frown pulling at my lips. However, Y/N refused to look at me. 

“Y/N, why are you doubting yourself?” I questioned. 

She was quiet for a long moment, simply dragging a finger over the tattoos on my stomach now. 

“It’s my first one. I’ve written a few things online for years but this is an actual story that's going to be published for people to buy. What if it fails?” She finished with a shaky breath. 

I rolled us over so I was peering down at her while she was on her back. Y/N’s usual bright eyes were dulled and I took off her glasses, safely setting them in the far corner of the bunk. 

“Why do you think it will fail?” I asked. 

When she tried to look away, I cupped her cheek so she couldn’t. “Don’t hide from me, angel.” 

“I-shit-,” her bottom lip quivered. “Writing is all I have, ya know? If this book fails, I don't know what I’m going to do.”

I left a soft kiss on her nose. “There’s going to be negativity with it, there's no way around that. But from what I’ve personally dealt with, you need to focus on all the positives. I don’t want to see you get in your own head, angel.” 

She nodded in my grasp. “I’m my own biggest critic. Now that I’m so close to finishing it, doubt is settling in about if it’ll be good enough. What if no publishing company wants to pick it up?” 

I brushed some hair out of her face and propped myself up on my other elbow. 

“Have you thought about self-publishing?” I suggested. 

Y/N scoffed. “I looked into it and the cheapest route is almost a grand. I don’t have that amount of money to invest in something that might fail. The cost of living in Las Vegas is killing me to begin with, I can’t put all my savings into something that might fail.” 

My lips parted to speak but she quickly pressed a finger over them, hushing me. “No, don’t. I do not need your money for this, Noah. I cannot ask you for that.”

I kissed her finger before removing it from my mouth. “I just want to take care of you, Y/N.” 

She grabbed my hand and left a kiss on the inside of my palm. “I know. But I can’t ask that from you. I’ll figure it out.” 

“Well,” I tapped her nose. “Writing isn't the only thing you have. You have me and I’m not going anywhere.” 

Y/N grinned up at me. “Good because I’m not letting you go.” 

I dipped low to leave a kiss on her lips, letting my tongue slip inside to taste every inch of her mouth. Faintly I could still taste her arousal on her tongue and I groaned, rutting my hips into her. 

Y/N’s nails left red marks down my chest and stomach then she reached for my joggers, pulling at them. 

“What do you want, angel?” I asked breathless from the kiss. 

Her bottom lip jutted out and I immediately attacked it with my teeth. 

“Fuck,” she hissed while bringing her fingers to her lips, faint crimson painting them. “I’m bleeding.” 

Our lips met again in a fiery, teeth-smacking kiss, and Y/N’s hand slipped beneath my joggers, palming my hard cock. I groaned into the kiss and ground my cock against her hand as Y/N began palming it.

“Noah,” she mewled against my lips. “I need it.” 

“Use your words,” I teased while leaving a mark in the crook of her neck. 

Y/N squeezed my cock and I hissed in pleasure as my head fell to her chest. Her hand began to pump up and down then when her thumb grazed over the head, I nearly came in her hand. 

“Angel,” I breathed against her neck. “Please don’t stop.” 

She did, only briefly to help me shimmy out of my joggers then I stripped her off her sweater, eyes turning dark when I realized she wasn’t wearing anything underneath. 

Quickly I guided her hand back to my aching cock and Y/N started pumping me fast and hard. 

“Shit. Please,” I held myself up on my elbows as I gazed down at her through half-lidded eyes. “Keep going.” 

Her eyes were locked on the space between us, almost focusing on her actions. 

“I love hearing you beg,” Y/N gazed up at me, a playful smirk on her lips. 

“Don’t.” I panted. “Stop.” 

Suddenly, she was patting my hip with her free hand. “Get on your back.” 

I groaned when she stopped. “Angel-.” 

“Get on your back, Noah. Now.” 

Something burned low in my belly hearing the demanding tone in her voice so with a hastily nod, I did what she asked and watched as she climbed on top of me. It was a tight fit with the small space of the bunk and she couldn’t sit completely upright. Instead, she leaned half of her body over me as she held my cock with one hand, the other resting over my heart. 

I internally smiled at the small gesture. 

My head fell back onto the pillow when Y/N slowly inched herself down on my cock, the tightness of her walls gripping around me harder than her hand did. 

“Fuck,” she cursed. “I didn't think this through. Not much space here.” 

I grunted, wrapping an arm around her waist to lock her into place. “We need an actual fucking bed.” 

As her hips moved, a spew of curses fell from my lips along with her name, it sounded like a prayer in the small confines of what we called our bedroom the last two weeks. It still didn’t feel real sometimes that she was here with me. Y/N chose to leave her life behind to follow me and my band across the States for a month. Not many people did that, especially for someone they barely knew. 

But we weren’t those people. Our relationship wasn’t typical, it had been different since the start. 

The last two weeks have been perfect. Y/N fit in great with everyone in our crew, she and Nicholas bonded over Britt. Same with her and Folio. Y/N and Jolly had a mutual show they watched together some nights after our shows when she wasn’t working on her novel. 

Hell, Y/N and Matt even bonded over their love for raccoons. 

Gazing up into her bright eyes, I cupped her cheek to force our gazes to lock. 

“Have I told you how beautiful you are?” 

A red hue brushed across the soft features of her face as she continued to ride me. “Hm, no. Not recently.” 

“Well,” I pulled her flush against me. “You’re fucking beautiful, angel. And mine.” 

“Yours,” she cried out when I began to fuck up into her, my cock slamming with no remorse. 

The bunk beneath us creaked, giving away to everyone on the bus what we were doing, but I didn’t care. Y/N’s head fell to my shoulder, my name muffled by my skin, and when she clenched harder around me I knew she was close. 

I yanked her head back with my free hand, the other still wrapped around her tight and exposed her face and neck to me. 

“I want to watch you fall apart on my cock,” I said through gritted teeth. 

Her tits bounced with each hard thrust and I briefly took one of her nipples in my mouth, biting and teasing it with my tongue. 

“Noah,” Y/N choked out. “‘M gonna.” 

My head snapped up so I could watch her as the coil in my stomach began to snap, a burning rush shooting through my entire body as my release washed over me without warning. 

Both of us moaned each other's names in tangent as Y/N came apart all over my cock, her arousal coating my cock and hips. She fell to my body in a heap of exhaustion and I quickly covered us with the blanket, not bothering to clean us up or get dressed. 

“Goodnight, Noah,” Y/N pressed a kiss to my cheek before snuggling closer to me. 

I grinned, heart beating wildly in my chest, and wrapped myself tighter around her. “Sweet dreams, angel.” 

READER

“Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I exclaimed while staring down at the email on my laptop. 

Dear Y/N, 

We hope this email finds you well. But we wanted to let you know that beginning in two months, we will not be renewing your lease. We appreciate your understanding in this matter.

From, 

The leasing office. 

“Everything alright?” Noah asked as he stepped out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist, steam following him. 

I bit my lip at the sight of him. The towel hung loosely around his hips, his hair was slicked back, and droplets of water trailed down his warm skin still red from his shower. 

I blinked. ��Sorry, did you say something?” 

He smirked. “Distracted, are we?” 

“Well, you walk out like this,” I motioned to him from head to toe. “And you expect me NOT to listen to a word you just said?” 

“If I didn’t already bend you over the bathroom sink to fuck you, I would. But I have to be at the venue soon,” Noah left a kiss on my forehead.

My cheeks burned at the memory of earlier when Noah had me bent over the bathroom counter, fucking me without an ounce of falter. He slammed me so hard into the granite counter top, I was sure I’d have bruises in the morning. Noah’s long fingers were hooked in my mouth to hold me upright and I shivered when I remembered how my body reacted during my orgasm. 

“Are you sure you don’t mind if I stay here tonight?” I asked, biting my lip as I watched him walk around the room naked. 

Shit, his ass was perfect. 

“Angel,” he sighed while stepping into a pair of black briefs. “You’ve watched every single show on this tour so far. I’m not going to be mad or upset if you miss this one.” 

I pouted. “I know but I feel terrible.” 

“You’re so close to finishing your book, Y/N. You need some quiet time to focus. Take advantage of the fact we are staying in a hotel for the next two nights. Enjoy the quiet tonight and tomorrow we can spend our last day off sightseeing,” Noah said. 

It was the start of the last week of the tour and while the fear of what would happen afterward started to weigh heavy on my shoulders, I did my best not to dwell on it because I didn’t want to ruin the time we had left. It was clear that we would continue our relationship but it wouldn’t be easy since we lived in different states. 

“I can’t believe there are only four shows left,” I noted while setting my laptop on the table in front of me. “How do you feel about it?” 

Noah fell onto the couch next to me with a breath. “It’s always bittersweet. While I love performing on stage in front of sold-out crows, I miss the comfort and solace of my house.” 

I hummed in agreement, resting my hand on the back of his neck to play with the wet strands of his hair. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever had that feeling about the place I’ve lived in,” I admitted. 

“Really?” He raised a brow. 

“I’ve tried to make my apartment feel like a home but it always feels like something was missing. But it doesn't even matter anymore.”

“Why’s that?” 

With a long sigh, I turned my laptop towards him so he could read the email, a slight frown pulling on his lips. 

“So, this means what?” Noah asked, even though I was pretty sure he already knew. 

“I have sixty days to find a new place to live,” I shrugged as if it wasn’t a huge deal. 

Although, it was. My heart sunk low to the depths of my stomach knowing that I had to spend the rest of my time on the road with Noah by looking for places to live. 

“Do you want to stay in Las Vegas?” He asked while rubbing my back. 

“I guess before I never thought of moving anywhere else but now-,” the words trailed off. 

I didn’t want to say something if Noah didn’t feel the same. 

“But what?” He urged with a gentle tone. 

“I don’t know. Maybe I should think about moving somewhere new; a fresh start,” I said after some hesitation. 

Noah hummed. “I heard Los Angeles is a great place to start fresh.” 

My head snapped up towards him, the words stumbling over my tongue. 

“Wh-what?

My heart hammered so loud in my chest that I could hear it in my ears and I began rubbing my palms on my thighs. Noah immediately picked up on my nerves and gently grabbed my hands and brought them to his chest. 

“I’m not asking you to move in with me, angel. You said it yourself though that you’re looking for a fresh start. Los Angeles has a lot of opportunities and there’s quite a few different places for rent around my area,” Noah explained. 

I chewed on my bottom lip. “Well, if I’m being honest. There’s really nothing for me in Las Vegas anymore. Britt was bouncing back and forth between there and Virgina to see Folio so I barely saw her to begin with.” 

Noah’s thumb brushed over the back of my hand, his brown eyes sparkling with so much hope. 

“It will make things easier for us,” I turned towards him. “But I don’t want to uproot my entire life if you’re not willing to work on us.” 

“Angel,” he brought my hands to his lips, leaving a vast variety of kisses. “I’m one hundred percent into this relationship. You know that I’m not going to force you into anything. But I’ve had you this close to me the last few weeks, I don’t think I can handle you living hours away from me after this.” 

Tears burned in the corners of my eyes and I blew out a shaky breath to keep them at bay. 

“Can I think about it?” I asked after a few beats of silence. 

Noah’s face fell slightly but he quickly recovered. “Of course, angel.” 

There was a knock on the door of our hotel room and after a quick kiss to my forehead, Noah tossed on a shirt before answering the door. On the other side stood Jolly with his bag slung over his shoulder. 

“Ready?” 

Noah peered over his shoulder to me, a frown on his lips. “I’ll miss you.” 

I giggled while jutting out my bottom lip. “I’ll miss you too, Pookie Bear.” 

Jolly rolled his eyes as he stepped into the room, waiting for Noah to finish packing up his things. 

“You’re not coming tonight?” He asked. 

I shook my head while motioning towards my laptop. “I have to finish up the last few things of my novel. I plan to self-publish in the next month or so.” 

“Oh, fuck. That’s great, Y/N!” Jolly smiled wide. 

“It’s a bit scary, though. I’m putting everything I have into this and if it fails, I don’t know what I’ll do,” I admitted with a sigh. 

Noah snuck up behind me on the couch and placed his hands on my shoulders. I looked up at him upside down and he bent low to leave a firm but soft kiss on my lips. 

“It won’t fail, Y/N. I’ve read it and this is my unbiased opinion. You wrote an amazing, beautiful story. People will love it,” he reassured me with a squeeze to my shoulders. 

“Thank you,” I mused while tapping his arm. 

With one final kiss, Noah sneaking his tongue past my lips, I moaned quietly into his mouth as my hand snaked behind his neck. 

“I’ll miss you,” he muttered against my lips. 

“I’ll do my best to stay awake to wait for you,” I said. 

Noah slung his back over his shoulder and winked. “I’ll wake you up if you’re asleep.” 

As he and Jolly began to walk out of the room, I called after them. 

“Jolly!” 

“Yeah?” He poked his head back into the room just before Noah shut the door. 

“Tomorrow night! Season finale. Bring the pizza, I’ll have the drinks!” I pointed a finger at him. 

With a two-finger salute, Jolly nodded with Noah pushing him out of the room. He quickly turned to look back at me. 

“See you later, angel,” Noah blew a kiss. 

“Kick ass tonight!” I returned it.

Finally, in the solace of the hotel room, I blew out a shaky breath and rested my laptop on my lap once again, ignoring the email from my leasing office. Even though I asked Noah for time to think about my final decision, I already knew what I was going to do. 

It was the truth when I said there was nothing for me left in Las Vegas and I wanted a fresh start. Although, I didn’t expect Noah to throw out the idea of moving to Los Angeles. But the thought of being close to him made my heart flutter in the best fucking way. We got so used to being around each other all day, every day the last few weeks so the thought of being separated once the tour ended on Friday didn’t sound appealing. 

With a crack of my fingers, I set to work for the next few hours focusing on my novel as I worked out the last few kinks and polishing it to perfection. By the time I felt comfortable with everything, reading it from start to finish, I couldn’t stop the large smile that spread on my face. 

“Shit, Noah was right. This is good,” I muttered to myself. 

Quickly checking the time on my phone, I noticed that it was almost time for Bad Omens to go on stage so I hastily typed out a message to Noah. 

Me: It’s finished 😁

Almost instantly, he responded. 

Noah🧜: I’m so fucking proud of you, angel. We’ll celebrate later tonight when I’m back. 

With a slight uncurl of my lips, I responded. 

Me: Would this maybe include the yellow mask? 

After a few minutes of no response, I chalked it up to Noah being pulled away to go on stage. So I spent the rest of the night tidying up the hotel room every so often checking my phone for any Bad Omens content from tonight. Even though it was sparse, I couldn’t help but feel that twinge of jealousy that I didn’t go tonight. 

It’s one night, Y/N. You have four more shows to watch before the end. 

Just before I went to lock my phone, a new text from Noah popped up. 

“Must be the break,” I muttered with a smile. 

Noah🧜: Don’t tempt me, Y/N. Because now that’s all I’m thinking about before going back out on stage.

Of course, I did want to tempt him so with a sinister smirk, I quickly stepped out of my clothes and lounged on the bed. I went through a few different positions until I found the best one and snapped a few pictures. I had an arm over my bare breasts with my bright yellow lace panties. With the picture attached, I replied to Noah. 

Me: Is this temptation enough?

Setting my phone on the bed, I got dressed once again then ordered myself some room service with a few extra things for Noah when he returned tonight. I did some more research on how to self-publish and although the doubt was still there, I couldn’t help but feel excited that soon my book would be out there for everyone to read. 

I tapped my chin and mulled over this thought for a few seconds, I decided to spend the time while I ate to look up different apartments for rent in Los Angeles.

“What the fuck,” I grumbled when I realized how expensive some of the apartments were. “There’s no way I can afford any of these.”

I shut my laptop with a bit of force and left it on the coffee table. I decided to ease away my worries and doubts by taking a long soak in the tub. Briefly checking my phone, I noticed Noah still hadn’t responded but I knew that it was the end of the show and he’d be back soon enough anyway. 

Almost thirty minutes later, I stepped out of the bathroom with the towel loosely around me only to be pushed up against the wall by a large, warm body. 

“Someone’s been naughty while I’m gone.” 

I was frozen in fear until the familiar voice breathed in my ear and immediately I relaxed in his embrace. His arms were posted on either side of my head, hands sprawled against the wall as his hips locked me in place. I drank in the sight of his tattoos and eased into his chest. 

“I missed you,” I breathed while resting my head on his shoulder. 

It was then that I noticed something yellow covering Noah’s face and I sucked in a breath. But before I could turn to look at him completely, he forced my face into the wall again. A slick warmth spread between my legs as a fire buzzed in my lower spine. 

“Meet me in the hotel pool in ten minutes,” his teeth grazed over the shell of my ear. 

“W-what?” 

Suddenly Noah’s warmth was gone followed by the door to the room shutting. I swallowed thickly while staring at the empty room. My heart felt giddy with the wonder and excitement of what Noah had planned but my stomach flipped with nerves as I quickly threw on some clothes. 

NOAH

Thankfully the pool was empty since it was late evening so I didn’t have to worry about anyone other than Y/N walking in. I sat on the edge of the pool in my pair of black swim trunks and the yellow mask covering my face. From the second I saw that picture of Y/N, all I could think about was this moment which made it difficult to focus on finishing my set tonight. 

The door to the pool room opened and my eyes snapped away from my legs wadding in the water to drink in the sight of Y/N sheepishly walking in. My pupils dilated when I noticed she was wearing my white Death Note shirt and nothing else. 

I felt her burning gaze over every inch of me, lingering on my face, and even from our distance, I could see the breath catch in her throat. 

“What if someone walks in on us?” She asked while shifting on her feet. 

I pointed to the door behind her. “Lock it.” 

Her eyes widened. “Noah, we can't!” 

I titled my head to the side. “Angel, are you afraid?” 

“No,” Y/N scoffed with a shaky voice. “I just don’t-.” 

“Lock. The. Door.” 

I never took my eyes off of her as I watched her shuffle her feet back to the door and when the click of the lock echoed in the large space, I hooked my finger at her. 

“Get in the pool,” I demanded. 

Y/N swallowed thickly. “Uh, I didn’t wear my swimsuit.” 

My feet kept wading through the water as I bit my lip. “Are you telling me that’s all you’re wearing?” 

When she nodded, I absent-mindedly ran a hand over my chest, a hum vibrating against my palm. I had two options: I could have her strip naked and get in the pool or have her get in the pool while still wearing my shirt. 

Deciding on the second option, I jumped into the pool still wearing the mask, and swam to the other end of the pool where she stood. I reached my hand out towards her but quickly picked up on the hesitation on her face. 

“Are you alright?” I asked, my facade dropping slightly. 

“Um, if I’m being honest, I’m kind of nervous about what you have planned,” she rubbed her hands on her thighs. “I trust you, Noah. I do.” 

“Safe word?” I reminded her. 

Y/N nodded with a small hint of a smile. “I remember.” 

“Good,” I extended my hand again. “Now get your pretty ass in this pool.” 

When she went to reach for her shirt to take it off, I curly shook my head. “Leave it on.” 

The second her soft hand was in mine, I helped her walk down the stairs of the pool until the water stopped right under her breasts. I yanked her into my embrace, catching her lips in a passionate kiss. Her nails dug into my chest while mine gripped underneath the shirt, grazing over her bare ass. 

“Angel,” I groaned against her lips while pushing her against the wall of the pool, locking her in place. 

Y/N pushed me away gently so she could look into my eyes, hers darting all over my face. 

“Fuck, I thought you looked hot in the black one but something about this yellow mask is making me feral,” she nipped at the skin of my neck. 

I hissed in pleasure, shivering underneath the touch of her lips upon me. It was something I never got used to, no matter how many times she kissed me. I still couldn't explain this feeling that filled my heart and view whenever I was with her. It was so unknown that it scared me to follow it at first. It hindered me useless when she left me in the hotel room all those months ago. 

Suddenly I realized that this was the first time we were in a hotel room together since that first night together and fear sunk my heart deep. I yanked her away from me so I could force her to look into my eyes. 

“Promise you won’t leave?” I asked with a stern hold on her chin. 

“Huh?” 

I licked my lips. “I need you to promise me that you won’t walk out the door tonight unless it’s with me.” 

Y/N’s eyes darted back and forth between mine until they finally softened, her realizing why I needed her to promise me this.

“Noah,” she cupped my cheek over the mask. “I promise to never leave you like that again. I’m here with you, for you, and I’m never leaving.” 

I swallowed the burn in my throat and left a kiss on the inside of her palm. “Thank you.” 

She kissed me again and this time, I didn’t hold back. I ravaged every single inch of her with my hands and mouth, needing to taste her; to feel her. With my hands on her hips, I forced her to turn around towards the wall of the pool. 

“Hands on the edge,” I rasped. 

Doing what I said, Y/N rested her hands on the edge of the pool while I brought her ass towards me underneath the water. My cock was straining against the confines of my tight swim trunks, it almost begging to be inside of her. Ever since she sent me that picture earlier, all I could think about was the sweetness of her pussy and the way it felt when it gripped my cock. 

Once my cock was free, I pumped it a few times underwater and leaned over Y/N to whisper in her ear. 

“You think you were smart sending me that picture earlier?” 

My voice was dark and low, filled with my desire and mock disappointment.

“No,” she breathed. 

“Anyone could have seen it, angel,” I nuzzled my mask-covered face into the crook of her neck. “What if that happened?” 

One hand was wrapped tightly around my cock, poised at her entrance, while my other hand dug into the soft skin of her hip to keep her in place. 

“I’m sorry,” she whined while pressing her ass farther into me. 

Her whines went straight to my cock. 

“I’m not going to hold back, angel,” I bit down on the sweet spot of skin underneath her ear. 

“Fuck me, Noah.” 

With fucking pleasure.

The water splashed as I slammed into her, completely seething myself between her folds, and her cries echoed throughout the vast room around us. Neither of us said a word as I harshly fucked it, the only thing that you could hear was the water splashing, my heavy breathing, and her cries of pleasure. 

I wrapped my arm around her midsection to pull her closer to me, her shirt hiked up just underneath her breasts, and I felt the sweat gather on my forehead underneath the mask due to the humidity of the pool and our bodies intertwined. 

“Shit,” I cursed when her pussy clenched around me. “I need to take the mask off.” 

“No!” Y/N looked over her shoulder at me. “Please, not yet.” 

Water had splashed out from the pool onto the stone floor around us and I yanked her off of me, her whines of protest sounding like music to my ears. I spun Y/N around so she could look up at me now. 

“You want to see the mask?” 

She nodded in her blissed-out state. 

“Then eyes on me, angel,” I demanded, spearing her open with my cock yet again. 

Y/N cried out my name, almost as if she was praying to me, and I lifted her leg around my back so I could reach her at a better angle; deeper. I needed to go deeper. 

“Noah.” 

Her eyes never left mine as I fucked her senseless, her mouth falling open. My cock twitched inside her when the fire burned at the base of my spine, my orgasm so fucking close. 

“Are you close, angel?” I asked, barely hanging on as my pace became erratic and uneven. 

There was a slight frown on her face and for a second, I worried I was hurting her. 

“It’s hard for me to cum underwater,” Y/N admitted with a shy face. 

One hand rested against my chest while her other grasped at my mask, almost holding it in place. 

“It’s okay, you can cum, Noah. Cum for me, I want to watch your face underneath the mask fall apart. 

A whimper crawled out of my throat, one that made Y/N’s eyes widened and pussy clench around me one final time as my hips stilled, cock spilling my arousal into her. My forehead fell to hers as my breath came out strangled. 

“So beautiful,” Y/N mused while playing with the strands of hair that peaked out from underneath my mask. 

“Why didn’t you tell me you couldn’t cum in water,” I asked, almost breathless, now looking at her. 

She shrugged. “Trust me, Noah. It still felt good; really good. But I couldn’t even if you put a vibrator against my clit. My body just can't.” 

Ripping off the mask now, I let the cool air of the room brush across the heated skin of my face and took a deep breath. 

“Well,” I kissed her lips and tucked myself away. “Seems like we have unfinished business then.” 

Y/N raised a brow but before she could ask what I meant, I had her sitting on the edge of the pool, me following right behind her. 

“Noah-.” 

Her giggles carried around the room as I threw her wet body over my shoulder and began walking us out of the pool room. 

“My ass is hanging out!” She cried. 

I smacked it before unlocking the door. “Lucky for you, our room is only down the hall.” 

It was her turn to smack my ass. “If anyone sees us, Mr. Sebastian, I swear to Hades himself.” 

“Oh, Mr. Sebastian, huh? Am I your professor now?” I joked when we stepped in front of our door. 

When Y/N was set down on her feet, she crossed her arms over her chest, the wet strands of her hair sticking to her face. 

“Are you suggesting a new roleplay?” 

She was fucking adorable with her bottom lip caught between her teeth. If she wasn’t careful, I would have pressed her up against the door and fucked her right here in the hallway. 

“You like the idea of me dressing up as your professor? You’re my student coming to ask for extra credit?” I teased while leaning an arm against the wall above her. 

Y/N gazed up at me through her lashes and dragged a finger down my abdomen, resting at the waistband of my swim trunks. “Only if you wear those gold round glasses.” 

“Really,” I leaned away from her. “Those glasses turned you on?” 

She shrugged with chattering lips. “You look fucking adorable in glasses.” 

I patted her thigh. “Let’s get you inside and warm you up. Your lips are blue.” 

Once the door was opened, I let her walk in first, only for Y/N to halt in place with a loud gasp leaving her lips. I stood behind her with a proud smirk on her face. 

READER

I stood in place as I took in the sight in front of me with tears gathering in my eyes. Somehow while we were in the pool, Noah had someone come and decorate our hotel room with a variety of flowers, a tray of chocolate-covered strawberries, and a bottle of sparkling grape juice on the table. 

“Wh-what is this?” I pointed while looking back at Noah. 

He was leaning his back against the shut door, a proud smile on his face. “I told you we would celebrate you finishing your book.” 

“When did you do this?” 

“Jolly came and set it up while we were in the pool,” Noah said. 

I felt my skin prick and burn. “You didn’t tell him why we were in the pool, did you?” 

“No, angel,” he snorted while pushing himself off the door and closing the distance between us. “Do you like it?” 

I wrapped my arms around his back and rested my head against the cool skin of his chest. 

“I love it, thank you.” 

Noah placed a kiss on top of my head. “Anything for you.” 

We stayed like that for a few beats until he lifted my chin with a finger and kissed me gently and slowly. The amount of passion from this simple kiss made my heart stutter in my chest and my head spin with a feeling I was so afraid of confronting. It had been lingering within me a lot the last week and I kept pushing it deeper and deeper. 

But now in Noah’s embrace, I couldn’t ignore that feeling that lit a fire in my veins and made my heart spread warmth throughout my entire existence. 

He walked me back towards the bed where the back of my knees hit before I fell onto it, Noah following close behind. His hand grazed over the chilled skin of my thigh before resting over my hip as his other hand palmed my cheek, keeping me in place. 

My fingers wrapped around his wrist while I hooked him with my legs around his back. Noah’s tongue brushed over my lips as he pulled away, resting his forehead against mine.

“Woah,” I said breathlessly. “That was some kiss.”

His eyes burned with so much adoration as he stared down at me, thumb grazing just underneath my cheekbone. 

“I have something else we can try tonight. If you’re up for it.” 

I nodded, a little too eager. “Always.” 

Noah climbed off of me to help me sit up, removing my cold wet shirt and tossing it to the floor. My nipples perked with the sudden chill and he motioned for me to lie back. 

“Do you trust me?” He asked. 

I nodded again. “Always.” 

“Close your eyes for me then, angel.” 

Doing as he said, I listened as he moved around the room, glass clanking together, and what sounded like him rustling around in his suitcase. The bed dipped next to my head when I felt Noah grab my wrists, pinning them together, and a silk fabric was tied around them. 

“What?” I opened my eyes to see him tying my wrists to the headboard of the bed. 

My heart rate picked up as the slick wetness pooled between my legs. 

Noah peered down at me. “I-is this alright?” 

I couldn’t help but smile at how nervous he suddenly became. 

“More than alright,” I reassured him with a soft kiss to the anime tattoo on his thigh. 

With my reassurance, he finished tying my wrists to the bed and then slipped a blindfold over my eyes. 

“If this is too much, let me know.” 

Suddenly without my sense of sight or touch, my others picked up and I could hear the slight waver in Noah’s voice. 

“I’m okay, Noah. I’ll use the safe word if I have to.” 

He patted my thigh softly before he got off the bed only for a few seconds before returning. A bottle popped loudly in the room and I squirmed, my squeals echoed when a cold liquid spilled over my stomach and between the valley of my breasts. 

“It’s so cold,” I giggle while writhing in my binds. 

Noah’s tongue licked up the liquid, starting at my navel then up between my breasts and I heard him hum in approval. 

“You taste so fucking good, angel.” 

His hand lifted my legs so I was perched on my feet then spread them wide. The cold liquid was then spilled over my core and when I tried to close my legs, Noah’s grip on my thighs turned bruising; in the best way. 

“No hiding.” 

“Shit,” I arched my back off the bed when I felt his tongue lap up the juices, my own and the one he spilled before he sucked it with a pop. 

My jaw was wrenched open and although I couldn’t see, I could hear Noah taking a drink from the bottle before he hovered over my lips. Suddenly, he kissed me, spitting the juice from his mouth into mine and I groaned in ecstasy as I hungrily attacked him. 

Unfortunately, he pulled away too soon and I could hear Noah set down the bottle on the bedside table but was taken aback when his lips met mine in a hungry kiss yet again. His tongue explored every inch of my mouth and I moaned when I tasted myself mixed with the sparkling grape juice. 

“I’m so proud of you, Y/N,” Noah mused while he kissed down my jaw and neck. “I can’t wait to be by your side as you continue to succeed.” 

“You’re going to make me cry,” I joked as a happy tear fell from behind the blindfold. 

He kissed it away. “You deserve all of this.” 

Suddenly his warmth was gone only to be replaced with an unknown feeling being grazed over my perky nipples and then down my stomach. It was gone for a second and what sounded like Noah taking a bite of something juicy before I felt that object grazing over the same path as before only this time it was wet and sticky. His tongue followed that path and I shivered underneath the touch, still only seeing the darkness of the blindfold. 

“If I had to compare you to any flavor, I think this would be it,” Noah’s voice was deep, overtaken by his own lust. 

I whined. “Noah, please.” 

My body felt on fire with what I guess was the strawberries, as it dragged over every inch of my torso followed by Noah’s tongue. The burn between my legs was a painful ache that I needed to touch. With me not orgasming in the pool, I felt like I was ready to explode with the simple breath of him. 

I pulled at the binds. “Please, love.” 

I felt Noah stiffen above me. “What?” 

“Can you take the blindfold off? I want to see you.” 

Suddenly I blinked wildly at the sudden brightness of the room but sucked in a breath when I realized how close Noah was to me; his pupils blown wide. 

“What did you call me?” 

My brows furrowed as I tried to remember what I did call him. 

“Love?” I said again, only this time it was filled with doubt. 

Was it too much? Too soon for a nickname like that?

“I’m sorry. It sort of slipped. If you don’t like it-.” 

Noah’s hand covered my mouth, hushing my rantings. “It’s fine, angel. I like it. As long as you don’t call me some kind of frozen dessert, love is fine.” 

I peered down at myself, eyes widening at the sticky mess he created. My breasts and stomach were covered with the red juice from the strawberry and the chocolate that seemed to melt. 

Then resting on top of my pussy was a perfectly shaped strawberry and Noah followed my gaze by perching himself between my legs, his brown eyes peering up at me. 

He took a bite of the strawberry and flicked it with his tongue. Anything I wanted to say died on my tongue as I continued to watch him devour the fruit that was still resting on my core. 

“No-Noah,” his name came out choked. 

“Hm?” He hummed while flicking his gaze up to me, now dragging the half-eaten fruit between my lips and I arched off the bed at the new sensation. 

I pulled hard at the binds on my wrist but cursed when I realized there was no way I’d be able to break free. 

“Try all you want. I’ve done extensive research in Shibari,” Noah bit gently on the inside of my thigh. “You’re not getting out of that.” 

I hissed. “Shi-what?” 

“Shibari,” Noah bit then licked up the entire length of my thigh. “Japanese bondage.” 

I licked my suddenly dry lips. “Have you been reading my private thoughts or something? You’re two for two tonight on my secret list of kinks.” 

His head snapped up from between my legs. “What was the first one?” 

I wanted to turn my head away in embarrassment but knew that Noah didn’t want me to hide from him. 

“You spitting the juice in my mouth,” I said with only a slight waver in my voice. 

Noah’s eyes darkened as his tongue darted out to wet his bottom lip. “You’re bringing out this dark side of me, angel.” 

I lifted my hips towards his face. “Prove it.” 

His face disappeared when he buried himself between my legs again, tongue and teeth crazing over my clit and I cried out in pleasure. 

“I’d say you’re better than any fucking fruit,” Noah said before sucking on my sensitive nub and adding two fingers. 

He pumped ruthlessly and I swore under my breath, stars blinding my vision. 

“God Noah,” I mewelled feeling the coil in my stomach pull taunt, almost ready to spring free. 

My toes curled as my legs went stiff, orgasm so fucking close. 

“That’s right, you call me and I’ll make sure you cum, angel,” Noah rasped. 

Finally, I let my body relax as my waves of ecstasy washed over me and I came all over Noah’s face and fingers, the noises I made undoubtedly being heard by whoever was in the room next to us. 

“Shit,” I breathed, chest heaving. 

Noah licked me through the aftershocks while he reached for another strawberry. The juices squirted everywhere when he sunk his teeth in deep and it was then I noticed he had stripped himself of his swim trunks, baring himself naked in front of me as he knelt between my legs. His hair was falling into his eyes in slight curls from the humidity of the pool earlier and I whined at how gorgeous he looked with the red juices of the strawberry and my arousal coating his lips and jaw. 

His cock was thick and red, beads of precum spilling from the slit and I licked my lips, wanting a taste. 

Noah cocked his head to the side. “Do you want to suck something, angel?” 

“Please!” I begged. 

Suddenly the fingers he used to finger me were stuffed in my mouth, instantly tasting myself and the strawberry on them. My tongue quickly went to work on cleaning them, humming in approval of the taste. 

“That’s it, I want you to taste how heavenly you are for me, angel.”

His fingers were yanked from my mouth with a loud pop but before I could protest, I noticed Noah’s eyes rolled to the back of his head, jaw falling slack. I saw his hips still and felt a warm liquid coat the inside of my thigh. His cum covered both of our thighs and the blanket beneath me. 

“Shit,” Noah cursed as he ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t think-.” 

“Untie me.” 

He raised a brow. “What?” 

My jaw clenched as I spoke through gritted teeth. “Untie. Me. Now.” 

“Yes ma'am,” Noah joked while finally freeing me from my binds. 

Once freed, I managed to overpower him so that I was straddling him, a look of shock on his face. I reached for a strawberry on the plate next to the bed then once perched over his cock, semi-limp but also hard from his orgasm, I took a large bite of the strawberry so now he was covered in the juices. 

I tossed the rest of the strawberry to the ground before licking up the cum from inside his thigh and then the length of Noah’s cock, reveling in the taste of his cum and strawberry. My tongue swirled over the head in fast circles and Noah’s hand grasped at my hair, holding me in place. 

The noise that came from Noah’s mouth nearly made me choke on his cock. 

Did he just whine?

No. There’s no way. 

I grabbed the rest of his cock I couldn’t fit in my mouth and stroked in slow pumps. 

Another whine echoed in the room. 

Shit. 

“Angel,” Noah whined, just before he spilled himself down my throat. “What the fuck!” 

I was pulled off of him with a loud pop, his hips shaking from being over-sensitive. 

“That’s it, Noah,” I praised with a kiss to the reaper tattoo on his stomach. “I knew you had it in you.” 

As he pulled me into his warm embrace, ready to sleep the exhaustion that had suddenly overtaken us away, I didn’t miss how his eyes glistened when I praised him. 

“Do you remember your promise?” Noah’s voice broke through the quiet. 

I rested my chin on his chest as I glanced up at him. “I’m not leaving you, Noah. I’m right here with you as long as you have me.” 

He left a soft kiss on my forehead. “I’m not letting you go, angel.” 

I wrapped my leg around his stomach. “The feeling is mutual, love.” 

Just before the darkness of sleep took us, I traced my finger over Noah’s chest. “I’m going to move to Los Angeles.” 

Noah suddenly lifted my chin to face him, his eyes full of light and hope. “You are?” 

I nodded with a wide smile. “There’s nothing for me in Las Vegas anymore. Everything I want is wherever you are, Noah.” 

We shared a lazy kiss that was full of passion and I relaxed into his embrace, excited for what the future held for us.

READER

“Mother fucker,” Noah cursed as he bounded down the steps of the stage to where I was standing. 

It was the final show of the tour and everything you think could have gone wrong, did. 

There were fights all night. 

Noah’s voice wasn’t up to par as he was dealing with some kind of sore throat but he wanted to push on. 

Folio’s drum broke but that was an easy fix. 

Not to mention, since this was the last show, that meant that I was flying back home tomorrow. We didn’t speak of it much only because we didn’t want the bubble we created the last few weeks to pop. I needed to go back home to pack up my apartment and figure out where the hell I was going to live. In the last few days, we spent all our free time looking up apartments only to be broken down when I realized how expensive Noah’s area was. 

“Something will come up, angel,” Noah kissed the side of my head. “We can’t rush things.” 

“I have less than sixty days to find something. I feel like I have to rush. But these prices are insane.” 

Nick set down a cup of tea in front of me as we all lounged in the front area of the bus while it drove us to the next destination. 

“Your book is set to be published at the end of the month right?” He asked. 

I nodded. “It cleared out my savings so I’m hoping that it wasn’t for nothing.” 

Jolly sighed. “You need to stop being so negative. While we didn’t read your book, from what Noah has said, your book will become popular. You already have a great following on your Instagram. Just give it time.” 

“I’m my biggest critic,” I shrugged with a sigh. 

“That’s why you and Noah are perfect together,” Folio joked with a smirk. 

I was brought out of the past when Noah kicked the crate next to me and I grabbed his arm. 

“Noah, you need to take a breath,” I said when he turned to look at me. 

The vein in his neck twitched. “This was the last show and everything kept getting fucked up.” 

“I know,” I rested my hand on his cheek and could feel all the anger leave his body. “But you can’t dwell on it, alright? You can’t change things that already happened.” 

He pressed a kiss on the inside of my palm. “I just hate not being able to control things.” 

I nodded. “I’ve noticed. Which is why I have a surprise for you.” 

Noah raised a brow while he wrapped an arm around my shoulder, guiding me towards the green room of the venue. We had plans to drive the six hours from the venue back to Noah’s place where I would take a flight out tomorrow night back home. 

We had about twenty-four hours left with each other and I didn’t want to waste it with things we couldn’t change. 

“Do I get a hint?” Noah waggled his eyebrows as we stepped through the doorway of the green room. 

“Oh, does this have to do with you needing the back room of the bus?” Folio wondered, picking up on the last bit of our conversation. 

“Yes, it does,” I stuck out my tongue playfully before I turned back to Noah. “I’m going to head to the bus to get things ready. Text me when you’re done here?” 

He smiled and pecked my lips. “You have my mind swirling with ideas, angel.” 

I smacked his ass on the way out of the green room. “You have no idea, love.” 

Thirty minutes later, I was standing in the middle of the back room of the tour bus, shaking out my nerves. This was big and something I didn’t know how Noah would react. He could get one look at me and slam the door shut in my face. While we did explore a wide variety of kinks in our sex life, this was something different. 

I pulled at the red lace over my breasts as I adjusted the lingerie set I had bought earlier today. It was tighter than I would have liked but I did feel sexy the moment I stepped into it. The material was thin, my nipples perking through, and the panties had the shape of a heart cut out on my ass, the breeze brushing across my bare ass. 

I had no idea if Noah loved lingerie on his partners or if he liked what I had planned but it was something he needed. Doing my own research on Shibari, I found out that being tied up and bound helped for a variety of different reasons. One specifically: help people who feel like they’ve lost control. 

A soft knock sounded on the door and I quickly brushed my hair out of my face while double-checking to make sure the blinds were drawn. 

“Angel?” Noah’s soft voice called from the other side. 

“It’s open!” 

As soon as he stepped into the room, his eyes widened at the sight especially when his gaze fell on me. The tattoo on his throat bobbed up and down as he swallowed. 

I shifted on my feet. “Hi.” 

“Hi,” he ran a hand over his jaw. “What’s all this?” 

“Uh,” I pointed to the floor. “Well, we both have been complaining about how small the bunks are, and with what I have planned, we needed more space. So I pulled the mattresses from our bunk and the two empty ones to make a giant bed.” 

The corner of his lips curled up but his eyes were hidden underneath his black baseball cap so I couldn’t see them. He wore a black turtleneck, cargo pants to match, his white shoes in contrast to the rest of him.

“And this?” He motioned over my body. 

I suddenly felt self-conscious. “You know, this was stupid. I don’t know what I was thinking.” 

As I walked past Noah, ready to put whatever I had planned behind me, his arm shot out to wrap around me and tossed me to the floor, gently landing on the makeshift bed I created. His hips locked me into place as he held both of my hands above my head with one hand. Still hidden under his baseball cap, Noah tilted his head at me. 

“Did I say you could leave? Especially to walk out there like this?” 

I slowly shook my head. “N-no.” 

“Good girl,” he mused while leaning farther over me, his lips ghosting over mine. 

“Noah,” I whined. “This was supposed to be for you.” 

He hummed, fingers of his free hand touching the lace of my panties. 

“Fuck, angel. You look gorgeous in red.” 

“I-uh-had a feeling you liked red,” I cursed when a finger slipped underneath my panties and between my folds. 

“So wet. What do you have planned for me?” Noah brushed his lips over the swell of my breasts. 

“Let me show you,” I lifted my legs to wrap around him, somehow managing to get him on his back. 

It might not have looked the prettiest but it got the job done as now I was the one straddling him. 

“As much as I love this hat on you,” I smacked it off of him, his brown eyes now on full display. “I want to see your entire face with what I have planned.” 

On the couch next to us was a bag and I rummaged through it, still sitting on Noah’s hips. He rested his hands behind his head as he watched me. 

“Now, I know that you can easily overpower me but can you promise to let me do this?” I asked, pausing momentarily from looking through the bag. 

Noah smirked. “What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?” 

“Safe word?” That was my response.

His face went stone, eyes darkening as his pupils dilated. “Angel.” 

Freeing the rope from the bag, I held it out in front of him. “Take off your shirt.” 

Without a second thought, Noah stripped himself of his shirt, and when I stood to my feet, allowing him to kick off his shoes before shimming out of his pants, donning only a pair of black briefs. 

“Hands above your head,” I ordered. 

Once Noah was adjusted back on the floor with his hands above his head, I sat on his hips once again and began working on the knots I spent the last few days practicing in private. 

“Shibari?” He asked. 

“You know,” I started, pulling the knots around his wrist tight. “Bondage is more than just sex. It can help people deal with panic attacks or not feel like they’re in control. Their mind is solely focused on the binds and feeling as if they can't escape kind of grounds them in a way.” 

“Why do you think I started reading about it?” Noah asked quietly. 

I paused briefly to stare down at him, the features of his face now soft. 

“I can stop-.” 

“No,” he shook his head. “Keep going.” 

With his reassurance, I finished up the knots around his wrists and smiled in victory. I then kissed from his jaw down to his neck, all the way down his chest and stomach. Noah’s breathing became slow and steady so when I peered up at him, I noticed his eyes were closed. 

I began to pull down his briefs, his hard cock springing free and smacking against his stomach. The beads of precum begging to be tasted so that's exactly what I did. 

“Shit, Y/N.” 

Noah’s bound hands reached for me and I immediately pulled myself off his cock. Looking around the room, I tried to find something to tie him to so he couldn’t move his arms. 

“Oh, perfect,” I  muttered while taking another rope from the bag. 

I looped it through a free space of knots on the binds of his wrist and there was enough slack with the new rope as I tied it to the doorknob. We were less than two feet away from it so I knew Noah wouldn’t strain his arms if he pulled on it. I also knew that the door was locked and wouldn’t open. 

“You little minx,” Noah licked his lips as I positioned myself between his legs again. 

“Just enjoy this, love. It’s all about you tonight.”

I grasped his cock in my hand as I lowered my mouth over it once again. My tongue brushed along the underside of it as I began bobbing my head up and down, free hand massaging his balls. 

“Fuck,” Noah strangled out, pulling on his bindings. 

The door rattled loudly but I didn’t care if anyone heard. As I mentioned, this was for Noah and I wouldn’t let anyone get in the way of that. 

I worked him upright to the brink, knowing that when his stomach muscles tightened, he was close. So I popped off of him, earning an annoyed groan from Noah. 

“Fuck  you,” he said with no ounce of venom behind his voice. 

I tsked while smacking his thigh. “Such a filthy mouth. Maybe I need to stuff it with something?” 

Noah’s eyes flashed as he pulled on his bindings. “I fucking hate I can’t touch you right now.” 

I laid a soft kiss on his lips. “Soon, love. If you behave.” 

Reaching behind me, I pulled out the last two things from the bag, slipped on the bright yellow mask, and looked back towards Noah. 

“Oh,” his tongue darted out to wet his lips. “Fuck, Y/N. Angel. I-.” 

I titled my head. “Cat got your tongue, Noah?” 

The door rattled even louder now as Noah yanked on his bindings. “Untie me.” 

Ignoring him, I gently forced his mouth open and set the grillz on his top and bottom teeth. Noah’s tongue glided over them, huffing and puffing with anger that I wouldn’t untie him. 

When he growled, the grillz shined under the light and my pussy clenched with desire. 

I wonder how it would feel to have him eat me out with those in his mouth. 

Hm, another time. 

Noah bit his lip hard, drawing a little bit of blood and I immediately brought his face to mine, licking up the blood as I kissed him deeply. We both moaned into the kiss and I reached between us to poise his cock at my entrance. I wanted this night to drag on but suddenly, I couldn’t wait. I needed him inside of me. 

Pulling away from our kiss, I pushed my panties to the side before sitting completely on his cock. Both of our moans echoed in the room as I sat there for a long moment, reveling in the way he felt between my walls. 

“So good,” I praised before moving my hips. 

The veins in Noah’s arms bulged as he tried to break free of his binds but I refused to let him go. 

“Touch yourself,” he rasped, gone in ecstasy. 

I did, two fingers pressed to my clit in fast circles as I brought both Noah and me closer to our orgasms. 

“Noah!” I cried out when mine hit me without warning, my arousal coating his cock and hips. 

“Holy shit,” his head smacked against the floor. “ ‘M gonna fill you up, angel.” 

I nodded hastily as he fucked me through the aftershocks, soon enough his warm essence filled me up, just like he promised.

Exhausted, I fell onto him in a heap, burying my face into the crook of his neck. Noah brushed a kiss into my hairline. 

“Thank you for this, angel. It helped; a lot.” 

I patted his cheek, eyes closed with slumber. “Of course, my love.” 

Suddenly remembering he was still tied up, I clambered off of him, his cum running down my legs as I went to work untying him. Once freed, I brought his red wrists to my lips, pressing gentle kisses. 

“You might have to explain to the guys where those marks came from,” I said with a grimace, 

Noah rolled us over so we were laying on the makeshift bed again, covering us in the blanket. 

“I want to hold you till we're frozen,” Noah nuzzled his nose in the back of my neck. 

With a yawn, I rested my back against his chest, letting the noises of the bus gliding along the road and the guys moving around the front of the bus lull me to sleep. 

“Angel?” 

I was so exhausted that I could only hum in response to Noah. 

“I hope you know that I’m coming with you to Vegas to help you pack.” 

This had me turning over in his arms so I could face him. His hair was matted to his forehead with sweat so I brushed it away. 

“You don’t have to do that,” I said. 

He left a kiss on my nose causing me to giggle. “I know but I want to. We can keep looking for places in the meantime.” 

I raised a playful brow. “You’re really not letting me go, huh?” 

“You’re stuck with me,” Noah kissed my lips. 

Wouldn’t have it any other way.

NOAH

Carrying the box down the long hallway, I let my mind wander to how I got here; how we got here. 

I never thought all those months ago when Y/N first stepped into that green room behind Britt that my life would change the way it had. I never expected one night of sex would turn into a full-blown relationship for me. But the moment those bright eyes pulled me in that very first night, I knew that Y/N was it for me. She was the only one I wanted. 

Y/N was apprehensive at first to follow me on the road, but I didn’t blame her. She was worried all we would do was fight but contrary to that, we only fought once and that was a few weeks ago when we had to spend some time apart. 

I had to fly back to Los Angeles for some podcast interviews and Y/N needed to remain in Vegas to finish packing up her place. She still couldn’t find a new place, one that she could afford even though her book sales were flourishing. A week after the tour ended, her book was finally released and was slowly climbing the ladder towards a best seller. It wasn’t there yet but just as I predicted, it was popular. It sold out in a variety of stores around the States. 

Even though it was a small fight, it still weighed heavy on my heart. It was almost two weeks apart from each other and our calls were far in between; both of us were busy. Needless to say, we were getting frustrated. 

“I don’t understand what you want me to do, Noah. I’m just as busy as you.”

I pinched my nose with one hand while the other held the phone to my ear as I paced my room. 

“Yeah I get it but, I want to hear your voice. Sorry for bothering you over it.” 

“I never said that!” 

I knew it was wrong to snap at her but my anger got the best of me. I hated being so far from her. She told me prior she was thinking of renting a place thirty minutes from me. 

“It’s just how it felt! The way you answered.” I sighed into the phone.  

“Noah! Come on! If we want this to work, we can’t do this.” 

I scoffed. “Do what?”

“This petty blaming shit. Who misses whose calls first or what not? Come on.”

“How do you expect me to react, Y/N? You told me you’re renting a place that’s too far,” I fell onto the edge of my bed. 

“Thirty minutes isn’t too far, Noah! And I never said I was renting it. I was thinking about it. There’s nothing else closer. I don’t know what you want me to do.” 

“Just let me find a place, alright? I know something will show up,” I urged her. “Don’t jump into the first place you find without actually thinking it through.” 

There was a long beat of silence. “Look, this is a bit too much for me right now. I’m already stressed out as it is, the last thing I need from you is you pushing me.” 

I shook my head. “I’m not pushing you-.” 

“I have to go. I’ll call you later.” 

Once she hung up, I stared at the screen of my phone for less than two minutes as my knee bounced in agitation. 

Fuck that. I’m not leaving it like this. 

“What, Noah?” Y/N sighed as she answered the phone. 

“I’m sorry, angel. I didn’t mean to start a fight. I just miss you, that’s all,” I apologized while running a hand through my hair. 

“I’m sorry too, love. It was wrong of me to take my stress and anger about the situation out on you. I’m afraid I won’t be able to find anything close to you.” 

I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. “We will, I promise.” 

She did find an affordable place that was close to me and she signed the lease this morning, us spending all day moving in her things. The guys helped out but once evening came, Y/N rushed them out of the apartment. They spent all day working with us, they needed to rest. 

“Here’s the last box from the truck,” I spoke while setting it down on the kitchen island. 

Y/N smiled up at me from her spot on the floor, newspapers scattered around her. 

“Thank you, love. Is Jolly still taking the truck back?” 

I nodded. “You know, I love my house. It’s comfortable. I’ve got a great couch and I go out on my porch every morning to drink my coffee in the sunlight. But I can definitely see myself being comfortable and finding a home here too. Wherever you are is home.”

Y/N rose to her feet and walked into my embrace; my arms immediately encircling around her. We faced the large windows of her apartment as we gazed down to the row of houses that their backyards faced her complex; one sticking out like a needle in a haystack. 

“I love that, and I’m very happy you feel safe with me. You’re home to me too, Noah.” 

Y/N then pointed to the one house I was already staring at. “Is that the porch you have your morning coffee on?” 

I chuckled. “Damn straight. I’ll be able to wave to you every morning.” 

These apartment complexes went up across the street from my house about a year or so ago so when one finally went up for rent, I sent the listing to Y/N immediately and she agreed right away; affordable and close by. Within walking distance. 

We spent the next few hours unpacking everything, joking about things here and there, as music played softly in the background. I helped put away some of the wine glasses, taking them out of the bubble wrap and carefully placing them in the cabinets. 

“They’re all even. Nice!” I muttered to myself, admiring my work. 

I turned to get some more when I saw her. Y/N was sitting on the floor fiddling with an object she unpacked herself. She was so beautiful, serene, so sweet.

That’s when it hit me. We have never been closer in this time of love, nor communicated more profoundly with one another, than when she would brush silent lips against my shoulder or when I touched the end of her fingers, gently, as though she were asleep. 

All this time, I fucking knew. 

I wanted to hide what was pushing out of my mouth, what was about to roll off my tongue- I wanted so badly to keep quiet because of the fear of the unknown. 

What if she didn’t feel the same? I couldn’t handle that. Not after everything. 

However, before I knew it, it flew out of my mouth like a crow who was easily disturbed and needed to get to its next destination 

“I love you.”

Y/N nearly dropped the stack of books in her hands when she rose to her feet, ready to set them on her bookshelf. 

“What did you say?” She set the book on the kitchen island between us.

I ran my hand through my hair, a wide smile on my face. “Well, it’s just that I didn’t think this part of my life was ever going to be a thing. I accepted this part of my life would be over or just a series of random hookups until I met you. Everything that happened from the moment our eyes locked in that green room to now just proved to me what I’ve always known. I love you.” 

Y/N jumped onto the counter and slid herself over to me and I stumbled to catch her in time as her lips met mine in a heated kiss, teeth and tongue clashing. 

“I love you too,” she admitted against my lips.

My heart soared into my throat and I cupped her face. “Fuck, you do?” 

She nodded. “I’ve known for a while now but was too afraid to admit it. But now that I’m here with you, creating these two different homes with you, I know I can't hide those feelings anymore.” 

I lifted her from the counter, my arms resting underneath the swell of her ass, and began leading her towards the bedroom. 

“I love you, Y/N.” I nipped at her bottom lip. 

She moaned, scratching her nails against the skin behind my neck. “I love you too, angel.” 

With a wink, I tossed her onto the bed. “I like your bed. How about we break it in?” 

I kicked the door shut with my foot, the sounds of our love echoing through the new space, creating a home here for the two of us.

#noah sebastian #noah sebastian and reader #noah sebastian x reader #noah sebastian fic #noah sebastian fanfiction #bad omens #bad omens reader

[unholyhelbig]

Yo! are you ever going to continue the Kate werewolf fic?

[A/n: Yo! It has been a while, I started a new job and I'm currently traveling a lot before I move next month. But I had some time to finish a draft!]

Summary: Reader discovers that there are werewolves in this world after a particularly strange encounter with Kate Bishop.

Read from the start | Request Prompts here

There was a reflection that stared back at you that was vaguely reminiscent of what you had been before the attack. The counter dug into your palms, the mirror fogging with each, long breath that you took. The sink was nearly filled with water now, so you flicked it off.  

Just one more minute, and you’d walk back out there with your shoulders pulled back and a tense smile on your face- because you were calm, collected, and entirely okay with the whole werewolf thing. It prickled under your skin, the knowledge of it. The bite throbbed against your side.

One more breath, one more minute.

There was a soft knock at the door that startled you from your thoughts. You were sweating, and it was awkward to swallow the dryness on your tongue. When you opened the door, Kate was on the other side. She had discarded the sweatshirt, stood uncomfortably with her hands in her jean pockets and a shy smile on her face.

“Hi,” She cupped the back of her neck “have a second to talk?”

“Uh-huh”

You’d taken the first break from conversation to excuse yourself to the bathroom for the specific reason that you felt a panic attack coming on. Your mind barely had time to grasp the fact that you should be dead, but the girl who had plunged you into this situation in the first place had lured you to a creepy murder compound.

It had been forty-five minutes of tense conversation and you were still breathing. Of course, you’d also done nothing but lose the moisture in your mouth and nod along as Clint and Natasha explained the logistics.

You peered down the long hallway, lined with different black and white photos of places around the world. Places that you would never see. You were resigned to the fact that Paris was out of reach, and South Africa would rot away at the bottom of your bucket-list. How bad would it be if you turned into a werewolf on a plane instead of in an Olive Garden?

Kate seemed to sense your spiral, just like she seemed to sense a lot of things. Her tough was gentle, fingers brushing against your own. She led you down that long hallway and to a room that was saturated in her scent.

Posters were against the walls; a muddled bedspread was bunched as if someone had fitfully slept on it. There was a desk with a laptop layered in different stickers. There were books that were sloppily piled on a shelf, and once space had worn away on the wooden structure, they were stacked on the floor.

Kate closed the door, leaned against it and closed her eyes. There were towels on the back of the door. Her scent was overwhelming in here, an instant comfort that eased the prickling of your skin. It was so clearly hers, so comfortable. Light flitted through the blinds, an oscillating fan was draped with a t-shirt, hardly stirring the air.

“I’m really sorry about them.” She rushed out, finally opening her eyes.

You turned and stared at her with a cocked eyebrow. She carried the same type of embarrassment that you harbored during family holidays. There was always that one cousin, always that uncle who was overcompensating and that mother who had a cold, unforgiving gaze because she’d been in the kitchen for too long.

“I was going to ease you into it, really. But you never really know what the vibe is going to be until you’re… here.”

“It’s alright.”

“It is?” She pushed off the door. She was taller than you, and the furrow of her brow was nothing but genuine. “I know it doesn’t seem like it, but Natasha and Clint, they’re just trying to help. But they’ve been like this for a long time now. I think sometimes they forget how overwhelming it can be.”

“Uh-huh,”

You repeated yourself, suddenly overcome with exhaustion. You flopped down onto the corner of Kate’s bed, breathing in that hint of lavender and musk that she carried. Your legs were suddenly giving out. Kate was careful with her movements, tentatively sitting on the same side of the bed as you.

Her pinky was close to yours; you could feel the heat and it was overwhelming. But she didn’t’ dare touch you. The seats on the bus had pinned you closer together, but somehow, this was more intimate.

You hadn’t exactly leaned into your college experience, and maybe that had something to do with it. You’d never been in a girls room, much less someone who had dug their canine teeth deep into the flesh of your shoulder.

“I just…” You paused, trying to think of your words very carefully. “I did everything right. I had a plan. I was the first one to graduate from high school- granted, my mother got her GED, but that’s not the point. The point is- I graduated and got into college and did everything right.”

Kate clenched and unclenched her jaw. She wouldn’t look you in the eye, and you had every single right to be angry with her. But there was something deep down that ebbed through the white-hot anger and the bubbling confusion. Something that was akin to fondness. To danger.

“I screwed all of that up.”

“Yeah,” You sighed, “You did.”

There was a hurt in Kate’s eye that stung, just knowing that you caused a fraction of it. But, on the other hand, there was a quiet resolution to it as well. It had just been a flicker before it moved to understanding. Kate’s palm was like fire. She set it on your knee.

“You have every right to hate me. I hate me, y/n. I wouldn’t wish my fate on anyone, and then I had a moment of relapse and I forced it on you.” She moved her thumb, you noticed every electrifying moment. “There is nothing I can do that will ever make up for that night. If you walk out that door and never speak to me again, that’s understandable.”

You laughed, the sound watery, and choked “I don’t think Natasha would allow that.”

There was a sparkle in her eye that quickly faded, the corners of her lips turning up into the slightest bit of a smile. She frowned to cover her amusement, and you found yourself wanting to reach up and rub that little crease from between brows.  

“Right. Yeah,” There was a breathy noise, “What now?”

Your question had lingered on the way home, Kate’s worried glances as she maneuvered a truck that was older than you, kept your nerves in check. This was better than the bus, you decided, even if there was no air conditioning, there was a small crack in each window that allowed the icy air to fill your lungs.

Part of you had been content to borrow Kate’s clothes and simply vanish. It would be easier that way, you figured, not having to rush out a pain-staking goodbye to America and MJ. Though, it wasn’t a goodbye, it was just a ‘see you later’ when they had lives and partners and careers.

“They’ll be resistant.” You had said as the trees began to thin out with architectural bliss. “You know that, right?”

Kate puffed out her chest comedically, “I can take them.”

“MJ, yes. America? I thought she juiced for the first two years of our friendship, and we were six.”

Kate smiled then, and nervously ran her fingers over the length of the ribbed steering wheel. You could hear her heart, and it was thundering over the inner workings of the truck, struggling against the cold weather. You counted the beats. “Tell me about her.”

“Hmm?”

“Your friend, America? It seems like she cares a lot about you. And friends since you were six? That’s a long time. A lot of memories.”

You couldn’t help the nervous smile that spread across your face. Going away to college had just been the latest chapter in a long book that you held near and dear. There was a sadness in the cab of the truck, a realization that you’d have to part, and brutally at that.

“There was this kid, Bobby Daringer, he was an absolute dick. He’d pick on anyone he could make eye-contact with and I’m pretty sure he’s a career criminal now. Anyway, one of my earliest memories was him shoving me on the playground. The taste of mulch. But, I also remember America grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and throwing him a good three feet.”

Kate was smiling, a genuine look that made your stomach twirl. The feeling lingered as a comfortable quiet filled the car. Soon, it morphed into damp palms and a pounding heart. Kate wasn’t Bobby Daringer, but she would have the same painted target, the same quiet seething that America wielded like a sword.

Kate had silenced herself, listening to the tires against the asphalt of highway. It had started to drizzle by the time she rolled into the parking lot of the off-campus apartments. You took a heavy, nervous breath. A hand was in yours, for only a moment, but the warmth was overwhelming, a blanket over your anxieties.

At least, it did, until you clocked both America’s and MJ’s car in the lot. Even more so, you could hear their muted conversations silence the second your key turned in the lock. Your hand was flat against the door, and Kate’s was on the small of your back, steadying you.

This stranger had such a pull on your heart, and part of you resented her for it. She was pulling you from your life, you were going to walk in there and pack a bag and vanish in thin air. There was still a dull ache where her teeth had broken skin, still a dull anger that you were hoping dissipated as you learned, not only to embrace what you had become, but to embrace Kate too.

Something attracted her to you that night, and it was a pull that you admittedly felt. Even as she ran through the woods, pinned you to the forest floor. There was an alluring magnetism to the animal that bit you, and the girl that stood steady by you now. You hated her, you did. But it was ebbing away into something else.

“Stay behind me,” You mumbled, cracking the door “And don’t say a word.”

Kate mimed zipping her lips but smiled dorkily at you regardless. When you pushed your way into the apartment, the scent was overwhelming, but one of comfort and design. You picked up on the candle that MJ lit, vanilla and a hint of cinnamon. There was the dinner they had just finished, pot roast that made your mouth water.

When you pushed your way into the apartment, you were relieved to find it mostly empty, and you led Kate through the small furnishings and the unlit hallway. You pressed your back against the door for only a moment before grabbing the duffel bag that you took to church camp in middle school.

It still smelled like nature, just the smallest hint clung to the fabric. You started shoving anything you could into it, quick with your movements. Kate surveyed your walls, empty and still plain brick. You didn’t feel the need to decorate, as it had never felt like home, not really.  

Kate picked up the book on your nightstand, a worn copy of ‘EMMA’. You’d usually read until your eyesight was blurry and the words turned to mush. But, you knew the story by heart. Once you had filled the bag with clothes, you slugged it over your shoulder and watched her expectantly.

“You don’t want to forget this,” she folded the book close to her chest. “It’s a classic.”

“Yeah, it is.”

It was all you could think to say when you opened your bedroom door and held it open for Kate to pass through. There was a key weighing down your pocket. Kate seemed to read your mind, she slid the bag from your shoulder and onto her own effortlessly. You fished the keyring from your pocket and pushed it off until it was a lone, solitary entity.

Carefully, you moved to set it down on the coffee table, running your fingers over the cool brass.

“Y/n?” MJ’s voice was quiet, “What are you doing?”  

You shot up fast enough to make you dizzy, your eyes shooting towards the looming hallway. America stood with her arms across her chest, her face hard, her eyes a fire-filled shade of green. You could hear her teeth grinding, could feel her anger just as you could feel MJ’s apprehension.

She held a bowl of half-finished mac and cheese, her fork coated in gold. MJ chewed quietly, but set the food on the counter with a movement that was slow enough to keep the sound barrier in-tact.

You could handle America’s rage. It was an immoveable object that buffered your interactions in times like these. It was almost better. If she was angry, then it would give her a reason to hate you, to keep you at a distance. It was the concern in MJ’s voice that threw you for a loop.

Your words were broken “I… I’m going to stay at Kate’s for a little while.”

“Then why are you leaving your keys?” America asked. “Do you ever plan on coming back?”

“Eventually”

Kate winced at the word and let out a small breath. That was the wrong thing to say. There was a sharp scent in the room that you could only register as rage. America uncrossed her arms and took three even steps, closing the distance between you.

“Let me get this straight, you waltz in here a few days ago, absolutely soaked in mud and… and blood, then vanish from the party that we were looking forward to for weeks. And then you sneak out of here this morning only to come back with her? Es como si ya no te conociera!”

There was a pressure behind your eyes. You looked down at the carpet to avoid the tears from flowing over. You weren’t going to cry, not about this. Because this was too much. All of it was boiling to the surface. You swallowed the growing metallic taste in your mouth.

America’s voice lowered, shattered “You worked so hard to be here. I can’t watch and let you throw it away for some girl who I’m assuming is the cause of all of this erratic behavior.”

“She’s not,” You glanced at her, “You’re not.”

“What is it, then? Y/n, you have a full ride! And… and us. MJ and I are here for you. Whatever this is, we can work through it, but we can’t do it if you’re not here.”

A tear escaped, and you used the back of your hand to flush it away. The deep sourness of the anger had turned into something like dying flowers, something of profane sadness. You held the key between you both, not saying a word, because this seemed to be enough of a gesture to say everything that was on the tip of your tongue.

#Kate Bishop #Kate Bishop x reader #Kate Bishop x y/n #Kate Bishop x you #america chavez #mj watson #Marvel #Hawkeye #Hawkeye fanfict #ask

[sarucane]

OFMD Spiral Parallels 35: Lighthouses

Intro: What I love most about how season 2 builds on season 1 of OFMD is the spiral narrative structure. Ground is repeatedly and explicitly re-trod from season 1 to season 2, but in season 2 everything goes deeper than season 1. Meanings are shuffled, emotions are stronger and truer, and transformation is showcased above everything. The first season plucks certain notes, then the second season plucks the same ones--but louder, and then it weaves them together to create a symphony.

---

"We are to be lighthouses to each other."

"Technically you’re supposed to avoid lighthouses, so you don’t crack up on the rocks."

"We need to be a lighthouse!"

When the lighthouse is first introduced, it's a symbol of being trapped. Stede and Mary are pressured into an arranged marriage, and it's going to define their lives "for eternity." They'll never be free, they'll die like this (as the headstones remind them).

Mary tries to make the most of this, to turn the lighthouse into something beautiful. It's the first piece of her art we see--but far from the last, because Mary, like Stede, is going to learn the truth about lighthouses. And they're both going to become lighthouses for each other, when they decide that the best way for them to be free is to live apart. A lighthouse thus becomes a symbol of something that must be avoided, a life that shouldn't be led.

Stede figures out the real meaning of a lighthouse before he even realizes it when he leaves Mary behind, reasoning that he can't ever be happy in a life with her. Yet, he blames himself for doing this. He fears that it was all a mistake, a shallow and childish reaction to failing to be an adult, failing to be "a lighthouse for his family."

And then Ed transforms the meaning of a lighthouse again, and the episode plot hinges on the idea that "we need to be a lighthouse." Ed and Stede literally become a lighthouse, working together to create the illusion of a lighthouse at sea in order to avoid being attacked by the Spanish navy.

So the symbolic meaning of the lighthouse is transformed again, this time into one of safety. Being a lighthouse means making one another safe, means the ship is a "safe space." And it's a lighthouse that doesn't fit into the idea of a lighthouse: it's not a building, it's a ship; it's not bound to land and surrounded by dangerous rocks, it's free to travel wherever it needs to go, just like Stede at the end of Season 1. The reminder of the loss of this symbolic safety, produced by partnership between Ed and Blackbeard and by the community of the crew, is what breaks through Ed's attempt to return to the Blackbeard persona in the last episode of that season.

And then in season 2, the lighthouse returns with the introduction of Ned Lowe. There are 8 million ways that Ned could have been introduced, but we meet him when he's at the top of a lighthouse, torturing a lighthouse keeper to death for fun.

Because a lighthouse, like a relationship, is a safe space--right up until it isn't. A lighthouse can burn its keeper, just like a relationship can go south.

The lighthouse in season 2 becomes a symbol of danger, of the storm that Ed mentions in the following scene. Ned Lowe is chasing Blackbeard because Blackbeard was a more successful pirate than him; like Stede, Ned Lowe has become a pirate in response to inadequacies he experienced within his family, during his life on land.

Ned embodies Ed's and Stede's insecurities: Ed's old fear that he's trapped in an outline of a "generic pirate"; Ed's present fear that his past as a pirate will define him; Stede's old need to run from his family to prove something about being "adequate"; the risks in Stede's future that he might go too hard on traditional piracy and lose something important.

Ed's and Stede's relationship can be a place where these insecurities are heightened (Stede's thinking around the execution of Ned, Ed's fears when Stede becomes "a sea god"), an obstacle to overcoming those insecurities (what Ed thinks when he bails on Stede to become a fisherman)--or it can become a place where those insecurities can be accepted and worked through. From here on out in OFMD, the storm hovers in the background: it is the danger that the encounter with Ned Lowe will lead Ed, Stede, or both to "crack up on the rocks." But the meaning of the lighthouse is fluid, and Ed and Stede are both capable of change.

In fact, at the end of Season 2 Ed and Stede shack up in a house that is what people think a lighthouse is: a guiding light to safe harbor. The inn over the sea as a place that can guide people to safety, a safe space created by hope and imagination.

#ofmd #ofmd s2 spoilers #our flag means death #ofmd s2 #ofmd spoilers #ed teach #stede bonnet #blackbonnet #ofmd meta

[popculturebuffet]

Monthly Muppet Madness: Survival Street Review: Brought to You by the Letter's F and C for Fuck Captalisim (Comission for WeirdKev27)

Today's review is courtsey of viewers like you.. specifically you. Kevin. Thank you

Hello all you happy people and welcome back to Monthly Muppets Madness, my look at all things muppety. And after last month's adventure with mean green mother's from outer space, we're back to more felty corners of the muppet globe with Surivial Street, a 4 issue mini series from 2022 by the writing team of James Asmus and Jim Fesante with art by Abbylay Kussainov.

Asmus is a longtime comic book writer whose work I have read before with his decent runs on Gambit, Quantum and Woody and All New Inhumans. He also co-wrote the second arc of Robert Kirkman's Thief of Theives. So while not someone I seek out, he's a solid writer.

As you can guess by the title and that awesome cover, Survival Street is a parody of Seasame Street, though heavily on the affectionte side: it's very clear from the writing Asmus really loves the show and it's goals of free education for children who might not have acess to it and teaching love and kindness are core to this book.

That said Survival Street is also over the top as hell. It's messages are as subtle as a brick to the head saying "Corproations Bad' and a lot of the book can come off as

Okay some are.. but most of them probably aren't going to listen to their bullshit being called out in the first place, let alone by muppets. The question is can this book ballance it's over the top satire with it's heart, fairly well thought out characters and comedy? Find out under the cut won't you?

We open with America: A Timeline. In 2025 in this timeline, Jury's out on ours, the Supreme Court voted to make Corporations able to run for public office. Naturally this backfired and soon corprations pulled their money out from other candidates and ran themselves, and by 2028 they've taken over the country, privitazed everything and in our proper oppening scene, invade Salutation Street, our Seasame Street expy and shut it down. It's also clear there's rampant anti-muppet xenophobia in this universe, something that will only grow worse as we cut to present day: 2031, in New Best America TM.

It's in this new corprate hellscape we meet our heroes who are traveling around america in an RV. Driving it is an expy of Gordon, Mr. Burton whose dealing with a checkpoint. As it turns out though roads are now privitazed and upon seeing a family hassled over this, our grover stand-in, Herbert decides to take a more hands on approach

This does save the people there.. but is quickly used as propoganda by the local fox news stand in. Because of a course a corporate hellscape still has fox news, every hellscape needs one or it's just not a hellscape. Their anchor is Irma, our ernie stand in, who spouts out the usual racist drivel but about muppets this time. I do like the touch of having the two headed monster be their right and left wing commentators.

We then ove to the a-plot: Junior, the president is auctoning off detained children of illegal immigrants to the highest bidder in florida, with our heroes sneaking in to stop this via the global warming flooded ocean outside.

I mean a bunch of rich assholes auctoning off children is both plausable and has likely actually happened, but it dosen't make that funny or entertaining. Junior himself is, from saying his assitant asking about his medication he stole from his daughter is a HIPPA violation to how over the top he is and it keeps things from being too GET IT GET IT CAPTALISIM BAD GET IT. It's enoguh to take me out but not enoguh to make me leave.

So our ABC team break in and we properly meet them all as they make their way through. And since the comic has really fun intro captions for each of them...

Their leader, Bert stand in and the one holding the brain cell

Kind to a fault and mostly a "master of disguise" because he's the only human they have.

Like Burton we've seen him before. Explosives expert with a short fuse. ANd god I love that gag: it's so damn dark and it should not work but it does.

Our Cookie Monster with traces of Zoey given the pigtails. I also thought Elmo but we'll meet our equilvent for him in isue 3. Kind, good at inflitration but struggling with staying clean.

Our big bird, a good strong boy whose basically big bird if he was a grown man and could also suplex you.

Their tech guy and oscar the grouch.

Our heroes begin their plan once they get it: THey found about this thanks to a fellow muppet calling for help, so now their inside they can excute the plan: Gurgle and their inside man will use card scanners that burton stole and rigged to steal all the money from the auction, explaning how they keep funded when public funding no longer exists. Hippy resuces the prisoners using his massive strength to free the kids and his kindness to help calmly guide them out, and Herbert.. nearly snaps and kills everyone and everything in his path after finding out these bastards are using the children for their organs. Thankfully Birdie is able to calm him down in one of my faviorite jokes of the mini

It's what makes this work: while the satire is about as subtle as a chainsaw through your front door wielded by a screaming goat man, the muppets in the thick of it.. still ACT like muppets on seasame street. They still have the same kindness and sensiblities.. it's just tempered into bloody action by being the only source of hope and freedom in a dystopian hellscape.

Birdie and Tony set up signal jammers so they can hyjack the procedings.. only to find out that Irma is here, gladly promoting this shit show like any republican. Birdie is naturally just the slightest bit livid her ex is promoting child organ farming but she soon has bigger issues.... desert is being served early.. and ice cream is present.

And with that Gurgle is exactly no days sober of ice cream and shit officallly hit the fan. On the bright side Shit is our word of the day. So at least there's that. Anyways our heroes are soon outgunned and out manned, with Birdie barely saving gurgle by tearing herself open and using her string to sew her up, but the two are soon cornered and Birdie does the whole save yourself i'll hold them back routine. Thankfully , Herbet dosen't listen well and when , as seen in the panels above, told not to go out loud.. he didn't listen. He rigged the place with explosives, blows up the wall holding out the water real good and floods the bitch. Our heroes valantly escape, but not before Hippy beats the every loving shit out of Junior, showing he may be nice but he has limits.

Birdie however makes a late exit as she and Irma have some words, with Birdie hyjacking her limo. So Birdie, needing some answers... asks irma a very important question

I love this page.. mostly for making Irma a more complex villian. She could easily jsut be "birdies very obvious ex who sold out"... but you see she's just someone who got broken by the fact that nothing they did mattered. She's still not a good person: she still sold out muppetkind for her own profit and is still bad.. but it's more intresting to hav ea reason why she ended up the sack of shit she is instead of just, as Birdie wondered, always having been like this.

Birdie isn't swayed and goes on with the rest of our heroes.

Issue 2. I love the structure of this series as the first three issues are all made so they can be read done in one for the most part. Ther'es a cliffhanger at the end of issue 3 but it's nice when a comic makes good use of the isdsue by issue format. Issue 4 ties it all together well, but it's still essentailly three connected stories that lead up to one big finish.

Anyways issue 2 begins with our heroes hiding in a church under a hail of gunfire: Burton and the RV are halfway across town, and it dosen't look good. We flash back to how they got there and find out WHERE they are: Hollow Point, a company town ran by the WRA, the NRA's legally distinct cousin. Yup this is a gun rights issue, with the town having become a conceal and carry paradise where people can just.. have gun duels to decide whatever and Charlton heston is naturally given an honrary statue.. and Clint Eastwood an expy in Cain Westwood.

The head of the WRA is present and naturally gives a gun to a baby.. and the satire works a BIT better this issue as frankly.. none of it's exagerated. The NRA GENUINELY want this, they genuinely talk about crying "lib tears". Clint Eastwood is an advocate for them. Their extremists probably would argue the right ot carry begins at conception. I"m not saying ALL gun owners or even nra members are this fucked, I have a friend who owns guns and keeps them in a safe, locked up where no child can get to it. But the NRA as an orginzation sure as hell is.

Our heroes try using this dueling strategy to call the WRA chairman's bluff.. but he turns it on them: since their basically challenging the law itself witht heir duel they've challenged the orginzation.. which means it's 5 muppets against a whole damn town armed to the teeth.

We then get a flashback to Herbert's childhood on M'Na N'Nam, part of the snufflpogaos islands. A muppet paradise.. until a shady buisness man shows up offering a partnership for a chemical they can find on the island.

I'm going to go ahead and cover all of this now for simplicties sake as the flashback's only two parts: Years later their leader.. has shown her true colors, fully selling out to ethe corpration and the mine as it's poinsing her people and end sup casuing an explosin.. and rather than help , the company pulls out, leaving the villiage to die in fire and Herbert forced to immigrate, barely scraping by thanks to racisim until he got the job on Salutation Street.. only to find out later his parents died on the island. It's a well done story too as horrible things like this happened all the time and without the hyper exagerated satire... it's something entirely real and entirley painful: a culture exploited and destroyed by greedy white assholery.

Back in the present the fight continues, as our heroes are held down. Thankfully Hippy and Gurgle make a distraction and do one of my faviorite manuvers: having the smaller characteer on the bigger characters shoulder. Mostly for this one scene from x-factor

Sadly Flint Westwood decides to join the party.. as does anamatronic charlton heston, so our heroes are soon on the backfoot... but not before Tony is able to complete his plan, hyjacking their cars and easily taking down the mob since, naturally their cars are also mad max murder mobiles. As for the head of the HRA himself.. well given he's sorta the lead this issue.. Herbet takes care of him personally.

He then challenges the man to a duel, though Birdie IS able to talk him down from shooting the man on live tv... but not from killing him as he shoots out the camera and impliclity finished the job offscreen.

But that leaves a vacum.. and Westwood is promoted to the job.. and given the job to hunt down our heroes. More on that later

So issue 3 introduces us to Milo, our Elmo expy. He's rich and like irma is working in the corprate hellscape. Unlike her though he's still in kids television , still talks to the others even if things are understandibly tense with most of them, and while reluctant to their request has a good reason for both taking the seemingly easier route and being reluctnat to help.

It's a scene I love a lot. Milo comes off at first like a smug asshole.. but then it's clear beneath that is someone who GENUINELY values what he's doing. It's a reminder of how important children's intertainment is... and how important it is that when you have the power to do something good and necessary, you do it, regardless of the risk.

Our heroes go to rescue the kids, who are fire fire fighters and make a good entrance enough, coming in in a garbage made recycled buggy, saving them.. but soon our party is left trecking through the wild fire. THey got in thanks to milo's friends, but it was one way. So while Gurgle finds an ice cream truck, the kids tell their tale: turns out in this dystopian hellhole future they outlawed abortion.... keep in mind this comic launched just two months after Roe V Wade was overturned, so the timing is eerie as hell. The kid they talk two's mother didn't want her born into this hellscape, got arrested for it and she got sold to corproations using her as a proxy for their crimes. The fact any of this sounds like it could become actual law at some point should spoeak to how horrifying it is. While this book isn't subtle, and it's a weakness.. it's strength is that Asmus goes just a TOUCH beyond what we have now after the first issue. The first issue is plausable, but a bit over the top. With the nra having a whole lawless western town or children being sold into slavery to work off corprate crimes... it's a lot more plausable given how fucked our legal system is and it makes it that much easier to buy.

Our heroes naturally wepp at this waking nightmare, so it's a good thing they get distracted.. the bad thing is that it's by Gurgle, trying to save her from more fire. Birdie gets horribly injured in the process and needs help NOW.

Things.. look bad as they hit a corprate checkpoint, by the same monsters that turned off the water the fire kids were using, and there's no hope of escape or out shooting them. This causes the team to break down playing the blame game.. which is bad enough.. until HIPPY of all people breaks.

This.. destroyed me. Up to this point Hippy had been the unbreakable optimis they needed.. but now .. we see that beneath his sunshine is a lot of regret, a lot of doing this because he had nothing else and feeling what thier doing.. simply isn't enough. But Mr. Burton's message is right.. and it's the messasge the book goes for: things are bad, they will probably get worse.. but we can't just give up and do nothing. As a wise vampire once said "If nothing we do matters, all that matters is what we do". And to prove that point.. an old friend drops in to help

So the asholes are left to die, Milo implicitly adopts the kids having them play in his pool and Birdie wants to see them all.. only Gurgle's missing, having left in Milo's tesla. Because of course he has a tesla. Gurgle's gone.. and she's gone to the enemy

I was nervous going into this one when I first read it. The fact is this book while optimistic is still fairly dark so while I felt our heroes MIGHT win, they could just as easily loose or barely get away.

They could... but instead we get something way better.

Though to start things aren't looking great: Rufus, head of F News, is talking to a bunch of other corprate overlords including Elon Musk, suprising no one. THeir not happy that his propoganda machine isn't keeping the puppets from having an impact: Junior is facing public backlash for his child selling, the babies carrying firearms bill has been blocked.. this needs to stop. So the network cranks up i'ts proogranda, with anti-muppet racisim rising and a a puppet child attacked by some other kids. When one human girl tries to help him she gets maced.. thankfully

Things still aren't great: Birdie's recovering and Faux News trots out Gurgle.. and somehow makes a valid point, making them somehow have a point abovfe the actual fox news: apparently Gurgle used to be called "Sundae Fiend". While she says "it was a diffrent time" being remidned of it clearly bothers her.. while Rufus wants more answers: where. are. your friends.

And it seems he got them as we see a heavily armed WRA troops, with junior and westwood along for the ride and livestreaming the whole debalce. Turns out the Muppets main hq is a Salutation Station theme park. Not disneyland as Senator Disney does not want to be associated iwth muppet terrorists... again. That was their joke by the way, great stuff. Also means we might meet kermit and friends counterparts if this ever gets a sequel.

What follows.. is one of the most awesome cilmaxes to an arc i've seen in a comic. Turns out... our heroes were ready for them: they aren't the ones trapped... the WRA are. Not only that for once it's entirely legal: since Salutation Street is it' sown corpration, the park is soverign terriotiry and they entered illegally. So after all their racist, anti-immigraint retoric.. their the ones who are the actual invaders.. and are soon wiped out with rides, from a cyclotron type thing spinning some to oblivion.

To the recyling troll melting a bunch of mooks with acid and recyling Charlton Hestron into scrao abd cumilating in a one on one brawl between Bernie and Westwood which ends with Bernie killing the motherfucker via rollercoaster

The moment after it is easily my faviorite of the whole book though, with Bernie confronting the mooks left

It's a reminder that while Bernie is the quickest to kill among them, easily.. he's still a kind, good person. Just one who will cap your ass when necessary.

Faux News TRIES to use Gugle to get the narrtive under contorl.. but as you likely guessed by now, she too was part of the plan

I fucking love this issue for the setup: you EXPECT it to be our heroes darkest hour and them to barely make it out or Gurgle to at least still be a traitor.. instead? It was a plan the whole time: Gurgle finally kicked her addiction after last issue, our heroes easily take out their enemies with the home field advantage and to cap it off, we get one hell of a chekovs gun: earlier we saw mascot suits... so Birdie sends junior out, his mouth taped up in one with the recording to talk. THey shoot him down thinking hie's hippie.. and thus the presiden't sson whose also the president I guess is dead, everyone involved int he raid is entirley to blame and our heroes just got free publiclity showing THIER not the bad guys here. We wrap up as Irma flees to her dressing room... only to find a letter from birdie

And that's survivial street. It's heavy handed.. but damn if it isn't good. The jokes present land, the action is beautifully drawn and the characters are compelling. It takes what COULD'VE been a lazy joke premise, and fills it with heart and character, deconstructing PARTS of seasame street.. while at the same time remaining true to it's spirit. It's out in trade from darkhorse if your intrested, I HIGHLY recommend picking it up. And hopefully we'll see more of it again some day. But for now, we got something specil here and i"m glad I got to share it with you all.

#the muppets #seasame street #survival street #james asmus #comics #dark horse comics #puppetry #children's television #satire #review #comic books

[ticklish-touch]

Trapped in the Backrooms: Ch 5 - Raising the Stakes

(Ragaeli x lee!Y/N

Tickling, group tickling) You and Ragaeli aren’t making enough headway in your quest, so the Nightmare proposes a different way of exploring. In your attempts at playing Backroom Roulette, you eventually come across a group of survivors, trying to brainstorm a game plan.

(Chapter Themes: “Worlds In-Between” - Rufus Rex: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3NcdWyGUgQ “Centuries” - Fall Out Boy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPA0z4W-kcU )

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

        You began to lose track of how long you'd been travelling this bizarre world. You'd adventured through four different Levels for what felt like hours. But at the very least, you didn't feel that tired. The abundance of haunting liminal spaces, and the constant threat of being pounced at any moment by the Nightmare or other entities, kept making your adrenaline go haywire. Which is exactly what Ragman needed. You knew that you more or less had to be a constant source of fear-fuel for him; a constant source of laughter and excitement. He'd told you in the past that a single mortal was enough to power him up for hours - and compounding that with him also getting his greedy hands on the other creatures here undoubtedly boosted his strength even more.        Still, it concerned you a bit that he was noticeably getting pissy. He couldn't read anyone else's mind, couldn't detect dangers in some Levels, couldn't find rifts, couldn't stop entities from turning on you at any given moment. You were both still making the best of it, though; He was having fun making it the best adventure you'd ever been on.          But he was starting to get impatient. He knew you both had a time limit. So, he proposed a different way of doing things.

        The next Level you reached was a quiet apartment with long hallways. Instead of spending a little while exploring the Level ahead of time, and instead of using the first opportunity to chase you or send an entity after you, Rags appeared to walk alongside you, back to wearing his Hot Topic outfit. He put a hand on his hip and pulled up a magic 'window,' scrolling through it like he was swiping through photos on a tablet.

        You peered over at him. "Whatcha doing?"         "Trying to find shortcuts. Getting a sneak-peek at other Levels, maybe find signs of Facelings, humans, psychics, Fae, aliens, demons... anything that could give us answers. Or more beasties that I can force answers out of, heheh."         "You sure that'll work? You said the Backrooms seem like they're trying to keep you from finding clues."         He shrugged. "I can still see most entities. Seems like anywhere that has 'em, also has some kinda higher intelligence just around the corner. Like a hidden Boss battle. And I could just start teleporting us around the world, instead of sticking to one path."         "...Are you sure we should do that? It seems like there's certain paths that we're supposed to follow."

        He shrugged. "There's not much I remember about this world, but I do know that it ain't linear, not by a long shot." He gave a wave of his hand to create an image of what looked like many, many rivers diverging into different paths. Some of them intersected and led to various different seas. Others were a dead-end. "It's more like a choose-your-own-adventure with multiple endings. And fuck knows how many levels and boring-ass oceans we'd hafta keep going through to finally reach some kind of ending that isn't, y'know, death." He summoned up a smoky-looking skull and hurled it at his map of rivers, making it burst into flame and disappear.

        "We could keep playing this damn game forever at this rate, and clearly we don't have that kinda time. We've gotta find more answers. And you, mi amigo, seem to have a knack for runnin' into people that have those answers," he gave you a pat on the back... Followed by a quick tickle to the back of your ribs.         "EEE-HEHE!" You jumped forward. “Thanks, jerk,” you shoved him playfully.        You thought over what he said, an idea coming to mind. Back at Level Zero, there was writing on the walls. 'Seek the Key', and 'Level 3999'. What if-

        "Already tried that," He answered your thoughts before you could ask. "Really only works if I actually have a visual in mind for where I'm trynna go, for one thing." He flicked his window forward, stretching into a portal. "Level 3999," he commanded. But the portal barely reacted with more than a shudder, displaying a faded, hazy image of static and computer coding. Rags put his hand up against it, only to be repelled back like someone had smacked his hand away. "See? No-go," he shrugged.         "Damn. Guess that would be too easy, huh?"

        "Yeeeup. Which is why we're gonna do things my way now~" he clapped his hands together. "SO, here's the game plan. We jump into a Level, look around a bit for someone. I'd give it ten, fifteen minutes tops. If there's zilch in that time, we poof outta here into the next Level I can find. If there happen to be some beasties along the way that I can toy with, then I will~ Hell, if there's other humans like Calamari said, I might even be able to read their minds."         He swiped backwards on his 'screen', to a place that looked like a homey little tavern with a bar. "Let's get ya some grub first. You're probably starving after all that swimming, huh?"         Your stomach answered for you, growling loudly. You clasped a hand around it. "Yeahh, sounds good to me, heh."

        The tavern was, to no surprise, very quiet, save for one Faceling bartender, and presumably also the waitress. She was very tall, and had a good amount of muscle. She could easily tussle with any miscreants or entities trying to stir trouble. Rags hopped up onto one of the barstools, planting his feet on the rungs, his gangly legs jutting out. "Just a couple passersby, my Earthling here needs some good eats." You joined him on the next barstool, and she came up to you first, firmly placing her hand on the counter.         "What're we in the mood for?"         "Uh... anything that a Wanderer could eat?” You assumed there was food here that could replicate Earth food, given what you saw in the warehouse.

           She nodded, reaching in the refrigerator next to the bar cabinets, pulling out a plate of food. A freshly-cooked plate, still piping hot. Must’ve been a hot-fridge. Either way, it looked delicious. Kind of strange, like a mish-mash of different types of food you've had on Earth. But the moment you took a bite, your mouth was very happy. "Mmmm..." You savored the first bite, but quickly dug into the rest, occasionally burning your mouth. It was probably because you were starving, but it tasted straight out of a five-star restaurant.           "Glad you like it." She turned to Rags. "And for you?"           He shrugged. "I could go for strawberry daiquiri if ya got any."

          She tapped her chin, thinking for a moment before nodding and preparing a drink.          As you ate, you noticed a few paintings decorating the walls. They depicted different figures and entities: A man in a red suit of armor, a black demonic figure with an onyx crown and bright white eyes, a court jester adorned in red and gold, a nymph woman sprouting vines on her head and body. And lastly, a figure of a tall man in a high-collared tailcoat. For some reason, this painting was totally out-of-focus; backlit and obscured so heavily that he was little more than a silhouette. He held something that looked like a large key ring.

        "Who are they?"         "Keepers of the Order," the bartender answered casually. "Deities, lesser gods, or just powerful warriors acting on their own whims. You'd be lucky to even encounter them. Some people don't even believe they exist." Her attention turned to Rags. "You, on the other hand... They might not like you being here."         Rags gulped down his daiquiri, raising an eyebrow at her comment. "Oh?" He smirked slyly.         She nodded. "The ones who fall into this world are typically always mortal. Easy prey. But I can tell just looking at you that you're a Hellraiser. You teleported in here like it was nothing."         You smiled. "Yeah, he's a Hellraiser alright. Should've seen him rallying an army in a warehouse and taking on a 1000-mile sea serpent."

        The Nightmare's smug grin slowly stretched further across his face, his eyelids drooping a little, some shorter stray strands of hair standing on end. You could tell that look meant he was getting some shitty ideas. "Sooo, there's a chance to stir the pot with some Big Boys... That oughta get us some intel for sure." He hopped off the barstool, walking over to the most roomy section of the tavern. "You wanna see me really raise Hell? Then watch this!"          He focused his energy, holding his hands out, glowing vivid red. In an intense burst of magic, his portal windows started to fill the room. Not just one, but many of them. They cycled through Level after Level at random. As they shifted, Rags gave a flick of his wrist and summoned a megaphone, pointing it in the direction of the portals and taking a huge breath...

           "HEEEYY BACKROOM BITCHES!!" His voice boomed through the megaphone, causing the portal windows to flicker and shudder. The bartender jolted, nearly dropping the glass she was cleaning, forced to cover her ears. You quickly covered yours too.

        "YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN KEEP US HERE?? LOCKED UP AND FORCED TO PERFORM YOUR USELESS STUNTS LIKE SOME CIRCUS TIGER??" He paced around, his hair acting up even more, writhing like Medusa's snakes. "WELL THIS RABID CAT HAS A HELL OF A BITE, BABY!! I'M CLAWIN' MY WAY TO THE TOP, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!!" He cackled. "I'M COMING FOR YOU!! I'M GONNA MAKE A LAUGHING FOOL OUTTA EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!! HAHAHAAAHAHAHA-" He trailed off into wild, maniacal laughter even after he made the portals and megaphone disappear, his body crackling with arcs of magic.        You swallowed. That was... Kind of hot. But it also made you tense. Just what kind of Eldrich horror would he end up summoning from a calling card like that?       "Got that out of your system?" The bartender asked dryly.         Rags took a heavy breath and nodded, his hair and aura settling back down.         "Good. Now get out. You're disturbing the peace."          "Heheh; Yeahh yeah, we're leaving!" He patted you on the back and led you to a new portal. "Thanks for the grub! Put it on my tab~!"

        Afterwards, he started opening portals left and right. He often came across Levels that would've been impossible for you to navigate even with his help: Below-freezing tundras with harsh blizzards. Landscapes that were literally glitching in and out of existence and making your eyes ache. A dark, rainy marsh that tricked the Nightmare and suddenly cleared up to searing bright sunlit fields as if someone had flipped a light switch, scalding him and forcing him to poof you both away while he shrieked in pain. An extremely unsettling, unending 'tunnel' of Japanese spirit gates that emanated malevolent energy and nearly sent you into a panic attack just looking at it. He had to take a few minutes to calm you down from that one.          Finally, the Russian Roulette style of searching led to something helpful: A human outpost.        You stepped into a massive underground bunker, spotting tunnels, encampments, furniture, weapon supplies and crates all over the place. It looked like a shelter one would see in a zombie apocalypse. Even moreso when you saw some people in the far distance of the building walking around in Hazmat suits. But you felt a spark of hope to see that the rest of them had faces. Other humans!!          "Hey, we got another one!!" A man's voice shouted nearby, jogging up to you. He was middle-aged, Hispanic with light facial hair, looking a little rough around the edges. But he still offered you a slight smile. "Welcome to Paradise," he said sarcastically, giving you a handshake. "Glad you're in one piece. Name’s Ramon.”

        A group of five people soon followed. One had pointed ears; an elf or demon, maybe? And a lady with patches of scales lining her neck. You said your hellos and gave them your name, being guided over to some outdoor seating by a campfire, underneath a large half-pitched outdoor canopy. You went around the circle, learning their names and positions: A tough-looking, part-reptilian mercenary with a red ponytail and a pistol on her belt named Jay, Ramon the group leader with walkie-talkies and a machete on his utility belt, Cian their nonbinary African-American tech guru, Laurence with a visible trans pin on her Hazmat suit, Venali the turquoise-haired elf geared up like he was in Jumanji, and Fern, their blonde journalist and Venali’s boyfriend. They started to show you the various notes and journals they were writing about the Backrooms, and began explaining where all the supplies and housing were.           Though, before you all could get too comfortable, Ragaeli appeared in a flash of smoke right in front of everyone.          The group gasped and jumped back to their feet. Laurence yanked you back away from the monster. Fern stood in front of Venali protectively. Ramon readied his machete, and the elf started shuffling in his bag for weapons of his own.        "¡Cristo arriba, ¿qué es eso?!"         "That's not like any entity I’ve seen."

        "Whoa whoa whoa!!" You jumped in front of them and waved your arms. "Wait!! He's with me! He's not dangerous."

        They shifted from friendly to apprehensive. Ramon squinted suspiciously at you. "You sure about that? It could be mind-controlling you for all we know."         "Or you're in cahoots with the monsters out there trying to kill us."         "Or one of them in disguise."

        Ragdoll just smirked and giggled in smug amusement, hands on his hips; a contrast to your growing worry. But Jay quickly stood by your side and spoke up, raising her voice. "Guys, calm down. Remember the pact we made? We never would've made it as far as we have if we became this paranoid about every person we came across." She patted you on the shoulder. "We stick up for each other, got it? If there's signs that they're untrustworthy, we know how to defend ourselves." She gave you a smile.

        Rags poofed out of sight and re-appeared on one of the nearby benches, causing some of the group to jump in surprise. "Well in that case, I accept your warm welcome~" He snapped his fingers and summoned up a deck of cards out of one of their supply bags.         Cian hesitantly approached, putting their hands on their hips. “Okay, so... What are you?”

        “The best Nightmare you’ll ever have,” he winked, starting to play a game of Blackjack with himself, the cards floating in the air in front of him. "You've all been through the ringer, haven't ya? Nearly melting alive in a tunnel of pipes, spelunking in spider-filled caves, trudging through swamps fulla Death Rats..." He went around the circle pointing fingers at each person as he recited their memories back to them. "Damn, and a city of zombies too? Woof. Well, good on ya for sticking it out!"           All of them stared at him, dumbfounded. "...How do you know all of this?"           He tapped a finger to his temple. "Your thoughts aren't safe from me~ It's about fuckin' time, too. I can't read any minds that are native to this batshit universe."

          Fern was hurriedly scribbling down notes in his journal.           "And you guys-" Rags pointed to Laurence’s Hazmat suit. "You know an entry point to the Backrooms, it's the entire reason you're here. But it's one-way only, huh? Just like sending a Rover to another planet... One-way communication network so they can get the info they need outta you.”

          She sighed, brow furrowing, looking like Rags’ words stung to her core. She was the first of them to sit back down. "Yeah... Word of advice, don't get roped into top-secret Government research." She chuckled bitterly. "We're all told the same thing: That we're blessed to be part of a revolutionary breakthrough in interdimensional travel. That we'll be able to take care of our families for the rest of our lives with how filthy rich we'd be. That they’ll perfect their groundbreaking wormhole transportation to ensure that everyone can come and go here as they please. That they... They’ll give us easy access to hormone therapy and surgery.” Her brow furrowed. “But they don't give a rat's ass about us. They know damn well we can't go back once we cross the rift. We aren’t meant to be breaching into this dimension. It takes who it wants to take."            The others looked at her sympathetically, following suit in sitting down around their campfire. Venali scooted close to Fern, Cian and Jay sat on the floor close to the fire. Ramon patted Laurence’s shoulder.

           She cast her gaze down. "...I'm one of the lucky ones. I didn't have much going for me back at home. Wasn't remembered by a lot of folks. Figured that if I don't get rich enough to lead a campaign for equal medical treatment all over the country, then... hey, at least my last adventure would be a hell of an interesting one." She looked back up to her companions. "Then I had to go and find these guys, and they had to go and start caring about me. Guess I'm stuck with them now," she gave Ramon a playful nudge, and they laughed together.

          “Damn... Well, I’m glad you’re all okay,” you tried to offer a reassuring smile. “Though if you don’t mind me asking, why keep the Hazmat suit?”            She shrugged. “They make good protection when we go off to find resources. Cian hot-wired our radios to only be able to communicate with each other. We don’t need any no-good government lackeys spying on us anymore.”

         “Hm...” You nodded. “Well... I really think there is a way out of here. Ragman and I are doing our best to find it."           "Level 3999?" Jay responded.           Your eyes lit up in surprise. "Yeah!"            She nodded. "The 'True Ending'. It's a Level that's damn near impossible to get to, though. We don’t even know how to start looking for it.”

           “Seek the Key...” Fern scanned through his journal, with Venali resting his head on his shoulder to peek at his notes. “A Faceling told us that’s the answer. What key, though? A physical key? Metaphorical? It’s like no-one in this world can give us direct answers. Like they’re not allowed to.”          The Nightmare squinted, staring hard at the group, 'scanning' between them. "Hrrmm... So you know about that Level... That could mean we can hop around to other outposts and interrogate any humans we see 'til we get more answers," he chuckled. "But there's still something... Off." He got up to start pacing, rubbing his chin. "I can see all these different places you've been. I can see all the baddies you thwarted and skewered. I can memorize every piece of writing you’ve got about this world,” He held out a hand, summoning Fern’s journal to him, skimming through the pages in less than two seconds before snapping it shut. “But there's gaps. Blank spots, or like, skipping in a DVD." He sneered in annoyance, tossing Fern’s journal back at him. "That settles it then, this world has it out for me!!" He threw his arms up dramatically.

              Ramon snorted. "It's not just you. The Backrooms fuck with people's minds all the time."                You thought for a moment. “Maybe I could take a look?” When Fern agreed and gave you his journal, you saw just what Rags was talking about: There were odd blank spots in the middle of notes or sketches. Not like erased text, or unfinished sentences...But more like looking at something through your eyes’ blind-spots. A blur, or a blockage that made you not want to look at it for too long. “That’s so weird...”            Venali scratched behind his head as he also thought things over. "Well, maybe we could just tell you what those gaps are?"

           Rags stopped his pacing, a sly grin crossing his face. "Yeahhh, maybe you could..." He cracked his knuckles. "A good dose of adrenaline might jog your memories~"          You felt yourself starting to smile just as mischievously. Before a couple of them could ask what he meant, he snapped his fingers to lift everyone’s arms above their heads with magic bindings, lifting up their ankles arranging them in a circle, suspended above the floor. They all exclaimed.

           “Mierda, I fuckin’ KNEW it!!” Ramon shouted at you, having seen your cheeky smile appear when Rags grabbed him. “You set us up!!”            “H-Hey, come on, let’s talk about this!!” Cian looked at him nervously.

             “Relaaaax already,” the Nightmare gave deliberate pokes to Cian and Ramon’s sides, instantly getting exclaimed yelps. His smile grew wider. “I ain’t in the business of skewering folks that don’t deserve it. But I’ll show you exactly how I’ve been dealing with all the bloodthirsty critters since getting here~” He put his large hands on both of their sides...and gave off a ticklish magic burst that shot through the two of them, and clear across everyone else’s torsos like an EMP blast. The group shrieked and bucked in place, bursting into laughter, some of them nearly stumbling.              Rags visibly shivered at the sound of their laughter. “Oooohh that was nice~”            “SHIHIHIT THAT TIHIHICKLES!!” Laurence barked. Fern blushed brightly and tried to hide his face against his arm. Ramon and Jay both tried yanking away.            “Th-that’s your power?!” Jay hissed.            “Yeeees indeedy~” the Nightmare winked.            “That’s ridiculous!” Ramon scoffed. “No way in hell a little tickling is gonna keep a bunch of bloodthirsty abominations at baaAAAYY-HEHEHE!!” He was cut off by another ticklish burst. The others yelped and exclaimed with more laughter, some of their faces becoming more flushed.            “Ohh, it’s not just a little,” Rags grinned deviously. “You’ll find that I’m a very greedy bastard~ I could do this aaalll day, but I don’t have that kind of time. So lemme just interrogate you all for a little bit...” He then grasped his hand around your invisible magic tether, yanking you over to join the circle, trapping you in place as well.            "Wha- HEY!" You glared at him.            He just giggled. "Let's get started, shall we~?"

           He ignored everyone's flustered protests. His hair tendrils extended into the air and weaved their way between the group; and then, he attacked.            He knew exactly where everyone's weak spots were. Jay's scaly back, Venali's pointy ears, Cian's underarms, Fern's palms and neck, Ramon’s armpits and pudgy belly, Laurence’s neck and feet. And of course, he showed no mercy on your weaknesses. All of you answered with loud shrieks, belly laughter, whines and curses. Ramon cussed him out in Spanish, Venali devolved into his unknown native language. Some of their laughter was so goofy and contagious it made you laugh even more.

              Rags shuddered hard at the cacophony of laughter, and licked his lips. His eyes lit up with excitement, his slitted pupils dilating a little, his hair frizzing and shuddering and his aura glowing a little brighter. "Oohhh now that’s tasty~" You knew from what he'd told you that getting a group of people laughing was the equivalent of getting a whiff of cocaine. Heaven forbid he ever got a whole room of people laughing.

             He’d almost forgotten the reason he started the group attack in the first place. “SO, those memories, cough ‘em up!!” he summoned Fern’s journal over to himself. When he found a subject of interest, he flipped open the page, and used his magic to project the image in the air, large enough for everyone to see. “What about this critter?” He projected a sketch of what looked like regular Death-head moths from Earth, but with notes about how they could paralyze humans with neurotoxins.

             “I-I dohohohon’t knohohow!!” Fern whined. “I-I’ve just heheheard talk of thehehem from other people in our outpohohost!!”                “Liar,” Rags stuck out his tongue. “Arright, how about this one?” he pointed out a silhouetted figure of a man with inhumanly long limbs, a top hat, and nothing on his face but a wide, pure white smile with sharp teeth, not unlike the Nightmare’s.              “I-Ive seeheeheen him in a reflehehection befohohore!!” Laurence barely managed to speak up over her laughter. “I-I don’t remember whehehere!!”              “Hmmm, alright, that’s acceptable enough,” he giggled. “OH, what’s this place??” His interest was piqued by a large empty library, with a huge sign overhead reading ‘The End.’               “WeeEEE-HEHEHEH f-found a computer screen wihihith that imahahage!!” Jay replied, growling between her laughter, face flushed almost as bright red as her hair.          

               He continued this ‘strategy’ for a good ten minutes. Sitting cross-legged in the air, flipping through the journal, projecting Fern’s sketches of everything from strange objects, dangerous-looking entities, and bizarre Levels. Every time, it seemed as if they just couldn’t remember full details. A couple times, they even said they didn’t remember taking the notes at all.              He also knew exactly how much to dial it back with them, taking breaks when they were out of breath, never tickling in a spot for too long that would cause them panic or discomfort. They pleaded, protested, cussed him out. But never made more of an effort to break free.                Before long, you decided to be a brat. “I-I dohohohon’t knohohow, Rahahags, I th-thihihink they’re holdihihing out on us!!”                 “Y-YOU SON OF A-!!” Jay glared.                 “W-We’re nahahahat lyiiihihing!” Venali protested. “W-Wehehehe’re telling you everythiihihing we remehehember!!”

            Eventually, the Nightmare was swaying in the air and giggling, lips stretched in a dopey grin, eyelids drooping. He was literally getting laughter-drunk. Sparks leaked out from his writhing hair, his red aura glowed brighter than ever. When he finally decided everyone had enough, he lowered all of you to the floor and seats around the campfire, releasing your bonds. Everyone collapsed back onto the seats and against their bags and crates.

              Rags staggered to his feet, stomping over to the group, slouched over and walking in his janky tweeker fashion that earned him the name Ragdoll. "Mmmhehehehh, shiiiit I want mooore..." He growled and licked his lips. Everyone shivering and tensing up in a small bout of anxiousness just made him bend over more, like he was about to pounce. But then he quickly shook his head like a dog shaking off water, smacking the sides of his face. "Nooonono, time to focus!!"            "O-Okay, okay, I see now why you've been able to survive," Ramon spoke up. "Cause you're fuckin insane," he flipped the Nightmare off.            Rags giggled wildly and threw his arms up in an exaggerated shrug. "Sure I am, what's your point?"            Cian and Venali snickered to themselves. "A total horror movie monster. But, y'know, a fun one.”            Jay huffed, sitting upright. "Yeah, and you’re not much better," she glared over at you. "Egging him on like that..."            "Well, that was... Uh.. Kinda fun, in any case.." Fern cleared his throat, face still red as a beet, not making eye contact with Rags.            Laurence nodded quickly. "Quite the group therapy session, don't you think?"              Venali smiled cheekily at Fern. “Someone liiiiked it~” he playfully tickled the blonde’s sides, resulting in a squeak and batting his hands away.

             The monster giggled again. “Well, glad you enjoyed yourselves, even if I didn’t get any real answers,” he stuck his tongue out. “All that laughter just stirred up a bunch of your sappy memories, laughing it up together.” He made a mock-gagging motion.                After you caught your breath, you looked over to the powered-up nightmare, then the group, then back again... You smiled mischievously. "Hey, guys.. How d'you feel about a little revenge?"

           But Rags slowly turned his head to you. "You reeeally think ganging up on me when I have this much laughter-fuel in the tanks is a good idea~?" He held out a hand, giving off sparks so intense it was like his arm was a Tesla coil. The magic let off a cacophony of echoing high-pitched laughter. It made everyone gasp and jump back.            You swallowed. "M-maybe not, but I know you're gonna hang onto most of that energy. You need it."            He giggled and rolled his eyes. "Fiiine, you got me there." The crackling stopped and he re-absorbed the magic into his body. He stood back upright, throwing his arms open and puffing his chest out in a ‘come at me bro’ stance. “Go ahead then, if you all think you can take me on~”

             Jay and Laurence were the first ones to jump to their feet and charge him, and you followed closely behind. Jay used her strong arms to grasp one of his arms and hold it in place while she buried her other hand into one of his pits. Laurence went for the opposite side, dancing her fingers up and down his sides and ribs like a piano. And you made a beeline for his exposed midriff.              The cocky Nightmare shrieked with excited laughter, flailing in place like a wiggling fish, tail thrashing behind him. “YEEE-HEEHEHEHEHE!!”

             Once they saw how ticklish the laughter-hungry maniac was, and that he wasn’t retaliating, the others’ uncertainty made way for sly smirks. They stood to their feet and hurried over to join their friends. They held the tall Nightmare in place, attacking every inch of them they could cover. His laughter just grew louder and more wild, his huge smile showing off his bear-trap teeth and striped tongue. “GYAAA-HAHAHAHEEEHEHEHEHE!! IS TH-THAHAHAT THE BEHEHEHEST YOU ALL GOT?!” He taunted.            “We gotta go for the feet!” You hinted to the others. They nodded, and made swift work of pulling Rags down to the floor, pinning his arms and legs in place. Venali and Fern took the lead, each targeting his massive stompers. The elf scribbled skillfully under and along his toes, and Fern experimentally scritched at his soles and balls of his foot. “Tickletickletickle,” the elf cooed, giving a shy, but cheeky grin. “Man, for someone so strong, you sure can’t handle a taste of your own medicine, can ya?”

           “I mean, he’s taking it like a champ,” Jay snickered, joining you in burying her pointed nails against his trembling belly.              “if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re really enjoying this,” Laurence smiled, swirling her knuckles against his hips.            “WHAHAHAHAT WAS YOUR FIHIHIHIRST CLUHUHUHUE?!” Rags retorted, shrieking and bucking all the more, his tail smacking the ground behind him.               The tail caught Cian’s interest. Out of curiosity, they grabbed it and started tickling along its length, succeeding in letting loose another cacophony of excited laughter from their target. Ramon followed suit in the experimenting, tickling the peach-fuzz stripes on his shins, making him almost yank his legs right out of Fern and Venali’s grip.

             Once again, you found yourself staring and eyeing over your monster friend’s thrashing body and handsome smiling, laughing face. Each of his hysterical belly-laughs made your stomach do somersaults of joy. Although you enjoyed succumbing to his ruthless tactics, it was cathartic seeing him get a taste of his own medicine - and reassuring to know he loved receiving the tickles just as much as inflicting them. The group looked happy, too, with genuine playful smiles on their faces; even Ramon, their grouchy jaded leader.

               After a few more minutes, he started slamming the floor with his hand, like a wrestler tapping out. Ramon recognized the gesture and waved a hand in the air. “Alright alright, let’s back off,” the others nodded and brought their tickle-attack to a stop.               “WHOO, talk about a team effort, hehehe~” Rags gave a dopey giggle. “I can take wayyy more than that, but I’m kinda on the clock,” he staggered to his feet.                Ramon rolled his eyes. “Uh-huh, sure you can.”              “No, it’s true,” you spoke up, also standing up. “He has almost limitless stamina.”              “Well, either way, that was fun~” Laurence giggled. “But I guess you two are planning on moving on ahead, huh?”              “Sure, if ya know where we should go next,” Rags ruffled her hair.             “I... think I know where you might be able to find clues,” Cian spoke up.             Jay’s brow furrowed and she quickly shook her head. “Don’t. That place is a death trap. A deliberate dead end. Ramon barely escaped in time, remember??”            “I know, but what if it’s possible?” Cian went up to both of you to explain. “If anyone has a chance of getting past the science labs, it’s you. Both of you. His powers, and your wits and bravery... You may be able to get past the gauntlet.”           "Gauntlet?" You questioned.           "Yeah. Like I said, a death trap,” Jay repeated in irritation. “A stampede of just about any entity you'd imagine."

          This piqued the nightmare's interest. "Ya don't say...?"           There he goes again, getting some sneaky ideas. "Sooo, what happens when we reach the end?"           "If you get to the end," Fern corrected. "We dunno. Probably just another Level to another hellscape."            You shrugged. "I mean, hey, I've seen my fair share of those. I can handle this too.” Your eyes lit up, and you were struck with motivation. “Hey! If we all go together, I'm sure we could get past it! You guys seem like you really know what you're doing.”

          Ramon shook his head. "Look, amigo... There isn't really any use in exploring a place that dangerous. We've got a good thing going right where we're at. Food, supplies, defenses, and each other.”           "You could do the same," Fern commented. "You and your crazy bodyguard can live here with us."           "No can do," Rags threw an arm around your shoulder. "I'm gettin' this one home one way or another."            "Why don't you come with us?" You tried to press them again. "Like I said, we're finding ways out of each Level. Rags can help out! He can neutralize threats and even persuade them to our side!"

           But all of them looked very hesitant.

          "Not sure that's a good idea." The Nightmare spoke up.           "What??" You spun to look at him. It wasn't like him to deny the chance to help people out. But you felt your stomach sink at how serious his expression had become.

           He gave a big shrug. "Look, I dunno where we're gonna end up. We're barely making it out of each Level as it is!! Sure I can keep the baddies at bay, but I'm still playing a careful balancing act of upkeeping my magic." He turned his attention back to the group. "Even if I could bring you all with me, and get a boosted energy fix from ya, there's a good chance that this world is gonna fling you every which way at any given moment. And an even bigger chance that not all of you are gonna make it out of here alive." He huffed and folded his arms, tapping a finger on his bicep. "I'm not about to risk splittin' you up or watching your buddies get killed in front of you. That'd be even more fucked up than letting you stay here."              The group nodded and sighed amongst themselves, mumbling in agreement.

          "Well, there you have it. Your magic friend says it's not safe." Ramon patted you on the shoulder. “I appreciate you wanting to help. I really do. Maybe someday we’ll get more intel, find safer Levels. But when we started settling in here, we all barely made it by the skin of our teeth. These guys... they’ve seen some shit that no-one ought to see. I can’t ask them to go back into the fray if they’re not ready for it.”                Fern nodded. “I... I can’t go back out there.” Venali took his hand and hugged him close, giving him a gentle kiss on his cheek.                You frowned, feeling a little guilty. You knew they were right... You couldn’t in good conscience push them to venture to places that triggered traumatic memories.                Cian folded their arms behind their head. “I wouldn’t mind taking up that offer, if I was on my own. But these guys need me. I’m their only means of communicating to home base when they go out to find resources.”        

                 Rags scratched under his chin. “Y’knoww...it might be possible to get you outta here if I could relay some answers to ya. At least, if the Big Bosses come running to my call. And if snitching on ‘em isn’t going to make them go after you guys. I know how it goes with most gods. Snuffing out lives like birthday candles just cause they can’t fathom a mortal outsmarting them,” he scoffed.

            “Big Bosses?” Jay raised an eyebrow.              Fern’s eyes widened. “You don’t mean...?”             “Are you... talking about the Grand Order?” Cian looked at the Nightmare in disbelief. “You called to them?? What do you mean?!”               “Well, I gotta find our way out of here somehow. If you don’t get answers after standin at your boss’s door for an hour, just throw a rock in their window, right??” Rags snickered.            “How, though?” Fern quickly started thumbing through his journal. “How did you contact them?? There’s a next to zero possibility of a Wanderer encountering one, but maybe with the help of an entity like you, it’s possible...?”

              “Weelll I didn’t directly contact them.” Rags stood out away from the encampment, holding his arms out and giving his hands a dramatic wave. A good dozen magic windows opened up in the air, shifting through imagery, just as they had done at the tavern. “I can open up a spyglass on the world and set sail towards any Level I decide on,” he summoned up a fancy brimmed hat and a spyglass, doing mock-charades of a pirate standing at the edge of a ship. “I can take a peek at just about any Level here and take a gamble on whether I wanna jump the plank or not. Could be some plain ol fish, could strike some buried gold! Or, we be swimmin’ right into the jaws of death. And that’s why I ain’t be gamblin with any of yer lives!!” He jammed a finger against your chest. “I’m already regrettin’ having to gamble with yers.” Despite his hammy pirate act, for a brief moment, you glimpsed a crease in his brow; a shift in expression from playful to apologetic.

              “Point is!!” He spun around, making the props disappear and pointing at the portals. “I kiiiinda maybe dared ‘em to come running to me,” he flashed a smug grin. “The safest way for us to have a chance of jailbreaking you all is for me to get the answers from the Top Dogs. They tell me the answer, I open up a window to as many Wanderer outposts as my magic will allow, bada-bam, now we ALL know how to bust out.” He narrowed his gaze. “...IF that works.” He pointed to Fern. “Not a damn page I skimmed in there mentioned a thing about these Upper-Fuckers. Not a thought in his mind is tellin’ me anything.”               “Wha... Really??” He skimmed his journal quickly, looking dumbfounded. “There’s... it’s not here!” He looked over to Cian. “But you know about them, don’t you??”             Cian shrugged. “I mean, kinda? I don’t remember where I heard about them, though. I think it was a tavern or something?”

                Rags rolled his eyes. “Case in point. If they’re tryin’ this hard to keep the answer from some troublemaking interloper, I’d imagine they’ll try just as hard to cover it up from their main prey. When - not if, WHEN -” he snarled for emphasis - “I get one of them to cough up what we need, they might try to go for your throats as damage control. I send that message out to many outposts and they could lead a mass slaughter. If there’s even a sliver of a chance of that happening, then forget it.”                “Hmm...” Jay folded her arms. “Well... Thanks for wanting to help, in any case. Don’t worry too much about us. You sound like you both have enough on your plate as it is.”

               Laurence could tell you were feeling crestfallen, coming up to you to take your hand. “You’ve got a real good friend at your side, you know that? Don’t ever give that up. And don’t think that moving on is giving up on us, either.” She smiled. “Just keep us in your thoughts, that’s all I can ask. And if you find another one of us guinea pigs with a working radio, give those fuckers back home Hell for me.”              You chuckled, nodding. “Damn right I will.”               Ragdoll gave a clap of his hands. “Well in that case, I’ve got one request for you lot. Don’t any of you fuckin’ dare give up. And don’t ever stop laughing~”

              After you said your goodbyes, Venali led you into one of the alleyways outside of the building, opening an industrial metal door in the adjacent wall. “The portal to the laboratory is at the end of this hallway.” He frowned. “You’re certain you’re ready to go through with this?”             You nodded. “We have to try.”            "We'll take our chances," Rags plopped an elbow down on your shoulder again. "A science lab sounds pretty interesting... And if it's true that there's that many entities, my announcement might've reached them too,” he grinned at you knowingly. “We could even rally a little army~"

               Rags walked next to you down the hall. You glanced up at him with a knowing grin. “You let everyone go after you you to show them they could trust you, didn’t you?” you gave him a nudge. “I know how you work.”                He glared and let out a huff, grabbing at your stomach to squeeze repeatedly. “Shaddup, I just wanted ‘em to have fun too,” he stuck out his tongue.              “AAH-HAHAHA!!” You jumped. “Yeah right!!” you grabbed at his side in response, releasing a hyena yelp from him. “You’re totally not a secret softie.”

         You half expected Ragman to race you or chase you down the hallway in retaliation for calling him out. But he still walked alongside you, arms folded behind his head, acting strangely calm. It became apparent after a couple minutes of walking that it was because he could sense your stewing thoughts. You felt sorry for all those people... How many other people from Earth - or even other worlds - were trapped here? Forced to live in shelters straight out of Fallout? You were lucky you had a god on your side. At least there was some chance of indirectly helping them, if the Nightmare’s idea worked. Even if he couldn't save all of them, maybe both of you could help make a difference to at least one of them...

             Ragdoll patted you on the head. "Believe me... If I could, I would. I'd lead a mass exodus outta here." For once, he became very contemplative. "But you can't save everyone. Not on Earth, not in Limbo, not on other planets or dimensions. Sure, you gotta stick up for your buddies, and most people don't wanna look at some sad sack on the side of the road and just leave them there. But other times, you just need to focus on you, y'know?"             "Yeah..." You sighed. You knew he had a point; that it would probably be a pretty big gamble to take them along. But still... You wish they would've taken up your offer to help. It was times like this that you were reminded the Nightmare wasn't just a laughter-hungry nutcase.

           Though it wouldn’t be long before the madness continued.            Opening the door at the end of the hall, you saw that there was indeed a huge laboratory on the inside.                "Alley-oop!" Rags gave you a shove into the doorway before poofing out of view.

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

Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five (current) Chapter Six

Footnotes:

Bunker floor BG: 

So, this is the first chapter that isn’t directly based off of specific Backrooms levels or entities. It kind of just vaguely mentions the aesthetic of some of the Levels I came across while reading the Wiki.

This chapter also wasn’t even one that I’d originally planned. It was going to go from Rags and Y/N doing random level-hopping directly into the Research lab where the next chapter takes place, but in the process, the realization hit me “What if they come across other humans? There’s human outposts everywhere in the backrooms”. So it only made sense to have them encounter a group of survivors. I had fun coming up with some other human(oid) characters and fleshing them out. I will say right now that I do not plan on having a complete character/story arc for them. There won’t be any tragic deaths, there won’t be any tie-ins to the final conflict. However, this may not be the last we see of them!

#tickling #group tickling #tickle fic #backrooms #tickle monster #monster #monster boy #backrooms fic

[lionheartedshewolfarchived]

❖ FEATURING   :   Cirilla Riannon   &   Qadira of  Zerrikania   //   @zerrikanianrose​    ❖ Continued Ask ;;  reposted below

How the slender blonde ended up in her temporary residence, no one knows. Regardless, the young woman came almost out of nowhere - haggard and tired. And it would be cruel to leave her out in the elements. Qadira took the girl in, laid her in a bed, and began making her some soup for when she would eventually wake. Next to her was a small bottle of medicine. The soup was a recipe from Zerrikania, it’s warm and savory aroma filled the home. She leaned down and tasted from the pot. Could use a bit more salt.

Ciri’s eyes blinked open, slowly. She remembered a storm. Massive crashing ways. She had been on a ship, or... was it a shore? Her memory shaken, she couldn’t quite remember the last thing she had been doing. What she did remember was dragging herself out of the salty waters, her body drenched, the cold crackling against her skin. Each step harder than the next. In fact, she could only remember telling herself to keep walking, cause if she stopped she knew she would meet the ground, perhaps even die where she stopped. 

Exhaustion still in her eyes, as her hand reached back to her swords that were nowhere to be found, and glanced around. The scenery was unfamiliar, But she could smell something in the area, the aroma sweet to her nose and her mouth watering. Had she been this hungry? How long was she out? Slowly Ciri pushed herself up out of the bed, her fingers brushing along the soft material and then glancing toward the area where she could smell the food coming from. She pushed herself up but a groan slipped her mouth, wrapping around her waist. She pulled up her shirt, seeing the bruises littering her skin, like an array of lightning running along her veins. 

“Who’s there?” She questioned, as she tried to force herself to her feet again, her hand gripping the end of the bed.

#zerrikanianrose #° ✧ ⇢ [ replies ] #° ✧ ⇢ [ ›› thread tracker ] #° ✧ ⇢ [ OV ;; traveling through space and time ] #° ✧ ⇢ [ ›› closed starter ]

[somerabbitholes]

hi! i love ur blog so so much it’s literally the most aesthetic thing ever! i was just wondering if you could please recommend some books to help me get out of a reading slump? any genre i don’t mind! thank you so much and have a blessed day 🤍

hi! thank you so much <33

when i'm in a slump, i generally read fantasy, or essays, or short stories, and here are a few of my favourites that have gotten me out of slumps —

essays:

pop song by larissa pham: semi-memoir, essays on art, intimacy, love; i'm halfway through this, and it has been lovely. i can't wait to finish it and go back and look at all the parts i highlighted

the end of the end of the earth by jonathan franzen: about the end of times, climate change, how we deal with it, how we can deal with it, also a dash of personal essays, they're all excellent; my favourites include the one on 9/11, 'why birds matter', 'missing', the eponymous one, and 'xing ped'

intimations by zadie smith: six essays, short ones, on living in early pandemic 2020; they feel very warm and comforting because they're full of all the anxieties that marked the beginnings of last year

the anthropocene reviewed by john green: essays on the human planet; very wholesome; a relatively quick read, they're short ones

the book of indian journeys by dom moraes (editor): it's an anthology of writings on traveling in india, i like for the collection of authors it brings together, you should look it up

if you feel like fantasy/urban fantasy/scifi:

the licanius trilogy by james islington: i read this early last year, and i was obsessed; starts as a chosen one story about this boy who has augur abilities, but it becomes so much more; very sleek time-travel/loop situations; also looks at free will, choice, destiny

good omens by neil gaiman, sir terry pratchett: this is one of the funniest and the most wholesome-est books i've read; follows an angel and a demon working together to stop the apocalypse; they both share one brain cell between them, and i love them for that; also check gaiman's coraline (be warned, it is creepy); and pratchett's small gods

the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy by douglas adams: this is the first part, and i would totally recommend them all; it starts with the earth being demolished to make space for an intergalactic highway, only one human escapes, he hitches a ride on a spaceship nearby; utter chaos of a book (affectionate), also very funny

the immortalists by chloe benjamin: follows four siblings who discover the exact dates of their death, and then takes a look at their lives one by one; has interesting things to say about destiny and choice

an absolutely remarkable thing by hank green: about april, who becomes famous overnight after "discovering" an alien installation in new york; it's science fiction, and a really fun read; about human cooperation (or lack thereof), the internet, and the nature of our communication; also the sequel, a beautifully foolish endeavour, is amazing pandemic reading

more than this by patrick ness: a boy drowns to death and finds himself in what he thinks is obviously hell, but things get complicated as time passes; YA scifi, pretty fast-paced

and a few assorted ones:

the lonely city by olivia laing: has there been a time i haven't recommended this? absolutely not. it's about artists who explored art as a means of negotiating isolation and loneliness; blends memoir and art appreciation; very poetic

the dublin murder squad series by tana french also got me out of a slump this year; they're very addictive crime fiction; six books and i thoroughly enjoyed them all; my favourites are the likeness and broken harbour

a man called ove by fredrik backman: follows an old man who has a very meticulously planned schedule, and who is generally grumpy; you're slowly introduced to his past, and it's just a very wholesome story; great if you want light reading

the uncommon reader by alan bennett: it speculates on what would happen if the queen (of england) made a hobby out of reading; it's a day's read, only 50-odd pages, and it's pure fun

the blue umbrella by ruskin bond: another short one, under 200 pages; about a girl who stumbles across a japanese umbrella, and about how her village receives the exoticism of the umbrella; a very fine story

round ireland with a fridge by tony hawks: it's a travelogue, where hawks takes a trip around the perimeter of ireland with a small fridge after losing a bet; it's absurd and engaging, and wild that this really happened

i hope you find something you like!

#book recs #booklr #anonymous #answered #bookstagram #reading list #slump reading

[paimon-rambles]

Alphabet Fluff

Characters: Aether

A gift to my sister cause she never stops thirsting 😒 @katsukiibug

Doing all of them ;-;

Icon credit: Leheia

-

A ctivities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

Aether is opened to any activities his partner throws at him. He's not very picky.

But he does enjoy some dinner dates and strolls around the city, wheater it is Liyue or Mondstadt. He pays for all meals and snacks with the Mora he got from his travels.

Be warned, however, cause Paimon ain't gonna shut up about the food. Regardless it's comforting, followed by a nice walk through the city basked in moonlight.

Aether also in general likes to travel with you, other than Paimon you're his companion. He likes to take you to the forest to pick berries or other essential resources, beneficial for future endeavors.

Stories from his travels? Aether could ramble about for hours. Describing the little mishaps and mischief he and his sister found themselves in. Though he gets really sad whenever his sister is brought up.....oofles

He's traveled from world to world was introduced to many hobbies and games of variety, he's happy to introduce you to some of them if your willing to try something new out.

B eauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

Your patience

Aether has a bit of a packed schedule; assisting with commissions and dealing with hilichrul attacks. Not to mention his mind is set on finding the 7 archons in the hope to find his sister. He's incredibly busy most of the times

He doesn't ignore you on purpose, but he's dragged everywhere. Poor guy:(

But he admires that you don't fuss about it and always hold patience. Of course, Aether will find a way to make it up to you eventually. He tends to send small souvenirs from his travels as a form of apology.

Your comfort

He recently lost his sister and is overhwaled by all these tasks placed on his heavy and tired shoulders. He leans on you when he needs that moment of peace or comfort.

He loves that you try to soothe him whenever he's in his worst moments. With your words or simple touches of comfort, he adores it all.

Your eyes

Aether loves to stare into your eyes. He finds them really beautiful and finds himself smiling whenever looking in your eyes.

He's memorized by how they lightly sparkle or glimmer depending on your emotions. Or how they light up whenever you laugh or smile.

He finds it soothing to just lean your foreheads against each other and stare endlessly at your eyes, his worries and concerns being carried away.

C omfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

He's a brother and understands when his partner is under stress or feeling down. Similar to how he notices the small gestures Lumine has that show her emotions are swirling in her head.

He picks up on the small hints and notices right away the shift in your behavior. You can say you're fine but he ain't falling for it, he's seen the signs.

But Aether does give the space you want. He recognizes its benefits and understands it himself; He's lost his kin, there are times Aether wants to push everyone away.

So patient, he's not pushing you into anything instead he's letting you describe what's bothering you at your pace. You can break down sobbing and he would wait while comfortably drawing stars on your back. He even has his shoulder to cry on if you want, softly running his hand through her hair in comforting motions.

He tries his best to give advice from his own experience. He makes a promise to cheer you later. He's just trying to make you happy again cause he hurting inside if you're not :(

D reams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

Aether pictures the future from time to time. Mainly thinking about finding his sibling. He pictures two outcomes the good now and the one he dreads dearly.

Of course, since you are his s/o, you do play role in some of the scenarios he plays on his head.

He wonders what will be of the relationship after he finds his sibling, would they continue to travel worlds as they had done previously?

It was his sister and himself life's work of jumping planet to planet and learning of the different kingdoms and such.

Teyvat is your home, you have all your plans for the future in this world, he couldn't force you to leave.

So he rather hears of your views on the future instead, listening closely as you explain everything you have planned while his heart slowly aches as he debates for his future.

E qual - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

He sees you as his equal. Nothing less or more- though he looks to up you a lot

He doesn't let any status you may hold hinder the relationship, and he wishes the same. He may be a traveler from another world, praised for his achievements, and his reputation in the nation's placed his name high. But Aether doesn't want that to affect his relationship with his lover.

So yee equals =

F ight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

He hates fighting :(

Soft boy can't handle arguing with his s/o. It breaks his heart every time. Instantly feels guilty, even if he wasn't in the wrong.

Because of this arguments are incredibly rare. He's not an angry person in general and tends to stay positive most of the time. It will only occur if he's incredibly pent up about a situation. He'd bottle up those emotions before the string being pulled and he snaps.

Easy to forgive, the moment he notices he's angry he's apologizing for lashing out. Poor boy can't handle you being scared, upset, and disappointed with him.

After a fight, he gives you the space needed before checking on you and asking if you're alright. Aether would pull you into a hug, and probably sob depending on how bad the fight was. Cuddles until your both happy again or unless you really don't want to be in his presence at the moment.

If the fight was really bad he gives you some space to think for a bit and try to get it off his head. Afterward, he goes to apologize to you, to where you either sob together or things go back to normal right after

Apologizes repeatedly to you, you could say you've forgiven him but he's gonna continue apologizing for another hour or so.

G ratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

Incredibly grateful for every little act his s/o does for him. Ever since losing his sister, he's been in a void and his s/o has been the light helping him back to his feet. Cheesy I know-

But he truly appreciates everything you do for him, it always brings a smile to his face whenever his s/o does the most simple little acts that go a long way for him. He acknowledges even the smallest of things

Simple acts such as setting up his stuff before he goes to complete commissions or cooking him some food. It always makes his day better.

H onesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

Aether tells his partner pretty much everything, he dislikes keeping you in the dark. He would be really upset and heartbroken if he found out his s/o was hiding anything from him

He relies on you a lot, he tells you everything because you always put him at ease.

However, there are a few things that he would hide for a short time. He would tell his partner eventually but needs some time to plan out how to tell them. But those moments are rare and in between.

If he did find out that his s/o was hiding something from him, he'd be so torn :< feels betrayed a in way that you hid something from him.

Of course, he would listen to your reasoning as to why you kept secrets, but he starts to distance himself for a bit.

I nspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

Aether works harder for you. In other words, he's constantly trying to impress you. He tries to act heroically around you to make you smile and all.

He learned to not always feel so down because of his sister and take time to be happy as well

He for sure helps you overcome any problems or barriers that have been holding you back, taking one step at a time. You work it out together and he's patient with the process

He's always inspired by you, he works harder for you and tries to complete his commissions at a faster rate so he can spend the rest of the day work you.

J ealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

Can go both ways. On one hand, Aether isn't really one to get jealous, as he has complete trust in his partner but on the other hand, there are times when he gets insecure or jealous over somethings

But for the most part he isn't jealous, there are moments where he's scared to lose you like he lost his sister, to be left alone again :<<

In the moments where he is jealous, he would tell his s/o that he's feeling envious. Getting it off his chest and hoping his S/o would help calm down his worries

If he's feeling really envious, which are incredibly rare, he would avoid you for a bit trying to let his jealousy die away before confronting you

He'd feel really bad if he accidentally made you feel jealous instead. He would remind you that all his love is reserved for you and only you.

K iss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

Something like that done here

An average kisser, a bit inexperienced when it comes to kissing, you're his first boyfriend/girlfriend but he caught on really fast.

But because of this, your first kiss ended up being really awkward and Aether got incredibly flustered cause he believed he did something wrong

He's still really shy whenever he kisses you, he grows flustered whenever you intimate the kiss.

His kisses are really gentle, pressing his lips against yours softly. Each kiss is filled with emotions, all his love into each one. Very gentle boi

L ove Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

A mess

Poor boi is stuttering and fumbling over his words. He a nervous wreck but he's trying his best.

He planned everything out but when the moment came he tripped over his words.

He invites you over for a nice dinner, nothing too fancy and nothing too cheap, just right. He pays for food, slowly bringing the conversation to an idea of a relationship. Of course, he's hella flustered and trying not to show(which he does) it.

Then he kinda blurts out that he has a crush on you and wants to try out a relationship

If you say yes he's gonna have a huge smile on his face for the rest day, it's really adorable TwT

If you say no, however, he freezes in place for a while, the whole thing repeating in his head up to the point where you rejected him. He apologizes and excuses himself. You don't see him for a couple of days, since aether is avoiding you, he's really embarrassed to talk to you. Oh and congratulations you get a nasty nickname from Paimon :D

M arriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

He thought about it at least once when your relationship was growing. Similar to dreams, he had different scenarios in this head for the future and how they could play out.

He would like to get married one day, yes, but it isn't something he sees doing anytime soon as his primary goal is to find his sister, afterward however he will look into it more and suggest the idea to his s/o.

In terms of how he proposes, he takes you on a little adventure that highlights some your adventures you had together near the beginning of your friendship, before getting on one knee and popping the question.

Kind of that nostalgic feeling you get as you reminisce on some of the old memories you created together

The both of you plan the ceremony and incorporate your ideas into one. It's gonna be a big wedding though since pretty much all of Mondstadt, Liyue, and other nations that are yet to be explored will be attending.

Of course, if you wish for a smaller wedding, he doesn't mind at all and will plan out something smaller. He personally likes a small wedding too :)

N icknames - What do they call their s/o?

Aether isn't too keen on nicknames for his s/o but he does have a few. But for the most part, he calls you y/n, especially in public

He calls you sometimes a shorter version of your name. Or a flower that reminds him of you.

Really depends on your personality as well and which flower it associates with, or he might have a silly nickname for you that he called you once and it stuck with him. However, those types of nicknames are used rarely depending on the circumstance.

O n Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

Blush blush blush blush

He might be a little oblivious to it since your his first, he doesn't realize it until someone cough venti cough points out to him.

He's in denial at first, swirling over his words while his face reveals the truth. He's crushing hard

Aether tries to mask his little crush from you and he does pretty well minus a few moments where he's got off guard, que flustering soft boi

But when he's in love, he has a smile on his whenever speaking to the person that makes his heart skip a beat. It's pretty prominent to others once you notice the behavior shift from someone random to you.

He expresses his love in a little of everything; kisses and little hugs along with serenading you in words or perhaps gifting you something. A little mix of all of them

His favorite way to express his love is to have his hand intertwine with yours. It's simple but it comforts him knowing you're close. He loves it whenever you give him a slight squeeze of reassurance; it never fails to put a smile on his face

P DA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

Shy boy gets flustered in private, he gets really flustered showing PDA in public.

Don't get me wrong he loves showering you in affection but he gets easily flushed at the idea of people watching him kiss his s/o or giving them a comforting hug.

His PDA is average, he's open to hand-holding in public because it comforts him without having to do anything too affectionate in the public eye

He doesn't brag either, most people already know the existence of your relationship.

Although for the most part, he's trying to keep it a secret because of the Fatui and the threat it could place on you. You don't want La Signora chasing after you.

Q uirk - Some random ability they have that's beneficial in a relationship.

Paimon is usual around Aether meaning that whenever your feeling hungry, Paimon can point out the best places to sit down and have a delicious meal

An expert treasure hunter is in your area, and you're dating him! He knows where to find hints and little clues for treasures and can open any lock or seal. Many fortunes

He has so many stories to tell from his previous travels. It helps you connect more as you listen to him tell you every memory he can remember from the worlds he visited. You never get bored by his stories either.

R omance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

He's can be really creative in his antic when it comes to making his s/o happy, but he also sticks to some more cliche methods as well

As mentioned previously he's visited many worlds and has seen the various ways people would do to cheer up their partners.

He uses that to his advantage when trying something to get that smile he loves dearly on your face

But the also likes to take some classic routes, little gifts, or acts of affection to make you happy

Perhaps a rose banquet one day and something new and really imaginative the next. He can be a wild card when deciding

One time he jokingly asked Paimon for advice, of course, she suggested having sticky honey roast as a nice evening lunch date. Which he ended up taking you to that afternoon

He's willing to do anything-within reasonable terms- to make his s/o happy. If just point something out or specify on what would make you really happy; chances are he's going to do it for you

S upport - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

100% support in you

He wants to see your goals accomplished as well. Just like your helping him find his sister, he helps you achieve your goal

If you allow him, he's willing to put aside some of his commissions to help you plan and get a better roadmap to obtain your goal

Aether helps keep you motivated whenever you're feeling down, reminding you of what you have accomplished so far. Cooking you food or bringing you some water to get your brain flowing again. As well as some encouragement from Paimon, although she tends to over exaggerate most of the time

He is also sure to help you take breaks whenever you're pushing yourself too much. He takes you outside to pick plants or berries, but it's really soothing and distracting

T hrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice out your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

It's an adventure every day with Aether

At the beginning of the relationship, he tried to follow a more classical relationship routine. Since he was so new to affection, e mimicked what he saw other couples do thinking it was the correct way to go. But after spending more time with you he strayed away from that, adding his own ideas along with yours

He's constantly traveling the world, meeting archons and other powerful beings. There always a battle to be fought or a harbinger to run from. A lot can happen in one day

And you're his trusty and equal companion, he likes to bring you along through the chaos that is Teyvat

In other words, there is always a thrill in your relationship, plus Aether is always open to trying something new occasionally. Never a dull moment except for that one lazy Sunday where you cuddle all day, but it's really wholesome

U nderstanding - How good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

Aether picks up on the little things that signal a behavior shift within you. With these notices he acts quickly to be sure your alright and accesses if he needs to shower you in more affection in order to make you happy >:0

He tries to sympathize with his partner, trying to understand the emotions they're going through. He understands grief and anger, as he had experienced it with the loss of his kin, and knows how to help alleviate his s/o

But he does try his best to help cheer you up regardless of the emotions you are feeling. Paimon is even there to cheer you with her own words

V alue - How important is the relationship to them? What is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?

Aether's relationship with you is something he holds close to his heart. It's incredibly important to him, and he is sure to voice how important you are to him.

His s/o is that last speck of hope and happiness in his life after being filled with pain for so long. He'd be devastated without you

Unfortunately, his sister is his first priority, his family comes close. Lumine is the only kin he has. But your also really important to him, and so he tries to shower you with affection daily

W ild Card - A random Fluff Headcanon.

Your Paimon's close friend, you get to hear her ramble about food- a lot. But she's also really supportive of your relationship, she's noticed how much happier Aether had become since then.

Aether likes it whenever you braid his hair. Finding it soothing as your fingers gently comb through his golden locks

X OXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

A shy boy wanting to shower his s/o in affection. He's not the most affectionate person out there but he does try to be romantic and such

He adores hugs more than kisses, he finds it further comforting to hold his partner close and reassured that there beside him. He wishes he could cuddle with you for hours however commissions among other tasks that always pull him back

He also likes kisses, there always gentle and soft and he mainly kisses you on the cheek, forehead, or lips.

So overall he is pretty affectionate and he tries his best to make you feel loved

Y earning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

He can handle it for a few days, he has trust in you and your abilities. But he does think about you whenever you have to leave, wishing he could go with you. He's already missing your presence the moment you kissed him goodbye before venturing off to whatever.

Then he starts to become worried, his head is racing even though you're fine. He's trying to stay calm in the situation, which he does pretty well but it's clear something is troubling the traveler from another world. Nonetheless, he doesn't act out that worry

He starts to take up more commissions in hopes it will put his mind off It, overworking himself just a tad too much until he finds himself exhausted and turns in to rest for the night.

He refrains from any thoughts involving you being in a dangerous circumstance, he's trying to stay positive and counting down the days until your arrival back to Mondstadt or Liyue. But he has had that one thought or two, dreading over his shoulders

When you do return, the moment he spots your familiar figure; his mind is washed with relief as he makes his way towards you. He approaches with a soft, kind smile as he engulfs you into a hug. He asks you how the journey or task went and if you hit any roadblocks or difficulties.

He takes you to dinner that afternoon to talk some more, he misses you dearly :(

Z eal - Are they willing to go to great lenghts for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

As mentioned before Aether tries his best to make you happy, he'll try somethings out but he won't cross any unnecessary lines or ones that shouldn't be crossed

Listen- he's stolen a Gods Lyre, angered the cryo God, fought a Harbinger, and almost destroyed a nation- oh and he's a garden thief. He's willing to go to some extra lengths to make you happy-he just doesn't want to add on to the list of chaos that had occurred already

But as mentioned previously, his main goal is finding his sister and he tries not to stray from it too much. But yes, he does care about your relationship and he is sure to remind you that you always hold a special place in his heart :)

-

I'm done omg, yay

#genshin impact #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact scenarios #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact headcanons #aether x reader #genshin aether #genshin aether x reader

[ggukkieland]

📕CURRENT READS (2020 November)

🌹 Almost done with the list except for a few and I am excited to curate fics that are fitting for merry December 🎅❄🎄🤶 woot woot! 

I enjoyed this month’s reads - a mix of cyberpunk au, android au, werewolf aus, slice of life, exes and those on the verge of breaking up, and lots of beautifully-written drabbles which ended up in my list of favorites. 

Please send these authors some love by reblogging their content =)

✅ -  done reading   | S (smut) F (fluff) A (angst) 

🥕[Ongoing Series - to check weekly] 

Still reading the ongoing series from October’s reading list, whenever there is an update 😊.

Onyx @springbean - JJK | ABO universe, omega!reader, rouge!Alpha!Jungkook, roommates, cyberpunk au | A, F (this is so fascinating)

[2/?] years after the war, Soketh has become a bustling electric city of life and death. a world now filled with mystery, danger, and rules, y/n finds herself rooming with her old friend while trying to find herself in the city of dangerous dreams. however, her world is turned upside down when a rouge alpha enters their life seeking refuge and help…

Vulgar and Divine @yeoldontknow - JHS | elf!hoseok au, enemies to lovers, arranged marriage,  fantasy au, horror, suspense | A, S

[1/?] The Elf King buys your hand in marriage as an act of political strategy - you, the Banshee Priestess and your ability to forewarn death in exchange for your people’s return to your original home in the River Lands. You hate him for the way his kind make a mockery of death. Even before you meet him, you decide you will not grieve his death - not even a little. But then, on the day of your wedding you begin to weep - and it is not out of love or rapture.

Kitchen Confidential @glitter-kookiedough - KSJ | chef au, slow burn, enemies to lovers | A, F, S

[3/?] After years of annoying the life out of you, your rival, Kim Seokjin, pushes you a step too far and he knows it. As angry and resentful as you are, you don’t realize that something has been brewing under the surface for years. This weekend, that will change. 🌟 new chapter🌟

enemiestolovers drabble series @sincerelyourfangirl - JJK | enemies to lovers, fwb, co-workers | S, A, F

[3/?] Maybe the line between love and hate is thin. Especially when you’re in bed with Jungkook.

Challenge Accepted | What Happens When You’re not Careful | Risky Business

The Lost Luna @hobisbeautifulass - KTH | werewolf au, soulmate au, rival clans | F, A

[2/?] One Luna is born per a hundred-year cycle or so and only appears after the previous one has passed away.  This Luna was forced into hiding for seventeen years, but now she’s back, bloodthirsty, and ready to reclaim her throne.

Mutual Help @personasintro - JJK | bestfriend au, fwb au, fake dating | A, S, F

[24/?] in order for you to pretend to be his girlfriend, he helps you with your sexual desires ⏤ he calls it a mutual help

Bite Me @cheeky-kookie - PJM | vampire au | A, F, S

[1/?] Growing up, you always learned to look over your shoulder at night, hoping to never run into the catlike gleam of a vampires eyes. Yet, one night on your way home you find yourself staring into the very things you feared most. Dangerously beautiful and undeniably confident, Park Jimin was everything you knew you needed to stay away from, but he had other plans.

Nut Jobs @ironicarmy - OT7 | slice of life, crack, humor, friends au | S

[5/?] Eight friends. One terrible idea. A whole lot of trouble. Welcome to No Nut November.

Cherry Pickers @kimnjss - JJK | social media au, smau, gamer, fuckboi, vixen!reader, virgin!reader | F, S, A

[4/?] [updates daily] known for your body and surrounded by rumors about your sex life… rumors that he doesn’t think to doubt. until he’s meeting you… forced to realize there’s much more to you then the thonged shorts and lacy costumes.

(or, you’re a video vixen with an assumed identity and jungkook manages to see past it.)

Across the Board @out-of-jams - KTH | 20s, gambling, mafia au, enemies to lovers | S, A

[1/?] And now you’re indebted to the city’s most dangerous mob boss, forced to pay your dues in blood one way or another. With a gun pushed into your hands and your life at stake; once you’re in, you’re in. You’ll never get out.

🥕[Completed AUs/Series/Drabbles -  to read]

Through Time and Space @taephilia - 10.6k | KSJ | F, A, sci-fi, time travel au, adventure, doctor who au 

re: Untitled @to-star-lake - 18.8k | JJK | A, S, F, ceo au, arranged marriage, childhood acquaintance turned enemies (one of my favorites this month 🥰)  

01 02 03 04  ✅

Moral of the Story @suhdays - 7.7k | JHS | A, F, S, strangers to loves, soulmate au, OC can tell if people are telling the truth (really interesting)  ✅

In the Margins  @bonvoyagenoona - 31k | MYG | F, S, A, writer au, humor, enemies to friends to lovers, slow burn, editor!reader, writer!yoongi [also on AO3] 

01: Winter (5k words)   ✅ 02: Spring (6k words)  03: Summer (7k words)  04: Fall (13k words) 

Into my Bones @inkofyoongi - 15k | MYG | S, F, A, fwb to lovers, slice of life-ish, non-chronological (this is awesome 🌟) ✅

A Human Touch @snackhobi - 39.1k | KTH | F, S, robot au, android!taehyung 

01 ✅ 1.5  02 (will finish the rest of the chapters; this is so good)

Supply and Demand @scribblemetae - 5.7k | MYG | S, A, supernatural au, telepathic!myg, strangers to lovers, enemies to lovers  ✅

More than Us @jeongi - 11.3k | KTH | F, S, college au, roommate au, best friend to lovers

Moirai @jimlingss - 46.9k | KTH | F, A, isekai au, fantasy au, reborn as a villain in a video game

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 

Taking Flight @rmnamjoons - 15.2k | KNJ | S, sci-fi, post-apocalypse, rivals to friends to lovers au

Lining’s Silver @sketchguk - 14.1k | MYG | S, F, College au, idiots to lovers, enemies to lovers 

Even a Forest Fire Dies Out @9uk - 6.6k | JJK | A, F, exes au (a re-read) ✅

Southpaw @starshapedkookie - 30k | JJK | A, S, F, childhood friends, college au, boxer au, kinda e2l-ish (a re-read, that fight scene was just exhilarating) 🔥🥊 ✅

All That We Had @starlightauroras-writes - 13k | JJK | Heavy A, S, F, exes au, reunion, ex-husband!JK ✅ (author said there’ll be Pt2)

After the Honeymoon Fades @onherwings - 13k | MYG | A, S, F, established relationship (on the rocks), producer!yoongi, professor!OC ✅

Cozy Thief @bratkook - 5.1k | JJK | F, S, roommates au, mutual pining ✅

Quiet Baby by bratkook - 3.2k | JJK | S, established au, pwp, exhibitionism✅

Come Over by bratkook - 7.2k | JJK | S, pwp, neighbors au, voyeurism ✅

Tear You Apart by bratkook - 17.4k | KTH | S, pwp, slight horror, paranormal

01  ✅ 02 (to read)

Breathe @ephemeralkookie - 6.9k | JJK | A, S, F, exes au, multiple break-ups   ✅

Shield @namgukgalore  - 18.6k | JJK | F, S, slow burn, security guard!JJK, co-workers au ✅

Imitation of Art by namgukgalore - 9.6k | KTH | F, S, romance, friends to lovers

High School Reunion @btsarmy9593 - 6k | MYG | F, reunion, second chances ✅

One Night Ride by btsarmy9593 - 3.8k | JJK | F, hints of S, college!JK, noona, one night stand au ✅

Off the Table @fakeleaves - 11k | KNJ | A, F, exes to lovers  ✅

By its Cover @crystaljins - 38.9k | JHS | F, A, enemies to lovers, demon au, magic/supernatural, witch!reader 

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 ✅

Your Eyes Tell @njkbangtan - 40k | JJK | A, F, mild S, soulmate au, roommates au, enemies to lovers, slow burn, a bit sugar baby au, lawyer!reader, artist!jungkook 

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15   ✅

Popular-ish (drabble series) @hansolmates - 16.1k | JJK | F, S, A, popular!JJK, normie!reader, college au, fwb-ish

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09  10 11 12 13  ✅ 🥰

One More Time (Finale) - 7.3k | reunion ✅ 

No One @dfdph - 21k | JJK | A, extreme sports, slice of life, epistolary (in form of letters), heavy angst (not kidding! with trigger warnings; written so beautifully but angst may not be for all) ✅

Repercussions: Suspenders, Satin and Stockings @pars-ley​ - 3.1k | MYG | S, pwp, established relationship ✅

Have Faith in Me @aroseforyoongi - 6.4k | KTH | S, F, werewolf au, soulmates au, bestfriends to lovers ✅

The Art of Boxing @seokiie -  3.1k | JJK | S, pwp, boxing au ✅

Beautiful Confession @btsracket - 6.3k | JJK | S, F, fake dating, friends to lovers  ✅

Tongue Tied @btssavedmylifeblr - 12k | PJM | S, F, minor A,  crack, demon au, idol verse, established relationship, pwp  ✅

Infamous @sugaxjpg - 12.5k | KTH | S, A, secret relationship au, fuckboy au  ✅

Familiar Stranger @army-author - 7.3k | KTH | F, friends to lovers, high school au, mixed-up identity  ✅

Strangers Again @minniefilms  - 11.4k |  JJK | A, F, enemies to lovers, best friend’s boyfriend

01 02 03 04 drabble ✅

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Drabble Series: In Your Heart [4/11] ✅

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inTOXICated @sugarjaee - JJK | A, S, toxic relationship, college au, fboi au  

01 02 03 04 05 06  ✅

Inebriated [Jungkook’s POV] - 7.4k, read after chapter 4 ✅

You’re so Creepy (drabble series) @whatifyoulivelikethat  - 2k per member | OT7 | F, crack, university au, creepy girl au, (actually cute) 

There’s always at least one campus creepy girl. Or seven. Part 1 (1st kiss) Part 2 (2nd meeting)

kim namjoon - part i | part ii (fave)  ✅

kim seokjin - part i | part ii (fave)  ✅

min yoongi - part i | part ii  ✅

jung hoseok - part i | part ii (fave)  ✅

park jimin  - part i | part ii (fave)  ✅

kim taehyung  - part i | part ii ✅

jeon jungkook - part i | part ii  ✅

🥕[Drabbles]

Feeling @sometimeinjoon - 2.3k | JJK | demon JJK, established relationship, a bit slice-of-life | love this so much ✅🥰

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“Are you Sure?” by taestybae - 2k | KTH | S, F, brother’s best friend | love this!  ✅ 🥰

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Savage Love @whatifyoulivelikethat - | JJK | S, pwp, OC is yoongi’s ex 😬 ✅

🌹  Drabbles by @zephyoongist​  - I love the way these are written. Just beautiful. Truly fluffy (like butterflies in my stomach) and also gives off a deep/for keeps type of dynamics between the characters:

you and yoongi had an unusual friendship... - 665 words | MYG | fluff, mutual pining, friends to lovers ✅🥰

kim taehyung had only met you a few times… - 1.2k | KTH | fluff, accidental pregnancy au ✅🥰 (a fave)

there wasn’t any particular reason as to why min yoongi chose you to be his mate - his luna… - 840 words | MYG | fluff, werewolf au, slice of life ✅🥰

jung hoseok found you when you were about to make the biggest mistake of your life… - 1.5k | JHS | fluff, runaway bride, slice of life | really cute ✅🥰

#ggukkiereadinglist #bts fanfic #bts angst #bts smut #bts fluff #bts x reader #bts drabbles #namjoon fanfic #seokjin fanfic #yoongi fanfic #hoseok fanfic #jimin fanfic #taehyung fanfic #jungkook fanfic #jungkook x reader #yoongi x reader #taehyung x reader #jimin x reader #namjoon x reader #hoseok x reader #seokjin x reader

[thefallennightmare]

Just Pretend-four

*gif created by me. feel free to use, simply give credit*

Parings: Noah Sebastian x Reader

Warnings/Tropes: language, angst, fluff, smut, star-crossed lovers, right person/wrong time, cheating, talks of mental abuse.

Summary: “I can wait for years, heaven knows I’m not getting over you.” A story about two star-crossed lovers, that always find their way back because their souls are entwined. The universe desperately attempts to bring them together, no matter what the cost.

Authors Note: 7k words in this one with so many easter eggs! Can you find them all?!

Collaborating With: @thescarlettvvitch(better give her all the love as well)

Tags: @thescarlettvvitch @ozwriterchick @waake-meee-up @notingridslurkaccount @niicoleleigh @sammyjoeee @xxrainstorm @dominuslunae @notmaddihealy @malice-ov-mercy @crimson-calligraphyx @iknownothingpeople @writethrough @thebadchic @blackveilomens Claudia on Tumblr @tobe-written @blacksoul-27 @loeytuan98

Malcolm's curses echoed throughout the open space of the venue as he tried to help Chase set up his drums.

"Dude, I'm telling you your doing it wrong!" Chase all but scolded.

"Then do it yourself, man!" Malcolm snapped while letting the symbol drop to the stage.

The loud sound made me jump as I was working on adjusting my microphone stand to my perfect height and with hands on my hips, I narrowed my eyes at the two of them.

"What the fuck is your problem?"

Chase ran a hand over his face with an apologetic sigh. "It's been a long night. The drive here was rough on my back so I got little sleep."

"And Trey's been smoking on the bus so my asthma's flaring up," Malcolm said while throwing his long hair up into a bun.

I frowned at my two best friends when the guilt weighed heavy on my shoulders. Yesterday was a long day with the zoo and then half a day of travel for us to get to our next city, most of us were feeling the exhaustion deep in our bones.

"I'm sorry. Let me talk with Trey about the smoking."

Malcolm was quick to assure me it was fine and almost not worth talking to him because we all knew that nothing would come of it.

Biting my lip, I checked the time on my phone to noticed that we had some time before soundcheck.

"Text me your coffee orders, yeah? I'll go grab us some because I think we're going to need it today."

Jumping off the stage, I threw on the hoodie I had tossed before I started setting up while Chase called behind me.

"Ask the Bad Omens guys if they want anything!"

I waved my hand in the air in a way of saying I was already planning on it and made my way to the backstage area of the venue where I knew Bad Omens and crew were hanging out in the green room. They already had their soundcheck earlier and were just hanging out before having to get ready for the show later tonight. Boisterous voices echoed down the long hallway as I stepped through the door with a small smile on my face.

Noah and Nick were leaning back in their chairs while they played a video game on the system and the small television they brought along with them.

I snuck up behind Noah and covered his eyes with my hands which caused him to call out in a shout.

"Oh, fuck you. No fair!" He averted his head below my hands just in time to see Nick beat him in the level of Mario Cart.

Giggles escaped me in a fit as Noah turned in his chair to glare at me while I highfived Nick.

"You cheated."

I shrugged. "I wasn't the one playing."

The corner of his lips turned up in a smile as he extended the controller towards me. "Want to play the loser?"

I tapped my chin while nodding towards Nick. "I'm pretty sure I'd play the winner."

Noah scoffed. "Only because you helped him win."

"My, my," I tsked my tongue while crossing my arms over my chest. "Are we a sore loser, Noah?"

"The fucking worst."

Folio said as he snatched the controller from Noah and started up a new game with Nick. Noah's eyes burned bright as he continued to smile up at me, memories of our day yesterday at the zoo replaying in my mind. How sweet he'd been with buying things for me and the nickname-fuck, it still gave me chills when I remembered how sweet it sounded coming from his lips.

"Well," I cleared my throat while shifting on my feet. "I don't know about you guys but Hollow Souls desperately needs caffeine. Malcolm and Chase are seconds away from clawing each other's throats out. I thought to come to ask if any of you guys wanted."

Most of them nodded, so I told them to text me the order as I turned on my heels to walk out but noticed Noah rise to his feet, tossing on a hoodie.

"What are you doing?" I asked with a raised brow.

"Did you really think I would let you go by yourself? That's four trays worth of coffee."

"Oh," I hesitated. "You don't have do to that, Noah. I'm sure I can manage."

He ignored me, simply pocketed his wallet and used a claw clip to hold his hair out of his face.

Shit, no man should look that good with a fucking claw clip.

Pushing those thoughts away, I let him lead me out of the room while following close behind. It was a nice afternoon in North Dakota so I planned on walking which Noah didn't seem to mind thankfully. At first, we said little, just letting the comfortable silence fall between us, and as a group of people walked passed me from the opposite direction, I had to walk closer to Noah. Our hands brushed against each other and the same shock that buzzed through me nearly attacked me as I reared my hand away from him apologizing.

"It's alright," Noah smiled, not giving anything away if he felt the spark too.

"So," I finally said after some more silence.

It was killing me. I needed to say something to get a conversation going so I could listen to his voice.

"So," he repeated while dragging out the 'O'.

"I want to say thank you again for yesterday. It's been a long time since I've had a fun day like that," I admitted with a sheepish smile.

Noah looked at me surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah. Lately I've been focusing so much on Hollow Souls and trying to elevate us to the next level that I haven't found time for myself to do things I love. Although, I love what I do."

"No, I get what you're saying. Some people think that just because we're always working on our career that we must not have a social life outside of it."

"Yes!" I smacked his chest with excitement. "You get it."

He chuckled as we turned the corner to the new block, the coffee shop slowly coming into view. As I read the very long text message of the coffee ordered, I was thankful that Noah came along.

"You know, we still have to watch our movie," Noah reminded me.

"Shit," I said realizing I forgot. "Yes, we do. We should have a movie night where we each choose a movie or something like that. I mean, we're going to be on the road with each other for a month might as well."

I smiled up at him with a bright smile on that Noah gave right back.

"Yeah, definitely. I think I'd have to choose The Scorpion King, I watched that movie so many times because of Godsmack being on the soundtrack."

I stopped dead in my tracks for a moment making Noah as well. "No fucking way. So did I!"

He gave me a teasing look. "Right, that's why you watched it over and over. Not because of The Rock."

My face scrunched up in disgust. "Fuck, no. I prefer my guys with long hair and covered in tattoos."

The air around us tilted on its axis as a red hue crept all over my face when I realized I described Noah as my perfect guy. Everything around us seemed to slow as the two of us stood staring at age other, his tongue pushing against his bottom lip, a low noise coming from the back of his throat.

"Uh, I think I see the coffee shop up ahead," I pointed behind him, drastically trying to get his fiery gaze off of me.

It rooted me in place making me incapable of thinking clearly or making the right choice.

Relcuctantly, Noah nodded slowly, and we began walking in stride with each other.

"So I noticed Trey wasn't anywhere to be found," he spoke slowly, almost trying to test the waters with this conversation.

"Yeah, he wasn't feeling well, so he's sleeping it off," I explained.

"Right," Noah snorted under his breath.

My eyes sliced over to him. "What's that supposed to mean, Noah?"

With a sigh, he stuffed his hands into the pocket of his hoodie. "I'm not trying to upset you. But you have to admit, he's been drunk every night."

"I know," I let out a long breath and kept my gaze straight ahead to the old couple in front of us.

Cleary they were holding hands and taking their time in their afternoon stroll together. The older man leaned over to give his wife a kiss on the cheek and I smiled warmly when he took off his tan coat to lay it over her shoulders. Even in her red three piece button up jacket and skirt, she must have been cold.

"Are you warmer now?" He asked her while perching his glasses higher on his nose.

She tucked a strand of her ice white hair behind her ears, her own red glasses resting on top of her head.

"Thank you, sweetheart. Are we almost at the coffee shop?"

"Yep," he patted the pocket of his jacket that was slung over her shoulders. "I brought your favorite book to read to you. We only have a little while until you're needed back to the center."

"Angel?"

Blinking rapidly, I looked up to Noah as my body blazed with heat because of my nickname.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?"

"You don't have to answer this but a lot of us are wondering why you're even with him. We all see how he treats you," he said.

I tried to find the anger that should have been festering with the bluntness of his question but it wasn't there.

Maybe because what he's saying is true.

"He wasn't always like this. When we first started Hollow Souls, Trey was vibrant and alive. The last few years have dulled his soul, along with the drinking. But I'm used to it, don't worry. I can handle myself."

"That's not what-."

"Can we drop it, please? With you, the last thing I want to do is talk about Trey," I snapped while coming to a stop in front of the door of the coffee shop.

The way I worded my sentence didn't go unnoticed by Noah whose lips twitched.

"Sure, angel. Come on, let's go inside."

His hand ghosted over the small of my back as he let me step inside of the busy coffee shop. The line had about 8 people in front of us so Noah and I fell in line behind the same older couple from outside.

"Noah, dear," the older lady smiled up at her husband. "I'm going to go grab a seat. Order me a tea?"

"Anything for you, Allie," he mused while leaving a tender kiss on her forehead.

I looked up towards Noah but nearly sucked in a breath when I realized how close we were. He may have towered over me in height but his lips were so close to my face, I could feel his warm breath fan across my own lips. They were plump and pink, almost begging to be kissed.

Ignoring how my heart race pick up and stomach flipped, I motioned towards the older couple in front of us. "Look, its you in sixty years. Same name and all."

Even with a fond smile on his face as he watched the older couple, Noah shivered.

"If I ever lose my hair, I might cry. This has been years worth of growth."

We shared a laugh and moved up in the line, Noah's eyes grazing over the large menu board.

"Have you ever tried a chai tea iced with oat milk?”

I scrunched my face up in disgust. "It doesn't sound appealing. I usually stick to the same drink."

Noah bumped his shoulder with mine. "Come on. It'll be good for you to try new things."

Don't fucking tempt me.

"I don't know," I hesitated.

I hated straying away from things that were so familiar to me.

"I think you’ll love it. Not too sweet, just right. It’s got everything you want. Would you trust me if I ordered it for you?” Noah's eyes practically begged as he pushed out this bottom lip playfully.

"Yes," I rushed out but quickly composed myself. "Sure, but I want whipped cream on top?"

"You can have whatever you want, angel," Noah promised.

We both stepped up to the counter and gave the young girl an apologetic smile as I pulled out on my phone.

"I am so sorry," I apologized. "But we have a pretty big order. We'll obviously pay extra since it's a busy time and don't mind waiting until it slows down if you want to make the order."

The young girl, Rey said her nametag, blinked slow as her eyes darted from Noah to me then back to Noah.

"Holy shit," she cursed while breaking out into a large grin. "You're Y/N! From Hollow Souls!"

My heart warmed at how ecstatic she was to meet me. Rey then gazed at Noah once again, with a less ecstatic expression but still star struck nonetheless.

"You're Noah Sebastian! I actually just started listening to Bad Omens because I saw you two were touring together. Enough, Enough Now is my favorite!"

Noah's face beamed with so much pride it was almost adorable.

"That means so much, thank you. Are you coming to the show tonight?" He asked.

Rey's shoulder fell. "No, I tried to buy tickets, but it sold out so fast!"

Noah and I shared a look before I rummaged through my bag looking for something I kept in here exactly for this reason. Ethan, our tour manager, always made sure we had extra tickets for something like this.

"How many do you need?" I pulled out a stack of five tickets.

"Oh, no!" Her eyes doubled. "You don't have to do that. Please don't think I'm not complaining to make you feel bad."

"Please," I assured her with a sincere smile while sliding all five tickets on the counter to her. "I'm about to order ten complicated drinks. It's the least I can do for holding everything up.

Rey eyed the tickets carefully, and Noah urged her with a slight nod.

"Let us get through this rush and we can start your drinks," she smiled while pocketing the tickets.

"Of course," I said then bagan rambling off our very large order.

Once we paid, thanks to Ethan's business card, Noah and I took our drinks that Rey made before the others over to a table in the far corner of the cafe, away from the gathering crowd. Since we would be here for a while, Noah and I decided to drink our coffee while sitting.

His long fingers drummed against the wood of the table, an unknown tune, as my knee bounced up and down with slight anxiety. Ever since tour started, I was never alone with Noah for longer than a few minutes, but now there was no one else around as a buffer if things became awkward.

Noah motioned towards my drink. "Try it."

I rolled my eyes at his eagerness before brining the warm drink to my lips, blowing away some of the heat first. He tracked every movement of my lips as the pursed out almost like I would kiss something.

Or someone.

"Alright, I have to admit; it is pretty good," I set the cup back on the table.

Noah's eyes burned with heat as he stared straight at my lips and suddenly feeling self conscious, I brought a hand to my face.

"What? Is there something on my face?"

"No, you're good, angel," his voice was deep, almost rough, as he finally tore his gaze away from my lips up to my eyes.

Just like every other time we stared at each other, it was full of so much tension but in the best fucking way possible. Behind the dark depths of his pupils, there was this magnetic pull that kept sucking me in no matter how hard I tried to grasp at whatever I could for support.

I cleared my throat to break the silence but Noah's phone buzzed on the table next to his coffee which broke the spell we were under.

"Fucking Keaton," Noah chuckled under his breath as he quickly typed something on his phone.

I nearly choked on my coffee, it burning all the way down my throat, and set the cup back on the table.

"Wait, Keaton? As in Keaton Pierce?"

"Yeah," Noah nodded with a bright smile. "He lost his copy of Super Smash Bro's and was wondering if he could borrow mine but little does he know, that was my copy he lost."

I huffed out a short breath. "Tell him I'm still waiting for the $100 he owes me."

His eyes brightened in surprise. "You know Keaton?"

"Yeah, one of Hollow Souls first tours was Warped Tour. We all got real close with everyone in Too Close To Touch but Keaton and I have this bond."

I was so engrossed in telling the story about how Keaton and I grew incredibly close the summer we were on Warped Tour together that I didn't notice Noah's jaw clench with jealousy until the last words fell from my lips.

"He's like a big brother I never had. He means so much to me," I smiled fondly.

"Keaton's one of my best friends," Noah divulged about how Bad Omens and Too Close To Touch also met on Warped Tour one year.

Running a hand through my long hair, I suddenly cursed myself for not bringing a hair tie, but kept my attention on Noah.

"I can't believe we have a mutual friend but yet never met before! I thought for sure Keaton would try to hook us up," I said.

"Yeah," Noah's voice trailed off as he was deep in thought, not realizng that as he brought his coffee to his lips, some of it spilled onto his sweater.

With a curse, he rose to his feet and pulled it off which in turned caused his shirt to lift as well, showcasing off more tattoos that it shocked me to see he had. The band of his briefs poked through the top of his jeans and with the sharp curve of his v-line, I was practically drooling at the sight of him. Which he quickly noticed because he threw me a smirk as he sat back in his chair.

"You're staring, angel."

"N-no. I was just-." I stammered like a schoolgirl that just got caught staring at her attractive older teacher.

Well, you kind of did.

"I was just surprised to see more tattoos. I though only your arms and neck were covered," I explained while messing with the cardboard sleeve on my cup.

"I've got tattoo's everywhere except my back and parts of my thighs but I plan on covering those spots soon," Noah informed. "Since we're on the topic of tattoos, how many do you have?"

"Oh, shit. I've lost count over the years. I've got them scattered all over and sometimes forget that they're there."

"You know," he leaned back in his chair with a cheeky smile, long legs extended towards me as his foot grazed lightly over my calf. "I'm pretty good at hide and seek. I bet I can find them if you'd let me."

My cheeks blazed with immediate arousal with his sly words and I had to squeeze my thighs together underneath the table, hoping Noah couldn't tell how turned on I suddenly became with this conversation. But two could play at that game. If he could make me flustered, so could I.

"Maybe I'll take you up on that offer someday," I winked while taking another drink of my now cold coffee.

Shit, how long have we been sitting here?

I dared a quick glance over to Rey behind the counter and noticed they were working fast to get all ten of our drinks ready.

The sound of metal scrapping against ground brought my attention back to Noah and realized he had pulled his chair closer to me, something dark filling his eyes. Our hands were on the table, so close they were almost touching, as his fingers began drumming on the wood once again; almost to keep them busy.

"By the way, I don't know if I told you how much I liked you wearing my shirt."

I gulped as my eyes darted from his down to his lips. "Uh, yeah. You-you said that."

He hummed. "I've seen people wear our merch but none of them quite pulled it off the way you did yesterday.

I licked my lips, breathless. "Many people wear your merch, Noah."

"No, angel. It's not the same," his fingers grazed over my knuckles. "It hit you in all the perfect places. It's like you were made to wear it."

Every inch of my body buzzed with arousal and heat with how foreward Noah was being. He was staring so intently at me as if he wanted to sink his teeth into the crook of my neck to drink me in. His nostrils flared slightly.

"You smell good."

I gulped. "Dylan Purple by Versace."

Noah leaned back slightly so I could see all of his face. "I'll have to pick you up a bottle the next time I stop at Sephora."

Holy Hera. What was this effect he had on me? He didn't touch me with his lips but I begged to taste them. Did he wear chapstick? Was it flavored? Would I be able to taste his coffee?

Get ahold of yourself! You're dating Trey.

Clearing my throat, I sat farther back in my chair to create some space between us but that's when I noticed something just underneath Noah's left eye and my fingers raised slowly.

"Do I have oat milk on my face?" he went to wipe a hand over his mouth.

I huffed out a laugh. "No, it's an eyelash. Can I?"

When he looked at my hand, Noah nodded and I gently brushed away the eyelash, it sticking to my finger.

"Make a wish," I said.

"Don't tell me you believe in that?" Noah replied.

"It's tradition, you have to do it."

He shook his head. "I don't believe that. In this scenario, there's only one thing can ruin my wish, but I don’t think I’m gonna let it happen."

I pouted whiel holding my finger up to his lips. "Please? For me?"

Noah slowly licked his lips before he grasped my wrist to hold my hand steady as he made the whole show of closing his eyes and blowing away the eyelash.

"Happy?" He smirked while keeping his grip on my wrist.

"Yea," I squeeked out.

Once again, we were stuck in that trance where everyone else around us faded away into the abyss and the only ones that mattered were the two of us.

"ORDER FOR Y/N!"

Jumping away from Noah, I practically scrambled out of my chair to grab the many trays of coffee.

Fuck! Get it together! He's just some guy flirting with you to pass the time. Stop acting like he'll fall over the edge for you.

The walk back to the venue was quiet and quick thankfully because my mind was running wild with everything that happened back at the cafe. Simply that's all it was; Noah passing the time with jokes. He didn't mean everything he said. And neither did I.

Right.

Ignoring the voice in my brain, I held up the trays to the group of people that sat huddled together on the couch in the green room.

"Fuck, did you two get lost or some shit?" Matt chuckled while taking his coffee from Noah.

"Sorry," I apologized with a grimace. "We went during the rush and told them to take their time making the coffee."

I handed Ethan his tea. "By the way, I handed out the spare tickets to the barista because of the large order. Also, don't come for me for the bill. I've seen the projected sales for this tour and know that you're doing fine."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Y/N. By the way, your boyfriend is looking for you."

Shit.

"I'll go find him in a minute," I said while passing out the rest of the coffee's to everyone.

"I'm right here."

Spinning on my heels, I stared blankly at Trey as a cigarette hung from his lips. His jaw was clenched tight with rage as he took in the scene in front of him; Noah and I holding trays of coffee from the coffee shop. It wasn't hard, even for him, to put the two together.

"How come every time I find you, you're with him?" He pointed towards Noah with his lighter.

"Trey, I'm not doing this with you right now," I said while walking over to the trash can, throwing out the garbage.

"Great, then lets go back to the bus and we can talk about it there." Trey went to reach for my hand but I snatched it away.

"NO!" My voice was louder than it needed to be but I didn't care; I was angry.

Yesterday and this afternoon with Noah were some of the best moments I've had in so long. I couldn't remember the last time I'd openly flirted with someone and enjoyed it. Noah made me feel so good about myself and I refused to let Trey ruin that; again.

"Just because you're my boyfriend Trey, that doesn't give you the right to tell me what to do or who to hang out with. Noah and I were picking up coffee for everyone, that's all."

"Oh yeah," Trey raised a brow. "Where's my coffee?"

"We figured you'd want a vodka instead," Noah said as he came to stand behind me, almost to show his support of me standing up to Trey.

He scoffed while looking towards Noah. "Did you forget the talk we had the other night, kid?"

Talk? What talk?

"You're older than him by two years, Trey. Calm the fuck down," Chase spat.

"Fuck off!" Trey snapped. "You guys are supposed to be on my side with this bullshit."

Malcolm spoke next. "With Y/N, we're sticking with her no matter what."

Trey's hateful eyes took in the sight of me one more time, eyes grazing over the exposed tattoos on my leg. "Cover that shit before the show."

It was as if he took all the negative energy out of the room with him as soon as he left, even some of the high I was feeling from my afternoon with Noah.

Noah noticed my hands shaking and went to reach for them but I stuffed them deep into my hoodie. "I'm going to get some air."

The air I needed ended up being me standing in the bathroom of my bus screaming so loud my lungs burned. I let out every harsh, negative, word that Trey dug into my brain. It was a never-ending cycle with him and I was angry at myself for allowing it to continue. My position in the band wasn't worth all the mental abuse. So why did I continue to stay?

Just get through this tour and then you can figure out your options.

The back halls of the venue were quiet, and I wondered where everyone had gone. Hollow Souls soundcheck was minutes away but I couldn't find Malcolm or Chase anywhere.

I opened the door to the green room but came to a halt at the scene in front of me; my heart pounded wildly in my chest and my breathing became erratic, uneven, as Noah turned around, almost dropping his phone. He was shirtless, only wearing a pair of grey sweats and his shoes, and as much as I tried, I couldn't keep my eyes off of his chest and stomach.

But then realizing what he was doing when I walked in made me lean against the doorframe with a wicked smile.

"Who were you going to send those selfies too?" I questioned.

The sides of Noah's ears burned with embarrassment but he kept his cool. "I have no idea what you're talking about, angel."

Ignoring the way my pussy clenched at the nickname, I pushed myself off of the doorframe to walk into the room.

"Right. Well, whoever gets those pictures is one lucky lady," I said, hiding the jealousy in my voice.

"She could be," Noah responded without a hitch of hesitation.

There it was again. That magnetic pull that seemed to only be around when Noah and I were together. It was unknown and scared the absolute shit out of me.

"Uh," I stammered trying to find my words. "Have you seen the guys anywhere? We need to start soundcheck."

He gave me a confused look. "They're on the stage waiting for you. I figured you would have checked there first."

Oh, right? That would have made more sense than coming to the greenroom first.

I bit my lip. "Yeah, should have figured. Well, see you around."

What the fuck? Why did that sound so awkward?

Not wanting to look even more like a fool, I scurried out of the room and towards the stage where in fact; the guys were waiting for me. I frowned at their impatient scowls and Chase went to throw a stick at me but I quickly ducked to avoid it.

"You realize how late you are, right? Doors open in an hour, Y/N!"

"I'm sorry!" I raised my hands. "I got caught up."

Trey, who surprised the fuck out of me for being here, narrowed his eyes at me. "Let's just get this over with."

As we went on with soundcheck, I noticed Bad Omens merch table was being set up with Noah and Jolly helping. When I sang my parts of the song, I could feel a sense of confidence fill me which strengthened my voice. I could hit notes I couldn't before and found myself not loosing breath as I held a note longer than I normally would.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Noah stop what he was doing to watch with almost a proud smile on his face. Much to my dismay, he was wearing a shirt again, but still wore the grey sweats and I did my best not to let my gaze wander past his waistline.

Trey is right next to you, ya know?

Yet again ignoring the voice in my mind, I turned to Chase with a slight grimace. "Does Malcolm's bass sound off or is it just me?"

Malcolm strung a few strings, which in fact, were out of tune.

"Shit, give me a few minutes and we can run One Night again," Malcolm sighed.

"No worries," I said while pulling out my phone from my back pocket when I felt it buzz. "I'm going to-."

Holy Hera. Hades. Hekate, whichever of the Gods above would listen.

My pupils dilated as I took in the sight of the two new pictures on my phone from an unknown number, barley even registering the next texts that came in.

Yeah, I'd say she's pretty lucky. Enjoy angel. You sound beautiful.

Oh, I think you should wear something a bit more reveling than you usually do, in the most respectful way possible. Give everyone a killer show tonight. Come alive out there.

The words, as sweet as they were, were nothing compared to the pictures of Noah on my phone; the selfies he took earlier. I licked my dry lips and felt a coolness drip between my legs as I clenched them together. Daring a glance over to Noah, I saw him watching me with a stoic smirk on his face as a way of saying check mate.

What a cheeky bastard.

As soon as soundcheck was over, I rushed back over to the bus and riffled through my suitcases, disorganizing the way I had everything packed so I could find what I was looking for. It might not have been too revealing but compared to what I usually wore, this would definitely make some heads turn. Once I was showered, I did my makeup darker than normal and let my hair fall against my back in waves. I slipped into the short leather dress that stopped about mid thigh, the thin straps fitting just right. Even with my knee high leather boots, you could still see the tattoo on my leg.

Looking in the mirror, I couldn't stop the smile that broke out on my face. I haven't felt this good about the way I looked in so long; it made my heart soar with pride.

Checking my phone, I cursed when I realized Bad Omens set was already half way finished and knowing I still had to eat something quick before heading on stage; I made a beeline back into the venue towards the green room. Malcolm and Chase were already there stuffing their faces with whatever food they could find and when they saw me, their jaws dropped.

"Is it too much?" I asked while pulling at the back of the dress. "I just thought-."

"Don't." Chase pointed a finger at me. "You look really good, Y/N. Don't let those thoughts get inside your head, alright?"

Malcolm agreed but kept his eyes a little too long on certain parts of me so I had to smack him in the arm to get his attention.

"Shit, did you say something?"

"My eyes are up here," I pointed to them to make a show of it.

Once we all finished a quick meal, Trey of course nowhere to be found, I sent him a quick text to let him know we would go on soon and to finish whatever he was doing. I probably should have worried about where he disappears too but lately, his whereabouts or the activities he finds himself in didn't matter to me.

Chase and Malcolm ended up leaving the room to go do their own pre-show rituals which left me alone with the camera app open on my phone, really contemplating the hell out of this. It could go one of two ways; he could enjoy it and make whatever this thing between us more intense or he could ignore it completely, not giving a shit.

"Fuck it," I stood with a start and walked over to the mirror.

The same mirror Noah took his selfies in front of.

Trying to find the best angle with the lighting, I snapped a few different pictures and scrolled through to find the best one. Clicking on Noah's contact, that I now saved from earlier, I attached the best picture and typed out a quick message to go with it.

I feel so uncomfortable but I hope your ass is happy.

I let out a quick scream as I hit send, the fear almost making me back out. Bad Omens were still playing, I could hear Noah's screams echo through the thick walls, so I knew it would be awhile till he saw the text. In the meantime, I busied myself with my pre-show ritual to center myself.

Deep breath in. Hold for six seconds. Long breath out.

Deep breath in. Hold for four seconds. Long breath out.

I did this a few times while shaking out the nerves from my hands then started rambling off a few of my lyrics to some of my songs to warm up my voice. By now almost thirty minutes had passed so I checked my phone to see if Noah responded.

Read at 8:34 pm.

So he read it almost as soon as I sent it but didn't respond?

I blinked back the tears while tossing my phone on the couch.

"You're a fucking idiot. What did you expect him to do? Heart it." I muttered under my breath.

"Talking to yourself, angel?"

Turning swiftly on my heels, I saw Noah leaning against the doorframe by his arm. The smile that crossed his lips was the kind that made every part of your body flutter in the best possible way.

"Hi," I said quietly.

"Hey yourself," his hair was falling into his face as he looked around the room, almost happy that we were the only two here.

"How was your set?" I asked while wiping my sweaty hands on the back of my dress.

God, how did one man make me so nervous?

Slowly, almost stalking towards his prey, Noah walked into the room and shut the door behind him. He said nothing, only reached the space to me in three long strides and raised a finger to my shoulder, brushing away the hair that fell across it. Our hips were barley touching but I could still feel the buckle of his belt press against the heat of my core and my bottom lip caught between my teeth to keep the moan that danced on my tongue from slipping out. His long fingers grazed over the bare skin across my collar bone over the pulse point on my throat, letting it linger there, as he leaned into the crook of my neck so he could whisper huskily into my ear.

“I know this is forward, and please forgive me for being bold. But you look sexy as fuck right now.”

A soft moan fell from my lips but I quickly recovered as Noah pulled away so he could look down at me through his long lashes.

Fuck, even his lashes were gorgeous. Every aspect of this man was perfect beyong words.

The confidence I felt from earlier was still surging through me so I wrapped the wooden rosary that hung from Noah's neck around my fingers and gave him a seductive smirk.

"You're pushing the limits, Noah," I teased.

"Oh, am I?"

Slowly, he leaned down towards my lips and I rose on the tips of my toes to reach him because even in my platform boots, Noah still towered over me. We were so close now I could just feel the warmth from his lips on mine before Chase's voice broke through the trance that encased around us.

"Y/N! Where are you! We're about to go on."

"Shit," I cursed while pushing Noah away. "Fuck, I have to go,"

He stepped to the side so I could walk past him but gently grabbed my wrist to stop me. "But seriously, you look beautiful, angel."

I was so worked up that I could have combusted with the nickname alone. Feeling his warm body heat behind me as we walked out of the greenroom and towards the back area of the stage where the rest of my band was waiting.

Including Trey.

Shit.

NOAH

I watched with fury behind my eyes as Trey dragged Y/N over towards the merch area, away from prying eyes and ears. Jolly came up to me with furrowed brows.

"Where the hell did you run off too after we got offstage?"

I locked my gaze onto Y/N's back as she fought with Trey. I wanted to step in to save her but knew that if I tried, it would make things worse. Plus, Y/N could hold her own against him, I've seen it.

"I was with Y/N," I sighed while giving my full attention to Jolly. "I wanted to wish her luck, that's all."

Jolly snorted, not buying my lie for a second. "Right. This is the only thing I'm going to say on the whole subject; Be careful, man. None of us want to see you get hurt especially after."

"Don't," I warned with ice in my voice. "I don't want to hear her name."

"Alright," he squeezed my shoulder. "Just be careful."

I quickly tied my hair back, so it was out of my face. "I don't like the way he treats her, Jolly. If he does that in front of us, what the hell does he do when no one's watching?"

Before Jolly could answer, our merch guy Steven came up to us with a deep frown.

"That guy is such a fucking prick," he seethed. "You guys should have heard the things he said to Y/N."

I nearly pushed past them to go find her but it was Nick now that held a hand to my chest to stop me.

"What did he say?" He asked Steven.

Rage was festering deep in the bowels of my stomach and I knew that if I didn't find an outlet for it soon, I would blow. So instead, I paced in a line backstage, burning a hole into the ground at my feet.

"I could only hear parts but from what I heard, I don't know how she's going to come back from it. It was nasty, Noah. She went up to Veronica their merch girl for something to cover up with but when they had nothing, I let her borrow my sweater."

"What?" I asked, now defeated.

She covered herself up?

Steve sighed. "I never wanted to jump over a table so damn fast to hit a guy. It killed me to see how broken she looked when he left her."

“Noah, you’re going to burn a hole in the floor with your pacing,” Folio's soft voice broke through my rage fulled haze.

"Can you blame me?!" I snapped while throwing a hand towards the stage where Hollow Souls set was about to start. "This asshole keeps getting away with treating her like shit!"

"I don't understand why you care so much? It's not like she's your girlfriend."

My head snapped up to one of our guitar techs, appalled that he had the balls to speak up about a situation he had no clue about.

Sounds familiar.

"Excuse me?" My pupils dilated with anger as I tilted my head towards the tech.

Nick felt the sudden shift in tension so he wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "Let's get some air, alright?"

The sounds of Y/N's broken voice played through the venue before being drowned out by Trey's guitar and screams as Nick lead me out the back door.

#noah sebastian #noah sebastian and reader #noah sebastian x reader #noah sebastian reader insert #noah sebastian smut #enemies to lovers #right person wrong time #starcrossed lovers

[matbarzyy]

4 times you made Mat’s apartment feel like home and 1 time you didn’t

A/N: This is my first ever attempt at a 4+1, I figured it’d be fun to try. This is angst so that I don’t always post fluff/smut, I like to mix it up lol. It was supposed to be a relatively short one and I somehow ended up at 5k so enjoy I guess.

Word count: 5210

Warnings: Heartbreak I guess

.

1.

One month.

It was the longest you had gone without seeing Mat since you had moved in together. You were both buzzing for him to come back so you could be sharing the same space again, you could never get enough of each other.

“Hello beautiful,” Mat’s grin was the biggest you had ever seen on his face, it was the kind of smile he could never fight off even if he wanted to.

“Hi handsome,” You returned the greeting with the words you used every time he called you. It started off as a joke but quickly became a habit that made both of your hearts flutter.

Mat didn’t hesitate to step forward and engulf you in a tight hug, his bags forgotten by the door.

“I missed you,” He breathed out, squeezing you against him and bathing in the feeling of holding you again. You smelled like home. It was everything he had been dreaming of alone in his bed, your warmth, the way you fit perfectly against his body.

“You’re never going anywhere without me again,” You mumbled against his chest, knowing you wouldn’t be pulling away for another minute or two at least.

You said it every time, you hated being away from him, but after you settled down together for a few days you went back to your usual mood. Mat needed to move, he loved hockey and visiting his family or travelling for games. You loved coming with him for those things, but sometimes he had to go alone and you were both okay with it.

Things never changed. You loved each other more than words could describe, some time apart would never break that. Every time Mat came home he still felt the exact same way about you, and you felt the exact same way about him. It was comfortable and safe to be together, you made each other happy.

“Do you mind if I go shower quickly? And then we can get cuddled up in bed?” Mat kissed the top of your head, rubbing your back gently as he pulled back to look at you.

“Can I come in the shower with you?” Your arms remained around his torso, refusing to let him go, and a soft smile grew on his face.

“Of course baby,”

There was nothing sexual about it, although you could never lie about what seeing Mat naked did to you. It was intimate and comforting, something you desperately needed after missing out on hugs and kisses for so long.

“You have no ideas how many times I dreamed of this with you,” Mat guided you under the stream of water so that you could rinse off the soap he had been rubbing over your body.

Steam was building up in the room, making the mirror foggy and warming up the air. You liked it that way, it meant less fighting between you and Mat to be under the hot water.

“It’s been the same here for me,” You kissed his jaw and guided him to turn around so that you could rub his back. “I think about you constantly,”

“You wanna go on a date tomorrow night?” He spoke softly as the tension fell from his muscles. You were magic.

“Of course,” You kissed his shoulder blade. “We always go on a date the day after you get back,”

“I know,” He hummed, turning back to face you. “I always look forward to it, it makes things feel normal again,”

“Mat?” You whispered because of how close he suddenly was, his hands at your waist and his forehead resting against yours.

“Mmh?”

“I love you so much it still overwhelms me every time I see you.” You told him without shying away. Mat was your safety, the person you confided everything in, and you opened your heart to him without hesitation.

His lips found yours without a reply, but the way he kissed you told you enough. You wrapped your arms around his neck to get closer and felt his own tighten around your body, pulling you in until the rest of the world disappeared. Mat murmured something against your lips when he gently pushed your back against the wall, but his lips were still so close to yours that you couldn’t decipher the words.

What he said didn’t really matter, Mat was home.

2.

“It’d be cute if we had a puppy,” Mat finished folding your favorite blanket on the couch to tidy the living room. It was all he had found to keep himself busy, but since the place was already clean there wasn’t much for him to do.

“Mmh, yeah, maybe,” You smiled at him as you looked up from your laptop, barely hearing his words but replying anyway because you didn’t want to ignore him.

You still had a lot of work to do but Mat was being the most distracting person ever. He thought it was fair, it was his first weekend home in a long time and he hadn’t spent time with you apart from sleeping in at least three weeks, if not a month. He had then spent two days away and just got back. He knew it wasn’t like he left for a roadie or some other long trip, but he had still expected you’d catch up on quality time together.

“What kind of dog would you want?” He interrupted your focus once more, hoping it would start an actual conversation that would stop him from being so bored. He knew there were other things for him to do, but nothing he wanted to do without you.

“I don’t know Mat,” You half sighed, frowning as you struggled to put the end of your sentence together.

“I think a golden retriever would be cute,”

“I’m still working, you mind giving me just another hour of quiet?” You eventually tore your eyes from the screen to give him your full attention. It was what he wanted, but not exactly like this.

“Yeah sure,” Mat tried not to take it to heart, you didn’t sound snappy, but he still felt like you didn’t want him around.

He missed you and everything you used to do together, he couldn’t help being needy, and your rejection, although justified, hurt him.

You bit your lip as you got through the last of your emails, doing everything you had to get done by the end of the night while Mat stayed in your shared bedroom on his own. You almost called him over to tell him he could watch something with you while you worked, but it would be too distracting for you and you didn’t know if he was mad at you.

“Hey champ,” You quietly opened the door to the bedroom, tiptoeing to your side of the bed because it was the closest. “Can I join?” You knew he’d be watching hockey for a while still, and while you weren’t particularly in the mood to focus on a game you just wanted to be with him.

“Course,” He glanced at you but focused back on the screen quickly. He was clearly in work mode too, watching players carefully to see what he could pick up from them to up his game.

You hesitated for a second, wondering if you were bothering him, but you climbed into the bed anyway. Mat opened an arm wordlessly, inviting you to cuddle, and you didn’t need more to come rest against his side. Your eyes fell shut faster than you thought they would, you were too tired to focus on the game and the warmth of Mat’s body was all you needed to start feeling sleepy.

His body slid down with yours, putting you both under the covers while you blinked your eyes open. You didn’t realise it had been that long, and you stirred a little as you tried to look at him.

“What…”

“Shh,” He kissed your forehead, pulling away to grab the remote and turn the TV off. “Go to sleep,” He didn’t let you move much, wanting to keep you in the position you were about to fall asleep into.

“You were watching the game,” You mumbled, not complaining that you had to keep your head on his chest. It was warm and comfortable, you liked feeling his heartbeat under your palm where you rested your head.

“I don’t care about the game, just wanna cuddle you,” He usually watched players carefully, but he had only put this one on to wait for you. There was nothing he wanted more than to be in bed with you, every problem of the day long forgotten as you held onto each other.

Right there, watching you fall asleep on his chest, Mat felt at home.

3.

“What are you all dressed up for?” You looked up from your work to see Mat just finishing to button his shirt.

“I just got back, it’s date night,” His heart deflated when he realised you had forgotten, but he felt a little bit better when you closed your laptop without hesitation.

“Shit, I’m sorry. What time do we need to be there?” You glanced at your watch and bit your lip nervously.

“In half an hour, it’s fifteen minutes away,” He had picked a restaurant you mentioned wanting to try, but now that he thought about it he figured he should have made reservations somewhere he was curious about.

“I’ll hurry, we might be five minutes late?” You hoped he wouldn’t be too mad at you.

Somehow, you would have preferred a little bit of anger you could talk out than the disinterested shrug he gave you as he replied.

“Sure, it’s whatever,”

You were still thankful he never, ever raised his voice. You couldn’t take that, he had known from the start that it would only make things worse. You had enough bad experiences with men yelling in your life and you didn’t want to have to deal with more, so he had promised to always talk things out with you. He promised that no matter the temper he sometimes had on the ice, that would never be him off it.

It was part of the reason you trusted him so much. He was a wall of muscles compared to you, but you were never scared of him because he had always acted as soft as a golden retriever puppy around you.

Mat busied himself on his phone while you rushed to put on a nice blouse with trousers you recently bought. You tied the look with a pair of heels and put on a little bit of makeup before grabbing your purse and phone to meet him at the door.

“Okay I’m ready,” You followed him quickly, heading to his car while you ran your hand through your hair in hope of making it look alright.

“You’ve been working insane hours lately,”

“So have you,” You didn’t want to be mean, but Mat was always training. Working overtime wasn’t that common for you, once you were out of the office you were the most normal person, whereas Mat’s job followed him everywhere and was much harder to plan around.

“I guess yeah,” He nodded, eyes focused on the road.

Things were different lately. You were distant, barely doing anything with him, and he knew part of it was his fault too. It was one of those hard times when everything felt out of place, but they had never lasted so long in your relationship before.

“The position for general manager is open, I’m really hoping I have a shot at it,” You explained to hopefully settle the mood in the car. There was a reason you were pushing yourself until late at night, and Mat felt bad for reacting that way.

“Oh wow, shit that’s good,” He cleared his throat. “Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“You were busy,” You shrugged it off, trying not to make him feel like it was another dig at him.

“It doesn’t mean I don’t care,” His palm faced up when he rested his hand on his knee, hoping you’d take it.

“I know,” You placed your hand in his and squeezed reassuringly.

Dinner was still a little uncomfortable, but it wasn’t as bad as the moment you spent in the car.

It was hard to place why, but the conversation felt forced. You had never found it so hard to talk to Mathew before, things had always flowed between you, but for the past few months you had grown on your own sides without sharing as much as you used to. The hockey season was just starting and you were following it, but you didn’t know as much as you should about what was going on with the team.

Mat told you about the guys and you struggled to catch up, not knowing much of what had been going on with any of his friends lately. You used to be tight with his team, they were like family, but you couldn’t even remember the last time you had even seen Tito.

Things were different, somehow, you had drifted apart and you were both clinging to something that would bring you back together. The drive back from the restaurant was quiet, music from the radio filling the gap that neither of you could acknowledge out loud.

You didn’t know where you fit in the bed that night, holding your pillow rather than Mat because he was taking too long in the shower. He never did that before, on any other date night you would immediately go to bed together, cuddling or more. Mat rarely took more showers than he needed unless he had something heavy on his mind, and he certainly never took that long in them.

You were half asleep when Mat slid into the bed behind you, burning hot from the water as he wrapped himself around your body to spoon you. You naturally relaxed against him, the tension you didn’t realise you were holding in your shoulders disappearing when he left a kiss on the back of your head.

“You know I love you, yeah?” Mat snuggled closer and made sure you were both comfortable under the covers.

“I love you too, so much,” You grasped his hand in yours, bringing it up to your lips to kiss his knuckles.

As silence filled the room your hearts still beat together, soft thumps lulling you into a peaceful sleep. There were things to talk about, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed. Mat knew that no matter what, you’d forever be his home.

4.

“It’s just a week,” Mat told you as he put his bags by the door, Tito was already on his way to pick him up, it was only a matter of minutes now.

“Yeah,” You tried to smile weakly, but he didn’t make the same effort.

“Can we talk about whatever the hell is going on with us?” He forced himself to bring it up now. He didn’t want to come back and pretend everything was fine when it wasn’t, some issues needed to be addressed before he left.

He knew that when he came back you’d both fall back into each other, blaming this week of distance for everything that was wrong, but there was more to it.

“I feel like we’re falling apart, Mat,” You voiced the fears that had been in your mind for weeks. “I just… I don’t know. I should be excited you’re going to play, or sad you won’t be home, but things have been so empty lately,”

“It feels like it won’t even change anything,” He nodded, glancing down at his feet. You were both weirdly calm about starting this conversation, days of apathy towards each other leading you to feeling numb.

“But that used to be a good thing, it didn’t matter that you were home or away, we were always fine when we talked,” You didn’t understand how or when things shifted. Mat had always been your safety, your person. You could talk easily and feel close no matter how much time you spent apart, so how was it that you were never close even when he was home lately?

“We don’t talk though,” He pointed out, making you frown although you knew what he meant.

“We do,”

“You know it’s not the same,” He shook his head a little, biting his lip to bite back tears as he thought of a way to tell you what he needed without hurting you.

He couldn’t find one.

“But-“ You didn’t want to acknowledge how wrong things were. It was still okay, there were no big fights, things could all be fixed.

“Please don’t,” His voice was soft, apologetic for the words that were about to come out. “This isn’t working the way it used to,”

“It still works, I love you,” You couldn’t look away from his eyes, and Mat tried his best not to stare at the floor or somewhere else in the room. He could see the pieces of your heart falling apart one by one, and it was all his fault.

“I love you too, that will never change but… we can’t keep on going on like this,”

“Maty please,” Your voice cracked and your heart rate picked up from the panic that took over your body. His words had never scared you more than they did right this second.

“I’m sorry, you know I don’t want this anymore than you do,” His chest tightened, it killed him to see you like this. There was nothing he wanted more than to hug you, but it wouldn’t fix anything.

“Then don’t do it,” You couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down your cheeks, barely bothering to wipe them away.

“I’ll be gone for a week, and I think it might be good for us to get a break,” He tried to soften the blow as well as he could. “Maybe we can just think about this for a bit rather than try to talk or whatever, and we can… we can have a conversation when I get back,”

“So what? We’re just going to ignore each other for a week until you come home and tell me you want to break up with me?” You took a step back when he tried to reach for your hand. The look of hurt that finally became obvious on his face was nothing compared to how much of a mess you already were.

“I don’t want to break up with you,”

“It doesn’t sound like you’re very sure about that,” Your chest shook with a single sob, forcing you to bite down on the inside of your cheeks.

His silence told you everything you needed to know.

It was suffocating.

Your eyes searched his for a sign that he still wanted you, but they lacked the spark they used to have whenever he looked at you.

“I don’t want to fight with you,” He eventually spoke up, his voice soft, like he was afraid anything he said could break you.

“I don’t want that either,” You were too shocked to say anything, the weight of his silence still hanging in the air.

“So let’s talk when I get back, okay?” He concluded before you could process anything else, completely numb and frozen on the spot.

“Okay,” You vaguely felt his lips brush over your forehead, and a second later the front door was falling shut behind him.

.

Calling in sick to work was your only option.

You could barely drag yourself out of your bed, let alone take a shower, get dressed and head to the office.

You didn’t receive a single text from Mat, not even when his flight landed. He always told you he had arrived safely. Always. Checking your phone for what felt the millionth time since you woke up made you sigh. The screen was still blank apart from a couple of notifications from your friends trying to make sure you were okay.

You weren’t, but they knew that already. They’d understand if you took ages to reply, so you kept on ignoring them as you buried your face in Mat’s pillow and shed some more tears.

How could he do this? How could he leave for a whole week and never want to talk to you? You were struggling not to call him with every second that passed, it consumed every bit of energy in your body, so how was he having fun with his friends and playing games at his best while you couldn’t even bring yourself to eat?

The only answer that came to you was something you never thought you would ever consider.

Mat didn’t love you anymore.

.

He fidgeted with his phone on the way back from the airport, wondering if you remembered what time he was supposed to land. He hoped you did, because he still didn’t text you. He had gotten plenty of time to himself, too much of it even, and if it wasn’t for the team keeping him busy he would have never made it through so many days of not talking to you.

He had made up his mind. It was easy once he was out of the apartment, all he had to do was imagine himself coming home. The only thing he wanted when he pictured that was you, and it told him everything he needed to know. No matter what was wrong lately, there was a way to make it better. You were the love of his life and he’d never give up.

Now all he had to do was come back to you and fix it.

“I’m back,” He called out after closing the door behind himself, leaving his bags down and listening carefully to see if you were home. You were always there to greet him, surely you had to be there.

You came into view a second later, dressed in leggings and an old concert t-shirt that was so worn out the band logo on it was almost gone. Your hair was messily pulled back, but the thing that hurt Mat the most was the look on your face.

He had seen you in plenty of messy, lazy outfits, but you were still always smiling. This was different. The bags under your eyes told him you hadn’t been sleeping, and you were so pale he worried you’d pass out right there in front of him.

His heart almost stopped knowing he caused this. He was the reason for your pain, and he needed to fix it.

“Can I hug you?” Mat stepped forward hesitantly, but you moved back and shook your head, tears already brimming in your eyes.

“I love you so much Mathew,” You wrapped your arms around yourself, not knowing where to start but with the way you felt.

“Hey, don’t-” He felt himself crumble at your broken tone. How could he have done this to you? How could he have left you thinking he’d ever want to break up with you?

“No, stop,” You sniffled, trying your hardest not to break into sobs. You had prepared yourself to say this in your head, but you couldn’t realise how much harder it would be once you were facing him. “I just- I don’t get where you stopped loving me,”

“I didn’t,” He replied instantly, his eyes widening and his heart sinking in his chest.

“That’s not true,”

“Why are you saying that?”

“Because this week has been the worst week of my life,” You clenched your fist so tightly your nails dug into your palm. The pain was grounding, it was always better than acknowledging the ache in your chest. “And you just went about it like it was fine,”

“I just needed some time to think,” The guilt was so overwhelming he felt sick in his stomach. You had never doubted his feelings for you before, he was always good at reassuring you, but he had ruined years of trust before leaving.

“I don’t need time to know how much I love you,”

“Love isn’t all you need to keep a relationship going,”

“Well, it sure as hell can’t keep going when you don’t have at least that,” You bit your tongue as you hinted to where this conversation was going.

It was the only way to make it right. If Mathew didn’t love you anymore you had to let him go.

“You don’t want this anymore,” His shoulders dropped and he had to catch himself against the door, ready to collapse. Tears filled his eyes, blurring his vision.

“This is all I want. You’re all I want, but I can’t have that if you don’t want it as much as I do,”

“I don’t want to be without you,” He wiped his cheeks repeatedly, annoyed at the flood but unable to stop it. His voice trembled as he continued, short quick breaths making his chest shake. “I’m sorry I left like this, but we can work on this- I- I just got home… Just let me make this right,” He couldn’t bear the thought of being alone here, without you. You gave the place life, you gave him life. He had no home if he wasn’t with you, he couldn’t let you go like this.

“Mat… I’d go to the end of the world for you, I don’t even think you realise… I- it’s been so hard for me, I’ve had to keep up and deal with so much,” You couldn’t even begin to count the reasons you shouldn’t have gotten together in the first place, and Mat knew it too. There was a lot to sort out on both sides, but you had decided to ignore it all together to make it work no matter what.  “It was all worth it to be with you, and I’d do it a million times again, but I’m not strong enough to do this if you can’t love me the way I love you,”

“I do love you,” He needed to repeat it a million times again, but you wouldn’t listen. Mat lip trembled as he thought he couldn’t even hold you to make it better.

“Not in the same way,”

“Don’t do this please,” He begged, knowing where he messed up but refusing to let it happen so easily. “How- how can you think I don’t love you?” He choked on his words. “After everything, I- I just-”

“You said it yourself, this isn’t working the way it used to,” The way you reused his words made him feel like you were stabbing him straight in the heart. This was all his fault, so why was there nothing he could say to make you believe he loved you?

“So we’re not even to try and talk about how we can fix it? I didn’t need to think about my feelings for you when I was away, I’ve always loved you, I love you, I-”

“There’s no way to fix this, look at us!” You interrupted and motioned between the two of you, the space that was there was unnatural. It was the first time he made it through the door and didn’t immediately cross the distance to hug you.

“I can’t lose you,”

“I’m sorry Mathew, I’ll… I’ll come get my stuff over the weekend,” You had already made plans to sleep somewhere else, but you didn’t have the heart to pack before he made it home.

“No,” He stayed in front of the door, shaking his head vehemently and clenching his jaw while you took a step closer to the exit. “You can’t do that!” His voice boomed through the apartment. You shrunk on yourself before he even realised what he had done. “Baby no,” His eyes widened in panic. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to raise my voice, I’m sorry,” He repeated, watching the tears flood your cheeks.

He left without reassuring you he still loved you, he let you think he wanted to break up with you, and just as he tried to fix it, he managed to break the most important promise he ever made to you.

“Let me go,” You sniffled, waiting for him to move.

Mat could do nothing but step aside.

+1.

Empty.

It was a fitting word for both the apartment and Mat.

He should have been happy to be home, but this place wasn’t it. He thought it would be for some time, but nowhere would ever feel like home unless you were there.

Dealing with you leaving had turned him into a wreck, so for some time Tito told him he should come live with him. It helped a little, he wasn’t as lonely and it stopped him from getting in his head.

He knew he’d have to come back eventually, Tito had his own life and Mat couldn’t constantly be in the middle of it.

Everything he was normally happy to find was missing. The plant on his coffee table was dead from the lack of water, and he thought it was a pretty good representation of how things were going for him lately.

He didn’t get to come home to you, he didn’t get a hug, he didn’t feel his heart flutter at the softness of your voice when you said you missed him, he didn’t feel your warmth or take in the sweet scent of your perfume.

Dropping his bags in the bedroom was torture.

The closet was open, showing off the empty half he couldn’t bring himself to start using. He remembered how he used to joke about being annoyed his shirts always ended up in your pile because you wore them so much.

The apartment was dead silent, it left plenty of room for Mat’s thoughts to take over his mind.

He missed you like hell. Every time he thought he was over it he turned around and got reminded of you by the smallest thing. Finding a hair tie under his bed felt like a slap in the face, a painful reminder of what used to be. Mat knew it probably ended up there after he took it out of your hair one night because he liked running his fingers through it as you both fell asleep, and his thoughts then moved on to the bed itself.

He could barely look at it, let alone sleep in it. The bedsheets no longer smelled like you although he still used the fabric softener you liked, your pillow remained untouched now that he was done crying into it, and Mat had to clench his jaw to keep tears at bay as he moved to the living room.

The soft red blanket you had bought to bring colour to the place was still on the couch. He slept with it when you left, and his pillow was still resting against the armrest. He almost considered moving for a moment, there were plenty of places to live in New York, he didn’t need to keep this apartment if he couldn’t even deal with standing in the bedroom anymore.

He knew it might help, but it wouldn’t fix anything. He’d have less reminders but just as many thoughts.

He’d never find a home without you.

.

I’m not 100% happy with how this one turned out but I don’t have a lot more energy to give it so I’m posting it anyway. Hope it was still okay to read for you guys, comments and feedback are always much appreciated.

Please reblog!

#mat barzal #writing #fluff #angst #mathew barzal fic #mathew barzal imagine #mathew barzal fluff #mathew barzal angst #mat barzal fluff #mat barzal angst #nhl imagine #nhl fic #isles13 #islanders

[redrobin-detective]

Crawls out from the Pit

Alright so after about 2 and half weeks I have finished all 8 seasons, 80 episodes of Ben 10 Omniverse. I’m a little sad to be done but also glad to have my free time back (also if I have to hear that motherFUCKING opening theme again I will actually cry). So it was an experiencing one that was both super enjoyable but also infuriating. Let me break down my thoughts (with some spoilers) under the cut.

Things I liked

- From the very first episode I was, and still am just fascinated by the basic world set up. Ben Tennyson is known across the entire universe as a hero and wielder of the Omnitrix, everyone he meets knows who he is. Coming off series with locked down secret identities Ben’s status as a universal celebrity had both pros and cons and was simply fascinating to watch.

 - Aliens are common in his hometown of Bellwood and there’s a thriving populous under the city. Watching aliens and humans interact with awkward moments and periods of adjustment was damn interesting, great world building in there too.

- The Plumbers being intergalactic peace keepers of sorts (again with all the good and bad that come with essentially being space cops) and having a presence on earth and beyond. Ben’s status as being part of the organization but not a true member, one who really answers only to himself was intriguing.

- For all that I nitpick Ben and Rook’s relationship (stilllll not seeing shippers sorry) I loved Rook Blonko as a character, he was delightful. I also did like Ben and Rook’s relationship bc their individual prejudices and problems kept them from becoming actually close and reliant on one another and while it came close at times it never really resolved which I’m okay with.

- Love the time travel shit *chefs kiss* Professor Paradox my beloved. Also I would die for No Watch Ben. And why is Ben 23 so popular? He’s a lil bitch.

- Genuinely did love the cartoony artstyle, I was obsessed with how green Ben’s eyes were. My personal fanon is the Omnitrix has slowly made them green and glowy over the years. Also the flashbacks to 10-11 year old Ben, baby diagnosed. Such a cutie patootie. 

- Speaking of which, loved the frequent callbacks to the original series (my first and favorite). OV felt way more connected to that Ben that I first fell in love with than AF or UAF.

- Ben, when his character was executed right, was wonderful. A big hearted teen who has way too much power and responsibility just doing his best. He covers his fear of failure with jokes and a deceptively casual attitude. While he can be lazy and overconfident and doesn’t think things through, he is dedicated to what he does not for fame but to help people and his determination and adaptability always see him through. 

Things I Didn’t Like

- So when Ben was done right it was great but my biggest peeve was how they changed his personality, maturity, competency level episode by episode. Sometimes he was capable of complex negotiations, sometimes all he could do was complain and eat junk foods, sometimes he he could sheer climb walls, other times he was pathetically weak without his Omnitrix. Needless to say I was really irked by the dangerously immature & reckless, rude to the point of being mean, willfully idiotic moron version of Ben who didn’t care about anything.

- When I first started someone said the first half of OV was good and the rest was not. They were right, loved S1-4, 5-8 had good episodes but overall was either cringing or rolling my eyes. S5 in particular aggravated me with Ben being at his worst. I was pulling my hair out at Ben yelling about how ugly and monstrous the citizens of Anur Transyl were like Ben... you regularly turn into those aliens.... your whole deal is being able to see from other’s perspectives...

- Just, the lack of taking itself seriously or following through on some damn interesting storylines. Like Ben being put on trial for recreating the universe? And being found guilty not just of that but misusing the Omnitrix??? That’s good shit right there but they waved it all away with some trial by combat bullshit and well back to normal. I know its a cartoon but that episode infuriated me. 

- Gwen and Kevin... didn’t care for them much here. Their characters just felt flat and shoved in whenever it was convenient with no real meaningful interactions between the supposedly close trio. They really were thrown under the bus to make room for Rook and the whole Plumbers thing.

- Kai *long groan* Honestly any attempt to address Ben’s love life was so nightmarishly bad. Everyone who says that Ben is Aromatic is absolutely correct. Boy hardly showed any interest in dates and tried to get out of most of them and yet he was ‘destined’ to be with a girl who was shown only to care about his transformations and not him? And that he didn’t really respect back? Hell no.

- Most of the villains were kinda Meh. Maltruant was cool but underused, we hardly got ANYTHING interesting out of the series big bad Vilgax, Albedo was... still don’t know what to think of him. Malware was cool tho, the whole Feedback thing was painful.

So overall the good outweighs the bad but I liked it far more at the beginning than I did the end. I’ll rewatch some of my favorites but probably won’t do a full binge again. Still, I love the idea of this particular universe and really did enjoy most of my watch!

[hermit-pistol]

Guido Mista Fluff Alphabet:

Okay Mista fans, here’s your food. Only one more alphabet and this series will be one! Make sure to show love and read under the cut!

A ctivities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

Mista has a super adventurous personality and this also shows in the activities that you two take part in. He always likes to do things that others would usually think of as silly, like going to the zoo. But! He always finds a way to make it entertaining and unforgettable. (Who wants to hold the baby kangarooooo)

B eauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

He loves your laugh, and whenever he gets to hear it, it feels like the best reward for him. While he may have flirted with his fair share of girls in the past, looks aren't most important to him. In order to get you rolling around on the floor, he'll have to pull out the big guns, of course. Sometimes he'll tag team with Narancia to pull pranks just to get a rise out of you.

C omfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

Mista absolutely hates when you're sad because that also makes him feel sad. When he sees you sulking on the couch, he joins you, wrapping his large arms around you. He'll keep asking you why you're sad while sticking out his lower lip, (which was absolutely lethal for you). Soon after, you forgot why you were down in the dumps, which was Mista's main goal the whole time.

D reams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

He's a romantic, so he's always thinking about the future and what it will bring in regards to his love life. Within a few years of dating, he'll already want to move in and get a dog. Maybe two dogs, who knows. He sees marriage, children, grandchildren...all of it.

E qual - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

Mista can be pretty stubborn in certain situations. He will make the plans for dates and activities that the two of you can enjoy. He'll always ask you for your input, of course. Overall, the balance of power in the relationship is equal.

F ight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

Mista can be a little childish when disagreements are involved. There's a possibility that he'll use humor to get out of a sticky situation, but don't let him get away with this all the time. If he's in the wrong let him know, or else things can get blown out of proportion easily.

G ratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

Mista thanks you for the companionship and happiness that you've brought into his life. You are the longest relationship that he's had in quite some time given his current line of work, and he loves that you have the patience to stick around with him. Even though his stand keeps him company most of the time, he's glad to share time with another human.

H onesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

Mista is very honest with you. Whether it be where he's going on a mission (sometimes, Bruno yells at him for telling you this), or telling you about his past before joining the organization, he's very transparent with you. You appreciate this, and make sure that you do the same. Hardly any secrets are kept between you.

I nspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

Like R mentions 👀, you inspire him to keep himself clean. Of course, a normal person would want to keep up with appearances but Mista is a very special guy.... While he was cheerful before the relationship he's over the moon when he sees you and prioritizes your time together.

J ealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

Mista will be quiet, which is very uncharacteristic of him. His stand will always manifest and say whatever he’s thinking, probably along the lines of taunting and verbally harassing the person you’re talking to before they eventually grow frustrated and walk away. The Pistols would cheer, celebrating their victory.

K iss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

Mista's kisses are very eager and wanting. In addition, he doesn't care who's around and has absolutely no problem with kissing in public. Even if you blush and get embarrassed this only give him another reason to hold you tighter and go to town. Prepare yourself... 😳

L ove Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

Mista will literally confess to you on the street. The first time he tells you that he loves you is actually in casual conversation. You had to do a double take, and he merely shrugged in response. It would take some getting used to, but you were elated that he felt the same as you!

M arriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

He'll want to get married after his time in Passione is over, or at least has settled down to where he can live comfortably with you. The ceremony will be small, with only a few family members attending. Even if you haven't yet upgraded to a larger living space, he'll want to start a family right away. If you decide you're not ready you remind him that the Pistols are already his children.

N icknames - What do they call their s/o?

Every name invented is fair game. He loves using stupid niche names too that come up after a few months of dating. Examples include but are not limited to: "green bean", "lil mami", and "bicycle crusher" (the last refers to your thighs in a related incident).

O n Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

He tells the gang that he's crushing on someone all the time, so when he first reveals that he's in love they really don't believe him at first. Although he "always says that", it's the Pistols that escalate the situation even further. Whenever you're along with him they'll come out and start egging him on with kissy noises and the like. He'll turn as red as a tomato when you grant him his wish.

P DA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

Mista LOVES to show you off in public, and he loves watching the reactions of the passerby as he has an arm slung around your waist traveling dangerously close to your butt. It drives him nuts that out of all of the guys in Italy you chose him, and now that you two are a couple he wants to show the world.

Q uirk - Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

While many other guys may hate the concept of hugging, Mista loves it wholeheartedly. Whenever you're having a bad day, a good day, or are just walking around he won't hesitate to wrap his arms around you and smile. Sometimes the Pistols will even join in for a group hug! He's basically the hug king, and you're not opposed to that role.

R omance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

Very romantic babey. Since he’s so smelly he would suggest taking a bath or shower with you. This will take some extreme confidence from both of you. Whether it becomes sexual or not, just being intimate in this way is so special to him.

S upport - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

He believes in you like nobody's business. Also, he loves seeing when you follow through with your goals and sees your dreams coming to fruition! It's extremely exciting for him, and you love seeing his reactions to watching you succeed.

T hrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice out your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

Mista loves the thrill that life and living provides. There's something new that arises every day you spend with him, and you never get bored. Loves booking hotel rooms for trips and the like and not telling you until the night before, which can be stressful yet cute.

U nderstanding - How well do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

Mista is stupid but means well. Sometimes you can quiz him, and he'll still forget something as simple as your favorite food, or your favorite color. In time, he'll learn more about you and your emotions, but for now every time you tell him a fact about yourself he'll write it in his phone so he doesn't forget. 🥺

V alue - How important is the relationship to them? What is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?

Mista will be so cheesy about telling you how much you mean to him. -"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...."- <-- If he pulls anything like this he usually givers you permission to slap him. You're one of the only partners that's stuck around with him for this long, and he's not planning on letting you go any time soon.

W ild Card - A random Fluff Headcanon.

Mista insists that he should help around the house at times, and this means that he's going to help with the chores in any way that he can. You end up assigning him grocery shopping (a big mistake). He is so unorganized and claims that he doesn’t need a list to go off of, and this usually results in him buying whatever he wants. Watch him get all the way home and still manage to forget the milk and bread. Good thing he bought the family pack of ice cream sandwiches though.

X OXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

If you look up affectionate in the dictionary, there's a very good chance that you'll see Mista's name. He loves to cuddle with you and especially loves to nap with you because of the intimacy. Mista can nap anywhere, anytime, but he prefers falling asleep with you in his arms!

Y earning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

Mista will be soooo needy when you are away, and so will the Pistols. When you have the free time between class or meetings he'll call you begging for you to come home with his six children screaming in the background. Eventually, it'll get to be too much and you have no choice but to come home, much to his delight. He'll never let you go.

Z eal - Are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

Mista will definitely buy you presents if he has the money at hand. Expect lavish gifts like jewelry and clothes from him, whether it's a special occasion or not. If he could, he'd give you the world, but at times you have to remind him that you have more than enough and you don't need to be impressed by physical possessions.

#only one more boys #let's goooo #guido mista #guido mista x reader #jojos bizarre adventure #jojos bizzare adventure x reader #jojo #jjba #jojo headcanons #jjba headcanons #fluff alphabet #600 Follower Special #please enjoy!

[siren-virus]

You know what? Just because you’d be able to talk my ears off with LuckyBoy!AU, I’m gonna keep asking you about it with long asks so I can get long answers (I love reading long answers since they give out so much info and speculation, while leaving room for discussion as well). So let's have a chat through asks so neither of us have anxiety(?) while talking to each other in messages.

Who would be some of the regulars when Ben is working at the cooffe shop? (I also love this au XD) Would Cooper, Rook, Gwen, Max and/or anyone else go at the same time as a group and have a casual conversation with the barista? Would Ben accidently gain confidential information about the Plumbers this way? I wonder if he would be famous between the aliens and humans near Undertown as one of the few humans that's actually chill with every alien regardless of appearances thanks to knowing Gwen with the Omnitrix from before?

I feel like Ben purposefully avoiding Cooper as his vigilante persona would start as a measure to avoid his identity being exposed (I belive it was Cooper who exposed him in UAF, right?), but later would develop into a troll play, waiting for him to finally find him and play a prank there.

Would Ben play pranks on Will Harangue for giving him bad publicity to the humans? I mean, it's not like he can just appear in front of a camera and tell his side of the story, he would be captured instantly, or interrupted at the very least; and he having his own social media wouldn't work too well since he isn't a tech genius and the Plumbers could track him down.

Also, what has Gwen done that they think they need Ben to protect them from her? Like yeah, in OV there's a lot of property damage, but they don't believe they need protection from him (at least I don't think so), so she must've done something big in order for that to happen.

And now an ask that isn't directly related to Ben XD Who would be some of the people leading an investigation against the vigilante, trying to discover his identity as well as species? Like I imagine Rook would be more of an addon to said investigation, being on the lookout but not actively investigating everything that Ben has been involved with, and Gwen has a lot on her plate, so let's not let her join said investigation.

Oh oh oh, I just thought about it, if Ben could be considered an Anodite in this AU, what happened when Verdona appeared in that one episode of AF? Did she manage to find Ben in the first place and almost but not quite take him away? Does the rest of the family know he's an Anodite and what are their thoughts about it? If they don't then how would Ben explain some of the magic things that he does and someone witness?

Ohohoh, buttering me up are ya? Well you're in for a brain dump.

Ok, first I gotta say: The alien cafe is separate to the plumbers (the plumbers have their on cafeteria, but like to indulge in other food sometimes, and non-instant coffee.)

So I was thinking, one of Ben's regular coworkers is Alan Albright. Reason for this is because Alan is not allowed to go on missions often. He's too young. I mean I know they definitely have child soldiers in OS- buuuut Max's influence has put a stop to that. He's seen how it affected Gwen. So, Alan is put on easy patrols in low crime area, in the city.

Alan, however wants in on the action, so Max had suggested the cafe. Ben and Alan have a very brotherly bond, and Ben (outside of his vigilante life) has been swaying Alan's opinion on both, the plumbers and his alter ego.

Manny, Alan, Helen and Cooper- When not busying himself with the tech lounge- (sorry, Pierce is still dead in this), will often come by the cafe, they sit in a booth and discuss things. Most occasions Ben is invited to sit with them.

When Gwen pops by their interactions are brief, Ben would try to tease her about anything and everything under the sun. "See Kevin lately?" "Oh, got beat by the walking glow stick again, huh?" "Geez, another jail break? 3rd time this week!"

Normally he gets a fiery reaction and a nasty retort.

Of course Ben would take every opportunity he can to get info. At first it wasn't intentional, he'd just eaves drop on a few conversations that interested him. As time goes by though, he's found that a lot of people, plumber, criminal and just outer space travelers, are more than happy to unload some gossip. Ben is very much delighted by that.

He's not exactly famous, he's well known for being a friendly person, yes. But not all throughout Undertown.

ain't cooper the blond dude with some kinda telekenetic power that ended up turning into an almost Kevin duplicate? (i'll fix that) NGL I forgot he grew up in UAF.

Pretty sure the one that exposed Ben was the nerd who was voiced by the VA of Robin (TeenTitans/Go). Now that you bring it up though, that guy... Jimmy, is someone to be avoided, cause he's a snoopy guy. Who also hangs out at the cafe a lot to get details. Always ends up harassing Ben cause he knows Ben has all the juicy gossip.

And yeah Ben would totally take advantage of it to mess with the poor kid.

Definitely. Ben would mess with Will Harangue as much as possible. Especially when he goes live. Ben won't confront him personally, or do anything that could possibly reveal his indentity. He's got a lot of unique mannerisms that his family could quickly pick up on, there's also his voice, although muffled by the mask, if it's recorded enough- it's another identifier.

So that leaves Ben with his sticker trail. They're very bright, almost blinding, so Ben's stickers are an annoying inconvenience. He could also use a weak spell that causes it's victims to yawn/sneeze. Maybe he'll hang in the background briefly and wave. Just some of things he does to get under Harangue's skin basically.

Gwen:

So, you picked up on what I've hinted at. Good.

Before I go into Gwen, I'll say this: The plumbers are stationed on Earth to protect humanity. That means the aliens who have immigrated are less of a priority. That doesn't mean that they're completely unsafe, the plumbers still patrol Undertown and look after the people- just less so.

Aliens that leave Undertown especially- Normally they're ushered back by a few Plumbers standing guard- those that pose a threat or seem to pose a threat are dealt with by the plumbers. Which isn't too bad, just a slap on the back, a fine, maybe jail time.

Unless you run into Gwen. Who is much more intimidating, much more brutish, she won't exactly hold back. So- she hasn't got the best rep with Undertown. She's still a hero. Known throughout the universe. Just not a kind one.

On several occassions, Ben(vigilante) has had to step in to get her to back down from dealing with criminals.

The plumbers don't have a lot to go on with the investigating. Ben doesn't leave any DNA trails, cause anodites have no DNA. No hair strands, no finger prints, no blood. Even his stickers. They got nothing, nada.

That doesn't mean it's completely hopeless. A clean hit to Ben has on more than one occasion shocked him out of his anodite form, reverting him back to human (which is why he has the glasses and face mask, as a just incase scenario.) Sometimes even spooking/shocking him can make him human again. If his focus is messed with he's human, kinda deal.

So the plumbers are aware of this. They do their best to be as violent and destructive when they see Ben. They're attempts usually fail unless they have someone competent enough with them, Ie; Gwen, Rook.

Villains are also aware of this. So risky buiz am I right?

In regards to Verdona; honestly, I feel like having her know about Ben's existence as an anodite would kinda nerf this whole thing completely. Verdona, I bet, would be a massive gossip. Although her contact with Max is limited, he'd hear about it eventually. Game over. There's also Sunny, who would take advantage of this information and spread it across the universe.

So instead maybe Verdona pays a visit later rather than now.

She'd also be less inclined to take Ben back home, I like how Verdona is indifferent to Ben but loves Gwen, I wanna keep that aspect.

To explain any magic happenings that his family or friends have spotted, he just says he's practicing to be an illusionist. Or he broke a glow stick, or his has glitter in his pocket. (He always has something retaining to magenta hidden up his sleeve.)

Hopefully that got all your questions answered for now!

#ben 10 #lucky boy! au #answer