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#I would have been like damn guess we’re not all that different
btswrckd · 1 year
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Why did nobody tell Joseph Crackstone and Laurel Gates that by bringing her ancestor back from the dead by performing a spell, basically makes her a witch? And that Crackstone using sorcery or magic or whatever the hell after he was brought back to life, basically makes him like every other Outcast? Like, why did nobody throw that in their faces? I would have 🤷‍♀️ He fucking said “What demon sorcery is this?” after Wednesday came back to life. Like, sir! Are you or are you not also back from the dead? 🤦‍♀️
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toruro · 6 months
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— ✧ back to december
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a part of flower me with love ... an hhu unit x flowers collection !
genre: smut (18+ / mdni), fluff, angst (resolved!), best friends to strangers to lovers
description: it's been four months and twenty-two days since you've last talked to mingyu, however your mother still thinks you two are friends. you don't have the heart to tell her what really happened, and now you think it's time for you to move on. (un?)fortunately for you though, mingyu seems to have other plans.
inspired by back to december by taylor swift!
tags: miscommunication, unrequited love (not fr though), big dick mingyu, sex in a car >_<, riding, fingering, pet names (angel, pretty), creampie :3
w/c: 4.3k
a/n: happy birthday @gyuswhore!!! this fic is for em but if not em and ur reading it i hope u enjoy too. this is like 2/3 plot and 1/3 smut if anyone cares
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Normality is bliss.
That’s what you used to tell yourself. That’s what you used to believe.
Normality was bright mornings, crisp air, slow walking down the main street, inhaling the ambrosial scent of freshly roasted coffee beans, and slipping under the fairy lights that hang over the door. It was the warm sound of the overhead bell ringing, permeating laughter in the cafe from all customers, and daisies in a pot by the entrance.
Normality was Mingyu. His bright laugh as you approach the counter, sweet voice as he playfully asks you what drink you’d like, to which you roll your eyes and respond with, “You already know, don’t you?” It was the chuckle he would let out, the wink he flashed at you, murmuring the words, “It’s on the house” (because with Mingyu, it was always on the house), the thanks you give him before stepping back.
Normality was the latte he handed you, rough yet ginger fingers brushing over your palm as he warned you, “Careful, it’s hot,” and the giggle you let out when you stepped back and asked how his morning was going. It was Mingyu telling you nothing special happened yet. It was Mingyu suggesting that you two hang out at the field after he’s done with work. It was you grinning and agreeing in an instant, but only under the condition that he picks you up after your class.
Normality was bliss until four months and twenty-two days ago.
Now, normality hurts like a bitch.
Your mother glances at you from the corner of her vision as you rummage through the fridge. “What’re you looking for?”
“Some bread,” you murmur. “Was really craving a tomato sandwich … Damn, we’re seriously out of white bread?” you ask, giving up with a sigh as you close the door and face her.
She shrugs. “If it’s not in the fridge then I guess so. We’re low on produce too actually … I’d be surprised if you find tomatoes in there too,” she says. You purse your lip, shuffling through the different rows of cabinets to find something to throw together to take for lunch as your mother continues to speak. “You think you could stop by the grocery store after class today and pick up some stuff?”
“Yeah sure,” you reply casually.
“Ah, I wish Mingyu still stopped by with the groceries,” your mother says, and the sudden mention of his name has you halting your movements as you reach for a croissant, before you inhale deeply and go back to doing your own thing.
“Yeah,” you say quietly, clearing your throat after the word comes out horsley.
“You know why he stopped doing that?”
You try not to think about how you still haven’t told your mother that you and Mingyu don’t talk anymore.
“Uhh, I guess uni’s been getting to be a lot of work,” you tell her. “We’re both taking way harder classes so, uh, I guess he doesn’t have the time.”
“Hmm, yeah makes sense. You’re always swamped up in that room of yours ‘cause of work too … haven’t seen you two hang out in a while actually.”
You chew on your lip, staring down at your little bag for lunch and the croissant that sits inside. You wonder if you’ll even have the appetite to eat anything today after this conversation.
“We’re just busy. It’s harder to talk now.” It’s not entirely a lie. Grabbing the bag and picking up your backpack, you turn to face your mother who’s scrolling on her phone. “I’m gonna go now. My first class is starting soon.”
Now, normality is huffing as you get into your car, wishing you had a coffee next to you, but being too full of cowardice to head over to the cafe.
(“Go to a different cafe!” is what common sense would tell you, but common sense doesn’t listen to a love that has been betrayed. No other latte tastes the same, but you know that’s only because no other latte has been made by Mingyu.)
You pick up groceries on the way home.
Now, normality is staring at the daisies that are on display as you walk through the front doors of the store and reminiscing. It’s wondering what once was, and what could have been, if you decided to keep your silly feelings to yourself.
Normality is regretting. Regretting ever opening your mouth and telling Mingyu four months and twenty-two days ago that you loved him, and that you had loved him for not one, not two, not five, but ten damn years, because that was when you two met, and you always loved Kim Mingyu, but you should have known that not once did he love you back. Not how you would’ve wanted anyways.
Normality is wondering. Wondering if Mingyu would still be dropping off groceries if you hadn’t told him that you loved him, if he hadn’t told you he didn’t know what to tell you. Wondering if he thinks of you now. Wondering if he has any regrets. Wondering if he’s okay, but you lost the chance to know the answer to that question four months and twenty-two days ago. Wondering if—
Tomatoes. You need to buy the tomatoes, and the bread, some green beans, spinach, bell pepper, and more cheese, milk, maybe some butter, and—what was it that your mother told you to get? Oh, some strawberries.
You need to get all of these things, but there were no daisies on the list, so how did a bouquet full of them end up in your cart? You tell yourself you picked them up because they’re on sale, but you know the real reason is because you miss Mingyu.
Directing your attention back to the list you were sent on your phone, you hum lowly to yourself as you push your cart through the aisles. Checking items off your notes app, you exist with just yourself, your tomatoes, and fresh daisies as you try and finish these groceries before it gets too late into the evening.
Staring at your screen, you almost don’t notice that the dairy aisle isn’t empty until you bump into someone. “Sorry,” you mutter quickly, “I—” The words get caught in your throat when you see just exactly who you’ve hit.
Averting your gaze quickly, you wonder if Mingyu will respond, but you choose to scurry away quickly instead, because as cowardly as it sounds, you’re not sure if you’re ready to hear his voice again.
You’re not sure why your heart beats so fast when you escape into another aisle. Maybe it’s because you couldn’t read the look on his face for the brief second that your eyes met.
(Ten years of being best friends and you somehow don’t know what he’s thinking. Can four months and twenty-two days really change a person that much? Or did you never know Kim Mingyu in the first place?)
When you get home, your mother asks you where you got the daisies from. You tell her Mingyu gave them to you, because you want to convince her that you two are still best friends, and maybe—just maybe—you’re trying to convince yourself of it too.
You decide to buy a latte five days later. Mingyu never worked the evening shifts, so you’re confident you’ll get one of the other’s as the barista if you walk in past 6pm. Seokmin’s always nice. He doesn’t make the latte’s as sweet as you like—more specifically, as sweet as Mingyu made them—but he’s kind and always cheery.
When you walk in today, the pot by the door is empty. There are no more daisies, and you wonder if this is what has become of normality.
Your eyes glaze over the familiar setting, breathing in the sweet, rusty smell of coffee, and you smile watching all the cafe-goers laugh along with each other in their seats. All is going well, and you’re telling yourself that maybe this new normal isn’t too bad. That you’ve lived with it for four months and twenty-seven days, and so you can live with it longer and—
Your heart plummets when you see who's working the register today.
Maybe you really never knew Kim Mingyu, because you swore he hated the evening shifts, but here he is with a neatly tied apron, smiling while he talks to some girl across the counter. And his toothy grin is so bright and you aren’t sure if you’re seeing things correctly because everything sound has turned to a white rush in your ears and your vision blurs because you are once again awarded the painful reminder that you are in love with Kim Mingyu.
You thought your heart broke right in two back in December, but you hear it crack in this moment and realize that this was the final blow.
There are tears in your eyes, and you don’t know how long you stand there, until you hear your name. Seokmin is calling for you, and when you look up there’s no girl at the counter and it’s just Mingyu and Seokmin staring at you.
And you wonder briefly if you should be glad that Mingyu looks concerned but you don’t have time to dwell on the fact because Seokmin calls for you again—“Hey, are you okay? You—you’re crying”—and fuck, you’ve just humiliated yourself, so with fat tears hitting the dark wood ground you turn on your heel and rush out the door.
You keep thinking and wondering and regretting and you hate it all because regret has become normality, but regret is not a bliss.
You walk down the street, and you keep walking and walking and walking until you realize you forgot where you parked the car but none of that matters because all you’re thinking about is Mingyu’s smile, and how he doesn’t smile at you anymore. And so you walk faster and cry a bit harder until you’re so far down the street you don’t even know where you are anymore but it doesn’t matter because you don’t know who you’ve become.
And there’s footsteps thudding behind you—are you going to get kidnapped now? Fuck, you’ve already had the most horrendous sequence of events that could possibly happen to you in the span of five minutes, and now it’s going to get worse? If this goddamn kidnapper could just target you any other day, then maybe you wouldn’t whip around with tearful eyes, shouting into the dark: “Please don’t kidnap me! I’ll go with you any other day but—Mingyu!?”
His tall figure is hunched over, hands over his thighs as he heaves for breath, craning his neck to look up at you. “Kidnap you? Why in the world would I kidnap you?” he asks through harsh breaths. “Fuck, you walk so fast,” he groans, finally standing up as you furiously wipe your tears away in an attempt to actually make sense of this situation.
“I—” You want to reply, but then it hits you that this is the first time Mingyu has spoken to you in four months and twenty-seven days, and the thought is dizzying. “I don’t know,” you tell him, because you really don’t know. You don’t know a damn thing.
Mingyu looks at you with a look that you, once again, can’t seem to read. “Sorry, I—I wanted to see if you were okay.”
“I’m fine,” you tell him, and anyone would be able to see through the lie but you’re hoping that Mingyu doesn’t pry any further. He doesn’t move, nor does he say anything. “You can, uh, go back now,” you add, rubbing the back of your neck as you stare at the ground. “I’m okay.”
“You—you were crying.”
Opening your mouth to protest, you realize you can’t refute him now. Not when it was so painfully obvious. You choose silence instead, hoping that your apprehension will be enough to drive him away, although it only seems to egg Mingyu on.
You don’t expect the words he blurts out after a few moments of thickness.
“You don’t know how much I wish I could go back to December and change things.”
“Please don’t lie to me Mingyu,” you tell him, and he can just hear from the way you say his name that you are desperately pleading with him. When you finally look up at him with glossy eyes, he wonders how in the world he let things get this far.
“I’m not lying, I—I wouldn’t lie about this.”
“What do you mean by this, Mingyu? What is this?” You cover your face and begin to sob, but not without gasping out words between heavy breaths. “Please don’t do this to me, not again.”
And when you uncover your face and look at him again, he’s got some bewildered look on his face, and you can’t tell what he’s going to say next.
“The girl,” Mingyu starts to say. “That’s my cousin. She was visiting me at work and—”
“It’s not about the girl, Mingyu!” And that’s a bit of a lie because some part of it is about the girl but it’s mainly about you and it’s mainly about Mingyu—mainly about the two of you.
He pinches the bridge of his nose and speaks. “Sorry, I—you’re right.”
Silence once more, before you calm your breaths and shake your head. “You should head back, Mingyu.”
“No I—wait, I just—I’m not lying. I regret everything I did in December.”
“Ming—”
“No, please listen to me. I regret not telling you how I actually felt, but I was so confused,” he tells you, repeating your name. “I was confused and fucking terrified because if things didn’t work out for some reason, then I would’ve lost my best friend but—but I was fucking stupid and lost you anyways. And you know, I wanted to reach out. I wanted to talk to you so bad but then like last week, when I saw you in the grocery store, and—daisies.”
“Daisies?” You furrow your brows.
“Daisies. You had a bouquet of them in your cart,” Mingyu tells you, taking a step forward. “And I know how much you love daisies. Your favorite flowers in the world. I saw them in your cart and thought to myself, fuck, I missed my chance, because I thought you had them for someone else and—”
“They weren’t,” you blurt out. “I-I even told my mom you got me them,” you add bashfully, “because she doesn’t know we stopped … yeah.”
There’s a silence that sits between you two, but you’re starting to realize that silence has become normality and you are no longer content with that.
“Mingyu, do you love me?”
He doesn’t hesitate to respond. “More than you love daisies.”
You laugh through your drying tears. You laugh so hard it makes you cry no longer because of pain but because of happiness, and you shake your head and throw your arms around him. ��Kim Mingyu, that is a bold statement.”
“What can I say?” he grins. “I’m a bold man.”
“Where was that bold man for the past four months and twenty-seven days?” you snort.
Mingyu raises a brow. “You’ve been counting?” For a moment your expression falls but then he shakes his head and smiles. “Don’t worry—I’ve been too.”
You two are quick to head back, Mingyu begging Seokmin to hold the first alone for the weekend before taking the wheel of your car and driving you both to your favorite field of daisies.
“Are we going to have sex for the first time in your car?” Mingyu asks with a chuckle, climbing into the backseat from one end while you pile in from the other.
Giggling, you meet his lips for a kiss as soon as the door shuts behind him, arms winding around his thick neck to bring him close. “The way you said that insinuates there we’ll be having more sex after this,” you tell him with a smile before diving back into another tongue twisting kiss.
“Hell yeah,” Mingyu groans against your tongue as you adjust to situate yourself over his lap, hips pressing dangerously close to his. “Gonna fuck you every day if I can. If you can handle that,” he adds.
You roll your eyes, pulling back to help yourself out of the cardigan and shirt you’re wearing. “What makes you think I can’t handle it?”
He only flashes you a toothy grin and quickly glances down at his groin area before winking at you. “You’ll see.”
“Kim Mingyu, you are a little shit,” you conclude despite the way your tummy churns at his insinuation, throwing off your shirt as Mingyu helps you out of a bra.
“I’m not little, that’s for sure … fuck, you’ve got the prettiest tits in the world,” he murmurs, wrapping his arms around your torso to pull you closer so he can plant his lips on the soft flesh. His mouth is warm, tongue tracing constellations over our skin before enclosing one of your nipples with his lips.
Slowly, his tongue traces circles around the stiffened nipple, teeth grazing over it ever so gently before biting down with slight force. “Ah!” you moan out, head thrown back as your hands travel up his neck and into his hair, fisting the thick, dark locks. “‘m sensitive, ‘gyu,” you tell him, shaky-breathed as he pulls his mouth off your tits with a slip popping sound.
“Sorry,” he says with a lazy smile. “Your tits are so nice,” Mingyu murmurs, bringing a hand up to squeeze over your other breast, tweaking the nipple in one hand as your hands begin to play with the hem of his tight fit shirt. “Fuck, can’t believe we didn’t fuck earlier. You know how much time we could’ve saved?” he says, pulling away just for a moment to peel the shirt off his body, revealing his firm, thick torso.
“I wonder whose fault that is?” You roll your eyes.
Mingyu frowns in response. “Don’t remind me … angel, take off your pants. Wanna finger you.”
He doesn’t have to tell you twice, because in an instant your hands are at the waistband of your pants as heat rises to your cheeks upon hearing his words. Just the thought of Mingyu’s thick, longer fingers inside your aching cunt is enough for it to pulse around nothing as you throw your pants to the side and shove your panties to reveal your core.
“Atta girl,”  he murmurs under his breath as you readjust yourself over his lap so that he can have better access between your legs. Slowly, he brings one hand up to your exposed cunt, bringing his middle finger to circle around your gaping hole. “Shit, you’re so wet, angel … so wet for me.”
“Just for you ‘gyu, just for you” you gasp out when he sinks one finger in, rough pads rubbing against your warm, gummy walls.
Now Mingyu occasionally entertains the outrageous idea that he’s well composed, but he’d be a fool to deny that, even though he can turn you to mush in the palm of his hand, you also have him wrapped around your little finger.
You only have to beg him once or twice for a second finger before he’s giving in, wanting nothing more than to spoil you until you can’t even remember what you were asking for in the first place. And naturally, when you finally tell him that you’re ready for more—ready for his cock—he can’t help but grin and comply.
“You think you’re ready?” he asks, slipping his fingers out and shoving them into your mouth so you can taste yourself.
“You think I’m not?” you mumble around his fingers. You pout a little and Mingyu chuckles, leaning in to give you a wet and sloppy kiss before lifting his hips a little.
“You’ll see angel … help me take this all off,” he tells you, and you’re quick to grab at his waistband and yank his pants and boxers down at the same time.
“What are you talking ab—oh.” The words dry on your tongue when you see his cock spring out, from underneath his boxers, the thickness slapping against Mingyu’s abdomen.
It’s fat and long and veiny in all the right places, heavy balls resting at the base of it, the reddish-pink tip smeared all over with his shiny, translucent white precum.
“Yeah,” Mingyu says with yet another chuckle, watching your face as you gaze down at his cock in awe.
“I-is it gonna fit?” you ask incredulously, eyes glancing back and forth between the smirk on Mingyu’s lips and the long length of his cock. Mingyu just shrugs and smooths his hands over your hips, your stomach, and then your neck, pulling you into a deep kiss.
Your stomach flutters, cunt growing more and more needy and wet as the seconds tick by, and the way Mingyu’s tongue flicks against yours only heightens the feeling. When he pulls away, he settles his hands over your waist and directs you right over his cock, and something in you swells with pure arousal with the next words he says.
“Don’t worry angel, I’ll make it fit. You trust me?”
“Yeah,” you breath out, steadying your position as Mingyu uses one hand to guide his heavy length so that the tip points upwards and presses right against you.
“Fuck yeah,” he hisses, and you moan as you feel him sliding against your folds in a slippery, sticky mess. “old onto me, yeah angel? If you want to stop just—”
“Say the word,” you finish for him, placing your hands on Mingyu’s bare shoulders as an attempt to steady yourself, breath hitching as his length pushes into your entrance. “Oh shit, ‘gyu!" you cry out as you begin to sink down on him.
Tears pricking at the corners of your eyes—you can’t even fathom how, even after all his prep, Mingyu still feels like he’s nearly splitting you in half.
“Fuck, pretty—you’re so fucking tight,” Mingyu grunts, helping you nearly impale yourself on his cock. “Fucking fitting inside you so well,” he praises as he bottoms out inside of you, letting your forehead fall to his shoulder as you take deep breath.
Mingyu knows he’s big—knows it’s hard to fit him inside of you—and he’s feels so fucking lucky that he has you—so willing to take all that he’s giving—sucking him in and whining for more. He waits a few moments, only listening to the way your heavy breaths start to grow lighter, until you’re whimpering a soft, “‘gyu.”
He wastes no time in jerking his hips upward, shifting inside of you and battering the inside of your soft walls. You bite down on his shoulder as you push your hips down to meet his thrusts, choking back soft sobs as you feel his cock kiss your cervix with each movement.
“Holy shit,” Mingyu grunts as you begin to bounce on his lap, his length slipping out of you halfway before being plunged right back in with a sopping mess growing on his thighs.
You whine loudly at the overwhelming pleasure that takes over your body, lifting your head up so you could look at Mingyu with your mouth agape and hair stuck all over your burning face, a sheer layer of sweat starting to envelope both your bodies.
Soon, both of your movements begin to grow erratic and sloppy, hips jamming into each other so hard you’d be surprised if you even have the ability to walk tomorrow. You now know why Mingyu was concerned about fucking every day.
“You g’na cum soon pretty? Cum all over my cock? I can feel it angel, can feel your pretty cunt squeezing me.”
“Fuck, Mingyu,” you manage to gasp out, “Yeah, ’m gonna cum—feels so good, so full, so—fuck!”
Mingyu’s cock pulses inside of you and that’s when every detail seems to be heightened to a thousand—as your orgasm racks through you, you seem to feel every curve, every vein, dragging in and out of you to such detail that it has your eyes rolling to the back of your head as you scream out his name.
Mingyu watches you fall apart, surrendering to bliss, and the way your hips are sporadically swiveling over his, your pussy’s wetness coating and creaming his cock has him going into a frenzy. Frantically, he begins to snap his hips faster up into you, your soft moans of overstimulation pushing him to his end faster than he can ever imagine. Watching the way he slides in and out of you is enough to have him cumming, shooting his hot, sticky load inside your warm cunt.
Riding out the last of his orgasm with soft rolls of his hips, Mingyu sighs contently at the feeling of you milking him dry, the both of you looking down at the wet, dirty mess you’ve made where the two of you connect, his cock still throbbing inside of you.
Both of you finally look up at the same time, grinning at each other, and you flop forward resting your head on his chest as he slowly combs his fingers through your hair, other hand running up and down your back.
“Why’d you start working the evening shifts?” you ask Mingyu after your breath has finally leveled. “I thought you hated those.”
“I did, but you stopped coming in the mornings, and I figured it was because of me. I hoped that maybe you would start coming in the evenings so I asked my boss to change my regular shifts just in case.”
“Oh wow, you really do love me.”
“I already told you I do! Even more than you love daisies, remember?”
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silkythewriter · 4 months
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Angel on fire
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Warnings!: Angst(?), love triangle!, sorry for any grammar or spelling errors! (part 2)
Fandom!: Hazbin hotel!
Author note!: WOWZA HELLO I DIDNT THINK PEOPLE WOULD LIKE THE 1ST ONE SO MUCH?! TYSM FOR TGE SUPPORT I HOPE YOU ENJOY!
Summary!: “you are as beautiful as the moon my dear.” He said with the sweeting smile you adored. “And your as deadly as the sun I fear, my love” you answered oh so bitter-fully.
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“Cause those are my words, not yours
As far as I'm concerned, it could've been a lot worse
I wasn't trying to avoid the confrontation
She isn't crying, she's just making conversation”
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“Look.. Adam-“ you said desperately before being cut off “no fucking way!” He chuckled “your actually side-ing with those shit bags?!” He said looking at you. You only glared at him, before huffing softly “watch your language…” You said with a with a small frown. Making his eyebrows crunch together as he closed his eyes with a huff. “For fuck sake do you know what those.. scums even did to end up there!” He said angrily. You steady your breath, with him you had too, you knew how he was but you just had too keep poking at him. Or get something other then a no, If you did you were sure to lose your mind.
“Adam, Just listen!, I think this could benefit heaven as well! More extra time means more time to do what you want. Wouldn’t you like that?” You tried reasoning as you cupped his hands in yours only for him to push it away. “Don’t test me Y/n, this is my job.” He spat out, making you wince. “Why are you pushing on this so hard anyways!, you have all you could want here. You barely have to lift a finger why are you so concerned for them?” He said crossing his arms. “They were humans once Adam, just like you, just like me. We’re no different, they just messed up once and we’re sent to an eternal furnace with no escape!” You said holding your hands to your chest. “Please! I’m nothing like them, I was the first fucking human soul in heaven, no one compares to me.” He laughed out. “So what does that mean about me?” You said with furrowed brows. He sighed heavily before speaking “Angel, listen to your self, your the only other person I really give a shit about. Well other then lute I guess” he shrugged as he rested his arm on the arm rest and laid his head in his palm boredly. “Look don’t worry your little gorgeous self about a thing. This ain’t your field!” He laughed.
You had patience, and you had tolerance. But his disrespect set you off. But you knew in your head that fighting someone like himself wouldn’t end well. You already had more leeway then most due to your, well close relationship with Adam. But you had to keep trying, after all angels don’t break promises.
With a heavy sigh you bowed before excusing your self. Which he quickly called out to you in confusion. But you only kept walking to your room, you were a patient one, but dealing with him proves to be a handful. You needed to think of a way to at least push it back one more month.
Just one more month
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“What’s good cherry pimp” Angel dust asked as he threw himself on the couch sluggishly. “All day you’ve been hummin’ and tappin’ what’s on your mind?” He asked as he quirked an eyebrow up as he put his gaze on Alastor. Alastor smile only grew, his mind filled with your intoxicating self. To him you very much everything, from the first day he was damned, till now all his mind was filled was you. But now more then ever, seeing you after all these decades was a shot of electricity to his very dead heart. You hadn’t change a bit since the last time he laid eyes on you. You were still angelic as ever.
Again he was swept up in his mind but quickly flicked back to reality, swaying softly as he hummed. “Oh nothing, my dear friend, old acquaintances I have recently seen after some time!” He said in his usual radio voice. “Yea I’m surprised anyone would be friends with you. Not to be rude or nothin’ but your fuckin’ creepy pal” angel said as he laughed  as he waved his hands. Alastor only smirked in amusement as he took his leave. 
He should have known someone of the likes of you would end up where most wouldn’t. He wasn’t an ounce surprised. But he wanted you back, and he was going to take what he wanted. He didn’t frankly care if you’d belong to the sky,
You were his angel first. And he’d rid those little wings of yours if it meant you were to never fly Away from him.
Not this time, not again
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You tiredly tapped your finger over the dinner table. Mind still racing with ideas, it was a cycle, coming up with something, but ultimately crossing it off the thinking board. Adam paid no mind for awhile as he chatted Away with Lute. Which was eyeing you suspiciously. And once Adam went back to his meal she quickly cleared her throat as she straighten her stance next to Adam “Miss Y/n, you haven’t touched your food.” She stated bluntly. Which made you snap out of thought as you turned you attention to her “I’m afraid I don’t have an appetite today” you said softly pushing the plate stacked with food away form you.
“Are you really still hung up on that stupid shit little miss princess of hell proposed?” He scoffed. Causing you to huff, “I’ll be taking my leave.” You said plainly but as nicely as you could as you backed you seat from the table and stood up causing him to grunt. “Look angel, if I think about pushing the damn extermination back would you drop this?” He said making you quickly turn to him with a smile and nod. “There’s that smile, now sit down and eat I’m tired of thinking of all of this” he said as you agreed taking a seat.
Lute was appalled at how… how quick it was was all agreed. How could he just push it back so easily? Even if it was just him “thinking” about it. And for no reason other then you?, all though Adam was to In-grossed in his own things to question such things. She did not and quickly grew suspicious, you out of all people should be less worried. You have everything in a silver platter yet you still seem to have such a worry in matters that weren’t concerning you in the first place.
You could feel her eyes staring you down. But her suspicions were very much valid even if unfortunate to your case. You’d have to be more careful, if she caught on, she’d be quick to make Adam question aswell.
You cursed yourself slightly but still happy non the less. Even if you got Adam to consider the possibility of pushing the date back was still a progress!.
You were sure to tell Charlie soon, although you’d have to wait till lutes suspicions and stares would die down so you could slip away.
Your patience were never ending, but oh how much you longed for the man you’ve last seen years ago.
★三★三★ミ★ミ★三★三★三★ミ★三★ミ★ミ
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TYSM FOR READING AH I LOVED WRITING THIS AGAIN TYSM FOR THE LOVE ON NY LAST POST, ILL BE SURE TO WORK ON SOEM REQUEST BUT PLEASE BE ASSURED PART 3 WILL BE POSTED AFTER I DO SOME REQUEST. ٩(ᐛ)و
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jd07201990 · 4 months
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“Oh, come on Chuck! This’ll be my second time! You can’t keep forcing me to work another 40 years, just to make it to retirement and do it all again! It’s not yours or my fault that there aren’t enough young folk to take over our jobs! Hell, maybe if we paid a bit more, the few of them out there would apply!”
“It’s Lieutenant Roth, Billy. Now go change out of that equipment and take a shower. Whatever this remote does to strip away all those years, it sure does leave a young man ripe!”
“Don’t call me Billy! I haven’t been Billy in 30 years! Its Bill Damn it! And how am I supposed to explain this, again! to David?! You know he’s not into, well… this!”
“Put your shirt down Billy and quit your complaining. We’re doing something different this time, changing things up, trying something new. See, we couldn’t afford to pay higher wages all these years, because we’ve been stashing extra money away, for a new program. This remote can do a lot more than just wipe away years, Billy. The company has a whole app-store full of features, but they cost a hell of a lot. We only had enough for 2 new features, and we think it’ll really help solve this town’s aging population issue.”
“Wha… what the hell are you saying? What do you mean, something new?! Chuck, dude… you’re seriously starting to crack! What the fuck does any of this have to do with David?! And who is, “We”?!”
“I’m only going to tell you this once, son. It’s Lieutenant Roth. Now, I guess there’s no beating around the bush with you young-bloods. So I’ll get right to it. “We” is me, the Governor, and the Town Board. We investigated every possible fix, and it comes down to this. All the youth are moving out in droves, going to college, or fleeing to the city for excitement, leaving us aging folk to do the hard work around town. With the remote able to take years off a person, we’ve decided that all our current retirees, in every department, will be regressed, and the new feature we purchased will ensure you all follow your new, youthful instincts, providing us with a full generational bump in population.
You will be the hot-blooded virile stud you were way back in the day; you remember? Except this time, just as David isn’t attracted to this prime of your life look, YOU won’t be attracted to David, or any man for that matter. You see, we need all the help we can get, so with this little app, you’ll be chasing pretty women, and will certainly end up settling down, once one of them catches. Ah, by the look on your face, you know exactly what I mean.
Good, because you and the rest of the retirees are going to have your hands full, working these jobs getting paid just enough for a double-wide and a truck, leaving a trail of gals before you settle in with one, and have a whole mess of kids. "
“Ch… Lieutenant, sir… Wha… you’re insane dude! Fuckin’ totally cracked! You hear yourself! You can’t do this! I can’t be… I can’t chase… I don’t… don’t like…. Fuck… fuck dude… what the fuck are you doing?! Quit pointin’ that shit at me bro! My.. my head!”
“Don’t worry son, I’ll let you off the hook for all that mouthing off. It’s got to be rough having your brain completely flipped inside out, dumped out and filled with everything you need to be a, productive, member of society. Isn’t that right Billy?”
“Wha.. Oh, hey Lieutenant! So uh, is it ok if I head off to the showers and hit the road? Kind of a slow night huh sir? If it’d be alright, I want to go down to the Strip and hit the bar. The dudes and I figured we’d start the weekend early, ya know? Gotta get get some tail on lock before the storms hit. Thinkin’ I might run into Becka too, you know, from Thornton Stables? God she’d look real pretty, all knocked up good n’ proper!”
“Oh alright son. Go ahead, take the night off. But you’re on call. Got it! One or two beers, maybe a shot, take some cash and buy the lass one of those fruity drinks, and you treat her like a lady, young man. Got it?”
“Got it Dude! I mean Lieutenant! I’ll make a lady outa her yet! Thanks for the money too! Ya know how rough it is on the town’s wages! Although you and the Board seem to be doin’ alright. I hope I can get to where you are, Sir!”
“Don’t worry Billy, you’ve got a good 40 years or so to work your way up! Go have fun tonight!”
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moumouton4 · 7 months
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Could i please request a Shikamaru Nara x fem!reader using the following prompt "Clothes Stay On" 💜
Clothes Stay On ( 2 ) || Shikamaru Nara x fem!reader
A/n : Hello my dear reader, I was so excited to write this when I got the notification and here it is ! It's inspired by the Prompt 14 of the Smutember 2023 with Tomura Shigaraki
A/n 2 : I hope I did Shikamaru's personnality honnor here as I tried to guess how he would be in a more private setting ( I've never watcher Boruto )
Warnings : grinding, clothed sex, penetrative sex implicit, 18+ READERS ONLY and wrap it before you tap it
Masterlist ⚜
I don’t give permission to repost my work, if you want to share it just reblogue it
Word count : 1373
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Coming early from work usually meant one thing for you and Shikamaru : Sex. Well first resting a bit and then sex for him most of the days. Today was a bit different though since it was a day off for your lover. So that’s clearly excited and a little horny that you arrived at home, knowing that since he got a full day of rest he would surely not waste time before jumping your bones. As you looked at your watch it was 5 pm.
A little knowing smile was plastered on your lips all the way back to your house. You put your keys in the door and unlocked it at the speed of the light, before taking off your shoes and almost sprinting to the living room. He was slumped on the couch, looking up at the sky through the window - it was clearly too cold outside for him to bother to go out. His head turned towards the commotion and an equal but tired-ish smile appeared on his lips. It was undeniable that he was glad and relieved to have you back after a day of work.
Sitting on the edge of the couch, parallel to his body, you bent down before placing a loving kiss on his lips, which he returned eagerly “I missed you” you whispered as you placed your forehead against his still peppering his lips with soft pecks.
“‘missed you to Beautiful” he responded, with hand coming to rest on your thigh as he slowly woke up from his slumbering state.
Your eyes got stuck for a brief second on his hand that was rubbing the flesh of your leg before speaking “Would you mind if we you know shifted to the bedroom ?” As you asked this you expected nothing but a “of course let’s go” knowing how long it has been for both of you, adding to the fact that he had plenty of rest during his long nap day.
Though as his eyes locked onto yours, a smirk made his way on his lips as he answered “Yeah, I’m being quite comfy here”
Your mouth almost dropped as you tried to understand “Oh… okay well then I’m going to retrieve a condom. I’ll be ba-” you started to get up but he pulled you back down.
“We won’t need any to nap”
To… nap ? was he joking with you right ? since ( uh ) when was he the one trying to escape those moments ? His arms encircled your waist and he brought you flush against his warm and strong body.
“Shikamaru, what are you doing ?” you asked, our voice slightly muffled against his chest.
“Shh it’s going to rain soon” he only whispered. Was he serious ? like he was just going to listen to the rain and take another little nap, maybe the 300th this day while his needy girlfriend is slouched over him.
“You’re joking aren’t you ?” you asked, taking in the scent of his hair, he must have taken a shower because he smelled divinely.
“I think it’s better if we waited for tomorrow” he murmured back as if nothing, knowing him he clearly didn't mean any of this ( it is nothing you can say no and it must be respected but for the purpose of the fic we’re going to go another way )
“Shika, it's been 3 days” you stated.
“I know”
“Then why cancel when we could have our way now that it’s still early ?”
“Don’t worry you’ll get it one day” his arms tightened around you. That little tease, you could clearly see the smirk on his damn face and he played with your mind.
After a moment you decided that you would try to ignore the throb between your legs and actually rest with the sound of the rain as background. But then you felt something poking you “You know you could make it a little less obvious you know ?” this time it was your turn to tease him.
“My body responses are getting almost as troublesome as you woman” he sounded like he was pouting.
You chuckled “I seriously can’t understand you being so lazy even after a day of rest” ( those are somehow the worst sometimes ) “But don’t worry I’ve got an idea” and with that you slowly dragged your hips back and forth.
A low groan escaped his lips as he felt the heat of your clothed core grind on his hardening member “Mmh so clothes stay on ? I see you’re smarter than you seem”
“I’m also doing all the work so you better be grateful” you outbid, knowing that he was only jesting.
You kept grounding your center on his like this for what felt like an eternity ( 15 min lmao ). The heat was oh so slowly building inside you both, at this point if one looked a wet spot could be clearly noticeable on your pants, while on the other hand you managed to make quite a tent in Shikamaru’s.
“When is it you plan on helping me ?” you muttered, a thin sheen of sweat glistening on your forehead.
“Help ? With such a mouth I thought you were going to do it on your own. Thank gosh I’m allowed to participate”
“Come on don’t keep me waiting”
“What can’t handle a little tease from your man ?”
“You know I was horn- oh” you stuttered as you felt him grab your hips tightly and meet your grinding with those tantalizing thrusts of his. His dick was so hard it was almost painful not to have it inside you. Soon the soft and muffled sounds of your clothed bodies started to fill the room.
In no time he made you a moaning mess as he sped his pace. His mouth found its place against your neck as he grunted how wet you must be since he could feel it through all those layers. He knew he was close, and now thinking about it, it would have been a better move to take off your clothes than to cum in them and feel all weird and sticky. But now it was clear that both of you weren’t going to stop.
One of his hands left your hip to come rest on your backside and he pushed you even harder on his shaft, he should have been on top, it would have been easier for you both to get off, he is feeling like he is edging at this point. When your hips stuttered against his, he knew you would soon be coming, so he gathered his strength and manhandled you to accelerate your pace, his hips now relentlessly seeking yours.
“Oh yes yes Shika ah” you screamed in delight, finally coming after 3 long days.
It was actually what coaxed you towards the edge and seconds after he followed you. He continued sucking a hickey on the side of your neck as he climaxed in his pants. You then stayed like this for a moment just enjoying the post-climax bliss in each others arms;
After a moment though, your face contorted in slight discomfort, your clothes felt sticky and sweaty, clinging to your skin and at this point you couldn't but sit up on the couch and take them off.
As you were taking off your shirt you heard the sound of plastic being torn up. Once your shirt stopped blocking your view, you almost gasped in surprise when you saw Shikamaru rolling a condom on his still throbbing length. First of all, when was he so fast ? Sometimes you forget that he also is a ninja. And also that little shit, of course he would have hidden a condom within reach.
His naked form got closer to yours, his member tantalizingly close to poking your leg “Now what about we end this day of rest in the best way ?” he said, his voice dropping to a seductive tone.
“Of course you had something in mind” you chuckled, getting closer to him.
“I always have something in mind” he simply stated, before taking a hold of you and pulling you down on him the way he should have moments ago. It was still raining outside and he loved its sound as much for sleeping as for making love.
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-ADRONITIS Featuring Childe
Meaning: Frustration with how long it takes to get to know someone—spending the first few weeks chatting in their psychological entryway, with each subsequent conversation like entering a different anteroom, each a little closer to the center of the house
Word Count: 2.3k~
Description: Childe is helping you train and decides to show off his foul legacy form only to decide to fuck you
Edited By: @pretty-princess-peach
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You were exhausted. You had been hiking to the top of what was probably a mountain, and somehow, you had the eleventh most powerful member of the Fatui walking alongside you. You still weren’t sure how you had been afforded the opportunity to speak with Childe, but my god were you glad you got to. For the past month or so, you had been spending the majority of your free time training with Childe.
Frankly, you had no idea how you had managed to swing that, but you were damn grateful that you had. It was all thanks to a seemingly innocuous comment you had made about hoping to one day be as strong as him the first time you two had spoken. You honestly still weren’t sure why he had decided to speak to you of all people. There would be no reason for him to have noticed you…right?
But unbeknownst to you, Childe had been watching you for quite some time before he had even decided to speak to you. You had caught his eye with your ability to best practically any recruit that you sparred against and the fact that any missions you were a part of were always successful. He was initially just fascinated by how someone who looked as weak as you did was able to beat all of the tall, muscly boys and girls of the Fatui. However, over time, he found himself getting excited to catch glimpses of you, whether you were sparring or not, so when he finally decided he wanted to speak to you and you mentioned wanting to become as strong as him, he jumped at the chance to offer you his penis guidance.
“Are we almost there?”
At the moment, Childe had decided to help you with your endurance training and took you to what he called a “small hill”, but realistically, it felt like a mountain.
Childe gave you a reassuring smile.
“Don’t worry, comrade. We’re almost at the top.”
You felt a little wave of relief flow through you.
Your hike continued with the two of you in comfortable silence until, finally, you reached the top of the ‘hill’. You flopped down onto the grass. You could see why he called it a hill, but by the sheer size of it, you thought that it could be considered a mountain. Childe stood by you as you caught your breath and recovered.
“Alright, are you ready to spar?”
Your stomach dropped. He wanted to spar? With you? You were going to die.
Childe chuckled at the apparent fear on your face.
“Oh, come on. It’ll be fun.”
You considered it for a moment. It would be interesting to fight him. It would probably help you improve too. You could also see how well you could stand up to his skill.
“…Okay.”
Childe grinned before offering you his hand and pulling you up. Childe pulled two practice swords out of god knows where and handed you one. You both got into a fighting stance.
“Are you ready?”
“I guess.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll go easy on you.”
He winked at you, and you lunged forward at him. He easily parried your attack, and you two began your dance.
You were surprised that you were actually managing to hold your own a good ways into the fight, and you thought you might last a while longer, until Childe decided to take it up a notch and start using his delusion. Fuck.
You had a vision yourself, so it wasn’t like the fight was imbalanced in that way, but adding a delusion? That was just unfair.
The fight continued, and while you had taken a few hits, you were still going. Childe was thoroughly enjoying himself, and while he was holding back his true strength, he was still curious to see how you would react if he unleashed his full power on you. He wanted to see you try and fight against his overwhelming power, when realistically, there was no way you could put up any meaningful fight. He also kind of just wanted to show off for you, but that’s not important.
“Why don’t I show you what I’m truly capable of, comrade!”
You were somehow convinced that you might actually have a chance of beating the harbinger before he had said that. Then, all of a sudden, he started rising from the ground in a spiral of water, and in a flash, he was covered in new armour, and he had grown much, much taller. You had heard rumours of this transformation before. It was called “foul legacy”, was it not? You had heard that it made him grow all the way to 9’6, and you would be lying if you said you hadn’t heard girls speculating on uh, what else grew.
Of course, facing him like this now, the most prominent thoughts in your head were “Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck I’m so fucking dead.”
Childe let off a few attacks, and you were dodging them the best you could. Of course, you were too terrified to realize that he was purposefully attacking in predictable ways and leaving himself open for attacks, should you develop the bravery.
He loved this. The rush of fighting and the gratification of fighting someone that he knew he could crush in an instant. That isn’t to say you weren’t strong, of course, you had exceeded Childe’s expectations, but he was just so much stronger. He was starting to get a little worked up, watching the way your body was moving. All of the adrenaline and endorphins rushing through his body were making you look even better than usual. Besides, you definitely didn’t look bad in the little shorts and t-shirt you had worn for the hike.
Finally, after ten or so minutes of dodging various attacks of his, you decided to strike back at him. You swung your sword at his chest, but before it could meet its mark, your blade stopped mid air. You looked for what had stopped your swing, and you saw Childe’s massive, armoured, clawed hand holding your sword. Within the same moment, you felt him yank on your sword, causing you to slam into his body, your head barely reaching his stomach. He reached an arm down around your shoulders to keep you there. Childe felt his breath grow heavier as he pressed you against himself.
“You’ve fought admirably. I’ve enjoyed this fight. Why don’t I repay you?”
You hadn’t realized how his voice had changed, and it was making you feel a certain way… no, no you need to focus. You struggled fruitlessly in his grip.
“What do you mean?”
“What I mean is that I want to make you feel good, comrade.”
There’s no way he meant…no, not right now. It wasn’t possible.
“Come now, I’ll do all the work. Just let me fuck you.”
You turned bright red. Well, bright redder.
“Uh, I mean if you wanted to maybe do something tonight, we could uh… maybe do something, if you actually want to…”
“Not later. Now.”
“But…”
“Do you not want to?”
“No, I do…I definitely do… I just… it won’t work unless you change back first, right?”
“I’ll make it work.”
You could hear the smile in his voice. He loosened his grip on your shoulders, but before he could do anything else, you shot backwards instinctively. Childe immediately got back into a fighting stance. Well, it didn’t look like the fight was over yet. He attacked, and this time, you barely made it out unscathed. Now that he knew you wanted him as much as he wanted you, Childe was determined to get you in his arms and on his cock.
After another attack from Childe and a few failed parries, you somehow managed to trip over your own feet and fall backwards, hitting the ground hard and knocking the wind out of yourself. Childe chucked at your misstep and took the opportunity to pick you up, pull off your shorts and underwear and hold you up against his chest with one of his arms, making you wrap your legs around him. Childe pulled off one of his gloves before tossing it to the ground and pushing two of his big fingers into your mouth. You were already so worked up just from how much bigger than you Childe was, and feeling his big fingers in your mouth only added to that. He pushed his fingers in and out of your mouth until he decided he was ready to reach down and push them inside of you. His fingers felt so big. You were terrified of how big his cock was going to be. He kept fucking you, eventually adding another two fingers, doing his best to prep you. Finally, when he thought you were ready enough, he undid his belt, letting it drop to the grass before undoing his pants and pulling out his cock. You could feel his cock hit against your back, and a wave of fear flowed through you, but you were far too committed to whatever was going to happen next to back out now.You blushed, looking up at him, and then you realized that he still had his mask on. Wanting to see his face, you reached up to try to move it. Your attempt was fruitless. Childe laughed before pulling off his mask for you.
He lifted you up, hands firmly on your waist, and that’s when you saw his cock. Your eyes popped out of your head. It looked like it was almost as big as your arm. There was no way that was going to fit in you. Childe lined himself up with you so he could start bringing you down onto his monstrous cock. Childe pulling you down mixed with simple gravity let him push into you without much resistance from you writhing around. You yelped at the pain. It felt like he was going to rip you in two if he went in any farther, but of course, that didn’t stop him. Childe was slowly pushing inside of you as you whined about how it was too big and how you couldn’t take it, tears streaming down your face. But Childe just shushed you and stroked his thumb along your hip, telling you that you can handle it.
Eventually, you were as full as you could get, despite Childe attempting to fit more of himself inside of you. After all, you only had more than half of him buried in you.
As much as it hurt to have something so big inside of you, you had never felt so full in your life. It just felt so good.
Childe waited until you had adjusted the best you could to the size of his cock before he started bouncing you on it, doing his best to not push too far with each thrust. Your mind was blank. The only thing you could think about was how fucking good it felt to have this massive man fucking you like you were a toy.
You could hear Childe moaning at how good you felt around him, and it was music to your ears. His voice was so deep now that it gave you butterflies whenever he spoke.
“How does it feel, comrade? Do you feel good? Am I making you feel good?”
You couldn’t formulate a response. You just let out a moan and a little squeak when he brought you down too hard.
“Have you gone dumb on my cock already? That’s too bad. I thought you would be able to endure it better, but I suppose this is really what you’re good at hmm? Being a toy for me?”
You weren’t paying any attention to whatever he was saying because you were so close to cumming around Childe’s massive cock. Fuck, it just feels so good.
With a little shout, you came and were seeing stars. Feeling you spasm around his cock was all Childe needed to cum along with you. He filled you up with his cum, and it was dripping out of you, even with his cock still inside of you. You were out of breath and were waiting for Childe to lift you off of his cock when you realized something. Was he still hard? You looked up at him, eyes wide.
“I’m not done yet. I have to see how much I can really fill you up.”
And with that, he was fucking you again, just as hard and just as fast. He was gripping your sides so tightly that you were convinced that his still-gloved hand had managed to draw blood, but you didn’t care enough to stop him and make him take it off.
Before too long, you were cumming around him once again. Your vision flashed white, and everything blurred together for a moment as the euphoria rushed through your body. Childe smiled as he kept bouncing you on his cock, not giving you a moment to rest.
It went on like that for almost another hour. You were barely conscious when Childe finally lifted you off of his cock and set you down on the grass. He transformed back to normal before watching for a moment as his cum flowed out of you onto the grass. He knelt next to you and pressed on your lower stomach, making even more cum run out of you. After a minute or two, he wiped the cum and little bit of blood off of you and slipped your shorts back onto your limp body. He lifted you up in his arms and gave you a little kiss on your lips before starting the hike back to his home at the Fatui compound.
As far as he was concerned, now you were his, and he was going to treat you as well as he possibly could.
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Tag List: @lilia-sspouse @but-a-peach @stannazuna @yourlocal-bunny @lordbugs @randomlycockroach @licensedsimp @leena-shi @cesimaaa @welpthisisfine @dainself-when-playable @fic-rebloga @bubblyxdolly @wanderin-stories @iwysbellez
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morbific-or-felicific.
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makeste · 6 months
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BnHA Chapter 407: Wait Why Are You Running Away
Previously on BnHA: Kacchan figured out how to control his quirk upgrade and was totally chill and normal about it. Definitely not terrifying at all. He actually spent the entire chapter smiling and laughing like the wholesome little boy he is. I don’t know why Kid For One is so freaked out about it. He even politely introduced himself using his childhood nickname. Clearly he just wants to be friends with you, KFO!
Today on BnHA: Horikoshi is all “sorry to keep you waiting, here’s the AFO and Yoichi flashback you ordered at long last” and proceeds to serve a nightmarish stew of HUMAN MISERY and RATS and STABBING and CARNAGE and SO MUCH MURDER and THE SINGLE MOST FUCKED-UP CASE OF CODEPENDENCY ANYONE HAS EVER WRITTEN. I was not even remotely prepared for any of this, and if anyone else claims that they were, I will call you a liar to your face. If this chapter had a mouth it would scream. Or just sob, ceaselessly and uncontrollably. I’m really glad Horikoshi is on break next week because that man needs to take a fucking nap. My god.
okay WOW
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anyone else read the first two words and just immediately say to themselves, “oh okay, so it’s gonna be one of those chapters”? I mean, I guess we were due for a darker chapter after last week’s Kacchan Comedy Tour. but idk, I just wasn’t expecting “homeless sick prostitute with a drinking problem” levels of dark
AND SHE’S PREGNANT?!
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what exactly is this manga rated again? doesn’t this backstory seem just a little bit raw for the impressionable kiddos??
has anyone actually checked in on Horikoshi recently? you know, just to make sure he is okay??
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what a fun and wholesome manga this is
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the lil baby arm covered in blood with the AFO hole on the palm. lying next to the dead mom hand. what an image to sear into our minds. I guess it’s been a while since he killed any dogs. gotta keep us on our toes somehow
also wasn’t expecting AFO and Yoichi to be twins! that puts an interesting spin on their relationship, because it’s usually a closer bond than even regular siblings. especially with all of that delightful shared trauma from a young age!!
yes, exactly
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ohhhh this chapter is gonna hurt me, isn’t it. okay. ooooooookay. let’s do this
OH I’M SORRY, THERE’S MORE?!
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Horikoshi my dude. you do realize that their mom dying in childbirth and the two of them just barely surviving and growing up as street orphans would have already been MORE than tragic enough, backstory-wise. you did not have to turn this into a freaking horror show with RATS TRYING TO EAT THEIR NEWBORN SELVES jesus christ
and THAT’S where you chose to put a one year timeskip?!
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what the fuck am I reading here, you guys. no please tell me, I am actually desperate to understand
so the narrator is saying that some of the quirks manifested later in life, in “pubescent and pre-pubescent stages”, which is interesting because it’s the first time I can recall hearing about someone actually manifesting a quirk that late. maybe Deku’s old OFA cover story was more plausible than I realized
anyway so eventually it occurred to everyone that they should maybe freaking study this shit, idk. and eventually the researchers concluded that the superpowers came from a new gene that apparently isn’t human. and upon hearing that, society apparently lost its freaking mind. which is fascinating to me because it implies that the turning point wasn’t actually the superpowers themselves, but the realization of what it meant
like, so they were apparently fine with it when they thought it was a “mysterious disease”, but somehow it hit different when they learned it wasn’t actually a sickness at all, but instead the Next Step in Evolution. and it became an “us vs them” thing, as opposed to a “we have to cure these poor people” thing. damn
anyway so now Japan is a dystopia and we’re cutting to a big crowd of merc-looking dudes who are getting ready to attack some “meta freaks”, how lovely
but who is this figure in the shadows
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I ask politely, as if it wasn’t already beyond obvious that this is AFO about to wreck some people’s shit
ohhhhh my god lmao
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hopefully Katsuki and Deku can take the present day AFO out before he winds up looking like this. because this little fella is clearly demonic and idk if anyone can stop him
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you all don’t understand. you need to run the fuck away right now
oh shit it’s already too late for them
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it’s too late for any of us. it’s over. it’s all fucking over
((((;゜Д゜)))
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AFO I am putting the manga down. I am backing away slowly with my hands in the air. I mean you no harm. please for the love of god have mercy
holy
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“you see, we told you he wasn’t human” okay Scientific Research Group, you know what?? you win this round I guess
“HE WAS LITERALLY EVIL FROM BIRTH” HORIKOSHI SERIOUSLY ARE YOU OKAY??
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HE WAS BORN AN ARROGANT BABY is literally the most terrifying sentence I have ever read
what the entire fuck
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it’s a gorgeous sunny mid-November afternoon outside my window. but no matter how hard it tries, the light cannot reach this place
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what kind of moron would throw a can of soda at him. officially the stupidest person we have ever seen in this manga
OH MY GOD OF COURSE IT’S HIM LMAO
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(ETA: how come baby Yoichi has clothes that fit him perfectly but baby AFO is just stomping around wearing a tablecloth.)
BABY YOICHI. OH MY GOD. HOW THE HELL DID YOU GROW UP TO BE SANE AND KIND AND GOOD. THAT’S MY QUESTION THAT I NEED ANSWERED RIGHT NOW. YOU ARE LITERALLY A MIRACLE. YOU ARE AN IMPOSSIBILITY, DO YOU KNOW THAT
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small and weak, but also so, so cute. all of the cuteness genes went straight to him. no wonder AFO was jealous
(ETA: just want to press pause for a second to speculate about what type of twins AFO and Yoichi are, since it has some relevance to the story, and especially to the OFA/AFO quirk lore. so! at first glance the two of them would appear to be fraternal twins, just based on the fact that they have very different appearances, and also the fact that Yoichi doesn’t have the AFO quirk – no holes in his hands, etc. identical twins are born from the same fertilized egg, so in theory they would both have the same sequence of DNA, which means Yoichi would have had the same quirk as AFO. but that doesn’t appear to be the case. so all of that points to them being fraternal, not identical.
on the other hand, there is one piece of evidence in this chapter that does support them being identical twins, and that’s the fact that per the narration, AFO absorbed most of the nutrients from their mother. a few minutes of google fu informed me that this condition is relatively rare, and only happens in cases where two twins share a placenta, which typically is only the case for identical twins. HOWEVER, for what it’s worth, there have also been rare instances where two fraternal twin placentas fuse together and become a single placenta. AND this apparently also increases the chances of one of the twins gaining more of the nutrients and causing the other twin to have a lower birth weight.
so based on the evidence here, my conclusion is that the two of them are most likely fraternal twins with a case of placental fusion. besides, you can’t tell me that stealing his baby brother’s placenta while the two of them are literally still in the womb doesn’t sound like exactly the type of BS that fetus!AFO would pull, lol.)
HEY!?!
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okay?!?!?! well to be fair he did throw that soda at him
oh my god this is so fucked up. in like the best and worst way possible
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I genuinely couldn’t ask for a better AFO backstory. it’s so incredibly twisted, and you actually do feel sorry for him. or at least I do. but it’s also beyond clear that this kid was FUCKED UP BEYOND ALL REASON right from the get go. zero goodness in him. literally doesn’t see other people as people. sees them as possessions only. things to rule over. not other thinking, feeling human beings. and that includes his own little brother
but. even if it’s not actually what I would call love, there’s still... attachment, there. it’s the closest he can get to actually caring about someone. guh. just, somehow they have both managed to humanize him, and at the same time made him less human than ever. this manga, man. this fucking manga, though
lmao and here we go. Captain Hero
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you know, all those times that I made fun of AFO for not knowing how to read, I never suspected that the twist in his backstory would be that he LITERALLY DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO READ dfksjdlfkjslkdf
but seriously though. because Yoichi appears to be self-taught, and I can’t see AFO having the patience for that, and CLEARLY no one else was around to teach him, sooooo...
oh my goodness it’s actually getting wholesome up in here
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what a good fucking boy. poor AFO. fuck me, I can’t help it. it’s not your fault you’re the world’s greatest monster you poor bastard
now we’re cutting to THREE YEARS LATER. okay
is he going to declare war on the glowing baby
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typical teenager concerned about nothing but likes and view counts. AFO you would be so much happier if you stopped worrying about all of that and just focused on your own growth
oh, lol. well that was quick
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(ETA: r.i.p. Damien.)
“this guy had more instagram followers than me. so I killed him” honey. sweetie pie. you need therapy
omfg
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all this time I was wondering who AFO’s middle school lit teacher was who had failed so spectacularly at teaching him reading comprehension. and it was YOICHI ALL ALONG. omg
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“and, presumably, that’s how it always was and always will be.” dude. can you imagine listening to AFO’s oral book report on A Tale of Two Cities. “ahem. it was the Best of Times. the end” buddy noooooooo
it was at that moment when Yoichi knew, etc. etc.
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oh my GOD I scrolled down to the next panel right after this one and I just IMMEDIATELY DIED LAUGHING
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“WAS IT SOMETHING I SAID” ffffffffffffffff I fucking can’t omfg
NOW THIS HUSSY IS STEALING HIS BROTHER AWAY FROM HIM NOOOOOOO
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HE’S HIS!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!! THAT’S NOT ALLOWED!!!
oh my god the hands. so wait, is this just the standard symbolic BnHA handholding, or are there More Levels To This. when exactly did Yoichi pass OFA on to Kudou. like is that why the sudden close-up and all that? omg
WHAT!!!!
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OH THAT’S THE END, HUH? THAT’S THE END RIGHT THERE, AND THAT’S JUST HOW IT IS. I SEE. OKAY THEN. EXCUSE ME WHILE I PUT MY LAPTOP DOWN AND GO INTO THE NEXT ROOM AND SCREAM INTO A PILLOW
oh my god. and break next week too. this is what you guys have been dealing with this entire time huh. I understand your feelings now. godfuckingdammit lmao
289 notes · View notes
saigethearies · 7 months
Text
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saige’s terrortober presents…
trust me
while on an expedition into space, your budding romance with osamu came as a pleasant surprise- the murderer hiding amongst your crew, not so much.
alien!osamu miya x fem!reader
contents/warnings: murder, manipulation, and slight yandere, side character deaths, service dom!osamu, unprotected vaginal sex, vaginal fingering, oral (f! receiving), size kink, osamu is PACKING, praise, belly bulge, dacryphilia, use of pet names, betrayal, angst in the end, osamu still has his dyed hair but he’s in his twenties, this is basically an among us au bare with me
wc: 6.7k
18+ MINORS DNI
an: this one is posted a little late but it works out so it gets to be posted on samu’s actual bday!
“the fuck you mean you found a dead body?” terushima bites out from next to you.
your brain felt like it was lagging as panicked voices sounded off around you. there was no way one of your crewmates was dead. you’d all had multiple health screenings before getting admission into the space exploration program. no one would have gotten the green light if they were in bad health, so how could they just have died? and within the first week?
unless…
“there were multiple stab wounds,” director takeda said, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible to prevent the surrounding tension from worsening. “as of right now, we can only assume it was a homicide.”
the room fell silent as everyone let the news sink in.
“ya gotta be fuckin’ kiddin’ me,” a voice drawls from across the circular table. “we’re stuck on this floatin’ hunk of metal and we’ve gotta damn killer on the loose?”
atsumu miya had a scowl on his face, arms crossed over his chest.
“if that’s the case then we need to start narrowing suspects down now,” oikawa followed up. “someone in this room is a murderer, unless we have a stowaway hiding somewhere.”
“security is top notch, there’s no way someone would have been able to sneak on,” kanoka rebutted.
“well then,” daishou started. “it’s time to start hearing some alibis.”
“i was doing weapons,” asahi supplied.
“i can vouch, i was in the room with him,” oikawa added, the other nodding in agreement.
one by one, all of your crewmates stated where they were, what they were doing, who they were with.
“i was in navigation with the twins trying to get the ship back on course,” suna said. “since dumb and dumber decided it would be a good idea to push a bunch of random buttons.”
“i was tryin’ t’ find the air conditionin’!”
“don’t rope me in with his bullshit,” osamu miya muttered from besides his brother.
you spared a quick glance at the grey-haired man. out of all the people on the ship, he seemed to be the one you always found your eyes wandering to.
“where were you?”
the question pulled you back into focus. you turned to see terushima staring down at you, awaiting your response.
“i was reading some samples in med bay.”
his eyes narrowed. “did anyone see you?”
you blinked. no, no one saw you, but that’s because you were the only scientist hired on with a medical background. most of your time in med bay was spent alone.
would that make you look suspicious?
you figured that honesty was the best policy, so you went ahead and told the truth.
“no, i was there alone- but no one else is ever really in there unless they need treatment or need to run an errand, if that makes any difference.”
“so what i’m hearing is that you don't have a solid alibi.”
you felt your hands start to shake. “i-i guess not…”
“let’s hear where the hell yer ass was, terushima.”
the two of you turned to see osamu’s dark grey eyes trained on the man interrogating you. the intensity in them almost sent a chill down your spine.
“ya seem desperate t’ go ahead and put blame on the lil’ lady without even giving yer own alibi yet.”
was he defending you?
terushima sent him a glare. “i was emptying the trash in storage. daishou saw me when he passed by.”
a furrow appeared on said man’s brow. “uh, hate to say it man, but i don’t remember seeing you there.”
“the hell do you mean? you literally walked right by me!”
“the only people i remember seeing before the emergency alarm sounded off was kanoka and the director in shields. i was dropping off some supplies for them.”
“you can’t be serious right now!”
“well look who doesn't have a solid alibi now,” atsumu taunted. “it seems t’ me like yer dejectin’-”
“projecting,” suna corrected.
“-projectin’ onto someone else because ya don’t wanna look guilty.”
“you’re trying to imply that i did this?” terushima shouted.
“if the shoe fits.”
“that’s enough,” director takeda declares, getting the bickering to subside before it could escalate further. “we don’t need to jump to conclusions and we don’t need to fall into hysteria, either. making a rash decision based on little evidence won’t help anything. the body was found near the reactors, so on the complete opposite side of the ship from where everyone allegedly was. Therefore, we don't really have any leads at the moment.”
“so what do we do?” asahi asked, anxiety written all over his face.
“for now, everyone just stay alert and on guard. try to stay in groups or at least pairs if you can. i don’t think the killer will lash out if more than one person is around, and if worst comes to worst, we’d at least be able to pick out who was with who. if you do notice anything suspicious about a fellow crewmate, come report to me directly. rumors will only cause trouble. understood?”
everyone gave their confirmation, you barely being able to mutter yours out.
there was really a killer amongst your ranks.
you were stuck on a ship traveling further into outer space with a murderer.
“good. meeting adjourned, everyone back to your tasks.”
you turned back towards med bay, practically moving on autopilot as your mind picked apart every piece of information you just received.
“i find it interesting that the person closest to the reactors at the time of the murder was you. that is, if your story was even true”
the voice was followed by a hand roughly grabbing onto your arm, halting your retreat. you turned to see terushima’s glare trained on you, his grip tightening. “everyone else might be letting your shitty alibi slide, but i'm not.”
“your own alibi wasn’t even solid,” you argued back, trying to wrench free from his grasp. “you don't have any right to accuse me, if anything i could be saying the same things to you right now.”
“you’re a lot more combative than you were a few minutes ago. i guess you dropped the quiet, innocent girl act now that we're not surrounded by others, right?”
you wanted to deck this guy. how dare he continue to try and accuse you of one thing after another when you haven't done anything wrong. especially after his own shaky alibi had been exposed.
“that’s not the case at all, i just don’t like to be bothered by a hypocrite!”
“i’ll show you a fucking-”
“get yer filthy hands off’a her.”
osamu was at your side before you could even register. while the expression on his face seemed blank, terushima could see the silent fire raging within his eyes, practically challenging him to try and disobey the grey-haired man’s order.
still, the shorter man made no move to release you, which prompted your unexpected savior to speak again.
“if i have t’ tell ya twice, yer not gonna like what happens next.”
with that, terushima finally released you. he scoffed before turning to storm out of the room.
you let out a breath you didn’t even realize you were holding in.
“ya alright, there?”
looking up you met the dark, concerned eyes of osamu. the contact had the inside of your stomach turning into an ocean, waves swirling around within you as you held his gaze.
“i’m okay, thank you,” you said, trying to ignore the feeling of your cheeks heating up. “he seemed relentless, so i really do appreciate you stepping in.”
a smile then appeared on osamu’s face, and you wanted to burn the image into your memory forever because goodness did that man look handsome.
“it’s no worries, my ma taught me better than t’ just stand by when a lady’s ‘n trouble.”
you felt the corners of your own lips curl upwards. “well then she did a really great job.”
“how ‘bout i walk ya back to med bay,” he offered. “director said we needa stick together, wouldn’t feel right if i just let ya wander off alone.”
the waves inside your stomach felt as if they were growing to tsunami-level proportions. you had clearly noticed that osamu was a handsome man the day the crew was all introduced to each other, but you reasoned that you had a job to do on this ship so you couldn’t let yourself get distracted by what was essentially a schoolgirl crush.
now, however, the person of your attraction was guiding you through the halls with a large hand placed on the small of your back.
“i feel like we’re ‘n the start of’a nightmare,” osamu said, pulling you out of your thoughts. “can’t believe shunki got offed by someone on the damn crew.”
“yeah, it’s insane,” you replied. “i still can’t really wrap my head around it.”
“ ‘m sure that terushima jackass barkin’ atcha hasn't made it any easier for ya, huh?”
you sighed. “no, but i guess he does have somewhat of a reason. my alibi can't be corroborated by anyone. besides, nerves are running rampant right now, so i can't really blame him.”
the two of you reached med bay, osamu reaching for the handle and opening the door before you could even lift a finger. he was every bit as chivalrous as he was handsome, your knees feeling slightly weaker as he ushered you inside.
“well i think his reason for comin’ atcha was bullshit. he doesn’t have a solid story, either, so his whole outburst is rubbin’ me the wrong way. be careful ‘round him, will ya?”
the thought had crossed your mind during your earlier altercation with terushima. you knew you weren’t a killer, but him? it could be entirely plausible that a murderer had just been laying his hands on you. if osamu hadn’t come to your aid…
“i’ll try and steer clear of him,” you replied. “thank you again, osamu. i appreciate it, really.”
“of course,” he replied with a smile coming back onto his face. “and you can call me ‘samu.”
returning his kind expression, you nodded your head before turning to grab the samples you were working with earlier.
“anythin’ i can help ya with while ‘m here?”
“you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to, walking me back was already sweet enough of you.”
“nah, we gotta stay ‘n pairs, remember? can’t let ya just sit here by yerself with a killer on the ship.”
by the look on his face, you could tell osamu wasn’t going to take no for an answer, so you relented by pointing to the wireless connection panel on the wall across from you.
“i think that could use some maintenance.”
_____
while very tense, the next few days were quiet. no more killings, no odd behavior from anyone- besides terushima’s rotten attitude towards you, but at this point you were just getting used to it. everyone was taking it day by day, each uneventful twenty-four hours being looked at as a win. crew morale was constantly wavering, however. it was hard to feel confident in your coworkers when one of them was secretly a murderer.
your safe haven amidst all of the suspense was osamu.
he continued to spend hours at a time with you in med bay, your once silent workplace now filled with chatter and laughter. when it came time for him to leave to go attend to other tasks, you would often tag along.
“buddy system, right?” he would say.
atsumu and suna would also occasionally find themselves keeping the two of you company in med bay. watching the three of them banter was probably the best entertainment you were going to get on the spacecraft. with the way the dark-haired man interacted with the twins you would think that they’ve all known each other for a very long time, so you were surprised to learn that they’d only just met at the start of the expedition.
“it literally reminds me of mustard,” suna remarked, earning a burst of laughter from osamu.
“shut yer trap, sunarin!”
“did you just not think to use toner?”
“there is nothin’ wrong with my hair!” atsumu defended.
the bickering had been going on for the past five minutes, suna always finding a way to goad the blonde into being his personal entertainment. he almost had a talent for being able to get under either of the twin’s skin, antagonizing them almost as much as they antagonize each other.
“if yer worried ‘bout what's wrong with ya then yer hair is the least of yer worries,” osamu piped up, earning a small giggle from you. you were too engrossed in recording your sample data to notice the content smile come onto the grey-haired man’s face at hearing your laugh.
he came up behind you, leaning down so that his head was hovering above your shoulder. “what ya got goin’ on here?”
you kept your face turned down towards your desk, not wanting him to catch onto the way your cheeks were heating up at his close proximity. “just going over the results from asahi’s blood test.”
it was no doubt to you that after spending so much time together, there was…something brewing between you and osamu. at first you figured it was just physical attraction, but the more you were around him, the more you began to realize that wasn’t the case.
you felt a comfort with the man you hadn’t felt with anyone else before- not any of your friends, not any of your exes, not even your family. there was no denying that there was a genuine connection there, and whether you were falling for him so quickly because of the circumstances or because you were truly that into him, you didn’t know.
and it didn’t really matter to you, either. every day on this spaceship could end up being your last, so you chose not to waste your time overthinking.
“need any help?”
“no, but thank you, ‘samu. you're always so considerate.”
before he could reply, kissy noises were sounding off from the other two occupants in the room. the glare osamu sent atsumu and suna would probably have most peoples’ stomachs dropping, but the two of them seemed unfazed.
it was then that a red flash illuminated the room, a harsh buzz ripping through the air.
the emergency alarm.
you dropped your pen.
“dammit!” atsumu yelled. “not another murder!”
a hand was placed on the small of your back, guiding you to stand on unsteady legs. “don’t jump t’ conclusions, we don’t know fer sure.”
“well what else would it be?” suna asked.
you began to move towards the door, osamu’s palm not leaving your body.
“i guess we should go find out,” you muttered.
the walk was silent, the once tense atmosphere of the ship now suffocating as days after days worth of anxiety had come to a crescendo. the four of you waited as the cafeteria doors slid open, revealing the rest of your crewmates gathered around the meeting table.
well, all of them except one.
not again…
once you had all gathered around, director takeda spoke the words you’d been dreading to hear since the adjournment of the last meeting.
“another body has been found.”
silence.
“oikawa and asahi found daishou in the electrical room. he wasn’t moving and they couldn’t find a pulse.”
“that’s right around the corner from where the last body was found,” kanoka observed.
“on the same side as med bay,” terushima muttered under his breath, loud enough for you to hear.
you frowned. “can you at least wait until we get all the details before you try and start accusing me?”
“why? we’re already two men down, we can’t let this shit just slide again.”
“we won’t,” takeda firmly interjected. “there were several small bruises on daishou’s neck, so it seems that his cause of death was asphyxiation.”
“so whoever did this was able to choke a grown a man to death with their bare hands,” oikawa observed.
“wouldn’t that mean we have the culprit’s fingerprints?” you asked.
“unfortunately the perpetrator was wearing gloves.”
“damn,’ asahi sighed.
“well if they killed the poor guy with their bare hands then i really don’t think it could be the lil’ lady,” atsumu commented.
“yeah, ya really think these tiny ass fingers could choke a man?” osamu added, lifting your hand up to prove his point. your stomach fluttered when you saw how huge his looked compared to yours.
“here the two of you go fucking defending her again,” terushima barked. “she didn’t even have an alibi last time!”
“neither did you,” suna said.
“yeah, and this time all three of us were with her,” osamu motioned between him, his brother, and their friend. “so she has the damn alibi yer so bent over.”
“okay, so we know oikawa and asahi were together again, then the four of them were with each other,” kanoka listed. “i was checking oxygen levels with the director.”
all eyes turned to the remaining unnamed person.
“terushima, where were you?”
the man blinked. “i was doing weapons.”
“did anyone see you?”
“i-uh, well no, everyone was off doing other things.”
director takeda frowned. “so you have no one to confirm your whereabouts?”
“second time this happened,” oikawa commented.
the pierced man sent the brunette a glare.
“since he mentioned it already, wasn’t daishou the one who denied being able to verify terushima’s story last time? and now he’s dead, too.”
everyone went quiet at suna’s observation, terushima’s eyes widening.
“are you seriously implying that i fucking did this?”
“the evidence isn’t really pointing towards anyone else right now,” kanoka said slowly.
“what the fuck.”
“everyone else has alibis,” oikawa said, prepared to lay the facts on the table.”you’re the only one who’s been unaccounted for both times, and you have a possible motive for the most recent killing. no one else has the cards stacked against them like this.”
terushima looked around the table, everyone regarding him with a careful, withdrawn look.
“guys, come on!”
director takeda took a slow breath. “i’m sorry, terushima. but we’ve already lost two lives, and right now you’re the only suspect. we have to do what’s best for the crew.”
“fuck you,” he bit out, practically snarling. “fuck all of you! what are you gonna do now, shoot me?”
“no,” his superior said slowly.
“the ship has come equipped with a different way to handle violent members.”
_____
never in a million years would you have thought that what director takeda meant is that terushima would get ejected. thrown out into deep space to choke and freeze.
it felt so cruel and unusual. yet, your boss insisted that this was the best way to go about it. keeps the threat away without needing anyone to bloody their own hands.
you tried to take his word for it, but you still couldn’t help but feel that there had to have been a better method.
thankfully, the relief of the murder mystery being solved was enough to keep you from dwelling on it for too long. the atmosphere on the ship was light again, everyone more lively and talkative. there was still an underlying somberness held for those departed, but no more going through the day with bated breath.
well, almost.
you still couldn’t fight the feeling that something was…off.
as if your ship’s little mystery had been solved almost too easily. too conveniently.
“what’s wrong?”
osamu’s voice pulled you from your thoughts, standing at the entryway to your sleeping quarters.
“oh! hey,” you said, getting up from your desk. you had to crane your neck so much to look up at him. you tried to ignore how that fact made your heart skip.
as if he could read your thoughts, the grey-haired man brushed a strand of your hair behind your ear. “ya didn’t answer me.”
you gave him a small smile. “i’m okay, ‘samu, just tired.”
he frowned. “i don’t believe ya.”
a sigh escaped your lips. “i guess i’m just a little overwhelmed. i’m glad we found terushima out and all, but this whole ordeal has just felt like…a lot. and i think i've been struggling to calm down again, after things were so tense for a while.”
“i don’t like seein’ ya this worried, pretty girl like ya shouldn’t be frettin’ over a thing.”
the comment didn’t catch you completely off guard. osamu had started to become a little more flirtatious, but you always figured it wasn’t that serious. probably just a way for him to be affectionate.
as his dark eyes bore into you right now, however, you started to think that might not be the case.
“i’m okay, really.”
the hand that had brushed your hair away hadn’t left your face, thumb brushing against your cheek.
“i can see yer face lookin’ all gloomy,’ he said, moving closer to you. “c’mon, darlin’, talk to me.”
you took a deep, steadying breath. “i just want a break from all the stress.”
his hands were then roaming your back, pulling you into his chest. his lips found themselves at the shell of your ear.
“then let me take care of ya, sweetheart.”
the sexual tension building up over the past week came to boiling point when osamu’s lips slotted against yours, desire spilling over the sides and shrouding each of you in a cloud of desire. he started to press more firmly, tongue sliding in between the seam of your mouth.
he broke away from you. “ ‘s this alright?”
you nodded, eyes wide, before osamu’s lips chased after yours again, hand coming to the zipper of your pink bodysuit. he dragged it down slowly, revealing more of your skin inch by inch.
stepping out of the material, you stood before him in your matching set.
“so damn beautiful.”
you placed your hands on the back of his neck, eyes staring up at him doefully. “wanna see you too, ‘samu.”
“whatever ya want, darlin’.”
he peeled off his own bodysuit next, grey in color, and was left in just his briefs. gently leading you back towards your bed, he laid you down slowly.
kissing you once more, osamu started to move down your body, leaving little pecks against your heated skin in his wake.
“what are you doing?”
“i told ya i was gonna take care of ya, sweetheart.”
he pressed a kiss below your belly button, fingers gripping the hem of your panties. he glanced towards your face, chest tightening at the sight of your lust-blown expression, waiting for your okay. you nodded, and thus osamu peeled the lace off.
grabbing the underside of each of your thighs, he spread them open. kissing the inner part of each of them, his lips then finally descended onto your glistening cunt.
“ ‘samu,” you squeaked out.
he smirked, tongue grazing up and down your sensitive nub. the sensation had you mewling, fingers tangling into his dyed locks. your sounds made osamu smirk against you, adding two fingers into your cunt in hopes he’d hear even more.
the muscle started to move against your clit faster, mouthing against it like he was starved. another finger was then pressed into your pussy. you weren’t used to being stretched that much.
“too much,” you whined out. “ ‘s too much.”
“ya need t’ take it, sweet thing. if yer gonna take my dick later, ya need this.”
you felt your breath catch, the thought of being filled by him leading the heat in your stomach to start building.
finally hitting his fingers against that spongy spot deep within your walls, a cry ripped from you as he started to put all of his focus there. your legs were starting to shake, so osamu decided now was the time to switch up the motion of his tongue, drawing circles on your bundle of nerves.
you spasmed as your orgasm tore through you, whimpers leaving your lips as pleasure overtook every nerve within you.
osamu removed his mouth and fingers from you, inching back up your body before hovering over you.
“did so good, pretty girl, so good.”
you felt his thick fingers creep behind your back, undoing your bra. his eyes drank in the sight of your tits as he pulled the garment off of you.
kisses and bites were littered along your chest, small praises whispered between each. his lips moved back up your neck, leaving a final peck on the tip of your nose before speaking.
“ya think yer ready?”
you knew what he was talking about, nodding your head vigorously, excited to be able to feel all of him.
however, all of that excitement left your body when he finally removed his boxers.
oh…
you should have known. osamu’s whole frame was big and broad. why would his cock be any different?
god, would that even fit? none of your past boyfriends even came close to his size.
he must’ve seen your face grow pale. “what’s the matter, darlin’?”
you gulped.
“...that’s not gonna fit, ‘samu.”
“it will,” he replied, not even seeming fazed by your concern. “trust me.”
“but-”
“ya trust me, right?”
his gaze was zeroed in on yours, and you felt yourself become transfixed by just how endless it seemed, as if the space surrounding your little floating ship existed in osamu’s eyes.
“yeah, i trust you.”
another soft kiss met your lips. “good.”
his thumb was at your clit again, an attempt to distract you from the head of his cock pressing against your opening. he began to push in, a small whimper leaving your lips as you could already feel the burning stretch.
“relax, doll, ya gotta relax.”
more kisses were then peppered against your lips, silent reassurances as osamu entered into you further, each new inch making your brain feel as if it was going to explode.
“little cunt ain’t used t’ takin’ somethin’ this big, huh?”
you shook your head, confirming his suspicion as tears started to leak from your eyes.
“well, first time fer everythin’, sweetheart.”
you had no idea how he got the whole thing to fit inside of you. your pussy felt as if it was being torn apart at the seams in the best way possible, jaw going slack as he bottomed out.
“oh.”
osamu hummed. “tightest cunt i’ve ever been ‘n. yer just a dream, aintcha?”
you wanted to reply to his praise, but all that could leave you was a scream as he started to pull out and push back in. starting a steady pace, the man pulled you into a hungry kiss.
never before had you ever been so filled, moaning aimlessly into his mouth as the only thought your brain could come up with was so full, so full, so full.
he parted from your lips.
“ya feel it, darlin’?”
you didn’t have a clue what he was talking about until he thrusted back in, palm coming down against a protrusion in your tummy. the realization had more drops falling down your cheeks, babbles bubbling up your throat. he was going to rip you apart, and you were more than willing to let him.
“ ‘m gettin’ close,” he warned, forehead resting against yours. his hands then grabbed each side of your hips, holding you in place as he picked up the pace. “need ya t’ cum too, doll. ladies first.”
your cunt finally couldn’t take anymore battering, muscles spasming as you came hard on osamu’s cock. you saw him grin as your body shook, finally allowing himself to release with a low groan.
he made sure to pull out of your overstuffed pussy before you could get too stimulated, situating himself at your side so he could pull you into his chest. you rested your cheek against his pec.
stillness overtook the room as you tried to compose yourself, body still twitching with aftershocks.
osamu chuckled, kissing the crown of your head.
“i told ya i’d make it work. see, ya can trust me.”
_____
the next twenty four hours were absolute bliss. you and osamu were practically connected at the hip, all ooey gooey and lovey dovey with each other. atsumu and suna made gagging sounds every time they saw the two of you, but neither of you cared. nothing was going to ruin the oasis you’d built with one other.
the emergency alarm figured it was up for the challenge.
your eyebrows knitted together, pulling away from your lover’s side as you heard the sound pierce the content silence you’d been sitting in.
the uneasy feeling from before, the feeling that something still just wasn’t right came back to you.
“it might just be some mechanical issues,” osamu reassured, clearly trying to calm you down. you met his gaze, slightly taken aback by the expression in them. it was hard to read, but you just chalked it up to him being antsy, too.
“hopefully.”
the broken, bloodied glasses of director takeda proved the two of you wrong.
oikawa held them in the palm of his hand, a grim look on his face.
“he was in navigation,” he started. “i could barely even recognize him, that’s how bad the damage was.”
you couldn’t stop your lip from wobbling. your nightmare was still ongoing, and now the one person who kept you all sane had been beaten into his grave.
what came next broke you even more, though.
“kanoka is dead, too.”
two murders.
two murders on the same damn day.
you bit your lip, keeping your cries as silent as you could as the news settled.
suna was the first to speak. “do we need to move their bodies out of there, and give them a nicer…resting place, like the others?”
“that’s the thing,” oikawa’s tone now had an edge to it. “kanoka’s body wasn’t with the director’s, it was in lower engine.”
“so what does that mean?” you said, frustration starting to prick at you. “the killer moved her body? or had enough time to get from one crime scene to the other?”
“no,” asahi said. “oikawa was across the hall cleaning the air filters when he heard crashing in navigation. he remembered the time was around 7:30 pm. i was checking the reactor when i heard kanoka scream, and the clock on it read 7:27 pm.”
“ya mean t’ tell me they were killed at the same time ‘n opposite sides of the ship? how the hell is that possible?”
“is the answer not obvious?” oikawa bit out at atsumu. “there’s two fucking killers, and it has to be one of you four!”
“one of us?” you said in disbelief.
“yes!”
“wait a damn minute,” osamu started. “ya mean t’ tell us that if there’s two killers, it has t’ be two of us? not the two of ya, who’ve been stickin’ together since the beginnin’?”
“what ‘samu said! y’all have always been each other’s alibis, ya could have been bullshittin’ us the whole time!”
atsumu had a point. oikawa and asahi always being each other’s alibis would have been one thing when there was a singular killer, but now that there’s two? they could have been covering for each other the whole time. but still…
“if we were the killers why would we give away that there’s two of us? that makes no sense, we’d have nothing to gain from that.”
oikawa voiced the exact thought you had been thinking. they would have the element of surprise keeping their partnership under wraps, it doesn’t make sense why they would expose there are two murderers when it would be easier to let the impression there’s a singular one linger.
yet, you had gotten to know the other three people at the table. there was no way osamu, atsumu, or suna could be a killer. there was just no way.
“you could be playing mind games with us, who knows,” suna assessed. “there’s no telling what fucked shit you’re willing to do if you’re out here cutting people up.”
“no one is trying to play tricks!” asahi yelled. “the innocent people on this ship are in serious danger, we need to figure this out now!”
“the four of us see one another on a regular basis,” osamu said. “the two of ya are the outliers here.”
“we each have three other people that can vouch for us! the two of ya only have each other! yer outnumbered here!”
you were so overwhelmed. so much muddled information was being thrown around, no solid theories being able to stem from such minimal evidence. you weren’t going to be able to use your brain on this one, you were going to have to trust your gut.
“we’re supposed to believe the pair of two people aren’t the killers and instead the duo is hiding in the tight knit group of four? that shit doesn’t add up in the slightest, the two of you are talking out of your asses.”
oikawa and asahi turned to you.
“you’re smart, please tell us you believe us.”
you bit your lip.
“i just…can’t wrap my head around the idea that any of them could be killers.”
“don’t let being buddy-buddy with the three of them cloud your judgment. like i said earlier, why would we expose there are actually two killers if we were the two killers?”
a theory came to your mind, and you weren’t sure if you thought it up because it was actually plausible, or because you just wanted to prove your lover and friends were innocent. regardless, you shared it.
“the three of them are bigger than the prior victims, so they would put up a tough fight. two against four would be hard to pull off with them, so you could be exposing the murderer duo so that we get rid of two of ourselves and then make it a two against two.”
oikawa and asahi both blanched at your statement.
“she’s a genius!” atsumu exclaimed. “y’all really thought ya could put one by her, huh?”
“she’s wrong! we would nev-”
“i don’t know about you guys,” suna interrupted. “but i’ve heard all that i need to hear. let’s get them the fuck off this ship.”
the screaming and shouting that ensued as he and the twins pushed the two accused men out of the room and down the halls had you covering your ears, eyes squeezed shut as more tears dropped down your face.
you tried to tell yourself that you were okay. the murderers had been caught for real now, you were going to be fine. you were safe.
the ship went quiet, yells no longer being heard. that was all you needed to know that oikawa and asahi had been ejected.
footsteps pulled you out of your thoughts, suna regarding you with a nod as he re-entered the room.
“you alright?”
breathe in, breathe out. “i should be.”
“good. i'm gonna go send a message to headquarters. someone needs to tell them what the hell has been happening.”
you bid him goodbye as he left. standing up, you decided that being wrapped up in osamu’s arms felt like a good idea after the intense moment earlier.
they weren’t in med bay, so you did a little searching before hearing their voices from inside the admin room. you were about to enter the room before a sentence spoken by osamu stopped you in your tracks.
“i told ya t’ fuckin’ wait a while-”
wait for what?
“ ‘m sorry, i just wanted to get it over with! i told ya i didn’t want t’ be the one t’ kill the director.”
not even the limitless space outside could create the coldness you felt seep through every pore in your skin.
please be dreaming.
“ya still nearly got us exposed.”
“who cares? we’ve picked enough people off anyways. ship is ours.”
your pulse currently rivaled that of a racehorse, your brain not being able to deny what it just heard.
the twins were the killers.
osamu was a murderer.
movement to your left caught your eye, the brothers exiting the room only to stop in surprise when they saw you.
you tried to paint a look of nonchalance on your face, but it was too late. the panic was written all over you. there was nowhere to hide.
two very different emotions came onto their faces. atsumu practically looked predatory, whereas ‘samu almost looked as panicked as you.
“darlin’, listen to me-”
“cut her the bullshit, ‘samu, ya already dickmatized her enough.”
you found yourself backpedaling, fingers trembling as you attempted to put as much distance between you and them as possible.
“c’mon, angel, why ya look so scared?” atsumu taunted. you watched in horror as his brown eyes shifted to an inky black, the blonde about to lunge at you before his brother grabbed him by the collar of his maroon suit and yanked him back.
“not her,” osamu bit out, trapping his brother in a headlock. “i told ya anyone but her.”
“yer no fun, ‘samu!”
you didn’t wait around to watch them squabble, turning and running towards communications as fast as you could. you had to get to suna. he needed to know, and you weren’t going to be able to stand the slightest chance against the miyas without him.
choked sobs left you as you sped through the halls, sorrow and guilt eating you alive. sorrow because the man you had started to fall in love with, the man you had given your body to, the man you felt safe with ended up being a murderer. you felt beyond just betrayed.
then, your guilt stemmed from the fact that so many of your crewmates lay dead now, and several times you had let their killers roam free. not only that, but you’d also stood by as numerous innocent people were sent to their death outside in the vacuum of space.
you knew something was still off. you knew.
but your gut instinct had been fogged by your stupid, mushy emotions.
this was all fucked.
this was all so fucked.
“SUNA!” you screamed, sprinting into comms with red and bleary eyes.
“what is it- whoa, what’s going on?” he asked, placing his hands on your shoulders.
“we were wrong,” you said, throat tightening. “it’s the twins, they’re the killers! they’ve been playing us the whole time.”
“damn, that’s tough.”
his unserious response confused you. maybe he was in shock?
“also, correction,” the dark-haired man began. “the miyas haven’t been playing us the whole time…”
your heart nearly stopped when you saw suna’s greyish-green eyes turn the same black shade that atsumu’s had.
“...we’ve all been playing you the whole time.”
you couldn’t move, not registering suna’s grip on your shoulders tightening until you were being ripped straight out of it.
“don’t fuckin’ touch her.”
you felt yourself become engulfed in osamu’s arms, back pressed to his chest as he kept the two of you facing the other two…imposters in the room.
“dude, seriously? she’s the last one standing, we could complete the set.”
“sunarin’s right! c’mon, ‘samu!”
you felt his hold tighten around you, the same hands that slaughtered your crewmates now protectively embracing you. that fact made your head hurt.
“i told the two of ya, ‘m keepin’ her. lay a damn finger on her and ‘m rippin’ it clean off ya.”
he was met with begrudged silence from the two other men before suna let out an exasperated sigh. “fine, i guess she can live. she did really help us out by vouching for us back there, fucking oikawa almost had us figured out.”
“a pretty face t’ look at on the ride home won’t hurt.”
“watch it,” osamu warned his brother.
you didn’t know what they were talking about. you didn’t know what home was for them. all you knew was that you were gonna get dragged along, whether you liked it or not, by a man who built a bond with you through sugar-coated lies.
osamu leaned down, kissing the side of your cheek before whispering in your ear. “all my feelins’ are genuine, darlin’, that i can assure ya.”
you felt his fingers intertwine with your still shaking ones.
“ ‘m gonna take good care of ya, i promise.”
_____
saige’s terrortober masterlist
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igotanidea · 5 months
Text
Mistletoe: Jason Todd X reader
Christmas bingo day 15: mistletoe
Christmas bingo masterlist
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"for the love of –‘’
She really should have seen this coming, right?
***
“Y/n?” she was barely reacting too distracted by what her beloved boyfriend Jason just told her “YN!” her blank face expression made Todd want to shake her a little to bring her back to reality. As for now he was effectively fighting that urge but each second of her acting like a lunatic were putting his patience to a very hard test. “How many fingers do you see?”
“Now that’s mean.” She came to life rolling her eyes at the charades
“Made you get back down to earth.”
“I’m shocked, not hazy.”
“Why?”
“Why?” was he even serious “you want the list on chronological or alphabetical order?”
“Humour me princess.”
“First: you’re attending a Christmas party at the Wayne Manor? You?”
“It’s only for Alfred’s cooking.”
“Mhm. Obviously.” she teased” Second, you are going to wear formal clothes? You?”
“I’m pretty sure you’ll like me in a suit, won’t you?” Jason reached for her waist pulling her closer to him and caressing the small of her back.
“I like you best when - “
“Oh, don’t I know that….” He murmured in her ear “we’ll get there too I promise.”
“Jace?” her sudden pulling back took him by surprise and when she raised her head to meet his eyes, the unclear message coming from them made him shiver.
“You don’t want to go?” a few years prior, if someone were to tell him he would actually have a girlfriend and wanted to show her off to his siblings and – well – Bruce- he’ll laugh at that person face. In the darkest times he was on the war path with his adoptive father and even being in the same city was almost unbearable. Not that it was sunshine and roses now, but they definitely worked through some differences and – a real miracle –talked for the first time in years. “It’s okay if you don’t.’ no matter the effort there was no way to hide the tone of disappointment in his voice. “we can spend the Christmas eve together, just the two of us and –“
“No! no, no! Jason. I do want to go. I mean , come on, Wayne Manor. Maybe I’ll finally wrap my head around the fact that my boyfriend is the son of a billionaire and start taking advantage of it.” She laughed happily ruffling his hair, that were calling for a hairdresser, but she loved that unruly shag regardless. “I just wonder-“
“what? You’re chickening out? You already know all of them, guess that eliminates the element of surprise when Dick climbs the chandelier or starts balancing on the chair.”
“Am I reading too much into it?”
“What are you talking about, princess? What’s there to overinterpret – oh!”
“Yeah….” She muttered and looked down, suddenly embarrassed of what she said, cursing herself internally for destroying the atmosphere as his grip weakened and mouth hanged open. “You’re inviting me to an official party. As your official girlfriend….”
“It’s not like they don’t know we’re together. Damn, Y/N, you had no idea how much teasing I had to put up with.”
“What did you to Tim, Jason?”
“Nothing! I swear.” he let go of her completely, much to her irritation, raising hands in surrender. The man build like a tank were trying to protect himself from his significantly smaller girlfriend.
“Jason Peter Todd.”
“Nothing permanent. Now, don’t change the subject.”
“Me? I’m still waiting for your answer.”
“You’re not reading too much into it. I want you there. Officially. Before someone get any stupid ideas of stealing you away from me.”
“Not a change, pretty boy.” She drummed her fingers on his chest, feeling his heartbeat “not when I almost give you a heart attack every time I’m near you. It’s the kind of power you don’t give up easily.”
“You say that now, you power-hungry woman. I’m sure you’d love some more hearts to your collection.”
“I have always been a fan of quality rather than quantity. And so it happens I got the best quality available on the market” she smiled at him lovingly, her pretty eyes sparkling.  
“You’re mine, you little tease” in a blink of an eye he was holding her again, running fingers through her hair and connecting their foreheads, letting himself be vulnerable and wishing she could read his mind and hear the words he was unable to articulate “thank you…”
Thank you for existing.
Thank you for staying by my side.
Thank you for loving me.
Thank you for accepting my broken, imperfect love.
***
As every real woman, she had nothing to wear and had to fix some outfit with the old clothes, found at back of the closet, about to feel terribly underdressed.
Or at least that was the plan, before she found neatly wrapped package with her name written across the paper and became a proud owner of the most beautiful and elegant dress she has ever seen.
Turned out Jason had an amazing sense of fashion, picking an outfit serving as a mix of style and quietness.
However, when she asked him about it, the only answer she get was I know what I want to see you in. In Jason’s language it was a sign of care that she won’t feel like an outcast around the female guests, but also a little hint at potential jealousy and protection against possible lustful glances from other men.
Doing a poor job at the second part of it, cause once they entered the manor, all eyes landed on her, leaving Jason gritting his teeth and refusing to leave her alone for even a second. This drove him to such an extreme that he even followed her to the bathroom and was giving responses on her behalf whenever anyone dared to ask her to dance.
“No, of course you can not dance with her. Can’t you see she’s already got a partner, back off, dude.”
Such words were followed by the tightening grip on her hip each time a man gathered enough courage to come too close.
Too close being a couple feet.
“Jason!” she whined at some point “don’t be mean. You don’t dance, you had grown attached to the chair and I'm bored. Come on, just let go off me, it’s not like I’m going to run away from you or anything…” she tried to break free but it was no use, considering both Jason’s strength and possessiveness.
“Sorry, princess. I don’t trust those fops. Can’t risk their hands wondering some place only mine are allowed.”
“But Jay-“
“No one but me dances with you.” He said sternly and much to her surprise dragged her to the dancefloor. What was even bigger shock was that he actually knew how to move. He knew the steps, had a perfect sense of rhythm and definitely did not stump on her feet, not even once, holding her gently, leading her to the music and being delicate and protective, almost making her swoon with the charm.
Apparently, she didn’t know her boyfriend at all.At least not from this side.
He never failed to make her feel safe and loved, but now – encompassed by his arms, held like the most precious person in the world, she felt like a true princess. Something she never experienced before.
“How do you like that, love?” he whispered in her ear, holding her a bit more firmly, causing her heart rate to spike.
“moderately –“
“Then why is your heart racing?” he spun her around perfectly, making sure she was quickly and safely back in his hold.
“It’s not.”
“Well then, it’s about to.” He smirked guiding her a little bit to the right, looking up with the mischievous look in his eyes.
Mistletoe.
“You’re not going to kiss me in the crowd with everyone -“
He was going to.
And most importantly – he actually did.
Luckily she didn’t know that plant wasn’t there earlier and only appeared because of some skilfull vigilante being jealous of the glances thrown her way. Luckily she didn't hear the muffled chuckles coming from the side of the stairs as Dick, Tim and Damian appeared all together out of nowhere, after being gone for a longer while.
She didn't care.
Not as long as she was standing under the mistletoe fulfilling the tradition that came with it with the most wonderful and sneaky bastard if a man there was.
And who couldn't care less about the glances now.
159 notes · View notes
mvltisstuff · 11 months
Note
Hey there! Idk if you write stuff like this, but what about an Evan Buckley coma fic? When he’s trying to come back he finds out reader is pregnant, while in the coma, and then when he wakes up he tells her he knows. If not that’s totally okay! 💛
put a little love on me - e.b
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summary: request:)
evan buckley x reader
a/n: this was so fun to write, i loved how creative this is!
sitting in the hospital room with maddie and the buckley parents, y/n’s red eyes had cried more tears than ever. watching buck swing between life and death had been one of the lowest points in her life. she’s faced bad things before, but this was hell. she had a strong hold on his hand, praying that he would breathe on his own.
she thinks back to a few nights before, casually sitting at home after days of feeling ill. her husband had been at work, and she had called out from constant headaches. her curiosity had gotten the best of her.
pulling out a box from the back of the cabinets, she took the test out and placed it on the counter. she waited for what felt like hours for the damn test to say a word or two. the flashing was intolerable on the small screen.
she was sitting on the cold tile of their bathroom, running her hand through her hair. she swears she’s a patient person, but this was completely different. she stared at the test before the one word had been displayed across the test. pregnant.
meanwhile, bucks head had been mixed with his imagined life. a confused mix of the life he always wished for as a boy, and the one now that he wouldn’t change for anything. everything he had known had changed, for worse and for better. he felt loved by his parents, but y/n was gone.
the ghost of himself had his eyes painted on his still body. he was ready to climb back into himself, wanting to be with his wife until the end. everything else wasn’t important in this version of his life. he looked over at his brother, who he had no clue of before the last few years. he was tired, he wanted to stop fighting but seeing y/n’s heartbroken self on the chair, how could he stop?
“you have everything you could imagine here,” his brother says.
“no i don’t, i have to go back,” buck tells him. “i need my wife, i need y/n.”
he turns around and spots her behind him. she had a bright smile on his face, and was holding a little boy in her arms. she had been laughing with this child, and her eyes were shining. buck stared at them, looking at the boy with the same light blue eyes and full, pink lips. he had a small grin grow on his face, as the boy looked at him and smiled. the second he blinked, they faded away.
buck didn’t even feel the need to look at his brother again. he knew that was his life that he just saw, his future. the feeling he felt in his heart was something that had never happened before.
without second guessing himself. buck smashed through the glass window of the false reality he had snuck into. on the other side, y/n watched as his chest abruptly rose and fell again, the monitor beeping steadily. a light sob of relief left her lips, her head falling down with the tears on her cheeks. the same with maddie, who had come over and gave her a massive hug. suddenly, the lump in her throat and the boulder in her chest had vanished. he was going to be ok. she lifted his hand with her own, kissing the matching rings.
after an agonizing wait, buck had opened his eyes and softly spoken back. his monotone expression had finally disappeared at the sight of the love of his life sitting next to him. he forced out a toothy grin at her. “welcome back, baby.”
buck didn’t know what to say, something felt different. he looked her up and down, and felt a rising anxiety in his chest. he knew that the lightning has changed him, and he’d never be the same, but there was still a gift hiding under all this. “i know,” he says with a raspy voice.
“what?”
“baby, i know,” he says, smiling once more. “i’m gonna be a dad, and you’re a mom. and we’re going to be perfectly ok.”
it was y/n’s turn to be speechless. she was still calculating how he would know in his head. she hasn’t told a soul, but the ecstasy of the moment had overwhelmed her. her eyes had become glossy for the millionth time, and she passionately kissed him. she nods before she speaks again.
“yeah, yeah we are, buck.”
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maximumsass · 2 months
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Green Eyes of Envy Pt. 5
Synopsis: Things with the reader and Melissa have been going extremely well! So well that a certain redhead is possibly talking about a future with the reader! Which shocks the reader because it’s Melissa Schemmenti we’re talking about. Melissa is feeling so safe and happy with the reader that she invites her to the infamous Schemmenti Family Dinner on Sundays hosted by the one and only Nonna! It’s a big deal PEOPLE!! Will the reader say yes and meet the Schemmenti clan?? Will the Schemmenti’s approve of the reader! Guess you’ll have to keep reading to find out!
Author’s Note: Hello my amazing fanfic village! I know this is late! Please do not hate me! Haha! Writing this has brought me joy during a really rough few weeks for me. Writing about Melissa feeling safe enough to think about a future with the reader and just how they take care of each other and how purely genuine it is just makes this gay fanfic author’s heart so damn happy! And i hope it makes all y’all’s hearts happy too! This is my longest one I think but as a reader I like the longer ones so hopefully you feel the same! Please let me know what you think!! And any requests you have! As always sending all da hugs and love!!!
Warning: SMUTT and an Obnoxious amount of FLUFF
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Word Count: 6.28k
—————————————
It’s a Sunday night and the first quarter is almost over, report cards are due Wednesday morning. But you’ve made it your mission this weekend to get them all done so you can let go of the heavy stress that doing report cards carries.
Much to Jessica Rabbit’s chagrin you insisted that you spend the night apart. You honestly can’t remember the last night you spent away from each other. You had practically become the infamous U-Haul lesbian trope minus the U-Haul. Which wasn’t your norm in relationships, you had always liked spending a very calculated amount of time with someone and then you needed to be alone and charge your social battery until you were up to spending time together again.
But like everything that involved Melissa, it was just different in the best possible way. You could just be your 100% authentic self, tired, crabby, anxious, frustrated, sad, loving, happy…she just knew what to do and when she didn’t know she’d ask what you needed in those moments. Which in your past had been a very one sided thing that you would do for your significant other but they couldn’t do it for you. So having it be reciprocated was mind blowing to say the least.
Your phone starts ringing and a picture of the redhead kissing you on the cheek pops up.
“You know this totally defeats the purpose of us spending the night apart right?” You answer the phone in a teasing tone.
“You know you miss me just as much as I miss you. And you love that I called you!” She quips back.
“That is highly possible.” You say as you smile into the phone.
“Are you almost done?” She playfully whines.
“Are you a second grader or a second grade teacher?” You tease with a chuckle.
“You did this to me, you know! I was perfectly fine by myself, you know that I don’t like people. And then your gorgeousness had to walk into my life and gave me no choice but to fall in love with you! And now I’m the kind of woman who can’t even go a whole day without you being in my arms!” She exclaims.
“You’re making me get a big stupid smile on my face. You know that I feel exactly the same way about you my angel. I have two report cards to go, when I finish them I’ll text you and if you’re still up for seeing me I’ll pack a bag and Uber to your place.” You say hoping that’ll cheer her up a little bit.
“Correction, I’ll be picking your cute ass up. You promise you’ll text me?” She asks.
“If it’s not an ungodly hour, yes I promise.” You say softly.
“Noooo even if it’s an ungodly hour. (Y/N) I need you.” She says quietly, her voice filled with vulnerability.
“Fine silly girl. I promise to text you when I’m done.” You say softly.
“Good! I guess I’ll let you get back to grading. I love you so much amore mio.” She says softly.
“I love you more baby girl. Byeeeee.” You say.
“Byeee pretty girl.” She says and ends the call.
When you finish your last report card, you look at the clock and it’s already 11. You know the redhead is either in bed or fallen asleep on the couch. She’s not going to be happy but you’re going to Uber there so you don’t wake her up and have her drive here. You throw your stuff in the overnight bag that practically lives on either your floor or Mel’s floor. You make sure you submitted the report cards in the portal. And then call your Uber and before you know it, you’re standing on the redhead’s doorstep.
You take out your phone debating whether you should call or text her. You open your phone and pull up her number and decide calling is probably more effective and press call.
“Hey baby. Are you ready for me?” She answers trying to sound more awake but the grogginess in her voice gives her away. You definitely made the right decision to Uber here.
“I am but you need to check your front door first please and thank you.” You gently instruct her.
“You did not!” She exclaims.
You giggle into the phone.
She opens the front door and lets out a little squeal. And pulls you into the house and into her arms and you immediately relax from the stressful day you just had.
“You were supposed to let me pick you up!” She says into your neck.
“Were you not just sleeping?” You ask her teasingly.
“Possibly.” She reluctantly admits.
She breaks the hug so she can give you a long passionate kiss.
“Thank you for coming and taking care of my (Y/N) withdrawal.” She says softly, leaning her forehead against yours and gazing into your eyes.
“If I’m being honest with myself I had some Mel withdrawal myself. But this is definitely helping.” You say making sure she knows you feel the same way about her.
“Are you okay with just cuddling in bed?” She asks while trying to stifle a yawn.
“I will always be okay with cuddling in bed with my gorgeous girl.” You say as you caress her cheek. “Come on sleeping beauty, let’s get you in bed with your head on my chest and off to dream land.” You say with a smile as you lead her to the bedroom.
You get her to the bedroom and then go and make sure that everything in the house is turned off.
You’re weird when it comes to what you wear to bed, you literally just strip down to your underwear and call it good. Melissa gave you crap about it at first but stopped real quick when she realized it basically gives her a fast pass to all the goods!
You’re brushing your teeth and then you feel her wrap herself around you.
“You’re supposed to be in bed silly girl.” You say between brushing.
“I need you.” She says into your neck.
This is Melissa at her most vulnerable, she’s literally the definition of I don’t need anyone or anything towards everyone and everything else in life. The fact that she feels safe enough to say that she needs you is an honor and privilege that you don’t take for granted.
“I’m right here baby, available for all the cuddles you need.” You say gently as you finish wiping your mouth and then turn around to face her and kiss her softly.
You guide her back to bed and you both get in and just like you said she lays her head on your chest and you just melt into each other.
She traces patterns on your skin because she knows how that makes you fall asleep faster.
“Someday, hopefully in the not too distant future we won’t have to go anywhere to be with each other because we’ll have a home together.” She says quietly.
This is the first time she’s brought up moving in together. Of course you’ve thought about it because you already know Melissa is it for you, you can’t imagine your life without her. Loving her and being loved by her is your happily ever after.
“I don’t know… can you handle my ever expanding mug and magnet collection?” You tease her.
“I would get as many fridges and enough cabinets as it takes for your collections if it meant that I could wake up to you every morning and fall asleep with you every night.” She says as she smiles up at you.
“Have you really considered moving in together? Or is this sleepy Mel talking?” You ask as you play with her hair.
She takes your chin in her hand and has you look her in the eyes to show how genuine she is about this.
“(Y/N) you know I don’t say stuff that I don’t mean. I’ve really considered this. I’ve thought about how I’d ask you to live together. I’ve looked online for where we could live if you didn’t want to move here. I’ve also considered other things.” She says and then she mimics sliding something on your ring finger.
And for once you’re literally speechless by what she just hinted at!
She chuckles at how surprised you look. And then proceeds to give you a long and desire filled kiss.
When the kiss ends you look at her and see her mind going and then fear and embarrassment wash over her face.
“Have you not thought about those things with us?” She asks quietly. “Because if not… I didn’t mean to…” She tries to say.
“Melissa, look at me.” You gently instruct her. Once her emerald eyes are locked on yours, you continue. “I would love nothing more than to have a home together and to make you my wife. I was just shocked that you said it first, I thought I’d have to prove myself a little more or warm you up to those ideas.” You say as you stroke her hair.
You feel her let go of a breath she’s been holding. “You mean it?” She asks softly.
“I definitely mean it. So much so that I might have a Pinterest board called Mel’s Engagement Ring.” You say with a big smile.
The redhead is beaming at you and you can’t help but pull her in for another kiss.
“Do you think that we’re crazy for talking about all of this already?” She asks looking up at you.
“No I don’t think we’re crazy. I think we’ve known each other for two years and some change. And we’ve been close friends for most of that time. So compared to people who have just known each other the amount of time we’ve been dating, it makes sense that we’re already all in. And I think it’s one thing to know and want a forever future with someone but we just want to chill and get some more time under our belts as a couple first. And it’s another thing to be like we want all of that by next Friday. And correct me if I’m wrong but I would assume we’re both leaning towards the first one.” You say looking for her chime in.
“I mean I wouldn’t mind if it was next Friday.” She teases you with a smirk.
You chuckle and roll your eyes playfully.
“I’m just glad we’re on the same page and that it’s all out on the table.” She says softly.
“Me too angel. Now let’s get some sleep, my sleeping beauty.” You say as you kiss her forehead and pull her closer to you.
Your alarm goes off. “Noooooo.” You moan, you open your eyes, light is streaming through the window and red hair is splayed all across your chest, Jessica Rabbit has magically ignored your alarm and is quietly and adorably snoring with her arms wrapped around you like your her most prized possession and no one can take you away from her.
You try and wriggle your way out of her grasp but like an anaconda the more you try to get away the more the redhead holds you tighter.
“Baby.” You then proceed to kiss her until you see those emerald eyes open.
“I need to get up princess. And you’re doing the death grip hold again.” You tease as you kiss her forehead.
“You love it. Can we stay in bed for five more minutes?” She asks while intentionally giving you the biggest puppy dog eyes you’ve ever seen.
“Fine but only five minutes and then you have to be a good girl and let me get up.” You say in a faux strict tone.
“Deal! I love you so much.” She says into your chest.
You pull her in for a long passionate kiss, your tongues fighting for more access to the other. You feel her hand slink down to your nether regions. You hiss because my god do you want her right now, but you have to get ready.
She breaks the kiss and looks at you hungrily and in her husky seductive voice just says. “Please?”
And you did not know that just one word could make you wet until that very moment.
You close your eyes and nod.
“No, I need you to look me in the eyes and use your words.” She seductively instructs.
Damn look at her making consent hot! You look at her with such desire and say “Yes.”
And just like that she’s rubbing slowly along your folds. Shit, her fingers feel so good, you’re trying not to squirm and to keep some control. It’s like somehow she reads your mind because she looks at you and smirks and then immediately goes for your clit interchanging rubbing it slow and then fast and your whole body is shaking. She chuckles because she knows she has total control of you now.
“Mel, come here.” You say as you look at her longingly. She comes so her face is right above yours and you pull her in for another kiss. The heat between you two is so thick and every touch is another spark that turns it up hotter and hotter.
“I need you inside of me.” You whisper in her ear. She let’s out a little moan. This is probably both of your “favorite dirty talk” lines with each other. Because not only does it feel amazing when she’s inside you but you’re saying that I’m in this vulnerable position and need you to take care of me and it’s showing the rawest realest parts of yourselves to each other.
She slides her fingers into you and pumps fast and hard and you feel yourself start to float into an orgasamic haze. You cry out “Fuck Mel! Yes!” She puts her thumb back on your clit and starts rubbing it and in a matter of seconds you feel your cum just flow out of you and then her beautiful mouth cleaning you up.
She comes up and lays next to you. “Taste what I made you do.” She says softly and then pulls you in for a kiss, your hands tangle in her hair pulling her closer.
“Now that was your reward for working on your report cards and finishing them like the boss bitch you are.” She says with a big smile.
“I don't deserve you. I don’t know how I got so lucky.” You say as you stroke her hair.
“(Y/N) you deserve everything you want and so much more. I’m just lucky that I get to show you the love you deserve.” She says as she kisses your shoulder.
You both get up and start getting ready. You are putting on your blouse when you hear her enter the closet.
“So in lieu of everything that we talked about last night, I wanted to run something by you.” She says softly and you can detect a hint of nervousness.
“Okay what’s on your mind pretty girl?” You say as you take her hands and look into her eyes.
“I want you to come to family dinner and meet everyone.” She says while looking down nervously.
You literally don’t know what to say, it’s like your brain short circuited. You need to say something because obviously she was nervous to bring it up.
“Huh.” You say because it’s literally the first thing you can articulate.
You’re literally trying to make yourself understand that she wants you to meet her family. Fear and self loathing come crashing down on you.
“(Y/N). (Y/N). Where’d you just go?” She asks placing both hands on your cheeks. .
“It’s just past shit coming up again. I’m good.” You say as you lightly kiss her.
“Look at me. You’re safe. I’m right here with you and whatever it is we’ll face it together. But I need you to talk to me. Please (Y/N).” She says softly as she strokes your cheeks.
“I hate meeting people for the first time because the majority of the people just see my disabilities and not me. I don’t know if you remember but my first few months at Abbott I would just say hi and smile at the other teachers and staff, laugh when I thought something someone said was funny and talk to someone if they were directly talking to me. It just makes me think why the fuck would Melissa want me. You could literally have anyone and definitely many people who don’t deal with the shit that I deal with. And ironically Gary fucking said it, charity case is exactly how I feel when it comes to this shit. Like I feel like your family will take one look at me and be like what the hell, she could do way better.” You say in a shaky voice and you feel your eyes fill with tears.
The redhead wraps her arms around you and just holds you as you let the tears fall.
“It makes me so mad that you feel this way about yourself because of the bullshit you’ve gone through. First of all you feeling scared about meeting my family is totally valid. I know that I can’t begin to really understand what you experience when you meet people for the first time. But what I can say and this is not me trying to kiss your ass, the way I see you go through life with such grace, strength, courage and perseverance when you have obstacles pop on a regular basis just leaves me in awe of you. Yes you have shit that a lot of other people will probably never experience. But it’s made you the woman who makes me feel so safe, loved and taken care of. And that’s something that I didn’t think I’d find. Yes technically this will be the first time meeting my family. But I’ve literally talked their ear off about you and how amazing you are to me and how amazing you make me feel. They already love you and are so excited to meet you. And if anyone has anything bad to say they’ll have to go through me. I love you so much amore mio and every day I wake up I’m so grateful that I get to call you mine.” She says looking into your eyes with such love and adoration.
“I love you more angel. You always know how to calm me down. Thank you for being your amazing self.” You say as you pull her in for a kiss.
When we break away she gets a playful smile on her face. “Besides, how am I going to propose to you if you haven’t met my family.” She says with the biggest smirk and playfully nudges you.
“Melissa Schemmenti saying the P word, I must be dreaming!” You say nudging her back.
“Well as the gorgeous woman standing before me said last night I want to make you my wife. Mrs. (Y/N) Schemmenti just has a certain ring to it.” She says and then she kisses you softly.
“Seeing you all giddy about this is very adorable, you know.” You say with a smile.
“It’s all your fault, you turned me into this sappy romantic lovestruck chick.” She says as she goes into the bathroom to finish her makeup.
“Well what can I say, it suits you.” You say with a smirk as you lean against the bathroom doorway gazing at her with adoration. “So you have convinced me, I will go with you to family dinner. Do you want me to come this Sunday? Or should we wait a little bit?” You ask as you look at the ground nervously.
“Really?! You’ll come?!! Oh you are so coming with me on Sunday! Everyone’s going to be so excited to meet you! And I promise I’ll be right next to you the whole time and make sure you’re as comfortable as possible. I know this brought up a lot of hard shit for you. Thank you for really facing it and it makes me fall even more in love with you if that’s even possible.” She comes to hug you.
“Anything for my queen. Thanks for helping me through it baby.” You say melting in her arms. She tries to go for a kiss.
“You literally just applied your lipstick and are going to get it all over me. And then I will have to tell everyone this is what being loved by Ms. Schemmenti looks like.” You tease her and duck her kiss.
The redhead does the biggest pout you’ve ever seen and you can’t help but chuckle. “I love you angel.” You say as you kiss her forehead and then you head to get y’all’s coffees started.
Your hands feel like you literally just washed them they’re so wet with sweat. Great just another thing to add to the not good enough for Melissa Schemmenti list you think to yourself as you wipe them on your dress for the billionth time.
It’s Sunday night, you’re in the car with Melissa driving to Nonna’s house. You’re debating doing a fling yourself out of the car drop and roll type of situation to get you out of dinner but you know you can’t do that to the redhead. She’s been glowing all week. She's so happy about you meeting the Schemmenti family.
Barb asked you at lunch midweek what had gotten into Melissa. You explained that you were meeting her family over the weekend.
“(Y/N), I’ve seen her with Joe and the aftermath of men after him. I’ve never seen Melissa Schemmenti this happy and in love. So whatever you’re doing, keep it up! But know that I know and see all and will put you in your place so fast if you hurt her that you would’ve thought Jesus himself came down and smited you.” The brunette said giving you a no nonsense look.
“Yes ma’am.” You said with a nod.
Back in the car you feel her warm hand squeeze your leg. “Honey, you've been holding your breath since we got in the car. Breathe for me please.” She says as she gives you a concerned look.
You realize that she’s right and you didn’t even realize that you were holding your breath. You let a big breath out. And take a deep breath in and out.
“Better. One more deep breath please.” She gently instructs. You take one more deep breath in and out and realize it actually makes you feel better.
“Have I told you how gorgeous you look tonight?” She says softly as she looks at you with a big smile.
“Only four other times.” You tease as you look at her while chuckling.
“That means I’m doing my job as your woman.” She smirks.
“You most certainly are.” You say as you kiss her hand.
“Okay we are on her block. Her house is the brick one with the green shutters.” She says to you.
The house comes into view and you swear to god your heart stops. You hear Mel shut her door and it jolts you back to reality. She comes to your side and helps you out of the truck.
She puts her hands on your biceps and gazed at you with such love. “They already love you. All you have to do is be yourself. And I’m right beside you the whole night.” She pulls you into a big hug. “Kiss please.” She says with a smile. You gently kiss her. And then you walk arm in arm up the steps and the redhead does a playful knock and then let’s herself in.
You follow the redhead into the entryway and can immediately hear the Schemmenti’s shouting over each other and possibly at each other. The aroma of an amazing Italian meal being made wafts through the house.
You brought Nonna a bouquet of an assortment of yellow, orange, and purple flowers. You decide to be a few steps behind Melissa, let her introduce you to everyone.
“Look at what the cat dragged in!” Announces a big bald burly guy who you think is Vinny.
“You’re one to talk Vin!” Melissa says as she playfully punches his arm.
“Now Vince, ya can’t talk like that, we have a lady in our midst.” A guy Vinny’s size with jet black hair comes up beside him and slaps him playfully aside the head.
It then dawns on you the man is talking about you.
“Mel you got yourself a looker! Where are my manners? I’m Dominic but everyone calls me Dom. It’s very nice to finally meet the woman that my cousin won’t shut up about.” He says as he holds out his hand.
You take it and give it a firm shake. “It’s very nice to meet you.” As you look up and give him a small smile.
You then hear a woman shout. “Let me through! I need to see this woman!” A little old lady barely five feet tall with the hint of red in her perm walks through the sea of Schemmentis, emerald eyes just like Jessica Rabbit’s give you a full body scan.
“Well you must be (Y/N). My granddaughter has told me so much about you!” She says as she gets to you.
“Good things I hope.” You say with a small smile.
“All good things which is high praise coming from her! But you already know what a special woman you must be to have Melissa feel the way she does about you.” She says looking you right in the eye.
“That’s very kind of you to say. Loving Melissa and being loved by her is something that I am so grateful for every day. And I know that sounds rehearsed and maybe ingenious but like Melissa I don’t say things that I don’t mean.” You say looking back at the Schemmenti matriarch.
“Hmmm I already can see why Melissa is fond of you. Strong women attract other strong women.” She says giving you a genuine smile.
“I brought you flowers. My mom taught me to never be an empty handed guest.” You say holding out the flowers.
“Your mom sounds like a very smart woman. These are beautiful dear! You are the first one that she’s brought here to give me flowers! And she married one of them, can you believe it?!” She said and winked at me. “Dom go find your wife and have her put these in a vase for me.” She hands the flowers off to Dom.
Her and Melissa give each other a big embrace. And then she says something to the redhead and they both look at you beaming.
“Come (Y/N)! A little birdie told me that you’re nervous about tonight. Well you just sit by me and I’ll talk enough for the both of us! Besides I need to know what your intentions are with my granddaughter as well as make sure you enjoy my lasagna!” She takes you by the arm and with Melissa on the other arm leads you to the dining room.
“Oh my god there she is!” You hear a voice say and then you see a doppelgänger of Jessica Rabbit herself only with jet black hair.
“You’re even more gorgeous in person! I’m Annette by the way, Mel’s cousin but we’re practically sisters. We've been inseparable our whole lives.” She says as she looks you over.
“It’s very nice to meet you.” You say with a smile and you hold out your hand.
“Awww look how polite she is, Mel you could learn a thing or two from her.” She teases Melissa and winks at her. “One thing you should know about us is that Schemmentis are huggers. Better to get used to it now. Come here I promise I don’t bite..hard.” She says and she opens her arms.
You don’t hesitate to hug her, you know how special she is to Melissa and you want to start off on the right foot with her. You hug her and it’s one of those warm comfy hugs where you can just feel her joy radiating to you. She’s got very good vibes, you can see why Melissa loves her so much.
“Has anyone told you that you give really good hugs?” She asks when the hug ends.
You chuckle a little. “Melissa says that to me all the time.” You say smiling at her.
Nonna takes you by the arm again and leads you to a seat. You pull out her chair to have her sit down first. And then you pull out Melissa’s chair for her. Annette is giving you this astonished look.
“Is she even real?” Annette asks Melissa jokingly.
“She’s pretty great, right?” Mel says and looks up at you with such love that you kind of get choked up a little bit.
“She deserves to be treated like the queen she is.” You say to Annette with a small smile. And then you lean down and kiss the redhead on the cheek. And then you sit down in your spot.
“Speaking of how you’re treating her, I hear you’re taking care of her in more ways than one.” She gives you the infamous Schemmenti smirk.
“Annette!!” Melissa exclaims.
“Oh come on, we’re all grown women who have been around the block more than once! And Nonna needs some excitement in her life!” Annette says.
“For your information Annette, I do take care of your cousin in more ways than one. And let’s just say she’s very enthusiastic about how I take care of her and always keeps coming back for more.” You say with a big smirk as you emphasize the word coming.
All three women gape at you in disbelief of what just came out of your mouth.
“What? Annette started this conversation and I responded appropriately. I’m not gonna deny my skills!” You say chuckling.
Nonna bursts out laughing and you finally start feeling comfortable and like you can just be yourself.
“Dinner is served!” Dom announces and then he sets the lasagna on the table and then a slew of Schemmentis come out of the kitchen setting different side dishes on the table and taking their seats.
Chatter is happening all around the table and you just sit there quietly observing. You notice the similar physical features that they share that you’ve memorized about Melissa. Melissa is chatting with Annette and just looks so relaxed and happy that it just warms your heart.
“So (Y/N). Melissa said that you’re fairly new to Philly. Where are you originally from?” Nonna asks.
“I’m originally from Michigan. Abbott was my first job offer after I graduated with my masters. And I had always wanted to live out of state somewhere so it was the perfect opportunity.” You explain.
“Do you get to see your family a lot?” She asks.
“Only a few times a year. Mostly for holidays. Seeing y’all have dinner like this is really nice. Even if I saw them more we aren’t like this with each other. I mean don’t get me wrong I know they love me, but they love the version of me that they approve of, not the rest of me. So when I’m with them I feel suffocated if that makes sense.” You say getting a sad look on your face.
“Oh sweetheart I’m sorry. A parent’s job is to love their children unconditionally and when that doesn’t happen it’s really difficult to come to terms with. I mean look at all these knuckleheads, they’re loud, they’re stubborn, they’re confrontational, but at the end of the day every single one of them knows that wherever they are in life, they can come here and the rest of us will love them just as they are. And I want you to know that you can come here just as you are and we will love you too.” She says and then pats your hand.
This woman is being so incredibly kind to you and she just met you, you almost can’t comprehend it. You smile and nod.
“So I don’t know how long I have left here on this earth so I have to know do you intend to marry Melissa?” She asks.
This woman has balls you think to yourself, getting straight to the point. You feel Mel put a hand on your leg. You look and she’s looking right at you, she definitely heard Nonna’s question.
You give Mel an I got this nod. “We were actually just talking about this last night. We both expressed that we do want to get married. This one actually insinuated it first which was surprising to me because I thought I was going to have to convince her to marry me. But yes there will be proposals and then a (Y/L/N) Schemmenti wedding in the future. And if Melissa gets her way, which she probably will because who can say no to that gorgeous face, it’ll be sooner rather than later.” You say with a genuine smile.
“The way you’ve been with her tonight and from what she’s told me and the way you look at each other, I can tell you really love her and go out of your way to take care of her. And knowing that she has that gives me peace. Now everyone cough up the money!” She looks around the table as people start begrudgingly tossing money towards Nonna.
And you realize that the Schemmenti’s were betting on your relationship. Of course they were, you think to yourself and you can’t help but chuckle to yourself.
“I can’t believe all of youse, betting on my relationship! We better be getting a cut of the winnings or there’s gonna be a problem!” Melissa says glaring at all of them, the hard ass Philly side of her coming out in full force.
Once everyone is finished eating, you look over to Nonna. “Can I take your plate for you?” You ask.
“Yes that’d be very helpful dear. Thank you for offering.” She said and squeezes your arm in appreciation.
“Baby hand over your plate please. I’m gonna start helping clear the table.” You say into Melissa’s ear and then give her a quick kiss on the cheek. She hands you her plate and looks at you with such admiration.
You overhear Annette say to Melissa. “Is she always like this? Cause if so can she come and teach my man her ways, I will literally pay her to.”
“She is always like this. I sometimes have to remind myself that this is my real life and I’m not dreaming. But it’s a reciprocated thing, we just take care of each other, like there’s this unspoken agreement that we make each other’s lives as easy as possible that way we can focus on spending time together. And when balls do get dropped, there is so much more room for empathy and understanding. Seriously, it’s been a game changer. It’s absolutely why I know I want to marry her because doing life with her is a breath of fresh air. I just love her so much Annette and I feel so loved by her.” Melissa says to Annette.
“Oh honey.” Annette embraces Melissa. “If anyone deserves this, it’s you. I know there was a moment there where you had given up hope about finding a real love. And I’m just so glad that the gorgeous girl in there has proven that theory all wrong.” Annette says.
You help clean up dinner. And then you say goodbye and hug what feels like a hundred Schemmentis.
“Well you have definitely proven that you can hold your own with the Schemmenti clan. Not an easy feat. I think that makes you an official Schemmenti until this one actually makes you one legally.” Says Dominic with a wink.
“Thanks man, I’ll wear that title with pride.” You say smiling up at him.
Nonna is your last goodbye. “Thank you so much for having me over for dinner. The food and the company were wonderful and it was really nice talking with you.” You say and then give her a hug.
“It was so wonderful meeting you dear. I’m looking forward to next Sunday. Take care of our girl. Okay?” She says.
“Yes ma’am I promise she’s in good hands.” You say as you put your arm around Mel.
“(Y/N) you call me Nonna from now on.” She says with a smile.
You smile and nod. “Good night Nonna. Have a good night everyone! Nice meeting y’all!” You say to the entryway filled with Schemmentis. And you and Jessica Rabbit leave Nonna’s hand in hand for the first time but definitely not the last.
When you get home Melissa knows that your batteries are low from all that socializing. She takes you straight to bed.
“Thank you for being so amazing with my family tonight. You make me feel so happy and loved. And I just need you to know that I will do everything in my power every day to make you feel as loved as you make me feel.” She says looking at you as she strokes your cheek as you lay facing each other. You pull her in for a passion filled kiss.
“I love you so much angel.” You whisper.
She smiles and nods. “I love you more amore mio. Now you just let me hold you and have sweet dreams.” She whispers softly and then kisses your forehead.
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Okay I’ve been toying with an idea for a Six of Crows au post-Crooked Kingdom where Van Eck won for a little while now and yeah idk but I had a scene idea come to me just now so I’m gonna write it here to see what you guys think and if there’s any interest then I might add it to my list of fics to write
This feels like a weird introduction but, er, here we go:
Inej knew the moment Kaz got home. There were no longer any crowds in the house to come to attention at his entrance, or if there were then no-one had bothered to come down to the half-room and tell Inej, but she could hear his voice drifting through the vents as soon as the door upstairs banged shut behind him.
“Where’s Inej?”
“Where do you think?” Matthias’ reply came roughly, and Inej could all but picture the disapproving grimace that must be crossing his face about now.
Let him judge. She didn’t need to leave the half-room, and for as long as that was true she wouldn’t. The vents did not give her every room though, and she did miss gathering her secrets. She wondered if there was anyone else in the house, but the five of them. Five? She stopped and counted them on her fingers. Yes, five. Hopefully still five. Inej had not bothered to leave the half-room in days, and no-one had been down to see her since yesterday morning.
She heard the door click open behind her, of course, but she did not bother to look up as Dirtyhands entered the room.
“Wraith,”
“Don’t you read the papers, Kaz?” Inej asked, without turning, “The Wraith is dead,”
She stood up, hand wandering across the table for her little pot of jurda. It tasted like shit and it wasn’t nearly as strong as she wanted it to be, but it took less than a month for the price of the blossoms to surpass the height of the stars so she’d have to make do with whatever they had left.
“Inej-”
“They found her body on the steps outside the Church of Barter almost three months ago, remember?” she finally turned to face Kaz, unscrewing the lid on the little silver pot as she did so, “Killed by some mercenary called the White Blade, who still hasn’t been found by they way in case you haven’t seen the latest. I guess it’s difficult to catch a ghost,”
Difficult to catch a wraith.
“We’ve had this conversation several times, Inej-”
“And we’re going to have it again,”
Inej placed an orange jurda blossom on her tongue, then offered the open container to Kaz. It was almost empty. He waved her off.
“I thought you didn’t go in for that sort of thing,”
Inej shrugged.
“Gotta stay awake somehow, haven’t I? We’re busy,”
“We’re not on a job”
“We’re never on a job. Unless the reason you’ve bothered to grace me with your presence is a proposition?”
Kaz shook his head.
“I just wanted to tell you there’s no news,”
Inej looked away. There was never any news. And yet somehow she always expected differently.
“He’s dead, isn’t he?”
“Probably,”
Inej caught another jurda blossom between her fingers. She needed to stay awake, because if she slept she would see him. She would see all the ways she’d failed.
“It wasn’t your fault, Inej, we’re having the same conversations on repeat can’t you see-,”
“And we’ll have them again,” she shrugged, “We will have this conversation again, Kaz, because I made a mistake and you are coddling me like a child who won’t be able cope if you tell them something was their fault. Tell me it was my fault, Kaz! We both know that it’s true,”
Kaz shook his head.
“I’d rather repeat the previous,”
“Then let’s,” snapped Inej, because hell if this jurda wasn’t strong enough to keep her awake then maybe an argument would be, “Let’s repeat the goddamn conversation, Kaz, because you’re right. We have the same two conversations on repeat and do you want to know why? Because I am owning up to the mistake I made and I am trying to deal with the consequences of it, but you had no right to do what you did, do you understand me? You messed up and you need to take some damn responsibility, because if you think-”
“You always knew Tailoring Dunyasha’s body to look like yours was a possibility for your escape option,” said Kaz, calmly.
She hated how quiet his voice was, how slow and deliberate he sounded next to the and ramblings that she could not stop from stumbling out of her.
“You know that’s not what I meant,” she hissed, slamming her jurda back down on the table.
“I couldn’t have done anything to stop that,”
“You could have tried,”
“Inej-”
“Shevrati,”
Know-nothing.
She waved a hand vaguely at the door.
“Get out,”
Kaz turned to leave, then paused.
“I am sorry, Inej. They’d like to see you upstairs, you know. Nina misses you,”
“Nina can come down here then,”
“Inej… I can’t do anything for you but apologise,”
“Keep you apologies,” she snarled, and when the door had closed behind him added: “Choke on them,”
Kaz could apologise all he wanted. She would not forgive him. What right did he have to expect anything different from her than this? Did any of them? Kaz had not had to watch his parents cry, as they carried home the body of a child that wasn’t theirs. Kaz had not had to feel the ironclad grip of the person he thought he’d trusted most in the world as they held him back and told him to swallow his sobs and keep quiet. Kaz had not given up and gone limp in their arms, a mess of tears and useless prayers, as he saw his parents slip from his grasp once again and knew that he would not have the chance to tell them truth.
Kaz had also not failed the others, and did not have to feel the truth of that choking him every time he saw them. Kaz had not spent almost three months barely daring to venture out of the half room, just so he would never have to lock eyes with Jesper Fahey. There was a scream inside Inej that had been slowly building itself since the day of the auction, and if she did not find a way to release it soon it may very well eat her alive.
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anticipatecrime · 10 months
Text
'𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩'| colby brock x male oc
a/n: enjoy ;) summary: sam, colby, corey and jake plan to go to the witches forest, little do they know, they’ll meet a friend of jennifers. he’s a lonely medium studying witchcraft, what happens when colby starts to feel a pull towards him? his feelings confuse him, and make him question himself. 
words: 8.8k (TOO FUCKING MANY, i got lost in the sauce🫠)
sam sat on his couch, dialing the number of the woman him and colby met at the stanley hotel. the latter began to film as she picked up. 
“hello?”
“hi is this jennifer?” they shared a look towards eachother, acknowledging the awkwardness.
“yes, this is she.” 
“sweet uh.. about that forest, was that a legit offer? colby and i have been talking over the past few weeks and maybe.. are you in la now?” he asked, curiously.
“yeah i am”
“cool so maybe tomorrow or later this week we could meet up, and we’d probably be filming it so if that’s cool with you, you could tell us more like about what the forest is and then maybe like find time to schedule to go out there or something?”
“yeah we can meet up.” jennifer said ominously. 
“okay cool, maybe tomorrow we’ll schedule a time then.” sam started to laugh from the awkwardness, and immediately after the phone call was over he threw the phone onto the table and freaked out. “why is it so awkward?” he cringed.
“everytime we talk to her.” colby chuckles.
they both start talking to the camera about their plans with the witches forest, and planning a whereabouts for the meetup. 
a day had past, and sam, colby and jake were in the car, driving to the area where they were supposed to meet up with jennifer. colby had parked very close to another car in attempts to not be in the way of someones driveway. “can’t park in this driveway brother, gonna get a ticket.”
“can’t go to jail again.” sam laughs.
“we’re in a neighborhood, it’s not that sketchy.” sam commented, as they all start talking about how creepy this whole situation was, joking about getting murdered. 
they walk into the park, and they look around until they see two people sitting at a park bench. “hey!” sam calls out, as he sees them. “nice to see you again!” he goes in for a hug with jennifer. 
“how was the shoot and everything?” he asked.
“it was good.” she responded, nodding her head, before looking over to her friend, the guy next to her. jennifer didn’t really care about meeting up with strangers but elias, found it sketchy, so he decided to come along as some sort of backup.
“hey, i’m elias, good to meet you.” he shook hands with the person closest to him, colby. 
“nice to meet you too.” colby smiled, curious about the guy infront of him. he looked pretty cool, his sense in fashion was definitely something out of a vintage movie. his hair was dark brown, about medium length. he had brown circle glasses pushed towards his nose, contrasting his freckled face. 
from what he was wearing, you could see a few tattoos under his sleeves, along with a few different ear piercings. ‘damn this guy is cool’ he felt like some kind of fangirl.
as sam talked to jennifer, colby starting asking questions to the other. “are you also into the paranormal?”
“yeah. i grew up around it my entire life, and now it just seeks me out i guess.” he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “how’d you get into it?”
“that’s the same as one of my friends, corey.” he acknowledges. “honestly it’s not that exciting, me and my buddy sam would explore like abandoned places and stuff then it became haunted areas and now we think we’re haunted.”
“that’s cool.” suddenly jake climbs onto the picnic table, creating a thud sound. “jesus jake.” colby laughed.
“so do you guys chill at the park often?” jake tries to make conversation with the two.
“yeah.” they answer at the same time. the camera is held facing jennifer as she begins to explain why the cabin is haunted, and why it’s called the witches forest. 
“you really have to figure it out yourself.” elias commented, chuckling. 
“so you’ve been there too?” sam interrogates him. 
“you could say that, i also own a cabin about a mile out.”
“would you say it’s haunted?”
“oh definitely, in 1946 a couple moved into the cabin and after a few years they started like experiencing financial issues, and it caused a lot of stress between them and eventually the husband started drinking, and one night he killed his pregnant wife before shooting himself in the head.” elias smirked, watching their jaws drop. “let’s just say i’m not legally able to rent it out anymore because of what happened to the last guests we had.”
“holy shit.” sam looked to the guys, with wide eyes. 
“that’s actually insane.” colby said, rubbing his eye. “so do you live there or just use it as a vacation spot?”
“bit of both honestly, the spirits don’t bother me much. i was just there a few days ago and i stayed about three months, left with tons of scratches and stuff.” elias explained.
“do you still have visible marks?” 
“yeah, the longest one is on my leg, i can show you if you like.” the guys nodded, so he stands up and props his leg on the park bench, before rolling up his black pants. quickly a red shiny scratch is visible. it starts at his ankle and goes underneath his thigh. “it’s one of the weirder marks i’ve gotten. it’s shiny and feels almost like a burn, like blistered over and stuff.”
“holy shit, that’s crazy.” jake muttered.
“i don’t know if we should do this anymore.” colby laughs, jokingly crying.
“so on a scale of one to ten, how is this a good idea or are we going to die.” sam wondered.
“let’s just say it’s scarier then the stanley hotel.” jennifer answered.
“is that the key?” jake zooms into colby holding the key to the cabin. colby pauses for a second, having an idea. “would you let us see your cabin?” he asks to elias.
“uhh, i don’t know, i would have to be there to supervise.” “not just because i don’t know you, but also for you’re protection. the spirits know me well, even the negative ones, they don’t like other people.”
“jesus.” colby mumbles. “is that why you can’t rent it out anymore.” he nods slowly.
“we have a friend out there that we met from the summer camp thing. a few of them are still there. elias can probably get in contact with one of them to help you out. since they’re both wiccans.”
“so you’re friend is a... wait you’re a wiccan?” sam asks towards elias, pointing the camera in his direction, receiving a half nod. 
“after i became a medium it slowly transitioned into exploring witchcraft, i wouldn’t like 100% consider myself a wiccan but i do partake in that stuff.” he holds up his pagan necklace. 
“wow, so does your friend live around the cabin?” 
“yeah.” 
“now i see why it’s called witches forest.” sam laughed hesitantly. 
“so a lot of people there are wiccans i’m assuming?” colby asks, before receiving a nod. “witches forest, wiccans.” he does a weird voice to express how crazy this situation is.
“this is awesome, thank you so much for this, we would probably just of done another hotel video.” sam thanked her. “should we call corey?” he asks to the guys.
everyone begins to say goodbye, colby hugging jennifer and elias. “we’ll let you know how it goes.”
“but uh, i just wanted to say, i haven’t been there in awhile so be careful.” jennifer calls out to them.
jennifer and elias start walking back to their apartment. he glances towards the group they had just encountered. “they seem cool, colby’s pretty nice.”
“yeah i guess. i’m surprised you didn’t give them the key.”
“first, they’re strangers, second, they seem like novices, i don’t want their deaths to be on my hands.” elias joked.
“you could’ve gone with them.” she shrugs. elias pauses for a moment, thinking about it. maybe he should. they are trying to find the most haunted areas.. 
“i’ll think about it.”
it was early morning of the next day, and elias had been messaging with colby since he woke up talking about whether or not he should go up with them. colby has been trying to persuade him, borderline begging him to come. they think it would be awesome for the video and their paranormal experience. 
and secretly colby just wants to get to know him as well.
the four boys were in their car, on the way to the first house, to talk to a wiccan who is offering a reading, and more information on the witches forest.
“i was thinking about what the physic said a lot last night, about how corey and i are in danger, and i think they could be right. i hope we have service because we’ve never been in this forest, who knows, like what if we get lost right? that’s why i think bringing elias, who knows the area could be helpful.”
“honestly yeah, and he seems like a cool dude so.” jake shrugs, agreeing with the idea. corey then calls and agrees to come, making everyone so much more relieved. 
“let’s just act like we’re going to a cabin in the woods.” corey says, trying to lighten the mood as he gets into the car.  
they keep on driving, about twenty minutes out, pulling over only to get jake some food because he kept complaining about being hungry. they pull into a burger king, and grab some food. colby suggests sitting at a table so he can fill both corey and the viewers in about elias and the other wiccan.
“just to catch everyone up, we got some food and we are ten minutes away from the forest!” sam starts it off.
“i’ve been texting with both this wiccan and elias, who agreed on meeting us, but they want to meet us at her house. she was just like ‘yeah swing by, and i’ll show you my tarot cards and stuff.’” 
“well, let’s hope we don’t die.”
they walk out to the parking lot, and talk a bit more, explaining to corey. “me, colby, and jake met up with jennifer and this new guy, elias, so the reason why he’s texting to this random wiccan is because they’re friends, them two would meet up with her at summer camp, and she’s going to tell us about the area.” sam said.
as they start driving, they encounter the fog of the mountains, and they struggle to see out the window.
“yeah, elias is going to be with the wiccan, so atleast it’s not like we’re by ourselves with a complete stranger.” colby mentioned.
“well we don’t really know him either.”
“better then completely alone though.” he shrugged, continuing to drive until google maps said he was at the correct address.
“so what have they told you?” sam asked. 
“nothing really, just gave us the address and said see you then.” colby explained, shutting the car door. they walked up to the door, not even having to knock before someone opened the door. “hey colby!” elias said, arm on the door. 
“yoo hey.” colby gave a hug before smiling. “thanks for taking up our offer on this, having you here and talk about some of the stuff is super great for the video.” 
colby felt nervous, seeing elias stand confidentially at the door, he looked more relaxed today, grey sweatpants, black hoodie and his usual brown glasses. you can tell he wasn’t planning on coming. 
in the light, it was much easier to see his face. he also realized elias’ hair was slightly curly. 
“yeah it’s no problem.” elias said as the other wiccan presented herself. “good to see you again.” 
“hey, how are you guys?” she asked. “wanna come in? if you don’t mind i’ll have to sage you though.”
“yeah it’s no problem.”
after the boys were saged, they sat around the table and began to talk about the witches forest. “so why is it called witches forest?” sam asked, getting down to business. 
“there’s a lot of rituals that go on in this area, it used to be a spot with mobsters, there’s a lot of satanic rituals, which aren’t as bad or evil as you would think.” elias nods along, agreeing with her. 
“so you guys would consider yourselves wiccans in the way that you both study witchcraft. 
“yes, i identify as a wiccan, but i feel like it has a different perception of what you would think.”
“okay so can you explain that to us.” sam asked.
“i like to live my life by the moon cycles, so full moon would be a time of like creativity and energy, where as new moon is more introspective and..” she trails off as the door opens for the second time. 
“we’re trying to spend the night here, in the forest. do you think that’s a good idea or bad idea?”
elias grimances, shaking his head. 
“what’s that supposed to mean?!” corey fake cries.
“a lot of people have died up there.. not recently so i don’t think you’ll die.” she says positively. “if you want we can do a little tarot reading.” she suggests, waving over elias to help her with it.
“tarot reading?” colby repeats asking for clarification. 
“tarot cards really tell you what you’re feeling subconsciously, and they help give insight into the past, your future, or the present. and basically however you relate to the card, it tells you what’s going on with your inner-self or stuff you may be doing.” he explains, before sageing the cards.
“this basically helps to detach anything thats holding onto the cards, so for example, the past readings she’s done, it’s possible that those readings could effect yours. so when i sage the cards, it clears anything on them.” he hands over the cards to colby, who passes them to sam, to jake and then to corey, to get their presence onto the cards.
she takes the cards and sets them onto the table. a few gasps come from the guys after seeing the death card, “none of these are bad, so don’t be afraid.”
“the tower is an iffy card in my opinion, so it means danger and destruction, it’s basically like a very sudden unforeseen change, which means you have to rebuild. it can lead to the next chapter of your life. so it starts out negative and eventually it leads to rebuilding which is positive.” elias explains.
“yeah and chaos isn’t always a bad thing, which relates to the death card.” she taps onto it. 
“the next chapter of my life is death?” sam asked.
“no.” elias answered shortly. “the death card will almost never mean death or represent anything like that. it’s typically more like the end of an era, so it implies new beginnings. it also is commonly known as the card that describes self awareness.” he was briefly interrupted by a bang upstairs.
“this card is all about fear and anxiety.” she points out. “but not a real fear, more like you’re worrying about something too much. like it’s in your head, like when you can’t sleep and you’re terrified but it’s not something that you should be worrying about. it’s more like you’re imagining something, like making up a problem.”
“like making conspiracy theories about yourself.” jake adds in, earning weird looks from colby and sam.
“just being scared of something that isn’t that big of a deal, like you’re more afraid then you need to be.” elias adds.
“that’s basically our group.” sam comments.
they talked more about the different chapters of their life, corey refusing to do more tarot. she gave more advice on how to keep the guys safe at their campsite, like taking the sage, having a ring of salt and holding hands.
elias watches as they huddle into the corner of the room and talk about some of their plans together. “honestly guys, i don’t know if i can do this.” corey admits. “this shit is crazy, we don’t need more spirits trapped with us.”
“i think we just have to hurry up because it’s a few hours from sundown, and we don’t know the area too well, i don’t want us to get lost.” sam comments.
“do you think we should invite elias?” colby asked.
“brother, now why would we do that.” corey said, shaking his head.
“he knows the area, and i think he would be awesome for content, he can tell us more stories, we can get to know him and maybe do more ghost stuff with him in the future.” 
“i’m down.” jake shrugs.
“we don’t know him very well, but i do think he’d be beneficial for this.” sam doesn’t seem to care that much.
“okay well i won’t invite him if you guy’s arent sure.” they all to look corey. 
“fine, but i swear to god if he murders us, i’m going to murder you again.”
“okay awesome!” colby walks away from the guys and up to elias. “i was wondering if you wanted to come with us, like to our campsite.”
“oh. uhh, i mean i guess i could hang for a bit, but it would probably be weird to stay the night with you guys. my cabin isn’t too far away in the forest so i’ll go back there once you guys are settled in.”
“we’d be chill if you wanted to stay the night in a tent beside us or something, but it’s cool if not.”
“i’ll figure it out later.” he shrugs, and follows the guys to the car. elias sits in the passenger seat, sam giving it up to sit in the back, so he didn’t have to sit squished next to strangers.
they began to drive in the direction of witches forest, taking a right turn onto a gravel road. 
“so where do you suggest us staying the night exactly?” 
“well i would say definitely be near one of the main roads, so you’re near your car, but as in area, if you keep going down here, there’s some pretty flat ground with trees surrounding it.” elias points in the right direction.
they pull into a blank area, and start gathering their stuff. “just down this way.” he leads, while helping carrying one of their bags. 
“awesome, thank you.” sam thanks him, actually kind of surprised how much this stranger was helping them.
“do you need help setting up your tent, or?” he wondered.
“uhh..” jake mumbled, knowing he’s never put up a tent in his life. 
“that is a possibility.” sam chuckles. ”so like, did you group up in california or elsewhere?” he took what colby said earlier, about getting to know him, and ran with it.
“oh uh, no i grew up in a small town out of seattle, but i moved to la when i was 17.” elias answered, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
“oh cool. why’d you leave seattle?” jake asked.
“just bad memories i guess.” he took a deep breath. “the house i grew up in.. my brother he died there when i was 6. his death brought me into the paranormal world.”
“oh, i’m sorry for your loss.” colby commented, beginning to build the tent.
“don’t be.” elias laughed it off. “it was a pretty natural death, he was born with heart complications, honestly a miracle he lived till 14. he was very positive and i’m sure he wouldn’t want people mourning, so i choose not to i guess.”
“that’s a good way to look at it.” colby smiled at the other. colby took a liking to him, he wasn’t sure why though but it felt like something was pushing him to get to know him.
“so you said you’re a medium?” corey asked, helping colby with the tent.
“yeah, the thing with my brother, it guided me to other spirits and i just kind of fell into it all. i feel things more the most people, i hear more, i sense more.” he paused. “i don’t feel any presences here but i feel sadness and regret.”
“that’s honestly really cool, so to become a medium does it need to be something that happens to you or can you like learn and study to become one?” colby asked, setting up the camera on a camping chair, pointed to elias.
“in my opinion it has to come to you, you can’t work for it. if you are gifted with the ability you can learn and study to enhance it but you can’t force it.”
“the tent’s looking good.” corey nodded towards it. “but i swear to god i don’t want to sleep here.” he begs, making everyone laugh.
once everything was set up, and looking good, elias decided to leave. “i’ll probably head up to the cabin.” he says, rubbing the back of his neck.
“yo, you sure?” jake asks, actually wanting him to stay. in the past few hours they’ve all been vibing pretty hard.
“yeah no pressure to leave.” colby said, giving him a smile. 
“i don’t wanna intrude too much on your video or anything, but feel free to come to the cabin if you have any problems or something crazy happens. can’t promise staying at the cabin will be any better but still. i have wifi, hot water, beds, all that stuff so don’t be shy.” elias smiled back.
“alright, thank you.” sam nodded. 
“make sure to say goodbye before you leave though!” elias called out, as he walked away. 
“bye!” colby shouted.
“cya!” jake yelled.
“dude, you’re staring.” corey pointed out, laughing at his friend. colby turned to look at him, before rolling his eyes.
“shut up, i just think he’s cool.”
corey winked to sam and jake, them chuckling to eachother.
it was hours later, maybe 3 or 4, and elias was in his cabin, drinking a glass of wine, while reading one of the books from the old bookshelf. his days here were simple. he’d tend to the plants, garden, read some books and drink wine. he wish he had a more extroverted life, and would sometimes regret missing out on opportunities. such as hanging out with the guys back at the campsite. 
he wondered why he didn’t just stay, when they were clearly okay with him there, but he was still unfortunately a stranger. they were okay with him there, but they didn’t want him there. 
‘god i need friends’, he thought. he’s been so lonely, his only friend being jennifer, and they weren’t all that close anymore since he’s started studying witchcraft. elias has only had a few friends in his lifetime, people thinking he’s weird or abnormal for his interests and gifts, and he’s only been in one relationship which ended around 6 months. 
he honestly hasn’t felt that interested in people, elias finds them too generic, but he did take interest in the group. no matter how goofy they all seemed, they were cool. especially colby, he seemed to care the most. and he was kinda cute so that’s a plus. but he was probably straight.
he paused, hearing a bang upstairs, before sighing. his only friends are the spirits of the forest. he took his glasses off and gave them a rub, as they got a bit foggy. 
‘maybe a bath will ease my mind’ as he began to run a bath he heard a scream for help. his eyes widened at the voice, that was definitely colby. 
“help!” it was a gut-retching scream. elias turned off the bath, and as he was running to the front door, he turned the outside lights on, immediately lighting up the area. 
“colby?!” he called out, opening the door. 
“elias?!” suddenly, he came into view. “holy fuck, thank god.” he sighed, relieved. he rushed to the door. 
“what the hell happened out there? where is everyone?”
“i-i i got lost, i don’t know where i am, i was chasing after a shadow and i thought sam and jake were after me but i went in circles and i walked for so long it’s been like 15 minutes and i don’t know where they are.”
“woah, colby are you hurt?” elias reaches out to the others side, seeing a few smaller scratches. he gently touches them, earning a hiss out of colby.
“ouch.” he chuckles. “anyways, i really need help finding them, i don’t know what the fuck happened.”
“you said you saw a shadow figure? was it just a shadow or were there any visible descriptions?”
“just a shadow.” he shrugs, shivering a bit. 
“theres been a few people spotting shadows around here, a lot of people think one of the main shadows, it’s of a larger male and it’s predicted that it’s the spirit of the husband i told you guys about earlier, and that he’s stuck in this forest as punishment.”
“jesus.” colby exhales. 
“here, come in for a second, i’ll get you a heavier jacket and i’ll get a bandage for your side.”
“oh, thank you so much.” colby rubs his neck, awkwardly standing in the others home. “this cabin is actually beautiful.” he said, not expecting it.
“haha yeah, i take pride in it. nobody ever is here to see how gorgeous the wood and plants are.”
“oh why’s that?”
“i just don’t have many friends.” elias said, while grabbing a few items. “gets lonely up here.”
“hey well, you can consider us friends, i think you’re cool as hell.” colby smiles, taking the jacket, and putting it over his shoulder. “it would be awesome to have you come with us to other haunted places.”
“i-” elias was about to decline, before he thought for a minute. he knew he would regret declining. “sure, why not.” he gestured for colby to move his arm so he could wrap his side. 
“that should do it.” he gave him a pat on the shoulder. “now, we really have to get you back to your friends, they’re probably freaking out.”
“yeah.” colby agreed, rubbing his side. 
“do you mind if i spend the night with you guys? i have a feeling.. like i can feel something bad in your future, and i don’t think it’s safe for you guys alone.”
“oh god..” colby sighed, not ready for whatever he’s talking about. elias grabbed a few more things, and shoved it into a backpack. “it would be appreciated if you stayed with us.” he laughed it off, pretending he didn’t care too much, but he actually felt pretty nervous about the idea. 
he’s never really found guys that attractive or anything but something about elias, it wasn’t even his looks, something about his personality or dare he say ‘spirit’ was alluring. colby just needed to know more, needed to get close to him.
“okay, let’s go.” he said, turning off the house lights, and turning on his flashlight. 
they walked through the forest, trying to avoid all of the unnerving noises they heard. “thank you.” elias said quietly.
“what? why?”
“because, today has been the most social interaction i’ve had in awhile.” he chuckled. they continued to walk in peaceful silence, colby instinctively walking closer to elias. they smiled to eachother, elias having to look away and blush out of sight. ‘jesus, what is happening to me.’
they walked a bit more, and finally began to see bright lantern lights, similar to colby’s. “guys!” he shouted.
“no way, colby!” corey shouted, running straight to him out of relief.
“guys!”
“holy shit it’s colby!” 
“colby!”
“what the fuck happened to you.” sam shook his head. they all looked closer and saw another person. as they got closer they realized it was elias.
“holy shit.” corey exclaimed.
“are you okay bro?” jake asked.
“the shadow person, i kept chasing it, i saw it again. it ran so i ran after it, i ended up going in circles and i got lost so i started screaming for help and i saw a cabin, thank god it was elias’.
“did you hear the scream? it was like a female scream.” sam explained. 
colby went to sit in a chair, his side aching. “no i didn’t, i scratched my side though.” he lifted his shirt to show the bandage. 
“dude, me and jake saw like a baby or something small hung.” sam said.
“bro, i looked at it, and my first thought was that it was a baby hanging, it was swaying and everything.”
“wait.. you said you saw a baby hanging?” elias looked at them in pure shock. “holy fuck.. you saw her.” he mumbled.
“what?” sam asked, eyes wide.
“what the fuck is going on.” corey shouted.
“the.. the story i told you guys, about the husband killing his pregnant wife. a few people i rented the cabin out to, they would see shadows of a hanging dead baby outside the windows.”
“holy fuck!” corey screamed, jumping before walking a few steps away.
“that is fucking crazy.” jake exclaimed, holding onto his head.
“i can’t believe this.” sam held the camera, beginning to shake. “okay, a rule, we can’t separate again.”
they began to talk about what the shadow could’ve been, talking about the biker kids they had seen earlier in the day.
“it definitely was not a biker, you would’ve heard it a mile away, and nobody just goes for a walk in the middle of the night.” elias shakes his head in disbelief at the situation. 
“i’m not staying out here any longer.” jake says, running into the tent. everyone else begins to pack away their stuff, making sure that if they got scared again, they could leave without having to worry about their scattered belongings. 
sam pulls out the camera once everything is put away, and gives the viewers a quick update. “just a little update guys, we did clean up our entire campsite, and now we’re going to chill in here for a little bit, because we don’t know what’s out here.” he gestures inside the tent.
“is it alright if i stay here? i don’t feel like walking back to the cabin.” he asks.
“oh yeah of course.” sam practically invites him in. “you’ll just have to deal with our gross selves.”
“i think i’ll be fine, i was a babysitter for 3 years of my life.” he joked, earning laughs from everyone.
a small fight ensues about sleeping bags with the guys, and elias sits off to the side of the tent, not wanting to get too close and make anyone uncomfortable. he watches as colby pokes around at corey’s pocket. 
“brotherrrr, scared the fuck outta me.” corey cries out. “it’s either colby hitting on me again or a ghost.” elias laughed at that.
“i like to use shrek’s belly as a pillow.” jake mumbles, away from the drama.
a few minutes go by, and bugs in the tent frighten elias, while sam and colby start swatting at them before jake and corey talk about the white people face. elias, guilty of making that face more then once tonight.
the rest of the night was filled with fivesome jokes, jake playing with shrek into the camera, dance parties, sam touching more spiders in the tent, and colby trying to rest his eyes.
he originally laid near corey, between him and elias. he was resting on the end of his sleeping bag, feeling exhausted with the night so far. after another bug was squashed, they placed the camera back in the center of everyone.
elias was the closest to the camera, slightly out of frame, colby close by, corey leaning to the front, jake beside him, and sam on the other side also out of frame. “who keeps farting?” colby asked jokingly annoyed.
“yo what is that smell bro.” colby started cringing, holding his nose, causing everyone to laugh, corey the most.
“who farted dude?” jake commented about the smell looking towards sam.
“i don’t smell anything.” he shrugged carelessly, elias agreeing with him.
“yeah cause it was you!” 
“someone ripped ass, and it was me two minutes ago.” corey revealed, laughing like a madman. 
“my face was right by your asshole!” colby shouted, making a disgusted face to the camera before slowly shuffling away from the guy, and closer to elias. he dramatically collapsed onto elias’ leg and begged him not to do the same.
colby found his leg oddly comfortable, holding onto it like a pillow. he didn’t want to get too over the top and make elias uncomfortable, so tried to stay away from the boys lap.
then, it was back to jake putting shrek up to the camera, pretending to ring an imaginary doorbell. 
“look guys, stop recording if we’re actually going to fuck.” corey pulled his sleeping bag over his face.
“yeah i don’t wanna be on camera.” elias said, holding his hands up, making everyone snicker. it was kind of awesome how they could go from complete strangers, thinking eachother was creepy, to then making jokes like this.
speaking of jokes, everyone made comments about colby and how he was sleeping all cuddly on the other, and god was it unbearable. 
it was awkward, and uncomfortable but oddly enough, the friendly teasing felt better then being alone, so he dealt with it, and listened to corey’s little story about the boys and the shadowman. 
suddenly, noises started getting louder. exhales, footsteps, bangings. corey felt uncomfortable, and kept demanding to leave the tent. everyone paused, trying to listen to the surrounding sounds, sam hearing a car, and elias hearing thuds. 
“yo, should we just try to go to sleep?” colby asked, genuinely really tired.
“uh, no.” corey answered like it was obvious
elias felt the need to interrupt. “listen, the noises are obviously scary and whatever, but you need to understand that you guys are overthinking. think back to the tarot cards. you are scaring yourselves.” he tried to explain, as a way to calm them down.
it definitely didn’t work, corey hearing another exhale, and telling everyone to get out of the tent as a safety precaution. 
eventually everyone began to rush out of the tent, into darkness, sam screaming for someone to get a light. elias put on his glasses, and grabbed a flashlight, pointing it around the camp.
he heard rustling coming from a near bush and started walking up to it, he peeked around trying to find what the noise could’ve been. “elias, hurry up!” sam called, as everyone began running to the car. 
he caught up to them, not caring anymore and jumping in the back with jake and corey. “holy fuck.” he exhaled. “where are we going?”
“jennifer’s cabin.” corey replied, nodding at the idea.
sam’s phone started to ring as colby was driving on a tight road. “yo, yo, look!” he answered the call, everyone hearing absolute gibberish. it was random noises, deep exhales and other strange noises.
“that sounds like someone fucking with us.” colby stated, as sam talked about telling all his friends he was coming here.
“holy shit, i don’t think it’s someone pranking you guys.” elias stared, wide eyed at his phone before holding it up so everyone could see. 
“fuck.” jake muttered. “answer! answer!”
elias answered the call, putting it on speaker phone. the sounds coming from his call was much different from sam’s. these, sounded like chants, as if a huge group of people were shouting into the phone, cursing the boy. “guys, what the fuck is this.” he had experienced everything, but never has he gotten no caller id calls, with scary ass chants. “are you fucking with me right now?” he asked the group, tears welling in his eyes.
“no! no! of course not!” colby assured him. “we don’t do shit like that.”
he pulled into the driveway of jennifer’s cabin, immediately opening the doors and seeing the pouring rain. at the door, jake started shaking the water off of him, complaining about being wet.
quickly, elias could see sam was struggling. he was digging through his bag trying to find the key. he was beginning to panic, and everyone was starting to realize. 
“wait you don’t have the key?” corey questioned, getting nervous. “sam.” he sighed.
“was it in your pockets or the backpack?” colby asked.
“when do you remember last having it?” jake watched as sam patted his pockets.
“n-no i had it today, i showed the girl that jennifer gave me the key.” he defended. “here, just check the car, i swear, i have it.” 
“really try to remember, did you put it in your bag or your pockets?” colby kept pushing.
sam frantically looked around the car as the others judged him, complaining and blaming him for losing the key. “hey honestly sam, don’t worry about it, it’s just a mistake.” elias tried to reassure him everything was fine, only for corey to say something.
“i thought.. it’s either here or in the backpack.. unless is it in our bags? should we check the trunk?” everyone was freaking out, and elias stood there awkwardly watching. he felt bad for sam.. he could feel the sadness and guilt dripping off of him.
“we need this key. we can’t get in. dude jennifer trusted us with this key, you can’t-”
“is this the only key?” “sam, are you fucking serious, dude. i’m not trying to be rude, but first you lowkey lost colby, and now you don’t have the key. i’m just saying, this is why i don’t like doing this type of shit.” corey raised his voice. 
jake and corey agreed they didn’t want to go back to the tent, as colby kept filming. elias took a breath before saying excuse me and pulling sam to the side. 
sam looked confused, but his guilt was overtaking it. “what?” he looked at the other, wondering why he dragged him a few feet away. 
“dude, don’t listen to them, losing the key, like i said is a simple mistake, any of them could have done it, they’re not upset at you, they’re just upset at the cirumstances. but you’re forgetting i have a place just a few minutes away.” elias tried calming him down, seeing tears well in his eyes. he could tell sam wasn’t one that could deal with being yelled at.
“it’s not anything big, it’s a two bedroom with a pull out couch.” elias shrugged. “please just accept my offer, alright?” sam nodded, wiping any sort of water away from his eyes.
“thank you elias, really.” sam suddenly grabbed onto him, giving him a side hug. 
“no worries.” he smiled, leading him back to the car, before they explained the plan to the others. everyone could see the disappointment in sam’s eyes, as he sat quiet in the passenger seat. 
jake whispered to elias, about what happened out there, him shaking it off as to say it was private. he guides colby down the different roads, and in a few minutes they were outside his cabin. 
“here we are!” he welcomes them inside, turning all the lights on.
“shit this is nice.” corey nodded, jumping onto the couch. 
“woah woah, take your dirty ass boots off.” elias joked, watching as he threw them off in the direction of the door.
“thank you so much for having us here.” sam smiled, setting his bag down. 
“really, don’t worry about it, i’m glad you’re here and not outside.” elias took their stuff and organized it by the doors. “okay so, there’s two bedrooms, you guys can take those if you want, i don’t mind sleeping on the couch.”
“hell no.” colby laughed, refusing to have him give up his own room in his own house.
“mkay whatever, someone can sleep in my room with me i guess, because trust me the couch is very uncomfortable to sleep on. plus the rooms are much safer. the living room is the scariest, you’ll hear the most shit out here.” he chuckled. “you guys can look around if you want, also feel free to eat anything you find, and use the wifi, passwords on the fridge.” he yawned. “i’m going the fuck to bed.” 
the guys chuckled, taking him up on that offer. 
for over half an hour, they decided to eat some of the snacks in his fridge, and taking crackers from the pantry. “god i was so hungry.” jake moaned into the leftover burger he was eating.
“okay guys, take it easy, we aren’t trying to raid their food.” colby snickered, watching as his friends ate like hungry rats. 
“yeah good point.” sam took a handful of crackers and put the box back. “should we talk about sleeping arrangements?”
“there’s no fucking way i’m sleeping on the couch or anywhere in the living room after what he said.” corey stated, heading into the direction of the guest bedroom. 
“yeahh, me neither.” jake followed after him.
“so.” colby shrugged. “do you care where you’re sleeping tonight?”
“not really, i’ve gotten to know elias pretty well so it doesn’t really matter to me.” the brunette squints at him. 
“what did you guy’s talk about?” he questions. 
“honestly, when he pulled me aside i was shocked. he like saw how overstimulated i was with the whole situation and he completely calmed me down, comforted me and everything.” he threw his arms as he was talking.
“yeah, i’m sorry about that, we were all just frustrated about the key.”
“don’t worry about it.” sam smiled. “are you and elias getting close? you were like all over him, sleeping back at the tent.” he was genuinely curious, considering he hasn’t seen his friend like this in awhile.
colby paused, thinking about everything that’s happened tonight. “honestly... i don’t know, it’s been really weird for me. i’m so confused with what im feeling.” he shook his head, so unsure.
“hm, i’ll go sleep with corey and jake.” they both nodded to that. “goodnight colby!” sam called out, walking in the same direction as the others did.
colby slowly approached elias’ room, pushing open the door gently. both bedside table lights were on, followed by a few candles around the room. he could see that the other boy was still awake. “oh hey.” he put down his book.
“hey elias. thought you were going to bed?”
“i was, heard some loud munchers in my kitchen though.” he giggled, as colby apologized. “no, honestly it’s okay, i was actually surprised how fast you guys decided to come to bed.”
elias yawned once more, stretching his arms out on the bed. “i can either sleep on the floor, make a little bed and shit, or if you’re cool i’ll just stay on the right of the bed.”
“literally don’t worry about it, not the first time i’m sleeping with a dude-” he paused, cutting himself off. “god that sounded bad.” he laughed, blushing with embarrassment. 
“wouldn’t be my first time either.” elias smirked, blowing a fake kiss before wheezing at their dumb jokes. 
colby moved closer, setting his personal backpack down and folding his jacket on the table. he shuffled towards the bed, and sat ontop of it. “i have no idea if i’m going to sleep tonight.” he sighed.
“that’s fair. it’s crazy out here. if you want we can just stay up and talk for awhile?”
“actually.. that would be nice.” colby rubbed the back of his neck. in was silent for a few seconds, him getting comfortable under the covers. “so..”
“how did you like the witches forest? scary enough for you guys?” the other asked, trying to start a good conversation.
“oh definitely one of the scariest places we’ve been to, like with the history of it and everything.”
“what other places have you been to?”
“uhh the stanley hotel, the biltmore, queen mary, cobb estate, griffin park, and we’ve explored so many creepy places, like morgues and abandoned hospitals.” colby explained.
“geez, no wonder you guys are haunted.” he laughs. 
“do you think we are? we joke about it but im genuinely curious if we are.”
elias thinks for a minute. “i don’t think you’re haunted. however, i can sense something with you. with you and corey. whatever is following you, is completely different then what is attached to corey. notice the different in words.” he points out. “i think you have gotten yourself into many negative situations, not just paranormal.” “would you consider yourself lonely, or sad?”
colby exhaled shakily. “yes, sometimes.”
“spirits love following people that are lonely, they find them to be like easy prey, vulnerable.” he emphasizes the last word. elias closes his eyes, really focusing on colby’s presence. “i think the spirit that is with you is also lonely. they are following along with you, because you are feeding into it, giving it attention. and that’s fine, but if you don’t want it with you, you have to make it clear.”
“is it friendly?” he asked.
“yes. it’s friendly. i can’t tell you where you picked this spirit up, but it’s positive, and enjoys your company. it will not hurt you-” he stops, feeling something float by him. “it will not hurt you, it doesn’t want to, that’s not it’s intent. infact, it wants to protect you. noises you might hear, when you go to a haunted area, it very well could be this spirit trying to assert dominance with other ones.”
“holy.” colby tried to calm his breathing. “this is crazy. as long as it’s friendly, then i welcome it.” “so, do you think corey’s ghost is like bad?”
“i wouldn’t say bad, but when i was sitting near him earlier, it isn’t as friendly as yours. it likes the fear that comes with scaring him, i’d even go as far as, it wants to scare him more, it wants to up it. and with that spirit challenging him, i am nervous for his health both physically and mentally.”
“jesus, i have to tell him that in the morning, he’ll probably freak.” he sighed. “it’s so cool how you can like sense this stuff, does it ever get overwhelming?”
“allll the time.” elias chuckles. “sometimes i can just be in a library back in la, and i’ll feel like some version of spirits and like all these weird emotions, and i have to leave.”
“wow i’m sorry that comes with such an amazing gift.”
“it’s okay, i feel at peace with it now. i think my brothers with me, helping me deal with it all. i think he realizes how alone i am, and has decided to follow me.” he laughs at himself. “sorry, sorry, let’s talk about something more fun.”
colby laughed along. “so do you have a girlfriend?” he wondered, making elias pause and blush lightly.
“no, i’m single.” “goes along with the loneliness, if you feel me.” he chuckled. “you?”
“same, it’s hard to date now that sam and i’s channel has blown up. a lot of people have tried to use me for like clout and stuff.” the other frowned at that, apologizing for his past experiences. “no, no it’s okay, i just hope i’ll find someone soon, i do feel you, it gets so lonely.” he fake cries.
elias sips his glass of wine, offering some to colby. “i’m a vodka and rum kinda guy.” 
and soon enough, the boys were drinking, gossiping to each other about absolutely everything. colby was a very talkative drunk it seemed. he was blabbing about his friends, girls, ghosts, anything. “so like, are you gay?” he asked.
elias spat out his wine back into the glass before turning to colby. “uh wow..” he rubbed the back of his neck. “where did that come from?”
“i-i don’t know.” colby admitted, trying to hide himself with the blanket. he really didn’t know why he asked, his weird confused feelings mixed with being drunk just made him ask, he was so curious.
“i’m bisexual.. how’d you know i was into men?” 
“i.. i didn’t.” colby mumbled into the blanket. he felt himself shaking, so nervous and anxious. he took a deep breath and exhaled aggressively before jolting up and looking right at elias. “i didn’t know you liked men but i think i do.” he rushed it out. 
“i’ve never felt anything for a guy before so i’m pretty freaked out right now and-d confused but i think i like you.” he rubs his eyes, embarrassed and uh pretty drunk.
“wait really?” he paused for a moment. ‘holy shit’ he thought. he never would have expected this, he just thought colby loved being physical with his friends from all the touches earlier in the night.
seeing that his confusing feelings were being reciprocated, it made elias the happiest he’s been in awhile. “dude, i feel the same way.”
colby stopped, completely still. both boys were completely shocked at each others confessions. 
“like i feel like i’ve known you for awhile.” elias commented.
“same.” he tried to think of what to say next, where to go from here. 
“hey.” the other touched his arm. “don’t get too nervous about this whole situation, we have plenty of time to get to know eachother, plenty of time for you to figure out everything you’re going through.” “don’t feel pressured into anything.”
colby thought for a few minutes. “thank you, i appreciate it.” “it’s.. it’s so weird feeling like this. ever since i was younger i’ve been so convinced that i’m straight, and now i’m getting all these feelings for you and it’s honestly making me scared. what if i do like you? does that mean i have to come out? tell my friends, family and viewers? what if i don’t and this is just a mistake?”
“you can.. or we can figure it out one step at a time.” elias smiled. “and by the way, never feel pressured to come out, it’s a personal and heavy thing to do.”
he shivered, tears threatening to spill. it was such a vulnerable moment for him. elias reached out to the boy, offering a hug. 
they shared a tight hug, elias rubbing his back out of comfort. 
their moment was interrupted by an incredibly loud bang, and three loud screams from the guys in the other room. “colby!” one of them shouted.
they pulled apart from their hug, just as the three barged into their room. “did you fucking hear that, bro?!” sam questioned, before looking at the people in front of him. he acknowledged how close they were, the slight tears in colby’s eyes,how intimate the room lighting was, the wine, the white rum.. 
oh fuck, they just interrupted a moment. 
the other two didn’t notice, too scared of the noises they’ve been hearing all night. “that was the loudest one yet!” jake announced. 
“i’m not going back in there.” corey whined.
“we’ve been hearing shit over there, what about you?” sam asked, before mouthing a sorry to the two sitting in bed. elias smiled at the gesture, before trying to wipe off his smirk.
“nope.” colby shook his head, his eyes less red then a few minutes ago.
“it’s safer in here.” corey stated, setting down the pillow he brought from the other room, and curling into a ball onto the floor, making elias laugh.
“are we having a sleepover?” he asked.
“oh, fucking totally.” jake snickered, running back to the other room and grabbing every blanket and pillow he could.
sam made a gesture with his finger, calling over colby. he noticed and walked to the bathroom with him. 
“uh, hey, sorry about that, we didn’t mean to interrupt you guys.”
“interrupt? you uh didn’t interrupt anything we were just talking.”
sam made a face, before nodding. it was his business, so when he wanted to tell him, he would, so he left it alone. “alright.. you ready for this sleepover?” he smiled.
“fuckkk yeahh.”
it had been over an hour, everyone was dead asleep, corey snoring. elias was the only one awake, he was too in thought to sleep. he watched over colby, who was laying right infront of him on the floor with the rest of the guys. they were each laying on both bed mattresses, covered in blankets, basically in a line.
he had been debating to put an arm around colby, but.. if they woke up like that he could expose colby to the rest of his friends, or atleast cause him to get teased. 
after a bit, he decided to shuffle his left arm under colby, so it was less noticeable. he held the boy, smiling, before finally falling asleep.
he didn’t know this, but colby was awake the entire time, smiling, wondering what the frick he was gonna do about this goofy medium he found himself possibly falling in love with...
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ladybugsimblr · 16 days
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Dizzy Des on the Music Industry, Bailey Kay, Money vs Marriage, His Legendary Career & More | JUICE CHAMPS R E B E L. T V - 118K Views - 10 hours ago
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Comments 43K
wakeupmrwest Best interview yet! You don’t want to skip a second of this. Thank you Dizzy for joining us and schooling these dudes.
Dizzy Des This is why I started this network. A platform to speak our truth!
redpillscholar I knew Bailey Kay was just like all the other 304s. Using 🐱 to get ahead. No talent. You don’t want a female like that Dizzy. She’ll ruin your brand.
BadKidForLife King shit! Mad wisdom! I was taking notes!
kingb 🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢
bkstan 🦋🦋🦋
futuretoxicex Did you even listen to the interview before coming in here with your stupid butterflies? Take your twerking somewhere else. Dizzy was spittin facts.
rubberbandshan Reported dot com. Let me get outta these comments before I puke.
Ocsar: So you really suing BK?! How did it get this bad?
Dizzy: I don’t know! I’ve been asking myself the same damn question. One minute we’re all good, reconnecting, and then next thing you know she’s skipping out on business deals.
O: We know things started going downhill after your album release party. What really happened that night?
D: I had an amazing time and I made sure Bailey did too as everyone saw. But I don’t think she was able to handle those old feelings coming back. Instead of being honest with herself and going for what she really wants, she turned on me instead.
O: Wait. Wait! Run that back. Old feelings? You two had something going on?
D: We have history.
O: What kinda history? You smashed the Queen?
D: Let’s just say when Deangelo brought Bailey Kay to my door she was crackable. She was willing to do whatever it took to get put on. We worked hard, partied hard. Wild times back then.
O: Woooow!
D: Unfortunately we couldn’t make it work as a team. I tried but she chose a different direction. I guess she thought Khalil would do her- I mean do it better over at Blueprint. Obviously she chose wrong. I’m the King of this shit. We could have been on top of the world. True music royalty.
O: I mean BK is definitely on top of the world right now. Are you trying to take her down?
D: Funny choice of words but nah. I want her to keep winning in this industry. But I also want what’s owed to me.
D: Once I win my court case, get my simoleons and maybe a thank you, I’ll be waiting for her with open arms. Ditch those cornballs you got controlling you Queen. You need a high value sim like me to make you be the beautiful butterfly you claim to be.
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wayfayrr · 8 months
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for some reason i've had another idea for a request LODGED in my damn brain ever since i wore my platforms the other week: [they are comfy to me, and the heel isn't very high, just the platform adds like- 4inches lol] someone who has tall ass shoes, and nobody notices until they take em off or something and suddenly they're shorter it sounds bad, cause why would someone be wearing platforms, but i swear i can run in em. [took some trial and error though....] also its just really goofy.
No because I'm just as stubborn with platforms the thing that gets you is stairs. I'm not entirely sure if I've mentioned it on here, but I'm a firm believer that Hylians are short. Time is seen as tall because as far as Hylians go? He is Twilight is seen as monsterously tall. Which mixes into your other ask as well - seeing as Time is fairly average height when compared to humans with Twi being tall even to humans (he grew up with humans so he adapted just a lil he's got a much higher milk tolerance sfvgf) but only Twi really knows this seeing as he grew up in ordon with humans and honestly? Means he has a reason to reach out to the reader in the first place, explaining most of the differences he noticed growing up between him and the rest of the villagers It's not the most but really at that point it's helpful to know anything. and it gets him closer to you which is what he really cares about honestly I write the chain as yandere's most of the time really, but this scenario where he's reader's best hope and they naturally get closer to him? I could see it happening really it's because he can't have a repeat of midna someone from another world stealing his heart and leaving him forever ha nope
As for platforms? that'll be fun to explain to them >:) this turned out a little bit more Twi centric than I meant for it to be but it was so fun to write and flowed so naturally !! <33 [masterlist]
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“[Name]? We’re about to have breakfast, you’ll probably want to come get some before we leave the inn. Time’s saying that we’re going to be walking a lot today”
“Hm? Yeah I’m coming wild.”
His eyes looked as if they were about to fall out of his head when I opened the door. Is there something off about my appearance? I’ve just woken up I guess so maybe I just look a bit dishevelled, but after travelling with them this long? Would that really be enough to set them off like this?
“You’re shorter! Are you alright? Twi said humans are way different compared to Hylians but I didn’t assume he meant you shrink sometimes! Come on we need to go show them to know if you’re gonna be okay.”
“Wait no wild I-”
There isn’t even time for me to argue my own point with how fast they’re pulling me over to the others, his strength is impressive even for hylians I’ve been told and that isn’t something I’ll argue with. But what is he on about me ‘shrinking’? I haven’t changed height at all… He’s never seen me without my platforms. That’d do it.
“TWILIGHT! [NAME] SHRANK. IS THAT SOMETHING HUMANS CAN DO? ARE THEY GOING TO BE ALRIGHT?”
“Wild really I’m going to be fine. If you’ll just let me explai-”
“YOU CAN SHRINK? Why didn’t you tell us [name]?”
Now winds come over - great. I’ll have to count on Twi’s glare being enough to give me time to speak. 
“Wild what are you on about humans can’t - oh. You did shrink. How did that happen?”
Bingo. Now I can hopefully clear this mess up somewhat.
“I didn’t shrink. I’m just not wearing my platforms. They add to my height when I wear them, I didn’t realise this was the first time Wild’s seen me without them. Their worry was pretty cute though.”
“So you didn’t shrink..? Can I try them on?”
“Nah wind, not only are they my only pair of shoes but I think you’d break your neck if you tried to walk in them.”
He really does look kind of like a cat when he pouts, you’d assume he’s just had a lemon slice shoved in his mouth rather than being told no for his own safety. It’s nice to see that despite having to become a hero at such a young age he still acts his age.
“Then how do you wear them? You’ve been walking them for so long without issue?”
“They’re your only shoes?”
“Yeah they are Twi, there’s no issue either wild. They’re comfortable to wear and I’m used to them anyway”
Twi looks as if he’s gearing up for a lecture if the look on his face is anything to go by, the very same one that’s a warning for wild when he’s done something questionable. A short sigh, a shake of his head and it quickly softens up into some sort of lovestruck expression.
“Darlin’ It isn’t that that I’m worried ‘bout. It’s not a good idea to only be travelling with a single pair, what if they get damaged or lost? I’ve got a spare set that should fit you, you can have them.”
“You don’t have to go that for me twi, I’m sure theres somewhere here I could just buy a pair.”
“It really ain’t an issue. It’ll save you breaking in a new pair so it’s for the best really.”
There’s more to what he’s saying I can feel it, but I can’t bring it up around the others like this so answers will have to wait. 
“You don’t wanna eat while you’re, only wearing a pair of socks you? Let’s go and get them for you quickly.”
His hand is so much softer than Wild’s and his touch is more tender and is that? Oh, he’s blushing, there really is something more to this isn’t there; does he like me or something? The walk to his room in the inn isn’t long, shorter than the one to my own. 
“Give me a second darlin’ and I’ll get you them.”
 “Of course, I’m not gonna get mad at you for taking too long to get me a gift. Seriously though, thanks for this link.”
If I thought he was red before he’s downright glowing now, his face from the tips of his ears to the lowest part of his neck that I can see have gone crimson red. Matching how his rummaging through his bag has gotten ever so more frantic, his patience for finding the said boots for me gone like ashes in the wind. Then before I know it a pair of leather boots are being thrust into my arms by someone who can only really be described as a blushy mess at the moment. It’s cute. He’s cute.
“They’re wonderful thank you again Twi, really.”
“You can ah - You can call me link when we’re alone together like this darlin’.”
“If you want me to then link. I’ll just put these on then we can go join the others, hopefully, they’ve saved us some food.”
These are so soft, are they lined with something? They have to be right? It feels like some kind of fur, they should be nice to walk in so I can save my platforms some wear. It makes a lot of sense to try to keep my belongings from home safe, just to have some memories to look back on. 
“Hey link, mind me asking what they’re lined with?”
“Wolf fur darlin’”
“Is it your fur?”
How is it possible he’s gotten even more red? Answers my question though. Why would he give me something lined with his own fur?
“I - That doesn’t bother you does it?”
204 notes · View notes
justagalwhowrites · 3 months
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Halcyon - Ch. 6: But, Honestly, Something's Gotta Give
You and Joel review each other's lists. A continuation of Halcyon from the prologue through Ch. 5, a modern no outbreak AU TLOU fic found on Tumblr here.
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Pairing: Joel Miller x Female Reader
Warnings: Semi-graphic description of masturbation. Mention of drug and alcohol addiction. Mention of past drug overdose. Diet culture type language. Modern No Outbreak AU, No use of Y/N, Slow burn, 18+ only, Minors DNI
Length: 10.3K
AO3 | Main Master List | Prologue | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
“Hey you!” 
You managed to resist the urge to groan when your sister threw the door open, her hip popped against it and a large glass bottle clutched in the hand she’d put in the air in excitement. 
“Please tell me that’s not wine,” you said, trying to see the label on the bottle. 
“Oh you’re such a buzzkill,” Anna rolled her eyes and visibly deflated a bit. “And no, of course it’s not wine. It’s sparkling cider, heaven forbid a girl wants to do something different once in a while…” 
“Sorry,” you said, hands up in surrender as she stepped aside and let you in. You gave her a quick hug before following her toward the kitchen. “How’ve you been?” 
“Drunk off my ass and high all the time,” she made a mocking face over her shoulder at you. “Oh wait, no, that’s just what my sister thinks I’ve been doing…” 
“You answered the door with something that looks like a wine bottle in your hand and you’ve been out of rehab for all of two months,” you said, voice sharper than you’d really intended it to be.  “Think my question was pretty reasonable.” 
“You know, a little trust would be nice,” she said, stopping at the counter and pouring the cider into two waiting wine glasses. “Kinda hard to rebuild my life if fucking no one in it trusts me to do it.”
You sighed
“You’re right,” you said, sitting at the kitchen table. “I’m sorry. I should have given you the benefit of the doubt.” 
You held up a box of candy and shook it, the little squares inside rattling in their paper and plastic confines as you did. 
“I brought you chocolate,” you smiled at her. 
“Buying my love, hm?” She asked, setting a drink in front of you before sitting down at the seat beside you. You just shrugged as she pulled off the lid, wiggling her fingers over the various truffles before selecting one without looking at the map explaining the varieties. “Well, it worked. I forgive you.” 
She bit into the candy and made a face, scrunching her nose. 
“Ugh,” she said, holding out the remaining half of the truffle, brushing it over your lips. “Coconut. Disgusting.” 
“I don’t want your spit candy…” you leaned away from her but her hand shot forward and stuffed the piece in your mouth as you spoke, making you cough for a moment before you gave up and just chewed it. “You’re disgusting.” 
“And you’re lame,” she said. “So we’re even.” 
“So,” you said, swallowing the candy. “How are you doing? Really?” 
She shrugged, her fingers lingering over the box again as she selected her next piece.
“Fine, I guess,” she said. “I have a job interview next week…” 
“No shit!” Your eyes went wide, impressed. “That’s amazing, where at?” 
“OK, be less excited because otherwise it’s going to be a letdown,” she rolled her eyes a little. “But, believe it or not, it’s an office job. Data entry. It’s going to be total bullshit but it was a foot in the door which, right now? I’ll take.” 
“Congratulations!” You smiled, genuinely happy for her. “That’s exciting.” 
She shrugged again. 
“Only exciting if I get it. And even then… pretty damn lame.” 
“A steady paycheck is only lame until you realize how nice it is,” you said. “I think you’ll like a little stability and independence.” 
“Yeah,” she sighed. “I think you’re right. It just feels weird to be at this stage right now in my life, you know? I didn’t finish college, I have no job experience. I thought my life was going to just always be my life and now it’s not. I’m basically starting from scratch at 29. Less than scratch, I’m already divorced and have two stints in rehab under my belt.” 
You shrugged. 
“Scratch isn’t so bad.” 
“Ah right, my sister in arms, fellow member of the hot young divorcee club,” she smirked, grabbing another chocolate and popping it in her mouth before nodding slowly. “This one’s better, caramel.” 
“Not divorced yet,” you signed, rapping your fingers on the side of your glass. “Gale keeps sending over new terms… I feel like this is never going to end.” 
“It can take a while,” she nodded knowingly. “Hell, even when you’re on decent terms it takes a while, take it from someone who knows.” 
“Speaking of our exes, how is dear old Joshy?” You asked. Anna rolled her eyes a little but you saw the corners of her lips pull up. “Josharoonie. Joshimiah.” 
“Shut up. And he’s fine, last I heard,” she said. “I haven’t seen him in a bit.” 
“Really?” You said. “I’m impressed.” 
“Not that impressive,” she muttered, taking a sip of her drink. 
“Uh huh,” you replied. “Hon, I remember a time that you couldn’t stay away from him for five minutes and I remember him convincing you that oh, no, it’s just a little wine, just a little pot, just a little coke…” 
“Yeah, he’s way less hot shit when I’m sober as it happens,” she laughed a little. “God, yeah, I don’t know that I would have made it down the aisle with him if I’d been sober. I was three bottles of wine deep that day…” 
“Yeah, I remember,” you laughed a little, too. “That really should have been red flag number one, you had to get hammered to marry the guy. I probably should have tried harder to stop you.” 
“Eh,” she shrugged. “Can’t hold it against you. Not like your taste in men was all that great. No offense.” 
You just shrugged noncommittally. It was easier than arguing. You weren’t sure why you kept wanting to defend Gale to people. It’s not like he was being especially kind or caring as your marriage dissolved. It wasn’t like he’d been especially kind or caring toward you in a very long time. 
But something in you grated at people’s distaste. You were divorcing him, yes, but it’s not like you’d lost all your feeling for the man. You still cared about him. You still loved him. Or you thought you did, anyway. Sometimes, you weren’t sure if it was him you loved or if it was the life you had before that you longed for, the gentle stability of a partner who you knew would put his hand in the small of your back when maneuvering around you in the bathroom in the morning and would program the coffee pot before you went to bed at night. There was a comforting, quiet certainty in knowing the pattern of someone’s scars and where to find them in the dark. You hadn’t had that in a while. 
But you hadn’t had any kind of special consideration in even longer, your husband paying you and your wants and needs very little mind as the two of you moved along toward divorce through the final years of your marriage. It was slow at first - curt words and quick frustrations - and then all at once, with raised voices and wounds that cut deeper than you’d realized at the time. 
Part of you wondered if Gale would have stayed as he was when you met him if it wasn’t for you. Like maybe you’d driven him to this version of himself, the version that seemed to be vindictive and mean now and had been thoughtless and cold as everything collapsed. Maybe, if you’d been less infuriating or self centered or immature, he’d have remained his brilliant, pensive self. Maybe he’d still have wanted to steal you away into his office to go down on you between classes, your legs spread wide as he pulled your ass to the edge of his desk and plunged his tongue inside of you. Maybe he’d still want to take you to restaurants you didn’t know to eat foods you’d never tried, his hand slipping up your thigh as he fed you your first bite of caviar. Maybe he’d still call you Doll and look at you like you had something worth experiencing somewhere inside you.
Maybe you’d ruined him. Maybe you’d ruined everything. 
The oven timer dinged and Anna jumped up, grabbing pot holders and pulling a baking dish out of the oven as you frowned. 
“What?” She asked, getting out plates. “I invited you over for lunch, I was obviously going to feed you.” 
“OK, yeah, not obvious,” you said. “And I figured that it might mean… I don’t know, sandwiches or something, what is that?” 
“Mom’s mac and cheese,” she smiled, proud. You gaped at her for a moment. “What! I was a housewife for years, I did pick up a few skills.” 
“You followed Joshamania around on tour for years,” you corrected her. “I don’t think you had the facilities to make Mom’s mac and cheese at your disposal.” 
“OK so maybe it’s a new skill,” she said, spooning the food onto plates. “But I’m not totally useless.” 
She put the plate in front of you - it was chipped, one of the same ones you’d eaten off of every day as a kid - and sat next to you, tucking her leg below her as she did before the two of you dug into the pasta. 
It smelled warm and familiar, a little like your kitchen on Anna’s birthday when you were kids and you took a bite. But you only chewed it for half a second before you dropped the food back on your plate and grabbed the glass of sparkling juice, chugging it as Anna made a disgusted face. 
“What did you do to it?” You coughed, trying to get the taste out of your mouth. “That’s the saltiest thing I’ve ever eaten!” 
“It said to salt the water!” She coughed, too. “And add salt to taste in the sauce…” 
“Did you taste it?” You asked, brows raised. “And how much salt did you put in the water?” 
“I don’t know!” She said. “It didn’t say how much to put in. And no, I didn’t taste it, I thought it’d be gross to eat out of the pan I was cooking in…” 
“This is what’s gross,” you said before pouring another glass of juice and chugging that, too. “Jesus… that tour bus really didn’t have a kitchen did it?” 
“Nope,” she took the bottle and just started drinking straight from it. “But if it did, I’d probably have killed half the band…” 
You snorted at that, almost shooting sparkling juice out of your nose when you did. As the two of you regained your composure, you looked at your little sister. It sometimes felt like the two of you had gone down completely opposite paths, everything about you so disparate it was like she was a total stranger to you. 
It’s not as though you were related by blood. Your parents had adopted Anna when she was a baby and you were almost three years old, back when their marriage was still functional and bringing another child into it sounded like a good idea instead of total insanity. But you’d have thought growing up together with the same parental neuroses and sharing the same bathroom would have made it so you somewhat resembled each other in the way your lives had turned out. 
It hadn’t, though. You were valedictorian of your high school class, went to an ivy league school, got a doctorate and started teaching at your alma mater. You’d married the first real boyfriend you had, the only time you’d ever interacted with a cop was the two times you’d been pulled over for speeding and you could count the number of concerts you’d been to on one hand. 
Anna, on the other hand, had finished high school by the skin of her teeth. She’d been in her first semester of community college when your mother died and she dropped out almost immediately, no matter how hard you tried to talk her out of it. She got involved with a protest group for a while before she started following her favorite band on tour. She ended up sleeping with half of them before she wound up married to the guitarist. Your life had been quiet and stable and hers had been free and exciting and yet you’d both wound up back in your home town, divorced and trying to figure out where to go next. 
Maybe you were more like her than you realized. 
“I think I have the stuff for sandwiches,” she said, shoving back from the table and heading for the fridge. “Because yeah, that’s inedible…” 
“Don’t worry about it on my account,” you said, pushing the offending plate away. “I’m going to dinner with Joel in a few hours so…” 
“Joel?” She straightened up from behind the fridge door, her eyebrows raised as she watched you. “Wait, like a date?” 
“Please,” you scoffed. “It’s Joel. Be real.” 
“Right, you’re too straight laced for someone like that,” she rolled her eyes, going back into the fridge. 
“No I’m not!” 
“Yes, you are,” she said, standing up again and bumping the door closed with her hip. She came back to the table and dropped a Lunchable in front of you. You raised your eyebrows and she glared at you. “Not a fucking word.” 
“I didn’t say a thing,” you said, pulling back the plastic wrap lid. “And you know that you couldn’t pay Joel enough to date me…” 
She scoffed, opening her own Lunchable. 
“I’m not his type!” You protested, resisting the urge to kick her under the table. 
“Type schmype,” she waved you off. “Mom always thought you two were going to get married one day…” 
“Yeah, because her judgement was always so stellar,” you rolled your eyes, making a little sandwich of meat and cheese and crackers. 
“Say what you want about her taste in men but Mom knew you,” Anna said, her tone almost uncomfortably earnest. “You’re so much like her. So, so like her. She knew. And she said it, even after you were engaged to Gale she said it. Because she knew.” 
“Well,” you shrugged after a moment. “She got it wrong.” 
You ended up staying at Anna’s for a few hours. She told you more about the meetings she was attending, how she liked her sponsor. Things seemed to be going well for her, it was stabilizing. So much better than it had been when you’d decided to come back to Texas a few months earlier. She’d passed out at a party after taking drugs from someone she barely knew. Thankfully, someone she was there with was smart enough to get her to a hospital when she wouldn’t wake up. You’d flown down and sat with her at the hospital, talked to her doctors, helped convince her to go to rehab. For a few torturous hours on the plane ride, you thought you might lose your sister, too. That you’d have no one and you’d be adrift in the world, lost and alone and as empty of meaning as you’d always been afraid you were. You’d decided then that, if Anna lived, you were moving back.
But navigating your relationship with Anna since was a balancing act. Part of you wanted to become her mother, to take care of her and guide her and support her through everything. It seemed safest, making decisions for her since she seemed to be so bad at making them for herself. But you knew that wasn’t tenable, not really. She was fiercely independent, she always had been. She’d rather make all the wrong decisions on her own than have someone make the right ones for her. But being just her sister didn’t feel like enough, not when she was struggling and trying to find her way. 
“I hope you and Joel have fun tonight,” she said in a sing song voice as she walked you to the front door.
“You’re obsessed,” you rolled your eyes. “I promise, it’s nothing interesting…” 
“You two have been spending a lot of time together for nothing interesting.” 
“We’ve always spent a lot of time together,” you said, turning to face her as she stood in the doorway. “He half lived at our house when we were kids if you recall.” 
“Yeah, you were in love with him then, too,” she smirked. 
“Not even going to dignify that with a response,” you said, not wanting to think about how well your sister seemed to know you. “You know where to find me if you need me, right?” 
“Oh gosh,” she huffed dramatically. “Joel’s?” 
“Alright, bye!” You waved and Anna cackled.
“Hey,” she called from her door as you went to get to the car. “I’m happy you’re back.” 
You smiled a little. 
“Believe it or not, I’m happy I’m back too.” 
***
“You got everything?” Joel asked, herding Sarah toward the truck.��
“Yes Dad,” she rolled her eyes. 
“Got your pajamas?” 
“Yes.” 
“Clothes for tomorrow? Including clean underwear?” 
She sighed. 
“Yes, duh.” 
“Don’t ‘duh’ me,” he said. “You forget stuff you need all the time and I’m not gonna just be at home waitin’ for you to need something tonight. If you forget it, you’re on your own kid.” 
“I have everything.” 
“Vanessa’s present?” 
“Dad,” she stopped and looked at him. “I’m 11. I’m basically a teenager. I have all my stuff.” 
Joel tried really hard to not laugh. 
“Alright,” he said. “In the truck, you almost teenager.” 
She smiled proudly before obeying. 
“Can I put on my playlist?” She asked, leaning between the front seats. 
“You have to give me the phone then,” he said. “And you have to sit back and buckle up.” 
She pulled up the playlist before dropping the phone in his hand and sitting back. 
“You excited for Vanessa’s birthday party?” He asked as he started the playlist. “Seatbelt.” 
“Yeah!” She said, obeying and buckling up. “Melanie is gonna be there, too, and she was bringing her karaoke machine. Can I get a karaoke machine?” 
“You gonna let me use it?” Joel asked, looking at her in the rear view mirror. 
“Only if you sing something besides old man music,” she smirked at him. 
“I don’t listen to old man music…” 
“You listen to old man music,” she said. “You’re gonna tell Aunt Goldie I say hi, right?” 
“I’ll tell her you say hi,” he smiled a little. “Even though I figured we’d pretend the world didn’t revolve around you for one night…” 
Sarah scoffed and he could tell she was trying not to smile, too. 
“The world revolves around me every night,” she said. “As it should.” 
Joel laughed and pulled up in front of Vanessa’s house. 
“Alright center of the universe,” he said, pausing the music and handing her the phone. “Go, have fun, be on your best behavior…” 
“You too,” she said, getting out of the truck before pausing on her way out the door. “Dad, I think I forgot something…” 
Joel sighed. 
“What do you need, Baby Girl?” 
She just laughed. 
“I’m just messing with you. Have fun!” 
Sarah jumped out of the truck before he had a chance to respond and ran to the door, her duffle bag bouncing on her arm. He waited until she was safely inside and waved to Vanessa’s mom - whose name he could never fucking remember - before he headed to your place. 
He hadn’t just triple checked to make sure that Sarah had everything she needed, he’d also made sure he was ready, too. 
Joel wasn’t sure why he was so anxious. It’s not like he didn’t see you all the damn time now. It seemed like if the two of you weren’t hanging out you were texting. Even though it sometimes felt like you were getting reacquainted, it was still like you just knew him, knew him on a level no one else ever had. But this was different. He was deliberately owning up to all the things he wanted to change about himself, all the ways he’d fallen short in his life. It was uniquely vulnerable. He didn’t want to go in unprepared. 
So he’d made sure he had the list. And that the list didn’t make him sound like a total fucking idiot. He got his truck washed. He made sure he had a pair of pants that weren’t just blue jeans and a clean shirt with a collar. 
He knew that things weren’t going perfectly for you, either. That was the whole point of this entire plan, the two of you figuring out your lives together. But you were still you. He wanted you to know him but he also wanted you to know the best of him. Not the shitty things, not the things he was ashamed of. But… you were still you, the only person he’d want to do something like this with. He’d just have to get past it. 
Joel took a deep breath and knocked on your door. You opened it almost immediately, putting in an earring as you did. You were in a dress that looked like it had been made for you, skimming over your body, dipping low enough that he could see the curve of your breasts and, for half a second, Joel’s mind went back to the night before in the pool. You’d been so close then. He could feel all of you against him, all your softness and all your warmth - even if your hands were cold. There was a moment he lived in for longer than he wanted to admit, one where it felt like it would have been OK to kiss you, to hold your body tightly to him, to pull you inside and peel off your swimsuit so he could run his hands over the goosebump prickled flesh below. He’d come to that thought, alone in his bed once he was sure Sarah was asleep and he wouldn’t be interrupted. He’d come so hard he had to muffle his moans and he stayed there, cock in his hand as he stared up at the ceiling, as he tried to shove the thought of you away. You didn’t want that, you’d made that much perfectly clear more than a decade before. This wasn’t going to take him anywhere good. 
And now you were standing there, in a dress that couldn’t make you look more appealing if it was designed by temptation itself. 
God fucking dammit. 
“Jesus, Goldie,” he said after he collected himself as much as he could. “Feelin’ a little underdressed here.” 
“Shit,” your eyebrows drew together and you looked down at yourself. “I don’t have much that’s  dressy, this was from this cocktail event the university wanted to trot me out like some show pony for last fall… I can see what else I have if you’re OK to wait for a minute….” 
You turned to go back inside but Joel caught your wrist and you frowned.
“You look great,” he said. “Besides, I know how long ‘a minute’ is in woman getting ready time…” 
“Oh fuck off.” 
“…and I’m starving. Let’s go.” 
You gave him an exasperated look before shrugging into a trench coat and grabbing your bag and gold notebook from the table just inside the door. 
“You look good, too, by the way,” you said once the two of you were in his truck and he was heading for the restaurant you’d picked the other day. Joel scoffed. “Hey! I mean it, you do. Should wear something besides jeans and t-shirts or flannels now and then, you clean up well.” 
“Next time we hang out, I’ll rent a tux,” he smirked a little and glanced at you, just catching a glimpse of your eye roll as he did. “Polish up my shoes, whole nine…” 
“Should just buy the tux,” you replied. “Seems like a smart investment for a man of your profession and lifestyle…” 
“Oh, sure.” 
“Got all those galas to go to…” 
“Uh huh.” 
“Awards shows…” 
“Naturally.” 
“Black tie weddings.” 
“You gonna get some nice formal gowns?” He teased back. “Come with me to all these hoity-toity outings?”
You laughed. 
“Sure, Joel. I’ll be your back up date to any and all formal events.” 
The restaurant you wanted to try was definitely nicer than anything Joel had gone to in a while but it’d been easy for you to talk him into it. He remembered you being more excited about food when you were kids, how you’d watch his mom in the kitchen sometimes when you stayed for dinner or how you’d reach over and steal fries off his tray at the burger place down the street from your apartment when you were so hungry that your own fries weren’t going to cut it. Now, though, it seemed like anytime he wasn’t deciding what you were eating you ate the kind of shit that you scrunched your nose up at in high school. People and tastes could change, of course. He wasn’t stupid. But it didn’t feel like you. It felt like some holdover from that jackass you’d spent the last decade with. 
So as soon as you texted him the menu and just said “They have Osso buco!” he was in. He didn’t know what the fuck Osso buco was, he was just excited to see you excited about something that made you happy when he knew you before. 
The hostess sat the two of you in a quiet corner, giving you a knowing look, and Joel more watched you pore over the menu than read his own, an intense and serious look on your face as you went through it line by line. 
“If I got a bottle of wine, would you have at least a glass?” You looked up at him through your eyelashes from across the table. 
“Anything for you, baby,” he teased. 
“I hate you.” 
Joel scoffed. 
“No you don’t. And yes, I’ll drink your alcoholic juice.” 
“Good,” you said, looking back down at the menu. “Because the one I really want isn’t available by the glass and I don’t need that much wine…” 
“Look at you, all fancy and shit,” he said. “Ordering your wine by the bottle…” 
“Almost like we’re grownups,” you said absently. “What are you getting?” 
“Why, so you can steal some?” He asked, brows raised. 
You looked at him, face serious. 
“Yes. Duh.” 
Joel sighed. 
“You’re the worst person. And I’m getting the spaghetti. Don’t bother calling me lame, I know I’m lame.” 
“Well, as long as you’re aware,” you said, looking back at the menu. 
“What are you getting, Miss ‘I order whole bottles of wine’ level of adult? That one thing you were excited about? The Oss… whatever the fuck?” 
“Osso buco,” you smiled across the table at him. “And probably that…. But it’s probably more than I really need and…” 
“Goldie,” Joel cut you off, tone serious enough that you actually, fully lifted your gaze from the menu in front of you. “Don’t let that asshole ruin this. Get the… whatever it is.” 
You smiled a little. 
“Osso buco it is.” 
Once the food was ordered and the wine was poured, Joel put his list next to him on the table and you did, too, your ever present gold notebook sitting in front of you. 
“So,” he said, hoping he didn’t sound as awkward as he felt. “How do you want to do this?” 
“You first?” You asked, wincing a little. 
He nodded and looked over the list one last time before turning it around and putting it in the middle of the table. You leaned over - don’t look down your dress, don’t look down your dress, don’t look down your dress - and started reading. 
“It’s not in any real order,” Joel said, cupping the back of his neck. “Just… wrote shit as I thought of it.” 
You nodded slowly. 
“Throw Sarah a pool party,” you said. 
“Yeah,” he laughed a little. “She’s been sayin’ the last few years that she wants a pool party for her birthday but… I’ve just been too swamped to make it happen. Always end up taking her and her friends somewhere like Putt Putt Golf or something, somewhere I don’t have to plan shit, I can just show up. She always has fun but I know she’d like the pool party. I just need to make sure my shit is together enough to do it.” 
“Play music again,” you moved on to the next item and you frowned, looking up at him. “You stopped?” 
“Yeah,” he sighed. “Well, no. I didn’t stop playing at home but… Before Sarah was born, there were a few local places I played at sometimes. Back then, it was because I hoped I’d meet some record label asshole who’d sign me. But I miss it. It was fun, playin’ for people. Would like to do that again.” 
You nodded, going back to the list. 
“Start your own contracting company,” you smiled at that. “Business owner Joel Miller…” 
“Future business owner,” he corrected you. “Don’t own shit yet. Not sure I know how to own shit.” 
“You’re smart,” you said. “And I’m pretty sure by our powers combined, we can at least Google a lot of this stuff.” 
“Probably should have done what you told me,” he said. “Gotten my damn associates…” 
“I am right about most things,” you said. There was no smugness in your voice, almost the opposite. Like you were sorry you’d been right about this thing in particular. 
“Just didn’t see the point then,” he sighed. “Hindsight is 20/20, I guess.” 
“It tends to be that way,” you conceded before looking back down at the paper. “Design one big project… is that a work one?” 
“Yeah,” he smiled a little sheepishly. “Figured… I dunno, it’ll take a bit to get my own business going, you know? Gonna keep working for the company I work for now for a bit yet. Should try and make it something I like while I’m there.”
You smiled at him in that way you had, the way that started small but spread fast. It reminded him of the way light started to poke through curtains in the morning, slipping in through a crack, illuminating the things directly around it before they were thrown open entirely and the sun broke through everything, spilling onto every surface, drowning out the darkness quick and sure. 
“Good,” you said, still smiling in that wide, open way. “You should like your job, you’re there too much to not like it.” 
You went back to the list and Joel took a sip of wine. 
“Find a stable relationship,” you said, a little quieter.  
The server returned, putting your plates in front of the two of you and you cleared your throat, setting the paper to the side and smiling kindly as the waiter asked if there was anything else the two of you needed before excusing himself. 
“OK,” Joel said, looking at your food from across the table. “I see why you were excited now, that looks fuckin’ delicious.” 
He reached over and stabbed his fork into the meat on your plate as you gaped at him, appalled. He ate the bite he’d taken, chewing thoughtfully. 
“Yup,” he said. “Fuckin’ delicious.” 
“You’re such a dick!” You reached over and stabbed your fork into his pasta. 
“Hey!” 
You ignored him, twirling your fork haphazardly as you tried not to lean into the food in front of you before taking it back across the table. You ate the spaghetti and nodded to yourself as you did. 
“Definitely scratch pasta,” you said. “Have to come back here and get some of my own. Or just steal more of yours…” 
“If you want pasta, order pasta,” he said. 
“If you want Osso buco, order Osso buco,” you replied, fork up and ready to stab his hand if it creeped across the table.” 
“Maybe I will, now that I know what it is,” he teased, digging into his own plate this time. 
“So,” you said after the two of you had the time to have a few bites of food. “Stable relationship, huh?” 
“Yup,” he nodded, taking a sip of wine. “Not sure I even want to own up to the last time I had one of those…” 
“When was the last time?” You frowned, picking up your wine glass. 
“Can’t judge me.” 
“Too late,” you smirked a little. He glared at you and you laughed. “Come on, Joel. It’s me. I always judge you all the time.” 
He rolled his eyes and then sighed. 
“It’s… been a while,” he said eventually. “But… Haven’t been on more than three dates with anyone since Sarah was about four.” 
Your eyes went wide. 
“I said you can’t judge me!” 
“I’m not judging!” You said quickly. “Just… shocked is all. You always had a tendency to go through them fast but I always kind of figured you’d outgrown that over the years.” 
“Well, less fast now and more that women in their 20s don’t really want to play stepmom,” he said wryly. “Never got as far as introducing any of ‘em to Sarah, haven’t bothered really looking since I’ve been in my 30s. But… I dunno. It’d be nice, I think. Have someone to come home to, that sort of thing.” 
You nodded slowly. 
“What?” He asked after you were quiet for what seemed like too long. 
“Can I ask what happened with Sarah’s mom?” You asked, fork hovering over your plate. “I don’t want to dredge anything up but…” 
Joel shrugged. 
“Not much to dredge up,” he said. “We… well, we were… casual. Real casual. She got pregnant, I tried to do the right thing but she wasn’t really interested in that…” 
You frowned. 
“Right thing?” 
“Suggested we go down to the courthouse,” he twisted the slender stem of wine glass in his thick fingers. “Make it legal. Since we were bringin’ a kid into the world seemed like the least we could do but… anyway. She said no but that she’d try dating me. We didn’t have much in common, didn’t get along all that well for longer than a few hours. Her shootin’ me down was probably one of the best things to happen to me, really. Especially when it came to untangling the legalities of it all when she took off.” 
You winced. 
“I’m really sorry, Joel,” you said softly. “That… that’s shitty. It really, really is.” 
He shrugged. 
“I got Sarah,” he said. “Do it all again in a heartbeat for that kid.” 
You smiled at that, a smaller, softer smile, one that felt like it was just for him. 
“It all worked out the way it was supposed to,” you said. “None of it was a mistake, it was just… Sarah, being inevitable.” 
He laughed once at that, smiling a little. He liked thinking of it that way, his life putting itself in just the right order that his daughter could exist. Now, he just needed to put it in the right order that he felt like he was doing something with the rest of it. 
“Alright,” he said. “Enough about my shit, let’s see yours.” 
You handed him his list back and opened your notebook, holding it to your chest for a moment. 
“Remember the lack of judgement I gave you,” you cautioned. “I expect the same back.” 
“So plenty of judgement,” he smirked a little. “Got it. 
You glared. 
“Gimme the list, Goldie.” 
You sighed and handed it over. 
Joel took half a second to appreciate the fact that he was holding your notebook again. For something that was always with you, it was something he rarely touched and never opened himself. You’d shown him one or two things inside it before but you’d never just surrendered it to him like this. He had to fight the urge to flip to the start of it and read everything he could, try to swallow up every thought you’d had that you thought was important enough to put down on paper. 
Instead, he just cleared his throat and started at the top of your list. 
“Finalize divorce,” he said, eyes tracing over your letters. “That’s a good one. Where you at in that whole process?” 
“I have no idea,” you sighed. “Every time I think we’re close the agreement gets tossed out and we start back over. I swear he’s just trying to piss me off sometimes…” 
“Probably is,” Joel said. “He’s a jackass.” 
“So you keep saying,” you half smiled at him. 
“My only issue with this one is that it’s not something you can really control,” he said, looking over the table to you. “I don’t want you beating yourself up or taking less than you deserve because you’re trying to tick a box…” 
“I won’t,” you said. “Don’t worry.” 
“Better not,” he said, looking back down at the paper. “Finish book, alright. That one you can control…” 
“Kind of control,” you corrected him, a crooked smile on your face. “Sometimes, the words just won’t come and there’s not much you can do about it.” 
“Still,” he said. “Got more control over that than anything with fuckin’ Brad…” You shook your head a little, exasperated, but were still smiling. “Have any idea about what you want this one to be about?” 
“Not really,” you sighed. “I’ve started a few things but I keep scrapping it. So many outlines for no goddamn reason…” 
“You’ll get there.” 
“Maybe,” you poked at the meat on your plate. “Or maybe I told the only story I have that’s worth telling. Maybe I’m all used up.” 
“You’re not,” he said gently. You nodded a little but kept looking at your plate. “Hey. Goldie. Look at me.” You sighed and obeyed, meeting his eyes, your face frustrated but your gaze sad. “You’re not. You’re…. You’re fuckin’ amazing, you’re gonna make something great. You are.” 
You smiled tightly and, for a moment, looking at you was too intimate to do in public. He looked back down at the page. 
“Be there for Anna,” he said. “What, like you aren’t now?” 
“I still haven’t figured out how to do it right,” you replied. “I just… I need to find the right balance. And I need to make sure I keep up with her, I can’t just… I’m worried she’s going to land herself back in the hospital and I’m her big sister. I need to make sure she doesn’t.” 
He just nodded, jaw tight, moving on to the next item. 
“Go on a date,” he said, a twinge in his gut that he didn’t want to acknowledge. “Alright, that’s not bad…” 
“Yeah, I think I’ll need your help with that,” you said and his head shot up, meeting your eyes across the table. 
“What… how?” 
“Oh, don’t panic,” you waved him off. “Not expecting you to do it. But I’ve never used a dating app or anything like that, I have no idea how to meet someone now. I imagine you’re an expert…” 
“Gee, thanks.” 
“What! It’s a good skill to have,” you said. “One that I am painfully lacking. I’ll take all the help I can get.” 
He sighed. Because of course this would mean finding you a date. Jesus. 
“Yeah, I’ll help,” he said. “Make sure you’re not attracting any weirdos…” 
“Not sure that you’re the best help for that part,” you teased. He rolled his eyes. “But… thank you.” 
“Yup.” 
He went back to the paper. 
“Get a cat. Really?” 
“Yeah,” you laughed a little. “I’m kind of tired of how empty my house feels but I’m not up for taking care of a dog. And cats are cute.” 
“Promise you’re not just gonna turn into a cat lady?” He teased, looking back to you. “Get yourself a dozen of ‘em, use them as an excuse to never put yourself out there.” 
“That’s between me and my cats, isn’t it?” You teased back. “Don’t get mad because you’re at risk of being replaced by a fluffy thing who sometimes scratches the shit out of my furniture.” 
“Bold of you to assume I wouldn’t scratch the shit out of your furniture,” he said wryly and you snorted. He went back to the list, taking a sip of wine and almost choked on it. He wasn’t sure how he’d missed the last item on the list until now, written in red ink instead of black and circled. 
“What?” You asked. He glanced up at you before looking back at the paper. 
“Well…” he cleared his throat. “Last one’s… interestin’.” 
“Oh,” you laughed. “Yeah… right…” 
He put the notebook in the middle of the table and tried to regain his composure for a moment. 
“Surprised it’s a priority for you…”
“Well I don’t know about priority,” you laughed. “But, honestly, something’s gotta give…” 
“Well,” Joel cleared his throat again. “Have you fucked anyone since Brad?” 
You rolled your eyes but didn’t answer. 
“Goldie.” 
“Joel.” 
“C’mon.” 
“No, alright?” You snapped. “I haven’t.” 
“And you two separated when?” 
You scrunched your nose. 
“Come on,” he said. “When’d you break up…” 
“A year ago last month,” you muttered, not looking at him. 
“Goldie!” 
“What!” 
He lowered his voice and leaned conspiratorially across the table towards you. 
“You haven’t had sex in a year?” He hissed. “That’s… how…” 
“Hey,” you replied, pointing at him accusingly from across the table. “That is not what I said.” 
Joel frowned, his eyebrows knitting together as he watched you. 
“What do you mean that’s not…” his eyes went wide as you avoided his gaze. “Goldie.” 
“Shut up.” 
“Are you fucking kidding me?” 
“Didn’t I just tell you to shut up?” You snapped. “Come on.” 
“So when was the last time you fucked your soon to be ex-husband while you were in the process of divorcing him?” He asked, looking around as though someone would overhear and make problems. 
“Well now I really don’t want to say…” 
“Goldie.” 
“Please don’t make me say it.” 
“I’m not dropping this,” he said. “When was the last time?”
“The night before I left Rhode Island, OK?” You hissed, voice low. 
“Goldie!” 
“Look, it was just like… I don’t know, a goodbye fuck, OK?” You sat back in your seat and adjusted your skirt, looking anywhere but directly at him. “It’s not like I have a bunch of people waiting in the wings, I wasn’t sure when I’d have the chance again, it seemed appropriate…” 
“Definitely wasn’t that…” 
“Never should have mentioned this…” 
“Gonna move ‘get laid’ to the top of the fuckin’ list now,” Joel muttered. “Jesus Christ…” 
“It’s not that easy, alright?” You said, actually looking at him now. “I’ve basically been with just one person my whole life…” 
“Oh, wow.” 
“What?” 
“One person?” Joel said, brows raised. “Really?” 
You leveled him with a look.
“Joel.” 
“I am right here.” 
“You know what I mean,” you snapped. “Come on, don’t…” 
“Don’t what?” He asked. “Want a little explanation when you say I never happened?” 
“That’s not what I said!” 
“It’s not?” He said. “Because that’s sure what it sounded like…” 
“Jesus Christ,” you groaned, pinching the bridge of your nose. “Fine, OK? I’ve been with two people my whole life since you apparently want to make sure the notches on my bedpost are the right damn number…” 
“So that’s what we were?” He asked, his blood getting hot. “Just a bedpost notch?” 
“Don’t do this,” you said. “I’m not relitigating prom night with you…” 
“Is it relitigating if we never fucking talked about it to begin with?” He asked. “Because I think that’s just litigating it…” 
“Can I get you folks anything else tonight?” The server appeared beside your table, smiling kindly. 
“Just the bill,” you said quickly. “Separate, put the wine on mine, please.” 
He left and Joel waited until he was out of earshot to continue. 
“Why?” He asked. “Why don’t you want to talk about this?” 
“Because it was a decade and a half ago, Joel!” You snapped. “We’re in our 30s now! We were 18 years old then, we were kids, what do you want me to say?” 
“That it wasn’t nothing!” He snapped. “Because Jesus Christ, if you ended our friendship over nothing, I don’t know what the fuck I’m supposed to do with that…” 
“No rush on this,” the server smiled and left the check in the middle of the table. 
You pulled your wallet from your bag and Joel got his out of his back pocket and the two of you put cards into the book before the server quickly came back to collect it. You took a deep breath and looked at Joel. 
“I didn’t end our friendship, Joel,” you said. “I did what I needed to do and I don’t want to talk about it.” 
“Fine.” 
“Thanks, y’all, for coming out tonight,” the server dropped the cards and the slips back off at the table. “Hope you both have a great rest of your evening and we’ll see you next time.” 
You gave him a tight smile and signed your slip as Joel did the same with his before smacking his pen down with too much force on the table. The two of you got up wordlessly and headed for the truck. 
This wasn’t the road he’d meant to go down. He hadn’t meant to bring it up at all but you’d caught him off guard. The thought that prom night hadn’t been anything to you wasn’t something he’d ever considered. He’d always assumed it had been a big deal because of how you reacted. It had been a big deal for him. It had been a big deal before you took off across the country. After that - after it had made him lose you - it was everything. It was everything he’d ever wanted, it was the stupidest thing he’d ever done. It was proof that what he felt for you wasn’t some childish, one-sided crush and it was evidence that all you’d ever be was a girl he’d loved once. The one thing it had certainly never been was nothing. 
You sat, arms crossed over your stomach, staring out the window in silence as Joel drove you home, a knot of fear settling in his gut. What if this was it again? What if you just left again? He’d just gotten you back, life felt more whole than it had in years, what if you just moved on? 
He pulled into your driveway and put the truck in park before he sighed, looking over at you. 
“Want to come in?” You asked quietly. “I got a bottle of tequila that looks fancy as fuck as a gift. We can get hammered.” 
The knot in his stomach eased ever so slightly. 
“Yeah, alright.” 
He followed you inside and you got the bottle from the kitchen, pressing it into Joel’s hand. He went to sit on your couch but you walked past it and he frowned. 
“Don’t feel like sitting there in this stupid dress,” you said, lifting one stiletto clad foot and taking it by the heel, pulling it off. “I’ll be back in a minute…” 
“Can I come?” Joel asked before he thought better of it. He didn’t like the idea of you being more than just a few feet away in that moment. Like if you were somehow out of his sight, you’d vanish and it’d be a decade before he had a chance to have you back in his life again. 
You just looked at him for a moment before you shrugged. 
“If you really want,” you did the same thing with the other shoe and Joel trailed behind you to your bedroom. 
“Just stay out there,” you called from inside your closet. 
“What, don’t want me checkin’ you out?” He said in a teasing voice even though that thought made his stomach clench. 
“Joel,” you sounded exasperated. 
“Sorry.” 
He’d been over to your house plenty but had never been in your room before. It looked like you, though. So like what your room had been like in high school, just more refined. Like you’d grown into your taste in the past few years. The stack of books on your nightstand was orderly instead of total chaos and there was a charging stand there instead of a tangle of chords. Instead of movie posters held up with tape and thumb tacks, there were framed vintage-style prints lining the walls. Your dresser was less cluttered and more curated with little things that clearly mattered to you: a ticket stub and book mark in a matted frame, a wedding picture, a little glazed clay vase that looked handmade.
He went to your dresser slowly, as though what was there might bite him if he moved to suddenly. The wedding picture practically stared him down, the glare of it harsh, like a too bright spotlight being pointed directly at his eyes. 
He picked up the frame delicately, the frame enameled silver. You were beautiful, in a gauzy white dress that hugged your body and a veil in your hair, a hand on Brad’s chest as you looked into his eyes. He was beaming, looking like someone who’d just gotten exactly what he wanted. But your smile was more subdued. Joel wasn’t sure if it was just peaceful or if you weren’t as happy as he’d always thought women were when they got married. 
But the longer he looked at the picture, the less the woman in it looked like you. The dress didn’t look like something you’d really pick. Your nails were done in a way he’d never seen you wear them. Your makeup, too, looked off. Like someone had dressed you up as a character, as though you’d been cast in the role as bride and showed up to play your part and nothing more. 
“I should probably get rid of that,” you said, making Joel jump. Your arms were crossed tightly over your chest. You were in leggings and a burnt orange Longhorns sweatshirt now that was several sizes too big for you, sleeves pushed almost to your elbows and sliding down. “Just can’t bring myself to.” 
Joel nodded slowly, setting it down. 
“Looked beautiful,” he said. You scoffed. “What? You did.” 
“Thanks,” you said, going and pulling back the blanket on your bed. Joel paused before he went around to the other side of it, tequila bottle still dangling from one hand. He stood there for a moment, half reaching for the bedspread, half watching you for permission. You stretched over and pulled the blanket back. “Shoes off, don’t be gross.” 
“I’m not a fuckin’ animal,” he rolled his eyes before he sat on the edge of the bed, kicking his shoes off without bothering to untie them and climbing in beside you. He leaned against the headboard and you did, too, a good two feet between your bodies in the king sized bed. “That why you keep it?” 
You frowned. 
“Keep what?” 
“The picture,” he nodded to it. “Because you looked pretty?” 
You laughed a little. 
“No,” you said. “Not that. Just… feels very final, getting rid of the last wedding picture. Once that’s gone, it’s like it never happened at all. There’s nothing tangible left of the last ten years of my life, it’s all just smoke.” 
Joel nodded slowly and opened the tequila bottle before passing it to you. You took it, your fingers brushing his, and took a drink, face scrunched in a wince when you handed the bottle back. He laughed. 
“That good, huh?” 
“No, it’s good,” you coughed a little. “I just should have also grabbed… I don’t fucking know, lime and salt or something.” 
He took a drink himself, appreciating the small sting as it went down. It was smooth, definitely better than anything he’d buy himself, but he needed at least a little burn in that moment. 
“You’re just a baby,” he said, looking at the bottle. “Don’t need a damn thing with this stuff…” 
“Alright, macho man,” you snatched the bottle from him and he laughed before you tipped it back for longer than you had before. He watched you swallow twice before lowering it with a cough. “There,” you managed eventually. “Who’s the baby now?” 
“Still you,” he clapped you on the shoulder and you fixed him with a glare but handed him the bottle, anyway. 
“Gee thanks.” 
“Anytime.” 
He took another sip and looked around your room a bit more, gaze pausing on one of the vintage style posters. He frowned for a second, trying to place why it felt familiar when he was too far away to read the movie title before he laughed. 
“What?” 
“Is that some fancy style Curtis and Viper poster?” He looked at you and you smiled. He passed you the bottle. “Where’d you even find that shit? There’s no way they made something that classy for fuckin’ Curtis and Viper…” 
“Etsy is a beautiful thing,” you said. “I can show you if you want.” 
“So you’re gonna stick around long enough to show me, then?” He asked, regretting it almost as soon as it was out of his mouth, especially once the small hurt was there on your face. “Shit… I…” 
“I wasn’t planning to take off across the country anytime too soon, Joel,” you said cooly. 
“I know,” he said. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t… Just… It scares me. I like having you here. You belong here. Don’t want to lose you again, I just got you back.” 
“I don’t want to lose you again either,” you said quietly, looking down at the tequila bottle instead of at Joel. 
“I’m not the one who left, Goldie.” 
You were silent but you nodded. 
“You never even told me why,” he said quietly. “I didn’t know what happened… still don’t…” 
“I don’t really feel like digging up ancient history,” you said, your thumb tracing over the curve of the bottle before looking up at him. “I mean, is that really what you want to do? You really want to go through all of that?” 
He sighed. 
“I don’t fuckin’ know.” 
“I know what I want,” you said. 
He could feel your eyes on him. He met them.
“What?” 
“I want you in my life,” you said quietly. “I don’t want to go back to missing you all the time. I want my best friend back.” 
He sighed. 
“I want that, too.” 
You smiled a little and scooted closer, leaning over until your head was on his shoulder. He could smell your shampoo, the slightly floral tang of your perfume, the scent of your skin nestled below it all. 
“How about we never fight again,” you said. 
Joel could hear the smile in your voice. He laughed once. 
“Sure thing, Goldie,” he said. “We’ll never fight again.” 
“Good,” you said and he felt your cheek move as your smile grew. You held the tequila out to him. “You’re slacking off, by the way.” 
“Well shit,” he said. “Lemme catch up.” 
The two of you drank more than you should have, devolving into slurred speech and shrieking laughs before you passed out, tucked against Joel. He turned out the light and adjusted delicately until he was lying down and your head was on his chest, curled up against his side. His arm curved around your shoulders until his fingers traced over your jaw, your cheek, your hairline. 
“You’re warm,” you mumbled against him. “Best pillow…” 
He smiled and nuzzled into your hair, his lips brushing your forehead. 
“Sure am,” he whispered. 
“Glad you’re here,” you slurred, words closer to mush than anything else. “Missed you.” 
He took a deep breath and tried not to get too attached to the way your body felt on his. 
“Glad I’m here too, Goldie. Missed you, too.” 
Providence, Rhode Island
Early August, 2008 
Joel had never been on a college campus like this. 
Of course, he’d only ever been on one and UT barely counted, the campus was just part of Austin. He had no idea where to start looking for you at some place like this. 
Some asshole dude with too much gel in his hair gave Joel a look as he tossed his duffle bag on one arm and left the bus stop. His mouth got dry. He didn’t belong here, that much was fucking obvious, and everyone could fucking tell. 
He just walked for a few minutes, working his way deeper into the ivy-covered cluster of buildings. There weren’t many people around but he supposed that made sense, fall semester hadn’t started yet. He’d finally managed to get Anna to tell him where the fuck you’d gone and why. Some summer program, an invitation-only intensive for creative writing students.
“It was so weird,” Anna said when he finally convinced her to get a cup of coffee with him. “She got the invitation in like… April and talked about it with Mom and she decided she didn’t want to go. It started before school was out here - I guess college semesters are shorter or something - and she didn’t want to miss prom and graduation. And then a few days after prom she came home from school, locked herself in her room for a bit and then told mom she was leaving Friday for the program. She already had it all worked out, it was nuts…” 
You’d never mentioned it to him. Not the invitation, not deciding not to go, not changing your mind, none of it. It didn’t make any fucking sense to him. Why wouldn’t you have told him? Why would you have just left? Especially after prom… 
He finally stumbled upon someone who didn’t look like a rich asshole who pointed him in the direction of the English department, but she cautioned him after he thanked her and turned to leave. 
“There’s basically no one there at this hour,” she warned. “You might run into Professor Newton - he runs the writing program - but they usually have all left for dinner. My boyfriend’s in the program, they like to give them plenty of writing time in the evenings…” 
“Right,” Joel nodded. He hadn’t come up with a plan of anywhere to stay tonight if he couldn’t find you but he had enough money that he could get a cheap motel room for a night or two. He’d figure it out. “Thanks.” 
He jogged to where the girl had pointed him and found the sign for the English department building, some rich asshole’s name on it, and took the steps to the front door two at a time, catching it just as someone else left for the day. 
The building was quiet, just like the girl had warned him it would be and he worked his way through the labyrinth of lecture halls until he found the faculty office list. Dr. Gale Newton, professor of creative writing, third floor, office 315. 
He ran up the stairs and took a second to catch his breath before opening the doors to the hall. 
Immediately, he was met by the sound of your laugh. It hit him hard, for a moment. It had been months since he’d heard your voice, longer than he’d ever wanted to go but you were here now, so close that he could hear your happiness again. 
He followed it, a siren call, to the end of the hall, office 315. The door was cracked, just enough that he could hear you and just see inside. 
“I’m being serious!” Your laugh was still on your voice but it was quieter now. You were standing in front of the desk, your back to Joel. “You really think it’s good?” 
“Oh Doll,” a man said, coming around the desk. He stepped in front of you and reached out, cupping the back of your neck and tilting your head to bring you into alignment with him. “I think you’ve made tremendous strides since coming here. You’ve learned so much.” 
He kissed you then, pulling you against his front, his other hand going to your lower back as you moaned into his mouth. Your arms went around his neck, your body curving and arching into his touch. The man adjusted you until your legs were against his desk and he pulled back from you. 
“Gale,” you breathed, all desperate and needy. 
“Let’s see what else you’ve learned,” he said, helping you onto the desk. 
Joel felt like he was going to be sick. 
It was as though he was outside of his own body, moving without intending to. He was to the end of the hall, down the stairs and out onto the grass before he really knew what was happening. The air outside felt thick and he was having a hard time getting enough of it. His head spun. You’d taken off across the country, cut him off entirely, and found someone else. Your fucking professor. You hadn’t even talked to him, hadn’t even hesitated…
He doubled over and threw up in the bushes, all the shitty bus station food he’d eaten over the last few hours coming back. You were gone, you were really, actually gone. 
Joel wiped his mouth on the back of his wrist and walked, numb, back to the bus stop. He stood there, staring into space, when the girl he’d spoken to before came up alongside him. 
“Hey,” she smiled up at him. “Did you find what you were looking for?” 
He looked at her and, for half a second, thought about seeing if she would bring him back to her dorm, see if she’d let him make her come until she was screaming his name and he could erase the sound of you moaning another man’s name from his head. 
But she said she had a boyfriend. 
Though he supposed it didn’t really matter. It could be anyone. Just something to get that sound out of his fucking head. 
She frowned, watching him. 
“You OK? Did you find it?” 
“Yeah,” he said eventually. “Yeah, I found it.” 
Next Chapter
A/N: They were so close to actually talking it out but our good friends, youthful indiscretion and denial, are going to have them dodge that conversation a little while longer yet.
But!
They have their plan in place! Sarah's still a gem! Anna's now fully in the mix! Just have to see what happens next!
Thanks so much for being here. I'm so sorry the wait has been so long between chapters. I keep thinking life is going to slow down and then it just doesn't. I appreciate you spending your time with these characters and this story! Your kind comments truly mean the world.
❤️
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