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megamindsecretlair · 2 months

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When It Feels Right

Pairing: Lamont Diggs x Black!Fem!/ Plus Size reader

Warnings: 18+, Minors DNI, You are in charge of your own reading experience. Intentional use of AAVE. SMUT. PWP, cursing, protected PIV, oral (female receiving) fingering (female receiving) teasing/mocking, size kink, dirty talk, praise kink, all consensual. Use of n-word. Drug use.

Summary: Lamont invited you to his studio to help work on his new beat. You help him in more ways than one.

Word Count: 5,057k

A/N: Hello, my loves. I have been feral for this man since watching this show. This was LONG overdue. This is the winner of the Fic poll, thank you to everyone who voted! ONE SHOT. Please, please consider commenting and reblogging to help support writers! And please put ages in bios! Or get blockt!

Taglist: @planetblaque @babybratzmaraj @browngirldominion @we-outsiiiide @iv0rysoap @thecookiebratz @wide-nose-and-wonderful @hereformiles @flydotty @blackerthings @notapradagurl7

Lamont released a heavy cloud of smoke in the air. You bobbed your head to the new beat he made. Lamont matched your bobbing head, a slow grin working its way across his face. You rolled your eyes and turned away from him, trying to feel the beat without him coloring your opinion.

Just because he was your best friend didn’t mean that you couldn’t lay down the truth when needed. The good Lord knew that he didn’t need an even bigger head.

As the beat faded and came to a close, Lamont clapped his hands in the too silent studio. It was a rare night where he didn’t have Melissa, couldn’t sleep, and his boys weren’t in the background smoking up all the weed.

“Go on and tell me that’s hot!” He yelled and clapped his hands again. He played with a few switches on the switchboard and then swung his chair to face you. You swung idly on your own chair, back and forth.

You gave him a funny look, not willing to admit that it was good. Of course it was good. Dude really knew his fucking craft.

“It’s aight,” you said and dismissed him with a wave.

“Bullshit!” Lamont yelled. The joint hung from his lips as his long, delicate fingers flew over switches and knobs and he ran the track back. The deep bass thumped through the speakers once more and he turned to you, brows furrowing to gauge your reaction.

“Damn, I’m playing!” You said and giggled. You pushed away from his too intense stare. He sucked his teeth and pushed you back.

“Tell me what you really think, damn,” he said.

“Nah, that shit is fire, Lamont. Seriously, you tore this up,” you said.

“Thanks, thanks. Just need some dope lyrics on it. Tired of them mumble rapper m’fucka’s,” Lamont said.

He shook his head, his locs tussling over his face and dropping into his eyes. Your hand itched to push it away so you could continue looking at him. You swung your chair away from him so that your face didn’t give you away. It was the weed talking, nothing more.

You played with the sleeves of your sweater, swinging around and around in circles until his studio became a dizzy array of green and red. Like Christmas. That was a much safer line of thinking. You could think about lights, gingerbread houses, and pinecones and not about how Lamont’s lips poked out, ready to be kissed.

Lamont turned down the beat and deposited the joint in the nearby ashtray. The smell was loud, filling your senses with its aroma. You smacked his shoulder as you passed him and then smacked it again until he relented and handed it to you.

You took a lungful, holding it in and rolling it around your tongue before releasing it back out into the studio. You watched the smoke lift towards the popcorn ceiling, wishing it would take your thoughts with it. You smoked so that your brain could pause like a TV show. So that you could stop to take in the details around you and make sense of it.

Your stomach turned and roiled so you stuck your foot out to slow your spins. Lamont was on his phone scrolling through Instagram.

“You always on that damn phone,” you said, grinning as you realized that you sounded like your mama.

“Okay, Ms. Etta,” he said.

“Shut up! That is not my mama name!”

Lamont peeked at you from the curtain of his locs and smirked, holding out his hand for the joint. You took one last inhale, the burning embers at the end filling your peripheral vision before you handed it back to him. He dumped the ashes and then took a puff, putting it down on the ashtray.

Lamont returned his attention back to his phone, head slightly bouncing to the beat he made. Your eyes slowly tracked over all of the mini orange, red, and green lights blinking from the switchboard.

This was the kind of laid back music that would be in a lounge somewhere. Your mind’s eye filled in details of blue ambient lighting. Black men and women and those in between dressed in their finest business casual. Men in deep, monochromatic suits and shiny shoes. Women in dresses a hair shy of too short, showing off long, thick legs and strappy high heels.

You pictured glasses clinking, words whispered amongst friends, and glances thrown across the room. Ballers sending trays of drinks to the group of women at the bar knowing exactly what they were doing by leaning over it.

It was a type of sexy beat that you felt in your inner thighs first. The thrumming bass making your thighs jiggle. Warming heat working its way up your spine until you couldn’t help but nod your head, bump your shoulders, and look at your friend to see if they were feeling the beat like you were.

You turned to Lamont, ready to tell him, when his nose was buried in his phone again. You groaned and reached out to slap your hand over the phone.

“You said you wanted no distractions tonight, remember?” You asked.

“I’m done with the beat though,” he said. He moved his phone out of your way and you leaned over a little further to try and snatch it from his fingers. His arms were longer than yours and he easily held it away from you.

“You said not to let you get distracted. Hand it here,” you said. You snapped your fingers. Lamont shook his head, his locs whipping across his face. His gold chain glinted in the low lighting and it was stark against his white T-shirt, dyed green in the studio lighting.

“You ain’t gon’ snap yo fingers like you somebody,” he said.

“I AM! SOME-BODY!” You cackled at your own joke, eyes wide and smiling so big that your cheeks ached.

“Goofy ass. You need to stay off this shit,” he said.

“Boo, you’re no fun,” you said. You continued to reach across the short space between you, trying to reach his phone. You were high, but not that high. Your thoughts were coherent and slow. Like you could pluck each of them out and lay them on a blanket. That you could take your time and choose between them like choosing your outfit.

“C’mon, watch out,” he said. He nudged you back but you were undeterred. Your tongue stuck out of your mouth, so deep in your concentration. Lamont chuckled, effortlessly fighting you off.

You huffed and you huffed but you could not blow this wolf down. You sat back in the seat and sighed. “For real, Lamont. I did not come over here, at midnight, just for you to play on your phone. I wanna see some magic,” you said.

“Girl, I just showed yo ass the Magic Kingdom,” he said.

You laughed at his corny ass line and shook your head. “One beat is all you got?” You asked.

“All I got?” Lamont scoffed, affronted that you would even suggest such a thing.

You inwardly grinned, using your knowledge of him to your advantage. He always rose to the occasion. He was almost too easy as he sat forward in his seat. His left hand dropped the phone in between you while he focused on the board once more.

Where you only saw switches and gears, he saw instruments. This board was a modern orchestra and he knew exactly which sounds to pull from it. Which drums sounded dirty enough to warrant adding snares and strings.

You snatched his phone from beside him. He instantly balked, trying to get it back from you. You didn’t have the length he did, so you had to resort to putting it behind your back and trying to slide your chair away from him.

He put one hand on your chair to stop your retreat and then the other went in search of his missing phone.

“C’mon, stop playing!” He laughed as he struggled to get the phone from you.

You only had so many places to stick it. You kept moving it like you were playing hot potato with it, tossing it from one hand to the other. “You come on! I know why you call me here. So I can keep yo ass focused!”

“I focus just fine without you. Ever think I just want your company?” He asked.

“Duh, you always want my company,” you teased, still moving the phone every two seconds while he lunged for it. A giddy feeling swelled in your chest like a balloon, filling up all of your hollow crevices and giving you the feeling of floating despite feeling heavy.

“Always? You loud and wrong,” he said. He sat back with a huff, eying you. You grinned, looking for any type of eye twitch or flicker. Anything to indicate that he would make a sudden move and try to snatch it from you.

“Oh? I guess I should just leave then,” you said. You leaned out of the chair, butt hovering over the seat that was practically molded to your ass by now. You felt a few twinges. The side effect of sitting too long. All this cushion in your ass didn’t mean shit.

“Man, sit yo ass down and hand me my phone. Please?” Lamont asked. But the please was not sincere. You stuck out your tongue while you placed the phone down your shirt.

The warm metal laid across your skin and you grinned at Lamont’s expression. His face kind of froze. Or paused while he stared at your chest. It was nothing new for the two of you, so you couldn’t name why it made your belly flip.

“You think that’s gon’ stop me?” He asked. Was it you or did his voice get a little deeper? A little rougher?

You adjusted the phone against your cleavage and threw up your hands. “What you gon’ do?” You asked.

Lamont licked his lips, a small smile forming on his lips. “You know I can just turn you upside down and shake you like a toy?”

Nope. That did not make your pussy flutter. You did not imagine shaking for entirely different reasons.

There was always this thickness between you and Lamont. A sort of sticky, gooey middle that kept you glued to his side all these years. You had been friends for so long, you didn’t remember the exact number. Where one went, there went the other. There was always a lingering look, a hand on the hip placed too long, a bite to the lip.

You never crossed the line. The timing was never right. Either you were with somebody or he was. He was nursing your broken heart while you were getting him turnt up for his. He had an entire baby with Mia who had him wrapped around her tiny manicured pinky. Despite his protests otherwise.

Now. Now you were both single. Unattached. No messy drama getting in the way.

“Whatever, Lamont. I am here to keep you on track,” you said. You shook your head and smacked your lips. “Literally and figuratively.”

“Gimme my phone,” he said, that same rough voice dancing along the sticky gooeyness that made your toes curl. He didn’t need to see the way you looked down trying to get yourself under control.

“What you gon’ do?” You asked, rolling your neck for emphasis.

He smiled and shook his head. He waved his fingers in a ‘come on’ gesture and you smacked his hand.

“What you gon’ do? What you gon’ do?” You kept asking, waiting for him to reply. To say something. Anything. You were tossing out the question like a fishing line, baiting him with delicious chum. With the irresistible urge to either latch on and let you know that it wasn’t just you or toss it aside and let it drop once and for all.

“Say it one more time and I’ll show you what I’m gon’ do,” he said.

“What you gon’ do?” You said slowly, enunciating each word so there were no misunderstandings.

Lamont’s hand shot out and pulled your fuzzy sweater away from your chest. His other hand snuck up your shirt and went fishing around for his phone. But his hands roamed too broadly, lightly squeezing your titty every so often.

“Lamont!” You yelled.

He licked his lips and got closer. His breath fanned across your face, a subtle mix of candy and weed. His hand continued to roam while he slowly closed the distance between your lips. He looked at you the entire time, giving you ample opportunity to back away.

But you wanted this. You casted that fishing line out into the ether, so you closed the distance for him. You pressed your lips against his finally. Your dreams didn’t come close. It was nothing like what you thought it would be and everything you dreamt it could.

His lips were soft against yours. Smooth tongue running over your lips and sloppily slanting against yours. You hummed, low and softly but you were sure he heard it. His hands continued to roam under your shirt, no longer seeking his phone.

Instead, his hands found your breasts and began to knead them, fingers grappling for your nipple. As soon as his fingers found that little pebble – no bra because you hadn’t felt like throwing on one just to chill with Lamont – he squeezed and rolled it between his fingers.

“Oh shit,” you said against his lips, finally pulling back far enough to get some air. Some room.

“Mhm,” he moaned. “You think I ain’t been paying attention these past few years?” He asked.

“Wh-what you mean?” You asked. He rolled his lips around yours, kissing you but only just so. His wide nose danced against yours. One thing about high sex that you loved was how sensitive you became. How the little hairs on your skin picked up the different changes in temperature or tingled with every brush of skin.

“All them nasty ass stories you liked to tell. About how men never hit it how you like,” he said.

He switched his hand to your other titty, seeking your nipple a lot faster. He rolled it in between your fingers and your breath stuttered.

Already, he was leagues better than half the guys you’d been with. Or perhaps it was your lingering, previously unclaimed chemistry, doing most of the work for you. This was inevitable. Your lips would always meet his. His hands would always press into your skin.

“You remember that?” You asked.

“Kept hoping it would be me in one of them stories. ‘Cept, I know what I’m doin’,” he said.

You giggled and pushed away from him. “Big fuckin’ words, boy,” you said.

Lamont had a playful frown on his face, considering your words, before he slapped his hands onto the arm rests of your chair. He caged you in your chair while he leaned down for more kisses.

His lips were like little clouds of heaven. Each one sweet, soft, and lazy. He lowered himself to his knees, still too tall for his own good. He kept kissing you, even while his hands went roaming again.

He pulled your sweater off and took in the white tank underneath. His lips found yours again as if he didn’t want to be gone too long. He mixed in nips and licks to keep you on your toes. He grabbed his phone from out of your tank and placed it on the edge of the switch board.

He returned his attention to your body, kissing and biting you through the fabric of your tank. You felt him, but you didn’t really feel him. You lifted the tank and threw it over your head.

Cool air from the studio hit your upper body and you immediately shivered. Even with the thumping beat and lingering smoke, you weren’t warm enough. Lamont helped you lower your leggings and panties, pulling them off and throwing them across the room.

You were fully naked, staring into his dark eyes while he was still dressed. He leaned back, took in your curves, dips, and valleys with a satisfied grin.

“So that’s what you look like underneath all them damn sweaters. You been keepin’ this from me?” He asked.

He rubbed the goosebumps from your arms, scooting in between your legs and making you spread them wider to accommodate him. He looked you in the eye while he lifted one leg, kissed it, ran his tongue right behind your knee before placing it on the arm rest.

You felt ready to explode. He did the same to your other leg, but trailed more kisses down the length of it before placing it on the arm rest.

“You gon’ answer me?” He asked.

“Waat?” You asked.

He chuckled. “You were just gon’ keep hiding this from me?” He asked.

“I-I wasn’t trynna hide it,” you said. Your words were slow to form and even slower to get out.

“You wasn’t? Then why I ain’t never get a taste yet?” He asked.

He leaned across your body. His cotton shirt was almost too rough against your skin. You hissed, moving away from him but he moved forward anyway. The shirt tickled your skin but you didn’t have enough air in your lungs to giggle.

Anticipation flipped in your belly, like it was playing hopscotch in there. You didn’t know what he was going to do next. You were on an infinite precipice of waiting.

He didn’t make you wait long. He kissed you, moving his hands between you to brush his fingers along your wet seam. You jerked in the chair but he had you effectively pinned. You had nowhere to go. Trapped in the chair with him covering your naked body.

You moaned, licked your lips in between kisses, and then went back to feeling those sexy lips on yours.

His fingers pushed in, separating your pussy lips and dipping into your heated essence. He moaned into your lips, tugging on your bottom lip. “You always get this wet?” He asked.

“Uh-uh,” you said.

“No? I just bring that out of you?” He asked.

“Uh-huh,” you said. You had no words. With every swipe of his fingers, he pulled them out of your head. Each pass of his fingers around your clit made one more word disappear like air.

“So that means I get to taste it right?” He asked. He moved his nose against yours and you sighed, your pussy clenching around nothing.

“Uh-huh,” you said, lips finding his again and again. His wet, suckling kisses made you see stars behind your eyelids.

His knuckle nudged into your clit and you hissed, releasing the air in short bursts. “Oh, she a little excited,” he said.

“Oh shit,” you moaned. “Don’t tease me.”

“Don’t tease you? I like teasing you. I finally know how to shut that attitude up,” he said.

“You too damn cocky,” you moaned.

“Still running that mouth,” he said. He moved his fingers to dip in and out of your pussy, pushing his fingers deep to his knuckle. Your mouth dropped open, eyes turned bruising.

He moved his lips to your jaw and kissed down to your neck. He sprinkled kisses across your chest and then licked your nipple into his mouth, suckling. “Oh my god,” you gasped, back lifting from the chair.

Your pussy greedily sucked his fingers inside. “That’s right. Grip them fingers. Show me you like what I’m doing to you. Getting wetter over here, I’m gon’ have to buy a new chair,” he whispered around your nipple.

Your hands came up to play with his locs, rolling them between your fingers and loving the feel of them. You were in sensory overload. Everything was too much and not enough. Lamont’s filthy words had you screaming towards a climax, thighs shaking and pussy gripping him tighter.

“That’s fuckin’ right. Been dyin’ to know what you look like when you cum. You gon’ look like that riding this dick? Huh? How many pretty faces can you make while I’m rearranging your guts?” He asked.

“Lamont!” You twitched.

He continued to pump his fingers as you calmed down. It was like he was exploring your pussy with his fingers. Trying to gauge how deep you could take him. Your grip tightened around his neck and he hummed, flicking his tongue against your nipple.

When you relaxed against the chair, Lamont slowed down his fingers until stopping altogether. He licked his fingers and moaned. “Taste so fuckin’ good. You doing okay?” He asked.

You nodded, loosening your grip on his neck. You wiped up run away drool, feeling a bit embarrassed that a little finger action made you cum quicker than a man in a porn store.

Lamont shook his head, shaking the locs from his face as he pressed his face into your pussy. He took a loud, deep breathe and blew air between your pussy lips.

“Oh shit!” You screamed, hands flying back to his head. You gripped his hair while he began to eat you out in earnest, using his tongue first.

He leaned back and hummed, slapped your pussy. “Damn,” he moaned. “So fuckin’ good.” He was a messy eater, digging in like it was his last meal. His lips wrapped around your clit and sucked. He brought his hands up to roll your nipples between his fingers, squeezing and squeezing until he pinched them.

“Fuck, fuck. Lamont! Damn,” you moaned, biting your lip. Fuck! It felt too good. So damn good with his lips between your thighs and his locs tickling your skin, and your hands digging into his head. Smashing his face into your pussy, giving him free rein to explore this thing between you.

“Name sound sexy on your lips. Say it again,” he said, coming up for a bite of air.

“Lamont,” you said with a grin. His eyes flicked to yours while he continued to make out with your pussy.

“Again,” he said, muffled against your wet core.

Lamont!” You moaned while your orgasm was cresting the surface. Pressure built in your lower belly, getting so close with each new flick. Each new lick. Each new moan that told you he liked what was between your thighs. The thought that you could please him, even by the small act of being wet for him, turned the tide.

Your hand flew back to the back of the chair to steady you while your back arched. “Oh shit, Lamont!” Your neck rolled against the top of the chair while your body twitched and convulsed. Your body turned limp, riding the orgasm wherever it took you. However you looked while you spasmed.

“Tasting so fuckin’ good. Fuck, I been missing out,” Lamonst said into your pussy. He continued to lap like a cat to cream. “So fuckin’ sweet. So fuckin’ good.”

He lumbered to his feet, tossing off his white shirt. His chain bounced against his dark skin. His tattoos were darker still, spread out all over his body. You watched him through slitted eyes while he unzipped his pants.

He freed his dick and rubbed the hardened length. Shit, he was perfect. Big and girthy. It was always the skinniest niggas that packed the biggest punch. It had a slight curve to it and your pussy clenched just seeing it.

He dug into his pocket and grabbed his wallet, flipping it open and grabbing a condom. He tore it open, found the right side, and then pinched the tip. You watched him as he rolled it onto his dick, adjusting here or there until it was fully on.

He pushed your thighs back on the chair. It protested with a loud groan, conflicting with a different beat in the background. Something laid back, lazy, and slow. Light danced over his features while he leaned forward, towering over you bent like a pretzel in his chair.

“You feelin’ aiight?” He asked.

“Yes, nigga!” You said with a smack of your teeth. He chuckled, grabbing your throat with his left hand. Your eyes rolled involuntarily, hand flying to grab his wrist. Not to push him away, but to keep him there. To push for more pressure.

He obliged you, squeezing harder until you were ready to cum just from that. “You must need some dick to get you right,” he said.

“Umph, yesss,” you moaned.

He used his right hand to grip his dick and run it through your damp folds, getting the condom slick with your wetness. He pushed in slowly. You hissed, pushing against his thighs.

“Uh-uh, don’t push me away. Move them hands,” he said.

“But Lamont–”

“Move. Them. Hands,” he growled, getting close to your face and squeezing your neck.

You moved your hands with a whine. He was too damn big. He rolled his hips, sliding inside of you and working his way deeper. Your hands flew back to his thighs, pushing at him.

“Move them fuckin’ hands,” he rasped.

“Please,” you begged. You were going to pass out. There was too much pleasure. Too much desire and lust. Too much of him. His scent, his sighs, his scorching looks. He lit fires in your veins that made you whimper and pout.

“Move them fuckin’ hands right now,” he said.

Again, your hands slid away from his sweat-slick thighs with a whine. The sound was needy and desperate. You had no way of slowing this down. Slowing it down to a pace you could quickly adjust to.

His dick didn’t hurt, he just stretched you deliciously. So much so that you had a goofy smile spread across your lips like icing on a cake. You moved your hands back to his hand on your neck.

He rolled and moved his hips, stroking into you with deep, long thrusts at a steady pace that stole your breath. You whined, choppy hums in your throat. “Why you doin’ this to meeee,” you moaned.

“‘Cause I been waiting too long to get in this pussy. I’ma enjoy that shit,” he said. He smirked and dropped down to kiss you while he stroked deeper still.

You sank onto his dick while he rolled his hips, moaning with every glide. He lifted his head and rolled his neck, closing his eyes. You watched his face while he stroked, watched as he found some type of groove like your body was the switchboard and he was making a complicated beat.

He lined up perfectly. Your back arched. “Oh fuck, oh fuck. Right there, right there, Lamont,” you moaned.

“Right there?” He asked. He kept hitting your sweet spot, not deviating in the slightest.

“Right there, oh my god, I’m gon’ cum,” you moaned.

“Give it to me. Let me feel that pretty pussy grippin’ this dick. She feel so fuckin’ good. Wrapped around this dick. This what you needed? Huh? This what you needed? Them other niggas ain’t have all this for you, did they?”

Each of his questions grew fainter as your orgasm came closer and closer. Your hand pushed against his chest. Your eyes were too far in the back of your head. You were worrying a groove into your bottom lip by biting too hard.

“You still with me? This dick got yo tongue?” He asked.

“I’m-” You came with a loud moan, louder than you had ever moaned before. You twitched in the chair, the groans from it sounded violent. “Oh fuck! Oh fuck! Feel so good, Lamont!” You cried out. Yelled out.

It was a good thing that you were in a proper studio and there was no one around to hear you. Had you been at your place, your neighbors would know his fucking name.

Your hands scratched at his stomach while he chuckled and kept stroking. “Fuck. You squeezin’ the fuck outta me. You ain’t trynna let me go, huh? Now that you know I know how to hit it right. What got you screaming. What got you moaning. What got you cummin’ on this dick like that,” he said.

“Oh baby,” you moaned.

“I’m baby now? What happened to my name?” He asked.

At this point, you didn’t know your own name. You clenched around his dick and he cursed, slamming into you one more time before you felt him twitch inside. You had an errant fantasy about him cumming inside you, spilling his fat load into you and then fucking it into you.

You tucked that particular one to the back of your mind while Lamont dropped against you, loosening his grip around your throat. Your matching pants and gasps made the moment soft but fuzzy around the edges. Like when you first woke up from a good nap and didn’t know what year it was or what you were doing beforehand.

Lamont slipped out of you, stumbling back. He took off the condom, tied the ends, and threw it in the nearest trash can. He sat in own chair. He tucked himself back in but didn’t zip up his pants.

You slowly lowered your legs from the chair, feeling thoroughly fucked out. You looked towards Lamont who was studying you in the same way. He smiled first. Your smile matched his as the gravity of what you just did sunk in.

Sunk down deep into your bones. There was no going back from this. There was no way to pretend this didn’t exist. That he wasn’t just deep enough in your guts to still feel the lingering effects. You felt empty without him.

“We wasted too much fuckin’ time,” he said softly. You nodded and licked your lips.

You tapped the tips of your fingers trying to reorient yourself. Bring yourself down to reality. The reality of you with Lamont. You smiled. “Let’s not waste anymore.”

You had sex again on his red, leather couch. Nasty, intense sex where his hands were back around your throat, he was stroking deep in your guts, and staring into your eyes while he continued to shatter your world over and over again. You grinned and giggled in between his nasty words and your faint pleas for mercy.

You didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, but you were excited to find out.

THE END

Psst, over here! The Secret Lamont Files.

282 notes · View notes

togrowoldinv · 3 months

Text

Cheeseburgers

Brie Larson x Reader

When you accompany Brie to an award show, your feelings for her are revealed

Note: First Brie fic yay! This is a fluffy little something. I hope y’all enjoy!

Main Masterlist

When the door opens, your breath catches in your throat. Standing in front of you is the most beautiful woman in the world. You know for sure that you’re in love with her.

But she is only your best friend.

“So, what do you think?” Brie asks you. She steps closer to you and spins so you can get a full view of her outfit.

“You are so beautiful,” you tell her. She smiles so wide that her cheeks hurt.

“Thank you, y/n. I’m so glad you’re coming with me tonight.”

Her hair and makeup artists get to work on her again, and she ushers you to get dressed. It isn’t the first event Brie has taken you to, but it is definitely the most dressed-up you have gotten. You wear colors that match her perfectly.

Once you’re both ready to go, you ride in the car with her. Brie talks your head off about the evening that’s coming up. She tells you that she’s most excited about getting a cheeseburger afterward. That makes you chuckle.

“Are you ready?” Brie asks when the car stops.

“Oh, I thought I would be going in a different way,” you reply. She usually goes on the carpet without you.

“I want you to come with me. Please?”

You say yes. As if you could ever say no to her and that precious pouty face she makes when she wants something.

The red carpet is a bit overwhelming, but Brie keeps her hand in yours as long as she can. It feels so natural. You wonder if she feels it, too.

She does her photos and interviews flawlessly, as always. You watch on in awe. Once inside, you settle at your table. You make small talk with the other people. Brie is a natural at captivating everyone. She reunites with some old castmates.

When it comes time for her category, she reaches for your hand under the table.

“You’re going to win,” you whisper to her.

It’s not about the awards, but you know she secretly hopes she will win. When the camera pans to her, she offers a shy smile. The presenters open the envelope and call her name.

“Yes!” You cheer, being the first to stand up. Brie hugs you, and you kiss her cheek. “I’m so proud of you.”

She shares a few more hugs on her way to the stage as the applause erupts all throughout the building.

“Thank you,” Brie says, taking the award into her hands. “Wow, I didn’t prepare a speech, but I will wing it.” She continues on to give an amazing speech, not to your surprise. She has always been a natural speaker.

“And thank you to my amazing friends and family. Especially my y/n. I wouldn’t be where I am without you,” she finishes.

The crowd cheers for her again. You can’t help but tear up at how proud of her you are. She takes photos backstage before she comes back to the table.

You greet her with a huge hug. Even bigger than the one before. She hugs you so tight that you can barely breathe.

“I’m so proud of you, Brie,” you tell her again.

“Thank you,” she says, her voice breaking a little.

“Are you alright?” You ask her.

She pulls away from the hug just enough to look you in the eye. You hold her face in your hands, and she sees the way you care for her in your eyes. You feel like the only two people in the room.

“Y/n,” Brie begins.

You interrupt her with a kiss to her lips. She kisses you back, her hand finding a way to the back of your neck to pull you closer. You’re both smiling so much that you have to stop kissing.

“I love you,” Brie says.

“I love you, Brie. I always have,” you reply.

Brie kisses you again before you two come back to reality. The commercial break is over, and you have to sit down. You hold her hand under the table for the rest of the night.

When the night is almost over, Brie gets her cheeseburger that she’s been waiting for.

“Still the best part of the night?” You ask her.

“No,” she says. Brie kisses your lips softly, but she lingers long enough that you want to chase after her for more. “That’s the best part.”

“I agree, sweetheart.”

“Come home with me?” She asks, a glint in her eye.

You take her hand and leave the awards show together. After parties are the last thing on your mind. You just want to spend the night with the most beautiful girl in the world.

She is finally yours.

#brie larson x reader #brie larson #Brie Larson fluff #friends to lovers #captain marvel #carol danvers x reader

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lemonlover1110 · 7 months

Text

Baby Steps

Satoru Gojo

[Chapter 29] Growing Family

← Previous Chapter - Story Masterlist

Pairing: Satoru Gojo x f!Reader

Discord +18 - Twitter - Ko-Fi

*this is really the last chapter, thanks for sticking with me in this cute adventure🥹

Seven years after Seiji is born, you constantly find yourself thinking about destiny and your first discussion with Satoru about it. Neither of you are sure, but you’re happy that this is how your life turned out. You love waking up next to him as his wife and proceeding to start off your day with him and your kids. With your seven-year-old Seiji and your five-year-old Saori.

You both have teaching jobs– Of course, they’re very different. Satoru teaches three teenagers, one of them being Megumi, while you teach a classroom full of at least twenty second graders. Satoru always tells you that you’re one of the reasons he decided he wanted to become a teacher, apart from the part that he’s the strongest (you still have no idea what he means) and that’s his duty. You have a much bigger home than before; yet neither Megumi nor Tsumiki live with you anymore so many rooms are empty, however, considering the fact that you have two young children, the house is still very lively.

Satoru still had a great idea to fill up the empty rooms, and that’s how you find yourself expecting your third child with him. You swear to Satoru this is the last baby you’ll have, but that’s what you said when you gave birth to Saori. It’s easy to forget how bad pregnancy and childbirth are when you watch Satoru being the best possible father to your kids.

“Daddy, can you help with my homework?” Seiji asks, even though you’re the one that teaches his grade level and knows what his teacher is teaching. Apparently you’re great at explaining things but daddy just does it better, and you feel your eyes roll to the back of your head as you watch Seiji approach his father with the notebook.

“Sure thing, buddy. Wait till Saori finishes with my nails.” Satoru answers, watching as his daughter paints his pinky nail a blue color. She was going for pink since it’s her favorite color but then she decided that blue would match his eyes (in reality she couldn’t find the pink nail polish and didn’t want to admit that she lost it). It’s fine though, her father will just buy her another one. “Wow, look at you. You’re doing such a great job.”

“I know.” Saori answers, so focused on not making a mess and painting her father’s whole finger. Satoru manipulates his infinity every time that she’s clearly about to paint his whole finger.

“Saori, will you hurry up?” Seiji asks, clearly annoyed. He wants to get finished with his homework so he can watch TV, since you told him he could watch his show after he was finished with homework. You offered to help, but he turned you down.

“Don’t rush your sister, Seiji.” Satoru says, and he watches how Saori sticks her tongue out at her brother, causing Satoru to sigh. “Don’t stick your tongue out at your brother, Saori.”

“I can help you, Seiji.” You pop into the living room, where your husband and kids are. You find yourself bored for once in your life because Satoru took care of everything.

“It’s okay.” Seiji responds, making you pout. He does usually accept your help, but during your third pregnancy you’ve been a victim of pregnancy brain. You don’t think you’ve ever felt dumber, so stupid that even your seven-year-old notices.

“Saori, honey, will you paint my nails next.” You say and she perks up. For the first time Satoru fails, not turning his infinity on and getting nail polish all over his finger. She smiles brightly and nods her head.

“I’m done with you, daddy.” Saori tells her father, and he laughs as he looks at the unfinished hand. He stands up and walks over to Seiji to help him with his homework. You take Satoru’s seat and extend your hand to your daughter. “Do you want blue as well, mommy?”

“What other colors do you have?” You ask.

“I used to have pink.” She replies, which makes you laugh. She doesn’t have it anymore so you don’t see the point in bringing it up. She begins to paint your nails, and she’s awfully concentrated until she finally speaks up, “When’s my baby brother or sister getting here?”

“Around two more months.” You answer. You’re due in December, a little while after Satoru’s birthday. A month after her birthday. “Are you excited to be a big sister, honey?”

“Yeah.” She answers. She’s focused, therefore, she can’t talk. You stare at her, watch how concentrated she is. She has to push her white hair out of her face since it covers her vision. The more you stare at her, the more you realize how neither of your kids look like you and you hope that the third time around you give birth to your twin. “When’s my birthday?”

“In a month.” You respond since you won’t count down the weeks until her sixth birthday. You can’t believe just how fast she’s growing up, it feels just like yesterday when you found out that you were pregnant with your baby girl. You smile, watching as she paints your whole finger. Satoru has shown you his infinity, yet you still find yourself surprised how she never messes up Satoru’s nails. “Woah, you completely missed the nail there.”

“Sorry.” She apologizes yet she continues to make the same mistake. You aren’t paying too much attention to it, you just listen to Satoru explain to your son how to do his homework. You’re sure that you could explain it better, but you still smile. You never really thought you’d be here seven years later, but here you are.

You wouldn’t have it any other way.

Satoru isn’t the type of man that goes to bed early– Well, he wasn’t. Up until he had two babies under two and ever since he had to handle a very energetic Seiji and a crybaby Saori, he’s been going to bed since eight at night. When you put both of your kids to bed, you both go to bed as well. His head barely touches the pillow and he’s passed out.

This specific night though, when his head touches the pillow, a scream comes from his daughter’s room and he sprints out of bed and to her room. He literally just put her to bed, there’s no way that she already had a nightmare. Seiji isn’t much of a prankster either so he’s ready to kill just about anyone.

Satoru finds his little girl with her knees to her chest. She buries her head in her knees, and she covers her ears. Satoru looks around, turning on the light. He’s about to ask what’s wrong since his eyes don’t see anything, but he feels the energy. His eyes land on the half open closet and he begins to walk towards it.

“Is everything okay, Saori–” Seiji comes running into the room after hearing his sister scream. He’s much slower than his father, but regardless he’s here.

“Go to your room, Seiji. Take your sister.” Satoru orders and Seiji does as instructed, even though it takes some effort to get Saori out of the room but he succeeds. Satoru fully opens the closet and a sigh leaves his body seeing the small curse. Nothing scary to him, but surely scary for his baby girl.

He exorcizes the curse with no issue before walking out of the room and going to Seiji’s room. Seiji comforts his little sister, who’s trying to hide under the blue blanket that Seiji let her borrow. There’s a frown on Satoru’s face as he walks over to his babies and sits on the edge of the twin bed. He engulfs his kids in a hug.

“I’m sorry you saw that, Saori.” Satoru mutters. He feels guilty that the curse that he holds is passed down to his children. He’s known they can see them, but he tries to protect them as much as he can. Sometimes he can’t though. Satoru’s parents want him to start training his son as well, after all, Seiji is a descendent of the Gojo clan but Satoru doesn’t want to do that. He wants his kids to be free of this all.

That’s not his decision to make though.

“Everything’s gonna be okay while daddy is here.” Satoru reassures them. He kisses the top of their heads, and just holds them while he can.

“What happened?” You show up a little too late. Getting up from your bed is the hardest exercise that you face lately. Satoru chuckles, it’s not like you’re really going to understand anyway. He doesn’t want you to.

“The kids are sleeping with us tonight, honey.” Satoru says, picking both Seiji and Saori from the bed and carrying them to your bedroom. You slowly follow behind, already out of breath by simply getting up from bed and going to Seiji’s bedroom.

When you stand in the doorway, you watch how Satoru tucks them in the middle of the bed, filling their faces up with kisses. Maybe it wasn’t exactly planned, but you’re glad you’re with him and the fact that he’s the father of your kids. Now, as his wife, you can’t imagine spending the rest of your days with someone else and you can’t imagine a father more perfect than him– Of course he has his flaws but they hardly poke through.

He often asks if you think he’s doing well as a parent, worried that he’s messing everything up. You can’t even begin to say how proud you are of him, and how you think he’s a far better parent than you are. He loves to remind them that their father is always there to help them, protect them, and love them. Maybe that’s why you agreed to have a third child with him, plus the process is always fun.

“I love you two so much.” Satoru says, and while he should lay down with them, he’s no longer tired, and when he looks back at you it seems like you aren’t tired anymore either. “We’ll be right back, do you want to watch some TV for a bit?”

They nod their heads and Satoru turns the television on. They’re too agitated to go to sleep as well. Letting them stay up for half an hour isn’t the end of the world. He then walks over to you, and throws his arm over your shoulder. You walk out of the room and go downstairs to the living to sit down for a moment and talk. It’s rare that you find yourself alone to just talk.

When you take a seat, a moan leaves your lips, and he furrows his brow. You grab his hand and put it over your belly, and your baby doesn’t waste time kicking. No matter how many times he’s felt it, it always amazes him. He always looks so in awe, and he doesn’t remove his hand until his baby kicks a couple more times. He then pecks your lips, muttering, “Thank you so much for this.”

“Enjoy it while it lasts because this is the last time we’ll have a kid.” You tell him, and he sweetly smiles at you, pecking your lips again. You rest your head on his shoulder for a minute, and he enjoys the moment. You appreciate the unusual silence. You’ve gotten used to so much noise, and you’ll grow to miss it if you sit in silence for too long. You still appreciate it.

“How’s Kaya?” He asks, interrupting the silence.

“She’s planning the baby shower. She’s going crazy.” You respond, and you hear him chuckle.

“Isn’t she due soon? She shouldn’t be stressing over a baby shower.” He says and you hum in response. You wouldn’t know either way, you opted out for a baby shower the second time around since you were already stressed enough planning a wedding and handling Seiji. Every time you’re reminded, you laugh due to the fact that your father was right about the fact that Satoru would knock you up months after Seiji’s birth.

“She’s due around Halloween– Maybe two weeks before Saori’s birthday.” You answer. That’s so soon, Satoru only prays that her water doesn’t break during the baby shower and that he has to handle all the chaos. Satoru knows Daisuke is absolutely freaking out about it all; Satoru knows that feeling all too well, he’s still freaking out even though this is his third baby.

“Our baby will finally have a little cousin this time around.” Satoru comments and you chuckle. Seiji didn’t need a cousin, he had his younger sister. This new baby doesn’t though, and you’re adamant on not having more kids which he understands since he’s not the one that carries them for nine months.

“What ended up happening in the kid’s room?” You ask, and Satoru takes a long minute to answer. There’s no point in lying. He lied so much to you when you first met, he can’t do that anymore while you’re his wife. You swore you’d leave him if you ever caught him in a lie again, and now he tells you the truth even when you can’t see it. He doesn’t see the point in telling you a problem that you can’t solve.

“Well… Uhm… A curse.” He answers, and you remove your head from his shoulder. You slowly nod your head in response, and you aren’t really sure how to answer that other than,

“Oh yeah…” There’s some things that you’ll never understand about them nor about your husband. You don’t like to think about the fact that there are some issues that you’ll never be able to help them out with, only Satoru can help them.

You sit in absolute silence for a minute as you get lost in your thoughts. Satoru watches you, wondering what goes on in your mind.

“Are you okay?” He asks, and you sigh. You can’t try to play it off as if you’re okay because you expect him to remain honest with you, it’s hypocritical to lie to him.

“Yeah, it’s just… What if you aren’t around and a similar issue comes up. How would I handle that?” You ask, and he wraps his arm around you, bringing you in for a hug. He kisses the top of your head, his hand going down to rest on your belly. “I just feel useless for some stuff, Satoru.”

“You aren’t useless, baby.” He responds. He doesn’t want for you to think about this– He doesn’t want to think that you’re useless in any way. It makes him recall an incident from five years ago, and he hid the truth to not worry you. “Can I confess a lie I told you?”

“Better be from before we got married.” There’s a frown on your face, and Satoru chuckles.

“You remember when Seiji was three and Saori two, how they went running to you crying about a bug that you could not find?” Satoru asks, and you remember the incident clear as day. You were scared shitless but you still went after the bug to kill it; when you couldn’t find it and they kept crying about it, you just comforted them while Satoru dealt with the problem. “There wasn’t a bug, it was a curse. But you still managed to deal with the problem, even when you didn’t know what it was.”

“That does make me feel better.” You smile at him before kissing his lips. “I love you. You always know the right thing to say.”

“I love you too, baby.”

“Seiji, stop!” Saori yells at her brother who keeps messing around with her tiara. You’ve already struggled getting into a kangaroo onesie to go out with them, you’re already far too tired to stop their bickering. You have no idea why you agreed to go trick-or-treating with them, you doubt you can walk too much. In your defense, you promised you’d do it two months ago, and your circumstances now are much different than before. You should’ve known that by Halloween you’d be in a much different mood. You only glance at Satoru, who lays down on the bed and stares at the phone, and he stands up to deal with it. “Seiji!”

“Seiji, what are you doing?” Satoru yells, walking out of the bedroom to go to where his kids are at. Satoru crosses his arm as he looks down at the seven-year-old who wears a superhero costume, ready to go trick-or-treating. Seiji tries to play it off as if he’s doing nothing, but he’s holding his sister’s tiara in his hands. Satoru sternly says, “Give it back and apologize.”

Seiji drags his feet, walking over to his sister to give her back her tiara. When Saori gets her tiara back, she runs to her father’s side and hugs him. He picks his little princess up from the floor and kisses her forehead. She sticks her tongue out at Seiji, making Satoru sigh and say, “Don’t do that.”

“Mommy! Saori is being mean to me!” He yells, hoping to have a parent by his side. You’re forced to leave your room to deal with it, even after your efforts of not dealing with it.

“What’s happening?” You ask. You look at Satoru and Saori before looking down at Seiji. Before Seiji responds, Satoru says,

“I got it handled, honey.” He puts Saori down on the floor again, “Apologize to your brother, Saori.”

“What for?” She responds, giving her father doe-eyes, which always work. He looks away, at his son.

“Apologize to Seiji for sticking your tongue out at him.” Saori crosses her arms before dramatically turning to her brother. She mutters an apology which is good enough for the minor offense. When you’re no longer needed, you begin to walk away, but you don’t get too far before your name is called again.

“Is Megumi still going with us?” Seiji asks, and you nod your head in response. You then look at your husband.

“Change. We have to get going soon so we get home early.” You order, and Satoru has no option but to do as you say. That’s what he signed up for when he chose to marry you.

When you’re back in your room, you lay down on your bed, grabbing a picture frame that’s beside your bed and looking over it because every time Megumi is brought up you’re reminded of the little family you had six years ago. It’s an old photo of baby Seiji, Megumi, and Tsumiki. Looking at Tsumiki’s precious smile almost always makes you cry, and when the tears well up, they spill as you laugh at Megumi’s awful smile.

Maybe you should’ve appreciated those times more, but you had a lot on your plate. It’s not like you can stop time or stop awful things from happening. You’re still happy with your life right now.

The picture frame is snatched from your hands, and you glare at your husband. He looks at the picture before he puts it down on the nightstand. He leans down, and kisses you, “Don’t start getting sentimental now, it’ll ruin your night.”

“I’ll try not to.” You respond. He takes a seat on your side of the bed, his hands resting on your belly.

“I got a call.” He announces, and it makes your brows raise. He clears his throat, “We’ll have to go trick or treating without me. It’s an emergency.”

“Oh?” You reply. You want to be upset about it, but you know he doesn’t do it on purpose. Satoru is the first one to be bummed out about missing time with his kids. “I can take the kids out.”

“No! I want you to stay here till I get home.” He sounds defensive, and you know better. It’s rare when Satoru says no, so you’ll listen. He pecks your lips, telling you, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” His head goes down and he presses a couple of kisses on your belly before he promises,

“I promise, I’ll be back as soon as possible. We gotta take these kids trick-or-treating together.”

#jujutsu kaisen #jjk #anime #jujutsu kaisen x reader #gojou satoru x you #jjk gojo #gojo x reader #gojou satoru x reader #satoru gojo #jujutsu gojo #gojo fanfic #gojo x y/n #gojo satoru #jujutsu kaisen gojo #gojo saturo

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t4tower-of-t4terror · 1 year

Text

‘Cause I Swear, I’d Burn This City Down to Show You the Light

Malleus Draconia x gn reader fluff

Malleus looked forward to your moments together more than anything in this world. He found himself waiting for nightfall, waiting until he could talk with you in front of Ramshackle underneath the light of the moon.

He saw you with your friends every once in a while, laughing and smiling as you all talked. He didn't know what the feeling in his chest was when he saw that. He wanted to bring you those feelings. Malleus would do anything to preserve that smile.

He didn’t know how often he made you smile. Your eyes lit up as you saw the glowing green fireflies through your window. They always preceded his appearance. And before you could blink, there he was, tall and ethereally handsome and standing in your shoddy garden yet again.

The air around you buzzed with his magic. It held the same weight as the air before a late-summer storm. You told him months ago that he was always invited to hang around your dorm and the glow of his joy hung in the air like the glow of his fireflies (were they his? You didn’t know). And so he sat cross-legged on a pillar in front of your home, holding his little egg-shaped tamagotchi in his hands.

Malleus’ head shot up as he heard the loud creak of your door as you rushed to meet him, parcel in hand. You were bounding with energy. The usual fatigue of your nighttime encounters hadn’t hit you yet.

“Hello child of man. What do you have there?” the fae prince asked, cocking his head to the side in the way he often does when confused. You find it endearing.

“Well, it’s your birthday, right? I wanted to be the first one to give you a present!” Malleus felt a pull in his chest, as if his heart was jumping out from his ribcage.

“You remembered? In all honesty, I hadn’t even noticed that the clock had already struck midnight,” he said, trying to cover up the emotion in his voice at you remembering such a small detail about him. A detail he didn’t even remember telling you.

“Lilia came up to me about a week or two ago to tell me that your birthday was today. I wanted to do something for you, so here!” you placed the parcel in his hands.

He carefully undid the wrapping paper to see a bracelet made of shiny plastic beads and string. The beads were green, black, and purple all in an organized sequence. In the middle of the bracelet was “Tsunotarou” spelled out in silver cube-shaped beads with black lettering. Malleus’ eyes widened. He slipped it around his hand and it fit perfectly against his wrist.

“I’m sorry it’s not much. I know you’re probably used to bigger presents. It does glow in the dark, if that makes it any better,” you say, slightly embarrassed that you’re giving the prince of Briar Valley a glow-in-the-dark kandi bracelet.

He takes your hands into his. Softness leaks into his emerald eyes. He’s smiling with similar softness. You can see that he is moved to tears. Malleus experiences his senses and emotions in the strongest ways possible. He is often composed out of necessity. But he lets that mask drop around you. He lets himself be emotional and he talks about the things he loves. And in this moment, the contact of your hands on his holds an intimacy beyond description.

“This means more than you could ever imagine,” Malleus says.

“I have one, too. I had extra beads after making yours. So I made one with your nickname for me. We can match now, if you want,” you say, removing your hands from his grasp to rustle through your pants pocket and pull out your bracelet.

It is in the same colors, except now it says “child of man” in the same silver and black beads. Malleus gasps softly when he sees it, when he sees how the moonlight glints off of the plastic. He takes the bracelet from you and takes your hand again. He slips the elastic string onto your wrist with the same affection that a lover would slip an engagement ring onto the finger of their betrothed. It’s deeply emotional to a point where it feels silly. You’re both on the verge of tears over exchanging bead bracelets. He does not let go of your hand.

Wordlessly, he lifts your hand to his face, pressing his lips against the bump of your knuckle. Your breath catches in your throat.

“Thank you for this gift you’ve bestowed upon me. I will not remove it. You are kinder to me than anyone has been in centuries. I cannot thank you enough, child of man.” Fae do not often cry, but Malleus feels as if he might.

“I also have ice cream inside, if you want,” you offer, breaking him from his spell-like daze.

"Do you want me to stay? It's late," he says.

"Yes, of course I do. I got it just for you. You're always invited here," and he squeezes your hand, unaware that he's even doing so.

"In that case, it would be my pleasure," Malleus says. He is calm, yet sincere.

You walk hand-in-hand to the kitchen of Ramshackle, where a shoddy mini fridge resides on a countertop. You pull out two rectangles, white and wrapped in plastic.

"What kind of ice cream is this?" He sounds excited. You know it's his favorite food.

"It's ice cream sandwiches. They're Neapolitan, so it's vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry all together" and his excitement shows in his face, grateful as you offer him one.

You watch as he tears open the wrapper and sinks his pristinely white fangs into the chocolate cookie and ice cream. He quickly goes into another bite as you start to dig into yours. You can hear the beads on his wrist softly click against each other as his hand moves.

"So? Thoughts?" You ask, licking your lips of the remains of ice cream.

"I like it. I think the addition of all three flavors is unique. If you are more particularly interested in one flavor over the others, you can eat that one first. Or last, if you're so inclined. I prefer to eat my favorite part of a dish last, to savor it the most." You listen as he explains his ice cream preferences.

"Thank you, child of man. You have brought more joy to my life than you could ever know," and you smile. That smile that caused him to fall so hard.

"Could I request one more thing of you?" He asks.

"Yes of course, Tsunotarou," you say with that same smile.

"Could you stay by my side like this? I know about your desire to return home, but I cannot fathom a future without you." He is so tender and earnest in this request-slash-confession that you feel as if the world is just the two of you.

You have grown fond of this world. You looked at your future in your old world with a sense of looming dread. Now, that dread was finally replaced with hope. Despite everything, you were happy here. You had been planning to ask Crowley to cancel his efforts to return you home. You were going to break the news to Malleus after that, but now seemed like a better time.

“Of course I will. I was secretly hoping you’d ask. I know I miss my old world, but this world is kinder to me than that one ever was. I want to stay by your side, Malleus. I want to stay for as long as you’ll have me.” You are just as tender as he is and he perks up in joy.

“It would be an honor to have you with me. I will write home for my grandmother to set up the preparations,” he says, his smooth baritone voice filled to the brim with excitement.

“Preparations? For what?” You ask, slightly confused.

“Our arrival and the announcement of my future co-ruler of the Briar Valley.”

#twisted wonderland #disney twst #twst #twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #twst fluff #malleus #malleus draconia x reader #malleus draconia x mc #malleus draconia fluff #twst malleus #twst malleus draconia #malleus x reader #malleus draconia #malleus fluff

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reverie-verse · 9 months

Note

Hello! Can I request a Azriel x Reader angst? The reader and Az are mates but Az was too infatuated with Mor, and after years of waiting the reader moves on with an OMC. They’re finally happy and feel loved and all Azriel can do is watch as his mate gets pulled from him completely. The reader tells him it’s too late. (The reader isn’t bitter)

The Mate That Got Away- Azriel x Reader

Note: There will be a ball, and the outfits are going to be vague. So you can picture what you’d like, if you prefer ethnic traditional clothing, great! If you like modern clothing that’s also great too. The style is up to you! However the color of the outfit will match the male character. So whatever color his court is, whatever color he represents the reader will have.

Ooooooo I almost forgot! I pictured Lestat from queen of the damned as Eris. I’m sorry it is what it is. Thats where my brain 😂😂. I do hope this meets your expectations and I’m sorry if it doesn’t. All I know is I was breaking my own damn heart writing this 😭 💔.

—————————————————————————

You left a note pinned to your bed. You had changed into all black clothing. Your bag packed with most of your belongings slung over your shoulder, your hair pulled back a black hood pulled to cover your head. You were perched on the window seal taking one final look around the precious space of your room. You saying one last goodbye, you were leaving your home, you were leaving Velaris. Your heart cracked into a million pieces, but it was the right thing to do. You had too. By the time they would return from their trip and stumble into your room you’d be long gone. Some part of you wished that things could be different and that it didn’t have to be this way. The bigger half knew better, you had to do this. It was the only thing you had left, and you had endured enough pain to last you hundreds of life times. It was time to say goodbye. You turned away hopping off the ledge and down the River house. You landed gracefully and quietly.

“ Are you sure about this?” A male voice whispered to you. You looked up to your old room and the rest of the house. Your heart heavy, you turned to the male who spoke to you. Fiery red hair and a golden eye stared back at you, his face expressing that of sadness. Lucien was the only one who you talked to about this. He was your ticket out. Everyone was too close, he never asked too many questions only when he figured you needed consulting that he bombarded you with them. You two were close enough to consider one another as good friends.

“ Yes, Lucien. We’ve been over this a hundred times. We are burning moonlight” You sighed quietly walking over to him.

“ I know, but I think you should stay. Everyone will be devastated. I’m sure you can speak with Rhys and Feyre, tell them the truth-“

“ That won’t change anything. It doesn’t matter what I say, nothing will change the fact that I need to leave. It’s just easier that way” You tell him while the two of you walk further away from the home.

“Did I ever tell you how I knew this young human turned high fae who instead of running away from her mate she ran towards him '' He says as the two of you come to a halt, realizing that you both were far enough from the home to make traveling much easier and more discrete. He scoops you into his arms. He braces himself so that he can winnow you.

“ Lucien I’m not changing my mind”

“Right, well it was worth another attempt”

—-

You were gone, with no traces left of you. Everyone had panicked, they searched the entire home, the house of wind and the town house. There was nothing. Standing in the foyer of the river house everyone’s gaze shifted to Azriel. They knew of the mating bond between you two, however what they didn’t know was that he rejected the bond. Azriel was hesitant and he did almost accept it but his mind kept drifting to Mor. He couldn’t let her go even if he tried. He didn’t want to either. Yet every day much like Lucien you strived to at least to get to know him and you did. What he didn’t know was that you loved him. No one knew except Lucien. You two shared similarities more than you realized. The only difference was Elain was beginning to come around. Azriel was never going to come around.

Azriel attempted to reach you through the mating bond only to find a cold numbness. You both couldn’t exactly break the bond but you could block each other. Azriel considered that as one possibility. While his mind went to a dark place, where someone could have kidnapped you and dosed you with faebane, it was his job to assume the worst. Azriel couldn’t take his mind off you, for a moment he was searching for his friend, then the next his mate, then back to his friend. His eyes searched the room for Mor finding her near the fire place, her expression filled with pain and sadness. She had lost one person she was close to. It broke his heart to see her in that state. Feyres voice broke him from his train of thought.

“ Did any of you find anything?” Feyre asked, looking between each member. Rhys pinched the bridge of his nose. His body is rigid and tense.

“ Not a thing. She covered her tracks well” Cassin crosses his arms as he rocks himself on his feet.

“ That’s because she does not want to be found” Lucien says as he walks through the threshold of the living room. Everyone was standing except for Elain and Nesta. All of their pointed gazes turned directly towards him. Lucien looked past everyone, his eyes landing directly on Azriel. His shadows danced around him furiously. He was hurt, angry, confused. He didn't know what to say or what to expect from you.

“ Why would she not want to be found?” Mor asked as she turned away from the fireplace. She couldn’t understand why you would make such a drastic move such as this one. This was out of the ordinary for even you, there had to be a reason why you’d disappear without a trace, it just wasn’t like you. The strangest part was that you had asked Lucien to take you wherever you went. “ Why would she bother asking you to take her?” She asked Lucien as she stared him down while he started Azriel down.

“Because she trusted me more than she trusted the rest of you” He says simply.

“ She’s only known you for half a second. Why would she put all her faith into you? ” Azriel bounced off of Mors questions. She was right , it was rather odd for you to take off the way you did. This wasn’t normal behavior which meant something was extremely wrong. Azriel was your friend first before your mate, he will always be your friend first, right now as your friend trusting someone like Lucien was always questionable. Again his gaze shifted to Mor who was biting her lip, she began to pace, her mind must’ve been racing a mile a minute. He wanted to reach out and hold-no not right now he can’t not when you were gone.

“She had her reasons. I did not press the issue because she did not wish to talk about it.” Lucien glares at Azriel.

“ So you simply let her walk away with no questions of your own” Azriel challenged.

“ You want an explanation for a question that I can’t give you”

“ Why? Because she has sworn you to secrecy” Mor hissed. “ You know something. She must’ve said a word, a phrase, anything!”

Cassian asked, arms still crossed. “Is it possible she could’ve left a note?”

“ There may be a possibility, Cass check her room see if you find anything that might give us an idea of where she headed or why she took off” Rhys ordered his brother turned general. Cassian gave him a curt nod heading off to your room.

“ Elain is there a chance you could’ve seen this in your vision?” Feyre asked her sister as she walked over to her.

Elain shook her head. “ No I can’t get a read on her, she won’t allow me into her mind. Her future is blocked from me”

“ I can’t get a read on her either” Rhys says as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “ Azriel? What of the mating bond?”

Azriel’s sharpened gaze stayed trained on Lucien “Nothing, it’s quiet on her end. Too quiet.” Even as Azriel rejected the bond he still remained protective of you, though his heart yearned for Mor. Lucien tightened his gaze on Azriel the two stared each other down. Cassian bounded down the stairs quickly as he reached the threshold a piece of paper tucked into his hand. “ She left a note. It’s addressed to you Feyre” He walkes over to her handing her the folded paper.

“ Me?” She looks between him and the paper hesitantly taking it from him.

“ What” Mor gasped “ She-let me see the note”

“ No, Mor I don’t think you should see this”

“ Let me read the note” Azriel says, if anyone should, he prefers it was him who witness it, you were his mate. It had to account for something. Even if his heart belongs to Mor and not yours. Was that selfish, to want to still take ownership of you but be in love with another. No, it was deeply wrong. Yet he found himself hurt and curious.

Feyre however needed time to think and with a note that could possibly explain your whereabouts and why you specifically chose her to read it. She could only assume that you had figured out Azriel’s love for Mor. If that was the case then the entirety of the situation would start an internal conflict for Mor herself. A conflict of a truth that could be forced out into the open. Tonight would not be the night for that. As if Rhys had peaked into Feyres mind he says “- As much as we all are curious about her note I suggest everyone take the evening off, we can deal with this tomorrow.-“

“You can’t be serious?! She could be in trouble! She could be hurting and you want to wait until tomorrow!” Mor growled.

“ Easy Girl” Amren says as she moves from the window to stand by Mor. Mor turned to glare at Amren, her chest heaving up and down furious.

“Our friend is out there, somewhere, possibly hurting, and you want me to take it easy. You have some nerve-“

“ Girl you watch your tongue before I rip it out of your blonde head-“ Rhys and Cassian jumped to action moving the women away from each other. Nesta and Elain standing up from the couch, Nesta made quick work to push Elain protectively behind her. Rhys held his second in command away from everyone, to which Amren was rather calm but more or less annoyed at the theatrics. Cassian wrapped his arms around Mor holding her close to his chest.

“ It was my fault. I didn’t want it to be this way. Not like this-“ Azriel starts his shadows becoming droopy and hidden behind him. This was because of him, he hadn’t realized it until now, the note, the fighting, the way he wanted to recuse Mor, instead of searching for you. Shame itched at him.

Mor pushed against Cassian to let her go. “ What are you talking about?-”Mor asked as she struggled against Cassian who made no move, only holding her tightly. Everyone held their breath, this was becoming a reality. Mor shook her head. When Azriel made no move to explain his own eyes flickering to meet hers. The information fits together like puzzle pieces. There was no need to read the note because everything they needed to know was right in front of them. “- No-you- didn’t- Why would you risk the bond?! You idiot!” Mor continued to struggle in Cassian's arms. Elain places a hand over her mouth as it hung open. Nesta frozen by the words she heard mulling over the meaning.

“ I did it because I love you! Mor I fell in love with you, since I first saw you, I have always loved you. This wasn’t how I wanted to do this-“ He tells her as he steps towards her, Mors body sags in defeat, this was her last straw.

“-You-You ruined everything” Mor whispers softly, gentle tears streaming down her face. Cassian let go of Mor slowly as she pushed away from him. She moved towards the living room crossing the threshold and to the front door, she planned on staying anywhere else but the River house.

“Mor!” Azriel called out after attempting to go after her but not when Rhys stopped him. He had removed himself from Amren, placing a hand on Azriel’s shoulder.

“ Let her go” He tells him, Azriel listens and remains in his place, but his heart ripped in half, two people had walked away from him in the same night, and both were his fault.

“ She’ll come back, she always does” Cassian says as he stands on the other side of Azriel.

—

You rolled onto your side staring at the man who laid next to you. He was laying on his stomach, his arms buried beneath the pillow, his cheek resting against it. His wine red hair in a wavy mess plastered to the pillow. His hair paired well against his tan skin, a lighter color than his brother. Your heart swooned at the sight of him. You reached over caressing his cheek. You moved your hand away pushing him over to the side so you could tuck yourself under his arms. He follows suit and gives you the space to do so. You had a feeling he was awake, you could feel the rumble of a chuckle in his chest. You snuggled into his bare chest basking in his warmth. His eyes remained closed as he held you close. You shut your eyes as the two of you began to fall back asleep.

A knock was heard on your shared bedroom door. The man holding you groaned, it was your turn to giggle at him . “Eris! Y/N!?” Lucien’s voice called out to you both.

“ I am going to murder him” Eris growled.

“ No you’re not, he's my best friend and your brother.” You tell him, as he sighed roughly making you smile though you knew Eris would never harm Lucien, the two have grown closer as of recently, all thanks to you. Their brother bonds stronger than before.

“ I am coming in you both better be decent when I open this door!” Lucien says as he opens the door stepping inside. Thankfully you both were already decent. You slept in Eris’s tunic while he slept shirtless and in pants. You untangled yourself from Eris’s arms even though he protested. Eris sighed as he propped himself against a few pillows, resting an arm behind his head. You sat up cross legged under the blankets. “Oh good you both are decent”

“ What is it Lucien?” Eris asked as his amber eyes stared at his brother.

“ The ball” He tells him simply.

“ What about it?” You asked.

“ All courts are attending, including the Night Court. They had just decided and sent a reply to Helion. Elain was the one who told me '' Lucien says as Eris who was already looking at you noticed the nervous expression on your face. Lucien has turned his attention towards you.

“ I guess that means it’s time” You tell them quietly.

“ I’m afraid so” Eris replies. You both stare at each other, Eris reaches over and takes your hands in his.

Lucien had left the room, claiming he needed to get dressed and that Elain would need some help picking a matching outfit. It’s been two years since you’ve left Velaris. Two years since you last saw him. Since you left your friends. You wondered if they resented you for it. You wondered if Elain told them about you already. Lucien always reassured you that she never did even when they asked questions about her visions. You never asked him questions though, you never asked how they were, how Azriel was nor about Morrigan either. You assumed they lived happily ever after. You guessed that today would be the day where everyone would find out about one another.

You climbed out of the bed getting ready to go to the closet, Eris reached out a hand grabbing your arm pulling you back to him. You sighed, turning to look at Eris who had a mischievous smirk on his face. A silly smile slipped on your face as soon as you realized what he was going to do. “ Oh no, No-No-No we are going to be late!-Eris!” Eris yanked you back down onto the bed. Trapping you under him in attempts to kiss you.

“ Eris!” You warned him as you tried to squirm away.

“We’ll be quick I swear!” He watched you hesitate, your half on the bed and half off the bed. It was his chance to grab you again.

“That’s what you said last time!”You squealed your back landing onto the plush bed. Lips attach themselves to yours drawing you in, consuming you whole.

—-

The ball was organized as a birthday party for Helion, the Day Court planned to celebrate him. Each court was sent an invitation; this was the biggest ball of the year. It has been a long time since the courts have ever gathered together unified enough to be in the same room. Everyone was mingling amongst themselves as different courts arrived at various times of the evening. The night court had made it before Autumn. The inner circle spoke with different court members all except Azriel.

The night after you left Azriel spoke with Mor alone, he had learned the truth, about her and himself. He realized that he had made a grave mistake. For the past two years he spent the time he had searching for you. Only to come up empty each time, even Mor vouched to help him find you and there was nothing. No word from anyone. Eventually she had given up on the search, Rhys and offered for Azriel to take some time away from everyone including the search for you but he refused. Everyone had given him space and the time he needed to grieve but it made no difference.

He was haunted by the memories of you regardless. You were all he could think about for the past two year, and with the help of Mor, you were a permanent marking. Everyday he spent time working on the bond hoping to connect with you, and if he succeeded he could find you. The only problem was you were strong in blocking the mating bond. You made it near impossible to find you, to connect, to be linked to you. He admitted that you were well trained in that department. It was a task you were always good at. Still he continued with his quest on finding you. His eyes scanned the ball room, hoping and wishing for your presence, hoping to hear your voice, maybe offer you a dance while the two of you talk and ignore the crowd… But that was wishful thinking. Music played in the background as couples danced on the floor, Mor walked over to Azriel handing him a glass of wine. “ I think you’re going to need this more than I do” She tells him softly, taking a drink from her own cup.

“ What makes you think I will?” He asks, taking the glass, holding it in his hand not bothering to touch it. He eyes the crowd before eyeing the cup in his hand.

“If she isn’t here you’ll be spending the entire night in heartbreak watching all these couples, you might as well be drunk for it”

“ Maybe I don’t want that-“ Mors gasp caught him by surprise, his eyes looking at her following her gaze. There you were. As beautiful as the last time he saw you. Your hair styled perfectly, your skin glowing, you had a smile on your face so bright and full of life, your laugh echoed hitting his ears turning into a wonderful melody. Time truly seemed to slow down. Your hand was intertwined with someone else’s, a ring on your wedding finger, your outfit you had worn colored in reddish orange, the colors of autumn. It couldn’t have been Lucien, he was already waltzing on the dancing floor with Elain. Which only left one highlord Eris. He too was smiling as he spoke with Cassian and Nesta. Mor growled at the sight. Rhys and Feyre approached Azriel and Mor. Amren, as quiet as ever appeared next to her with Varian by her side, soon enough the rest of the inner circle gathered together.

“ She looks happy” Azriel says as the group turns to look at his saddened face. He had lost the one chance at happiness after he lost his first, a mistake he regretted more than anything. Had he known that Mor had never felt for him the way he had for her, then you would be in his arms now. You would be with him and not Eris.

“She does,” Rhys acknowledged Azriel’s comment, watching his brother closely. Nesta and Cassian had hugged you before leaving to head to the dance floor. You looked so relieved that they embraced you, you had turned to your husband, with yet another smile. Eris shared that smile with you as if to say I told you so. He took your hand back in his as he pulled you to the dance floor, as if he had done it many times, you fell into his arms melting into them as if you two were mated from the beginning. You swayed with him, your arms wrapped around his neck and his arms wrapped around your waist. You two spoke to each other, laughing and sharing sweet nothings. Azriel wished that it was him holding you that way, to watch you smile, and laugh effortlessly. He wanted to be Eris. He wanted to be the one wearing the wedding band that you gave him, he wanted you to wear the wedding band he gave you. He wanted what Eris had.

Nesta and Cassian had crossed the dance floor and headed to the group. Cassian had seen the pain in his brother's eyes, his own heartbreaking. He wasn’t sure what he could say that might ease Azriel’s suffering. He placed a hand on Azriel’s shoulder giving him a soft squeeze. Azriel had made up his mind “ I’m going to talk to her” everyone looked at Azriel questioning his motivation. Walking away from his friends he walks towards you. He could smell the two of you, how your scents intermingled, it was repulsive to him, he couldn’t stand the smell, instead he wished it was his smell on you. Yours on him. But it was too late for that. Eris had taken your hand and twirled you around, pulling you back to him swaying again, you giggled at his feeble attempt to flirt with you. As Azriel got closer he fought the urge to kill and maim him right where he was. Azriel reached you both and cleared his throat. You and Eris looked towards Azriel, the smiles slipping from both of your faces. Azriel wished he hadn’t been the one to make your smile fall.

“ Do you mind if I cut in?” He asks.

Eris looks at you first ignoring his request. You sighed, you knew this time was going to come, Eris tightened his hold on you. Your heart smiled at his protectiveness. You gave Eris a nod of approval. He looked at you for a little while longer, leaning down and kissed your cheek. You offered him a sweet smile as he reached up and caressed your cheek. He turned away from you heading off in another direction, he glared at Azriel who returned the stare down. Azriel smiled gently to which you had taken his outstretched hand. You kept the hold simple, placing your hands on his shoulders. His hands remained on your waist. You were hesitant, you shifted uncomfortably.

Azriel cleared his throat “ How are you?”

For this you smiled, your eyes traveled to Eris who was speaking with Lucien for a moment before looking back to Azriel. “ I am better. And You?”

“ I-it could be better-” He admits. “There is something that I’d like to ask you”

“ Alright”

“ What drew you away from me?”

“ Azriel I don’t think-“

“I would like to know”

You sighed the weight returning to your chest. “ I-I left because you were in love with Mor. The way you looked at her was the way I wished you’d look at me. I waited for you for years, and you never-it was never going to work. You love her, she is the one you wanted. I wasn’t going to get in the way of that.-” You shrugged lightly. You shook your head at the old memories that were embedded in your mind and heart. “-You told her how you felt and she said no to you didn’t she?” You looked him in the eyes. The bond may have been blocked but you were still able to read him like an open book. You knew him better than he knew himself. Azriel looked away, he came to you for a second chance because his first rejected him. You stopped moving, not bothering to sway with the music any longer.

“ I can explain myself-“ His heart had no more pieces to break, it was already shattered.

“ Unrequited love can be painful, can it not?” You tell him your voice pained.

“ Yes, but I understand now what it feels like-“

“ You think that you do but you don’t Az. Its different when you reject a mate, that bond is sacred. And you threw it away.” You tell him with no cruelty in the words only the truth, the reality. He was expecting you to shout at him, hit him, yell at him, but you did none of those things.

“ Y/N-“ his own voice cracks.

You shake your head “ No, Azriel. I am happy-I-I have a family that cares for me, A husband who loves me, and I love him. You can't ask me to leave them because I won’t”

“I understand…” Azriel’s gaze drops from your eyes to the floor, completely broken and defeated. His own eyes pricked with tears. You wrapped your arms around Azriel’s neck pulling him in for a hug.

“ You deserve to be loved Az. Never forget that.” You whispered to him as you held him. Azriel wrapped his arms around your waist holding onto you tightly. He never wanted to leave your embrace, but it was too late for that. It was something he would keep with him forever. You pulled away sliding from his embrace, your hands slipped past each other one last time. Azriel watched as you made your way back to your husband who smiled once your gaze settled on him. He extended his hand towards you and you took it with no hesitation. You had not looked back once as the two of you left the hall wrapped in each other's arms. Azriel watched you walk right out of his arms into another. You were right, it was a different feeling, more painful than anything he had ever experienced. You were bonded to him but you fell in love with Eris. This was the pain you felt when you had watched him fall for Mor as you were bound to him.

He truly understood the weight of the bond and it’s worth.

523 notes · View notes

devvelle · 2 years

Text

Adore You

Genre: fluff, pre-relationship, mutual pining <3

Pairings: Vice Housewardens (Trey, Ruggie, Jade, Jamil, Rook, and Lilia) x gn!reader

Scenario: Cute moments with them, when they hold your hand.

A/N: reader is the prefect!

Trey and walking through a crowd.

Going to the farmer’s market for fresh fruit was Trey’s idea, but you’re happy you agreed to join him. It’s been a while since you’ve taken a break from your studies at NRC to do something fun, and getting to do it with him makes it all the better.

The massive crowd waiting when you arrive at the market, however, is unexpected. Within seconds of arriving you almost lose sight of Trey, who also realizes that it’s going to be a bit of a hassle to stick together. He instead leads you to the edge of the crowd and you stop at a deserted stall to talk.

“It seems everyone had the idea of coming today,” he muses, looking at you with an apologetic smile. “We don’t need much, but it’s going to be annoying to get everything. You up for it?”

While turning to assess the crowds behind you, you weigh the potential frustration of gathering these groceries versus how desperately you want to spend time with Trey. But you know an opportunity like this might not come again for a long time, so you look back at him with a grin. “Just don’t walk too fast, and I think we’ll be okay.”

He laughs sweetly. A warm squeeze to your hand surprises you, and looking down you find Trey’s hand grasping yours. His hand feels much bigger and you let that thought distract you for a bit too long until he tugs you closer to draw your attention.

“It’ll be easier to keep you with me like this,” he smiles teasingly, “so, ready?”

With an embarrassed huff you slot your fingers in his and squeeze in response, avoiding eye contact and tugging him away instead. His laughter continues as he follows you, happily letting you lead the way.

Ruggie and exchanging friendship bracelets.

Making Ruggie a friendship bracelet was probably a silly decision from the start. You don’t quite know what kind of reaction to expect from him; while there’s a chance he’ll be appreciative, it’s just as likely that he’ll poke fun at you and question your motives (which would be disastrous if you end up accidentally revealing your feelings for him).

Regardless, you figure it’s worth a shot.

When you finally track him down, you find him laying on his stomach on the floor of his room reading a magazine, hardly startled by you barging in. You settle on the floor in front of him and wait until he looks up at you to speak.

“Hey!” you greet, attempting to conceal the bracelets in your hands. “So I went to Sam’s yesterday and he gave me a bunch of old string for making bracelets, said they were super old or something. The colors reminded me of you, so I made us matching ones.” You flatten your palm finally allowing Ruggie to see them, and he stares with slightly wide eyes, leaning closer.

“Matching ones?” He questions, meeting your eyes again. One of the bracelets is navy blue with bright orange accents, and the other is a darker orange with navy blue accents. He seems to take particular interest in the orange one. “What for?”

“Because it’s cute, does there have to be a reason?” You shrug. “Give me your hand.”

Still wary, Ruggie extends his wrist to you. You tie the orange bracelet to him tightly then offer him the blue one and your wrist. He scrambles to place yours on, fumbling, a heavy blush creeping onto his face. Once it’s secured, you stare at your wrist and admire the colors.

Pulling you from your thoughts, Ruggie carefully reaches for your hand and holds it like he’s preparing to arm wrestle with you. You simply watch quietly as he moves your hands from left to right, admiring that the colors complement one another. A huff of air leaves his nose and he smiles brightly.

“Prefect, I’m starting to think you like me. That’s kind of embarrassing…”

He snickers, but his smile tells you he isn’t mocking you at all. He keeps your hand tightly in his all while staring at you like you’re the shiniest treasure he’s ever found; a warm feeling spreads in your chest from the fond gleam in his eyes. “It’s nice, thank you.”

Jade and an unexpected dinner date.

Rarely do you come to Mostro Lounge expecting a peaceful time. You almost always have a bad reason for being here, and you’ve nearly come to loathe the place. But today is miraculously free from any troublesome commitments–Jade having actually suggested you come by for a free meal. Although you questioned him thoroughly on what his intentions were, you eventually gave in to his innocent explanations. Even if something somehow comes up…hopefully you’ll be fed first.

It’s again Jade who greets you when you arrive and silently seats you in a booth in the far back corner, away from all the noise at the front of the lounge. Too busy admiring the atmosphere, you fail to notice his presence settle across from you until he takes your hand across the table, sliding a menu over to you.

“Know what you’d like, or would you prefer my recommendation?” Jade asks, and your thoroughly puzzled expression in response draws easy laughter from him. When did he even sit down? You scramble to reply to him, completely flustered from your lack of awareness.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you’d be eating with me,” Jade’s thumb brushes over your knuckles, his expression displaying very clear amusement. “But um, yeah. W-what would you recommend?” Though you try your hardest not to show how you’re affected by his actions, the way your heart is racing makes you fail anyway.

Ignoring the latter half of your statement, Jade instead teases you for failing to realize that he’d asked you here as a date. “Well, I didn’t want to waste an opportunity to have you alone. I hope you don’t mind me wanting to indulge in you for an evening?” He raises his brows and grins in fake innocence.

“Just tell me what to order,” you groan, tightening your hold on his fingers.

Attention now fixed on the menu, he continues stroking your knuckles. A date with Jade is a dream come true, but it might be too much for your heart to take.

Jamil and wanting all of your attention.

When you asked Jamil to take a break from his usual duties and go for a walk with you, your intentions really had been sincere. Ever since you’d seen the extent to which he’s overworked and how much he loathes it, you’ve made it your mission to help him de-stress every once in a while. Although he feigns reluctance, he’s never once turned you down.

Your evening together was off to a great start, the two of you making light conversation as you walked the grounds of NRC. Jamil always insists on leaving Scarabia when you spend time together claiming that he wants to be away from all reminders of his duties.

However, you don’t get to enjoy your time with him for long.

At every turn it seems there’s a familiar face waiting to greet you. You’re aware that you’ve made a lot of friends at NRC, but it quickly grows comical just how many people are saying hello to you. First you bump into Ortho fetching lunch for Idia, then Deuce coming back from a club meeting. And before you know it even Cater is standing before you, asking what you’re doing out so late.

Despite your best efforts to make the interactions brief, your attention isn’t at all on Jamil anymore. You let your eyes flicker to him in a panic and find he’s already gazing at you, utterly unimpressed.

Eventual Jamil has enough and groans in annoyance before stepping closer and tugging on your hand roughly. He effectively cuts off the conversation you’d just started with Epel and tugs you behind a pillar.

“Hey-”

“I thought you wanted me to take a break with you.” Jamil’s expression is beyond frustrated, and you squirm under the look he gives you. Guilt quickly consumes your thoughts.

“I do!” You defend, stepping closer to him but avoiding his eyes. Nervously, you play with his fingers.

“Then pay attention to me.” His words leave you speechless, your eyes shooting up to him. He squeezes your hand, face flushed, and it hits you that he wasn’t angry, just jealous.

Still unable to form a sentence, you do the next best thing. With a soft kiss to his cheek that leaves him stunned, you make it clear that Jamil is deserving of all your attention and more.

Rook and the fear of missing out on time with you.

Rook actually holds your hand quite often and you will never complain about it. It fills your stomach with butterflies each and every time your hand finds itself in his as he greets you hello with a kiss to your knuckles.

That’s exactly what he does today as well after you bump into him in the hallway. Unfortunately, the moment is interrupted before Rook can speak his greeting as a voice calls his name from down the hall. A student from his dorm comes jogging up to the two of you and Rook sighs heavily, his warm breath fanning over your hand. He turns to the student with a pout and a hushed ‘how inconvenient’ but doesn’t release his grip. His body still fully faces you as well, this childish behavior forcing you to stifle a laugh.

The student can tell Rook is annoyed as they launch into an explanation and they hardly need to spare you a glance before connecting the dots that they’ve interrupted something. They speak faster, but you can pick up that Rook is needed back at the dorm urgently. The student scurries off, allowing the vice housewarden to fix his attention on you once again.

“Good morning ma chèrie,” he sulks dramatically. “What a troublesome interruption, I extend my sincere apologies.” Your laughter successfully draws a smile from him, “it seems my assistance has been requested. Join me, won’t you?” Rook’s eyes are hopeful, but there’s nervousness swirling in them.

“Of course! Lead the way.”

You agree to quell his anxiety, feeling that he might think he offended you even though it wasn’t his intention. His relief, once you agree, is overwhelmingly endearing. Even more so when he holds your hand tighter to bring you close.

“Then, let us be off!”

Though there’s clearly a rush, you take your time walking to Pomefiore. Rook inquires about your life, your classes, and your other friends to which you reply excitedly and the conversation flows easily. He lets you carry the conversation and clumsily readjusts his grip often, betraying his own nerves.

Your heart is full, though, knowing you make him just as nervous as he does you.

Lilia and having someone to trust.

Okay, so maybe locking yourself up in your room to sulk is kind of childish, but what else are you supposed to do when you get rejected by the person you ask out? All things considered, you aren’t really that upset over it since it was just a random classmate you sort of found attractive, but it still sucked. And at least sulking gives you an excuse to ignore Grim for a bit.

Time to yourself gets boring fast though, and distantly you remember Lilia asking you to update him on how it went since he was the one to encourage you to do it. You grab your phone from your bedside table and open up the text thread you share with him. Sparing most of the details, you let him know they had politely declined and throw your phone onto your bed.

It chimes with a response instantly but you don’t even get to reach for your phone before he manifests in front of you. You neither have a moment to wonder how he even did that because apologies are spilling from his mouth.

“Oh, Prefect, I’m so sorry! I never would have imagined they’d say no to you-”

Before he can get into a long-winded apology you get up from your bed with a sigh, quickly trapping him in a tight hug that he returns after a moment of hesitation. He gets the hint to stop speaking.

After a few moments, he decides to rock you gently, reveling in your warmth and the tightness of your embrace. It's such a tender moment that you hate having to break it.

“Honestly...I don’t think I liked him that much,” you mumble into the blazer of his uniform, cheek smushed against him. “Just sucks, you know? But it wasn’t your fault.” Lilia hums.

He pauses to think for a moment before reluctantly pulling back from the embrace with a troubled expression. He takes both of your hands and scans your eyes, seemingly reaching a resolution.

“Do you trust me?” he asks.

“Obviously." You reply.

Lilia kisses you gently then, and it’s all you’ve ever hoped for. It’s sweet and gentle and takes your breath away, and you can't imagine why you'd ever set your sights on anyone else. He kisses you again and again until you’re both giggling into one another, all worries completely forgotten.

a/n: this is my first time writing for twst I hope it's not ooc :') I was excited to write for Lilia. reblog 4 a forehead kiss (extra kiss if u send me a request for the first years)

#twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #twst headcanons #twst imagines #trey clover x reader #ruggie bucci x reader #jade leech x reader #jamil viper x reader #rook hunt x reader #lilia vanrouge x reader #twst wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #twst fluff

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jsprnt · 1 month

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Americano PT. 5 | Jude Bellingham x Reader

What happens if two individuals who absolutely despise each other are forced to interact after unforeseen events occur?

A/N: pff, this was a long one, enjoy babes. A heads up in advance, I’ll be taking a break in the first week of April due to my exams 🫶

W/C: 4.558

part four

"Come in here and bring your laundry hamper!"

"Just a second, dad!"

I jump out of bed, leaving my phone on the other end of it, and grab the pink hamper. I hold onto the handles tightly as I make my way out of my room.

I see him standing over the washing machine in the laundry room. I enter quickly, the both of us starting to sort out the dirty clothes and putting them in the machine accordingly.

"Did you finish packing?" My dad asks, glancing at me before grabbing the laundry detergent and fabric softener out of the cabinet above me.

"Yeah, just a couple basic things. It's like a 2-3 day trip."

He pours the blue liquid into the cap, checking the measurements before pouring it into the designated compartment. Doing the same thing with the fabric softener.

"Really? No fancy dress or anything?"

I look up from the washing machine, a sheepish smile forming on my face. I watch him shake his head in disbelief, a smile on his face as he turns the machine on.

"When I sent you abroad- I thought your aunt would raise you exactly like I would. But I forgot she probably raised you to love dressing up like her. You know, she used to terrorize me in my own room growing up, only because I had bigger windows and thus better lighting for when she did her makeup.." He shakes his head, chuckle leaving him as he reminisces.

I laugh at him, the smile on my face bigger now.

"I think packing something proper is very important. It worked out pretty well last Saturday when we went for dessert in Girona."

"Just stay safe when going out. It's a dangerous world, honey." He says, putting his hand on my shoulder.

I purse my lips at his words, remembering what had happened just a couple nights ago. He didn't know about the entire debacle, but since it was already dealt with, I didn't see a reason to bring it up.

"When are you getting up?"

"Not super early, like around eight? The match isn't until Tuesday, so no early flight."

"You know, it's almost twelve, right? Go to bed already, and don't go on your phone." He tuts, scolding me and pushing me towards my room.

"Alright, I'll go to bed."

"Goodnight, I love you." He says, kissing my forehead before he makes his way down the stairs.

"Love you too!" I shout as I watch him walk away while I stand in front of my bedroom door. The silence of the house surrounding me when I’m left alone.

The team had finally wrapped up training for the day. We had arrived in Napels that morning, and they had trained hard until late in the afternoon.

This left us with some free time for the rest of the day, until we had to prepare for the match tomorrow.

"You've been doing your makeup for about 40 minutes now." I hear Luis complain, lying flat on his back on top of my bed.

"I could be meeting my future Italian husband out there! Come on, let me look cute for tonight."

I darken up my eye makeup, coloring my waterline with a black pencil to contrast my white dress.

I then drench my face in setting spray, fanning it dry with a random brochure, I found on the nightstand.

"Besides, you're wrinkling your clothes, stand up. I can't have you looking bummy! What if you find yourself a pretty lady?" I wink, struggling to hold back a laugh at the unimpressed expression he sends me.

I finally stand up from the chair, smoothing down my dress in front of the mirror, and adjust the slit a little.

"We can go now!"

"Are you drinking?"

"No, not feeling it tonight." I mutter, eyeing the delicious-sounding food on the menu.

I look up, watching Luis flip through the menu.

"I'm going to order a pizza."

"Why pizza?" He asks, looking at me.

"We are practically in the birthplace of pizza. Are you judging me?" I ask, raising a brow at him.

"Just get it, I'm not judging you.." He raises his hands as if to surrender.

"You're so mean when you're hungry." He mumbles, closing his menu.

"Just appreciate the fact that I dragged you here. Look at how beautiful the view is.

I turn, admiring the view behind the glass panels of the restaurant. The Vesuvius mountain and the water are absolutely breathtaking, especially right now during sunset.

He sighs at me in agreement, looking around to find a waiter for us to finally order our food.

I watch him order for the both of us, getting distracted by the view, and turn towards him when the waiter leaves.

"If you get hammered, I'll leave you here.."

"So, now you want to find an Italian girlfriend?" I ask Luis bewildered, watching him walk - no stumble in front of me.

The drinks he ordered were good, so good he felt inclined to ordered multiple of them. I didn't keep count, but he definitely had more than his limit, which made him the drunk mess he was right now.

"Of course, you're my best friend. We should each find a person to marry!" He slurs, walking towards the docks.

I sigh deeply, looking down at my heels, before jogging up to him, clutching onto his shirt tightly.

"You're going to fall into the water!" I shout, trying to hold him back from the edge, but he shouts in protest.

"It's fine, maybe one of these hot people will save me from drowning."

Oh my god

I look up to where he's pointing, seeing a group of people on an expensive-looking catamaran. I'm way too distracted to realize my grip on Luis has loosened, and watch him leave. I see him greet the partying people loudly. I close my eyes in embarrassment, wanting to jump into the water out of shame.

Who even parties on a random Monday evening?

I surprisingly hear someone shout something in what sounds like Italian. I turn my head, eyes searching as I turn my attention to the person.

My eyes meet the eyes of a tall, brown-eyed, beautifully sun-kissed man. His blue linen shirt halfway unbuttoned.

He looked like, and definitely is trouble.

I hear him say something again, and my eyes widen when they go back to Luis, who looks like he's having the time of his life with two girls.

"English?" I hear the beautiful stranger ask.

I nod, watching him walk towards the dock and then, interestingly enough, reach for my hand.

I would never leave Luis alone on this boat full of strangers. Therefore, I reluctantly grab the guy's hand as he pulls me onto the boat.

"Hi?" I greet, raising a brow. Quickly smoothing my dress down.

"Hello, and your name is?" He asks, eyes roaming up and down my body, definitely checking me out. The Aussie accent practically melting me on the spot, making it difficult for my jaw to stay closed.

He was the definition of trouble.

But I needed to get my mess of a friend off this damn boat and leave.

"y/n, yours?" I ask, pretending to be more interested than I am, sneakily glancing at Luis.

"I'm Chris. You're not from here, are you?"

Obviously not

"No, I'm actually from Valencia."

A white lie, he didn't have to know anything about me.

"Valencia, Spain? What are you and your friend doing here?"

"Visiting, for fun." I lie again, giving him a smile.

"Really? Having fun so far?" He smiles, his pearly white teeth blinding me.

"Yeah, a lot of fun." I reply, my brows raising in fake interest.

I watch him chuckle, his plump lips curling up. His arm going up to run a hand through his blonde locks.

"Care for a drink, then?"

As beautiful as this man was, I wasn't naive enough to accept a drink from him. Especially, since we were in a totally different country.

"I'm fine, actually. I'm leaving tomorrow, so I'm trying to not drink as much."

"Oh, you probably came to watch the Champions League game then?"

Got me, kind of.

I immediately pull a sour face, pretending to be disgusted.

"Of course not, I have better things to do than attend a Real Madrid match. If it wasn't for Valencia, I'd be for Barcelona anyway.."

That one physically hurt to say.

"Oh- don't get mad now." He teases, putting his hands up, his smile getting wider.

I had to leave hastily, at least before this man got me into his bed.

"You're fine. I'm just trying to get my friend and leave. You alright with that?"

"Let me get your number first. Don't think I'll forget you after tonight." He says, handing me his phone.

I was curving the man left and right, and he still wanted my number?

"I don't really give out my number. But I can give you my Instagram handle?"

"That's fine." He says, clicking on his Instagram.

I watch his screen, my eyes accidentally catching the number of girls on his explore page.

No way, this man was looking for something serious.

"Oh, I'll type it in. If that's alright?" I say, reaching for his phone. He nods, handing me the device.

I quickly type in my username, pressing follow.

To snoop a little further, I go back to the explore page, seeing more ass and boobs than I had prepared for. Pretending to be unfazed as I clear the Instagram tab and hand his phone back to him.

I mean, their bodies were amazing, but why the hell was he following them?

"That's it. Here you go. My phone is dead, so I'll talk to you later?" I say, fidgeting with my handbag. My social battery was dying even faster than normal tonight.

I watch him nod, his eyes on me, as I immediately make my way to Luis, who's now sitting with a random girl.

"Hi, sorry to interrupt, but we have to leave."

I grab onto Luis' arm, using all my strength to get him up. Noticing the amount of shot glasses and empty beer bottles in front of them.

How the hell did he manage to do that so fast?

Idiot.

"Wait, do you want his Instagram?" I ask the girl. She hesitates before nodding looking at us confused.

"Okay, well, let me spell it for you."

I spell his username quickly, turning away.

"Yes, that's it. We're not a thing, by the way- he's my brother. Bye!"

Another lie, but maybe it would help him in the long run.

"Let's go, come on." I groan, dragging Luis back to the hotel.

It was doable until he started leaning his body on me, making me slump partially. My heels beginning to hurt my feet more than ever.

After a good ten minutes of struggling, we finally enter the elevator of the hotel, his body weight starts to pile on me. Arriving at our correct floor I drag him out, a huge sigh of relief leaving my lips as I recognize some of our Real Madrid players.

"Help." I mumble, watching some of them recognize the fact that I was half-suffocating.

I watch Antonio, Aurélien, and Jude, of all people, walk towards us, getting drunk and passed out Luis off of me.

"Thank you." I sigh, fixing myself, watching Antonio comically throw Luis onto one of the seats there.

"What happened to him?" I hear Brahim say as I try to catch my breath and I readjust my grip on my bag.

"Long story."

"Let's put him to bed first." Antonio says, making me nod. All of our eyes moving to a passed-out Luis.

"So, he got into a random boat?" Federico asks, looking at me.

I nod, trying to hold back a laugh while I drink my water. The cardigan I had retrieved from my room keeping me warm as we sat in the sky lounge.

"I would've partied." I look up at Cama, shaking my head.

"They were strangers, come on! But- one guy did approach me." I say, sending him a smug look.

"So you had some fun!"

"Look, he was cute. He offered me a drink, but I refused."

"That's it? Come on..”

"Why are you all up in my business?" I joke, being half-serious, hearing some of them laugh.

I finish my cup of water, beginning to stand up from my seat.

"It's getting late, I'm going up to my room. Don’t make it late, you guys need to rest well!" I say, waving after they send me off with kind words.

I press the elevator button, crossing my arms as I wait for it to arrive. The doors open a few seconds later, and I step in. I raise my head in surprise when I see an arm hold the doors open. Surprise turns into irritation when I notice Jude step in.

"Why did you follow me?" I ask, playing with the clasp on my bag.

"You know, not everything is about you." He mutters, a fed-up expression on his face. I sigh, closing my eyes in impatience, as I lean against the elevator wall.

The elevator makes a noise, and I check the floor number, getting out, hearing him follow me.

I start rummaging through my handbag for my room-key. Finally, fishing it out as we walk up to our respective rooms.

I arrive at my door, hearing Jude walk up to his own, his room interestingly enough being across from mine.

I go to scan my card but freeze, realizing my door is open by a small sliver.

"Why is my door open?" I mumble to myself, trying to subdue my instant panic.

"What?" I hear, seeing Jude walk up to me from the corner of my eye. His eyes darting in between me and the door.

"You left it open, probably." He responds, not an ounce of concern in his voice.

"You think?"

"Yeah, since you're so good with doors-"

"Okay, stop right there." I mutter, pushing the door open further. I flick the light on, looking around cautiously.

I hear him scoff at my behavior, and I turn around to look at him.

"Can you check the room?" I ask, trying to sound as nice as possible.

"No." He deadpans, giving me a bored look.

I hold back a string of cuss words, stepping into the room as he stands at the doorway.

"Stay here at least, before I get murdered."

"Would be a sight." He mutters, voice laced with humor. Though, I found it difficult to see this situation as funny.

"You're not funny. Are you aware of that?" I ask, punching into the curtains to check if anyone's hiding behind them.

"Find anything, detective?"

"Shut up." I whisper, going to open the bathroom door, hesitating for a moment.

Adrenaline starts pumping through my veins. I try to take deep breaths to prepare for a fight.

"What if someone's actually here?" I whisper, my eyes wide, as I turn to look at Jude.

I watch his expression harden, his jaw tensing as he looks at me.

"What do you mean?!" I hear Jude whisper back. His voice is hushed and more low than usual.

I take off both of my heels, ready to bash the possible intruder’s head in with my heels.

"Call security." I whisper, preparing to fight. I watch him take out his phone, before he raises his head again. His expression darkens for a moment before it changes into something- else...

"What are you doing, idiot? Come here." He says, and I can almost make out a vein popping out of his forehead.

All of the sudden, he makes his way over to me, grabbing my wrist and dragging me out of my room. Shutting the heavy door behind me, his hands coming up to my shoulders.

"What is wrong with you? You don't even know if they're with a weapon or anything!" He shouts in a hushed voice, his Brum accent more prominent than ever.

I continue staring at him, my lips parting in realization.

Damn, I was such a shallow thinker in times of crisis.

My mind turns blank, not acknowledging Jude's presence anymore. I can only hear him sigh and mumble something as security from both the club and hotel arrive at my room.

"Could you take her somewhere else, sir?” I hear someone say, feeling my wrist being pulled abruptly by Jude.

I follow him blindly, but I try to look back at my room. Wanting to see if someone would actually appear out of my room.

"Don't look." I hear, looking in front of me again as I’m brought into the hotel room across from mine. Nicer and bigger, definitely his.

"Sit down." He orders, pulling my wrist again and making me sit on one of the cushioned chairs.

I oblige without protest, too dazed to react in a snarky way. The silence in the room feels like hours when only being about ten minutes. It is finally cut off as Jude's phone starts ringing loudly.

I hear him speak for a few minutes before he hangs up. I watch him walk towards me as he sits in the chair next to me.

"No one was there, they checked the cameras as well. You left the door open."

I cringe, realizing my own initial mistake. A shudder runs through me as he explains.

"Oh, great!" I mumble sarcastically, feeling embarrassed, fidgeting with the fabric of my dress. Only now realizing I was barefoot, my heels probably fell out of my grasp when he pulled me out of the room.

I get up when he finishes explaining, walking up to the door. Pulling my soft cardigan closer to soothe myself.

"Where are you going?" I hear Jude ask. I turn and look back at him.

"Back to my room." I say, suddenly feeling the day's exhaustion take effect. My vision becoming blurry as I feel an ache make its way to my head.

This day alone probably took five years off my lifespan.

I hear him sigh as he walks up to me. Feeling him put his hand on my right shoulder.

"What?" I ask, looking him up and down. Trying to shrug his hand off of my shoulder.

I watch his jaw tense again, his grip on my shoulder getting tighter, though, not getting to the point of hurting.

I open my mouth to speak again, as he doesn't bother to answer my question. Unfortunately, I’m stopped by a sharp pain shooting through my head.

I groan in pain, placing my hands on my temples as I squeeze my eyes shut.

"What's wrong?" I hear him whisper, his other hand making its way to my left shoulder.

"I'm fine..." I dismiss, taking his hands off my shoulders. I reach for the door handle, pulling it down and stepping out of the room.

I tap my card against the sensor hurriedly and open my door, turning to see his door across the hallway already shut.

"Doesn't even care to watch me go inside." I mutter, ridding myself of my clothes and taking a much-needed shower. Trying to wash off all my stress and embarrassment.

When I'm done, I make a beeline to my bed, closing my eyes and forcing myself to sleep. I shift and turn, groaning in frustration as I turn my pillow around for the nth time.

It's like my sleep was robbed of me within minutes. My thoughts keeping me up. I check the time, realizing it was almost two in the morning.

I begin getting fully paranoid, my stupid brain making up the craziest scenarios imaginable.

I bury my face deeper into my pillow, forcing my brain to shut up. Finally, managing to fall asleep, too tired to keep my anxious walls up.

"You look like a truck ran you over."

"Shut up." I snarl replying to Jude. Trying to ignore him further as I continue eating my food, Luis sitting across from me at the breakfast buffet.

I had gotten maybe five hours of sleep. My three layers of concealer weren’t doing its job today. It had creased within minutes of application.

I roll my eyes as he sits at the table next to us, probably to annoy me further.

“Someone get this weirdo away from me..” I say loudly, closing my eyes in prayer.

I hear Jude scoff, following it up with a laugh.

"Were you born insufferable, or do you practice in the mirror before going to bed?" I ask, poking at my food.

I hear him chuckle again, which makes my blood boil even more. I glance at Luis, seeing a grin forming on his face.

"You too?"

I had told him everything that had happened last night, him feeling embarrassed but finding it hilarious at the same time.

He did promise he'd make it up to me.

"Don't forget how I dragged your ass from the dock to the hotel. I could've easily left you there."

I threaten, looking at Luis as I shove another spoonful of food in my mouth.

I see Jude open his mouth, but I stop him with a hand as my phone rings. My dad calling me right at the perfect moment.

"Oops, sorry, too busy for whatever you want to say."

I realize how immature I sound, but I digress. I get up and answer the call. Chatting to my dad about the past few days.

I signal for Luis to stop filming, patting his back to commend him for his hard work after the final whistle is blown. A nice 3-2 putting us on top of the table.

"They played really well."

I hum, posting the last social media post and turning to him.

"Right, if they keep playing like this, we'll definitely end up at the top of table C for sure."

"We'll go far. That's without question."

We make our way inside, trying to rush to get inside on time.

"Hugo is saying to interview both Frederico and Jude." I mutter, rereading the text message.

"That's fine, let's just wait here until they're ready." He says, both of us waiting in front of the changing room as they pile inside. Tired expressions on all of their faces.

"By the way, have you seen this one guy that's working here? He's so cute for you." I hear Luis say, looking up at him confused.

"Which one?" I ask, fidgeting with the cable of the camera.

"I'll show you when I see him." He says, and I give him a look.

"He better be cute, since you're making me wait."

"Alright, that's it." I announce, looking at Jude. Finally wrapping up his interview.

"Thank you." He mutters, with less attitude this time. Probably way too tired to have a petty fight with me. I wasn't disappointed with that, to be honest. I couldn't stand speaking to him anymore.

"See you on the bus, man." I hear Jude say, giving Luis a handshake as he begins walking away. My eyes follow him, piercing into his back.

"See, that's the guy I was talking about." I hear Luis say, my head snapping towards the direction he was looking at.

"Which one-" I begin, shamelessly looking at the guy.

"What? No, are you serious?" I ask, appalled by the person he’s shipping me with.

"Yeah, he's cute for you." He mutters, giving me a smirk.

"You might be hungover still. Let's just get into the bus, please."

We pack our equipment up, starting to walk towards the team buses. Successfully helping fellow staff with the multiple suitcases and bags and stepping up into the vehicle.

We greet the players we make eye contact with, the both of us walking along the occupied seats until we finally find two empty ones next to each other.

"I'm tired..." I mumble, leaning my back against the seat, closing my eyes as I get comfortable. Leaving my phone on my lap.

"I can see that." I hear Luis reply, and I open one of my eyes to give him an offended look.

"How sweet of you." I reply, trying to take a quick fifteen-minute nap. Running around for more than two hours with five hours of sleep was not for the weak.

I was part of the weak.

I hear the sound of a notification, surprised it could be heard through all of the chatter and banter of everyone in the bus.

"Was that your phone?" I ask, leaning my head against the window.

"No, it was yours." Luis answers.

"Can you read it for me? You know my password."

I feel my phone being removed from my lap, a second of silence from Luis before he starts laughing uncontrollably.

"What?" I ask, getting curious.

What could be that funny?

"It's a DM from a Chris on Instagram."

"Who the fuck is Chris?" I ask, finally opening my eyes to take my phone back. My eyes roaming around the screen, reading a short message with a 'view once’ photo.

"Thought you repped Valencia?"

I read the message out loud, looking back at Luis, confused. Then I look at the profile picture.

"Oh my god! It's the guys from the boat!" I shout, embarrassed when I realize I was being louder than necessary.

"The one you talked about?"

"Yeah- wait, what do you think the photo is?" I ask, starting to feel squirmy.

"A dick pic." I hear Luis whisper.

"Who got a dick pic?"

I hear someone ask, looking at the row behind me. Jude peeking his head in between our headrests.

"Not you, so mind your own business.." I reply, moving my phone out of his view and returning to my conversation with Luis. Ignoring the daggers he’s sending me with his piercing gaze.

"No way, gross. He looked desperate, but no way."

"Well, click on it."

"No, now I'm scared. Why would you even bring that up?"

"Just squint."

I huff, leaning back against the widow, squinting as I press on the photo.

"Oh-" I exclaim, taking a deep, relieved breath.

Thankfully, it’s not an explicit picture, but a photo of me at the stadium we were just at, prematch to be specific. From the angle, you could tell the photo was taken from the stands.

"Wait- what the fuck? He was there? Ew, why did he take a photo of me?” I say, showing Luis the screen.

I watch his mouth fall open. He reaches over, taking my phone from me and screenshots the photo.

"That's why he sent that message. You lied to him about yourself, right?"

"Of course I did!" I say, snatching the phone from his hand.

"What do I say?" I ask, looking at him with a questioning look.

"Do you even want to speak to him?"

"Well- I'm bored?" I give him a grin, his arm coming to push me.

“I can’t stop you, but you said he looked like trouble, so ignore him..." He advises, squeezing my arm.

I nod at his words, taking them in. I swipe to press the mute button on the chat, and turn my phone off.

#jude bellingham #jude bellingham x reader #jude x reader #jude bellingham imagine #real madrid fc #jude bellingham fanfic #footballer x reader #football imagines #football fanfic #football imagine #bellingham x reader #real madrid

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himbofan · 2 years

Text

haikyuu boys reacting to you hugging them for the first time

everyone likes to talk about first kisses, but i think first hugs are just as heartwarming. feeling the way the other persons body fits around yours and taking in their smell for the first time… :,) i just love pre-relationship pining 🤌🤌🤌 but no tsukki cause i’m working a bigger fic for him 😳

cw: fluff, gn!reader

prompt: running up to them after they win a game and hugging them for the first time

characters: bokuto, kuroo, tendou, asahi, atsumu, iwaizumi

bokuto kotaro

surprised at first, but the surprise quickly melts into a huge grin as he wraps his arms around you

his hugs are all encompassing, big arms trapping you to his chest so you can smell nothing but him

riding the high of adrenaline from the game, he decides to lift you in one of those spinny hugs

his heart is definitely racing, but he plays off the embarrassment by laughing and smiling like he always does

will definitely try to find excuses to hug all the time you now that he knows he can, and he will sulk if you refuse

akaashi gives you a thumbs up in the background

kuroo tetsurou

also surprised, but quickly recovers from it with a smooth comment “oh? did I really do that well today?” and returns the hug with a sincere smile

if it was a particularly stressful or intense match, he won’t say anything and just hold you tightly

gives those good good hugs where one hand is on the small of your back and the other is on the back of your head to keep you pinned to him

will take this as permission to touch you casually, like poking your arms or resting his arm on your head (if you’re shorter)

will pout if you don’t give him a hug after every game from now on

tendou satori

is very surprised, he’s used to being ostracized so having someone willingly show affection towards him is rare

it takes him a second to register that yes, you are hugging him of your own volition

i imagine tendou to be touch starved as hell, so he holds you like you’re the last thing on earth

will ask you for more hugs at random times not during games because he simply can’t get enough

i don’t have as much to say about miracle boy i just wanna give him a big hug 🥺

azumane asahi

congrats you broke him

no but really, his face is fully red and his expression is indescribable

constantly debating on where to put his hands, overthinking the smallest things like “oh no what if i’m too sweaty and they think i’m gross”

just look up at him and give him a big smile and his heart will melt

his hugs are gentle, warm and comforting; you feel protected from the outside world

he blushes when you make eye contact with him for the next few weeks

suga and daichi will definitely tease the hell out of him later

miya atsumu

he is a fiery guy, so he can get caught up with the flow of intense emotions, especially after a match

this means he actually goes to hug you first once he spots you

he hugs you like it’s second nature, there’s no surprise or hesitation

atsumu gives complete hugs that feel like your bodies are two matching puzzle pieces, there’s no awkward spaces or gaps

another passionate guy like bokuto, he will pick you up and spin you around with a giant smile

definitely starts using a ton of causal contact afterwards, hugs and headpats n stuff

iwaizumi hajime

is definitely surprised, he expected all of the attention to be on oikawa

his face is a little red, but the deep color of his ears betray all his embarrassment

this man is ripped so you know his arms are thick asf 😩 makes for the best hugs

another breathtaking hug-giver, his arms snake around your waist and circle firmly on your back

he buries his face in your neck to hide his embarrassment, but the adrenaline dulls and he suddenly remembers that he’s sweaty

pulls away quickly and apologizes with averted eyes, but oikawa is already taking pictures and giggling (cut to volleyball hitting him in the face)

he’ll definitely be a lil more blushy and conscious in your presence, but doesn’t mind if you ask him for a hug now and then

authors note: hello thank you for reading! i'm super critical of my own work so it takes a while for things to actually get posted lol thanks for sticking around

feel free to pop in my ask box with other characters you might wanna see for something like this :) ill try my best!! or if u wanna just say hi!

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galamalion · 6 months

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୨୧. 𝐏𝐔𝐌𝐏𝐊𝐈𝐍 𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐈𝐍'

summary. you and sanji go on a date to pick out some perfect pumpkins for the season.

⤷ contents. vinsmoke sanji x gn!reader, fluff + romance, sanji being a sweetheart

⤷ notes. hello! i'm going to try and write a lot until the end of october in order to get out all my halloween ideas, so this'll be the first! enjoy this little pumpkin date <3

autumn was your favorite season for a very long list of reasons.

first of all, its beauty had no comparison. watching the leaves change colors from emerald to cherry red all over the course of a couple weeks was a sight you could never tire of, in awe of nature’s power over its creations.

secondly, the anticipation for halloween was impossible to ignore, and you already had both your costume picked out and a list of activities to take part in the moment the calendar turned october first.

and lastly, the flavors that arose during the chilly season were absolutely exquisite. a hot apple cider for those cold afternoons, or a slice of pumpkin pie made by your one and only personal chef.

“ah, mon chou~! how about this one?” he called out, holding a pumpkin high above his head for you to see.

sanji really was a dream come true, acting as your prince during your weekly fall outings, participating alongside your autumnal activities. he would find you the most brilliantly red leaf among a raked up pile, helped to sew your matching costumes, and he would make your favorite fall treats for you! he was attentive, elegant, and the greatest boyfriend you would ever get.

“a little bigger, sweetie! i wanna do some pumpkin carving with it!” you shouted back, scouring the field for your dream pumpkin,

“oui!” he exclaimed, gently setting the pumpkin back onto the ground.

you grabbed a nearby small pumpkin, “how about this one, sanji?” you asked, spinning it around for him to see.

“less blemishes, sweetheart! i’m looking for firm and plump!” you didn’t miss the way he wiggled his eyebrows at you, drawing an eye roll from you in response.

an hour of pumpkin judging passed between you two, and a few contenders had risen to your high standards. you carried around five tiny pumpkins in your tote bag, though sanji was aiming for ten due to luffy’s voracious appetite. sanji was hauling two perfectly symmetrical pumpkins, one for each of you to use.

the sun hadn’t quite set yet, a glow still rested on the field for you and sanji to continue picking, but the sky was slowly beginning to fill with oranges and pinks which cast a pastel shimmer of color across your face. sanji stared at your appearance from across the field, taking in the way the soft light struck your visage and framed you beautifully, like a divinity choosing to grace him with your presence.

“you think ten will really be enough for luffy?” you shouted, picking up a pumpkin to examine it.

sanji snapped back to attention, blinking rapidly as he formulated his thoughts, “i- well i suppose no, when taking his prior portion sizes into account…and if we invite sabo and ace there as well…”

“at least sabo has manners!” you yelled, chucking any spoiled pumpkins over your shoulder. “i once saw ace use someone else’s pants as a napkin! not even his own! can you believe that, sanji?”

sanji’s focus once again faltered, watching as your lips moved wildly in your frustrated-amused rant. god, how he wanted to kiss you right now. i mean, you both deserve a break right now, right? you’ve been working so hard these past few hours…a little break never hurt anybody, right?

you continued raving and skipped across the fields, unaware of sanji’s devious musings, searching for some more perfect pumpkins for your perfect boyfriend. your deep and intense focus on your little pumpkin hunt led to you missing your perfect boyfriend disappearing from his row of pumpkins, silently creeping up behind you.

“oh mon ange,” he whistled, “i believe just found the prettiest pumpkin in the pumpkin patch!” his slender, long fingers wrapped around your waist, lifting you high above and eliciting a shriek.

“put me down, you sneak!” you teased, jokingly kicking your legs in an attempt to get loose of his hold.

“but then my pumpkin might run away!” he lamented, twirling you around in circles, sidestepping any precarious pumpkins in the way of his feet.

“as if i’d run away from you,” you replied, trying to ruffle his blonde locks up in the air.

sanji contemplated your words, throwing you down into a bridal carry while he pondered your response. after a minute of totally-real reflection, he flashed you a big ol’ pout.

“you pinky promise?” he whined, kneeling to the ground with you still in his arms, slipping his arm out from under your knees to offer a pinky.

“i pinky promise, my love.” you kissed him on the forehead, causing a heavy flush to don his cheeks and he rolled around the dirt-covered fields in bliss.

you approached his squirming body and gently touched him with the tip of your foot. “get up, mr. prince, i still need someone to carry our pumpkins!” you sung, slinging your bag across your shoulders and attempting to heave sanji to his feet, “unless you’d like me to leave you here…”

immediately sanji arose in dramatic fashion, sprinting back to grab the pumpkins he had abandoned. with ease he lifted them, returning back to your side as if he wasn't carrying two extremely heavy gourds.

“your prince is here! now what are your next commands, my liege?” he announced, dropping to one knee and kissing your hand.

“hmmm…” you brought your hand to your chin, tapping it in 'deep' thought, “you have to help me find more of your pie-pumpkins, and then we can go home and make cider!” you cheered, grasping his hand and running towards the baby pumpkins.

“anything for you, mon amour,” he swooned, watching the sun cast a luminous amber glow across your skin, “anything for you.”

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familyvideostevie · 7 months

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october fourth

day four: sirius black sirius watches you garden | early relationship, fluff | 1k

Your phone rings when you’ve got one hand in dirt up to your wrist. You manage to pull it from your pocket with your free hand and answer, glancing at the name and smiling when you realize who it is.

“Hi, Sirius,” you chirp.

“Sweetheart,” he says. “Why does it sound like you’re a million miles away?”

The pet names are new. You’ve been together for just over a month now and you love it. He’s tough on the outside, this leather-clad boyfriend of yours, but he’s really a bit of a clown and a very sweet one at that.

“You’re on speaker,” you tell him. “I’m in the garden.”

It’s a lovely fall day, sun high in the sky and not too windy, so you’ve decided it’s the perfect time to sort out the plants for the spring. You’re almost done with your trays of crocuses and you’ve yet to start on the lilies. The garden is small, sure, but you love how colorful it gets once things start to bloom. You’re considering making room for a vegetable patch, too.

“It’s cold!” Sirius sounds offended that you’d be outside when such a thing is true.

“I know,” you say. “But it’s not that bad. And I really do need to get these bulbs in.”

“These…what?” You’ve explained gardening to him maybe a hundred times but his brain is a bit sieve-like. You adore him.

“Flowers, Sirius.”

“Oh,” he says. The phone makes a shuffling sound like he’s moved you to his other shoulder. “I was imagining you planting light bulbs for a second there.”

You hum. Maybe the garden shop will have alliums you can get in at the corner of the raised bed.

“Do you want help?” he asks, bringing you back to the phone call.

You laugh and picture him scowling. “We both know you’re not going to kneel in the dirt with me, Sirius,” you tell him. He huffs. “But you can come keep me company if you like.”

“Oh, so you’ve inviting me to watch? How sexy.”

You pull your hand from the dirt and look down at yourself. “Yeah, real sexy. I’m a bit sweaty and I’ve got dirt under all of my fingernails.”

“Filthy girl,” he coos. “Tell me more.”

You laugh. “I’m going to hang up now.”

“I’ll be there in 15, you green thumb, you.”

You tuck you phone back into your chest pocket and keep at it. Gardening is something you’ve taken up in recent years as an attempt to find a hobby that soothes you. You love working with the ground, love seeing how you can plant things that encourage the birds and the bugs. You love picking flowers for your friends from your own garden.

Sirius finds the whole thing endearing. He’s not really an outdoor boy, though he has no problem getting into whatever sports match he and his friends decide to fool around with at the park or the beach. He likes to take you on dates to movies and down winding roads on his bike to see nice things. He’s a mystery you’re really enjoying unraveling.

You whistle a tune as you work, not paying much mind to the sputtering of the bike you know to be his come down the street. He’ll find you.

“If you told me you were wearing those, I’d have been here much faster.” You turn around and see Sirius stood on your lawn, hands in his pockets, smirking. You’re wearing overalls that are way past due for a wash and frankly make you look like a gnome but he’s always loved them.

“Oh, please,” you say. “You’re just a flirt.”

He walks over to you and stands so that the sun doesn’t shine in your eyes. He’s clad in his usual all black and leather jacket, hair wild around his shoulders from his helmet. “You look…” he starts, chewing on his lip.

“Dirty?”

“Pretty,” he says. He fishes a bandana from his back pocket and crouches to your level, a hand held out for your face. You tilt your chin up for him and he cups it, wiping what must be dirt from your cheek with the cloth before leaning in to kiss you.

“Hello,” he says when he pulls away.

“Hello.” You feel like a flower around him, blooming brighter and bigger than anything else in your garden.

“Tell me what you’re planting?”

“I’ve just finished,” so say, “so good timing. Help me up?” He stands and holds his hands out for you. You wipe them on your overalls as best you can before he hauls you to your feet. He’s been here quite a few times but you give him the tour of your small garden, telling him all the things you’ve got planned. Flowers and herbs and even vegetables, bird houses and a little bench and a tiny scarecrow in a few weeks. You lose yourself a bit as you explain. Something you like about Sirius, something you noticed immedietly, is he’s game to be excited about anything you’re excited about even if it’s not his thing. Flowers aren’t very punk rock but he’s never told you he isn’t interested.

Right now, however, he’s not looking at any of the things you’re pointing at. “Sirius,” you scold. “Appreciate my garden.”

He’s looking at you. “I’m appreciating the most beautiful flower in the garden, love.”

You laugh, tilting your face up to the sun. “That was awful.”

Sirius grins and his eyes crinkle at the corners. “Yeah, it was,” he says. “Not one of my best. Still true, though!”

“Yes, well, let’s see if it’s true come spring,” you say. “The flowers are really going to be quite lovely.” You don’t realize until after you’ve said it that you’ve implied that you’ll still be together come spring. But Sirius seems pleased. He tucks his hand into the gap in your overalls so he can touch the exposed skin of your hip where your top has rucked up.

“Don’t hold your breath,” he says. “I know beauty when I see it.”

thank you for reading <3 reblog, send feedback, general masterlist here! promptober masterlist, find all fics under #fvspromptober23

#fvspromptober23 #sirius black x reader #sirius black x you #sirius black x y/n #sirius black fluff #marauders fanfiction

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onceuponaoneshotfanfic · 2 months

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Fringe Benefits

Part of my Birthday Bash!

Request: “you’re spending more time at my desk than at your own” for Roy

Roy Kent x Reader 0.7k words Warnings: Language

“Well, well, well, what have we here?”

You turned around, smiling at Roy as he strolled into his office. He raised his thick eyebrows at you, nodding a greeting. You wondered if he could see the way your eyes flickered down his figure, checking him out, the way you could never resist doing when you saw him.

You’d been working at A.F.C. Richmond for about three months now, having been hired by Keeley Jones to manage their PR. It was a fun job and, if you were being honest, the sight of Roy Kent in those track pants was definitely a perk.

“Hey,” you hummed. “I was just leaving you a note.” You nodded at the sticky note you’d begun to write on before the sound of his growling voice interrupted you. “Got those concert tickets for you and Pheebs for Friday. But make sure you post on your Instagram, alright?” You gave his arm a playful smack. “Or I’m never doing you a favor ever again.”

A smile broke out across that handsome face. “Fuck, thanks a lot. I really appreciate it.” He paused, gazing at you thoughtfully. “This is what, the third time today you’ve been down here?” He narrowed his playful eyes at you. “I think people are starting to notice that you spend more time at my desk than you do at your own. What, you using me to get your fucking steps in?”

You rolled your eyes. Okay, maybe your crush on Roy Kent was obvious to everyone at Nelson Road. Keeley teased you about it nonstop. The players, especially Jamie Tartt, often gave you sly, knowing smiles when they saw you make your familiar way to Roy’s office. Even little Phoebe had asked you if you were her Uncle Roy’s girlfriend when she met you at a Greyhounds match- a question she repeated every time you saw her, actually.

“Come on Kent, you know I just come visit you for the snacks.” To punctuate your point, you opened one of his desk drawers and pulled out a sweet. With a wink, you popped the treat into your mouth.

Now Roy rolled his eyes at you as he approached you, standing a smidge too close, the way he’d been doing almost since the day you started working at Nelson Road. “And here I thought you came all the way down here for the pleasure of my company.”

Another sweet found its way into your mouth. “Ah, that’s just a fridge benefit, Coach.”

“Fringe benefit, eh?” Roy snorted, his cheeks tinging pink as he glanced down at the floor. Fuck, he looked adorable like this. How could a man look bashful and confident at once? And how could he look so damn good at the same time? “So, you’re basically using me to manage your sweets cravings, then?”

“Afraid so, Kent.”

He nodded as he glanced at you through his lashes. “Then maybe you let me buy you some kind of fruity drink after work today. For your cravings.” He smirked. “And the fridge benefit of my company.”

Could he see the way the color rushed to your cheeks? “O-oh. Yeah. That would be nice.” You took a step back towards the door, needing to run back to your office and call Keeley to squeal- and maybe ask her to come drop off a change of clothes. “I’ll see you after work then.” As you turned, hoping you didn’t sound as nervous as you suddenly felt, Roy cleared his throat.

“Oi.” You glanced over your shoulder, your heart skipping a beat at the sight of his cocky grin. “And see if you can get one more ticket for that concert. You don’t have plans Friday, do you?”

Oh hell. If your smile got any bigger, your cheeks would probably crack. “I’m free,” you managed. “And I’d love to go to the concert with you guys.”

Roy nodded, looking nothing short of pleased. “Right. I should let you go back to your work, then.” His expression became teasing again. “I’m sure you’ll be back down here in an hour or so. I’ll have some snacks waiting for you.”

A giggle tumbled out of your mouth as you shook your head at Roy. “I’m sure you will.” With a little wave, you strolled away, already coming up with another excuse to come back downstairs to visit Roy Kent.

#tally's birthday bash #request ❤️#he's here he's there he's every fucking where #roy kent #roy kent x reader #roy kent fanfic #roy kent fic #roy kent fanfiction #roy kent imagine #ted lasso #ted lasso fic #ted lasso fanfic #ted lasso fanfiction

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sunnybeewriting · 1 year

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peachy keen. Part Three

Words. Why are they so damn hard sometimes?

Holy smokes, I’m sorry it took me so long to do this chapter! I won’t lie, I defiantly needed some time to get my brain to write again, but I’m here now! Also, I just wanted to say again how much everybody’s likes and reblogs and comments mean to me! So far everybody has been so sweet and encouraging, and it makes me so happy! I’m so glad people seem to like Peach and peachy keen.

Also, if I don't reply directly to you, whether you reblog or comment or are anonymous, I still read and love them all! Every comment makes my day!

We’re getting pretty close to halfway through this story, so thank you again! If you like this chapter, please leave a like or a comment!

WORDS: 10.6k

WARNINGS: Adult Language, Sexual Tension (I'm sorry!)

Sweat stings your eyes and makes your sight blurry as you gasp for air, gripping your knife so tightly in your right hand that it hurts the cut on your palm.

The muscles in your thighs, shoulders, and arms burn with exhaustion, begging for rest. Your teeth are gritted in wild determination, chest heaving.

Quaritch stands a few feet from you, tail whipping behind him and body lowered into a half-crouch. His right hand clenches around his own knife, much bigger than yours, and he grasps it much less harshly than you do. His breathing is even, but there is the slightest, barest sheen of sweat on his forehead.

That fact might be inadequate to others, but to you, it is clear, proud evidence of your progress.

You grin fiercely at the sight and he bares his sharp teeth back. They glint in the daylight before his mouth stretches into his own feral smile.

The muscles in your legs tighten and you lunge toward Quaritch, blade stretched out in front of you as you swipe toward his shoulder.

He jerks to the side and your knife misses him by a scant inch. You stop your body from being thrown off course by your body weight, tightening the muscles of your core and jerking to a halt.

You whirl around to face Quaritch again and barely have time to duck your head to avoid getting a knife in the face.

Quaritch doesn’t stop there, using his close proximity to grab your right arm with the hand not holding his knife. His hand wraps around your slender wrist easily, broad fingers overlapping. He jerks you in close to him by your arm and you crash face-first into his chest with a grunt, knife raising to slice at him on instinct.

He drops his knife to the ground to free his other hand, and he grabs your wrist tightly just in time to stop the blade from slicing through the fabric of his tank top and into his skin.

You struggle in his grip, face and torso pressed against his chest, both wrists caught in his grasp. You jerk your arms back and forth in an effort to loosen his grip, leaning your body backward, but he doesn’t budge.

You glare up at him, angry yellow eyes matching the color of his amused ones, and you growl when his body doesn’t move an inch even with you pushing away from him with your entire weight. Your nose scrunches up, sharp teeth showing as you snarl at him.

He smirks at your attempt to intimidate him and tightens his grip to the point of pain.

Aching lightning shoots up your wrists into your arms, and your growl turns into a yelp real fast.

“You done fightin’, sweetheart?”

Anger flares deep in your stomach at his patronizing tone, and you cry out as your vigor to remove yourself from him returns with gusto.

“I’m going to kick your ass, dickbag!”

His eyebrow raises at your ballsy words, and he chuckles.

“Yeah? How you thinkin’ you gonna do that, huh, Peach? Seems to me like I’ve got you right,” he tugs you in closer and your chest crashes right back into his, “where I want you.”

You hiss and jerk your right leg up as fast you can, knee aiming to hit him right in the balls.

Hope it hurts!

Quaritch moves to your right side just in time for your knee to hit his thigh. He takes his left leg, hooks his foot around your remaining one, and pulls.

Your leg gives out from under you and you fall backward with another surprised yelp, landing hard on your back. Air whooshes out of you for half a second as you gasp, and then you’re struggling to sit up, eager to get in at least one hit for the day.

But Quaritch is too fast for you and he grabs your arms, flipping you quickly over onto your stomach. You struggle fiercely as he squeezes both your wrists behind your back with one large hand, legs kicking up as best you can whilst on your belly.

He kneels over your pinned body, chest pressed solidly against your back. His face lowers down close to your ear, and goosebumps erupt over your body when his breath puffs out across the sensitive skin of your neck and ears. Your ears twitch frantically as he comes closer, and he whispers softly, so soft you can barely hear it,

“Looks like you’re mine, Peach.”

You grunt one last time before falling limp and pressing your face into the ground in submission.

Your heart thunders in your chest so harshly you can hear it in your ears and you pant, trying to slow it down. You lay there for another ten seconds, eyes squeezed shut, before you distantly realize that Quaritch has yet to release you from his grip, nor remove his chest from your back.

You blearily open your eyes and turn your head to where Quaritch is positioned, wondering what the hell is taking him so long to let you up.

Quaritch’s wild eyes sear into your own when you move. Your stomach swoops low when you see the hungry look in them. You stare at each other, chests heaving in tandem, and your pounding heart lurches unsteadily in your chest. You can feel the bare skin of his shoulders and arms forced against yours.

Slowly, one finger at a time, he unclenches his fingers from around your wrists. They were so tight you distantly wonder if they will leave finger-shaped bruises on your skin.

You blink at the relief of blood rushing back into your arms, and the spell between you is broken.

Quaritch blinks rapidly, the untamed look behind his eyes fading slightly as he realizes he still has you pinned. He slowly, almost reluctantly, moves his chest from your back, and suddenly you can breathe. You hadn’t even realized he was pressing so much of his heavy weight on you that you were breathless from it.

Fresh, sweet air rushes into your lungs, and your heart finally starts to slow. You lower your wobbly arms to your sides and start pressing upwards, raising your chest off the ground.

Little pieces of gravel cling to your tank top and you shakily lift a hand to dust them off. You lean back on your knees, and as you are about to shakily pull yourself to your feet, a great, blue hand drifts into your eyesight.

You look up, surprised, and yep, Quaritch is holding his hand out for you to grab in a very startling, very suspicious show of uncharacteristic generosity.

You narrow your eyes suspiciously up at him from your position on your knees kneeling before him, almost certain that the second you reached for it he would pull his hand back like an elementary school bully. You glance at him, and he simply quirks his eyebrow, as if saying, ‘Well? You gonna be a pussy?’.

You hesitantly place your hand into his. He adjusts his grip until he’s holding your hand firmly, and then with the tiniest of tugs, he lifts you up quickly, as though you weigh nothing more than air.

You go flying, almost crashing face-first into his chest again. Luckily enough for your nose and forehead, which still ache from the first time, you are able to stop yourself by bracing a hand against his chest. Your fingers brush against the cool metal of his dog tags.

His chest heaves once, twice, before you are tearing yourself away and stepping three paces back.

“You know, Peach, I almost miss when you were floppin’ around, all loose-limbed and wobbly legs, like a newborn foal. It was fuckin’ hilarious.”

You roll your eyes hard but don’t take his snobby words to heart. That was the thing about Quaritch; if you let him, he’ll poke and poke and poke until you either snap and scream at him or wilt into a pile of tears, just because he’s so damn relentless.

You, on the other hand, had done the only correct thing you could when faced with someone as seemingly mean as Quaritch; you let the things he says roll right off your back. You have to be careful when listening to Quaritch, have to dig deep and pick out all the little words that mean nothing until you're left with the bare bones of what he really means. Ignore his intimidation tactics, ignore his insults, and listen.

Otherwise, his asshole attitude and mean words would just drive a person crazy.

He disguises his compliments inside insults just because he can. And while that may not be good enough for other people, it certainly was enough for you. It was so much better than the irritated snaps and pissy words he would throw at you at the beginning when you were learning the basics, so you’ll gladly take whatever you can get.

Speaking with Quaritch is like speaking an entirely new language.

“Thanks, Quaritch,” you say breathlessly, taking his words for what they really were: a compliment.

He grins at you, smacking you on your sweaty back harshly. Air once again flees your lungs and your knees threaten to give out, but you stay standing simply for the sake of your pride.

“Got enough energy for another round, or you too tired?” he asks smugly.

“Yeah, no, I think I’m done for the day, sorry,” you gasp without shame. It’s a miracle you’re even able to form words right now, really.

He barks out a laugh. “Pussy.”

Quaritch tilts his head up toward the shining sky. Daylight catches in his yellow eyes and turns them a warm, molten gold. It steals the breath from your chest for just a moment, and you stare, caught and unable to look away.

You don’t even realize you’re practically gawking at him, looking like a stunned idiot, before he turns his head back down toward you and shoots you a glower. “What?”

You blink frantically and look down, flustered at being caught. Your hands rise to rub at your eyes, as though you are trying to clear them after staring into the bright sun for too long. “Nothing!”

He looks skeptical but lets it go. His eyes flicker down to your cheek, and he blinks.

Before you can startle or move away, Quaritch lifts his hand and brushes the back of his index finger against the soft skin of your blue cheek. His hand is back at his side so fast you can hardly believe it had happened at all.

You freeze, mind blank as you struggle to understand what just happened. You fully gawk at him now, confused and shocked at the unexpectedly tender action.

Uh. What?

Quaritch blows on his finger and then seems to notice your startled expression. He glares at you, clearly annoyed. “What? You had an eyelash on your cheek. You’re welcome, sweetheart.” He sneers at you, crossing his arms almost defensively over his chest.

You dazedly press a hand softly against the cheek he had brushed against, skin still tingling there. Even if there had been an eyelash there, you can hardly believe he had actually willingly done such a tender act. You can’t imagine him doing that to any of the other members of his team, or even yours.

You suddenly think of him brushing an eyelash from David’s cheek, who gazes up at him as adoringly as you probably had.

The mental image is almost enough to make you giggle hysterically. It is enough to make you a little nauseous.

“Right, right, sorry. Uh, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow morning?”

His gaze seems to linger on you, eyes flickering over your face and tail flicking erratically behind him. His lips seem to twitch up just slightly at the corners. He rubs the finger he used to brush your cheek, and you wonder if his skin was also tingling. Eventually, Quaritch nods in acquiescence before moving toward the gate of the courtyard.

“See you ‘round, Peach.”

------

You’ve been in Bridgehead for over two months now, but this is the first day it rains.

You stand outside in your Avatar, head tilted back, eyes fluttered closed. It’s hard to say that it’s raining, really; it’s more of a very light, misty drizzle. The raindrops are so small that they seem to dissipate into the air by the time they reach you. Only a few are thick enough to splatter against your face and the concrete ground, but it’s still enough to make the corners of your mouth tilt up into a small, satisfied smile.

Rain back on Earth was not as fresh or clean as the water pouring from the skies of Pandora. Many places on Earth experienced droughts, rain rarely appearing. Other places were constantly wet, soaked with rain that smelled and tasted almost sharp, sour. The rain there was unbalanced, like most of the things back home.

On Pandora, though, it is beautiful, refreshing, clean. It smells sweet as you deeply breathe in the humid air, and every time you do it feels as though something deep in your soul is being healed, something you hadn’t realized was torn. You wonder if this is what it was like back on Earth hundreds of years ago, before all the pollution and corruption of the world.

You’d never felt anything like it before.

The dreary weather turns your small amount of clothing heavy and wet with humidity, making it stick uncomfortably against your slick blue skin. You refuse to go back inside, though, much too pleased to be out and breathing this amazing air.

The drifting clouds above you are gray and thick, full of unreleased water as they block the daylight. As a result, what little light there is reflects sadly off the metal and gray walls of Bridgehead, turning the area even more depressing than usual.

Regardless of the gloomy view, you much rather be out here than in your quarters or with the other members of your group. When you left, the most interesting thing happening was James trying to balance a pencil on his nose while your team lounged around on yet another uneventful day.

I miss Quaritch.

It’s a sudden thought, one that takes you completely by surprise and jolts you straight out of your peaceful position and mindset. It’s a strange insight when you realize you miss someone you probably shouldn’t.

But you just couldn't help it; for all that Quaritch is intimidating and an asshole, he is also really, really… entertaining.

There are a lot of bad things you could say about him and his mean personality, but one could never say he was boring. And it was almost embarrassing, how much he made you laugh. It wasn’t even until a few days ago when he had said something biting some poor soul who walked into a doorframe while staring at his holotablet, and your mouth had lifted once again into an entirely too amused smile. That was when you realized that Quaritch is fucking funny.

Your cheeks were almost hurting with how much he had amused you that day, even just by being Quaritch. There was just something about the crude, mean way things he sometimes said that just tickled you pink. Of course, it was the most amusing when his biting words weren’t directed toward you.

Quaritch has only been gone for two days, away with most of his Recombinant Unit to meet with a few RDA managers on the other side of Bridgehead. It had been a surprise trip, and he left the morning after your last lesson with him. Really, you would have much preferred to go with him, just so you could see the way Quaritch would surely loom over a few tiny, terrified paper-pushers, rolling his eyes at anything they had to say. You would have paid good money to see that.

Spending all this time with Quaritch is kind of making me heartless.

Instead, you’d spent those two days almost bored to tears, waiting impatiently for him to return so you could be entertained.

Quaritch had left you with a sly smirk and another hard smack on your shoulder, promising to return in two days to continue with, as he said, “Our pansy-ass tree-hugger lectures”. He had also promised to be back soon enough to keep kicking your ass in combat.

Asshole.

You pretend not to notice the slight twinge of fondness accompanying that thought.

He’d said he back this afternoon and that you’d continue your lessons tomorrow. It’s completely unfair how much you look forward to seeing that douchebag again.

“What are you doing out here all alone, hm?” Margot’s voice from behind makes you startle slightly, too lost in your thoughts to have noticed the sound of her approaching footsteps even with your ridiculously sensitive ears.

You smile and turn your head to look at her as she comes to a stop to your left. Her Avatar stands just over you by around two inches, but it is still enough to make you tilt your head back just slightly to meet her wide, yellow-green eyes. While your Avatar is just a little bit plusher than a typical Na’vi, in accordance with your human body, Margot’s is thin and tall. She’s beautiful in her human form, but there is just something…ethereal, about these bodies.

Truly, the strength, the agility, the beauty. It simply put human bodies to shame.

You’d spent an embarrassingly long time in front of a mirror when you first started linking, too consumed with awe to do much else but look. Wide, doe-like eyes covered by thick, long eyelashes, not unlike your human body. Sweet, round face, body made more slender by the natural physiology of the Na’vi. It was you, but different.

“What, am I missing something interesting back at the center?” you puff softly in disbelief. “The only thing even remotely entertaining is watching David make a fool of himself again, and even that is getting boring.”

Margot smiles and tilts her head in agreement, crossing her arms over her chest as she says, “Well, you got me there.”

You puff lightly again, this time more in irritation than disbelief. Your arms fold in front of your chest, unconsciously mirroring Margot’s stance. “Really, what’s the point of even being here if we aren’t going to do anything that actually means something? I’m tired of sitting around and staring at the walls all the damn time. It’s been two months and we should be out there, doing what we came here for!”

Fierce annoyance at the RDA suddenly bubbles in your stomach and makes your fists clench. You were a scientist for Christ’s sake, you weren’t meant to just sit around and do fuck all for the rest of your life. You needed to be out in the world, feeling and breathing in nature and science. You’d go crazy if you didn’t do something soon.

You can’t wait until you’re out in Pandora, hearing the breeze ruffle the leaves of the trees. To hear the loud, overwhelming noise of rushing water from a natural waterfall and not a man-made construct. To actually see and experience nature in real life and not through a screen

It had only been three days since Miss Hall had mentioned your team’s first outing into the wilderness of Pandora, but she claims to have received no word from the RDA about when that would happen.

Soon, she promised, but soon could not come fast enough for you.

Margot sighs. “I know. This fucking sucks, but we’ll be out before we know it. And hey, take the time to enjoy the peace and quiet for now. We’ll be up to our tits in research and paperwork soon, and then you’ll be wishing for time off.”

She pops her hip into yours and you wobble to the side. The brief anger that controlled you flees just as fast as it had come. Your hands unclench and your arms fall to your sides.

“Yeah, that’s true. I guess.” You mutter the last two words grumpily, pouting just a little bit.

Margot laughs and uncrosses her arms to throw one around your shoulders.

“We’ll be alright.”

She tilts her head back just as you had a few moments ago, breathing in the sweet air deeply. Her next words are quiet, tinged with heavy melancholy.

“You know, I always wondered what the Earth was like before we came. Do you think there was rain like this?”

You look up at the gray sky yourself. While the color matched the clouds back on Earth, these would eventually dissipate, replaced by a strong, blazing light that warmed everything it touched.

The pollution clouds back home were there to stay.

You swallow. “Yeah. I think there was.”

------

A few hours later, just before the eclipse begins to bring darkness over Bridgehead, you lay your Avatar down to rest in the sleeping quarters and link back into your human body. You were in your Avatar for over six hours, which means you now have a persistent headache that pounds sharply at your temples, a growling stomach, and an irritatingly full bladder.

After relieving yourself and walking to the mess hall to stuff yourself full of sandwiches and coffee, you march back to your room. You lay on your back atop your stiff mattress, staring vacantly up at the blank white ceiling as you struggle to think of something that would entertain you.

When no miracle suggestion arrives in your brain, you huff and sit back up. As you do, you catch sight of something brightly colored laying on your desk, and a wonderful, awful idea pops into your head. You rise from your bed and pad over to your desk and carefully pick the small thing up, raising it closer to your face so you could look at the details.

It’s a simple little thing, about the size of your palm. Small blue strings of beads connect to a green, rock-like pendant, and on the top is a metal circle for attaching a chain or cord to it like a necklace. The Na’vi words of tihawnu and hafyonr were etched into the pendant.

Protection and wisdom.

You’d spent hours on finding the right materials for creating it, marching all across Bridgehead. Then you’d spent hours modeling it.

You made it for Quaritch.

The Na’vi have many pieces of jewelry, clothing, headpieces, and other items they wear with pride, items that have great meaning to them. You got the idea to make it for Quaritch the day he left, as something to give him when he got back. You figured it would be nice for him to have something other than just your words, pictures, and videos about the Na’vi, something tangible that he could actually hold. It wasn’t an authentic piece of Na’vi culture, but it would do.

He's probably back by now. Maybe I should just take it to him.

You consider the thought just briefly before thinking, why not? Not like I’m very fucking busy at the moment.

With that you put your shoes back on, fix your hair, and then you’re walking out the door.

As you make your way toward Quaritch’s room, you begin to have second thoughts. It’s entirely possible he won’t even be back yet, still stuck in meetings. Or maybe he is back, but he laughs right in your face when you give him the pendent, calling you all the stupid and, frankly, uncreative little nicknames he has for you.

Nerves begin to invade as your mind goes over every possibility, your gut twisting. Your face begins to scrunch up in a tight frown, eyebrows furrowing as you scowl darkly at your feet as you walk.

It’s fine, if he doesn’t like it then he doesn’t have to wear it! I’ll take it back and give it to someone who appreciates what I do, like Margot. Maybe I’ll even give it to David!

You think for a moment before wincing, quickly discarding that idea. You’d rather throw it straight into the garbage than give it to David of all people. The asshole would probably just think you were coming onto him or some shit like that.

You arrive at his door much quicker than you hoped, stopping in front and taking another moment to smooth down your clothes and take a deep breath. Then you hesitantly raise your right fist and knock three times on the door. If you can even call it knocking; they’re more light taps than anything else.

When you hear no movement or any footsteps approach the door, you knock three more times, this time making sure it’s loud and clear to hear.

Still, no one opens the door.

Fine with me!

Just as you turn to leave, ridiculously relieved he wasn’t even there, a deep, loud voice booms out from behind you on the other side of the hallway.

“Hey!”

You startle, heart leaping into your throat as you whirl around with wide eyes.

Standing before you is a Recom Unit soldier, one you’ve never seen around Bridgehead before. He’s almost as tall as Quaritch, but not quite as muscled, more lean. While most of the other Recom members you’ve seen have their hair shaved fairly close to their scalps, his is almost long in comparison, even if it is only by a few inches. He’s covered in all kinds of tattoos, wearing the usual green tank top and camo shorts of his unit. The only thing unusual about him is the way he looks even younger than any of the other Recoms.

His wide eyes seem to sparkle as he eats up the remaining distance between you in just two long strides, standing before you with a sharp-toothed, youthful grin. He comes to a stop only a foot from you and you have to take another two steps back to see him correctly. Even then, you have to crank your head back.

“Oh! Uh, hi?” you say nervously. What the hell does this guy even want?

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you! I saw you knocking on Colonel Quaritch’s door. You gotta be Peach, right?” he asks. His smile doesn’t fade even a little bit as he talks.

Your eyebrows rise in surprise before you can help yourself.

Peach? How the hell does this guy know about Quaritch’s little nickname for you? Quaritch can’t have mentioned you to his team in enough detail that they’d be able to spot you standing in a random hall, could he?

Your surprise must show on your face because his grin softens into something a little more genuine. That fierce sparkle never leaves his eyes, though.

“Must wonder how I know you, huh? Quaritch told us all about your little arrangement.”

…Really?

You can’t help your skepticism; you’d never have thought Quaritch would willingly admit to his Recombinants that he needed help with something, let alone help from a ‘science puke’.

The man laughs at the look on your face, eyes scrunching up at the corners. He leans his torso down just slightly to look you better in the eye before he says, “You know, he talks about you a lot. Well, a lot for a man like Quaritch. If you want, I can take you to see him.”

Your mind wavers, torn between being utterly bewildered at the thought of Quaritch talking about you, a lot, apparently, and between considering whether the effort of going with this random stranger to find Quaritch was even worth it.

Eventually, you sigh and nod your head reluctantly in agreement. It’d be much weirder if you backed down now. And besides, you’d already made all this effort. Might as well see it through.

“Uh, yeah, thanks. I’d appreciate that.”

The young man’s grin grows even sharper. He straightens up and sticks his hand out in greeting.

“Cool! My name’s Leo Williams, but you can just call me Williams. If you just follow me, I’ll take you right to the Colonel.”

You clasp his hand with your right hand as best you can, and your entire arm moves up and down with his force as he shakes you vigorously.

This guy is like an excited little puppy.

He releases your arm and then turns around back toward where he came from. He takes three long strides before you remember you’re supposed to be following after him, and you lurch toward his direction, walking quickly to reach him before he rounds the corner of the hallway.

You catch up to him just in time before he leaves your sight. You have to fast walk to keep up with his ridiculous pace, almost jogging at one point. Luckily for you, he seems to notice your predicament, and he slows down with a sheepish grin until you’re walking much easier. While your Avatar body was now in shape and could walk and run easily without even getting out of breath, your original body is defiantly not in such good condition. Especially with all the muffins and coffee you’ve been having these past two months to stave off the boredom.

You walk for a few more minutes before you gather the courage to squeak out, “What have you heard of me?”

“Oh, nothing all that interesting. Quaritch just likes to bitch about the lessons he has to take with you. ‘If you wanna find the Na’vi, you gotta think like the Na’vi’. You know, that kind of shit.” Williams laughs, tossing up air quotes as he mocks Quaritch’s deep voice and unique way of speech. He playfully rolls his eyes when he’s done, looking down at you and shooting you another grin.

“Oh.” You say simply, dejectedly. You scowl at the floor as you continue your path.

It was expected that he’d complain about it, but still. He could be less of a dick about it.

Now that you got him talking, Williams doesn’t shut up for the next twenty minutes. He leads you out of the building, across several busy platforms, and into another building you’ve never been in before. He chats all the while, seemingly about nothing of any importance. He only pauses a few times to let you respond to his questions or give your own opinion before he’s off again, talking about something completely different.

By the time you seemingly reach your destination, you are sorely missing Quaritch’s biting words. At least with him there were comfortable pauses of silence.

You both walk through the sliding glass doors and into a wide area, passing all sorts of massive workout machinery and equipment. Dumbbells the size of your torso litter the ground. Large mirrors reflect your image and the bright, fluorescent lights across the entire area, and you look at your reflection. Just as you thought, you look ridiculously small and insignificant walking next to the giant, bright blue Williams.

This must be the gym area for the Recom Unit. It looks like a playground for giants.

“Well, look who it is. Where the hell you been, Williams?” As you turn a corner, another Recom member pops out of nowhere, slowly setting down the jump ropes he’d been using. He’s panting a little bit, completely shirtless with dark, tattooed words and patterns across his arms, chest, and navel.

“Ah, sorry! I got a little distracted with some of the software I’ve been working on, took me a bit longer than I thought it would to finish. Then I ran into a little someone knocking on Quaritch’s door.” He looks down at you, grinning sheepishly.

Another one comes out of a room full of treadmills. She’s almost as tall as the men she comes to a stop in front of you. Just like the rest of the others you’ve seen, her arms and part of her upper chest are covered in tattoos. But while theirs had been dark and mostly black, hers are full of vibrant yellows, reds, purples, and blues. The colors stand out starkly against her bright blue skin, but the contrast is beautiful. Her hair is pulled back into almost a mohawk style, and she wore it well.

Her golden eyes pierce yours as she looks down at you. Her mouth pulls up into a skeptical sneer.

You suddenly realize you’re completely surrounded by three massive, tattoo-covered, insanely muscular humanoids who excel in combat and are total strangers to you. You can easily admit to yourself that you’re intimidated. Not because you fear for your safety or anything, but because you can only dream about becoming as good as these guys. Only the best of the best can be a part of Quaritch’s team; you know he expects nothing less.

They tower over you by several feet, and you feel like a tiny mouse caught by three giant cats.

Your already fast heartbeat picks up in your chest and you can feel a cold sweat trying to break out on your body. Your face burns from the intense attention you suddenly find yourself the center of. If you had known this would have happened when you knocked on Quaritch’s door, you would have said fuck it and booked it out of there as fast as you could. You’re not afraid, but goddamn are you nervous right now. You really, really want to make a good impression on these people. You’re nowhere near their skill level, and you really wish you were in your Avatar. At least then you’d have some level on them, even if it was minuscule. And you wouldn’t feel so small.

The woman seems to notice your increasing nerves, but thankfully she doesn’t point it out to make fun. Instead, her smirk grows wider and her eyes sharpen.

“What’s this little pipsqueak doing with a knucklehead like you, huh, Williams?” The woman asks, crossing her arms over her chest. The motion causes her biceps to bulge under her tattoos, and she pops her bright pink bubblegum as she scans your body up and down. Her eyebrow raises, expectantly waiting for an answer.

You swallow and lift a hand in a quick nervous wave. You introduce yourself by your first name and weakly say, “Uh, hi! I’m just here for Quaritch, I’ve got something for him.”

“‘Here for Quaritch’, huh?” The woman snickers. She looks you over again slower and much more obviously, this time with less of a calculative look and more of something with a strange gleam in her eye. She smirks when she meets your wide-eyed gaze again, before she loudly says, “You must be Peach.”

Goddamnit! I might as well change that to my permanent name at this point!

Your lips thin, but you manage to laugh weakly and mutter, “Yeah, guess that’s me.”

“Hm. Well, it’s about time you met some of the unit, given that Colonel Quaritch is the head of our team. My name’s Z-Dog,” she pops her gum for emphasis, smug smile never leaving her face, “This asshole here is Lopez. He’s a quiet guy, you won’t be hearing much from him.”

Z-Dog smacks a hand across Lopez’s back, and the cracking sound of her hand making contact with his bare skin and the sheer force of the hit makes you wince. If she ever hit you with even half of that strength, you’d have a dark bruise spanning your entire back for at least a month.

Lopez doesn’t even seem to feel it, though, not even moving an inch from the force or grimacing. Instead, he just rolls his eyes at Z-Dog’s words and starts rubbing his hands with a nearby towel.

You have to wonder if hitting each other isn’t just a Quaritch thing, but something the Recom Unit as a whole just likes to do.

Lopez looks you over in the same considering way Williams and Z-Dog had. While you had been able to figure out at least a little bit of their thoughts, Lopez is a blank slate, expression stoic. His yellow eyes simply flick over you once before returning your gaze.

“And you obviously already met Williams. You need to watch your things when he’s around, the little shit likes to nick stuff when you aren’t paying attention.” She glares pointedly at Williams, who laughs guiltily but nods his head in agreement.

“Hey, I only take the things you aren’t going to be using! And I give them back eventually, you gotta admit that.”

Z-Dog scoffs and rolls her eyes but relents and turns her attention back to you. She tilts her head in consideration as she stares down at you. Her smirk grows salacious.

“So. You got something for Quaritch, huh? Can we see it?” The tone of her voice as she speaks makes it seem as though she doesn’t really think you have anything to show her.

Why else would I be here for Quaritch if I didn’t have something to say or give him?

“Couldn’t you have waited and given it to him tomorrow morning? Don’t you guys have your little, uh, lessons, then?” Z-Dog snickers and adjusts her hips just slightly enough for it to be suggestive. Lopez rolls his eyes and elbows her hard in the side of her stomach, but you can see his own small, crude smirk. Williams looks like he’s barely able to hold in his own laugh, rubbing at his jaw and flushing a light lilac.

No way.

You barely keep from gasping and clutching at your neck like you have pearls, but only just. If you had thought your face was red before, it’s nothing compared to the fire that spreads through your cheeks, ears, and all the way down your chest. Embarrassment and surprise are shockwaves through your limbs.

They totally think we’re fucking! Oh my god! Why?!

Their insinuations were not at all subtle, probably trying to get a reaction from you.

God, these fuckers are just like Quaritch.

You swallow thickly, dignity and pride fleeing from you quickly. They must think you’re some sort of pet for Quaritch, dropping everything to come when he calls. They think your lessons and training sessions are just when you and Quaritch-when you and Quaritch-

Oh, this is so humiliating! Why can’t they just act like grownups and not middle school boys! They’re making fun of you!

The overwhelming embarrassment coursing through you lights an angry fire in your stomach. Your fists clench at your sides, eyebrows furrowing.

“No, I can’t show it to you because it’s confidential, and I know that Quaritch does not like to be kept waiting, so if you don’t mind, I think I’ll be heading to him now.” The snap doesn’t come out as aggressive as you wanted it to, but the point gets across.

Z-Dog keeps snickering but relents, throwing her hands up. “Alright pipsqueak, we were just making fun. Williams will take you to him, don’t worry your pretty little head.”

Your anger blows away like smoke and you blink, relaxing your fists.

Well, that was easy.

“Besides, wouldn’t want to keep Quaritch waiting for his girl any longer, huh?”

Never mind.

You scowl but let it go. She’s just poking at you, trying to see how long it’ll take for you to blow. Just like Quaritch, really.

You turn your frown into a tight smile. “Thanks for your help.”

Z-Dog scans your face for anything else she can use to make you angry, before sighing deeply. She crosses her arms over her chest once more, and her smirk becomes just slightly more genuine.

“You know, I think I kind of like you, almost as much as the Colonel does. Guess we’ll see you around. Maybe you’ll meet more of the squad soon.” Z-Dog shoots you one last smirk. Lopez rolls his eyes at her again but gives you a tiny nod goodbye, and then they’re off, sauntering out of the room and toward the front of the gym with not a care in the world.

“Nice meeting you, Peach.” She tosses a peace sign over her shoulder before she’s out of your view.

You watch them go, stunned that this little conversation had even taken place. You really, really hope they weren’t off to tell the rest of the team about the stupid little human woman that was on her way to meet with Quaritch in private and wouldn’t even tell them why. That would be the last thing you need. Clearly, they already think something else is going on, and you don’t want to give them any more fuel than they already have to make fun. Are they as bored as you are and the only thing they can do to entertain themselves is sitting around gossiping like a bunch of old ladies?!

God, you can’t imagine what Quaritch must have said or done that got them all even thinking about this!

You’re jolted out of your concerned thoughts when Williams gently places a hand on your back.

“You ready to go, Peach?” he asks lightly.

You turn around and glare up at him, clearly still a little miffed about what just happened and the way he had laughed at your expense.

He has the shame to wince a little bit. “Yeah, sorry about that. The team can get a little…rowdy, when they’re bored.”

You stare at him harshly for a moment longer before sighing and nodding your head in acquiescence. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t something all that serious anyways.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Forgiven, Williams grins in relief before pushing you forward, his palm still in contact with your back.

“Quaritch should be right over in the weights section of the gym! He likes to spend a lot of time over there. I think it’s just something for him to do when he’s not ranting about Jake Sully and the Na’vi.”

He leads you deeper into the gym and up a flight of stairs before turning left.

“You know, I think he likes working out more than he likes the team, and-”

But the rest of Williams's sentence is drowned out, muted in your ears, because in front-in front of you is-

Oh…my god. Oh my god. Jesus. Fucking Christ.

Your thoughts, your concerns, your nervousness, it all drifts away and into the wind with nary an attempt to pull them back. Your mind goes blissfully blank, all too eager to focus on the sight in front of you.

Quaritch grunts and lifts his arms, raising a bar attached to a ridiculous number of weights. His sharp teethed are clenched, and for the first time, you actually see sweat heavily beaded on his face and chest.

And the real kicker, the thing that knocks your breath straight from your chest, is the fact that he’s shirtless.

You gape at the wide expanse of muscled, deep blue skin that’s proudly on display in front of you. Sweat glistens on his taught stomach, and his biceps bulge as he lifts the bar a few more times before setting it on the ledge. He pants for breath, pink tongue peeking out and tracing the line of his bottom lip.

He looks debauched.

Warmth blossoms deep in your stomach.

Williams’s constant stream of babble slowly filters back into your ears, and you blink. You hadn’t even noticed that your eyes had begun to burn from the time you had been staring at Quaritch, completely uninterrupted, not even blinking once.

You swallow thickly and struggle to break free of your trance. Even then, you don’t tear your eyes away from Quaritch. Luckily, Williams is too focused on his own talking to care much about where you are looking.

Everything that has led to this moment has been so, so worth it.

Quaritch sits up, still breathing deeply, grabs a gray towel from the ground laying next to him, and uses it to wipe the sweat from his face. After he’s satisfied with that, he runs the towel over his chest and down toward his navel. The towel brushes the edge of his shorts, going under by just a centimeter.

You nearly swallow your tongue.

“…and even then, I definitely didn’t think he was going to be able to fit the whole thing in the helicarrier-oh hey, boss!”

Williams jolts out of his speech, lifting an exciting hand to wave at Quaritch even though he’s just on the other side of the room.

Quaritch finishes wiping the sweat from his body, face set in its usual neutral expression as he turns to look towards William’s loud voice. His yellow eyes flick several feet down from Williams's beaming face to your own. You don’t even know what your face looks like at this point; nervous, blank, or ridiculously dazed. You’re praying for blank.

Quaritch’s eyebrow raises when he sees you, surprise stretching over his face before it settles into the regular slow, sly grin he seems to favor. He lowers the towel and turns fully to face you.

Williams pushes you forward as he marches closer to Quaritch. His hand is still pressed against your back, as though you’re about to take this chance to run away.

Quaritch notices Williams’s proximity to you. His eyes seem to darken and he glares at him, teeth clenching once more. He stands from the workout equipment he had been using, and he even seems to tower over Williams’s lean form, let alone your own.

Williams notices Quaritch’s glare and jerks his arm away from you guiltily. Quaritch’s tense expression relaxes just a little bit.

“Hey boss, looks like something sweet is here for you!”

“I can see that, kid. A peach, just for me?” Quaritch grins slyly.

You think you’ve set a new record for the number of times a person can blush in a day. Your already flushed face burns brighter at his words. The amount of heat radiating off of them is insane, and the overwhelming scent of Quaritch’s sweat is… strange. It’s not as sharp and pungent as human sweat, no, it’s almost sort of…sweet, like the rain you had smelled earlier.

Yeah, something sweet with an underlying hint of tartness, like citrus or lemon.

Whatever it is, it’s fucking good. You wonder if all members of the Recom Unit, all the ones stuck in their Avatar bodies, smell as good as he does. You hadn’t smelled anything from Z-Dog and Lopez, but they hadn’t been sweating as much as Quaritch.

You remember when you first met up with him while in your Avatar body, the way his rainwater and coffee smell nearly had you losing your mind. If that’s what it’s going to be like if you meet others of the Recom Unit while in your Avatar, you’re going to have to avoid them forever so you don’t embarrass yourself.

Why the fuck does Quaritch always smell so good?! What kind of body wash is he using, and where can I get some?

Your lips press together before you smile hesitantly and reply,

“Ha. Yep, it’s me. I just, uh, I just came to give you a-”

You choke and cut yourself off before you can finish your sentence.

I can’t fucking say I’m here to give Colonel Quaritch what’s practically a fucking friendship pendant! He’d kill me!

You cough lightly and resume your sentence, hoping nobody noticed your pause. “I have something for you?” It comes out more of a squeaky question than a statement.

But Quaritch doesn’t make fun of your voice like you thought he would, for once not rising to the easy bait. Instead, he simply raises another eyebrow and repeats, slowly, like you’re an idiot, “Something?”

Williams wiggles his eyebrows again as he looks down at you, mouth opening quickly to say something you know you won’t like. Quaritch notices and glowers at him before snapping, “That’ll be all, soldier.”

Williams closes his mouth with a click and holds his hands up in mock defeat as he backs away from you and Quaritch. His sharp smile stretches across his face boyishly and he makes finger guns at you while saying, “Bye, Peach!”

You and Quaritch watch Williams’s lean form leave the weights area via the sliding glass door. Neither of you speaks until the door slides all the way shut again, leaving only silence.

He sighs deeply, as though he has all the weight of the world on him just because you came to see him. It makes you scowl.

“Alrigh’, Peach. What’s so important you couldn’t wait till tomorrow?” He crosses his arms over his chest. You struggle to keep your eyes on his face and not on his bare skin. He’s so tall that it makes that simple task so hard, because all you want to do is just look down slightly, and he probably wouldn’t even be able to tell you were ogling him.

You open your mouth and suddenly find your brain devoid of words.

Quaritch groans and tosses his head back in exasperation before he grabs a hold of your right upper arm. He leads you over to the steep staircase you had struggled up when Williams lead you to Quaritch, and gestures for you to stay at the top. You follow his command, albeit confused, and he takes a few steps down the platform. His height shrinks just a little bit

He stands just a little bit away from you, but now you don’t have to crane your neck to look up at him and he doesn’t have to look down at you so far. You’re still much shorter than him, but still, it’s much better.

You’re surprised he even bothered; the past times you had spoken to him while in your human form, he had used your height difference to intimidate you, scare you into helping him. This was a surprisingly kind gesture. You're also astounded he hadn't just made you stand on a stool like a toddler.

You grin at him, entirely too warm-faced.

He notices and scoffs. “I just didn’t want to have to bend down and break my damn back to talk to you, is all.” There’s another brief pause before he snaps,

“Well? I don’t have all damn day.”

Before you lose the meager amount of courage you had mustered in your heart, you gingerly take the green pendant from your pocket and lifted it between your bodies. It’s grasped tightly in your hand, your fingers clenched around it before you loosen your grip.

Your stomach tightens before you can speak, butterflies erupting deep in your gut. You can already feel your face blushing. Your eyes flutter down to the ground before you can stop yourself, just so you don’t have to see whatever unpleasant expression will come over Quaritch’s face.

You reach over and grab Quaritch’s hand as best you can, lifting his arm. Surprisingly, he lets you. You carefully press the pendant into his blue palm, fingers tingling when they brush against his. Your hands linger together for just a moment too long for it to be casual before you quickly move away with an awkward cough. You swallow thickly, opening your mouth hesitantly before you quietly say,

“I made this for you. It’s just a pendant. The Na’vi believe that the word on it brings protection and wisdom. I know it’s not really authentic, given that it was made by a human and out of materials found around Bridgehead, but I just figured you might want something physical to go along with our lessons. Just so it isn’t only my words and the pictures I show you, I don’t know.” You babble on and on, too afraid to stop talking.

You lift your eyes hesitantly to look at him, gaze flickering across his face quickly to take in his thoughts. His face is blank, but there is a look in his eyes. Confusion, perhaps, or maybe disbelief? There’s a slight furrowing of his eyebrows, but he doesn’t immediately scoff or make fun of you like you thought he would.

“…For me?”

He slowly lifts his arm, as if expecting you to leap backward and laugh in his face. He brings the pendant closer to his face to examine it.

“I dunno, I just thought you might like to have something kind of from them, just to, uh, really put yourself in their mindset, I guess. You don’t actually have to wear it or anything, I just figured you might want to look at it? But yeah, I made it for you.”

Your voice trails off near the end of your sentence, becoming quieter and quieter until you’re almost whispering. Your shoulders lower in on yourself and you grasp your left wrist in your hand in front of your body, quietly putting your head down and looking at the floor.

A few seconds pass in tense silence. When Quaritch makes no sound and doesn’t move a muscle, you discreetly raise your head slightly and take a peek at his face. Your fists clench tightly and your stomach drops when you see his expression remains stoic, eyebrows lowered and eyes filled with an emotion you simply cannot name.

Stupid, stupid! This was a bad idea! He hates the Na’vi, why would you even make something that you knew he wouldn’t even-

Quaritch clears his throat and your head shoots up fully to meet his eyes with your own wide, too-hopeful ones. You imagine you look like a sad, stupid little girl, but you just can’t help yourself. Every time you talk with him, you always seem to forget yourself, say and do and feel more than you should.

He stares down at you, eyes boring into yours. You couldn’t look away even if you wanted to.

“Thank you.”

The words are spoken so softly you barely hear them, but they’re enough to make the tension release its hold on and sweet relief and warmth bloom in your chest.

He accepted it, he didn’t even throw it back in your face!

You relax, shoulders relaxing. A deep, unbidden sigh leaves your mouth before you can help yourself. You beam up at him, happy eyes suddenly scrunching up slightly from the force of your smile, face surely alight with joy. You suddenly feel ridiculously delighted.

Oh. I’m so glad I did this.

Quaritch looks surprised at your obvious reaction, and his bright yellow eyes soften. Unknown emotion flickers across his face before it’s gone in a flash and even more surprise takes over. His ears flick twice on the sides of his head.

He returns your smile almost hesitantly. His eyes are still stunning and they almost glow, even in the bright lights of the gym center.

He looks the most unsure and taken aback you’ve ever seen him, but his smile. Oh, the smile is so different from his usual sly smirks or smug grins.

This smile is genuine and small and sweet.

He looks so pretty.

Your chest clenches and you swallow hard. Your heart begins to pound, breath coming quickly. A tight, overwhelming urge to move, to do something vividly overcomes you. Your hands twitch at your sides, your feet shuffle an inch closer. You can’t help the way your eyes drift down to his soft-looking lips just once before quickly snapping back to Quaritch’s gaze.

Even on the steps he’s so much taller than I am right now. Maybe-Maybe I could get him to lower himself down so I could kiss him-

Your eyes pop wide and you almost gasp, viscously jerked straight out of your vivid thoughts as you realize what you’d been thinking. That wonderful, fuzzy feeling of warmth that clouded your thoughts abruptly pops, and you’re left in the unrelenting grip of cold, unfeeling reality.

Holy shit!

You jerk back a step with a quick breath and break the fierce eye contact you had been holding with Quaritch for an unknown time. It could have been seconds or minutes, you don’t even know anymore.

It seems you weren’t the only one lost in the moment. The second you step back the spell is broken, and Quaritch jerks back in the same manner you had. You hadn’t even realized he had been leaning closer as well, muscles just as tense as yours, chest frozen still as though he wasn’t breathing.

Even now, even though he had moved back, he refuses to look away from you. You clear your throat loudly and smooth an unsteady hand over your pristine, unwrinkled shirt, and you can feel his intense yellow eyes burning into the side of your face.

The both of you remain still, neither one wanting to make the first move of shifting backward or forwards.

Eventually, Quaritch takes a step closer into your bodily space. The smell of him becomes even stronger, and you can’t help the way you breathe it in deeply one last time, mind unwillingly going fuzzy, before holding your breath. You’re frozen, unable to move as he hovers over you.

You find the courage to finally look up from the ground to return his intense gaze. The sight that meets you stuns you, makes your heart thunder in your chest.

The warmth from earlier returns with a vengeance, swirling down deep in your stomach. A pulse begins to pound between your legs, and you shift as unnoticeable as you can.

Quaritch’s eyes are dark and burning, and you’re locked in, helpless now. You can’t move even as he lowers his head down to yours, and for one thrilling moment, you think he’s going to press his lips against yours. Your mouth tingles just from the thought. You want to close your eyes, but your brain refuses.

Instead of kissing you, a large hand gently presses a soft thumb against the tender, sensitive skin of your pink bottom lip.

You gasp, gaze lowering and cheeks burning. Your breath comes quick, fluttering against his hand as your chest rises and falls. If someone saw you now, they would think you looked just as debauched as you thought Quaritch looked earlier, cheeks rosy and eyes glossed over.

He consumes every angle of your view. He overwhelms your senses so much that the only thing you can feel is him, think is him.

His thumb presses closer, so close to touching your tongue, and you just can’t take it anymore.

Your pink little tongue brushes against his skin, taking a taste before darting away just as fast as it dared, but it's too late.

Quaritch hisses between his sharp clenched teeth, long and strained, and your eyes dart back up to his face. Your heart jolts when you realize he’s enjoying this as much as you are, as tempted as you are. His pupils are massive, leaving only a ring of gold. Tension and, god, desire battle on his face.

“You know, Peach, I’m not sure how much of this I can handle before I take what I want.” The words are tense, whispered through clamped teeth, and you want, oh how badly you want to give in, to smash your lips to his. But there’s something that warns you in the back of your head, something that hisses that once he’s had you he’ll abandon you. You’re just a new, shiny little toy that he’ll fuck and be done with. You won’t matter to him if you sleep with him.

And that’s the problem, isn’t it? Against everything, all your instincts, all the voices, all your gut says, you like Quaritch. You like spending time with him, like the way his eyes crinkle whenever he laughs, like the way he teases you. You like his curled smile, like how hard he always seems to make you laugh, the way your skin tingles whenever you touch, the way he gets adorably frustrated when he fumbles a Na’vi word, the way he never lets you give up, even when you’re exhausted. You could go on and on and on.

You want to matter to him. He's important to you now.

The reality hits you hard. You have feelings for Quaritch.

So far on Pandora, Quaritch has been the main person that has kept you sane. Margot is a blessing, but what you feel for Quaritch is so different. Yes, he can be a massive dick sometimes, and yes, he has a very strange, almost obsessive hatred toward certain people. There are a lot of bad things you can say about him, but it’s the small, almost unnoticeable, kind things he does for you. Just being in his presence makes you stupidly pleased.

Maybe it’s just you turning crazy from being on an alien planet, bored, and suddenly having a whirlwind of chaos crashing into your life. Maybe it’s from spending hours together every day for months, pressed up against one another and fighting and learning and teaching. Seeing rare little parts of one another that no one else seems to see. You’ve shown him vulnerability, and he’s shown it to you as well, in his own way. You highly doubt he’s walking around brushing eyelashes from other people’s cheeks or thanking them so softly when they give him things.

You really, really like him.

And you don’t want to ruin that.

So, you shift back.

It’s just an inch, barely more than a centimeter, but it makes all the difference. Suddenly, you can breathe again.

Air rushes into your lungs, and the world around you seems to shift and open up. It’s not just you and Quaritch standing on a staircase, lost in one another. The sound of the overhead fan filters into your ears, and cool air brushes against your cheeks. Your fuzzy head clears, and the tenseness in your body fades as you relax, resolute in your decision.

You want, oh how you want, but it’s just too soon. If you slept together and things ended badly, whatever you had with Quaritch would be ruined, and you’d spend the rest of your life avoiding him.

You want Quaritch to be in your life, god help you.

So you’ll wait, until you’re sure he actually, fully cares about you. Until you’re sure he isn’t just playing with you, isn’t just wanting to fuck you because you’re something new.

And if that never happens, then fuck it, you’re fine being friends with him until he gets bored.

You open your eyes you hadn’t even realized you shut and look up. Quaritch is already looking at you. His eyes are still mostly black, and he surprises you when he speaks.

“You’re testing my patience, Peach.” The words are supposed to convey annoyance, but his tone is as gentle and understanding as you’ve ever heard it. You’d had no idea he could sound like that.

Fondness strikes you hard.

You stretch your arm over the steps and reach up as high as you can, standing on your tiptoes. Your fingers barely brush against the soft skin of his right cheek. Just for a second, Quaritch leans down until your hand can better encompass his face. He tilts his head and leans into you, yellow eyes looking like warm, melted butter. His desire still burns there, but it’s faded into something almost tender, and it makes your heart swell.

You realize that maybe Quaritch doesn’t want to lose your tentative, fragile little relationship either.

He’s always surprising me.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Quaritch.” You whisper softly. You stroke his face one last time before dropping your arm.

“…See you tomorrow, Peach.” He says, just as quietly as you before he leans back.

You look into his eyes one last time, and then step to the side and walk past him. You hear him turn to watch you go.

“Hey, Peach?”

You turn around as you make it so the bottom of the stairs, hands in your jean pockets. Quaritch stands higher up than ever before, and a wide expanse of stairs separates you.

“…Thanks again.” He lifts his arm, and you can see the flash of green of your pendant clutched gently in his large blue hand.

You smile. “Of course, Quaritch.”

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